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mean-scarlet-deceiver · 3 months

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Hmm… have I asked for Thomas and Henry, or just thought about it hard a couple of times? XD;;

Ooh, a fun pair.

“You’re too fat, you need exercise! 😤”

“Oh, I can’t wait for dawdling tank engines like you; good-bye! 😇”

“Run my train on time for one thing 😡”

“You’re the only danger on the rails, Thomas 🙄”

‘Oh, I guess you can go to York… some of us are still too useful to become museum-pieces… 👿’ (paraphrasing Henry’s copium here)

All right, maybe it’s more “fun” like the one in “dysfunctional.” But still!

The thing about this is that it’s a “minor” relationship in that, for most of their lives, they’re in each other’s periphery. Then again, they’ve been in each other’s lives sooooo long. So it’s a very sibling-y sort of relationship. They’ve been on different life paths as long as they can remember… but ohh, the embarrassing shit they remember about each other…

Birds’-Eye View

This relationship has an eternal tug-of-war quality.

Of course, Thomas by instinct plays tug-of-war with all the “big engines”! This is who he is!

But the relationship with Henry is different because there’s a sort of long-term… equality? Like, with Thomas and Gordon, like, Thomas is cheeky, but the one time he ever got really out-of-line with Gordon (i.e. THOMAS’ FIRST APPEARANCE?) Gordon pretty much put him in his place, and overall the whole point of their relationship is that Thomas acknowledges Gordon’s superiority in at least certain key points, it’s precisely WHY he likes to measure himself against him! (I’m thinking a lot here of many, many TVS-only incidents… but even in RWS there’s “Hurry hurry hurry,” he puffed, pretending to be like Gordon.) Thomas can’t look upon Henry the same way, for “Henry I”-related reasons not least of all (see section below). But with Gordon, the whole fun of the relationship for Thomas is to tease him in a way that only works if Gordon is on a pedestal. Thomas doesn’t try to knock him off… he just likes to shake things up, freak Gordon out, then do a campy little victory dance and make his exit with a shit-eating grin.

Then there’s Thomas and James, and in RWS… post-strike, James is never again seen to give Thomas any shit for being a tank engine? (Actual gold star, I can’t believe we’ve found an avenue of insult that even RWS!James has left untrod.) So a key feature of his tension with Gordon and Henry is, apparently, removed. Of course they do clash, if you go by TVS they clash a LOT. But in this relationship Thomas kind of has the upper hand, when you take the long view. (Thomas is more famous and favored, and James just gets so consistently shut down by the whole universe the moment he tries any shit. Plus, their foundational moment was Thomas getting him cleaned up after his first Sodor accident, and I think that colours the relationship forever – even after James is no longer prepared to just take Thomas’s patronizing airs (“Hullo James! Feeling better? That’s right! Oh, I must go, I don’t know what the Fat Controller etc. etc…” Betcha James shut down that shit before too much longer, lol.)

If Gordon has the dominant role in that relationship, and if Thomas has the dominant role in the one with James… then the fun thing about Thomas and Henry is that the scale never permanently settles one way or another. Whenever they have a lil’ flare-up, they feel like they’re on equal footing, and perhaps that’s why the barbs they trade feel ‘specially vicious! The field is wide open, no one comes in with the advantage, and they are both in it to WIN it!

But why are they like this?

Early Years

The thing I envision about their early acquaintance is the mutual bafflement. It’s a similar vibe to the one hilariously (and accurately) depicted here with Thomas and Gordon, except it’s not about different autisms, and it’s less confusion and dislike and more confusion and annoyance.

My headcanon for Henry is that Thomas was the first time he set eyes on a tank engine. So his initial reaction is like “what is this deformed… creature? (and why is he so mouthy?) (and what does he do here?) (what is ‘shunting’? oh nvm it’s not like i’ll ever need to know, i’m a proper engine)” Even if my headcanon is discarded, however, Thomas sure is Himself and the sheer force of his fussy, self-important Main Character Energy would have had a similar effect on young Henry, fresh from the shop and still dazzled by the wide world.

