#they're literally disposing of a dead body in the last scene

[trrickytickle]

Ten-Tickles 🛸

the punchline was “what does it take to make an alien laugh?” but then again, title would get too long. last fic i did for this franchise was so bad (it was pretty much a glorified headcanon list) so i deleted it 💀 Be warned, a lot of these drabbles have the same sort of wafer-thin setup, I just need excuses to write the situations they're in.

Self-indulgent switch Ben+Gwen drabbles I did in between prompts and such. because 1) I’m a 2000s CN kid and 2) I’m trash lmao. Props to my brother for putting up with me for asking him questions about a show I haven’t seen in years and then again it was only bits and pieces of said show. they should have had a tk scene let me live my truth. and yes i've never watched this show in years but i do have a human encyclopedia at my disposal (shoutout again to my poor brobro)

But anyways, oh my DAYS, Ben and Gwen. Still essential parts of EVERY tickle doodle sheet. They were THE ler-leaning switches ever in my day (old hag voice). DEF annoying lers, tk potential THROUGH DA ROOOOF but the shenanigans are better in small doses. footerfeet tickles in ditto + wildvine + greymatter drabbles btw (if u dont like) (OH and in the last drabble as well)

I am NOT familiar at all with any of the story stuff or like 128923 other serieses. All I know is that there's a blue furry now and what my brother tells me (a whole bunch, it's the tism) (same). This is just my brainvomit.  So yeah. These are the small shenanigan doses. 10 drabbles, 10 aliens, that���s the gist.  YEAH IM TRASH SUE ME

Putting the weird gut-wrenching feeling he got after the Omnitrix would power down again aside, Ghostfreak was a fun one. What was not to love about phasing through walls like a peeping Tom and scaring the crap out of little kids? Best part was- Gwen didn’t seem to like him.

This past summer, the Rustbucket had parked its tires down next to many, many art museums, much to Ben’s dismay. The Cleveland Art Museum was no different to him (it was in Ohio, so it was probably worse).  Marble statues and paintings filled a lifeless square with ivory walls as if to compensate for something. Like the art strung up on the walls, it was a tragic sight. Ben gave a loud groan, to which Grandpa Max shushed in response.

“Look, it’s all part of the deal-” he lectured. “We went where you wanted to go-”

“Blehh-bleh-blehh-bleh-bleh-bleh-bleeh..” Ben mocked, just barely brushing past a delicate display.

“Can’t you have some culture, mush-for-brains!?” Gwen snapped. “This place has lots of history behind it!”

They kept walking, stopping to admire piece after piece after piece, and then they just had to read the little information cards on the bottom. Boring.

“Yeah, yeah, history, schmistory. The guy who drew that’s probably dead anyway. Speaking of dead…” Slamming the dial on a spooky silhouette, Ghostfreak floated up with a chill in the frigid air. 

 "Boo!" he joked, startling Gwen (and everyone else in the museum) with a jolt. She scowled, glaring daggers into Ghostfreak's single pupil.

“What? This place is practically a ghost town already.” Another glare from the ginger. “Tough crowd, I guess.”  Ghostfreak phased through a few statues and peeled off its skin to scare onlookers, then went back to bother Gwen again.

“Heeeeeyyy…” 

"What.” Gwen snapped, turning around from her view of a sculpture. The alien dove through her torso, phasing through and quite literally getting inside her head, possessing her and stringing her hands around like a disorganized puppeteer.

"Stop tickling yourself." Ghostfreak rasped. Out of her control, Gwen's own hands danced around her tummy. Her possessed body struggled to keep from breaking out in a laughing fit, snickering, snorting and gritting her teeth.

"NGH-gh-hh-heh.." Gwen grunted, contorting her twisting smile into a grimace. Her own arms still moved unwillingly around her sides, and Ghostfreak's teasing whispers rang through her own corporal body.

"Stop tickling yourself. Stop tickling yourself. Stooop tickling yourself~" Her cousin's nagging voice surrounded Gwen's thoughts louder than usual, and if that wasn't bad enough, her own fingers involuntarily dug their way into her ribs, and along the hallowing halls reverberated her shrill, loud shriek.

'Hehehe-haha-hYIEEEEK!! Youhohou're such a dweeb!!" Through laughter, her own hands squeesed their way down her sides.

Ghostfreak phased out of her, laughing in a strange demented manner. Scowling, Gwen and Grandpa Max were dragged out of the building whilst Ben floated behind, gloating.

Well, this wasn't the first place they were kicked out of.

The Plumber base was cool at first. The secret entrance was cool. The alien ray-guns were cool. Even the prospect of plain old Grandpa kicking butt for a living was cool. As visits became more frequent, the wow-factor dulled. Grandpa Max would almost always be off discussing confidential matters, and Ben and Gwen would be left to their own devices under the vague condition of "don't touch anything", and more often than not, Ben would run into a room he wasn't allowed in while Gwen ran after him, and such was the case. A monitor twice the size of a movie screen fell before the cousins' eyes, with a keyboard thrice as wide to boot.

