Tumgik
#I do not care for this ship as I find it overall unpleasant
elfdragon12 · 2 years
Text
"Rewind was making his new husband help him look for his old husband" is an odd take to me.
Like, Chromedome met Rewind as he was searching for Dominus. He knew what was going on. Blaming Rewind for Chromedome choosing to latch onto someone who was clearly looking for closure is... Kinda weird, imo.
Both sides of the relationship are pretty screwed up, sure, but to point the blame solely at Rewind for that specific part is choosing to ignore the active part Chromedome played in the relationship.
No, Rewind should not have gone ahead with a relationship while looking for closure on his last one (even if he came to the conclusion that he was looking for a dead body). However, Chromedome should not have gone ahead with a relationship with someone he knew hadn't found closure. Made worse by the fact he chose this not once, but twice when the alternate version of Rewind was found. The insecurity that Rewind would replace him with Dominus should he be found alive... Is his own doing.
Especially as the two apparently never talked about their problems until it hit critical.
(As an aside, I don't think JRo has ever experienced or truly thought of what it's like to be around someone who is being very pushy to move into a romantic relationship when you're trying to lay down boundaries. I have and it makes how lovey-dovey the two look immediately afterwards very weird to me.)
7 notes · View notes
kyouka-supremacy · 2 months
Note
Fukuchi for the ask game please!
Fukuchi, sure!
Favorite thing about them: Causing Akutagawa to die for Atsushi I think he's a very well written villain!! He's sympathetic and likeable and his motivations are sincerely noble and understandable. His plan fell a little short, but that's just bsd for you ahah. I like how he poses real and relevant political questions, I dig any sort of political discussion. Overall, he's just a character I have lots of fun to reflect over and talk about, but that's primarly due to being a politics nerd pffttt.
Least favorite thing about them: I find some of the gags he gets into quite unpleasant, it's not for my taste personally.
Favorite line:
Tumblr media
Self-explainatory. But like, something that actually has to do with Fukuchi...
Tumblr media
It's just, I get the sentiment? Like, I get the feeling of being willing to do anything if it's to save even one single person.
brOTP: Sorry for being predictable, but highkey Fukuchi and sskk lol. Because Fukuchi seems to care about them /so much/. I find it a truly moving part of chapters 84-88, how Fukuchi doesn't want to fight even more than sskk themselves. He's genuinely sorry for them. He offers them heartfelt advices. He waits for them, he gives them time to regrup. He offers to spare one of them. Fukuchi has been a kinder mentor figure to Akutagawa in twenty minutes than Dazai has been in six years. He compliments Akutagawa and acknoweladges his value and spares him words of respect even after his death. I just,,, in a perfect world he would have loved them dearly, and be the first supporter of their union.
OTP: I REALLY like Fukuchi and Fukuzawa. Tragic yaoi FOR REAL. Very characters who aren't canonically gay but whose behavior just makes so much sense if you read them as gay. Also my other personal shipped them before they got popular. They just care about each other SO MUCH they didn't ever denied it and yet are forced to be on opposite sides... Ultimate star crossed lovers fr.
nOTP: Nothing. I need to delete this section.
Random headcanon: I can't think of anything of a proper headcanon, but I feel like he's looked to Fukuzawa and Ranpo many times and intimately wished they could have created a family together. I feel like the chapter 83.3 cover (the one a little further below) is exactly what Fukuchi would have dreamed his life to be if the world was different.
Unpopular opinion: I'm glad he killed Akutagawa. Duh. I've said this so many times but the “I wish Akutagawa didn't die” is a sentiment I really can't share.
Song i associate with them: I can't believe I could actually think of something, but Knife by rerulili is perfect as the love triangle / katanas / dying in your gay lover's arms story.
Favorite picture of them:
Favourite panel from the manga:
Tumblr media
Favourite illustration:
Tumblr media
Favourite illustration in the anime art style:
Tumblr media Tumblr media
Send me a character?
11 notes · View notes
aro-simp · 5 months
Note
🚩💭 ⛓️ for the dark selfships ask game!
- selfship-shenanigans
thank you!
Again answering for both Nisk and Ardith, with Cahir!
🚩- What makes your selfship 'dark'? Is it the dynamic? The way they met? A specific element of the relationship?
Both ships rely heavily on dub-con (and occasionally non-con) and are both fueled by a desire of my s/i's to see Cahir suffer.
With Ardith's ship the direct action is 'dark', but the relationship has overall more of a twisted kink dynamic, with a lot of actual care and love involved. With Nisk's ship it's slightly different, the 'dark' aspect is more passive, it's somewhat a psychological torture game.
⛓️ - Is your f/o protective or possessive? Why one over the other?
There's a very unique possessiveness Cahir has over Ardith. He knows very well he's the dragon's greatest treasure, his finest possession. He wouldn't let anyone else take a similar position.
I honestly don't know which one, if any of the two, would fit over Cahir with Nisk better. sorryyy
☁️ - What scenario do you return to when you think about this selfship? How does it make you feel?
I will be answering this one under the cut as it gets a bit more graphic :3
After one of Cahir's many attempts to escape from Ardith he was chained to a wall for days. He wouldn't usually be so easily intimidated but for the past months he was treated roughly, often thinking himself close to death, and his run for freedom took great strain to his body. He was wounded, weak and scared. Ardith barely every left his side during these days, but he provided no comfort. Everything is tense and... awful, and Cahir cannot help but beg, again and again. That it was different this time, he'd truly repent, truly submit himself. Ardith would only scold him while Cahir tries desperately to shake off the shackles, which at this point cut deeply into his flesh, leaving unpleasant marks. Grime and dirt finds its way into open wounds and chafed skin. By the fourth day the dragon unshackled the man and let the trembling body collapse into his arms.
I just... tying up men and seeing them in distress is very hot 👍
For Nisk:
I have this very specific scenario based on ASP's "Und Wir Tanzten". Cahir finds himself one night mindlessly wandering a snow covered rose garden and appearing as if out of nowhere Nisk stands in front of him, completely nude. In some sort of trance Cahir feels himself getting pulled towards it. Completely and mindlessly lured in, shedding every piece of fabric along his way. Only to finally be held in Nisk's arms. The more he freezes, the more he feels his body give out, the more he craves to be closer to his lover, until he passes out in his arms.
2 notes · View notes
asukamood · 1 year
Text
The Elysium’s Dream (Part 4)
Previous Part — Next part
Extra 00 - Extra 01
***
Warnings: Mentioned war, violence, bullying, implied rape (very light) and also light Errormare
Finally some progress in the Errormare department, it was about time Huh? If you’re a fan of that ship, I’m sure you’ll love the next parts ;)
Enough talking, enjoy your reading and reblog if you want!
(PS: Next I might write either some Drueswap or the next part of Unpleasant Finding, we’ll see what I’ll do)
***
Error had never really had anybody to call family in his life.
At first, it really hurt not to have anyone to truly rely on. He didn’t know much about his biological parents lest that they died in a car accident when he was a baby. He was found in his dead father’s arms by the paramedics and was taken in by the hospital for some time.
He knew that a grand quest for any family relative able to take him in had been conducted, only to hit a dead end. His grandparents from both sides were dead and only his mother had a sibling. His uncle died from cancer a few months before his parents’ death while his aunt abandoned the family for another. Their son, his cousin, was an unstable man that was already in the police’s radar for kidnapping people, which explained their reluctance in leaving him taking care of an infant.
With no relative and no relative’s friends to take him in, the decision of putting him in an orphanage seemed the wisest.
At the establishment, he was always alone. The adults were quite… cold, for caretakers. Error had never seen them smile once in the entire 18 years he spent with them and the toys they bought for the orphans were about as sinister as the ones we could see in a horror movie.
If anything, that orphanage felt more like a prison. The children themselves weren’t… mean, per se, but they were easily scared. They had the habit of ignoring him because of the tear streaks that stained his cheeks that they found weird. Because of that, he never truly got any chance to make friends.
It bothered him to some extent but at least they were kind enough not to insult him behind his back or to try and pick a fight with him, unlike the kids at school. His tear streaks stained cheeks had earned him the title of ‘Crybaby’ and he was pushed around more often than no. He absolutely hated it but he had nowhere else to go so he stayed.
Then came his 6th grade teacher. He didn’t quite like to think about him, as it usually ended in a panic attack, so he was only going to say that he was the reason why his fear of touch was a thing.
Watching the other children run up to their parents for a hug after school was always painful for Error as he usually wondered if he too, could have had that sort of interaction if his parents survived the accident. But after that accident, the pain multiplied to unbelievable proportions.
Not only did those kids get to have a role model to look up to and love, but they also get the comfort and advice that come with it. The fact that he wasn’t allowed to have that made him sick at some point. What did he do to be deemed unworthy of this kind of affection? Why did others get it but not him?
That pettiness followed him up until early adulthood and it’s only when he got his own apartment that he realized that he didn’t need anyone to survive, that he could just do everything on his own.
While he did wish that he could have somebody to go to when he needed comfort, he was fine on his own. He did have to admit that loneliness sometimes ate at him from the inside on the bad days but overall, he was fine.
He had a home and while his part-time job paid well enough for him to pay his rent, he still thought that getting a proper job would be better for him. At the end of his senior year, he still had no clue on what he was going to do.
If asked why he turned toward the job that he had today, he might just burst out laughing twice before finally being able to explain. It was so stupid and simple, it always made him laugh when he thought about it.
It was the day following prom night that finished up his senior year. He was sitting in his favorite café, sipping on a cup of steaming hot coffee. Newspapers as old as the building were always displayed in the back of the room, free for anyone to come free the institution of these fossils of history.
Now that he had no more homework to do, he was pretty bored and decided to snatch one of them and read it until he was done. What you found inside of it were the most common things you could ever think of and those you typically found inside those sheets of paper.
One article did get his attention though. The head title was something like: ‘The soldiers of darkness, misunderstood creatures?’. An image had been printed under it, representing a humanoid creature with tentacles hugging what looked like a crying angel.
Curious, he had called the owner of the café and asked him what was this all about. Thankfully for him, it looked like he was well versed into the story of these creatures and began telling him about a very interesting story.
It all began with the first appearance of the radiants, who, back in the day, used to be called the weeping angels. They were said to be the heralds of God, celestial creatures that not only had an appealing appearance but also a beautiful voice that could heal anything and anyone.
They were seen making dead land fertile again, cure the most hazardous of diseases and son. Because of this, hearing a weeping angel’s voice was considered to be an omen of good luck, a call to tell you that you’ll succeed in life.
Seeing a corrupt, however, was the equivalent of coming across a black cat in the dead of night. They were once called the soldiers of darkness and were simultaneously feared and hated.
They appeared occasionally to get rid of some creatures and every time they were caught, the witnesses testified a feeling of dread creeping up their back whenever they saw them. Absurdly, they even assumed that their final goal was to kill radiants because of their tendency to show up somewhere a radiant has been a few days prior.
The owner then pointed to the article, explaining that the picture was taken in the middle of the Second World War. Soldiers were attacked by the opposite side as well as some hideous screaming creatures that seemed to… suck the life force out of the soldiers.
Everyone was in panic as none of their weapons did anything to hurt them and that’s when the ‘soldiers of darkness’ appeared out of thin air. They were letting out an animalistic roar as they sliced through the monsters’ bodies with their tentacles like paper, barely breaking a sweat.
The wounded soldiers took the opportunity to crawl in a safe area as the others, fighting just a few seconds ago, stared in both horror and awe at the unbelievable display in front of them. After the slaughter was over, the corrupts slowly turned around to look at the soldiers, who visibly tensed at that.
They knew that it was hopeless to try and fight them with their weapons, many have tried before and they kept reminding them over and over again that they had no effect on them whatsoever.
Most closed their eyes, focusing on accepting their approaching doom before they suddenly felt themselves calm down. Surprised, they opened their eyes to discover the negative beings holding what looked like a purple orb that was connected to all of them.
They saw them take a bite out of it and that feeling of calmness returned. It was… a strange experience to say the least.
The ‘weeping angels’ took that opportunity to appear, calming down even further the soldiers. They raised their hands to the air, as if conjuring some unknown entity or force, before their mouths opened to let out a rhythmic sound. Their voices carried in a wide radius, their healing magic following closely.
Cuts gradually disappeared as the skin stitched itself back together, bullet holes covered themselves with flesh as any feeling of discomfort caused by dehydration, malnutrition were pulverized.
To say that the humans were relieved to see the radiants would be an understatement. They had no idea why the corrupts were acting like this but they had the awful intuition that they were soon going to join those weird creatures they just got rid of.
Though, against any expectations, the radiants suddenly threw themselves at their corrupt counterparts and kissed them on the cheek, almost teasingly.
The corrupts, who no one saw even smile before, were blushing red, groaning in a foreign language to the radiants.
The next thing the soldiers knew, they both turned to face the humans, hand in hand before the radiants waved them goodbye with their free hands.
People had started to be a little less afraid of them since then but they were still wary of them.
Error had decided at that moment to work with corrupts.
Why?
Because he saw himself in those misunderstood creatures and in his eyes, they did not deserve the way they were treated, especially now that they were hunted down.
Error —- joined the Celestial Conservation Department on the 21st of June 2013 after suffering a while with his studies.
It was only in 2018 that he ever got the chance to interact with a corrupt. An alert has been given, signaling the presence of hunters in a nest of corrupts and radiants in the South-East of the country.
By the time they had arrived, most of the people had been taken or decimated. Only a pair of creatures remained, creatures currently known as Nightmare and Dream. Back when they didn’t know their actual names, they held the code names 00 and 01.
Due to his aggressive and wary behavior, most didn’t fancy having to interact with him every day. Most, apart of course from Error.
The first time he had interacted with Nightmare, the latter looked both cautious and… curious. He had tilted his head to the side in confusion, his lavender eyes staring holes into his own mismatched eyes. Error was never able to tell whether he was staring at him that way because of his eyes (to his knowledge, radiants and corrupts’s eyes cannot be affected by heterochromia), his tear stains, or just the fact somebody was willing to approach him without an arsenal of bodyguards.
Truth was, those eyes fascinated the dark being a lot. A few years forward and he would even admit finding them pretty as he has never seen any eyes like his before. His right eye was crystal blue, a radiant one that was similar to the ocean’s surface. The other however was the opposite. It was a mysterious amber where light seemed to drown and disappear in it.
Nightmare was curious as to how this was possible and before he could think of attacking him, Error had stepped closer, still with a certain distance between them, and smiled.
“Hello, my name is Error.” His aura was calm like he was genuinely not afraid of getting attacked by the negative being. “I will be the one in charge of you from now on and if you could stab Ink with your tendrils, I would be very thankful.”
Nightmare let out a noise that was halfway between a groan and a sigh.
He was going to get along well with this guy.
18 notes · View notes
Text
I was thinking about Kohlrabi's, North's, and Keiko's relationships with the Holdfasts and got hit with the realisation that Keiko, steadfast, cocky, too-adult-for-her-own-good Keiko is scared of Cavalero
North finds out about this either via a tiny dropped hint from Lanius, or from their own observations. And look, North already doesn't like Cavalero. They find him to be intimidating and unpleasant and potentially dangerous in the "I don't want the kids or myself spending a lot of time around an attitude like That" way. Learning that Keiko is somehow scared of the guy doesn't make North feel any less intimidated but they Do progress to "if he gets within ten feet of either of the kids I will have to do something about it jic"
(Things would go v differently if Higgins was already around and autonomous at this point bc Higgins is a tiny package of bad ideas begging to be executed and he'd probably have some inadvisable ways of dealing with this. But for better or for worse, Higgins is not yet around)
The reason Keiko is scared of Cavalero?
Well
Back before the attempted jump to Tau, things were already going to shit in the law and discipline department. We know that there was dissent and that those caught doubting the mission of the Zariman were "made an example of." In good ole Orokin fashion, getting glassed was probably a public execution kind of ordeal
People had every reason to give a wide berth to any enforcer of the law stationed aboard the ship
And Keiko? Keiko was what some might call a problem child. Stubborn and sharp-tongued and not one to be pushed around. Only obeying rules she found to make sense. A lot of this was ofc considered disrespect and misbehaviours, and combined with the fact that Keiko overall didn't get along well with her peers, it made her really easy to throw under the bus
She had seen the glassings, probably saw worse too, things she wasn't meant to, and she was disliked and misbehaving by just talking back and standing up for herself, and in the end, can you really blame her for believing those in charge of her when they'd said that if she continued down this path, she'd be taken away by the enforcers too? It was an attempt to intimidate some sense into her. To get her to behave. No enforcer would've cared to apprehend a mouthy kid, no teacher or classmate or cephalon would've gone to the lengths of actually calling them on Keiko, but she had no way to know the threats weren't genuine. No one had ever told her they weren't genuine
To Keiko, Cavalero was a ruthless, flesh-and-blood boogeyman
And now? Back aboard the Zariman? She's just supposed to trust him? When he's just standing there, acting like an ally, giving out weapons? Weapons?! To her?!
Cavalero, Quinn, a goddamn Archimedean, they can all go rot in void corruption for the rest of eternity for all Keiko cares. She doesn't trust them. No one should trust them. The only one she's willing to be around is Hombask bc Hombask had tried to help, thought that sabotaging the biomes would keep things from going to hell, and good thing she's the farthest away from the rest too, so Keiko doesn't have to look at them. Hombask lets her hang around and always has fun garbage to sort through and offered to help her assemble furniture, and even if that's not an offer Keiko would ever take her up on, it's noted
0 notes
aminiatureworld · 3 years
Text
Distance
Characters: Childe, Kaeya, gn!reader
Word Count: 4,280
Warnings: Swearing
Premise: What other explanation could there be? Surely this is the one logical answer. Even if it hurts, even if it doesn’t make sense.
In which the reader’s s/o assumes the reader is no longer interested.
Author’s Note: This prompt is really fun to write so far but I feel terrible torturing the poor characters like this. Oops.
Childe
The warm wind tickled Childe’s hair, causing the Harbinger to bat a few orange strands out of his face, eyes still pinned on the harbor that was fast approaching. The balmy breeze of Liyue was refreshing – a reminder of all the things he had been missing on his long-drawn-out trip. Now Childe leaned against the railing of the ship, eager to touch land, unable to contain the excitement he felt at the knowledge of what was awaiting him upon the dock.
Though he didn’t like to admit it this trip had been a particularly harrowing one, not just for Childe but for you as well. The post was notoriously touch-and-go across the Seven nations, especially with the deep snows whirling into Snezhnaya this time of year. The fact that he was gone almost a month certainly didn’t help. If he had to admit it Childe had found himself worrying about the time more than usual, worried how it might affect you. Now he was eager to push all those thoughts away, to once more find himself next to you, all well with the world. As the crew bustled around him to prepare the junk for docking the Harbinger took a deep breath in. There was nothing to worry about. Soon all would be well.
The empty dock was a jarring sight. Though saying it was devoid of people wouldn’t technically be accurate, business was going on as usual after all, to Childe it might as well have been a ghost town. Stumbling slightly, suddenly unsure of where to go, Childe climbed up the ramp awkwardly. Finding no one waiting for him on the stone pier as well, anxiety began to coil in Childe’s stomach. Had something happened? Ignoring the thoughts that flurried through his mind he quickly wove his way through the streets of Liyue. Though the city was bustling as always, laughter and shouting echoing through the air as people haggled and joked and went about their business, Childe found himself disconnected from his surroundings. His only thought was to find you, hopefully safe and sound and happy to see him.