Thomas, though he has a fair bit more worldly experience under his boiler bands, still isn’t nearly as worldly as he thinks he is! — and he finds Henry just as baffling as Henry does him. Henry’s not like any other engine he’s ever met. He’s the biggest for one thing. He’s also far and away the un-reliable-est. I accentuate this in QLIR because part of the “scam” is that Henry is presented to Hatt as, not perhaps the engine he envisioned, but still an engine with some on-the-job experience. Total lies, of course. Far from “hitting the ground running,” Henry is a babe in the woods, constantly stumbling and fumbling his way around the rails. He knows nothing of railway operations, yard etiquette, or shed culture. Someone like Edward can take this in stride and just be like, All right, new chap needs a little extra looking after. It’s just a thing. No biggie. (Topham Hatt of course is in his office spitting nails, but this ain’t about him.) Thomas, however, is at just that childish stage where a) he knows all this stuff and b) he can’t fathom anyone not knowing it. So he’s constantly having the reaction of “What is he doing???” And, since he has no filter, drawing everyone’s attention to New Guy’s odd behaviors, every time (which does nothing to help Henry build confidence!)

(Then again, of course, sometimes New Guy legitimately does some very strange stuff – Once an engine attached to a train/Was afraid of a few drops of rain… That, erm. That Doesn’t Help.)

Then you add on Henry’s… mis-build, and Thomas’s befuddlement is cemented. He’s a cast-off on the Island Railway of Cast-Offs, of course, so the idea of mechanical issues aren’t new, but Henry’s are at a whole new level and they regularly disable him. Thomas is definitely 100% on board with the idea that you can manage to at least finish any job if you just try hard enough… and certainly you can at least get out of the shed in the mornings, yeah? Henry is the first time he encounters an engine for whom this just isn’t true. Same childish point of view: Henry is weird.

Again, I cannot emphasize that “Henry is weird” is an attitude coming from Thomas… who in his own unique way is one of the weirdest little engines ever built (affectionate).

None of this amounts, on either side, to anything like hatred. Annoyance on both sides, to be sure, but even then I don’t think it’s their dominant attitude towards each other. We see in “Thomas’ Train” that Thomas is… intrigued by the potential of his getting to fulfill his long-term Train-Taking Goals. But he doesn’t gloat over Henry’s misfortune, and I think TVS was so correct in giving him a worried face mask even as he slowly goes off to get the train ready… He can’t even be properly excited until he’s out of Henry’s vicinity, and, mind you, Henry’s too ill to be intimidating just then – Thomas refrains only because he really does feel bad for Henry, and doesn’t want him to feel worse!

We also have, later in the same story, Thomas thinking “Henry says it’s hard to pull trains, but…” So, you know, they’ve talked before. (At minimum, Thomas has listened to Henry fretting to other big engines!) Henry is a real person for him, so to speak, by now a consistent presence in his life.

As they settle in to their early-canon dynamic, I reckon it’s now characterised by mutual envy. Thomas would LOVE to take trains regularly like Henry – and can’t fully comprehend why Henry treats it like a burden! Like, he knows Henry gets ill, but at a gut level I don’t think Thomas could truly “get it,” because there’s nothing more he wants in the world than to have what Henry has!

Conversely, Thomas himself is always complaining, too (They’re both so good at having a good grumble!) and I think it would kinda drive Henry nuts that Thomas acts like he has it soooooo hard for *checks notes* having a job that he can actually perform to everyone’s satisfaction?... Vicarstown pilot Thomas may feel ignored by their manager, but that’s a million times preferable to being an eighty-ton disappointment to a manager who now has buyer’s remorse and a consequently short temper with you… :/

Keeping Each Other Grounded

I have no doubt that in the early years Henry leaned as far into the “big engine” identity as he could, largely to ensure that he wasn’t dead last in the pecking order. But I don’t know that this worked… especially after Thomas is promoted to branch line, and now Henry and the others don’t have a station pilot to kick around for a while…!