"Too many failed login attempts. Try again in fifteen minutes!?" Ben groaned. "You'd think we'd be allowed to test some of this stuff out.."

"What part of "don't touch anything" do you not understand, bozo?" Gwen retorted.

"Relax, it's not like he'll notice.." Ben shrugged in response, fingers wriggling over the cluttered keyboard. Before he could lay a finger on it, Gwen held him up by the back of his shirt.

"Hey! Do I look like I want Grandpa to kill us?"

Writhing, Ben looked down, turning the Omnitrix dial and slamming it, resulting in a mass of neon-streaked ferrofluid coagulating into his technological form. Upgrade slithered its way out of Gwen's reach and enveloped the screen, and Ben was interlinked to the monitor.

"Wo-ho-hoah! Look at all these! I don't even know what to name all of them!" Upgrade chirped, putty-like head popping out of the monitor. Slides of alien data files popped up in duochromatic green and black. Gwen groaned in frustration and scoured the keyboard for some sort of power down switch.

"Come on, come on! The Plumbers should know where to put a dang off button!" Disgruntled, Gwen's fingers closed as many tabs as her cousin could open. Ben felt jolts of static zapping at his mechanical form. For every press on the unnecessarily complicated contraption, the little zaps would grow increasingly inconvenient. And they tickled. Bad. Upgrade thrashed, threatening to jump out of the screen.

"-ngh- Would you stop -ugh- bothering me? I'm trying to get us- YOU out of trouble!" Gwen dodged the assault of his synthetic limbs while resuming her attempt to shut the device off.

"Hehe-heh-hey! I'm nohot trying to, you're tickling me!" Upgrade jittered. There was an eager glint in Gwen's eyes which made him regret his choice of words. Like a pianist, she cracked her knuckles, wiggling her fingers before the keys.

"Oh yeah? How's this for tickling? How about this?" Gwen pressed a crescendo of keys in a sadistic cacophony in a quick, succeeding fashion. Her fingers precisely clicked away from the top row all across the bottom. Upgrade's putty-like construct could barely constrict, only jutting outwards as each shockwave coursed through his synthetic body.

"G-gh-HA-HA-heh-HAHA-hah-heh-ha-HAHAHAHAHA! Quihihit it, lame-brain! Stohop, stohoho-hop! Ihi-hihi'm beheh-hehe-gging you!"

"Nope. Serves you right!" Gwen continued, smirking in sadistic glee at her newfound knowledge. Her hands criss-crossed across the board, aiming for certain nooks and crannies (the space bar was especially bad), laughing along with the Mechamorph.

As what was left of ten minutes ticked away, the clicking of keys grew louder and faster, and Upgrade's chippery laughter rang through the hallowed halls of the Plumber base.

It wasn’t fair. No matter how many games of license plate bingo Ben betted it on, it was always Gwen who got to sit and soak up the AC in the front seat. It was torture, seeing her kick back, a gloating grin square on her face when she looked back at the shaky, sizzling back seat- and desperate times like this called for desperate measures. Annoying ones. Wandering his way down the matted carpet of the Rustbucket on his tiptoes, Ben crept up at his cousin and goosed her in the sides with an evil glint in his eyes.

“Poke.”

A squeal! made Grandpa look back from the steering wheel and groan dejectedly. Gwen scowled, gritting her teeth.

“Rrrr!  Why do you have to be such a- EEEEE!!” A plethora of pokes followed from her sides up to her ribs, along with occasional digs at her armpits- that is if they weren’t slammed shut in preparation for imminent attack.

“Gr-Grandpa! He’s being annoying!” To no avail, Grandpa Max kept on driving, trying to shut out her high pitched laughter.

“I’m only stopping if you’ll let me sit up front..” Ben retorted obnoxiously. “Poooooke- OW!” Gwen flicked him on the index finger in response, giggling smugly. He attempted to reach in numerous times afterwards, but each one would be deflected by Gwen’s hand.

“Nice try, doofus! That won’t work on me!” she stated, hands on hips. It was desperate times like now which called for desperate measures. Knowing Ben, he wouldn’t back down from a challenge, and when Gwen heard the dial-turn of the Omnitrix, it spelled trouble.

“But this might!” Four-Arms’ booming, baritone voice growled. His massive size bent him double against the roof of the RV, which only made Gwen closer to (two) arms’ reach.

“Don’t. Even. Think. About. It.”

But think about it he did. Gwen’s wrists were grasped by Ben’s single muscle-bound alien arm, lifting her up, and his other three were prodding away while she squirmed at the hands of the squatting extraterrestrial.

"Hihihehehehehe-AH-haha! Puhuhut me dohohown!" She bucked, instinctively kicking the window so hard the air freshener swung like a pendulum. Grandpa Max lifted one hand off the steering wheel to facepalm and rub his temples. Kids.

"Surrender the front seat!"

"Or whahahat, you slimeba-ha-hall!?"