There was no sign of anything wrong as Childe approached the door to your shared apartment. Sighing softly he dug around in his pack for the keys. You’d probably just fallen asleep, having recently taken up the habit of afternoon naps, according to your letters. Childe couldn’t really complain if that were the case, after all rest was important and you could hardly be blamed for not being aware of the time while conked out. Yes, surely you were asleep. Then Childe could give you the surprise of waking next to him. A smirk graced Childe’s lips at the thought of it, and as he turned the key in the lock he reassured himself. There was nothing to be worried about.
Unfortunately the Harbinger’s genius hypothesis had proven to be a false one. A quick scouring of the apartment revealed that you were not there, and no signs of any abnormal activity could be found as an explanation. Anxiety seeping into Childe’s mind he barely set down his pack before bolting out of the door, trying somewhat unconvincingly to keep his pace to a fast walk. Had something happened to you? Surely not! Childe knew you, knew that you could very well take care of yourself. He shouldn’t worry.
Still the thought passed through his head, combined with an even more unpleasant one. Had you simply forgotten about him? What if you didn’t care? Shaking his head the Harbinger took in a deep breath. He was overthinking things, still stuck in the mindset of a Harbinger. Not everything in life was a battle, hadn’t you told him that many times, teasing his constant need to see an obstacle to beat somewhere? He really should take your advice more seriously, at least in this case. Slowly down slightly Childe walked to the city center. He was sure his answer would be here; and that it would be so mundane as to not bother a second thought.
His pulse jumped in his throat as you finally entered his field of vision. You were sitting around with a few people, coworkers if the Guild crest and weaponry didn’t serve him wrong, chatting and smiling and overall having a wonderful time. Emotions stirred through Childe, the urge to run up to you, to stalk away, to find the nearest fountain and jump into it; but he stayed put, staring at your laughing face, pain flashing in his chest. He supposed he should’ve felt angry, felt like he’d been stood up. Instead all he felt was sadness, sadness and guilt.
Finally turning around Childe plodded back down the street, steps slow and sluggish. What did he expect really, for you to wait around for him forever? How was that fair? There was no reason you shouldn’t grow sick of waiting, shouldn’t want more out of your life. You were perfectly within your rights to want such a thing. Yet the pain continued, spreading throughout his chest until Childe felt like his lungs were on fire and his throat was crumpled in a fist of his own making.
Arriving back at the apartment a supernatural urge seemed to seize the Harbinger. Pack, he needed to pack. He wouldn’t burden you anymore, wouldn’t continue to strain your emotions by hanging around like a phantom. Luckily Childe wasn’t the kind of person to own a lot of things. Not that you really were either, between the both of you purchases mainly went into gifts for each other rather than personal buys. Childe now stood looking down at some of the things you’d bought or made for him. Scarves, books, a stuffed animal that had reminded you of his Delusion; all of these things lay peacefully on the shelf, giving the books behind them a slightly trapped looked. It was so homey and so comforting that Childe found tears pooling at the corners of his eyes.
Wiping his eyes roughly the Harbinger collapsed onto the couch. What was he doing? Part of him wondered if he shouldn’t just wait for you to come home, wait and see where you two really were. But it seemed unfair to do that. After all, what kind of sleazy person left their partner for a month then begged for their love and attention right after coming home? It was completely within your rights to want more, hadn’t Childe already made that clear to himself? And yet it hurt, it hurt so much. How had he managed to mess this all up, to let the thing most precious to him fall out of his hands? He had been so careless.
Giving himself up to his emotions Childe let the pooling tears stream down his cheeks. Suddenly everything seemed so very heavy. Closing his eyes for a moment Childe sighed. Five minutes, he would give himself five minutes before returning to his packing. Yet the familiar comfort of the couch beckoned to him, and soon fatigue overwhelmed him, dragging him down into the realm of sleep. Thankfully, he dreamt of nothing.
“Childe what are you doing?!”
Lurching up Childe glanced around wildly, hands automatically moving to summon his weapon. For a few seconds he found himself utterly confused, unable to comprehend where he was or what was going on. Soon enough however, the situation came crashing back to him and the Harbinger lowered his weapon. Glancing up at you he braced himself for whatever was going to happen next.
Well you certainly seemed upset, though not exactly in the way Childe might have expected. Instead of anger there seemed something more akin to panic in your eyes, and the red patches on your face certainly pointed to distress more than anything else.
“Is something wrong?”
“Is something wrong, you tell me that!” You took in a few erratic breaths, but your tone remained panicky. “Why are you packing? Do you have another trip? Why are you leaving?”
“I, I thought that it would be easier if I just left.” Childe lowered his head, unable to look you in the eyes. “I figured that I would spare you the pain of having to kick me out yourself.”
“Why in Teyvat would I kick you out?” You sat down on the couch next to Childe, and he could feel your eyes piercing through him. “What’s going on?”
“I didn’t see you at the docks when I returned.” Childe paused, gathering his thoughts. “At first I thought that you’d just fallen asleep or something but you weren’t home. And when I saw you out with your friends, well it made me realize how distant I’ve really been; physically, emotionally, everything. I realized that, and I realized that you deserved better, that I hadn’t been doing enough. I realized that you deserve more, deserve a partner who will always be there for you, who you won’t always have to be waiting for.”
“Oh Ajax.” You whispered softly.
Raising his head Childe could see no relief in your expression. Instead sadness was plainly plastered upon your face. Reaching out your hands you let Childe slump against you, carding your fingers through his hair as he rested his head on your shoulder.
“I’m sorry my darling, I thought you were coming back tomorrow. That’s why I was out. I would never think such a thing as abandoning you,” you spoke softly, tone achingly soft, “I mean it. Our relationship isn’t conventional, that’s true; but I would never trade it for anything. I would never think that you weren’t giving enough, I know how hard you work and how much you put into everything you know. Believe me Ajax, I don’t begrudge you any distance, I’ve never lacked love from you.”
“But what if one day you want something more,” Childe couldn’t help but ask, “what if one day letters aren’t enough? What if one day, what if one day I’m not enough?”
“I promise that will never happen,” you let out a soft sigh, “really Ajax you hold yourself too cheaply. You shouldn’t underestimate yourself, or underestimate me for that matter. You will always be enough for me. There will never be a day I want anything or anyone different, and if need be I will remind you of that every. single. day.”
Punctuation the last three words with kisses to Childe’s head you smiled as he titled his face up to gaze into yours. Though the panic had evaporated from you there was still sadness, and for a moment Childe felt guilt wash over him, guilt that he had caused you so many trials and that he hadn’t even had the courage to face you about it.
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry. Although I do appreciate you understanding that almost stealing out into the night nearly gave me a heart attack.”
“Not my brightest moment.” Childe admitted.
“Perhaps not,” you laughed, “I mean really, you’d think that it was the second act of a tragedy or something, and not one I’d like to participate in.”
“Sorry.”
“Don’t apologize! Just don’t do it again, or next time I’ll get genuinely angry, and then you won’t get off the hook so easily.”
Childe pressed his lips to yours, another unspoken apology. Though you let out a small huff of impatience you nevertheless leaned into the kiss, smiling against his lips as you let your hands drift from his hair to his shoulders.
That night Childe lay awake, listening to the soft cadence of your breath, indulging in the feeling of peace that lay over him. Though he knew that his worries and insecurities would never truly leave him, Childe nonetheless felt as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. Maybe one days his fears would come true, maybe one day this life wouldn’t be enough. But “ifs” and “maybes” weren’t guarantees, and until that day happened Childe would cherish the time he spent with you.
Besides, Childe trusted no one as much as he trusted you. If you said that such a day would never come to pass, then surely you were right.
  Kaeya
You were working late again.
Kaeya supposed that it shouldn’t have bothered him, but then again he also supposed that almost anyone would feel somewhat uneasy if their colleague and partner was suddenly avoiding them like the plague.
Okay, maybe that was a bit of an exaggeration, but not much in Kaeya’s mind. Of course, if this were some sort of habit then he would hardly mind; but after months of making it a tradition to always walk home together, well, safe to say the whole thing didn’t sit well. Nor was it simply a matter of you staying to work late, even the days where you finished earlier than him it seemed that you were always dashing off somewhere, leaving him painfully out of the loop.
Now Kaeya stood across the room from you, fingers drumming on his arm, face carefully hiding the irritation and concern that rose up inside him, threatening to spill over.
“I’m really sorry Kaeya!” Your tone was sincere, and the apology in your eyes seemed genuine enough. “It’s just that Jean asked me to look over the ledgers for the infantry. You know the captain is out this week, but Jean didn’t want to have to owe the City and the soldiers in terms of late funds. I promise it won’t take that long, I’ll be done as fast as I can.”
“Why don’t I help you with it?” Kaeya could feel the sarcasm sweetening his tone, attempted to rein it in he stared at you silently.
“You’ve been working so hard, I wouldn’t want to bother you with extra work.”
“It wouldn’t be a bother at all. Anything for my dear partner.”
“Really, it’s fine!” You twisted your hands, a nervous habit that Kaeya had long ago picked up on. “I’ll be done in time for dinner. And then we can the new recipe you’ve been telling me about; okay?”
“Very well.”
“Thanks for understanding!”
Though you seemed happy enough by the proposition Kaeya noticed how fast your head moved to the papers on your desk. Closing the door behind him he heard you let out a loud sigh. Clenching his hands, as if to remind himself that he was still in a semi-public setting, Kaeya stalked out of the Knight’s Headquarters. The thoughts in his head felt like static, and he worried that if he remained still for one more moment it would swallow him up.
Walking the streets of Mondstadt, Kaeya tried to reflect back upon the past few weeks. Had he done something wrong? Wracking his brain for any serious disputes Kaeya came up frustratingly emptyhanded. If you had fought over something this whole debacle would be one thing. Kaeya had a temper of his own, and petty acts of anger was something he admittedly struggled with often enough. He could hardly fault you if you acted in a similar way, or at least not without admitting to his own faults.
And yet nothing had happened, nothing that might cause such a dispute. Clenching his hands one more, aware that his knuckles must’ve been bone white, Kaeya let his thoughts drift to darker waters. What if you were just sick of him? It was certainly plausible, or at least Kaeya thought so. It would certainly explain why you now seemed to be avoiding him like the plague outside of work.
The thought hurt, as it might well do, but surprisingly most of the pain didn’t come from the idea itself, but from the idea that you wouldn’t tell him such a thing. You falling out of love with Kaeya would be been incredibly painful. You not trusting him enough to the point you were simply avoiding him, well the thought was enough to knock the wind out of him. Did you really think so ill of him? The idea filled Kaeya with smoldering rage and indignation – fueled in no little part by the fact that Kaeya ultimately might agree with you. Usually thoughts like those were the kinds you hated, the kinds you chased away with a stick, assuring Kaeya that no matter his past decisions he was still worthwhile. But you weren’t here now, and those dark thoughts were now kindling for the fire that burned in Kaeya’s mind.
By the time he’d reached the apartment Kaeya was almost sure of his hypothesis. Though a small part of his brain reminded him that he was working of a diet of sleep deprivation and anger, such logical thinking was easy enough to shrug off. After all, the signs were there. You were evidently getting quite sick of him, it was hardly Kaeya’s fault that he caught on.
Throwing his equipment on the floor, not bothering to even put his sword up on its stand, the Cavalry Captain walked towards the kitchen. What he needed was drink, maybe even two. Really if it were up to him he’d spend the next hour or so getting as drunk as possible before passing out in the tub. Thankfully though his reason hadn’t completely left him, and Kaeya managed to limit himself to two and a half glasses of cider. He needed to be at least on the side of sober for the conversation that was bound to pass once you came home after all.
The lateness of the hour in which you arrived felt like a personal insult, though really it was only 21:00 or so.
“Kaeya?” You called out, whipping the Cavalry Captain out of his thoughts.
Stepping into the kitchen the grin on your face was a stark contrast to the emotions that swirled in Kaeya’s mind. Hands clasped behind your back you stood in the doorframe as if expecting something. You’d probably be in for a nasty surprise. Kaeya smiled sweetly at you, words burning in his mouth, mixing with the alcohol. This was a bad idea.
“How was the paperwork?”
“The paperwork? Oh! It was boring enough I suppose. I kept getting distracted though, I really should’ve had you there, you could’ve kept me from nodding off.”
“I’m sure I would have. Tell me something my dear, I have a question that’s been burning in my mind.”
“Yes?”
“Tell me why it is that out lovely Acting Grandmaster asked you to go over the ledgers when I was assigned to that exact thing yesterday?”
Ignoring the blotches of red that immediately spread across your cheeks Kaeya stood up. Carefully going to clean the glass he’d been using he stared into the sink, not trusting himself to look at you. If he did all the words he wanted to say would fly out at once, and something that probably shouldn’t be said with them.
“Did she ask you that? How odd! She must’ve wanted a second pair of eyes or something, I guess.”
“Are my eyes not good enough?”
“Kaeya, you know I wasn’t insulting your work.” A sort of shocked irritation ran through your voice. “You’re the best knight in Mondstadt after all.”
“Oh really? Well if you think so highly of me then why have you been avoiding me so much?”
“I haven’t been avoiding you.”
“Then let me ask a different question; when was the last time we walked home together?”
“I don’t know, a week and a half ago?”
“Try two and a half.” Kaeya finally turned around, drumming his fingers on the counter. “Why are you avoiding me?”
“I’m not avoiding you!” Indignation shot through your words as you shook your head. “I’m just busy recently.”
“Busy with made up work.”
“It’s not made up!”
“Oh really, then tell me what was your work last night?”
“I had to oil the bow strings for my regiment.”
“They couldn’t do it themselves according to protocol?”
“Not the new recruits they couldn’t!”
“Then what about the day before?”
“Kaeya!” You finally burst out. “I don’t know why you’re so quick to find fault with me right now! Just tell me what you’re getting at, if you’re going to insult me you might as well do it head on.”
A part of him admired you for wanting to look at the problem right in the face, another part of him thought of how well you knew him, how attuned you were to his moods. Just as he had figured out that you were avoiding him, so could you tell that his jabs were a misdirection. It was almost funny really, seeing the things you both had picked up about one another now used at the end.
“Fine.” Kaeya crossed his arms, hoping his expression was at least somewhat neutral. “It seems obvious to me that you’ve been avoiding me, and that you no longer want my company. What I am getting at is the fact that you want to break up, and that you evidently trust me so little with that fact that the only solution you’ve come up with is to avoid me.”
Your face went slack with shock, pupils turning to pinpricks as you stumbled backwards. Finally letting your arms fall to your sides you grabbed the side of the doorframe, as if unable to process what he just come out of your partner’s mouth.
“What?”
“Do you really trust me so little?” Kaeya pressed on, feeling his emotions begin to spill over. “Am I really so untrustworthy that you can’t even tell me you want to end things? Am I, am I really that untrustworthy?”
Everything seemed to be going all wrong. Kaeya had expected you to immediately fess up, had expected guilt and relief and then the end. Instead all he got was incredulous silence, incredulous silence and a look that screamed utter and total disbelief.
“Do you really think that I would do that to you?”
The question was a simple enough one, one that anyone might ask during a conversation of this nature. Still your tone was so dispassionate that Kaeya couldn’t help but pause. Did he really think that you would do such a thing? His anger certainly thought so, helped a great deal by his current buzzed state. All that aside however, did he really think that? When he woke up tomorrow, would these thoughts still be swirling through his head, these angry thoughts that threatened to burn through his happiness.
“I don’t know.” It was the best answer he could give.
“Then why would you accuse me of something you weren’t even sure of?”
“I…”
“Kaeya have you really thought so little about what you just told me?”
He almost wanted to apologize for how stupid his words seemed in retrospect.
“Would it help you if I told you where I actually was?”
Your voice was still quiet, but not entirely closed. Nodding stiffly Kaeya felt his fingers still.
“Very well. You were right about one thing, I wasn’t actually checking the ledgers for Jean; and I wasn’t oiling bowstrings all day either, I mean our troops should know how to do that at least. But you made one mistake in your judgement Kaeya, the idea that I was avoiding you. In truth I was gathering materials, I wanted to make a new sword for you. Your current one is so brittle and since I know you don’t want to use the sword you were given as an heirloom, well I thought that I wouldn’t wait for your current one to break and that your new one would be a present.”
“…I see.”
It was all Kaeya could get out; how else could he reply? Shame and guilt mingled within his mind, quickly dousing any anger that he might’ve felt. He really fucked up this one didn’t he. He let his emotions slip once more and now he had made a fool of himself. More than that he had refused to trust you, had ended up doing the exact thing he had just accused you of. Now what was there to do? He couldn’t exactly slink away with his dignity; even if he had managed to retain that, there weren’t many places to go.
“I’m sorry.”
“What?”
Kaeya jerked his head up from the spot he’d been examining on the floor, confused by the sudden turn of the conversation. You stared into his eyes, shrugging slightly.
“I said I’m sorry. I’m sorry Kaeya, I should’ve come up with a better method. I didn’t mean to make you worried, or to make you feel like I wanted to no longer associate with you. Believe me that’s the last thing I want to do. So I’m sorry that I made you feel that way.”
“I was the one who accused you of all those things that weren’t true.”
“You did. I’m not very happy about that to be honest; you’re going to be doing some serious penance for the next week. I just figured that before that I would apologize. Then we could be even. Okay?”
Reaching out your hand Kaeya finally noticed what you’d been hiding. The windwheel aster was slightly limp, the breeze that gave it its beauty nowhere to be found. Nevertheless it seemed at the moment the most beautiful flower in the world. Walking over to you Kaeya tentatively took the flower in his hand. Smiling softly he leaned down to kiss you.
“I’m sorry.”
Tomorrow he’d start making it up to you. Tomorrow he wouldn’t listen to his demons, wouldn’t let his own lack of self-worth hurt you. Tomorrow he would do better by you and more. Today he would say sorry.
After all, he had plenty of time.