I don’t know for sure how I come down on about the TVS notion that Henry really grows out the big-engine trio vs. RWS, where the big-engine trio more slowly dissolves with everyone’s mutual consent. But if Henry did sort of lose interest in this identity when the other two didn’t, it makes sense precisely because the big-engine thing never let him rise higher than oh let’s say Thomas, and keeping a few paces ahead of that mouthy little tank engine (who always fails upward!!) was a big part of his motive for adopting it to begin with.

Similarly, Henry is so practiced at seeing the down side of anything. This makes him great at poking a hole in Thomas's balloon, any time Thomas gets too proud and puffed-up.

The Good Times

Right, I started off focusing on the tensions just because whenever one of these fellas takes a potshot at the other it’s always a classic! And because I think mutual befuddlement is the keynote of their early relationship.

As we get even in a little into canon, however, I want to emphasize that they usually rub along comfortably. They’re kind of on each other’s periphery, always, but they’ve lived and worked together for so long. And they’re both good-hearted sort of lads really. So it’s impossible that they don’t care about each other, even if it’s almost always at a bit of a distance. We are more likely to see them when they’re shooting a poisoned arrow at each other, but we know that what they’re usually doing when they see each other at the junction is pleasantly exchanging news.

This means that I approve of (virtually all) the little TVS moments that point to this kind of bond. Usually it’s one of them looking concerned when the other is jumpy (Henry) or missing (Thomas… dude, you sure do go missing a lot in TVS). I likewise enjoy getting to see them happy for each other at the appropriate moments (usually this is Henry for Thomas, most memorable for me is “That’s my boy!” <- cheering on Thomas when he’s kicking ass in the Shunting Challenge).

This is basic, background sort of stuff. But it’s also, I think, the most accurate representation of them. The zingers are incredible but they are a small part of their relationship. A basic, background sort of quasi-siblinghood is what constitutes the lion’s share of that bond.

I don’t like the TAB notion that Thomas went out of his way to say a few encouraging words to Henry and thereby cured Henry’s rain-related anxiety wtfffff… but I do approve of the general idea that, even (especially?) in the early days, there was certainly a time or two when Thomas hung back in the sheds to encourage Henry, just the two of them. It’s only that I think his brand of encouragement would be more like… Gordon or one of the BBBs had said something shitty to Henry, and (after getting into it with them, because Thomas is not one to back down from a fight!) actually remembering (for a change?) that this was all about Henry to begin with, and hanging around for a bit until Henry was cheered up. Although unlike Percy’s very frank, open attempt to cheer Henry in “Gordon’s Whistle,” I think Thomas’s approach would be more like “what a wanker…” Like, he wouldn’t show any pity, he’d just open the door for him and Henry to both talk shit about the guy for a few minutes. This is, indeed, Henry’s preferred method of being supported, well above being shown any overt pity! And Thomas would get it! (You wouldn’t usually find me doing an emotional-intelligence point-for-point comparison between Thomas and Percy where Thomas comes out on top, lol. But in this case Thomas’s nature – which includes being a casual shit-talker – would really shine!)

Not So Different?

Indeed, I wonder sometimes if these two aren’t the two most similar personalities on the cast — they’ve just been shaped by very different external factors!

They’re both fussy, both self-important, and neither is one to suffer in silence. They’re both good steady everyday grumblers, not aggressively, but in a very normal, perhaps even very English way. They both have good hearts and are quite willing to work hard… though they have both been known to throw a tantrum that sooner (tunnel & rain) or a wee bit later (banged-up snowplough) brings operations to a halt. None of which is unique to these two, by any means! All these traits are pretty common among the RWS cast(s?) especially. But Thomas and Henry’s traits match up point-for-point. They’re just living different lives, but underneath the externals they’re awfully alike.

