#and then it turned into a rant and lament over how the series destroyed everything it built up

[a-smol-cosplayer]

Anyways here are some more of my wednesday opinions cause I need them out of my brain (spoilers obvi)

First? Why is everyone hating on the show?? Between the ‘both men where so bland I couldn’t tell them apart fuck love triangles’ and ‘this isn’t an Adams reboot this sucks they made this show horrible and so out of character’ y’all need to take some breaths. 

I found it super compelling and enjoyable!! I loved seeing wednesday grow from someone how hated people and emotions to someone who still hates emotions but has them and has a good relationship with both her new friends and family!

To address the comments above:

Okay maybe Xavier is slightly bland - angsty art kid however his use in the plot and the fact that we are seeing him from Wednesdays pov who obviously doesn’t like him that much and is only using him for her own gain really saves him for me and leaves him open for more development. Talking about the love triangle - I struggle to see one. Its mostly Tyler x wednesday and xaviers crush is one sided, there is no point in the show where she laments over which boy she wants or the fact that she likes both of them - I think we have mixed up what an actual cliche love triangle is in media and ‘these two attractive boys are both in love with the main character’. There might have been more rivalry between them but wednesday certainly wasn’t aware of it

Tyler deserves his own dot point to address the comment above cause HOW CAN U SAY THAT MAN IS BLAND. especially after the last episode. It switches the view on his whole supposedly ‘bland’ point of view and forces u to think about wether thats the real thing and the person in the last ep was an amalgamation of manipulation and grooming as well as deep seeded trauma or if he was playing us the whole time with this awkward clueless personality as he manipulated everyone around him which is such a cool way of looking at it. If u don’t believe me go rewatch the series as if Tyler is aware of everything and is willingly manipulating everyone - cures the ‘he’s boring to watch’ thing instantly. 

Okay getting to the second point - I completely see where u are coming from but like its called WEDNESDAY. Its about this version of wednesday not the whole family, they don’t even appear in it very much. when I seperated it from the previous versions of the Adams family it was super good (however I do get where y’all are coming from about the whole ‘crazy morbid loving family’ dynamic being destroyed but I liked the journey that wednesday and mortica went on and I think it added to her character so I am willingly ignoring it 

Okay now for the part where I rant about Tyler Gilpin cause I love that man with my whole heart and I am a Tyler apologist first and a human being second

MANS WAS MANIPULATED and has some super bad trauma. From the point where his mum died and his dad practically abandoned him and thennn the first person he thought he could trust to look after him and tell him the truth proceeded to turn around and groom and manipulate and USE HIM for her own gain and chained up a literal child whilst forcing him to change into a monster :/ people keep forgetting that he is literally at most 17/18 but probably 16/17 and has been left by every single adult in his child life. Cut my man some slack. 

second: he really did want to leave!! He had no control over his actions as the hyde - he literally says in the first episode how ‘at least one of them would be able to get out of this hellhole town.’ He was a manipulated child!! Sure he might have been slightly dark in his own right but he wasn’t going around murdering people for funzies and he probably only started to enjoy it as a trauma response :/ like what else was he supposed to do?? Go insane cause there was this woman who was forcing him to kill people. He couldn’t control himself as the hyde (u know in the last ep where he said ‘I wake up covered in blood and have no memory of what happened’ ect ect) so everyone saying he’s a murderer who doesn’t deserve wednesday (also wouldn’t a pscyo murderer be like the perfect fir for wednesday?  that scene where he admits to hurting Xavier and then trying to get better and wednesday saying she would have done something worse for the fun of it?? Bruh they are so perfect together and have so much chemistry but ill put that in another rant) anyways. Y’all are acting like he just went around murdering people for the fun of it completely aware are endorsing his actions (did we even watch the same show?) when the main point of Wednesday figuring out the master was a hyde was that there was actually another person controlling the monster in the woods and it wasn’t acting alone 

Also - I see lots of people being like “yeah but he basically assaulted Xavier y’all are ignoring it he’s a bad person 🙄💅” but like?? So was Lucas? 1 he was in the ‘friends’ who distroyed Xaviers painting as well, and he bullied Eugene and tried to fight/hurt wednesday just for being an outcast and used enid to get into the dance and ruined it for everyone and u don’t see people bashing him? People can change and realise that the stuff they used to do as a tween was bad and full of bias inherited from their parents/society :/ 

Anyways to sum up that rant - I love my slightly murderous and traumatised but yet awkward and soft hearted barista with my whole life and if he doesn’t get a redemption arch enemies to lovers, joining the gang (enid, Ajax, wednesday, Bianca, Xavier, Eugene and thing obvi), learning how to control the monster inside storyline next season I’m going to riot. 