348 notes · View notes
rishi-eel · 3 years
Text
thinking (yet again!) about the differences between the bad batch story reels and the season seven arc and like... some changes just blow my mind because all it did, really, was make the bad batch less likable.  
lets star with the whole “reg” thing. if i remember correctly, in the originals “regs” is said twice. the first instance is by crosshair when taunting jesse in the LAAT. the second is said by hunter: he tells tech (who’s hacking into the cyber center) that he and wrecker are going to “go get the regs” (i.e. rex and jesse). that is, hunter only used it among his squad when the others were not present (much like how cody informs that the bad batch are defective clones out of earshot. these words are descriptors, but there’s also an offense associated to being referred to by them). the idea that hunter has restraint referring to regular clones this way in their faces connects, i think, to how hunter was a tad more apologetic to jesse in the original script. “he means regular clones. don’t take it personal. it’s just that we don’t always follow protocol” carried an actual sense of hunter trying to convince jesse that it’s nothing to do with him.   
it’s interesting, i think, that in a context where you have clones and defective clones, that the bad batch (as defective clones) would find a way to talk about other clones in reference to themselves in a way that normalizes their own existence. it also introduces the idea that the bad batch experience a level of disconnect, and even animosity, in regards to other clones. all that can be conveyed by only using the word twice. the season seven episodes added three more instances, and in all of them the bad batch members comfortably throw the word around the clones who “are regs.” the sense of separateness (which, again, was already established/achieved by using it just two times) is only made stronger (thus more needs to be done to portray a sense of reconciliation or coming together. the reels succeed this to an extent because that barrier wasn’t built up as high). 
so yeah in the original... wrecker didn’t say “we always get shot down when we travel with regs,” he kept quiet as he helped people out of the wrecked gunship (in fact, wrecker lost a lot of subtlety going from the reels to the final eps, which i’ll get back to). hunter didn’t fake-compliment rex with a “not bad, for a reg”! and oh boy crosshair’s comment implying that echo is worthless and expendable because he’s a “reg”... yeah that was not in the reels either. in fact, not only does crosshair not call echo a reg, the meaning of his original dialogue was completely different.
in the original, after hunter voices his suspicions echo might be dead, crosshair suggests that if alive echo could be cooperating with the enemy, making him a traitor. rex takes this as an attack on echo’s character and crosshair explains that no, he’s not intending to insult echo, by saying: “oh i don’t blame him, if i were left for dead, i wouldn’t be so loyal.” and like!!!!! that’s such a radically different line of dialogue because crosshair seems to blame rex for having left echo behind, actually. if you betrayed the republic to survive, or even out of spite, i don’t blame you even if you now present a threat to myself and my family, is such an interesting, empathetic sentiment. and that contrasts with the lack of regard given to rex, making it read like he’s condemning rex for leaving someone behind. crosshair doesn’t seem to understand, as an experimental commando clone, the pressures rex as a legion captain is under, because he’s seen a less expandable (they’re a specially trained four man team, if one dies that’s 25% of the unit gone. is there a replacement for that member? you get the idea). so you’ve got a clash between different povs, but also crosshair being shown as having a set of morals, chief among them being that you do not leave anyone behind. so remember when rex says to move out and crosshair goes “commander cody is in no position to move” yeah i’d say that’s crosshair making sure cody isn’t being left behind. when crosshair saves anakin? that’s because he saw anakin go off on his own and followed him. because you don’t leave people behind. and like... the idea that yeah crosshair is an asshole. he’s unpleasant and that’s deliberate. he doesn’t care if people like him and he’s not trying to be liked. but that he values the lives of other people and looks out for them? that makes an interesting, flawed and multifaceted character. that got lost in the dialogue change because its no longer suggested that crosshair holds these values.
as for what i said earlier about wrecker: he lost subtle, nonverbal moments through the addition of lines that are either anticlimactic or only serve to make him seem loud or ditzy in an exaggerated fashion. he didn’t laugh when the LAAT came down. he was quiet as he helped people out of the downed gunship (no comment about regs!). he didn’t say “boom” when the ship exploded in the background after he flipped it over (the difference? a character moment that’s actually cool and impressive vs something that’s corny). when wrecker comes to crosshair’s aid by picking rex off of him, there was no quippy one liner. there was no need for anything to be said for it to be understood that wrecker is acting as a barrier and it trying to intimidate rex. when he’s afraid to get onto the elevator? that’s conveyed visually through camera angles and through hunter picking up on the fact that he’s scared. he doesn’t scream (if you can call a comical “aah what is that thing oh no its going to get me” a scream) when the organic decimator almost gets him. when they walk across the pipe? wrecker doesn’t whimper or talk to himself for comfort. he is scared of heights, that’s already been established, but he’s also a grown man and a soldier like he’s keeping that to himself? like we see wrecker hesitating to walk on the ledge but doing it anyway because he has to. in a piece of dialogue that was cut, tech said “does anyone want to know the odds of us making it across alive?” to which wrecker (who’s you know already having a bad time) interrupts with “don’t even think about it, tech” (if ur curious, this exchange was replaced with: wrecker: “keep walking tech!” tech: “that’s fine, but if you fall don’t take me with you” which???? uuh weird exchange). also, the fact that wrecker was mostly dealing with his fear silently means that when hunter tells wrecker to hold on because they’re almost there... that’s because hunter knows he’s scared and is checking up on him. basically... any kind of serious moment was cheapened by having wrecker talk in them. now i don’t want to say that DBB is a bad voice actor, but his expertise is making animal noises. he’s not able to do a realistic, deep voice, meaning that whenever wrecker talks he kind of sounds like a joke. it’s fine when wrecker is actual being lighthearted and jokey, but otherwise? the emotion just does not come across as genuine, which breaks the stakes or weakens credibility.  
and god the whole plot point about the bad batch being suspicious of echo was nonexistent in the reels. the “don’t worry, echo says he’s got a plan”/”that makes me feel so much better” exchange between rex and tech is in the original, but tech’s sarcasm isn’t from doubting echo’s allegiance, it’s because they’re planning to land on admiral trench’s ship and echo having a plan (that he himself doesn’t know) doesn’t exactly soothe his anxieties. rex acts like tech’s being a big joker and playfully shoves him, telling him to get on board. which is an interesting interaction because these characters are kind of starting to bond?? as for tech and echo, they kinda become nerdy friends really quick. like when tech warns echo not to send the signal right away because he first needs to make it look like it’s coming from skako minor, echo’s like “oh yeah good thinking tech.” and when echo figures out a way to shut down all the droids at once tech is impressed and lightly shoves his shoulder. again there is none of that “oooh maybe echo’s a traitor maybe he’s with the techno union” shit. like i understand that the writers wanted to up the stakes but it falls flat because the idea of echo being a traitor isn’t credible. it does not seem like an actual risk or possibility. so all it did was make the bad batch seem like assholes, cutting away at some very nice character moments.   
ok this is a long post and you might ask yourself “but tumblr user rishi-eel, why do you care so much about the story reels, this stuff isn’t canon now” and there are a couple reasons, first, i think it managed to tell a better story overall. so the question is: why is that? because you would expect that writers reworking the plot would add improvements and not downgrades. and to be fair, the s7 episodes had a bunch of upgrades, but not when it came to the characterization of the bad batch. another thing to consider is that changes were made in the context of setting the bad batch up as future protagonists of their own spinoff series (something the original arc was not intended to do because there were no plans for a bad batch series). were the characters made flatter and more archetypal to add to marketability? was the reg/defective clone rivalry (and dichotomy, even) amplified because this separateness serves a narrative in which the bad batch are heroes and the other clones villains?  
262 notes · View notes
bellsarefun · 3 years
Text
Din Djarin/The Mandalorian Yandere Headcanons [The Beginning]
Tumblr media Tumblr media
【summary:A few of my personal headcanons (very rough ideas) on how Din would transition into a yandere.】
【pairing:The Mandalorian x Reader】
【rating:.PG-13 — no explicit content in this part, but in later parts of this series will have NSFW content. 】
【word count:1.2k 】
Tumblr media
The Mandalorian’s obsession with you started out as nothing more than meeting you by accident on Arvala-7. He was retrieving the asset for the Client, but what he soon came to find out is that he wasn’t the only one with a tracking FOB. You had somehow beaten him to the asset, a small green alien child, in the chaos of his blaster fight with the IG-11 droid. This unpleasant surprise forced the two of you got into a scuffle where you were crowned the victor after you had managed to knock him off of his feet.
You two agreed to split the reward, since the IG-11 droid was smoking from the blaster bolt in it’s head and was in no condition to take it’s share. Besides, you needed a ride off the planet because your ship was kind of destroyed in the process of getting to Arvala-7.
From then on, your relationship blossomed into a rather unorthodox friendship filled with laughs and bickering like an old married couple. You had stayed with him during the beginning just to look after the child but after awhile you grew to care about the Mandalorian just as much as you cared about Grogu.
Din couldn’t exactly place when he started to fall in love with you, but by the time he realized it—it was already too late. It was around the time your little family escaped from Moff Gideon on Nevarro when he realized it. He had barely escaped with his life and he now grasped how much he wanted to live; for you, for Grogu, and most importantly so he could hear your laugh once again.
You, on the other hand, loved Din like a cherished friend—so naïve and innocent—and Grogu was the son you never had. You both became foster parents to the little guy and it wasn’t long before you put on your ‘proud mom’ hat. But, the best part was how Grogu brought you and the Mandalorian to figure out how best to work with each other. You both learned to patch each other up after fights, take turns cooking the meals, and babysat Grogu while the other went off to work on missions. Overall, the domestic nature of life was something you couldn’t protest against
With this domestic nature of your relationship, Din couldn’t help himself but fantasize about settling down with you as his wife and giving Grogu some siblings. It was something he craved for, it was something he longed for, and dare I say, he needed.
The moment where Din’s love for you turned dark was when he almost lost you. The two of you were helping the Jedi Ashoka Tano free oppressed people from a ruthless dictator on Corvus when things took a turn for the worst. In a duel between the enemy and Din, the enemy cheaply shot you instead and hit you in the side. The last thing you remember from that mission was Din shouting out your name in panic and falling into inky darkness—your side exploding in agonizing pain.
Luckily, the bullet only got you in the side and, because blaster bolts cauterize skin, you managed to pull through the serious injury but it took weeks until you were fully healed. Din was by your side at your beck and call, refusing to let you get out of bed to do anything but use the restroom.
Din has lost a lot of people in his life, he’s lost his parents, friends, and his entire tribe. He sure as hell wasn’t going to lose you, the person he loves. He couldn’t imagine continuing his life without you, he doubted he could go a day without hearing your laugh and waking up to the sight of you and Grogu waking him up in the morning.
During this time, you noted a change in him. In his own way, he’d been showering you in affection; more touching, staring more than usual, and opening up to you more. You didn’t mind this new Din, but one thing that concerned you was how protective he had gotten. He would only allow Grogu to come near you and almost outright refused Cara and Karga when they asked to see you. You worried about him.
To Din, his protectiveness didn’t come from his need to control you but instead came from his love to see you safe. He loved knowing that nothing could possibly blemish your smooth, supple skin or that nothing threatened the loving smile that would cross your lips every time you made Grogu coo. He had gotten so used to you remaining in bed where he could protect you that the day when he couldn’t find you, he panicked.
You had gotten a transmission from Cara to come into the city on Nevarro, where the Razor Crest was stopped for a day or so, and you figured that you had healed well enough to go on your own. You had taken Grogu with you because you couldn’t leave the little guy alone since he’d become so attached to you. Oh, what a mistake that turned out to be.
As soon as Din spotted your empty bed, was in near hysterics. In one moment he felt like his whole life had fallen apart in a matter of seconds. He then a transmission popped up from Cara that told him everything he needed to know. Cara was informing you, if you were still on the Crest, not to come meet her. There was a group of people who had come into the Guild asking about the Mandalorian and you and she didn’t like the sound of it. He left before the transmission had even ended.
You hadn’t found Cara where she said she would be and you were so confused. It was growing darker by the minute and the streets of the city were looking scarier by the second, you were in no condition to defend yourself or Grogu. The small green bean was becoming fussier as the moments ticked by, he was clearly very hungry. You had waited for around an hour, but when you figured that Cara wasn’t coming you decided to head back to the Razor Crest. That’s when a group of men, of differing races, stepped out of the shadows and you knew in an instant that you were in trouble.
Din had found Cara in a matter of minutes, demanding angrily where she had sent you too. Cara immediately recognized the severity of the situation and guided the taking Mandalorian to the spot where she told you to meet her. They arrived a bit too late.
You were laying on the ground, bleeding from your nose and the blaster wound that had been healing opened up—blood was pooling around your form. Your face was a degusting menagerie of purples and blacks, bruises that would last for weeks at the very least. Grogu was being held by the back of his robe by one of the men, his small cries for the woman laying on the ground was the first thing the Mandalorian heard when he turned the corner.
He saw red and that was the last thing Din saw before he brutally beat the enemy group senseless—with the help of Cara of course. His thoughts whirled with fear and anger that made him feel sick to his stomach. He stomped and kicked until he heard the squishing of gore under his boot—he blood seeping through the soles of his shoes. But in a few seconds, it was over.
With the bodies of the men laying on the ground, beaten senseless to a pulp, in the center was Din cradling your broken body to his chest. Cara was dealing with the last of the men who had run off, leaving Din with you and a crying Grogu. This incident was the straw that broke the camels back, he wouldn’t let you out of his sight now.
You woke up the next morning, your right eye had formed a beautiful black eye that it made it hard to see. But, you still managed to see the familiar helmet of your friend, the Mandalorian, sitting in front of you. You were so confused on what had happened or how you had gotten back to the Razor Crest.
“Din? What happened? Last I remember-”
“Your safe, that’s all the matters.”
“Din, tell me what happened.”
Din was silent for a few moments and you tried sitting up in your bed, only for him to push you back down on the bed. You raised your right hand to grab his arm, but found it locked tightly in a electric handcuff to the side of the bed.
“Din, what- what is this?”
“I need to keep you safe. Even if that means protecting you from yourself, (Y/N).”
Tumblr media
322 notes · View notes
First & Last Line(s) Tag
was tagged by @drippingmoon and @asomeoneperson (thank you both!!), so y’all will get a VERY SPECIAL double-bill here. (spoilers censored accordingly)
(tw: drug use)
tagging @drabbleitout, @ashen-crest, @sleepyowlwrites, and anyone who wants to do this!
Beginning of Meridian Section 2275 (Chapter One)—
The water had gotten cold already, but Warren didn't care. The concavity of the bathtub cradled himself and Thrive just so, and resting as he was with his back against Thrive's chest, his natural body heat warmed him sufficiently. They relaxed in silence, Warren occasionally falling into shallow sleep as Thrive dragged his fingers lazily through his hair, up and down his arms, across his chest with soothing intent.
The luxurious bathroom had very recently been installed in the capital house on Tournaltis, attached to ———'s bedroom—now an obhelian nursery—and it took Thrive some time to set foot inside of it as he only hesitantly accepted the idea to begin with. Warren didn't care one way or another; it was an idea posed by ——— as raising [Thoeala] had become very difficult on top of sinking into the roles of galactic royalty that had been forced upon them by the Consortium.
As Warren withdrew a deep breath, filling his lungs with Thrive's scent and the vaguely perfumed air of the bathroom, the control panel by the door flashed before automatically connecting to an internal call. The jarring series of beeps jolted him awake, sending the water splashing around them and into his own face.
Ending of Meridian Section 2275 (Chapter One)—
Guetry pulled [Warren] aside later, before Thoeala's bedtime, and addressed him seriously in the corner of the hallway. "If you want me to say something to DeCosta…"
"No," Thrive said immediately, appearing almost out of thin air to join the conversation. "We've already pleaded our case to the entire Consortium to no avail. Delegate DeCosta isn't altogether too happy about letting you go in the first place, so having you advocate for us, while it would be appreciated, would be detrimental to our working relationship."
Guetry glanced from him to Warren and back. "I'm sorry, guys."
"You know what?" Warren sighed. "We could all just...drop everything and flee to Andromeda."
Though it was a half-joke, nobody said a word in response, which was enough of an indicator of the overall mood. 
Beginning of WASTE—
I've lived a thousand lives.
I've stared down guns that could put craters into the side of a fully-decked dreadnought. Kicked a Morrite's ass for looking at me funny after a particularly bad night at a bar. Died and was resurrected with a computer in my head. Jumped out of a moving vehicle ten thousand feet off the surface of a planet. But not a single thing I am doing, have done, or will ever do in my future could ever compare to the absolute dropkick to the face that manifested in the form of walking through my apartment door to find my partner of four years in my living room, naked under my bathrobe, stifling an unpleasant, giggling girl behind his fucking back.
That night would've been dark and stormy if the Consortium Node got the hang of simulated weather. I only hours prior returned from a particularly hard time in Morre space, jamming unauthorized things into ship engines and cracking holes in windows, and let me be the first to say that killing in the name of peace doesn't get easier. One would argue that it gets, I don't know, a little more difficult each time. This war is nearly two hundred years old and it's never going to end.
The exhaustion in my bones knew no bounds. I planned to go home, get a fifteen-hour shower, and if I didn't end up a soggy, pulpy mess on the bathroom floor I would dig into my reaver rock and light up the dustiest, cakiest, dirtiest stone I possessed. I planned to pointedly ignore Oren's existence until I relented and called him over. He would be high too, on his own supply, probably. And then I planned to be extremely vulnerable while pretending I wasn't, maybe say some shit I'd regret later like "oh boy Oren I care about you soooo much" or whatever the fuck wrench I felt like throwing into the well-oiled gears my life at that moment.
Quelle surprise! The toasty fuckface did it for me.
Ending of WASTE—
A figure caught my eye through the crowd when I turned to leave the dock. Oren watched me from a bench against the wall, facing me directly, and I realized like a punch to the gut that he'd seen Adam, and he'd seen our goodbye. He'd watched us kiss for the last time, he'd watched me let go of the best thing that could've happened to me. He smelled my vulnerability. It stank up the place like reaver smoke.
His head tilted. A solemn expression, strange for him, that didn't change with every person that briefly blocked our views of each other. Almost sympathetic. But I'd seen that face enough to know better. I could practically hear his mind as clear as any silhou within range. His timing was impeccable as always, and if I didn't know better I'd say he'd had eyes on me since I'd left him, staking out for the moment I would be the most exposed, the most raw.
We existed feet apart, worlds apart, and yet his stare burned through me as if he'd held a plasma lighter to the middle of my forehead. He was in plain view of quite literally everyone, and I went numb. My stomach rolled and I tasted bile in the back of my throat.
I let a swell of foot traffic carry me away from the dock, then I let Oren into my apartment before midnight. He said all the wrong things, but it didn't matter. I hardly listened the entire night. He wasn't there to talk, anyway.
I'd never loved myself enough.
12 notes · View notes
beevean · 3 years
Note
Wanna give ratings to Zero Mission as well? :)
Story: 7/10. There's not much story here, it's a straight remake of M1. It has a couple of extra cutscenes to give more context (the most obvious example being the one before Tourian, which explains why there aren't any Space Pirates on Zebes), and of course the extra Zero Suit prologue which also integrates Samus' Chozo heritage, but overall, the plot deliberately took a backseat.
Graphics: 7.5/10. Please use the GBA Colors shader because otherwise this game is too garish, a far cry from the original game. But I do appreciate how much care went in every single room to make it stand out, while still respecting the ideas of the original (like the cloud platforms in Norfair).
Music: 7.5/10. The original soundtrack has a clear progression, from heroic to eerie to menacing to straight up not sounding like music anymore - of course, this came at the cost of composing rather unpleasant tracks. ZM does not respect that, as almost all its arrangements sound more musical to be more pleasant to the ears (and look I'm not complaining about the fact that Ridley's Lair doesn't sound like a cacophony of pain anymore). The original tracks are a nice touch, and I like how they sound like the Wrecked Ship in SM, connecting the games.
Controls: 9/10. It's Fusion but with a better Wall Jump and a MUCH better Bomb Jump! Super snappy and easy to get into. It's much harder to wall jump here compared to SM, due to how fast her physics are now, but I'll take it. (and lol at the fact that now ledge grabbing requires a power up)
Difficulty: 7.5 /10. I'll admit I've never tried Hard more, which I've heard it's torture :P but Normal mode is pretty easy. I suppose it makes sense due to being a handheld meant to be played in short bursts.
