#sumo slammers

[msnihilist]

I still don't think Ben did anything wrong during "Duped." He deserves to do normal teenage boy stuff like see a movie on opening day, and he was trying to give himself that while also saving the world AND supporting his girlfriend's tennis match. He didn't spend enough time with his duplicates to realize that they had opposing personalities to their assignments — it's not like he sent his asshole-self to Julie's match on purpose.

[nectarishes]

They mean everything to me

[foolilazuli]

Anodite Ben would absolutely try to do the kamehameha move

[kariachi]

A quick lunchtime fic, Kevin and Ben and some interests both mutual and not.

~~

Ben was not afraid to admit that his tastes in media weren’t so far flung as the rest of his social circle. Or at least his Earth-native social circle, Rook seemed to be about as bad as he was. As a massive sports fan going back generations, player of sports himself and cousin of athletes, when it came to anime specifically he was pretty much limited to various forms of sports and martial arts shows. One of the few times he and Gwen had been able to get along as small children was when they were plopped in front of Dragonball Z, and even that had always ended in arguing as they went to play and each tried to force the other to be Vegeta because he was a jerk.

(Just that last Christmas Ben had gotten his cousin a Vegeta ornament, special ordered off Etsy, only for her to retaliate with one of those roaches you saw at the zoo in his snack storage. It was one of the rare cases you saw her get an earful from Kevin.)

The point being, his anime knowledge was limited. Oh, his friends watched other things- turned out Manny had whole collections of narrative-driven series, and Cooper for one seemed to have watched every cartoon ever made on the planet- but Ben only the one real ‘athletics’ genre that he stuck to like a barnacle. It worked for him, but it also meant that when Kevin showed up for lunch in an anime hoodie it took him far too long to figure out what the anime in question was.

Wouldn’t have been so bad had Kevin not, mid-sentence, realized he was trying to pinpoint where he recognized the figures on the hoodie and immediately shut up to let him think. Because that ever helped, having your buddy sit there with his chin propped on his hand, looking at you like one might look at a pet that got itself ‘trapped’ on the other side of an open sliding glass door. Ben did work it out though, so there, pointing at the image wit a furrowed brow and

“Sailor Moon?”

“Yep!” Kevin face nearly split with a grin as Ben smiled at his success and his friend’s good mood.

“Where did you even find one in your size, you’re like five-hundred feet tall and the size of a bus.”

“You just say that because you’re short,” came the pretty much expected teasing response. “G found it, figured I’d like it.” Rolling his eyes, Ben chuckled fondly. Of course, how could he have even considered otherwise. She’d probably been looking for one for herself, and now he wouldn’t be surprised to see it.

“You know we’re at war with the Sailor Moon fans.” With a fake gasp Kevin clapped his hand to his chest.

“Are you doubting my loyalty to the Sumo Slammers franchise?” Ben crossed his arms and leaned back, schooling his face into a more severe expression as he gazed down his nose at him.

“You are wearing the enemy’s image.” Squaring his shoulders, Kevin mimicked his stance and expression.

“And what’s to say I’m not a double agent?” He couldn’t help it, Ben’s expression broke with a small smile.

“But a double agent for who,” he asked, smile widening as Kevin leaned in with a smirk and flash of teeth.

“You’ll never know.” There was half a beat, then in near unison the two broke into loud laughter. Ben kicked at Kevin’s leg, while Kevin stole a few of his fries.

“Traitor,” he muttered, setting Kevin laughing again. “Speaking of, when do you think they’ll announce the next game? It’s been a while…” Shaking his head, Kevin tore into his sandwich.

“Soon, hopefully. At least give us a spin-off or something, we’re dying…”

[oso-mimir]

All these great cartoons on the extranet and Ben still chooses to binge Sumo Slammers

Edits of cartoon posters with Ben 10 aliens!

Extra content under the cut

alternative colors for Samurai Jack's outfit because I couldn't choose which looked better

alternative colors for Kim Possible based on her monkey transformation in that one episode

alternative poster for Danny Phantom. it was cropped from a backdrop

and here's all the original posters

[spextr1m]

Growing up with Ben Tennyson (headcanons-Scenario)

⚠️ = Spoilers, jealousy, kidnapping, mutation (reader), Mpreg, swearing, Ben's hand is the Thing from Addams Family, heartbreak moments, childhood enemies to lovers (sorta of?), arachinchimp coded reader, fear of rejection, OOC Ben

A/N: Gender neutral reader

10-11 years old

- You first met him when Ben was framed

- It didn't go off well was because he was being brat which led you getting irritated

- You two are pretty much schoolmates in same school but you didn't know him well

"Bleh! I am not gonna hang out with other doofus!" Ben crosses his arms and makes a face only you get irritated

"Will you just SHUT up?" You immediately riled up and replied back.