Now, of course, there is a key difference — Henry is a follower, and Thomas would make a terrible follower; he can’t handle cliques (he’s rather too rough-around-the-edges to ever fit in one, methinks!) Then, too, when Henry thinks he doesn’t get enough respect (often), he just grumbles but has to wait for someone to present to him an opportunity (Gordon and James re: the strike, Duck re: six lovely tenders). When Thomas thinks he doesn’t get enough respect (again — often), he’s soon off doing something — usually something that ranges from foolish to catastrophic, but the point is that he’s more active and Henry’s more passive.

Those are real differences and not just down to circumstance. However, apart from these two points, if Thomas were a large ill-built tender engine, I think a lot of his behavior would be Henryesque. Same but inverted if Henry were a hale and healthy tank engine. Their natures were cut from similar cloth, even if they underwent different treatments and design. They’re not as irritable as James, as even-tempered as Edward, as bubbly as Percy, nor (even if they had been built to his design) would they be quite as proud, nor nearly so dignified, as Gordon. They’re both Just Guys, in a way.

What are YOU looking at?

I guess there’s one other way they differ… in TVS, Thomas is so proactive about going out and introducing himself and making seven bajillion merchandise deals friends.

I favor RWS for Thomas’s essential nature, though – and he’s notably absent in the nationalisation era, when the others are constantly bumping against B.R. engines. “He’s on his branch line!” Yeah, but, man – Percy somehow has a circle of B.R. admirers. Thomas could be mixing it up more at Tidmouth if he were inclined to. I think he likes staying on his home base. I think Thomas is a quite a bit more of a homebody than Andrew Brenner seems to, in short.

This also means that I think Thomas and Henry are alike in this way, too. They’re happy in the lives they’ve carved out for themselves, new acquaintances can approach them if they like – but watch out! (“What ugly wheels you’ve got.”) Newcomers to the book version of the North-Western can expect Duck to give you guidance, Percy to peer upon you with frank curiosity, James to self-importantly shove himself into your personal space and try to put you in your place, Gordon to officiously introduce himself if he thinks you’re important enough to merit such an honor, the Caledonians to maybe break you in with a practical joke if you stick around long enough, Edward to extract your entire life story if you stay longer than about 48 hours. Thomas and Henry? They’re hangin’ back. Not on account of shyness! And they’re not excessively proud I don’t think – but they’re both just self-important enough that they’re automatically suspicious of anyone with the nerve to approach them.

(That said, annoying Thomas is just a first step in befriending him. Annoying Henry doesn’t work out the same way! He’ll just tell you to get off his siding, lol.)

It’s like Ariel Wanting to Walk on the Beach… with Legs…

A final and very important similarity: Thomas and Henry both distinguish themselves by indulging in some notably un-engine-like behavior.

Thomas is discontent in early canon in a way I certainly don’t think is true for all shunters (hence part of my characterization of my OC Poppet, who would never dream of pining to be anything but a station pilot. She has a grand job! What more could an engine want than an important job? Variety? Society? Scenery? Pah. Because Poppet's a normie, is why.) Even early in his branch line days, we see him taking up a yen to fish like the anglers he sees at the Els river – and is apparently called out for it by every engine to whom he announces this desire. (“Engines don’t go fishing??? *mutters aside* Loony…”)

Henry, too, is given the trait in TVS canon of liking to sit ‘round on mysterious sidings in the middle of a peaceful forest and take in the beauty of it all. Now engines often want to be a part of things – it seems they have a social drive – but to want to do all this slow, solitary, un-useful nature hobby stuff, that’s really something else. This is such un-engine-like behavior that it’s downright impractical! RULE 55 But it puts Henry into what is (for the Classic and New Series, at least) a pretty exclusive club, pretty much just him, Thomas, and – later in the same TV season – Duck. And, like, I accept this as canon because it feels right. Yeah, they’re our weirdos (affectionate).