Navigation: 8/10. At first the Chozo statues literally hold your hand, but thankfully it doesn't last long, most statues are skippable, and if you sequence break they let you do your thing. The overall map is a stark improvement over M1 (not that it's hard to do lol), with every room being distinct and memorable, and even scaling those tall corridors that gave me pain in M1 doesn't feel like a chore here.
Backtracking: 6/10. While this game doesn't physically stop you from going back like Fusion, it still expects you to revisit every area once you get the Full Suit and have all your powerups, which is boring.
Length: 8/10. Pretty short if you don't go for 100%, and maybe even if you do once you get the hang of it. But that's okay, it means that it's more funn to speedrun.
Bosses: 6/10. The minibosses are a waste of time. Kraid, Ridley and Mecha Ridley are piss easy. Mother Brian can rot in hell.
Replayability value: 10/10. ZM is well beloved by everyone for its high amount of sequence breaking possibilities, from bomb jumping to get the Varia early to finding a shortcut to fight Ridley before Kraid (and skipping the Wave Beam in the process). I prefer the way you sequence break in SM, but this makes ZM a game much more rewarding to master.
Mother Brain: fuck you/10
19 notes · View notes
decks-writing-blog · 3 years
Text
Mute Buddies
This is a Dead Cells and Hollow Knight Crossover fic.
All the crossover art, especially the two pieces I drew, got me thinking about Ghost and Beheaded interacting and how they would be friends. And then I started thinking about ways they might've met and this fic is a result of those thoughts.
Also, because this is pre-game for Ghost they don't go by 'Ghost' since they're dubbed that by Hornet. They don't actually have a name at all in this fic because I wasn't sure what they would think of themself as.
~
By the time they spotted the island it was almost too late despite how close it was. Their sailboat, not ever meant to be out in the open ocean for so long, wasn’t faring well in the seemingly ceaseless storm. It had been battered and tossed around by the waves and wind until it had sprung a leak. And while dealing with that might’ve been easy under different circumstances the flood of rain pouring down complicated things quite a bit. Their one single bucket, despite being almost half their size was barely enough to bail out the water fast enough to keep the boat afloat. It was a losing battle though, they were only one little bug after all. So the island was a blessed sight indeed. All they had to do was get the boat to it, easier said than done of course but there was hope now at least and they had a goal.
As they drew closer it became ever more apparent that their vessel wasn’t the only one to suffer in these waters. Seems it was actually pretty common if the wrecked ships littering the bay were anything to go by. Only intermittently visible between flashes of lighting and waves pulling back to reveal bits and pieces of them, how many there were was impossible to guess. Not that it mattered beyond steering the sailboat through as safely as possible.
It was tough work; they couldn’t bail and hold the rudder at the same time and thus just had to hope that the boat would be able to reach shore before it sunk. Luckily there seemed to be a current pulling them towards the island. And the water filling the bottom of the boat now served to weigh it down, stopping the waves from pushing it around as much; another blessing even if initially it hadn’t been.
And thus after only a few minor collisions, the hull was grinding up onto the rocky shore with a scraping sound that couldn’t mean good things. Hopefully it wasn’t as bad as it sounded. Not that they actually cared a whole lot right now regardless because they were on land. No getting tossed around helplessly in the ocean for them today.
Putting one hand on the boat’s railing, they vaulted over the edge and onto firm land for the first time in fartoo long. The world seemed to sway and rock around them as if they were still aboard the boat and being pushed around by waves. They’d been stuck on it for a very, very long time indeed. Far longer than they’d thought would be the case. Word around the port town they’d acquired it at was that there was nothing out here, just lots and lots of ocean before the edge of the world. They’d wanted to see that supposed edge of the world but instead they’d found this island. Given how sick and tired they’d grown of sitting in the boat with nothing to see or do, that was perfectly fine. The edge of the world probably wasn’t all that exciting anyway, certainly not worth such a voyage to get to it.
Now even with the rain still pouring down on them they could’ve easily just laid down and fallen asleep right then and there. But it wouldn’t be wise and… They turned back towards their vessel. Its sail was old and tattered, held to the mast with a fraying rope that doubtless wouldn’t last much longer and its creaky hull had a minimum of at least one hole in it. Overall, in even worse shape than they’d acquired it in. But it should be repairable, right? And thus they grabbed hold of its edge and pulled it up further up onto the rocky shore. The thought of getting back onto it and heading out into the ocean once more was thoroughly unpleasant but there was no way they’d want to stay forever on this island so preserving their most likely way off was a must. As soon as it was well out of even the highest waves’ reach, they turned away. Leaving it there, they went in search of a place to rest.
The shore was wide and rocky. Off to one side was a large building, visible in between flashes of lightning. Closer by was a large cliff face. It wasn’t sheer though. There were many holes of various sized cut into its face and further up what look like whole caves. It didn’t take them long to find a little nook not too high up that would serve as a good enough hiding spot. They wouldn’t be completely hidden within it, anyone really looking would probably be able to spot them. Not ideal but they were too tired to search for something better. And it would get them out of the rain and that’s what mattered most right now. Though how much did that really matter when their cloak was so thoroughly soaked through already?
They pulled themself up into it and curled up, pressing back against the rear wall. … They ought to be more wary and should probably patrol the area for potential danger before letting themself rest. It would be the smart thing to do but… they were far too tired to bother, especially since they’d already laid down. It’d probably be fine though, few bugs would care to be out in such weather regardless.
***
Beheaded started for the beached sailboat as soon as they spotted it shortly after reaching the bottom of the Undying Shore’s cliff. While the island seemed to be in constant flux – something to do with the time loop probably – rare was the day something that different popped up.
Off to the side and just out of the ocean’s reach, getting to it was easy. After a quick glance around to ensure no monsters were around, they leaned in to examine it.
A small sailboat, nothing all that exciting really other than the fact that despite its visibly battered state it was still the most intact vessel they’d seen anywhere on the island. Left out in the rain without a tarp its hull overflowed with rainwater. Barely seaworthy for sure. Where had it come from though? Had someone dragged it out here thinking to escape the island in it? … No. Even as small as it was, there was no way anyone carried it out here, down the cliff, over the rocky terrain and past all the blood thirsty monsters even if they had had help. And given the way its bow was pointed away from the ocean – if even Beheaded knew what the front of a boat looked like then surely anyone experienced enough with traversing the sea to even consider risking such a voyage would’ve pointed the boat towards the water – it seemed to have come from the ocean. Hmmm… curious.
Well, most often where there was one interesting thing to examine there were more. So, turning away for now, Beheaded set to looking for other clues.
It didn’t take long to determined that there wasn’t much of anything within the sailboat’s immediate vicinity so they expanded their search along the shore a bit. Still nothing but the usual bit of boat rubble that occasionally made its way to shore before being pulled back into the sea. Quite lame but… still just the sailboat alone was an interesting find. So oh well, they had monsters to get back to killing. Perhaps they’d find something more about the boat and its occupant later.
They paused halfway in their turn back towards the way they’d being going before. There was something in one of the cliffside’s crevices. Tucked up deep inside only a small flap of dark fabric was visible poking out and flapping in the wind. Ever wary of all the different hidey holes those dang exploding bats liked to nest in, Beheaded crept closer for a better look.
It wasn’t a bat, exploding or otherwise – thank all that was still good in this world – but instead a… creature? No, a doll. Its head looked like it might’ve been made of porcelain and was clearly hollow. Or at least, whatever was inside was tucked in far enough that it couldn’t be seen through its large eye-like holes from this angle. And it had to be a trick of the light, or lack thereof, but underneath a tattered blue-gray cloak was the darkest black material Beheaded had ever seen. So yeah, no way was it a living creature but instead a large weird doll. It wasn’t even breathing.
They put a hand into the crevice to poke it. The instant their finger made contact with its body through its cloak, it moved. Its head snapped to look directly at them with its empty eyes.
Beheaded sprang back, scrambling to draw their dagger. They fumbled and almost dropped it but had a firm grasp on it by the time the creature had finished sliding out of the crevice silent grace. It had a weapon drawn now too. Pointed at Beheaded and vaguely swordlike it was visibly dull, nicked and scratched, showing signs of frequent and hard use. Given that, the fact that it was dull meant little; Beheaded was no stranger to being utterly destroyed by unsharpened blades. Same with small things; the fact that it was only half their size if one was counting its horns didn’t mean it wasn’t dangerous and couldn’t ‘kill’ them in an instant.
Despite all that it didn’t attack immediately, implying that whatever it was, it wasn’t animated by the Malaise. It would’ve attacked mindlessly and without hesitation otherwise. That didn’t mean it was friendly though even if it seemed to be waiting for them to make the first move. Which they weren’t going to do against something they’d never seen before; they’d made that mistake far too many times already and their pride still bore the resulting scars. So for once they were going to be patient and let it make the dumb impulsive move for them to take advantage of. The perfect plan!
Except it wasn’t moving, not even to breathe. Which was just plain creepy. Despite that it was kind of cute even if its eyes did look like big gaping black holes in its face. Assuming that was its face, could be a helmet. …. Beheaded was starting to get reallybored of this waiting for it to attack first thing.
They relaxed their battle-ready pose, though they didn’t sheath their dagger and remained alert as they took a step closer. It lowered its weapon but otherwise didn’t move, only titling its head a little further to keep looking at them as they stepped right up in front of it. Still didn’t attack though so they sheathed their dagger and crouched down in front of it, remaining poised to leap back in an instant if need be. This was similar to how they’d befriended Mushroom Boi though so it’d probably be fine.
But unlike Mushroom Boi when they reached out a hand to poke it on the top of its indeed quite hard head, it didn’t make a sound. Instead it lifted its own little pitch black hand to poke back, first their hand and then forearm and then, stepping closer further up their arm. Its hand was cold and somehow seemingly without texture or so little texture Beheaded couldn’t feel it through the rain. A very odd being indeed but seemingly not dangerous for now even as it stepped close enough to allow it to lift its hand up and put it into the magic fog that took the place of where the Beheaded’s head would’ve been if their body still had one. No one had ever done that to them before so it was hard to say if the resulting cold and unpleasant tingly sensation it created was just what it felt like to be touched in that way or specifically because of the strange being.
Regardless they quickly pulled away, straightening. The being didn’t seem to mind though. It continued staring up at them with its large expressionless eyes. It didn’t have a mouth and still didn’t look like it was breathing but there was what felt like intelligence in its… no, their gaze. … Or perhaps Beheaded was just so lonely they wanted to read this creature as another being similar to themself in that they both lacked a voice and ability to communicate via facial expressions like every other sapient creature Beheaded knew. So this was either a neat find or a depressing wakeup call about how lonely they’d become. … They were going to believe the former until given reason to do otherwise.
They stepped to the side to point back towards the battered sailboat. Then, looking back down at their horned being, they pointed at them before lifting their arms in as shrug, making it a question. Had they come on the boat?
The being looked over and then back up at Beheaded before nodding. Just a single small nod but still undoubtedly a confirmation that not only were they from the boat but also that they intelligent. That also meant they were from off the island!
Beheaded hadn’t ever stopped to consider what might be beyond the seas surrounding this place but if they had they certainly wouldn’t have ever thought something or someone from out there would ever end up here. Oh, the things they would’ve asked if either of them were capable of speech.
Though this was probably bad for the being, huh? With the whole Malaise being such a prevalent thing. If they weren’t already infected then they would probably be soon. … Unless they were immune like Collector and some of the others seemed to be and Beheaded for sure was. That wasn’t super likely though, was it? So… what an unlucky fellow to end up on this island of all places. But, alas, there was nothing that could be done about it now.
The being turned their gaze away to glance around. They looked up at the cliff for a bit and then over at the Mausoleum before looking back up at the Beheaded again. Only for a few seconds though before with a slight shrug in started in the direction of the Mausoleum.
Well, with no way to talk to each other and nothing else to do, they might as well move on. And since Beheaded had already been heading in that direction anyway, they followed. They could hang out with their new mute buddy for a while. Even if said buddy was unfortunately not likely to last long on the island.
31 notes · View notes
dangermousie · 3 years
Photo
Tumblr media
Do you know what struck me the most? The weapon that Matalla and Verell develop is a Black Hole. Something that of course plays a crucial role in 'Peacekeeper Wars.' Only this time it's Crichton wielding it. Another thing I noticed? How Crichton is imperceptibly getting harder. It's gradual but he is. We even see it a little in his clothes choice: it's not all beige now. He is wearing a black t-shirt. Soon, it will will be all PK outfit, and the beginning is here. And also, this is the first ep where Crichton really gets his head screwed with. Seeing the future (and in true Farscape fashion, it's a very unpleasant one) is getting him more and more edgy. When he says he might just be going crazy as he is overdue for it, I just want to put him in cotton wool and...oh. How ironic. And this ep has him a lot more serious, a lot more intense, a lot more edgy. And also, in a typical Crichton fashion? Even when it seems he is helpless to change the future, he won't go along peacefully. He will make a willful, conscious choice (as is symbolized by his willfully breaking that mask of Zhaan after having flashes of it just falling, or his accidentally dropping it). I also like that the crew is getting more and more cohesive in this one, and I love the scene of Aeryn and Matalla practicing fighting (Aeryn was genuinely trying to be helpful earlier). I also have got to feel sorry for D'Argo. He wants to find honor, wants to feel he belongs, and being with Verell and Matalla offers it to him, however briefly. However illusory that offer might be, for a moment he is no longer an exile. I think that is what is truly seductive to him,even more so than Matalla's charms. And of course, this is the first indication that whatever crime he was imprisoned for wasn't the one he told everyone. How much do I love that Crichton clears the room when he tells that to D'Argo (in order to prove that he does have flashes). I really love that he recognizes the immense privacy of that, that he doesn't bring it up in front of the others. Just as I love that final brief exchange between D'Argo and John where the former comes as close to an apology as he is capable at the time, and a justification and tells John that it's just been so long since he's been with a woman, that is why his head was turned. And John replies that oh, boy, he does know. Also, in Aeryn and John terms, I love how we continue to see their rapport and also a mutual acceptance of each other's oddness. When he first met Aeryn, John did not get it at all (or vice versa). How could they, with no knowledge of each other's base? But that very utter lack of preconception (or a different version of preconception. By John that Aeryn is a person not a soldier-monster) allowed them to actually gradually work together. Aeryn is slowly learning that you can be more than a killing machine taking orders, and that compassion and care aren't always equivalent to weakness and John is her conduit to this. John? He is learning about Aeryn as well. He is learning that she is much more than a soldier, but that she is also a soldier (and a damn good one) and from a very different culture than not only him but the rest on the ship and that would lead to a different reaction from her on things. They are learning one another. Of course, just as Aeryn will learn compassion and love and not always keeping your guard up, John is going to learn about cruelty and killing and pain, and the overall fact that the world is a brutal place. But he's been spared that for at least a little bit, yet. It is interesting that while initially it is John's company, care and love that in large part humanizes Aeryn, after  certain point, it is love for Aeryn, it is Aeryn's love back that is the one thing keeping John himself human and (semi)-sane and not completely in self-destruct and take everything down with me mode. Aeryn's trouble is that she represses (she has been trained that way) and John's is that he feels too much. He helps her find some of her innocence and then she turns around and returns the favor.
9 notes · View notes
ripjaws · 3 years
Text
Ben 10 Survey Results!
Huge thank you to everyone who submitted a response, it was really fun looking through them all and I was genuinely surprised by the results of some of the questions.
Hopefully this will work under a read more because it's quite long and I don't want people to have to scroll a hundred years to get past it.
If anyone has any questions or anything please feel free to ask! :)
Thanks again!
General
Q1. How would you describe your gender?
36% - Female 25.3% - Male 24% - Non-binary 8% - Prefer not to say 4% - Agender 2.7% - Genderfluid
Q2. How would you describe your sexuality?
32% - Bisexual 20% - Heterosexual 20 % - Asexual 8% - Lesbian 6.7% - Prefer not to say 5.4% - Pansexual 4% - Gay 1.3% - Demisexual 1.3% - Questioning 1.3% - Polysexual
Q3. Current age
48% - 20-24 39% - 15-19 13.3% - 25-30 1.3% - Older than 30 1.3% - Younger than 15
Q4. Age when you first became interested in Ben 10
86.7% - Younger than 15 9.3% - 15-19 2.7% - 20-24 1.3% - 25-30
Episodes and season
Q1. Which series did you watch first?
88% - Original Series 9.3% - Alien Force 1.3% - Omniverse 1.3% - Reboot
Q2. Rank the series in order of preference
Tumblr media
[IMAGE ID: Five separate groups of five vertical bar charts. The individual columns for each group are coloured in the same order and corresponds to what ranking they recieved on that question of the survey. According to the key at the top of the image the order is; blue = 1, red = 2, orange = 3, green = 4 & purple = 5. The Y axis of the graph goes from zero to thirty in intervals of ten.
The first group is labelled ‘Original Series’ and shows that it got twenty votes in blue, seventeen votes in red, sixteen votes in orange, ten votes in green & twelve votes in purple.
The second group is labelled ‘Alien Force’ and shows that it got nine votes in blue, eighteen votes in red, twenty-one votes in orange, twenty-two votes in green & five votes in purple.
The third group is labelled ‘Ultimate Alien’ and shows that it got thirteen votes in blue, ten votes in red, fourteen votes in orange, twenty-two votes in green & sixteen votes in purple.
The fourth group is labelled ‘Omniverse’ and shows that it got eighteen votes in blue, fifteen votes in red, seventeen votes in orange, fifteen votes in green & ten votes in purple.
The fifth and final group is labelled ‘Reboot’ and shows that it got fifteen votes in blue, fifteen votes in red, seven votes in orange, six votes in green & thirty-two votes in purple. END IMAGE ID]
Q3. Favourite season (Original Series)
40% - Season 1 18.7% - Season 2 18.7% - Season 3 17.3% - Season 4 5.3% - Don’t like/Haven’t watched
Most popular episodes were Ken 10 (S4E10) & Kevin 11 (S1E7)
Q4. Favourite season (Alien Force)
52% - Season 2 28% - Season 1 16% - Season 3 4% - Don’t like/Haven’t watched
Most popular episodes were Alone Together (S2E2) & Save the Last Dance (S2E4)
Q5. Favourite Season (Ultimate Alien)
36% - Season 1 25.3% - Season 3 20% - Don’t like/Haven’t watched 18.7% - Season 2
Most popular episodes were Forge of Creation (S1E16) & Duped (S1E2)
Q6. Favourite Season (Omniverse)
18.7% - Don’t like/Haven’t watched 18.7% - Season 2 16% - Season 5 12% - Season 6 10.7% - Season 1 9.3% - Season 8 8% - Season 4 5.3% - Season 3 1.3% - Season 7
Most popular episodes were And Then There Were None (S6E1) & And Then There Was Ben (S6S2)
Q7. Favourite Season (Reboot)
60% - Don’t like/Haven’t watched 17.3% - Season 4 10.7% - Season 3 6.7% - Season 1 5.3% - Season 2
Most popular episodes were Omni-tricked (S1E37) & Innervasion (S2E36)
Q8. Which live action movie did you prefer?