- Even though you're quite an opposite of him, it didn't stop you from calling him out

- Only you realized that he's hiding something from you which is him being "Silly" (to cover up his fear)

- But if you get kidnapped by aliens or human like, it's time for Ben to confess that it should've be him not you (Remember Gwen got kidnapped and he went apeshit) shows that he does care for you.

- You two like Sumo Slammers which strengthen your bond with him.

- That's where he'll open up to you although slowly.

-When Ben unlocked Feedback and favoring that alien, you cant help but to feel replaced so you got heartbroken the way that he favors Feedback.

- Remember how he's secretly sorry for Kevin? Yeah you're conflicted whether you should feel bad for him or... No.

- But in return, you tease Gwen for simping over Kevin

- You and Gwen get along quite well

-You ended up crushing on Ben but you felt tad sad that he has a crush on Kai.

- Unfortunately before the event of AF-Omniverse, your parents have to move out of town and you bid farewell to Tennyson family.

15-16 years old

-You went back in Bellwood and you'd think that nothing change in here until.. It sorta did?

- Gwen is now mature while Ben... Well

-He's now showing maturitiy besides him being silly all the time

-You headed to Mr. Smoothie and being overwhelmed by its changes until you bumped into a green jacket

"Oh sorry, I didn't see you here" You apologize to that guy who's standing by

"Y/N?" Your eyes shot opened when you hear familiar voice and you looked at this person revealing to be Ben.

-You two at first, awkward since you two haven't talk for long time now until he broke the silence about how you're doing in other town

- Turns out you have a boyfriend (which he congratlute you but tingle of jealousy filled him), your parents are very much bus than the usual, and normal life too than him.

- You're also shocked when you realized that Ben was preggo (pregnant) was because of Big Chill being a seahorse

"Wait, you're a mother this whole time????" Your jaw drops when you see mini versions of Big Chill, now staring at Ben who's also disbelief

"Uhhhh yeah?" He's embarrassed that he gave birth to mini Big Chill while staring.

"Damn... No wonder why you ate a pickle" He's surprised you notice smallest details about him but secretly happy that you notice small details about him.

"The next thing was you supposed to be stringray alien but then you ended up becoming THAT thing!" Of course you didn't know about his new aliens' names to be honest with you, you get mixed up with Big Chill and Jetray was because they're both flying aliens well sometimes.

-Sometimes you made a joke that Kevin loves his car than Gwen

-Which Ben spit his smoothie, laughing his ass off.

"He's planning a wedding and his bride would've be a car-" You made a comment about Kevin's car only Ben spit his smoothie, laughing his ass off while his hand slapping your back.

"What? I'm being honest-" Which it also makes him laugh harder.

-You also freaked out that Ben's hand was sentient and crawling onto you which you immediately threw his hand at almost everything including him

"BENJI, YOUR FUCKING HAND IS CRAWLING AGAIN-" You freaked out as you began to grab Ben's hand which also makes Kevin laugh at you freaking out

"NOT FUNNY DUDE!" You added up right after you threw his hand at the wall, annoyed that Kevin continues to laugh.

-Unfortunately, your parents had to call you again to go back to other town which you bid bye to Ben again hoping you'll return someday.

-Bad luck tells you that, your boyfriend has broken up with you because two of you are now pursuing different school times and distant too.

-Ben got famous thanks to that kid who exposed his identity to the entire damn fucking world which you cannot help but to be worried about him and his family which adds his burdens as a teen.

-Luck is in your hands that your parents moved back to Bellwood

-You're also shocked to hear that Ben and Julie broke up (Writers fucked up their love life)

- So fame gets to his head that he becomes arrogant so bad that you called him out (he apologizes afterwards and wants to make it up for you)

- Unfortunately because of alien shenanigans, you ended up being... mutated into an alien. You immediately freaked out bout your new form and have many thoughts that Ben wouldn't like your ugliness and your parents rejecting you for being a mutant.

- Since you now see yourself as a "monster", you immediately distance yourself from Ben which he cannot help but to be worried about you.

- Like he ASKS Gwen what to do when your friend went missing and she replied that he'll find you.

- Okay now setting to Omniverse, still cocky teenager boi but he does concern for you

- Like if you have an ID mask, Ben will ask plumbers to track while worrying for you.

- It wasnt until a random ass villain and then you of course, you have basic knowledge about your newfound powers thanks to the id mask that makes you unrecognizable even though you easily forgetting your own face.