In Our Lanes. Thriving.

So, yeah. Two nifty dudes, with a sibling relationship that’s so basic and understated that it’s almost dangerous to write them, because you could very easy press your thumb a little too hard and ruin their balance!

There’s a little crop of fics that give them the shared spotlight in a story, usually in the Vicarstown days, when Thomas does something nice for a struggling Henry. That idea tends to work quite well. I can’t think of many other times when trying to put the focus on their dynamic wouldn’t foil their dynamic. As I say for the last time – a keyword here is “peripheral.”

Their connection is strong mostly because of time and shared history, strengthened by a similar temperament, and spiced up by their chronic squabbling. You could too easily try to give them a nice Moment and overdo it, because they’re in the same tight family-like circle, but it’s like they’re each on one of the polar caps – just waving at (or snarling at) each other every so often as their shared world keeps chuggin’ on.

#long post #ttte #the railway series #chatter #ttte thomas #ttte henry #1+3

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taetaespeaches · 2 years

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Hi Liv! Ok, drunk anon here and I’m sliding into your inbox sober for once lmao… I’m going to send you lists of my fave fics, but I’m taking this very seriously as I’ve re read your fics SO MANY TIMES. Like I’m in here re-reading everyday, to the point that I feel like your fics are sort of a part of me in a way. Like they’re a very big part of my life is what I’m trying to say (not like you didn’t already know this given you’re the person I literally swoon over when I’m drunk haha)

So, I’m gonna send you my favourite fics for each of the long term couples in parts. It is probably worth mentioning that I am a slut for a few things - angst, smut (especially their first time with their girls 😩) and any kind of fluff that involves a shower or a sleepy bangtan boy, especially when they’re in bed… there’s just something so intimate about those two scenarios that always gets me, but I feel like that shows in my selections anyways lol.

I can’t narrow it down any more than I have (pathetic effort, I know) but it’s not my fault you’re a beautiful writer! Imma put my FAVES at the top, and then come the honourable mentions of fics that I equally love and always find myself coming back to.

Kicking off with our crack heads, Seokjin and Poopsie!!

Absolute absolute absolute faves:

I want to be happy about this but I’m just so angry >> Love, we need to talk >> I still choose you every single day

I’m counting these as one fic cause I’m a rule breaker, but when I say I sobbed when I found these. I SOBBED. I read these in the middle of the roughest break up in the history of breakups, and hearing the way Jin intentionally chooses Poopsie? I was a mess. I re-read these daily, for weeks. I still hold these very close to my heart cause they actually gave me a lot of lightbulb moments for my real life shit. Immaculate work Liv.

I’m a simple man, love

I told you, I’m a slut for fluffy showers.

Don’t you think you’ve made me wait long enough to get my hands on you?

Bashful Jin being the softest sweetest man to ever exist? And smut too? Yep this will always be a fave

Honourable mentions that I also adore with all my heart:

- I broke your nose, and I’m sorry for that, but what you’re doing isn’t fair

- Easy, girl. Everyone is just a few feet away.

- You’re not an asshole, you’re just a pain in the ass

- Why are you looking at me like that?

- It’s midnight, we’re supposed to kiss

- Why is there mistletoe in every room of the apartment?

- You're gonna wash my hair?

- I’m terrible at getting engaged, I forgot all about this part

Ok sorry for the spam… but I will be back!

Love drunk anon, x

P.S. I feel like I’ve given myself a horrible rep on your page as some crazy off the rails tequila maniac who is drunk all the time… when in reality I’m equal parts tequila maniac (only on the weekends lol) and introverted book worm with an obsession for my jazz vinyl collection. Life is about balance, right? 🫠

Omg hi!!!! I love you!! Stop this is so fucking sweet of you to go :( I actually had no idea that you’ve revisited the fics so many times and I am beyond flattered to learn this like wtf?! The things you’re a slut for- same babe 😩

I’m so happy and like relieved? maybe? that you found those fics while you were going through a bad breakup bc like that’s literally what they’re there for. Like I love when you guys read the fics during relevant times in your life and relate them to your lives. A lot of them are written based off of real emotions/experiences I’ve had so if that stuff can help any of you out either with aha moments or just with comfort then I’m fucking thrilled.