40% - Alien Swarm 22.7% - Race Against time 22.7% - Didn’t like either 14.7% - Haven’t watched either
Characters and aliens
Q1. Favourite main character
45.3% - Ben Tennyson 28% - Kevin Levin 17.3% - Rook Blonko 9.3% - Gwen Tennyson
Some ‘Why’ responses:
Ben -
I know it's a really basic pick but I enjoy Ben alot as a character. Even though I feel like he took an extremely sharp turn into immaturity in the final season of Alien Force onward (from what I've heard it was due to ratings), it still fit well after a bit of time of adjustment. Him being rash and selfish at times while still having a good heart feels...very human. I'm a huge fan of flawed protagonists and Ben is a prime example of such, imo! Plus I hradcanon that he has autism and it's a big comfort for me :)
I love his potential as a character and the way he hands having such power and responsibility thrust upon him. Ben has done so much for the people in his life and the universe, and I absolutely adore him.
I think of him like a kind person who tries his best to the right thing, he's pretty chill and optimist and in my mind he's a chaotic bi and i can relate to that
Kevin -
I like that he's always been an antihero in the original series. And in the reboot I really like the direction the showrunners are taking his character. He has a different backstory, motivations and I'm really enjoying his character development. It's a fresh take on his story and they're treating it with care, which I really appreciate. His Antitrix aliens also have some really incredible designs.
Cool powers, uncommon character in children's media, especially as a primary character often cast in a good light (ex con, high school dropout, masculine, not emotionally mature). His character development is some of the best in the series.
Gods, we could be here forever... Okay, short version- 1) I can relate to him on a mental health level, especially in the OG series we seemed to have similar issues and to handle them in similar ways 2) there's a lot of depth and variance to his character, he's angry and aggressive and dangerous but also a dork, a sweetheart, and very affectionate once he lets his walls down, he loves cars and supernatural romance, violence and magical girls, he'll rescue an aggressive dog for no reason other than it needed help but also he might consider how much he could get for selling you, he's a complex character and he's allowed to be in a way the Tennysons can't because of how firmly they sit in the Hero seat 3) for all of this, we never really know all that much about him and his experiences, at least in comparison to what we know is there- we never learn about his time traveling the galaxy, we haven't heard anything about his time stuck in time, it's only in the reboot we're getting trustworthy information about his background and even then it's rare tidbits- he's ripe for exploring in fic, headcanon, and so-on 4) his powers in the OG series, his status as mutant or alien or both who knows anymore leaves a lot of doors open to play and to look at the world through different angles 5) dude has turned into six different monstrous chimera forms over the course of the franchise and honestly you have to support that sort've shit in media otherwise they might stop
Rook -
Alien catboy with a glorious voice and have you seen those arms??? And he's so polite while also being hilarious when he gets a little rude/snarky and his character development is amazing!!
While I would normally say Ben himself, Rook is his only friend that hasn't tried to kill him. Additionally, he provides Ben with guidance as well as support the Gwen and Kevin are fickle about.
Having an actual alien joining the cast and serving at Ben's foil worked well to me.
Gwen -
Smart, talented, funny, snarky, confident, and super cute. Jock-prep-nerd energy all in one. Deserves the world. Criminally ignored by the majority of the fandom. Knows karate and judo?? College at 16?? Icon.
Angel, can do no wrong, was capable of so much more than the show let her do, potential to be the most powerful member of the team if they'd just let her go a lil feral sometimes :/
She was a good voice of reason most of the time. Her powers were really interesting and overall I think she had a lot of wasted potential having to be sidelined since the series was about Ben ultimately
Q2. Favourite minor characters
40 votes - Paradox
22 votes - Max Tennyson
18 votes - Tetrax
17 votes - Argit
16 votes - Julie Yamamoto
15 votes - Azmuth
12 votes - Ester
10 votes - Looma Red Wind
9 votes - Glitch
9 votes - Kai Green
7 votes - Alan Albright
6 votes - Jimmy Jones
4 votes - Cooper Daniels
3 votes - Eunice
3 votes - Helen Wheels
2 votes - Elena Validus
2 votes - Manny Armstrong
1 vote - Cash Murray
1 vote - Driba
Other votes went to Penny Bennyson, Kenny Tennyson/Spanner, Lucy Mann, Rook Shar, Eddie Grandsmith, Myaxx and Pakmar.
Q3. Ship or Zed
64% - Ship 36% - Zed
Q4. Favourite main antagonist 
20% - Albedo 13.3% - Kevin 11 12% - Vilgax 10.7% - Charmcaster 10.7% - Zs’Skayr 9.3% - Malware 5.3% - Forever Knights 5.3% - Eon 4% - Highbreed & DNAliens 4% - Aggregor 1.3% - Servantis & Rooters 1.3% - Khyber 1.3% - Dagon & the Esoterica
Some ‘Why’ responses for top 3:
Albedo -
When I first saw him during the airing of Good Copy, Bad Copy, I was scared that Albedo might be a one-and-done evil clone that doesn't get much development. These fears went away, and I was pleased to find out about his backstory and motives, just a sour soul in an unpleasant situation. Even in Ultimate Alien with his reappearance episode, he tries to work on his own to cope in a horrid human world. He isn't necessarily malicious until Ben gets in his way, he just wants to return to his own body and leave, even stating that he wasn't going to fight Ben anymore while he had temporarily returned to his Galvan form. I know DJW stated in some interview that Albedo could never be redeemed, but I believe there's some hope if he gets help. And I'm a sucker for those redemption arcs :)
Tragic frog man that could have been helped but nobody helped him and he doubled down on his hatred which led to him getting stuck in a cycle of revenge and punishment and it's the tragedy of how much better things could have been for him if someone just helped him that I love so much!!
Kevin 11 -
He’s very dangerous and has a terrifying power to absorb electricity and living DNA to have the same powers of who he absorbed it from and even turn himself into a mutant with all those powers combined leading to destructive power 
Kevin was a good antagonist and a good protagonist, although i feel the transition was rushed. Anti-hero kevin in the reboot is great!
Vilgax -
He was always the endgame villian for Ben, despite how many battles they've had, despite countless losses, he always tried to stay one step ahead, and plan everything.
"Speak with care, Psyphon. Your counsel is valuable...not irreplaceable."
Q5. Favourite minor villains 
38 votes - Animo 20 votes - Hex 18 votes - Michael Morningstar/Darkstar 14 votes - SixSix 13 votes - Zombozo 9 votes - Vreedle family 9 votes - Vulkanus 8 votes - Rojo 5 votes - Inspector 13 5 votes - Billy Billions 5 votes - Will Harangue 4 votes - Fistrick 4 votes - Nyancy Chan 3 votes - Lord Decibel 3 votes - Simian 3 votes - Subdora 3 votes - Viktor 2 votes - Addwaitya 2 votes - Fistina 2 votes - Kraab 2 votes - Psyphon 2 votes - Steam Smythe 2 votes - Sunder 1 vote - Liam 1 vote - Ssserpent
Other votes went to Maurice & Sydney, Bugg Brothers, Alternate evil Bens, and the Mummy.
Q6. Favourite canon relationship
66.7% - Gwen & Kevin 13.3% - Max Tennyson & Verdona 5.3% - Ben & Kai 4% - Rook & Rayona 1.3% - Julie & Herve 1.3% - Max & Xylene
Q7. Favourite non-canon ship
36% - I don’t have one 30.7% - Ben & Rook 6.7% - Ben & Kevin 4% - Ben & Julie
Other responses included Ben & Rex, Kai & Julie, Looma & Attea, Alan & Cooper, Ben & Looma, Kevin & Manny, Gwen & Cooper, Ben & Ester, Max & Phil, Azmuth & Paradox, Cooper & Elena, Kai & Ester, Ben & Zak Saturday, Ben & Eddie, Ben & Albedo, Ben & Kevin & Gwen, Kenny & Devlin, OC & canon, and Ben & a therapist. 
Q8. Favourite alien introduced in the Original Series
18.7% - XLR8 17.3% - Upgrade 13.3% - Ghostfreak 10.7% - Diamondhead 9.3% - Heatblast 8% - Wildmutt 6.7% - Ditto 2.7% - Blitzwolfer 2.7% - Snare-oh 2.7% - Grey Matter 1.3% - Cannonbolt 1.3% - Four Arms
Q9. Least favourite alien introduced in the Original Series
22.7% - Eye Guy 18.7% - Spitter 8% - Articguana 8% - Frankenstrike 6.7% - Upchuck 6.7% - Stinkfly 5.3% - Buzzshock 5.3% - Snare-oh 4% - Four Arms 2.7% - Blitzwolfer 2.7% - Ditto 2.7% - Wildmutt 2.7% - Grey Matter 1.3% - Cannonbolt 1.3% - Diamondhead 1.3% - Ghostfreak
Q10. Favourite alien introduced in Alien Force
46.7% - Big Chill 17.3% - Rath 8% - Goop 6.7% - Lodestar 5.3% - Swampfire 4% - Chromastone 4% - Spidermonkey 2.7% - Alien X 2.7% - Echo Echo 1.3% - Humungousaur 1.3% - Jetray
Q11. Least favourite alien introduced in Alien Force
18.7% - Lodestar 17.3% - Brainstorm 13.3% - Alien X 10.7% - Humungousaur 10.7% - Spidermonkey 8% - Jetray 8% - Chromastone 5.3% - Goop 5.3% - Echo Echo 2.7% - Rath
Q12. Favourite alien introduced in Ultimate Alien
18.7% - Juryrigg 16% - AmpFibian 14.7% - Clockwork 12% - NRG 8% - Armodrillo 8% - Shocksquatch 8% - Terraspin 8% - Water Hazard 2.7% - Chamalien 2.7% - Fasttrack 1.3% - Eatle
Q13. Least favourite alien introduced in Ultimate Alien
30.7% - Fasttrack 18.7% - Eatle 13.3% - Juryrigg 9.3% - Chamalien 8% - Shocksquatch 6.7% - Terraspin 5.3% - Water Hazard 4% - Clockwork 1.3% - AmpFibian 1.3% - Armodrillo 1.3% - NRG
Q14. Favourite Ultimate Form
38.7% - Echo Echo 24% - Big Chill 10.7% - Swampfire 9.3% - Way Big 8% - Wildmutt 6.7% - Spidermonkey 1.3% - Cannonbolt 1.3% - Humungousaur
Q15. Favourite alien introduced in Omniverse
29.3% - Feedback 13.3% - Pesky Dust 12% - Gravattack 9.3% - Ball Weevil 8% - Bullfrag 6.7% - Whampire 5.3% - Bloxx 4% - Atomix 4% - Walkatrout 2.7% - Gutrot 1.3% - Crashhopper 1.3% - Kickin Hawk 1.3% - Toepick 1.3% - The Worst
Q16. Least favourite alien introduced in Omniverse
24% - The Worst 14.7% - Bloxx 12% - Mole-Stache 8% - Bullfrag 6.7% - Astrodactyl 6.7% - Kickin Hawk 5.3% - Atomix 5.3% - Gutrot 4% - Crashhopper 4% - Walkatrout 2.7% - Toepick 1.3% - Ball Weevil
Q17. Favourite alternate Ben timeline
29.3% - No watch Ben 24% - Gwen 10 17.3% - Ben 10,000 8% - Mad Ben 6.7% - Dimension 23 6.7% - Eon 4% - Nega Ben 2.7% - Benzarro 1.3% - Bad Ben
Misc.
Q1. Favourite watch design
37.3% - Original Series 29.3% - Omniverse 17.3% - Alien Force 9.3% - Ultimatrix 6.7% - Reboot
Q2. Favourite alternate watch design
29.3% - Biomnitrix 20% - Gwen 10 18.7% - Negatrix 17.3% - Antitrix 8% - Power Watch 6.7% - Hero Watch
Q3. Favourite planet visited
32% - Anur Transyl 20% - Revonnah 13.3% - Mykdl’dy 10.7% - Galvan Prime 9.3% - Vilgaxia 6.7% - Piscciss 5.3% - Petropia 2.7% - Khoros
Q4. Favourite locations
34 votes - Undertown 23 votes - Ledgerdomain 23 votes - Null Void 22 votes - Bellwood 19 votes - Friedkin University 18 votes - Mr. Smoothy 16 votes - Forge of Creation 15 votes - Los Soledad 7 votes - Burger Shack 7 votes - Plumber Headquarters 4 votes - Incarcecon 2 votes - Mt. Rushmore Plumber base 2 votes - The Perplexahedron 1 vote - Plumber Academy
Q5. Favourite Vehicle
33.3% - Kevin’s car (Original) 25.3% - Rustbucket 18.7% - Proto-TRUK 13.3% - DX Mark 10 5.3% - Kevin’s car (Omniverse) 4% - Glitch
Q6. Favourite Kevin mutation
40% - Original series 20% - Ken 10 future 12% - Ultimate Alien 8% - Omniverse 8% - Alien Force 6.7% - Omniverse flashback 5.3% - Reboot
Q7. Favourite Omniverse redesign
66.7% - Ben 26.6% - Kevin 6.7% - Gwen
Q8. Least favourite Omniverse redesign
76% - Gwen 18.7% - Kevin 5.3% - Ben
Thoughts
(Putting every single response here would make this insanely long so I’ve just put the most detailed/most echoed responses & include all sides of opinions when possible.)
Q1. Thoughts on the Osmosians retcon?
Okay, first up, do you know how much work I had already put into building shit surrounding those fuckers by the time of the retcons? I had been working on this crap since AF season 2! But no, they gotta go ruin that in one fell swoop, thank you, much appreciated. Second up, I wibble on it? Like, working with mutants is fun and interesting and I've done plenty of shit with them as well, but in the end I'm always going to be a pro-Ossys person. Mostly the retcons left more questions than they gave answers (how, if Osmosians never existed, did everybody and their mother know Kevin was an Osmosian? why, if Osmosians never existed, did none of the people not-involved in this whole disaster with Servantis's mindfuckery look at Aggregor being reported as an Osmosian and go 'wtf that's not a thing'? do they really mean to tell me that not only did Kevin never bother to look into his heritage, but neither did research-happy Gwen? or am I expected to believe the Rooters made enough fake information and put it out publicly that they fooled literally everyone? and if they did then why? when it would've done the same thing with less effort if they'd just, let Kevin be a mutant with a Plumber father who died) and I feel like they didn't really give enough to justify them. One of those cases of 'making your work less interesting to make it more 'accurate''. Personally, I forever keep working on Osmosians (where's the line where it just starts becoming your shit, I think I may be heading there) and I love on mutants and I flip between or combine the two as needed for whatever story I want to tell.
While the fake memories plot isn't great I think it's for the best because the original series meant for Kevin to be a mutant while UAF changed it to alien. I like him better as a mutant human. Too much alien connections in UAF.
I could scream for hours. Easily one of the worst decisions they ever made. Omniverse picks and chooses what canon to follow from AFUA + the original run and throws it in without care or concern to what it means for the timeline. Retconning something and keeping the effect it had is just bad writing. Kevin coming to terms with not being human and that’s okay was important to me when I was a kid. Knowing that he’s just been on an unending series of brainwashed nonsense all his life deprives him of his agency. I hate this decision more than several dozen essays could ever convey.
I wasn't mad about it. Mainly because I liked the idea of Kevin being a mutant than an alien. Alien Force really was pushing that aspect even with Gwen. To the point where she called her powers 'not spells' because of her heritage. Stupid that the rooters and fake memories were a thing, but necessary.
I was never a big fan of the Rooters Arc, but this doesn't bother me too much. It makes UA a little weird with Aggragor, but again, it doesn't really bother me, as most of Omniverse didn't explore Kevin (While UA Did), and was mostly about Ben.
Osmosians were such a cool idea, and it would've allowed for more exploration into what Mike Morningstar was as well, but just writing them off as mutates is so boring. As well as it makes Aggregors whole part not really make sense, like who is he then.
While well executed, it was unnecessary. You could have had the same story line where Kevin was used to mutate other kids and still had him an Alien. You could have had it where it was another alien species that used Osmosians to morph other species to theirs; a call back to the DNAliens if you want.
Q2. Thoughts on how the Ultimate Kevin situation was dealt with in UA?
Terrible. They wanted to go far. They wanted to go dark. But they didn't think their viewership could handle it so they dialed it back. I will always be curious to know what they would have written if they didn't have those constraints. Because the final product was a mess of contrasting tone and unsure footing about how far to go with questioning our hero's moral compass. They wanted to push Ben to see what he would do and apparently, we got that he would kill Kevin and maybe Gwen if she got in the way of saving the universe.... but not really because he didn't. And then the gang is happy all back together like none of it ever happened. They wanted to explore dark themes but have it leave no consequences on the characters. Also... it was so ableist and awful and Kevin deserved better than how Ben and Max (and the writers) treated him.
If they did everything the same but the argument was 'we need to capture him and lock him away' instead of 'we need to kill him'? I would be fine. It's the fact that they slipped so quickly into murder, into murder by his 16-yo bestfriend, that gets me. Like, there's apparently no space between 'recklessly risk our safety trying to talk him down' and 'Ol' Yeller his ass' and that just does not sit right with me.
Ben should have looked for alternate solutions before jumping on the "Let's kill Kevin" train. I understand why he did (this took place immediately post-Aggregor so Ben was still traumatized about having lost so many people and because he failed and "let" Kevin get turned into Ultimate Kevin, he felt as though every person Kevin hurt would be on him) but I wish he hadn't.
Pretty good actually. I like Gwen's emotions becoming a hindrance to the job, I like Ben putting on his big boy pants and I like Kevin going up to Aggregor and saying "y'know, I was a big boy villain once and I'm tried of just getting kicked around" (obviously paraphrasing)
Other than the scenario being overplayed, I think Ben was right. Kevin was eventually going to end up killing Gwen and he'd already put others in the hospital. He needed to be stopped.
Ben jumping straight to murder, yikes. Kevin dismissing Gwen to hang out with Ben almost as soon as he turned back to normal, yikes. Otherwise, it was an interesting plotline.
Really bad. Really shows how awful max and the plumbers really are. I mean , the guy saved the universe and now he clearly needs help but all they wanted to do was kill him.
it really felt like Ben just wanted to murder Kevin because he saved the universe that one time and Ben couldn't stand someone else being the hero for once
The worst, Max straight away wanting to put him down makes u wonder how long he's been waiting for that kind of opportunity.
I'm fine with it, maybe they could have spent some time dealing with the consequences of Kevin's actions, possibly even the ramifications it had on Ben and Kevin's friendship, but overall I'm ok with it.
Q3. Thoughts on the Plumbers
Plumbers ain't shit. Individuals can be acceptable or not but the organization as a whole has too much power, not enough oversight, utilizes child labor, uses a deathtrap of a hellscape dimension as a penal colony, has been shown onscreen sentencing people to imprisonment in said dimension without a trial, and I'm sorry the fact that a Plumber official could walk into a base with his team, assault several members of staff, attempt to kidnap a boy, admit to having and planning to continue to run illegal experiments on him and others, admit to having altered the memories of other Plumber officials, all in front of the entire base, and nothing was done until he tried to kill the golden child Ben 10 and failed, got his ass kicked by one of his victims, and in a place where presumably there were security cameras? And that the response was, again, to sentence him and his team without trial, take all the evidence, and peace out without so much as looking at nonetheless apologizing to his victims? Yeah, that don't fly. Doesn't sound like an organization that has it's shit together. Either the Plumbers don't have their shit together or the higher ups were in on it until it became something that could actually damage their reputation, and either way I Do Not Approve.