- *Inserts Ben fighting villain*

-You try to save Ben only the mask got knocked off immediately exposing your true form

-You freaked out when you see yourself again which you began to run away until Ben stops you from running away

"WAIT DONT GO Y/N!" He stops you from running away, fearful that he didn't like you AT all.

"Just go away, Ben." You shoo him away while distancing yourself away from him, his eyes are shot opened when he sees you in that mutant form

"Where have you've been? I haven't see you for time like this and... I've thought that I'd lose you." Ben shows his concern towards you for going missing, his eyes are filled with sad, care and worry..

But you take it as rejection, this self loathing intensifies that he didn't like you for being a mutant which you sadly looking down which also makes Ben begins to reassure you

"I don't really think you're hideous." Your eyes blinked, registering what he said, his footsteps getting near to you and his voice is now sincere.

"You.. Think so?" Your extra arms are crossing while your other arms are hanging, still saddened that you look like this.

"Of course! Do you really think I'll reject you because you're no longer human? I don't care what other people think of you so please... Y/N, let me help you." Ben offers his hand for you, at first you'd thought he's bluffing until you offer your hand which he pulled you into a hug.

You and Ben slowly blossomed into more than friends

-You continue to wear an ID mask but in the indoors, you showed up your mutated form and hang out with him but the outdoors, you still continue to wear ID Mask unless if its Undertown

- You two usually hang out in Undertown

-If Ben has bad day, don't worry you'll comfort him

- But if you have shitty day, Ben will also comfort you

- These feelings showed more

- Who kiss first?: Ben

- You slowly reverting your old personality

- He lets you mess his hair up

[unix10x]

can you do Benjamin Kirby Tennyson being teased by Gwendolyn Catherine Tennyson with a sumo slammers card

Your request is an order 🛐

Gwen really is a very lucky girl!

The idea was to be a color study, but I think I got a little carried away 😅

[boileddemon69]

Guys he's just a baby you can't be mean to him his head is filled with only fast food and sumo slammers don't bully him

Him on the other hand....

[erimeows]

Too Good To Say

Raindrops smack against the glass of the window as Rook Blonko lies in bed, amber eyes trained on none other than Ben Tennyson. The other plumber sits on the edge of the bed watching the new live action adaptation of Sumo Slammers. Normally, Ben would be ranting about how different it is than the original cartoon, but today is not a normal day. In fact, it doesn’t seem as if Ben is paying attention to the show at all, just blankly staring at the television but not really consuming the media in front of him. 

Meanwhile, Rook just watches Ben, a soft smile gracing his lips. They got into a terrible skirmish with Khyber earlier that morning and lost him, but not before the accomplished hunter managed to stab one of his many blades through Rook’s shoulder. Thankfully, he’s bandaged up and recovering well, but he would be stupid not to realize how upset Ben is that they’ve let Khyber escape yet again. Rook is frustrated that Khyber got away, though more than anything, he’s glad that Ben made it out unscathed- that they’re both okay.

Rook sighs. The movement of Ben’s shoulder blades against the back of his jacket, the steady rise and fall of his back as he breathes, the way he slightly ruffles his own hair to calm himself down, it’s all reassuring in a way that Rook never thought it would be when the two of them first became partners. 

Rook thought he was in love when he met Rayona, because she loved him. She was kinder than his parents, and she was stronger than his friends. The attention she gave him, the admiration he felt for her, it all mixed into a disjointed infatuation that he had foolishly assumed was love. The validation she provided was exciting. The love she had for him was the only love he knew.

But Ben, Ben is different. Ben is interesting and self-centered and altruistic; a cacophony of contradicting qualities that make Rook’s heart flutter with excitement whenever they’re together. The feelings he has for Ben are more than the intense infatuation he’d become accustomed to on Revonnah, because Ben isn’t perfect and doesn’t present himself as such. He’s strong in many ways and weak in others. He’s kind and caring, but inconsiderate and selfish. He’s authentically himself. He doesn’t care about how others perceive him. He’s beautiful, yet so incredibly frustrating, too. He’s nothing like the cool, collected, muscular, bold hero he’s presented as in all of the rip-off television shows, badly drawn posters, and dramatized stories. And Rook still loves him despite all of it, because the good qualities outweigh the bad ones, even when Ben is at his worst. 

Suddenly, Ben snaps out of his trance and breaks his eyes from Sumo Slammers. He scoots to sit next to Rook on the bed, staring down at him with his jade eyes. Rook averts his gaze, heart thumping against his chest.