Omg “you’re not an asshole, you’re just a pain in the ass” - I sometimes wonder if I should have ever even written that fic so I’m so glad to see it on this list lol. And ah, “it’s midnight, we’re supposed to kiss” (boning in the new year 🤪) - I have to egotistically admit that I was giggling writing this one. Something about jin not being able to wait until you’re home 😤 please give me that

This is such a fun list and I love being able to see what fics have stood out to you. Ah this is so cool! Also don’t worry, I think your reputation around here is that you’re equal parts adorable and chaotic and I mean that in the best way lol. But omg hearing about jazz vinyl collection 👹 you’re so cool! She’s an introverted jazz fan book worm who knows how to let go! Very interesting, I’m a stan

#drunk anon #asks #you’re seriously the sweetest #thank you for this #i’ll probably read these asks as they come in and answer them later but know I’m like super excited about this lol

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ghostgardn · 11 months

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His Tutor

synopsis: Reader is Graham Lansing's AP Psychology tutor, when she meets him at his house he cracks a deal.

a/n: FINALLY WROTE SMTHN. This has taken me like a MONTH to finish, so Prom Pact fandom pls rise from the dead n appreciate istg 😤

You knock on a thick white door, the address matching Graham's text. A beautiful redheaded woman opens the door with a distracted look, when she finally focuses on you a bright smile spreads on her face.

"You must be Y/N, it's so great to finally meet you." She firmly shakes your hand and calls for Graham. You glance around the foyet before hearing thudding footsteps from the staircase.

Graham, shirtless, presses his stomach to the railing as he looks at you two. His mother quickly scolds him for his appearance and urges him to put a shirt on.

"One thing I've learned about being in a house full of boys is they think this is a glorified locker room." She gestured around herself before her head turned towards a double swinging door, where a phone rang loudly. "Make yourself at home." She said before excusing herself to answer it.

You slowly made your way around the clean white room, eyes sweeping over the many picture frames. Again there was some thudding on the staircase so you turned around to face the noise.

"Hey. Ready to get studying?" You asked, tilting your head slightly. A big smile grew on Graham's face.

"Yeah, follow me." He said, waiting for you to meet him at the staircase. You trailed up the steps behind him and turned the corner twice before making it to his room. Toeing your shoes off, you slipped comfortably onto his desk chair. Meanwhile he dropped into his beanbag chair, grabbing a basketball and throwing it up.

"Okay, today is Piaget's Theory. How much of that do you remember from last week?" You asked, looking over your notes and then meeting his eyes.

"The theory is that children's intelligence undergoes changes while they grow, right?" You smiled and nodded before flipping the page.

"Yes! There are how many stages?" You asked throwing him a paper to crush and throw in his trash can.

"Four." He stated, throwing the paper away. You tossed him another. "Sensorimotor, pre operational, concrete operational, formal operational." And he tossed another.

"Yep! Sensorimotor is-"

"Ages 0-2 and is how kids experience the world. Through sensory experiences and motor actions." He interrupted. Tossing another piece of paper into his trashcan with a large dopey smile. You nodded and started again.

"Pre Operational is..." You prompted, eyes glued to your notebook.

"I have an idea." Graham said, noticing your lack of attention on him.

"Hmm?" You asked, half listening.

"If I get this entire theory right, I get to kiss you." He suggested, eyes tracing your face.

"Yeah sure." You said, eyes still glued to the page. Not hearing what he said.

"So that's a deal?" He asked, eyebrows shot up.

"Mmhmm." You agreed, muttering his name while you wrote something down.