They're pretty cool. I know everyone's talking about how Plumbers are space cops and therefore absolutely corrupt and bad but this is a fictional universe in which corruption in organized forces isn't a necessity. Plumbers don't function the same way real cops do, they don't follow they same chain of command, they don't have the same motivations and they definitely don't have the same biases. Plumbers perform an essential function in the Ben 10 universe, which is to capture and contain aliens who aim to hurt anyone (or those who Ben defeats).
My knowledge of the Plumbers' unfortunately doesn't go beyond UA. They're not my favorite thing ever. Some of my least favorite episodes were the ones where the Plumbers or Plumbers' kids are involved, except for the episode "Everybody Talks About the Weather". The way Alan is introduced is really cool and very X Files-esque, and it ties into the DNAlien plot very well. But throughout the series I stopped caring about the Plumbers in general and I think that concept was given too much attention.
They don't do what they're meant to. They act like heros yet I don't think I've ever seen them do anything heroic. The DNAliens situation, the aggregor situation, dagon etc etc. Where were they??? Why did they leave the fate of the universe in the hands of a 16 year-old boy? Ben has the omnitrix sure , but he's still just one guy, how much can he fight? They showed up every once in a while but that's it. They were useless.
Of course the Plumbers have their problems, but looking at most characters we've met that were plumbers seem to be pretty good people. Max, Patelliday and Rook (and even Kevin, technically) are great examples of Plumbers, Servantis being a bad example of one.
Honestly liked it when it was disbanded. It’s cool they introduced Rook but like there’s so much wrong with how they run most things. My favorite version of the plumbers was tbh the first live action movie. Where it was just a bunch of old people watching out for Ben cause they actually cared about the people they protected (in this case Ben).
Q4. Thoughts on Grandpa Max
(The responses to this one were way more divided than I thought they would be omg)
He said Kevin was a mad dog that needed to put down. He's terrible. Military. Secretive. Kept his kids out of the loop and probably told the grandkids not to tell them about a huge and extremely dangerous part of their lives. Thus creating a gap between them and their parents that didn't need to be there. Child endangerment. Other than that....? He's important to Ben and Gwen so I tolerate him and he had some good life lessons to share. Also legendary adult figure in a kids cartoon who had relationships with multiple aliens.
He’s incredible, he worked in the Air Force, was going to be one of the first people on the moon (But he refused because he joined the Plumbers) had children with an Energy Being, he has a few grandchildren, and not to mention knows how to still kick butt despite him being in his 60s and was there to help Ben grow
He’s a complicated old man. Love him to bits in the original run and I love him in AF! He’s a utilitarian doing what needs to be done and suffering the consequences when need be. He does what he thinks is going to lead to the best possible outcome for the most people in any situation.
Needs to get knocked off his pedestal more often, both in and out of canon. He's got good traits, they're very nice, but there's other shit that gets glossed over, ignored, brushed aside, too easily forgiven, and just. They really needed a character who served double duty being a counterforce to him. Somebody to go 'wtf is wrong with you?' or 'yeah, no'. Ideally this would've been Patilidae, but no. We couldn't be so lucky.
Conflicted. Was he grooming Ben for plumber work, or just trying to support him in a situation he knew would be dangerous? It’s not made very clear...
I think he's got some sort of narcissistic personality disorder. I just can't forgive him for making Ben carry the burden of the Omnitrix at the age of 10 without ever explaining anything, and for not letting Ben and Gwen know he was alive after the Null Void grenade incident in AF. He clearly could have, if Helen could reach Gwen so easily. I think he views Ben more as an asset than a grandson at this point and that's really sad.
I love him! The progression from family hero to questionable old man felt kinda natural, like learning about a family member as you grow older and realizing they aren't perfect
He's awesome. He was a good role model for Ben and he was very supportive to both his grandkids. I hate that they made him mute in Omniverse and changed his design so drastically. I loved Max in every season from the original till Ultimate Alien. After that, he was pretty much just a prop.
Q5. And finally, give me your most controversial Ben 10 opinion!
It seems to be the worst thing to say that Ben isn't perfect and that Kai isn't demonic. And it's pretty standard for the women of color characters in every fandom to get the most hate so to me all the hate towards Kai when her personality is so close to Ben's AND she's also more hated than the ex-villain and the actual villains that tried to kill Ben multiple times just seems- hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. But really, and really I've needed to say this for a long time but I'm afraid of being strangled. Some fans will denounce incest/pedo shippers and people that interact with them and then reblog from a proud Bwen shipper with no self-awareness. Please I have the tags blacklisted are you safe to interact with and you just don't know? Or you're just saying you hate Bwen shippers to give yourself an out for reblogging their content????? Or are you all closeted incest shippers trying to maintain a public image???? I'm at my limit.
I do not think the reboot should have existed tbh :,D I know that it has a ton of fans and all due respect to them, but from what I've seen of it I don't think it was worth tossing away four interconnected series' worth of development and starting from scratch to end up with what we have now. I would be fine with it existing if we got an Omniverse continuation alongside it, but CN screwed OV over by the decisions they made near the end of it's run. So it's probably impossible it would return, even moreso because of the reboot already airing, and it would probably confuse younger audiences that don't know about Omniverse if two Ben 10's were running separately. I just really miss Omniverse, it had more potential and the reboot placed the final nail in for it to ever return.
The Ben 10 reboot is fun and meant more for kids rather than the ones watching for nostalgia. I didn’t like how Gwevin were sidelined and downplayed to make Ben look better. Sometimes it felt like Gwen was a bit naggy towards the two of them. I didn’t like how the fact that she was the only female lead how she had sometimes act like a parent or that they put Gwen and Kevin together just because. Their relationship felt forced and awkward a lot of the time. Omniverse’s designs while controversial were fun and unique but I didn’t like what they did with Gwevin, especially Gwen.
Kevin is totally smart enough to figure out an Omnitrix with the blueprints in front of him, we see him do amazing shit with technology- including the Omnitrix- in the OG series, people just don't notice he's as brilliant as Gwen because the show never made it as big a point that he and Ben were so very smart like it did with her before the reboot, so now they're being forced to acknowledge that Kevin might have two braincells to rub together and they're pushing against the supposed 'change'.
idk if it's controversial but there should've been way more episodes of just gwen & kevin & rook without ben or ben having a very minor role in the episode. just more time for those three to shine and show off how capable they are without ben always having to come in to save the day at the end
Gwen and Kevin aren't good friends to Ben. I mean they were initially, but once he got famous and they didn't, they stopped putting more than a half-assed effort to help him. They also don't really consider his feelings nor really care about the toll heroing takes on him.
The Reboot has the best jokes in the entire franchise and I don't why people give it so much crap.
Kai Green is an abuser and I refuse to find anything redeemable about her character. "Worthy to wield Excalibur," my entire ass. And Ben and Julie's breakup was good for them both, as people, and just as much her fault as it was his.
Ben 10 is an incredibly flawed show and people need to stop getting butt hurt when the blatant misogyny, and copoganda in the show get pointed out or when any even minority critiques Ben's character.
Ben is the worst character in Ben 10 and the whole franchise would be better off without him.
Azmuth is fine for the most part and malware was not exactly the most understanding person
I think Ben should've stayed single. Every episode where romance (or the girl Ben was dating) was the focus of the episode was pretty boring to me, personally.
Ben's parents were right to try to stop him from being a hero, so were Gwen's.
Ultimate alien force season 2 and 3 were amazing.( not comparing the OS since obviously that's the best, or omniverse since I haven't watched all the episodes of that)
Pierce deserved to die for being a boring character. I just wish his death had actual consequences.
The reboot is a genuine improvement over the original continuity in MANY ways!
Oh geez, um, Kai was a good character, just her and ben were obviously toxic. Not everyone needs to like Ben and she isn't an abuser, they just don't get along and that's fine but by God, why did the writers have to force them in a relationship? That's all I could really think of on the spot. Oh! And that the first two season of AF were a watered down version of Ben and the plot focused more on Gwen and Kevin than it did Ben. He felt like a side character and I'm not mad about that, but I don't understand why people praise that characterization of ben when I remember more about gwen and Kevin then Ben. Dude, I've been watching the show for the past week and I can name more about kevin and gwen because they're memorable.
Azmuth's hot af, but y'all aren't ready for that conversation...
----
If you’ve made it this far then thank you!
Again huge thank you to everyone who submitted a response and if you have any questions/comments please feel free to leave them in the replies/send me an ask/dm/whatever ^^
45 notes · View notes
Text
Happy new year everyone 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉
I know 2020 has been hard for everyone.
And I want everyone to know, suffering isn't a contest and we all suffer in different ways. But I feel I should give my year in Review. Just some things that happened to me personally.
This was an intense, and long and spiritual and emotional journey for me...
I really discovered what it meant to have community, family and what my life means to me.
But I feel I need to get this in writing cause I can remember the year with vivid detail and I will probably forget if I don't get it down.
Do I have to share this publically online to my tumblr account for a bunch of strangers to see? not really.
Do I want to?
Yes. I think so. Just from how so many people on tumblr and real life have touched me.
This is kinda long and no one needs to read this.
(idk how to do a readmore on mobile. But this is where I would add it later. No one needs to read if they don't want to.)
January/February: (and some background on the last five years of my life cause.....well. it's important.)
As people knew, I got way into Invader Zim last summer. I spent most of my waking life working a dead end job at a grocery store. I lived a sad lonely life, going straight home to a single dark studio apartment. With not many material possessions outside of games, my laptop and my tablet to my name. Half of my material loves, such as home furnishings and books were still in boxes from when I moved in. In case I ever had to move again, or get some "big screenshot or copywriter" job in the city.
....
I lived in that city in the same dead end job and apartment for five years.
No friends. No social life. I often refused to make doctor appointments or attempt to establish myself in that city. I didn't even talk to anyone in my workplace.
Work. Go online. Go to sleep.
I lived like that for five years.
I thought it was good.
Even my therapist thought I was doing well.
When I really wasn't. My main character flaw I struggle with is motivation.
I can talk to someone about very detailed plans I have to fix a problem... But I tend to never follow through.
Just because I can describe in detail how to fix my personal problems, it doesn't mean I will do it.
(I have gotten better at this but it's a major struggle)
I might have been a Zombie during the day...
But by night I was pouring my soul into my AU and my analysis.
After being so thoughly ignored or overlooked by the Naruto fandom and the Undertale fandom, I felt like I had finally found my home and was settling into a community there.
I just loved that people loved what I had to say.
Especially my AU.
It's no secret that a lot of themes in my au revolve around found family, grief, and loss.......
Fatherhood, in particular.
What it means to be a father, how much do you need to try when you mess up, how willing should a child forgive their parent, especially those that have wronged you and how much of it is factually accurate and simply a self projection of what children want their parents to be and visa versa... What amount of forgiveness and change is nessasary...is it needed?
....
It's no secret that a lot of my AU is a giant coping mechanism for my Dad's death. Espessially the falling out and growing closer with a lot of my family members throughout the years following his death. (Most of the time I keep it ambiguous to how it relates to my personal life unless I include a readmore that states so outright. I feel my au can be enjoyed by a variety of people in the fandom who don't need to know me as a person or my life story.)
My Dad passed away in 2016 in February and my family still feels the aftershocks to this day.
It's part of the reason I moved to the city, alienated myself from my family and people that loved me and refused to experience life for five years.
My entire world was Zim, and I was okay.
March: When America finally realized and started to feel the effects of the pandemic....
A lot of people got scared.
Me included.
I didn't have any streaming services or access to the news. So I only heard accounts from my mom.
I didn't understand why the store was so dead quiet and empty for a few days, then it went into mass chaos and panic in the span of two days.
It felt like Retail black friday in the worst way. Everyone was packed like sardines. Everyone was yelling. The lines at the registers bled into the clothing department.
I was witness to customers shoving others for toilet paper, being rude to cashier's and just overall unpleasantness.
At the time, I didn't even fully grasp what the pandemic was, and I feel a lot of people at the time didn't either.
I ended up absentmindedly scratching my eyebrow in front of a customer and she screamed and villanised me for it. That they didn't want groceries touched by my "unclean hands"
I ended up breaking down into tears.
The customer behind me gave me a hug and told me I was doing a great job.
But the damage was done. It was the final straw, I couldn't stop crying and I was breaking apart.
Thankfully my Boss (the one who likes me) pulled me aside and asked what's wrong.
It was then that I quit. No notice. Same day. I had to get out of there.
I was planning to move to an apartment with my sister in the summer, but my Mom offered for me to move back in with her temperarily just so I can get out of the city and away from the pandemic.
So I did.
I got scared, broke my lease a month early and quit my job of five years that gave me nothing back.
He told me, "take care of yourself and your family, I won't keep you here, do what you need to do."
So I did.
April-June:
A very eventful few months.
My mom offered for me to live at her place, but for some reason she was acting like I would live there forever. That this wasn't a temporary arrangement, and that I didn't have an apartment set up already.
This was in large part to my sister, who had lived with my mom taking advantage of her for years.
Even though my sister and I were going to move in together, I was just never sure about it cause of how she never packed her stuff or made any effort to find a job.
My mom often acted like I was lazy and not searching and was treating me like... Well, an unruly teenager instead of a woman of 29 years. She acted like I was a failure for returning home when it was her idea in the first place.
I would have just been petrified in the city.
Like usual, I retreated to my au again.... And in the spring, something eventful happened.
In may, 8th 2020:
Tumblr media
I was invited by @rissynicole to join an invader zim discord.
Now, I've never really used discord before. I always thought it's interface is too confusing.. and I'm a member of a few other iz discords and I usually don't follow them that closely.
Rissy assured me it was different cause some friends of thiers made it and it was smaller.
Before I knew it, I was sharing memes and getting to know everyone there.
It wasn't long after I invited my partner in IZ crimes, @paketdimensioncomic who was genuinely wary of iz servers due to a bad experience with the last one they were a part of.
But soon they were sharing memes and laughing with everyone else.
My eyes were starting to open and I was able to connect to fans of my work in an interpersonal way. And I was able to discover new artists and aus I never knew about.
I was also able to meet so many others of the community and invite them to the server myself.
The moo-ping 10 server kept me sane while I was living with my judgmental mother.
Not only that, the summer was very productive for my au.
Drawing was all I did, and it was a huge break from the job as a cashier I had.
Not only that, June came, and with it, me and Ceph's first collab fic:
Tumblr media
A result of us just going back and forth in our DMs constantly about Professor Membrane and how he changed in ETF for the better and how much we adamantly stan "trying-to-be-a-good-dad-brane" and how much of his ETF development has to be implied off screen in order for the emotional resolution in the movie to matter.
The only reason I never professed my love for Membrane as a character in the fandom before the fic dropped was.... Well....
Membrane can be a decisive character in the fandom and I was so worried people would hate me if I did an analysis on him, simply because he's not the best parent in the world. (As an understatement)
Ceph and I really encouraged each other to scream our love for the science himbo loud and proud more frequently and so often.... I actually start to see less Membrane hate posts and breakdowns then their used to be.... I like to think it's a combination of Me and Ceph's influence, along with ETF and the Quarterly's painting Membrane in a slightly more nuanced light then he was previously.
I never wrote a collab fic before and it's such a rewarding and fun and unique experience that I don't think I'll ever have again. And I love working with Ceph on our fics so much.
So much so we did it again...
July-August:
Tumblr media
I never thought I would be one of those people who writes NSFW IZ fic... But here I am.
The Brainbrane au started.... An au of my au where Membrane and the Computer fall in love and Membrane makes him a body.
This ship was based around the idea where we joked that Membrane and Zim's Computer would have funny interactions if they ever met, under the pretense Membrane thinks Computer is Zim's parent.
Our headcanons morphed and shifted until we just full blown started shipping them.
Just because Membrane and Zim's Computer have overall REALLY entertaining chemistry.
It's a character dynamic never seen in the show or comics (yet) and I imagine thier interactions to be nothing but entertaining banter.
The fic was also born from spite... Making fun of the troupes and cliches that we found personally destestible in some questionable zadr fics.
So an angry ace and a demi-bisexual collab on a porn and end up blessing the fandom with
Compapa headcanons,
Computer being recognized as a more common used fanon character,
The ship of Brainbrane.
The fandom having a crisis of "oh God, not only are we xenophiles we're technophiles too!!!" Or "why you gotta give Zim's Computer an ass"
More android Computer designs
It was an eventful summer.
In the midst of all this, I moved into my new place, got a new job, and I was able to see my friend (who is def my platonic straight soul mate) who lives in Indiana.
She came to visit, showed me how to decorate and how to take care of my body better! Things were looking up! It was great.
September-November:
My job was at a boat store. If was approaching the fall and my hours were being severely cut.
I was getting into a rut of depression again.
I thought things were changing but the same routine I was trying to escape from was the same thing coming back.
But instead of letting it take hold, I decided I was going to do something about it... I was gonna visit a museum and go with my sister. Just... variety stimulation.
Well that didn't happen.
I talked about this shortly in my au itself...but..
My sister had a complete mental breakdown.
She stopped taking her meds, went off the deep end and was in the hospital a total of five times throughout November.
A lot of it was acting out and the perfect storm of environmental factors that made her scream and act out so she would keep going back to the hospital.
It was traumatizing for me.
I just can't explain what it's like. For her and for me to be in that position.
I'm not telling the full story and a lot of bullshit things happened I won't share here.
She got diagnosed with bipolar one and my mom expected me to be a caretaker for her.
I threatened to disown my family and move away out of state.
It was just too much for me to handle.
So much I was a nervous wreck.
I tried to pick up a second job... Cause my sister was in the mental ward so frequently and couldn't pay the bills.
But I was fired within a week cause I was so stressed I couldn't retain the basic information they were training me for.
It was an office job.
My dream.
It could have been.
I was fired from something I really wanted.
I was only there for three days.
I could not retain any information.
I was a mess.
My sister was a trigger, my mom wanted me to live with her. I couldn't live like this.... I had to get out.
I had to get out.
December:
Remember my Indiana friend?
Well the first week of December is my birthday.
My 30th to be exact.
While I did pick up a seasonal position at Target (not my first pick)
I took the first week of December off so I could spend time with her. Cause she agreed, I needed a break from this crap.
Surviving 30 years is cause to celebrate and if I had to celebrate with my sister I would have cried.
I know there was a risk traveling out of state during a pandemic...
But I needed out, I needed a friend..
And I kinda wanted to look at the place since I was considering moving there.
My friend's mom was sick so she avoided me and her daughter and got us a hotel room.
It was fun! I got to swim in a salt water pool, we talked about Naruto, I showed her the iz and su art books I brought, also Computer and Membrane tea.
I also got to meet her other friends and get crunk. And her bf who is super nice and funny!
I had a super fun birthday....
Until her mom told my friend that her grandparents had covid and that was what she had. And my friend got sick within that same day.... As did I.
I owe so much to her family.
I was an entire state away...about a ten hour drive from home.... She let me stay at her house. "The covid house" we called it.
Cause everyone (except the father. He avoided everyone and booked a hotel immediately cus he was an ER doctor) had covid within a day.
I called in, the test results were positive and I had to stay with her family for ten days quarantine before I could work again.
Which would have been fine....