“How’re you holding up, buddy?” Ben asks and places a hand on Rook’s arm. Rook can never tell if the touches are romantic or not, but he always accepts them without question. He craves them, even; desperately wants the heat of them to burn the fur off of his skin and leave a scar in its wake- for it to stay there forever, in one way or another. Ben’s fingers brush through his fur. Rook isn’t prone to leaving it uncovered, mostly wearing a full suit of armor with gloves and boots to keep himself safe. Following his injury, however, Ben insisted he shower and change into clean clothes after having his stab wound tended to, so now he’s in a tank-top and sweatpants that are a little too short for his long body. His worn clothes sit abandoned in a pile by Ben’s bedroom door. “Rook?”

“Oh,” Rook starts. Ben’s hand lingers a little too long, trailing up his arm before Ben finally pulls it away, careful to avoid touching anywhere near Rook’s wrapped injury. “I am fine, thank you for asking.”

“I’m going after Khyber.”

Rook tilts his head to the side, baffled. He knows Ben is serious based on the tone of his voice. Still… Khyber is dangerous and Ben has been cornered by the huntsman multiple times now. Ben going by himself wouldn’t just be risky, it’d be stupid. 

“You… I am sorry? I must have misheard you.”

“No, you didn’t. I’m going after him tonight. Grandpa managed to get a tracker on his car and-”

“Ben, you can not go by yourself,” Rook interjects, furrowing his brow.

“Yes, I can. I have to- or we’re not going to be able to catch him! I won’t let him get away again.”

“Catching Khyber is not worth you getting seriously injured, or worse, killed.”

“Well, no matter what you think, you’re not in any condition to stop me,” Ben argues as he stands from the bed.

Rook gulps and reaches forward to grab Ben’s hand. It’s cool to the touch and calloused from all the fighting they do. Ben turns to look back at him with wide eyes. Rook drops his hand and stares down into his own lap.

“You are going to go even if I ask you not to?”

“Well, yeah,” Ben answers as if it’s obvious, as if Rook’s concern for him doesn’t matter at all.

“You…” Rook starts with anger bubbling up in his chest.

It’s an odd feeling, one that he hadn’t felt much before meeting Ben. There’s just something about the brunette that’s so incredibly frustrating. Maybe it’s his blatant disregard for others, or maybe it’s the way he so recklessly throws himself in danger’s way without any consideration for his own safety. 

“What? Got something to say?”

Rook hesitates, unsure of how to answer at first. Ben just stands there glaring at him with his arms crossed. 

“Yes, actually,” Rook responds after a few seconds. He stands up from the bed and goes to pick up his pile of old clothing and shattered armor. “Your self-absorbed nature is going to get you killed. When will you stop to consider the consequences your actions have on others?”

“Consequences? Nothing I do affects you, and neither will this!”

“And how did you come to that conclusion, exactly?” Rook demands while pulling his boots onto his feet and tucking his clothes underneath one arm. 

“It’s obvious! You don’t care about me in all of this- you’ve never cared,” Ben spits. His words couldn’t be farther from the truth. Then again, Rook would argue that Ben is even more emotionally oblivious than himself, which is quite the accomplishment. That would be the only explanation for how he hasn’t figured out Rook’s feelings by now when even Kevin, Gwen, and Argit have made jokes about the situation in front of both of them. “What you care about is following the rules and- and controlling me!”

“Controlling you? Are you serious?” Rook scoffs, standing in front of Ben’s bedroom door. Both of his parents are gone on a vacation with Ma Vreedle of all people, so Rook can’t even try to get them to convince Ben to stay. “I do not think there is anyone in this universe let alone on this planet who is capable of controlling the likes of you, Ben.”

“Whatever,” Ben huffs and heads for the door, only for Rook to block his way.

“You can not do this. I will stop you if I have to.”

“Why? Why are you acting like you care about me all of a sudden?” Ben rants, getting closer and closer until his face is mere inches from Rook’s chest. “Worst case scenario, I go do this, and I get hurt, or even die. We’re partners- friends, maybe- but it’s nothing more than that! You’ll get over it, get another partner that’s probably a lot easier to deal with, and you’ll be fine. So, why does it matter what I do? Why do you care?”

“I will not ‘be fine’ if you die, I-” Rook raises his voice, and then stops. He can feel heat rising to his cheeks and he’s suddenly incredibly grateful that they’re covered by fur so he doesn’t have an obvious blush like Ben often does- like Ben does right now. “I...”

“You what?”

“Unlike you, I do not think I am too good to say to you how I feel,” Rook closes his eyes. He’s too scared to see what Ben’s face will look like after hearing what he’s about to say. “I will be shattered if something happens to you, because I love you, and just so there is no confusion… What I mean by that, is that I am in love with you.”