Also antihero is totally Tylers song and I love it 

Imma be honest I didn’t dislike any of the characters - I think they are either already well fleshed out and interesting or have the potential to be and I loved the way the three seperate plot lines managed to organically weave and thread together into one whole point just viewed from different angles a lot. I absolutely love enid with my whole heart (I’m not stepping on wenclair at all I love the idea but I just really like the sunshinexgrumpy bestie vibes they have going on and I love Ajax to much to cut him out he’s so supportive and lovely) and she was such a good character with her own plot lines and the way she and thing interacted has my whole heart. Also the way that she got more understanding and wednesday got better at social cues and how to be friends/show emotions was really well done. 

Also low key if u apply my fav way to solve this said ‘love triangle’ which is they all just date each other meaning we get both tylorpe anddd these boys who love wednesday with their entire beings and supportive ajax and enid 👀👀👀👀 (yes Wednesday needs too grovel a little with Xavier she did not treat him well at all and Xavier maybe should get more interests than brooding and painting but we can work on it) ((I also approve of the fact that wednesday has two hands one for each Tyler and enid and ajax can share))

Im also seeing a lot of Tyler/Xavier hate but like,, can y’all not see wednesday isn’t the perfect character either? Like she’s a super morally reprehensible character and treats people hella bad some times. she literally put the only two people who she had managed to get attached too/have a connection too (Tyler and enid ((excluding Eugene love him too))) in danger for her own gain. I know thats the whole point of the show and I love her in that regard, it makes her character really interesting but like— she’s not absolutely perfect and these ‘mean bland boys don’t deserve her’ comments really aren’t helping her character development 

Okay thats it :) 

PLS BE NICE TO ME!! EVERY SINGLE POST IS SEE HAS PEOPLE UNDERNEATH IT GOING (ur opinions are wrong and ur a terrible person for shipping/not shipping this thing) (bc wenclair/wednesdayxxavier didn’t get together it was such a terrible show) (love triangles suck and if u like them u are a woman hating nazi) LIKE CAN YALL CALM DOWN ITS LITERALLY A SHOW CHILL OUT 

[xiolette]

It would have been so much cooler to enter Castle Oblivion and then exit to see the Land of Departure. It would have given Sora an opportunity to remember - or at least get a sense of - what happened in CoM, since he STILL doesn’t know anything about that. (Which would have also given him context for who Marluxia and Larxene and Vexen and the other org members are... He also would’ve remembered a darker side to Axel than he knew now...) (Also he’d remember WHY he’s supposed to thank Namine aksldhjfh)

And, most importantly, it would have given him a chance to bond with Aqua more? So the audience who never played BBS or 0.2 could feel a connection that’s more than just, “Keyblade Master who was in Disney Hell for 10 years and was really angry at Mickey for some reason.” It would have given Sora some essential context to her and Ventus (and Terra’s) plight what would have allowed him to forge better connections with them.

Because that’s literally all of Sora’s character - making connections with people. All of RE:Coded was about how Sora needed to have the strength to shoulder other people’s pain so he wouldn’t succumb to the pressure and fall. If Sora fell, he’d be bringing everyone down with him, because he’s the thread holding them together. All of this was swept to the side, if not outright dropped.

He just collected the pieces needed to complete the team and they all moved right to the final battle without anything more than a few obligatory “wow we all know each other huh” exchanges. 

There was so actual sense of connection - they were only together out of a sense of duty and responsibility. They all had their own agendas and didn’t focus on anyone’s friends except their own. When Sora tried to shoulder some of the burden (like he was supposed to) and focus on the people who are still lost, everyone else shut him down and told him to just worry about himself. 

Sora is a character built on empathy - that’s the whole source of his power! “My friends are my power,” has become such a cheesy line in the series, but it’s true! It tells us everything we need to know about Sora! The other half of the line, that hardly gets mentioned is, “And I am [their power].” His strength comes from empathy and forging bonds with people and by making those bonds he, in turn, empowers others. The entire series is about the power of empathy and how the greatest thing you can do is care about others.