If my tumblr didn't log me out perminately of my old account. @dana-chan325 .... Which really sucked cause I had a constant headache and was too sick to engage with tumblr or much of the fandom. I didn't want to make a new account when my head was in a bad fog and I could barely breathe or smell.
It's not like I saw much of my friend either.... We all slept at different hours and she had more symptoms then I did.
It was just netflix, danganronpa v3 and cry.
I was miserable, but at the same time.... Not?
I really feel like God himself was the one who pulled me off from tumblr, and my living situation.
Maybe a whole extra week feeling like a bobblehead was what I needed.
It gave me some much needed clarity on my relationships with my mom and sis and friend.
Running away to Indiana was not the solution here.
Once I was better within ten days and no longer had a leave of absence, I drove home.
I am glad I fully recovered (but from how I understand it, my dear friend is still ill. I'm praying for her)
I might have gone to work a bit too soon, cause I had an asthma attack after trying to unload a single cart in the span of six hours.
My boss lectured that my speed was unacceptable, and even though I explained the covid situation and breathing problems many times, she threatened that I'd be fired if I'm that slow again.
Que the next few days of work where they put me on register.
Instantly I was sent into a panic remembering the last time I was on the register and how that panic attack caused me to quit.
I even asked if I could go back to stocking, since my breathing had improved. My boss assured me that I was put on the register cause they needed help and nothing to do with my covid thing.
Then as December concluded and the new year began, my boss said that this was the last shift for me cause my position was seasonal and they were letting a lot of people go.
I then asked why I was on the schedule for Sunday, and he told me to ignore it and I'm free to reapply for full-time.
I mean.... They can act smart about it...
But putting your general merchandise stocker onto register after she had an asthma attack and missed working the first two weeks of December due to covid.....
Not a good look.
So once again, I'm jobless once more.
Will probably continue to live with my sister for awhile.
But I do not feel as if it's a bad thing....
I met so many good people this year....
My friend's family even gave me 500 usd to cover my rent since I couldn't work for a majority of December.
I've seen evil and good from humanity this year. I've seen acts of god, good friends and what my real family means to me as well as friends I consider family.
This year really made me look back at the person in the mirror and say,
"I deserve better."
And actually worked for it this time.
Oh and after Christmas I got a horrible yeast infection that burns over most of my body currently.
Tumblr media
Very accurate doodle to the pain I'm in right now.
(seriously my body is a fungus.)
But hey, good news, I respected myself enough to go to the doctor about it!!
So that's progress.
I really hope 2021 holds good things for me.
Thank you to the mooping 10 server for always being there and keeping me sane,
Thank you tumblr for liking my au and everything.
AND A SUPER SPECIAL THANK YOU TO @evartandadam and her family for housing me and my dumb diseased ass. Everyone, she is an angel and I can't express how much she means to me. Please check out her art and buy her stuff on redbubble.
Anyways... Byebye 2020.
I look forward to what I can accomplish for myself this year.
37 notes · View notes
Text
Planet Earth is Blue- 2
One
AO3
Logan had been a member of the Silver Serpent for a good three years now, three years being counted in earth time with the calendar app on Logan’s phone (which somehow still worked, despite there not being any internet service in space. Logan had yet to figure out why he could still watch YouTube or access anything with WiFi, really). 
During his three years, Logan learned quite a lot. In addition to learning a few words in Janus’s language (‘hello,’ ‘help,’ and ‘My name is Logan,’ the only phrases Janus said would really be useful), Logan also learned how to commit crimes in space. It sounded much more exciting than it actually was, of course, since most of the crime Janus and the crew committed was the smuggling of slightly illegal goods. The most valuable thing Logan had learned, however, was how to hack alien technology.
He had always been good with computers, but now with access to technology more advanced than anyone on earth could dream of? He was almost unstoppable. He single-handedly erased all warrants for Virgil’s arrest in three different galaxies, as well as cleaning up Janus’s record. 
There had been several close calls over the years, though Janus handled most of them nonviolently. There had only been one occasion where a space cop had gone mysteriously missing out of the airlock. Being aboard a ship with crewmates that had a various amount of arrest warrants on different planets wasn’t perfect, but it sure beat earth. Logan would take aliens over transphobia any day of the week. 
The Silver Serpent’s current load was a cargo hold full of Volatum, something Logan didn’t want anything to do with, as it was almost like a narcotic for the Umutu, the species native to Trappist-E and H, as well as a few weapons, all hidden under what they were legally delivering, a plant native to Kepler-62 called ibiryo.
The journey between planets was low-stress, as the only thing they really had to worry about was raiders- Logan had never met them, and hoped that he wouldn’t. But the entry to Trappist-E where they were to drop off the Volatum? The entire process was extremely stressful. First, permission to dock was needed- Janus took care of that part, as captain. Once permission was given, glorified border patrol guards would inspect the ship for illegal substances. This was the part that always made Logan nervous. What would happen if the Volatum and weapons were found? 
Logan stood in the hallway with the rest of the crew, as per instructed, and watched the guards look around. Virgil glared at them as one opened the door to his room. It was only Patton putting a webbed hand on Virgil’s back that stopped him from hissing. Roman and Remus looked at each other, giggling at something only they heard. 
Janus put a hand on Logan's shoulder and gave a small squeeze. During his time on the ship, Logan found that while Janus wasn’t one to hold long conversations, he instead communicated via physical touch. 
“It’ll be fine,” Janus whispered so only Logan could hear. “I’m confident in my abilities.” 
Logan gave a subtle nod. 
It took an achingly long time, but the three guards that had boarded eventually come back out. 
“You’re free to land, Silver Serpent,” one of them waved as they stepped out of the ship. 
“Thank you,” Janus nodded, gesturing for the crew to follow him to navigation where they strapped into their seats in preparation for reentering an atmosphere. Going back into the pull of gravity was… an experience, to say the least. It reminded Logan of when he had been on a plane that had to land in the rain- bumpy, jarring, and overall making his insides feel like they had been turned upside down and then crushed with a weight. The first time Logan had reentered, he had been sick to his stomach. But now, after hundreds of trips to different planets, reentry was much more bearable, though still not at all pleasant. 
Logan closed his eyes and focused on his breathing, something he found helped. He only opened his eyes once Janus announced, “Gentlemen, we have landed!”
Patton was the first to unbuckle, and he immediately lay down on the floor with his arms and legs spread out. 
“I really don’t like that,” Patton mumbled. 
“Neither do I,” Logan stretched his arms above his head. 
“Alas, it is necessary. Now, we don’t have time to lounge around quite yet. We have to deliver,” Janus helped Patton up. “The ibiryo buyers will be here soon.”
“When will the second customer be dropping by?” Virgil asked. 
Janus just shrugged by moving his top set of arms. “Soon. But let’s get to work unloading.”
He ushered them to the cargo hold, where it was Logan and Patton’s job to hand boxes of ibiryo to Janus, Remus, Roman, and Virgil, who brought the boxes out to the dock to be picked up by the buyers. 
When the ibiryo was finally unloaded, Logan sat with the rest of the crew outside, his muscles aching. Roman and Remus’s words were muffled by their breathing apparatuses, which they had to use to breath in the oxygen-rich atmosphere of Trappist-E, as they needed nitrogen, not oxygen. 
The sunset of Trappist-E was close to that of earth’s sunsets, albeit dimmer, as the sun that the planet orbited didn’t give off nearly as much energy as earth’s sun. The air was thinner, making it a little difficult for Logan to breathe, especially when he was still wearing his binder, but it wasn;t nearly as bad as it had been on Trappist-H, where Logan hard to borrow one of the breathing devices and stop binding. 
Janus suddenly stood up next to him and raised one of his arms in greeting to a figure walking towards the now-empty docking area and began to walk towards them. 
“Is that them?” Logan whispered to Virgil, who sat next to him. 
“Yup,” Virgil replied. “I don’t know who they are, but I’m pretty sure they’re some kind of gang leader. You could probably find out with your fancy computer skills, Teach.”
“Probably,” Logan agreed. “Though it would likely take a lot of sorting through criminal records on this planet.”
Janus and the newcomer walked back to the ship. “Roman, Remus, go get the gifts for my friend here.”
The twins nodded and stood up, hurrying into the ship to bring out the Volatum. The newcomer left their hood up when they spoke to Janus, but Logan could tell they were Umutu- the coarse black fur around their hands gave it away. “I take it that my gift is in good condition?” they asked.
“Of course. Nothing but the best from my crew,” Janus replied. 
“Very nice. Still the price we agreed on?”
“Correct. Who would I be if I changed the price upon delivery? A government agent?”
Janus and the Umutu buyer laughed. “Ah, here it is,” Janus took the boxes from Roman and Remus. 
“Thirty pounds of Volatum. Twelve guns, twelve cases of ammunition,” the buyer inspected. “It seems to be in order. Let me transfer the payment and I’ll be on my way.”
Janus nodded and waved Logan over to wire the transfer. Logan held out a tablet and typed out a code that would allow the funds to be untraceably deposited into an account Logan had set up for himself- most of the funds were used by Janus without Logan’s complaint, as he didn’t really have a need for the money, though he did purchase a small souvenir for himself after every planet he visited. 
Each trinket was put carefully in the drawer of his nightstand, though to anyone else it would look like a drawer full of clutter- a ball of yarn made from a cotton like plant from Roman and Remus’s native planet, Wolf-1061-C. A branch from a tree-like organism from Gliese-667-Cc. It was also comforting to know that the type of shirts that proclaimed “I went to New York and all I got was this t-shirt” we’re not confined to earth’s tourism culture- he had several of those, each from a different planet. 
The Umutu took the tablet, typed in a code, and handed it back to Logan with a nod.
“Crew of the Silver Serpent, I salute you,” they said.
“Pissing off authority is what we strive to do,” Janus grinned. 
“A noble cause. Now, I will be on my way.” 
The buyer left the docks, leaving the crew alone.
“Well,” Logan announced. “I’m going to go to my room and sleep. If you see something interesting in the market, buy it for me?” 
“Of course!” Roman replied.
“Definitely,” Janus nodded. “Well be taking off in a few hours, so now would be your chance to go shopping if you want to.”
“Thank you, but I’m exhausted,” Logan walked back into the ship, where he tugged off his binder and pulled on a sleeping shirt before crawling under his exceptionally warm and light blankets on his small bed and falling asleep almost immediately. 
He woke to shouting. 
Stumbling out of his bedroom, he put his glasses in just in time to see Virgil running past him from the engine room to the front navigation, screaming some untranslatable words at the top of his lungs (untranslatable because there was no English equivalent, not because the translator device refused to translate unpleasant words. He had heard plenty of those streaming from Virgil’s mouth when there was an engine malfunction).
Logan took a moment to realize what was happening before chasing after Virgil. 
“Who’s chasing us this time!?” Logan shouted over the clanking of the engines and the scuttle of Virgil’s spidery legs against the cold metal floor. 
“The cops!” Virgil shouted over his shoulder. 
“Those motherfuckers!” Logan cracked his knuckles as he ran after Virgil. 
Logan slid into a seat and began typing at a tablet. “What’s their ship name? I’m going to slow them down! Wait- are you kidding me? They’re using an unsecured network… hold on. Patton, look out the window and tell me what’s happening.”
“They’re still shooting at us! Wait! They’ve stopped! And now- now they’re… flying in circles?” Patton hopped out of his seat to the thick glass panes that served as windows to report what was going on as Logan typed commands into the tablet. 
“Perfect! This won't be able to last forever, so get out of here!” Logan told Janus and Virgil.
“Virgil, can we warp?” Janus shouted over the engine. 
“Once! Now go go go! Now do it now!” Virgil shouted back.
With a flip  of a switch, the crew of the Silver Serpent successfully evaded the law once again, and with shouts of “ACAB, BITCHES!”, they arrived in the Fireworks Galaxy.
Had Logan been on the spaceship equivalent of a cap car, he would have heard the confused shouts of the space-cops as they tried to figure out what had caused the sudden malfunctions in the steering mechanisms and the reason only the left engine was working. But Logan was not on the space-cop car- he was with the crew of Janus’s ship, with the different species he had learned to call his friends, his family, shouting obscenities at the space-cops, as all upstanding citizens did. 
“Well,” Remus announced. “Fuck the police! Jan, where are we going next?”
Janus shrugged. “Wherever we want, Remus. Wherever we want. Logan, you pick.”
Logan froze for a moment, not used to the spotlight being on him. He looked out the window at the galaxy, at the nebulae and planets and countless stars, at the infinity that was the universe. He had seen things like this before, of course, but he could never get over the sheer vastness of space. 
“Let’s go to that one,” he pointed at a random planet. 
“That one it is,” Janus gave Logan a six-armed hug from behind. 
In addition to learning how to hack spaceships, Logan also learned that Patton’s and Janus’s hugs were quite possibly the best in the entire universe. Janus’s multiple arms made hugging all that better, and Logan leaned into the taller humanoid (Logan still wasn’t quite sure what descriptor, exactly, that he was supposed to use. Janus wasn’t a figure, as those were shapes in fog or darkness. He wasn’t a man, which was made obvious by the four extra arms and shimmering golden scales. Janus wasn’t just a friend, either. Logan considered them all family, but he did occasionally wish there could be something… more with Janus. So Janus was simply the taller humanoid, as not even Logan had the proper vocabulary to describe him).
Logan watched the galaxy pass by, still in Janus’s protective hug, as the Silver Serpent flew to the planet and had pointed to.
Life was good. Life was happy, even! 
Those were words Logan had never thought he would have been able to truthfully say, not when he was back on earth. But now? Now, in space- which had seemed like a far off dream- Logan could truly say he was happy.
32 notes · View notes
aminiatureworld · 3 years
Text
Storms
Ship: RFA + Minor Trio and GN!Reader
Warnings: None
Word Count: 5,431 words total; about 700 per person
Premise: A rewrite of an old request I wrote back in 2017 (link here).
Author’s Note: These are less headcanons and more fics outlines lmao but hope you like this rewrite. I do considering I can barely stand reading the original, my writing has thankfully improved, and I hope it will continue to do so. I haven’t written in 2nd person in literal years (3rd person ftw) so I hope it doesn’t come off too strange. 
Two notes. Firstly I’ve done my best to make the reader gender neutral. If you catch any gendered terms feel free to tell me so I can fix it. Secondly, I haven’t played Another Story yet, rip my broke ass, so if V and Saeran are a bit out of character, that’s definitely why. I’m working on it haha. In regards to V I simply know almost nothing about his route, and in regards to Saeran I’ve decided to ignore what I know about his route, mostly because this was hitting 4,000 words at that point and an in depth HC involving canonical thing would probably be about that length. Sorry this is so long and thus the final HCs a bit rushed. Thanks for putting up with me! Hope you enjoy!
Ao3 link in reblog
Tumblr media
Zen
Having a fear of thunderstorms was one of the most obnoxious fears on the planet sometimes. Especially when one is surround by 60 mph gusts of wind and the house one lives in feels like 80% glass.
This was the predicament you were left in when a series of storms passed through the first week you and Zen were officially dating. Oh joy.
Despite how in love you were with Zen, revealing one’s fears, especially when they seem vaguely irrational, is a difficult thing to do, so you teetered towards Option B
That being: Don’t tell anyone, keep calm, if you need to take a break go to the bathroom or say you forgot something in the bedroom. Okay? Okay.
However this flawless plan of attack lasted only about five minutes, and the first clap of thunder had you ready to bolt under the bed.
Zen, bless him, was utterly oblivious, listening to the backtrack of a song he was working on and occasionally making such benign comments as “that’s a lot of rain” or “wow that was loud”
Yeah. That was loud. Help me.
Eventually it got a bit… much, and you had to make your excuses about getting a book from the television/living room. Since it was in the “basement” part of the complex you’d figured that it’d be easier to hide out there. Just turn off all the lights, try to find earplugs, then count down the time until the storms were over.
Unfortunately the weather wasn’t adhering to this plan very well, how typical of it, as the storms were supposed to last until the early hours of the morning. And it wouldn’t exactly be unobtrusive to not eat.
So after ten minutes in the dark you went out to help Zen prepare dinner. At least no one needed to go to the grocery store. And today’s menu included Japchae, so always a treat! It was going to be okay, nothing was going to happen. It’s fine.
At least that’s what you told yourself until a particular bright flash of lightning streaked the sky and you promptly jumped and dropped the sweet potato noodles on the ground.
At this point Zen switched from oblivious to overly concerned. Say what you will about him but he was truly a sweetheart when he noticed something was wrong. As he helped you pick up the spilled noodles, assuring you that there was enough still in the package to use, he asked what was wrong
You explained that when you were little your grandparents had a house in a village in the countryside and one summer day lightning struck a powerline, causing it as well as two houses close to yours to burn down.
Zen responded with such concern. “Oh MC I’m so sorry to hear that! Was anyone hurt? No wonder you’re uncomfortable around storms now.”
“It was such a long time ago, and it’s so unlikely to happen again my lifetime… I don’t know why I’m still so afraid, it’s so stupid.”
“It’s not stupid to be afraid of something. You don’t have to hide your fears around me sweetheart. There’s no shame in it.”
Unfortunately words usually cannot make fears go away, but safe to say you were touched. Picking up the rest of the noodles and disposing them you and Zen shared a sweet series of hugs, and maybe you wouldn’t continued down that route if the water hadn’t begun to boil and dinner was once more brought back into stark focus.
Afterwards you guys ate in front of the tv, turning on a random crappy show and making fun of the announcer.
You could still hear the thunder every once in a while, but Zen made sure you felt safe and happy, cuddling you, doing something to draw your attention to him at the beginning of each clap of thunder, and keeping up a steady stream of conversation, even about the most mundane of things.
Your fear still wasn’t gone, and you still weren’t excited for the rest of the week, but at least you had someone with you who truly cared and was actively trying to make you feel better. You knew Zen would always be there for you, and that knowledge would carry you through the most anxious of times, to the other side.
You truly loved him so much.
Tumblr media
Yoosung
Sometimes you wished that you could disappear into something as easily as Yoosung did, both with his games and with his studying.
Yoosung was in his first year of veterinarian medical school and, having just passed the first series of exams, had invited you over to the apartment he was leasing, for an evening of games, television, and overall hanging out. It would’ve been more of a date, but the weather was impressively stormy and, much to your relief, it was decided that staying inside was the better option.
Yoosung was loading up a game on the tv and you were checking to see what remained in the fridge, when a bolt of lightning raced across the sky; suddenly you became aware of just how very high up apartment buildings tended to be, and, much like usual, the logical part of your brain repeating Googled information about lightning rods was replaced by a static of anxiety floating around in your brain.
Returning to the TV room you nervously picked up the controller, hoping that Yoosung wouldn’t notice. Not that you didn’t trust him to understand, indeed you’d hardly met anyone as understanding as Yoosung, but it was more that years of being told “it’s just rain” had kinda gotten to your system.
The first half an hour or so was alright, the quiet mental notes you were taking told you that the storm was still far enough away, although there was no doubt it was getting closer; something reinforced by your, hopefully, discreet checking of the weather app.
When the storm arrived, oh boy did it arrive.
The winds felt unbearable, screaming terribly, rattling the windowpanes with fast, stinging rain, so much so the outside looked less like the outside and more like the middle of a whirlpool. A whirlpool that occasionally set itself on fire, the lightning dispersed by the odd shadows of the rain.