“You-” Ben stumbles over his words, an awkwardly choked noise coming from the back of his throat.

“But you are clearly not reciprocating my feelings, and that is fine,” Rook continues as he reaches behind him and opens the bedroom door.

“But-”

“I never could have expected you to love me. You’re you, after all; Ben Tennyson, the hero who has saved the universe a thousand times, and I am just your partner who you refuse to respect and refuse to listen to- who you never even desired in the first place. I would be a fool to expect more than what you are willing to give, I am aware of that. I have never assumed you would fall in love with me at any point,” Rook says, glancing at Ben over his shoulder. The brunette’s cheeks are bright pink and his pupils are blown wide as he stares at Rook. Rook can’t quite discern the face Ben is making; maybe it’s confused, maybe it’s angry. He himself is too frustrated to figure it out. “But I did make the mistake of assuming you would, at the very least, respect me and value my opinion.”

“Rook, would you just-“

“No, I see how it is now,” Rook interjects, shaking his head. “I can leave you alone, if that is really what you want… Just call me when you need to be rescued like you always do.”

Rook turns to leave, only for Ben to reach out and clasp a hand around his wrist. Rook freezes at the touch- it’s cool yet firm and he wants to stand there and let Ben hold his wrist forever, but he’s so angry that he just can’t. So, he snatches his wrist from Ben’s grasp and stomps out of the Tennyson household. 

As the steps of Rook’s steel-toed boots thump onto the carpeted floor, he can’t help how disappointed he is that Ben doesn’t chase after him.

~

By the time Rook arrives at the plumbers’ headquarters in his truck, his fur is wet with tears and his amber eyes are puffy from crying. He scans his badge to get inside and heads to where he knows Ben’s grandfather, Magister Max Tennyson, will be manning the monitors. 

“Magister Tennyson, sir,” Rook greets with a salute, to which Max turns around from where he’s sitting in front of the many screens.

“Rook, what’s going on?” Max greets, a big grin on his face. He seems excited to see Rook again following their confrontation with Khyber- at least until he sees Rook’s expression. The Magister stands from his chair and crosses his arms as disappointment washes over him. “Oh, no, what’d he do this time?”

“I assume you are referring to Ben?” Rook questions with an awkward laugh.

“When am I not these days?” Max sighs, shaking his head and adjusting the collar of his floral shirt.

“He is going to go after Khyber by himself. He told me that he refuses to let me come with him since I am still recovering from my earlier injury, and he insisted on going alone. I believe he will be angry if he finds out that I have gone behind his back to inform you of this, but I am quite concerned about his well being.”

“That idiot. I put that tracker on Khyber’s getaway car so we could find him together at a later date, not so Ben could go on a wild goose chase all by himself,” Max groans and pinches the bridge of his nose between his thumb and pointer finger. “Hold on, I’ll track him using his badge so I can send him some back up.”

Max turns back to the computers and types in Ben’s plumber identification number so he can pinpoint the location of his badge. Rook wouldn’t usually be so bold, but his concern for Ben overtakes him as he curiously peeks at the computer and then at Max’s face. Max appears to be baffled, his lips pulled tight and the rest of his face scrunched.

“What is it?”

“The badge… The coordinates are still at his parents’ house. Did he say when he was going to leave?”

“No. Him and I got into an argument over this while still at his house and I left, but he declared he was going to leave to go after Khyber then and there, which is what started the argument in the first place. I assumed he left shortly after I did, but if his plumber badge is still there…”

“I’m going to go and check if he’s actually still there or if he’s just trying to pull one over on us by leaving his badge at home,” Max explains, then stands up and places a reassuring hand on Rook’s shoulder. “You should head home and rest up. I’ll let you know what I find, okay?”

“Yes, sir.”

Max walks past him and to the exit of the monitoring room, only to turn and look back at Rook to speak to him one last time before leaving.

“Hey, now, don’t worry yourself to death. You’ve already got a lot on your plate as, and you know how Ben is. He’ll be fine- he always is.”

“Right… I will head home, then,” Rook nods. “Thank you.”

“Of course.”

With that, Max leaves. Rook immediately notices that the rest of the plumbers in the room are staring at him with curiosity in their prying eyes. He wonders if he’s really that obvious… If it’s so easy for them to tell that his concern for Ben goes beyond one plumber caring for his partner’s safety. If they can all tell that he’s in love. 

Embarrassed, he storms out of the base before anyone can ask him about it and gets into his truck so he can drive back home. 