"Okay! Pre operational starts at two, they can play pretend, talk about past memories, and can speak about people not in the room with them.” He says, watching you check a box and look back up at him. He throws a mini basketball into a small hoop attached to his closet door.

“The concrete operational stage begins at seven. Kids can solve problems better, because they can consider multiple options and endings. They can read maps, perform math better, and understand two different glasses can hold the same amount of water even if they look different.” You nodded and checked another box, looking back up to see the sun beaming on his face. He shook his long hair out of his face like he was a puppy, pulling the desk chair closer to his bed.

“The formal operational stage is the fourth and final stage.” Graham focuses an eyelash resting on your cheek, he leans forward and gently lifts it off and holds it in front of you. “Make a wish.” He whispers, hot (vaguely minty) breath fanned over your face. You quickly blew the eyelash off his thumb.

“It starts at age eleven, they can think of hypotheticals, abstract thoughts, and can use reasoning skills to solve a problem. Done.” He finished, still close enough that you wouldn’t have to reach far to get to him. You checked the final box, and when you looked back up he was even closer.

“That means I get to kiss you, y’know.” Graham muttered quietly, eyes grazing over your face.

“What?” You asked breathlessly. His large hands raised to meet your waist.

“We made a deal. If I got the whole theory right, I could kiss you.” He said, pulling you closer.

“I- uh. I guess I don’t remember that.” You replied. Your knees touching his, wheels squeaking against the hardwood floor. The chair half raised from a soft rug underneath her.

“Well can I kiss you anyway?” Graham asked, puppy dog eyes engaged, and a sweet smile on his lips.

“Yeah, that’d be alright.”

“Yeah?”

“Yes, please kiss me.” You responded, soon feeling his hand glide up from your waist and settle on your cheek. Your breath mixes with his as you lean close. His nose nudges yours.

“Tell me if you want me to stop.” You nod briefly, he leans into you and places his lips on yours. The kiss is gentle and sweet, his lips are soft and he tastes of mint. He pulls back with a smile.

“You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to do that.” Graham whispers, forehead resting against yours. You smile at him, eyes boring into his.

"Me too." You responded lips grazing his in another kiss. Love overflowing in your heart.

#graham lansing fluff #graham lansing x reader #graham lansing #graham lansing x y/n #graham lansing x you #graham lansing is a fool in love #prom pact #prom pact x reader #prom pact x y/n #prom pact x you #graham lansing x yn #prom pact x yn #ghost writes <3

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gritsandbrits · 3 years

Text

After two years I am finally roasting Ultimate Kevin 😁

I told myself I wasn't gonna talk about this terrible excuse of a story but here we are! Correct me if I get things wrong because I refuse to subject myself to another rewatch of this garbage! 😤😤😤😤

When we last left off at the end of Aggregor plot, Kevin had just finished saving everybody's asses by kicking Aggregor's ass! Finally after being just the bad beast boyfriend Kevin gets the chance to take out a major villain!

Soooo....where are all the party balloons and cake?? Hey what do you meant the show's not over yet? There's still more?

Wait what is this...

Oh no...OH NO don't you dare don't you DARE bring that back I just know y'all gonna screw it up!!

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! JOAN RIVERS!

And it all goes downhill from there.

Kevin then goes mad with power and the rest of the season is spent chasing him down. He goes on a rampage first attacking anyone who ever did him wrong but then quickly turning his sights to innocents. Sure it's just Aggregor but this time it's KEVIN!! Their OWN FRIEND!! DUN DUN DUUUUUUUUUUMB~

Wouldn't it make a bit more sense to have Darkstar be the Villain on a power rush since AF did build him up as a heavy-hitter? No wait he's on a date with his bodypillow nevermind! -_-

So after a series of plans to contain Kevin fall because the plot says, Ben comes to the conclusion that he may have to do the unthinkable. Gwen disagrees and they get into a fight. Ben wins and goes to execute Kevin while Gwen is forced to seek help elsewhere. So they go on a wild goose chase again, eventually trapping Kevin at a base where ECHO ECHO defeats Kevin hook him on a machine suck out the power restoring it to the Aggregor and Kevin's victims and they all go out for smoothies.