At this point all pretense fell out the window.
“MC?” Yoosung looked over as you’d dropped the remote and drawn your legs up to your chest, burying your face in your knees, all thoughts blocked out. “MC.” Yoosung said a little louder, putting his own remote down on the coffee table and scooting over to where you were sitting on the couch. “Hey.” He wrapped his arms around your shoulders, something vaguely uncomfortable considering the position you both were sitting in, but still a welcome presence, a bit of comfort making its way past your wall of fear.
“Not a huge fan of thunderstorms I see.” He said when the storm had calmed down a bit. You let out a shaky sort of laugh. Understatement of the century, wouldn’t you think?
“I have an idea!” Yoosung ran out of the room, leaving you to curl yourself up again, until he came back, a pair of headphones in hand.
“These are the best noise cancelling headphones I own, and they cost a fortune so they’d better work.” He placed them over your ears, and immediately you noticed how muffled the sound became. Evidently it must’ve shown on your face, because Yoosung smiled even wider, nodding gently before picking up his remote again.
As the storm continued so did the gaming. At some point you guys ended up thrown about the couch, cuddling each other, and occasionally knocking elbows when the gaming got intense. When things were finally over you two lay there a little longer, although you’d taken the headphones off.
“Thank you.” You whispered, content.
“For what?” Yoosung smiled. “That’s what boyfriends are for.”
“Not all boyfriends.” You countered “You’re special. The best boyfriend one could ask for.”
And you meant it.
Tumblr media
Jaehee
I imagine both you and Jaehee not being huge fans of thunderstorms. They frightened you, and to Jaehee the volume gave her a headache, not to mention the fact you were both living in a cheap apartment on the ground floor while the coffee shop’s purchase was still new; and the whole structure had this obnoxious habit of vibrating with both the lightning and thunder, leaving everything a bit discombobulated and very unpleasant.
The coffee shop wasn’t much better really, open as it was, the whole front being 85% glass and only 15% brick.
So when you both checked your phones and saw that storms were on their way it was all about planning.
Since you couldn’t afford to close the shop for the week you instead put a large display in the windows, putting up cardboard trees, birds, and whatever else would block most of the view.
You went through the store, making sure everything unnecessary was unplugged.
Really it was probably a bit overkill, or at least Jumin and Seven certainly thought it was, but hey better safe than sorry.
The apartment was given the same treatment, blinds and shutters were closed, toasters and charging cords were unplugged, and Aspirin and earplugs were stocked up.
The week of the storms was really incredibly unpleasant, with you two sneaking in hugs and kisses whenever the line of customers was small, squeezing each other’s hands when a particularly bright streak of lightning flashed, or when the thunder seemed to become unbearable.
No dawdling home this week, much to the chagrin of both of you, who’d taking to park exploring and other such mundane things that both you and Jaehee had missed out on, her due to work and you due to being shut up in Rika’s apartment for eleven days.
Nevertheless neither of you were particularly keen to venture out in the middle of a storm, so instead you two headed home, a night’s worth of musicals and cuddling ahead of you.
Dinner was spent in front of the tv, although usually you two usually made a point to eat at the dining table it was in the most windowed room in the house and thus not meant to be.
Zen’s beautiful tenor might not have been enough to completely drown out the storms, but it was certainly a help, not to mention the large doses of cuddles you were giving one another.
But really the best part about it was just being able to talk freely about your fears, you both having the reference that those who don’t suffer with what’s widely considered an irrational fear in modern times don’t understand.
And that was really what kept it together for you two. You’ll always be there for one another, you’ll always understand one another.
Eventually the clock struck the hour and you both realized that not only would there be work tomorrow, but musicals can’t much be enjoyed when you’re only paying half attention.
You got ready for bed, both making a final sweep for plugged in appliances that might burn out if there should be an energy surge.
Right before you two drifted off to sleep you gave Jaehee a small kiss. “What was that for?” She whispered. Everything was so beautifully comfortable, so cozy and intimate, and your happiness in that moment overpowered all fear.
“I just love you, I love you so much.” You replied. Jaehee blushed, but returned the kiss.
“I love you too. Forever.”
Tumblr media
Jumin
It’s not that you hid it from him because you were embarrassed, well at least that wasn’t the main reason. It was more Jumin’s habit of blowing everything out of proportion, to the point of hindrance. That was really what you were afraid of, you just needed calm, need comfort, not yoga or whatever was to be the cure. And not that Jumin couldn’t or wouldn’t give you comfort, but the likelihood of him giving you calm was maybe a bit more debatable.
So you tried to keep it hidden, mentioned nothing of it on your way out the door in the morning, avoiding the topic in the messenger, even when Seven started to go on and on about windspeed – did the bastard know something?
Things seemed to be going… okay? I mean they weren’t great, you were constantly pushing down the urge to hide in a closet or something, but hey Jumin wasn’t aware yet. Success?
The trip home was certainly unpleasant, and the text that your husband was working late again certainly didn’t seem promising, but hey there’d be Elizabeth, and the bedroom had amazing blackout curtains. So, yeah, it’d be fineeee.
At least it would be if the damn penthouse didn’t have windows for walls. Something that certainly wasn’t normal or part of the regular plan.
Nor was it really possible to take a nap with the thunder so loud and your thoughts running high, really it’d probably be better on the lower floors if you weren’t so sure of people being there.
At this point the plan became less of “don’t let Jumin know, play it cool” to “survive whatever the cost”, which yes perhaps was also an overreaction on your part, but you knew damn well that all rationality had long fled, and you weren’t about to go chasing after it, that wasn’t what you needed right now. Rationality was also what had you go into a google wormhole about terrifying lightning related accident. Need one say more?
So you picked up a perhaps a bit disgruntled Elizabeth the 3rd, and buried yourself under the covers, stroking her fur at regulated intervals, trying desperately to pay attention to the video you’d loaded on your phone, to less than perfect success.
You wouldn’t say that you were dozing when Jumin came home, it was more like you were so deep in your fears that you really didn’t have room to pay attention to anything else.
“MC?” Jumin was instantly alert when you didn’t run to greet him at the door, something that had really become tradition between the two of you. Him being also a bit of a worrier – and a bit being perhaps a gracious way of saying it, lovely though it can be – his first thoughts were that you’d hit your head and passed out somewhere, but the fact that Elizabeth had also not come to greet him clued him in that you two were most likely holed up somewhere, perhaps napping, as had happened a few times before.
His surprise then when you turned out to be in bed, distinctly not unconscious or asleep, holding onto Elizabeth like a vice, was really immense.
“Darling, is something wrong?” You knew he meant something rather more akin to “Something is definitely wrong and I’m very worried and hope you tell me, if not I might become a horrendous paranoiac and never stop bugging you but I also want to be polite about it.”
You folded quite quickly, deciding that it really wasn’t worth it, you were in such a state, and the anxiety was still in complete control of your brain, excuses weren’t about to be made.
In a moment Jumin had enveloped you in a hug, which you were glad to accept, discreetly kicking his phone away hoping that he’d not notice it and get it in his head to send for a meditative trainer or some such thing, since that wasn’t what you were looking for, at least not at the moment.
Thankfully though he seemed more focused on your wellbeing, asking you to talk through your anxiety, gently drawing circles on your back in an attempt to get rid of excess tension. It felt good to be able to release your stream of consciousness, even if it was a bit embarrassing. Every time you started feeling a bit overwhelming you’d insert an apology here and there but Jumin would simply shake his head and assure you it was fine
“After all, you were so patient and understanding when I went through a crisis of consciousness, when all my emotions were suddenly flooding my mind. You listened to me then, the least I can do is listen to you now.”
After you’d exhausted your thoughts and you two had laid there a bit, cuddled together, basking in each other’s presence, you two went to the kitchen, where Jumin insisted he’d make dinner himself.
You weren’t happy to be in the windowed room again, but one flick of a discreet switch and they were suddenly shuttered closed.
“You can do that?!”
“Of course?”
“Ugh, the idle rich.” You shook your head and Jumin feigned horror. This act went on throughout dinnertime, another thing to help soothe your nerves, as well as Elizabeth, who was being awfully nice, curled up in your lap.
Every clap of thunder and Jumin would hold your hand or give you a kiss or hug, again trying to distract you.
Afterwards it was watching trashy soap operas – really you couldn’t understand why Jumin adored these shows so much, he really did secretly have a flare for the dramatics – and more cuddling.
As the night got later and you got sleepier you realized that, though the anxiety wasn’t completely gone, you really were quite content.
“Ah, I wouldn’t mind this every time it stormed.”
Jumin chuckled at that. “Why not? Anything to make you comfortable and happy.”
“You’re going to spoil me terribly you know.”
“Again, why not? Comfort isn’t spoiling someone, and if it was I’d spoil you rotten. You deserve the universe, I’m just giving what I can.”
And really the comfort he gave you was worth five universes at that moment, but wasn’t he always worth that much?
Tumblr media
Saeyoung
Saeyoung’s reaction to your fear would probably initially be teasing.
Not because he thought it was funny, more his brain still found sincerity a hard thing to grapple with, and he found his knee jerking reaction be to try and make fun, enough fun for you to forget about everything.
You knew this of course, had long ago learned his patterns, his mannerisms and habits, and initially you tried to play along with it, after all the only reason he knew you were afraid of thunderstorms was because he’d caught you running into the closet on the CCTV in Rika’s apartment. If it weren’t for that you would’ve been perfectly happy with him never finding out. Surely you could humor him a bit.
Well anxiety has a funny way of sharpening one’s nerves, and by the sixth joke you were ready to pull your hair out, both from Saeyoung and from the storm.
“Hey Saeyoung? I really do appreciate what you’re doing, don’t get me wrong, but I… I don’t think this is going to be the way to sort it out.”
“Oh… I see.” Saeyoung faltered. Saeran, who was also not a fan and was thus gaming, probably with the volume at unhealthy rates, still managed to snort out a “I could’ve told you that.” Saeyoung shook his head apologetically.
“I’m sorry MC… I, uhm. Yeah…” For a moment you both sat on his horrifically battered couch, the tension rising. Saeyoung screwed his face up in thought, before launching himself towards you, wrapping you up in a huge hug.
“I.. Saeyoung-?”
“Cuddles are a miracle cure.” He said, kissing you on the forehead. “They’ll chase away the storms, just you wait, and in the meantime, how about you teach me how to make something other than sandwiches.”
“I know you know how to cook.” You pointed out, at least happier with this approach, but Saeyoung shook his head.
“I forgot. I can now only make ham sandwiches, and that is truly a sad fate. Won’t you help me? Oh cook in shining armor.”
You rolled your eyes at that “Isn’t being the hero more of your route?” But agreed to make something with him.
Saeyoung really put everything into the “I forgot act”, and you soon found yourself distracted by his antics, peeling onions with a vegetable peeler, “accidentally” getting flour in your hair, tackling you with hugs and kisses the minute thunder or lightning even attempted an interruption. You found yourself either laughing or breathless from his attention, and when your anxiety was too difficult to ignore you allowed Seven to wrap you in a hug as you buried your head in his shoulder, his arms acting as a barrier for the sound.
Dinner took a horrendously long time to cook, something Saeran was sure to point out, but it really did help. As you two were cleaning up dishes Saeyoung paused for a moment.
“Being a hero really isn’t my thing you know.”
“Huh?” You’d sorta forgotten the earlier conversation amidst all the antics.
“You saved me MC, from myself, my own destruction. The least I could is chase away a few thunderstorms. I’d do anything to make you happy. So, I hope that you can be happy.
“What a silly thing to say.” You said, giving him a peck on the cheek. “I’m already so very happy, so incredibly glad to have you in my life. Indeed, if this isn’t happiness then there is no such thing.”
He really was your hero, your knight in peculiar armor. And you wouldn’t have it any other way.
Tumblr media
V/Jihyun Kim
V hated thunderstorms. Although he’d agreed to get his vision fixed, the date of the surgery was still some months off, and in the meantime every storm sent him in disarray, the sudden loudness of the thunder a disconcerting reminder of his own vulnerability, the fact that if even one thing in his life shifted he was likely to run right into it.
Being someone who had such a visceral hate, he was quick to become aware of your anxiety as well. It was something he just picked up on, before you had the chance to even think about hiding it from him.
“I see I’m not the only one who hates when it storms.”
You weren’t really surprised by his fear, he’d made it quite clear how he disliked to be reminded of the vulnerability that came from being blind, his eyes were already an ever present reminder of his past, a reminder of the feelings that had rotted inside him, which were so difficult to reconcile with.
So during the storms he ended up focusing most of his nervous energy on you, preferring that to morbid thoughts about the path his life had taken.
Coincidentally you tended to have the same reaction, and thus stormy days, though far from pleasant, became a semi-pleasant ritual, full of affection and comfort.
You pointed out the lightning and counted the miles out loud for him, something that helped him ground himself in the world, feel a little more in control of the situation, and in return he kept up a steady stream of conversation, telling you how your fears weren’t silly, how much it mattered to him that you were happy, and all the things you’d do together when the storms passed.
Sometimes you two turned on a podcast, or a video whose audio V had heard multiple times before, another exercise in familiarity that helped comfort you two. He also didn’t mind whether you kept the lights on or turned them off, only wishing to keep at least one window open, to keep track of the storm’s progress.
He also was in the habit of singing or humming at random intervals, his voice kept you in the moment, rather than in an endless loop of “what ifs”.
By the end of the storm you two were often exhausted, which is why they so often ended with you two tangled together, already half asleep.
One such time you were about to sleep, only barely awake to nod when V said the storm had passed.
“Jihyun,” you mumbled, hearing a hum in return. “I love you.”
V smiled, hearing that from you always felt like a moment of rejuvenation, of sudden clarity.
Kissing your forehead he hugged you a little tighter.
“I love you too.”
Tumblr media
Saeran
Saeran loved storms. Loved the sheer, raw, uninhibited power they exuded, the proof of how natural ruled above all.
You knew that. You also knew that storms were, in fact, the bane of your existence, and that you’re rather die than sit up and watch them with him.
But you also didn’t want to disappoint him, didn’t want to be a source of unhappiness in his life, so when Saeran eagerly looked out the window and called out “MC! It’s thundering!” You reluctantly dragged yourself over to watch with him.
At first it was alright if you focused on him more than on the outside, the awe and glee he took in watching the rain was endearing, the happiness marked so clearly and without inhibition. It was something that almost took your breath away in how beautiful it was, the joy of somehow who’d had so little of it.
Then the first clap of thunder arrived and you’d nearly sprained your wrist, slipping on the counter and banging your arm.
Saeran’s attention was immediately turned away from the thunderstorm and he looked at you curiously.
“Are you alright MC?”
“Yeah, I’m fine, it’s just, I’m fine.” You didn’t want him to know. It made him so happy, how could you ever take away from that, holding you bruised elbow you excused yourself to the bathroom for a moment, saying you needed make sure nothing was serious.
Of course that excuses could only last for so long, but the bathroom seemed such a comfort compared to the windowed rooms, and you lost track of all sense of time or space, curled up in a ball, leaning against the cold wall, the linoleum tiling keeping you grounded.
Eventually however it came to an end, and there was a short knock before Saeran turned the doorknob and opened the door.
“Something wrong?” He asked, immediately realizing the answer to that question after looking at your position. Kneeling down to face you he cupped your cheek. “Thunderstorms?”
You nodded, despite yourself. You really didn’t want to take this from him. But he didn’t seem to have felt like anything was taken, instead kissing you on the forehead and opening his arms for you to envelope yourself in them, something you did gratefully.
He held you, rocking you slightly, whispering random bits of words, random pieces of song, anything to keep your anxiety lower. Nudging the door shut once more you two stayed there for a while, and you finally felt yourself calm down.
“I’m sorry.” You mumbled.
“For what?” His tone was that of genuine confusion.
“For taking away watching thunderstorms from you. I don’t want to take anything away from you of course, I really don’t. I’m so sorry.”
“Oh MC…” Saeran peppered your face with kisses. “You haven’t taken anything away from me. I can still watch the thunderstorms, can still love them. Your fear isn’t something to be ashamed of, we all fear things in our lives, all have things we’d rather throw aside. I’m always here for you, always. It’s something I chose, and would choose over and over again. And that choice doesn’t mean I cannot chose to love thunderstorms, or watch them. It just means I have to make sure you’re comfortable as well. Besides, I wouldn’t want to do something that made you uncomfortable, not if I could do something about it. So don’t talk like that anymore, okay?”
You nodded, feeling reassured and slightly sheepish. He really was too good for words.
You two stayed in the bathroom until it became too uncomfortable, when you moved to the bed. It was a lovely evening, the storms having mellowed into a gentle rain.
Wrapped in Saeran’s arms you suddenly felt such a rush of emotions overcome you, contentment, bashfulness, love. Especially love.
You loved Saeran so much. And you always would.
Tumblr media
Vanderwood
You’d really rather not tell Vanderwood.
You two were the cynics of the group, sarcastic, unfazed, or rather you hid your general emotions to the larger group in a swath of wit and humor. You really didn’t want to tell him that you were afraid of what was essentially a fear that had outlived its purpose.
It wasn’t that you didn’t trust Vanderwood with your true feelings, indeed sometimes you felt as if Vanderwood was the only person you could trust with your true feelings, a sentiment they had reciprocated multiple times.
It was moreso you already knew how much people saw your fear as overreacting. Didn’t need your partner to join the bandwagon of slight bafflement and bemusement, even if they couldn’t help themselves.
So there you were, sitting on the couch, storm on full display, trying not to dig your head into the side of the lazyboy as Vanderwood sat typing away on their computer.
Unfortunately the storm grew more and more violent, and you quickly grew more and more uncomfortable, your plans of nonchalance having really taken a critical hit.
Before you could think of a proper excuse to go into the bedroom closet and have a bit of a scream a huge clap of thunder shook the complex and the book you’d held in your hands plummeted to the ground.
Vanderwood immediately got up and shut the blinds. “I forgot you don’t like storms.” They said, closing the last of the blinds before turning around to your startled face.
“You know I don’t like thunderstorms?!”
“Was I not supposed to?” They looked vaguely confused, and not a bit amused.
“No.” You buried your hands in your palms.
��No I was or no I wasn’t?”
“You weren’t.” You groaned. “It’s embaraassing.”
“Why should it be embarrassing? Look, MC.” They walked over to you, taking your hands in theirs. “There are a lot of embarrassing things people are in life. Of which I’m at least half of them. I cannot say a lot of things with great confidence, but I can say this. You aren’t the least bit embarrassing for having an incredibly common and practical fear.”
“A fear that should’ve died out with the invention of bricks.” You muttered.
“Perhaps. But we both know that’s not how it works.” They replied. “So don’t feel the need to hide something like that. Okay?”
You nodded and Vanderwood smiled, before giving you a hug, something which you gladly reciprocated.
It was a quiet evening, one of easy cooking and laughing at miscellaneous videos, of making fun of spy shows and swapping stories.
In the end you probably shouldn’t’ve been so surprised.
Vanderwood was an amazing partner, caring, funny, observant, loving.
Perhaps it was okay to have such a fear around them. And if it was okay with Vanderwood than everyone else would have to suck it up, because really two people’s opinions mattered to you on the fact, yours and theirs. And in this instance you’d found yourselves completely in accord.
39 notes · View notes