Weirdly enough, as he drives down the streets of Bellwood, he can’t help but notice that his heart hurts far more than the healing wound on his shoulder.

~

That night, Rook finds himself unable to sleep as he sits in the windowsill of his living room, staring out the window. The apartment he started renting a month or so back is small and a little crowded, but most of the time, he doesn’t mind it as it’s significantly larger than the dorm rooms that they had on the plumbers’ base. 

A knock rings through the room. At first, Rook assumes it must be one of his neighbors’ doors, but then there’s a second knock, and then a third. The knocks quickly form a rhythm that Rook recognizes as Ben’s, so he rushes to let his partner inside. When he opens the door, he’s faced with Ben, who is slightly hunched over. He has a black eye, bloody nose, and a busted lip.

“Ben!” Rook exclaims, amber eyes widening in horror. All of the anger, the frustration, and every other terrible thing Ben had him feeling earlier morphs into pure worry and fear. “What happened to you?”

“Rook-“

“You are badly hurt,” Rook scolds and grabs Ben’s hand without thinking. He intertwines their fingers and while he would normally never do something so bold, he can’t stop to think about the implications of hand-holding with a human amidst his many conflicting emotions. He practically drags Ben inside, shuts the front door behind them, and pushes Ben down onto his living room couch. “You should have called me before it got to this point. I do not know if you are aware, but I was waiting by my cell phone and had my badge on hand the entire time you were gone so you could contact me!”

“You were mad at me! You really expected me to call you in the middle of the night to come save my ass after the argument we got into this morning?” 

“I am still upset, but that does not mean I want you to be hurt,” Rook kneels in front of the couch where Ben is sitting, holds both of his hands in his own, and glances up at him.  “Why did you not go to your mother and father? They were supposed to return from their vacation this evening, correct? Or why not your grandfather at the plumbers’ headquarters? He went off to look for you.”

“They don’t understand,” Ben looks away and crosses his arms over his chest. “You’re the only one. You always have been… You’re just easier to talk to. No one else gets me like you do.” 

And Rook pauses, because for the first time since leaving his home planet to become a plumber, he’s being chosen first. He swallows tightly and allows his mind to race. Part of him entertains the idea that Ben may actually reciprocate his feelings, but at the same time… it seems like such a reach that he doesn’t dare to ask. If Ben doesn’t feel the same way, he’d rather they just forget about it and pretend as if nothing happened between them in the first place.

“Hm… So, how did everything unfold?”

“I lost him… We beat the shit out of each other but I had the upper hand. He realized that he wasn’t going to win and made an escape, and I was too messed up to catch him,” Ben explains while running a hand through his hair to push the fluffy brown locks away from his bruised, bloody face. “I barely even made it here to you.”

“I see.”

Rook lets go of Ben’s hands and goes to retrieve a damp washcloth, an ice pack, some bandaids, and a bottle of the water. When he returns, he opens the bottle of water and pushes it into one of Ben’s hands, then sits down next to the other plumber and starts to gently wipe the blood off of his face with the washcloth.

“Not going to lecture me about how I was wrong?” Ben indignantly demands. “No ‘I told you so’?”

“No. You already know you were in the wrong when you went after him. You do not need to be informed of that fact.”

“That somehow made me feel even worse.”

The two plumbers fall silent as Ben chugs the bottle of water he was given by Rook. The crinkle of the plastic bottle echoes through the small room. Rook thoroughly cleans and bandages Ben’s injuries, and though they look gruesome, they prove to be quite minor compared to so many of the other ones Ben has acquired with the work they do. Once he’s finished, he tries to push the ice pack into Ben’s spare hand, only for Ben to put it to the side and reach forward. He holds both of Rook’s hands in his own and stares into his amber eyes.

“What is this?” Rook questions, moving to sit next to Ben on the couch.

“I’m sorry. I do respect you, and I should listen to you more. I do value your opinion, I just…”

“You are stubborn. I understand,” Rook says with a small smile. “It is something I love about you, most of the time. I admire your tenacity. In situations like this, however…”

“I know, and about that… Y’know, it’s pretty messed up to confess your love like that and then leave without letting me respond.”

At that, a lump forms in Rook’s throat. He’s barely able to swallow it in time to reply to Ben, who is staring at him expectantly with an undeniable blush on his face. 

“I see. Would you… Like to respond now?”

“Yeah, I think I should,” Ben answers and leans forward to rest his forehead against Rook’s. Rook freezes in place, his heart skipping a beat. He and Ben have been in closer quarters before due to their profession, but it’s never been so… Intentional. So intimate. Ben shuts his jade green eyes and allows a small smile to take over his face. Rook just stares at him and waits for what’s next. Much to his surprise, Ben gives him a kiss. Though brief, it’s sweet, and enough to lift the weight that’s been on Rook’s shoulders since their argument earlier that day as Ben pulls back. “I love you, too, Rook. I’m glad you told me.”

