#and she was spiteful and impulsive and distrustful but she didn't deserve this

[snakesandstone]

Hey do you ever think of medieval nordic deities to the point of actually being on the verge of tears at half past nine in the evening or

[sorry-rosie]

lol i'm dumb. I didn't realize when you posts that otp ask, it meant that people can ask you about the pairings depending based on the numbers LOL. I'm really new to the tumblr trend. Now that's out of the way, let me pick some numbers. 8, 15, 21(this one especially) 28

Oh no worries! It takes some getting used to. With these things you can send however many numbers or prompts in as you want and I'll get cracking, by the way. 

I’ll do #28 in another post soon because I got another sent in for it and keeping the naughtier ones separate means this safer post can get discovered in tumblr searches easier. ^^’

➼ [8] What were their first impressions of each other?

Ethan was a complete nerd, that’s what Mia knew just from seeing him. Not that she has anything against nerds, but he was just adorable in how geeky he was with technology and a bit awkward, endearingly so. Plus it didn’t help that he was sporting his rather large glasses when she first laid eyes on him. And khakis. In addition, he had a cute face and voice that drew her to him. It wasn’t love at first sight or anything, just another potential relationship of many that Mia gave a fair shot in a few dates, but thankfully those dinner dates ended up selling her on the idea of being with him. 

Mia was a complete bundle of sunshine, that’s what Ethan took away from her. Something about her drew his gaze instinctively, impulsively. He had already seen her occasionally on campus of their college in cafes, but he doubted she noticed him. Not until he grew enough courage to take the first move at least. But from what he could tell, either observing her and her friends or talking to her for the first time, she was optimistic and hard-working. The type that filled a day with work and still ended up smelling like roses at the end of it all, somehow. Boundless energy. He felt a little intimidated simply talking to her since she outpaced him, so it took time on their dates for their energy to match and sync up better. 

➼ [15] What are traits they dislike in one another?

Mia thinks Ethan is lost in his head a lot; she'd be fair in thinking that. He's a quiet person, so sometimes it's hard for her to know exactly what he's thinking when he perhaps incorrectly assumes they're on the same page. They do that for each other often, actually, what with Mia’s secretive side. They’re prone to some miscommunications that could easily be avoided.

Mia also sort of dislikes Ethan's naiveté and rashness. It is more complicated since his idealistic views of the world at times are quite uplifting for someone who has seen the darker parts of that world first hand, and his impulsive nature was what ultimately saved her in the Baker estate (and later Rose). But he is so rash and naïve that it is his own downfall, with foolishly believing that there’s someone better in Mia and deciding to still forgive her countless times. Sometimes, she wants him to put himself first, just for once, because no one person can be that selfless. She just wants him to be safe, even if it means a life without her. But he’ll always put her and Rose first. If anything, it makes her wonder ruefully what she did to deserve him. Despite Mia’s somewhat dislike of his idealism, she’ll do anything to protect it, him, from the truth.

Ethan is rather over-protective and could be prone to being obsessive, which Mia grew rather annoyed with when she was still working for the Connections. It felt like nothing escaped his notice, as much as Mia tried to lie to him. He certainly didn’t make things easy, but at least he cared that much for her to go to such lengths. But he’s at least learned from then to slack off with it, but it kicked in a bit once again as he entered into parenthood. This is true for them both.

As much as Ethan dislikes Mia’s secretive side and feels hurt since he feels like they’re leading separate lives at times, he at least grew to understand her better. Why she does it. How to better get her to open up. But still, when she was working for the Connections, he couldn’t help but have an over-active mind. When she leaves him in the dark, it’s hard not to think the worst. It’s the not knowing part of it all that for him hurts him far more than the truth. At times, he feels like she doesn’t trust him enough to tell him.

Mia, even more so after the Baker incident and giving birth, never lets go of grudges. She’s often justified or true in feeling very conclusively about people, like her distrust of Chris and the BSAA particularly, what with the events in Europe. She’s seen corrupt organizations first hand and she could pinpoint one when it’s right in front of her face. However, Ethan is far too forgiving and kind to hold such grudges. They don’t butt heads on it often, since Ethan understands why she is this way. But still, he only wants her to be happy and holding onto these grudges, even ones she has against herself, only leads to more resentment.

Overall however Ethan just adores her too much to seriously dislike much about her, if anything. Unconditionally so. Or perhaps a love of all aspects of her, flaws and all.

➼ [21] How have they changed each other for the better/for the worse?

Mia often gets lost thinking about how better Ethan’s life would be if he never met her. Never left to go get her in Louisiana, at least. In those three years he could’ve already moved on like she told him to do in the video. There were widowers, she was sure, that were remarried in far less time. What use was it though? She knew he was different, he’d never want to move on without her. He’d never even consider leaving her. But a bigger part of her selfishly still wants to be by his side, even if she was, is, still a negative force in his life, as much as his nightmares are caused by her. He could never go back to his old life.

But Ethan saw the best in people. He loved her anyways, in spite of everything. Mia wants to be better, for him at least, the man who still looked at her with those unblinking, silently worshiping eyes. She hated to see her reflection in them, but his undoubtable adoration for her still prevailed. They both vowed, promised, to start over and that’s what they were going to do. As much as their new lives were interrupted occasionally by the BSAA poking and prodding them, dictating many parts of their day-to-day, they could confidently be assured still that they were together in the end, peaceful, to an extent. Life would never be easy now, they both agreed, but at least they would be safe in each others’ arms.

The ultimate proof of their love, the one that still survived despite everything, came in the form of Rose. Mia almost didn’t believe she could get pregnant, but the tests stared back at her, all positive. At first, she was terrified, that she’d ruin another life like she always did. But perhaps this was her chance at redemption, finally, and as she felt her move around she felt all the more terrified of herself. That she’d fail her, just as she did Eveline. That she was screwed up in the head to even be able to have a child with her husband, whose only life support was the mold. But those fears eventually subsided and the pregnancy brought them both joy as she obsessively eyed her ultrasounds, looking for defects only to find none. Finding happiness in talking over baby names and buying things for her.

Then, a psychotic woman she used to work with targeted them to get to Rose. Separating the child into crystalized little pieces. With every step they took towards normalcy, towards peace, they were dragged back into hell by Mia’s choices years ago. The past would follow them everywhere. And just like that, he was gone. A man who already defied death many times, invincible, dead. The life he couldn’t have, in his final moments, flashed before his eyes. Sure, he had regrets. But he was at least content in his wife and child’s safety. The years he did have with his family, with all their hitches... He didn’t regret it. He’d still do it all over again. Mia knew he was that foolish, as Chris later told her that Ethan apologized and said that he loved her in his last words. 

Only he would be sorry for dying on her. After everything she’s done, she could only feel sickened by everything that’s happened. It would take a long time for her to get past him, if it was even humanly possible. The answer is complicated. While they’ve both definitely changed each other for the worse through years of heartache and turmoil, they both also gave each other true happiness, satisfaction, if only for a little while. Shown each other that they could be changed, complicated people, but still want to crawl back to each other. And while Mia, newly widowed, looks down upon the freshly settled wasteland of the explosion weeks later out of curiosity, she thinks that Ethan teased things out of her no one else could. She was a better person now, wasn’t she? More mature. Less selfish. Maybe his good nature had snuck up on her over the years. He had that way about him of making even the most stubborn of people change.