It was never meant to say, “Without my friends, I’m nothing.” That’s how the villains tried to twist it. The fact that the series seems to have taken that route with the quote is a slap to the face.

The fact that Riku pretty much abandons Sora during the final battle spits on the face of what the series is about. It spits on the face of Riku’s entire character arc - an arc centered around atonement and recovery and learning how to ask others for help. He devoted years of his life around protecting and helping Sora after almost destroying everything because he got selfish and let a petty rivalry get in the way of friendship. Because he constantly shut people out. Because he felt that to be strong he had to deal with things on his own.

Then Sora, whose entire personality centers around empathy, breaks down after witnessing the death of everyone he loves. Riku doesn’t turn to help or comfort him. Riku doesn’t acknowledge his pain and expresses any grief himself. He just tells Sora to suck it up, before throwing himself into a reckless, suicidal stunt to try and stop the Heartless all by himself.

In just a few hours everything I loved about the series was torn away from me and I couldn’t feel more betrayed.

[unholyretributioncomes]

How I Would Bring Back Ben Solo

I keep seeing stuff about Ben Solo not being dead. Now I love the character, and I wish he had a better redemption arc than he was given, and was allowed to live so he could properly atone for his mistakes and work to fix them. But bringing him back has to be done even more carefully. So here is what I currently have for that story- including satisfying arcs for the characters who were stripped of everything that we loved about them. Note: this is a WIP. It is in no way finished, and the intended arcs I have for each character has not yet been written for fully fleshed out.

These arcs include Finn finding a purpose for himself outside of Rey and war. Rose getting some proper closure and maybe having a similar arc to Finn. Poe dealing with post-war stuff including prejudices and trauma. Chewie and Rey being a proper family.

1) Possible comic or animated series. A one movie or three might not be enough or would allow for too many essential cuts

2) While the focus would be on Ben Solo, have regular cuts to Rey and the others

3) Make sure it is clear that this isn't just him getting closer, it is also him atoning for anything he has done as Kylo Ren

4) The story: Ben Solo wakes up either on an Exegol looking area (where he "died" at the end of TROS) or some other dark, empty space that is fairly featureless and void of any other signs of life.

He begins looking around for Rey, and only barely being able to Force, is only able to tell that she is in fact alive and well.

Sensing something off about this place, he grabs the lightsaber that is with him (at first it seems to be Luke's but later on possibly is revealed to be Leia's either by similarity in look or some sort of veil that had been shielding it, though that is revealed later on) and proceeds to look for a way out.

Thus begins his journey.

Cut to Rey.

On a planet, possibly with the group, but is taking some time to herself to meditate and reflect. She then feels a familiar presence: Ben. She calls out to him, but receives no response, only able to feel him there. A member of the group arrives (Finn or Chewie) and asks her what is up, and in their talk, she is able to realize that Ben Solo is alive and somewhere out there in the Galaxy and she declares she is going to go find him.

Cut back to Ben.

Everything is looking exactly the same and he is feeling more lost by the minute. He pauses to take a break as it is clear he is either still exhausted from the fight or been walking for hours. He then feels her: Rey. He calls out, but also receives no response. He calls again and again (possibly only seeing a flickering, weak image of her) before he gives up and gives his voice a break. Loneliness sinks in.

Sliding to the ground, his mind starts to process what has happened. He thought he became one with the Force, but that doesn’t seem to have happened. That temptation to the dark is still there, but he is more stable in the light. He is completely alone. There aren’t even any bodies of dead Sith or the Knights of Ren. He begins to wonder if this is his punishment for the things he did while consumed by the dark.

A voice echoes through the emptiness, one he has not heard in person in years, but knows anywhere: his mother, encouraging him to get up. He leaps to his feet and looks around, but doesn’t see her. He hears her voice again, telling him to keep going, and that she is waiting for him.

Without a second thought, he begins running towards his mother’s voice, calling out to her, and while never receiving a direct reply, is continually encouraged by her voice.

Cut back to Rey.

She has shared her discovery with the group (Poe, Finn, Chewie, BB-8, R2, C3PO, and possibly Rose). Finn and Poe and understandably upset by this revelation and when Rey suggests they go after him, are adamantly against it, Poe even going so far as to say that wherever he is rotting away in both body and mind, that it is what he deserves.