“Oh.”

“Oh?” Ben laughs.

“It is a lot to process,” Rook answers, barely able to get the words out. “Would you stay here with me tonight?”

“Yeah,” Ben nods, his smile as radiant as the moonlight that shines upon them through Rook’s living room window. “I think I would.”

[autistic-ben-tennyson]

Benlie: Why I love these two

A lot of people in the Ben 10 fandom don’t really like this ship these days. Even back when UAF was airing, most were gushing over Gwevin and there was very little Benlie content like AMVs, fanfics or fanart. Many view Julie as a bland character and while she could have been fleshed out more, I think that’s a bit unfair as well as the idea of her being controlling, toxic or abusive. On the flip side are those that view Ben as a misogynistic incel who only saved Jennifer, Elena and Eunice to get in their pants, when he did care a lot more about Julie than some say. I am aware that there are overzealous stans who treat Benlie like the greatest romance in history and usually do it to drag down Omniverse, but many of us who still ship or enjoy it do so because we wish it could have been done better.

I like these two as a couple, partially because they’re a nice contrast to Gwen and Kevin. Gwevin was the “bad boy and smart girl” opposites attract, angst filled romance people loved. Ben and Julie by contrast are people with similar interests and personalities like Sumo Slammers, horror movies, sports and can be pretty headstrong while having a more compassionate side. Both also used “you’re not a monster, you’re better than this” to get the Dragon/Ship to come to their senses, ironically both incidents involved the Forever Knights. Friends to lovers can be overused or cliche but it can also be wholesome.

One other thing I love about these two is how they bounce off each other. Julie is someone besides Gwen who can remind Ben that there’s more to life besides being a hero, something the original Ben 10,000 struggled with and who pushes him to reign in his jerkass tendencies. Sort of like Robin and Starfire in Teen Titans. She brings out the best in him and he is aware that he’s not a great boyfriend, but he does better than most give him credit for. No hate to Benkai fans but they really brought out the worst in each other while Julie got the short end of the stick from the writers.

I also really like how she’s the one that saved him from being corrupted by the power of Dagon, keeping him from letting the power go to his head which is a nice parallel to Azmuth and Zenith. She was kind of the fourth member of the team before Rook, having helped Ben during Big Chill’s pregnancy, and helping stop the Highbreed war, Ultimate Kevin’s rampage and Ben from abusing the power of Ascalon. She also saved him twice from Elena and as well as when he got his hand cut off and was trapped in the Null Void and reassured him when his identity was leaked.

As stated above, many of us Benlie fans ship it because of its missed potential. The show should have really fleshed out their parents more as we never see them interact and Julie’s dad was shown to hate Ben in his only appearance. Julie could have staged an intervention with Carl and Sandra after the Ultimate Kevin incident and over their concerns about Ben’s fame as that arc needed more consequences. I think Julie would also have been fun to see interacting with Rook as well as the other characters Omniverse introduced.

One other reason I really like Benlie is it has a similar vibe to some of my other favorite ships like Hodaka x Hina or Connverse and it feels very animesque, which makes since as the series is quite similar to a magical girl anime. They genuinely care about each other despite their ups and downs and have a very cute vibe. I headcanon both as bisexual or biromantic given Ben’s “crush” on Nemesis and his interactions with Rook, Rex and Kevin. Julie also seems a bit queer, coming from a strict family, keeping secrets like Ship and slowly breaking out of her shell, realizing what she wants out of life.

People use them arguing or Ben screwing up as a reason it was toxic but I like seeing characters work out their issues and succeeding. They got together in AF and were fairly stable. Then conflicts arose in UA when Ben became famous and Julie began her own career in tennis, but they appear to have reconciled by the finale. Then OV could have had them as partners with Rook, having worked out their issues. Regardless of whether you like them as a couple, fans can all agree that Julie deserved better from the writers and isn’t as bad as the fandom makes her out to be. I’m aware that they were not a perfect romance but they don’t need to be for people to like them.

[msnihilist]

another thing that gets me about ben and gwen is that from what we see in the original series and alien force, it really doesn't seem like ben has much of a social life. I think that for a lot of his teenage years gwen was his best (and possibly only?) friend

Yeah, Gwen and Ben are both such loners. Gwen is shown to have a normal friend (Emily) in exactly one episode. Ben's closest thing to a normal "friend" is literally his two childhood bullies. It's pretty impressive that Kevin managed to get so close to them considering that Literally No One Else is.