Okay maybe i should have watched the episode one more time but still it's just a retread of Aggregor. Only much more frustrating.

I have nothing positive thing to say about this storyline. Not a single one! It should have ended with Kevin defeating Aggregor WITHOUT going off the rails to show just how far he'd come from the vicious powerhungry brat he started out in the beginning. He learned self control AND we'd see someone else taking out the arc villain for a change! Great concept to explore!

INSTEAD we have to sit through yet another arc chasing behind a maddened Osmosian! Conveniently taking out other heroes or simply not contacting Osmo V for help so that ONLY BEN could save the day! Even if it flanderizes him into an unlikable strawman. Even if it prevents Gwen from having her big moment of saving Kevin on her terms effectively proving both Ben and Max WRONG, that love can overcome problems. That's a hopeful message to teach your audience!

We can't risk anyone upstaging Ben! We can't have him be challenged. Nope! Everything's gotta be BEN BEN BEN!!

"But GRIIIIIITS what would the Twt side of the fandom say if they found this??"

Kevin gets no gratitude sacrificing his sanity&relationships for the sake of the universe. Not a single fucking Thank You!! What was supposed to be his biggest moment becomes a tragedy because of course UA has to drag the darkness out that much more. Gwen has to seek help on her own while Ben goes around torturing people and y'all wonder why i prefer OV Ben lmao How DARE you insinuate that problems can be solved without violence?! For all the problems that show has at least the Rooters Arc didn't have Ben forced to kill his own friend!!

But hey everyone goes out for smoothies! Ben & Max don't face any real consequences! Oh and uh Kevin doesn't go to therapy or apologise to the people he hurt during his rampage. Gwen definitely won't think of leaving the because she realizes no one actually cares about her at all and the stress of having to fight her own love AND her own cousin is too much! No regrets or future flare ups? Nope no emotional fallout here!

Overall it's a shitty story that to me is THE lowest point of the franchise.

What's sad about this is that this storyline could've had TRUE ABD HONEST potential narrative & emotionally satisfying! Besides why even use Ben as the one to kill Kevin when you already have a guy to fill that role?

🎶MURICA! FUCK YEAH!! 🎶

An early chance to bring back characters from the OG series and cause a good amount of conflict without making anyone OOC. Lt. Steel haven't seen Kevin's good side. Ben has. Steel would push Ben to make the "hard" choice, leaving him at a loss on what to do. Should he try making the hard choice ot go with his gut and stick by his friend? See that makes OUR HERO actually sympathetic instead of a douche nozzle! Ben and Gwen saving Kevin in non-violent way proves Steele and Max wrong. But again you had to make Ben a Strawman and Gwen in the wrong for suggesting such. Ben and Gwen vouche that the only reason Kevin acted like that was because he risked his life to save everyone asses. Kevin could work on his personal problems and make peace with his oast which in turn allows him to control his powers. Ben realizes he doesn't HAVE to make "the hard choice" to suit someone else because it's HIS CHOICE that what matters and he chooses to save Kevin!

*huffhuff*

Also there was some guy named Harvey who is actually Kevin's stepdad because we can't introduce anyone on his Osmosian side to help and he ain't did shit. Oh and Cooper becomes a blond recolor because FAT BAAAAAD! 🤦🤦🤦🤦🤦🤦🤦🤦

This all I have to say about it. I refuse to give it another go. The fact this story was planned since Alien Force with a decidedly sadder yet fairly realistic outcome shows that sometimes the best laid plans...are better left to the cutting room.

#ben 10 discourse #ben 10 salt #rant #vent #saltposting #now its not even showing in the tags #Anti Ultimate Kevin #anti uaf #ben 10 #kevin levin #osmosian #gwen tennyson #ben 10 critical #gritsandbrits

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