Angered by this Rey begins defending him, saying that if Luke can turn Darth Vader to the light and back into Anakin, then why shouldn’t Kylo be allowed to become Ben again as well. Poe argues that while Luke managed that, Darth Vader died before anything could come of it so it wasn’t like it mattered for any other reason than a good story.

Rey bites back that if Ben is indeed alive, then unlike Vader and Anakin, he has the chance to work to atone for his sins and deserves the chance to right his wrongs.

Poe stands firm that whatever fate Kylo Ren is facing is likely the one he deserves.

Rey tells him that she is going to go out looking for him, with or without anyone’s help and nothing will stop her from doing so.

After some silence as Rey waits for reactions/replies, Chewie stands and proclaims he will go with her and they can take the Falcon. 3PO and R2 are instantly on board with this as well. Eyes turn to Finn, waiting to see what side he takes.

Finn, still attached to Rey as she was the first person outside of the First Order he spent more than a few hours with, struggles to agree as he does feel similarly to Poe and also feels that attachment to Poe. With some coaxing from BB-8 (Either having learned to speak Droid or having it translated by 3PO) he agrees to go.

Poe is angered by BB-8’s seeming betrayal and goes on a rant. But after some more coaxing he eventually agrees to go on the condition that he gets one free hit in if/when they find him.

Rey smiles and they begin preparations to go searching.

Cut back to Ben

His mother’s voice has since faded, and he has slowed to cautious steps as he continues on his journey. Surroundings still haven’t changed and he questions if he has been going in circles and having seen no other paths, begins debating if he should maybe start trying to find a way to climb up.

Sensing danger, he ignites the lightsaber and begins combat with whatever comes to attack him.

When the fight is over, a voice compliments Ben’s form in the fight. Ben turns and there is Luke standing there. Ben lashes out and tries to kill Luke despite clearly seeing him as a Force Ghost.

Luke asks him the source of his anger and Ben yells at him. That Luke tried to kill him for things he hadn’t done yet. That rather than sit him down and talk with him about it, tried to destroy something that had yet to actually become a threat. That he was never given the chance to choose.

Luke tries to apologize, but Ben ignores him, and with his saber still lit, begins to continue to walk. Ben doesn’t want to deal with Luke, ghost or otherwise.

Cut to Rey

Rey starts her journey by doing research. She talks with people who knew of the Jedi and other records to see if she can find where Ben might have turned up.

Poe helps with some of his more powerful Resistance contacts, though many are busy helping to rebuild the Republic, so getting a hold of them isn’t easy. Maz, however, is a godsend and shows up when she hears Rey is studying something specific.

She asks what is going on, and Rey and Chewie explain that Ben is alive. That Rey can feel him still out there, and unlike Luke or Leia, he isn’t a ghost. And that in trying to contact Luke, she met another ghost of a Jedi named Obi-wan Kenobi, who she had only ever heard about, and he confirmed that yes, Ben is alive.

Maz is certainly surprised, but joins the party to help find Solo’s wayward son, commenting on how much Ben is actually like Han and of course he would be too stubborn to die.

While this is being explained, Poe looks over to Finn who seems rather distant and not quite paying attention. Poe asks what’s up and Finn tries to brush it off.

Poe pries because Finn has been zoning more and more since the war ended. Finn relents and explains that he has been thinking about the past and about the future. He explains how all he had ever known was the strict regiment and warmongering of the First Order before Poe came along and after defecting, while he did finally get some affection, he mostly got the passion and determination of the Resistance, both busy fighting war. He has never known his life without war or the threat of war.

Poe listens and asks Finn what he wants to do. Finn says he doesn’t know. He knows there is really no chance that he will ever find his parents and very little chance that he will ever even know what planet he was taken from. And now that there is no more fighting, he doesn’t even really know who he is. Just that FN-2187 is gone and Finn is someone he has yet to really figure out.

Poe reminds him that everyone with him sees him as family, and that even if he can’t find his birth family, that he has one here. Finn assures him that he knows that, but that maybe having something to go on for his past that isn’t all about soldiering might help him figure out what he wants to do with the future.

Rose understands the feeling as she has been having similar problems, torn between trying to live a comfortable life, or do something that might be worthwhile, and that all the plans she had originally thought of had all involved her sister in some way and now without her, she isn’t sure she can go through with some of them.

Poe then explains that he will talk to some other of his contacts and see if they can’t find something for Finn, such as maybe a list of systems the First Order preferred to take their soldiers from. Finn gets a little excited and thanks them both.