[albino-parakeet]

Channeled my younger self’s hatred of receiving hugs for this drawing.

Some doodles that were on the same page

(Its not detailed enough but they're standing at the edge of the whirlpool to go into Golden Wasteland)

Moth: *About to drop his ass into wasteland*

Ben: Where are we going?

Ben: *talking about Sumo Slammers*

Writing pointing to moth: Their ass does NOT know about Sumo Slammers.

[electraslight]

a thing i think should be talked about more in Ben and Kevin's relationship (more specifically the Ben and Kevin patented Cycle of Horrors) is how kevin is complicit in it.

Kevin tries to tell Ben as little abt his feelings as possible and show as little weakness, bc he feels like at the first sign of weakness, ben will leave him, or think he's unstable, or think he's dangerous to be around, so he either lies to seem cooler to him or lies by omission (think about all the things that have to be forced out of Kevin to Ben. Ragnarok, his dad, his marriage to looma, vulcanus, everything Kevin either doesn't tell Ben or lies to him abt) Kevin spends all of his time around Ben trying to be as palatable and cool as possible so Ben doesn't ditch him, including hiding how poor he truly is, making how he relies on Ben to pay for food a joke at bens expense instead of his own, or covering up the fact that he doesn't currently have a place to live by lying about having a house party, or excusing his not being able to keep up with sumo slammers as him 'not watching much TV', almost as if he doesn't have a place to. Ben wants so badly to believe that Kevin's doing good too that he'll overlook signs that Kevin is struggling, so as long as Kevin doesn't say anything, Ben won't notice, and they'll stay in the status quo Kevin is so comfortable in, so Kevin can preusmably keep spending all his money on fixing his car and buying alien tech bc the only reason (in his mind) that Ben and Gwen even want him around is that, and he won't talk to them about that to confirm otherwise or he'll die.

most of the reasons Ben and Kevin aren't doing as good as they could be could be solved if they just talked things out but as seen in the show it's physically painful for both of them... I always found it interesting how Kevin loves to sing Ben's praises, sometimes even to his face, but whenever Ben compliments him he either brushes it off or gets upset.... like in duped, when that nice version of Ben tried to tell him he was a good guy now and that he was sorry for what happened, Kevin got upset. it's almost like he subconsciously doesn't WANT Ben to like him and doesn't WANT to be happy bc he knows, as per Ben and Kevin rules, that it'll be ripped away at some point. that's probably why Kevin always forgives Ben no questions asked, bc he assumes this is as good as things are going to get and that it's a privilege Ben's even kept him around this long, but in doing that he never lets Ben know how hurt he is, so Ben keeps going, on and on and on until a situation happens that brings everything to the surface, they treat each other like shit for a bit, and then they both come crawling back, pretending like nothing happened, with not even a sorry.

Kevin wants it to stay like this, Ben knowing a weird, skewed version of him that's easily bullyable and does whatever he wants because to Kevin it's a miracle Ben even likes that version of him. He'll take insults from Ben and Gwen and never sleep and have endless nightmares about the day they both realize what a piece of shit he is, and he knows that's the best he'll ever get.

[princess-of-the-corner]

Ask HC: There seems to be a decent amount of nerds/geeks/weeabos on the team. So, have you ever had a nerd fight/argument? If so, what fandom/franchise was it for?

Talon, smacking her hands on the table, AA-style: "Yes! These guys think that Mecha Strike is a better franchise than Sumo Slammers!"

Pegasus: "Let's see: Giant Robots, or combination Sumo-Samurai. Which would I rather play?"

Honeybee: "Thanks to a certain groupchat I have at least one more fan bothering me about it and I do think that Sumo Slammers has better lore."

Chat: "Traitor!!!!"

[cryptid-lover-013]

Headcanons for Ben10 Part 6

I feel like Anodite Ben would be more like Sunny (their anodite cousin) and more freely use his anodite form to fight crime. He definitely love the fact he have a secret identity. Ben would use his power more for fun and personal use than Gwen.

Ex. Ben using power to bring his smoothie from close room to him. Levitate the smoothie to mouth as he plays Sumo Slammers.

Ex. Ben turning full anodite as starting fighting Forever Knights.

[willaeru]

Here's Julie ! she's more of a nerd In my au, like to think her and Ben watch take turns watching their fave shows and stuff, her being into shoujo and him being into sumo slammers, and half pay attention while falling asleep on each other.

I also liked the idea of her battle armor being a bit more samurai like for ship so I hope that along with her sex bobomb shirt come through lmao.