Cut back to Ben

The area is quiet, Ben has stopped running, and a fog has settled over the area. He can see the walls around him, but cannot see forward and cannot see back. He has the saber ignited and is taking cautious steps, trying to sense everything he can in his surroundings. All around him are whispering voices. Voices that are very familiar to him. At first their whispers seem to be about nothing, and occasionally giggling, but then they seem to notice Ben.

They at first start whispering about him, making comments on how he has gotten older and maybe lamenting they wish they could have too. Then their comments turn bitter, and they start talking about negative aspects of him without talking to him.

Ben tries to interact with these voices, and the area suddenly gets very cold and the whispers harsh. They do start talking to him, angry at him, wind blowing around him as if someone is trying to push him this way and that. In their anger they ask if any of the good times, the good memories they shared meant nothing to him.

Ben asks them who they are and they are insulted that he has to ask.

The fog fades away and he is surrounded by the ghosts of other students at Luke’s Jedi school. They are the students that he killed. They all begin shouting at him, at first taking turns before their voices sync to fully cry out their anger at their deaths.

Ben, knowing he has no way to justify his actions towards these students, begins frantically apologizing and asking how he can prove his remorse, covering his ears as the voices drown out his apologies and over-taking everything else.

The saber has fallen from his hands, going out in the process, and he sinks to his knees as he feels suffocated by the shouting.

In an instant, everything goes silent. Ben hesitantly lowers his hands and raises his head to see the youngest student of the school before him, all the others standing behind them, just looking at them. The youngest asks him if he is truly sorry and if he really regrets it.

Ben says yes, explaining how wrong he was about the dark side. That he never should have done what he had done to the students, and that he wants to be better. He can’t take back what he has done, but if he could, he would in a heartbeat. That he never forgot their deaths, and despite his efforts during his dark times, could never shed the guilt of them.

The youngest asks if he truly means that, will he promise to be better. Will he promise to try and help people if they forgive him.

Ben, still on his knees, tears in his eyes, says yes. His voice is quiet, but his words weighted with all the sincerity and guilt and remorse that he has.

The ghosts smile at them and the youngest bends down and picks up his lightsaber before handing it to him. “Then keep going. We forgive you.”

With a shaking hand, Ben takes the lightsaber, looking at it before looking back at the ghosts as they all fade away leaving him alone. He takes a moment to process what has happened, what he just experienced before letting himself cry, the guilt of his actions digging into his chest, clearly causing him pain, but also feeling a great sense of relief and like a weight has been taken off of his shoulders. One of these emotions alone would be too much for anyone, but both of them together keeps him from even being able to stand.

 -unwritten section-

After searching for so long Rey finds the answers she had been looking for and heads with the group to go and try to find Ben.

 As Ben reaches the end of his journey and is about to enter the land of the living, he is stopped by one more battle. Before him are four figures dressed in black, all of whom he has seen before in some fashion. One is the grandfather he idolized: Darth Vader. One is the man who had twisted his mind for years: Snoke. One is Puppeteer behind all of pain the galaxy has suffered for easily the last half-century: Palpatine. And the last one is the one that both takes Ben by surprise, but also the one he had been preparing for: himself- or rather- Kylo Ren.

Kylo steps forward and begins talking, voice distorted by the cracked mask. “Did you think you would be free? Did you forget the power of the Dark Side? There is no escaping the Darkness! You belong to the Darkness and therefore- to us!”

Leia’s saber in hand, he ignites it and braces, as the four figures do the same. Knowing the power of the people before him, he is expecting this to be a losing fight, but he is still going to put his heart and soul into it.

“Nice to see we’re not too late.”

The slightly gravely voice catches Ben off guard and makes him turn. They have the telltale blue glow of those passed on, one in the Force. Appearing on either side of him, each facing a member of the Sith that are blocking his path, are his real grandfather- Anakin ready to face Vader. His mother, giving him a loving smile and placing an affectionate hand on his shoulder as her eyes harden in an all too familiar look when she is about to eviscerate someone, a look aimed at Snoke that visibly shakes the Sith. And either Luke or Padme who their weapon in hand and facing Palpatine, making a comment about not making the mistake of letting this man live to walk away again.

With these allies, the fight begins. Snoke falls first as no amount of power can fully brace this being for the extent of a mother’s wrath while she protects her child.

Palpatine falls next. Luke/Padme doesn’t dilly dally, doesn’t give him the chance to brag or monologue or charge up an attack. He is executed plain and simple.

Vader is next. Given that he is kind of fighting himself, Anakin does struggle as he knows all the moves and has to change his fighting style and strategy a little bit. The kill is quick, but comes after a bit of a fight as Anakin is laying his regrets and the darkness in them to rest with the end of Vader.

Finally Ben is left with Kylo. Blue clashes with red in quick and angry strikes on both ends. Kylo taunts Ben constantly about the dark side and how it took him over. About how he will never be free of it and no one will ever truly accept him. It is a very hard fight, but one he must fight alone. It ends when Ben swings and cuts part of the mask off, revealing his own face, which stuns Kylo for a moment, before Ben without hesitation runs him through declaring that it doesn’t matter if the rest of the galaxy forgives him, the people that matter to him do and most of all, he forgives himself.

Once Kylo falls, and his body disappears, Ben gets a small reunion with his family. Han shows up for this brief moment and after some hugs and praises about how proud they are of him, as well as promises to be better and make the galaxy better, he is ready to leave, though his eyes are wet and red.

He goes through the final portal/ door, and the first thing he registers is he can’t breathe.

 Above the lake/ ocean of the ancient site, Rey and the others are looking down, trying to find where Ben is.

Rey suddenly feels him, strong and sure as if he were next to them, and she points them in the right direction where a light can be seen under the water’s surface for the briefest moment.

Unable to really truly swim, neither Rey or Finn can go down. Rose is handed the controls and Poe and Chewie open the hatch of the Falcon and once ready to get pulled back up, jump into the water.

They find Ben, close to the surface, but still under it, and pull him out, before being raised to the Falcon where Rey immediately starts calling out to him, noticing he is very pale, and his whole body is cold, as if dead.

Poe raises his fist before slamming it down hard on Kylo’s chest making the man jolt at the sudden pain before coughing up water. Poe grins at Rey before looking at Ben. “Just so you know, that doesn’t count as my free shot.”

Ben looks confused as he is finally able to focus his vision, but before he can do anything, a big, wet, hairy being his holding him almost too tightly, making it difficult to breathe. Despite the suddenness of it, it is one that -while soggy- is instantly familiar and one he is quick to return and relish.

Chewie finally pulls away before smacking Ben upside the head, just barely hard enough to hurt before going into a long lecture that has Ben smiling fondly at the Wookie.

When he looks at Poe, confused, Poe holds up his hands. “Hey, it wasn’t my idea. Besides, it’s her you should be thanking.” He points at Rey and prompts Ben to look at her. “She’s the one that never lost faith in you.”

Que Rey and Ben reunion.

[centeris2]

Read it here:

Another target exploded in a violent boom, and the course was cleared in record time. All Robin could do was glance at Raven in shock and fear, baffled by her aggression as she panted. It took Robin a moment to recover before he managed a hesitant: “Umm, good job?”

Raven drew in a deep breath through her nose before exhaling loudly from her mouth, fatigue getting the better of her now that she had destroyed a few things in her rage. Her slender fingers ran through her hair as she straightened, getting a grip.

“Thanks. I want sleep,” she used that as her leave, not that Robin was about to argue, and went up to her room, leaving the course in ruins. It was obvious something was wrong; anyone could tell she was upset, but she did not want to bother trying to explain it to Robin or talk about it for that matter. She was not completely sure what had happened –or not happened as it where- but she knew she had every right to be angry about it.

She dropped onto her bed, face first in a pillow as she groaned. What was wrong with her? She was normally not this emotional about anything, or anyone. Although her father did manage to anger her it was nothing like this. What was it about Rave? There had to be something there she didn’t know yet, although it was probably what he wasn’t telling her. What a fickle and troublesome man, everything would be so much easier if she knew where she knew him from. Or at least that is what she presumed, she wouldn’t know for sure until she found out. In the mean time she was going to do what she always did when her emotions were getting out of hand: meditate.

Resuming her customary position she went inside herself, encountering her frantic emotions. Pink and Red were for once on the same side as they ran about in a tizzy over it. Red, obviously, thought Raven should kill him, while Pink had a less violent approach, albeit a bit odd with the quantity of giggles and flowers she wanted. Grey was also prominent, yet still managed to remain quietly in the corner and look at her shoes.

“He just doesn’t like us… why would he like us? He never will…” the gray cloaked Raven lamented, holding herself as tears welled up in her eyes.

“What!? That’s silly! He has to like us! He laughs at our jokes!” the pink dressed emotion of happiness said bubbly, giggling as she skipped around in circles. She began to pick the petals off a daisy when Rage spoke up.

“That damn bastard doesn’t have the balls to get close to us! And why should that low life human anyway? He should grovel at our feet along with the rest of the human race, as slaves!” Red shouted, voice deep and four eyes gleaming. Raven sighed as the emotions battled it out.

“But he can kick some ass! I thought you’d like how rough he can be when beating people up, Rage?” the emotion in green said, Bravery managing to slightly lessen Rage’s rant.

“OH NOOO!” all stopped and looked at Pink, “He loves me not!” she declared, showing the last petal and the naked daisy in fear. Raven felt herself blush.

“Love!? How can you even be considering that? I can’t- It wouldn’t- he- I- no! Just no!” Raven stuttered, bewildered at how Happy had reached the conclusion of ‘love’ already. Surely she was joking? Knowledge tapped Raven’s shoulder and readjusted her glasses.

“I doubt so, sure you may have feelings for him but I highly doubt love is anywhere close to it. Although we can always ask Love…” the yellow emotion looked over at a quietly sitting purple emotion. For the most part they all went quiet as they waited for Love to speak, but for a good moment she was silent, looking off into space.

“Love? What is it I feel? Is it…?” Raven snapped Love out of her daydream, and Purple looked at her calmly before nodding once uncertainly.

“Not yet. Maybe? All I know is…” Love looked down at her feet and blushed, smiling widely, “I wanted to kiss him.” For a minute the others where quiet, Raven processing everything.

“But does he like me?” Grey whispered, flushing as well as she looked down, embarrassed. Raven looked around, seeing the other emotions blush as well, some more than others. With that Raven sighed, nodding as if it was final now that they all agreed that Raven, well… liked him for some unknown reason. She dismissed them all to their own domains, but held Knowledge back to speak with her in relative privacy.

“Knowledge, what should I do about training?” Yellow thought for a moment, sitting down for a long discussion.

-

Damn I should have kissed her!

This was one of many thoughts that went through the man’s mind –and out of his mouth- as he also beat the virtual sense out of a robot, permanently disabling the fighter bot in a smoking mess. A tinkling giggle emitted behind him, and he turned to glare at the girl who sat on a crate, legs crossed as they hung over the side. She smiled at him, amused by his frustration, before she addressed his venting.

“Well why didn’t you? Why didn’t you just go for it and have a passionate snog on the pier as the sun rose? Sounds rather romantic if you ask me…” she smirked, playing with her blond hair in a flirtatious manner. He was not amused.

“Well no one asked you!” he yelled, perhaps sharper than he intended as her smirk faded, hurt by his intensity. All he could do is sigh and hold his head.

“I wanted to- don’t get me wrong. I really wanted to. But… How can she- why would she…” her softened look encouraged him to put words together in a more coherent way. “She’s a Teen Titan, an angel or a saint or something. She’s the hero. How could she ever accept me? I’m…” He gestured, unable to find the word. The blond girl slipped down from her perch, straightened her shirt and jeans, and looked at him.

“Tainted? A sinner? Dirty? Evil? The villain? A Montague and she a Capulet?” she offered, trying to fill in the blank he left. The last allusion left a cruel smirk on his face.

“I certainly hope it doesn’t end in a Shakespearian tragedy. But yes, Raven is the hero and I’m the villain. She would never be alright with that,” his sneer disappeared as his worry was voiced. She was sympathetic.

“Well it couldn’t hurt to try, right? Either you’ll drive yourself insane this way or you find out if she is alright with it or not. Or you could completely give up being a villain,” his eyes slowly hardened as she spoke, not sure which option was best as he considered other details.

“What if she becomes an apprentice?” he asked, seriously at a cross roads at how to handle it. He could quit before she joined, pursue even as her master, or stay professional and not let her know. The Shepardess didn’t have an answer for him as she shrugged.

“Honestly how it goes is up to you. I can’t tell you which way is the best, because it also depends on how she reacts. You’ll have to play it by ear,” he nodded slowly, breathing in through his nose as he cleared his mind. He could kill and take over a city without a second thought, but in the arena of emotions he was out of his element. Frankly it scared him, he did not like the loss of control it caused in him.