"Or I'm amping it up!" Halting the stabbing jabs, Four-Arms lifted Gwen's legs up, receiving full access to her torso. Her long-sleeved tee was pulled to reveal her midsection, which his brawny lower hands then toyed with like an organ. "So, about that front seat.. Ready for it to be mine now? Huh??.." " ..Huh? Aw, MAN!" Like it was fate, the Omnitrix timed out in a flash of red, and Ben was met with a stern Grandpa-glare.

Why'd she always have to win?

"Kk-ggh-HA-HA! That's unfahair! G-Gwen, you're che-hee-HEA-ting!" 

"Hah-how is it chehe-heating if- -ngh- I'm nohot letting you cheat!?" 

The plasticine squeak of chafing against polyester was frequent as gunfire in the warzone that was the Rustbucket and laughter filled summer air like mustard gas- an all-out tickle tussle had arose in the midst of a stop for gas and supplies. Gwen had the upper hand, as Ben had slid off onto the carpet from her dirty tactic of holding up his left hand (conveniently also his cool alien watch-wielding hand) and targeting his armpit. Hypocritically, she reached over for her spellbook,  leaning over on the booth seat as her cousin floundered on the carpet, and she had let go, unaware, only to look back at a flash of neon green. Ditto emerged, splitting into one- then two- then three. 

"Uh-ooooh, looks like somebody's outnumbered!" One chatty clone piped while the other snuck up behind her back, putting its arms above Gwen's shoulders and mercilessly targeting her tummy. The other two, however, grabbed her ankles and tossed her shoes off and gave each other the same shit-eating knowing smirk, cartoonishly wiggling their free fingers. 

"Hah-hehe-HA-ha-HA! Ahaha-ha-quit it, quit it, qui-hih-hi-hit it!" Gwen repeated, giggling.

"Raspberry on three?" the Ditto at her left foot remarked, the rest nodding. 

"Three.. two.." 

"One!" Gwen yelled, squeezing the Ditto behind her's side. All three yelped in unison, and the smile on her face shifted to one involuntary to a knowing grin. Smirking, she pinned the clone down, pursing her lips and leaning in for a satisfyingly sloppy raspberry, then  another, and then another. All three laughed hysterically, swatting at air. 

"guh-HA-HAHA-AHAHAHA-HA!! Stoppit! P-puh-PLEEASE!" 

"Hah-HA-Ha-HAHA-Haha-have MERCY!!" 

"Nnnnghh-HHHAHA-HA!! It TICKLES!!" 

"Not 'till lunch, dwe- ACK!" Gwen called back as the Omnitrix timed out, only to be greeted with a pounce by her now-human cousin, his fingers threateningly spidering over her. "Don't even! B-Be-hehe-hen!"

Typically, Gwen wasn't one to boast. It was mainly Ben's antics that kept her humble during the road trip. Today seemed to be a rather obnoxious exception- she'd just grasped a spell, and used it every chance she got. Throughout this long summer day, cries of "Reanima Verdanica!" irritated Ben and to an extent, Grandpa Max to no end as flowers bloomed wherever she went.

"Alright, alright! I get it! You can make a few posies and pansies, what's the big deal!?" Ben whined. No response. Thinking the campsite they were parked at could use a little sprucing up, wildflowers sprouted from the mana on Gwen's hands onto the ground. Flowers that were tenfold their original size were visible from the sun-faded windows. Ben slumped onto the dinette table, rolling his eyes, when not long after he decided to take matters into his own hands.

"A little Wildvine'll show her who's boss!" Evergreen now surrounded the inside of the vehicle in a flash of light.  Ben, in Wildvine's form, slithered out the door and snuck up behind his cousin.

"Reanima...verdanicAAHHH! What is WITH you, freakazoid!?" 

"Hah! How's this for a plant?" Wildvine growled. "Betcha flowers can't do this!" Extending like a jumper cable, a tendril from his left hand extended, grabbing Gwen by her legs. Upside-down, the spellcaster struggled in her surprisingly strong bonds. Her spellbook fell to the floor with an underwhelming thud.

"Grrrr! Let me down, or-"

"Or what? You're gonna make me a flower crown?" He gloated. Wildvine's tuberous face shifted into a smirk, and from his sides, he conjured three sets of rakelike vines- two of which wormed into Gwen's armpits, the other pair slowly skittered against her ribs and tummy, and, to her relief, the last pair laid still against his roots. His methods were slow, but boy, were they evil.

"Ngh-hehe-gGGGGH! Reanima-haha... Verda-HA! Reanima Ver-daha-HAnicA! Ngh.. STUPID spell!" Continually, Gwen attempted to say the spell straight-faced, but humiliating giggles would slip out in between her attempt to resist. Not even weeds would grow from the ground. 

"Payback, princess!" Wildvine rasped, the last set of arms shot up and the left arm grabbed hold of her left foot, whilst the right took off her shoe and began to scribble and shuffle against her sole in quick succession. The other vines followed suit, speeding up.

"Ugh! Reanima-HA-HAHAHAHA! Eeee-ya-hehehe-HAHAHA! You are so-hoho getting it when I'm out of here!"

She'd keep that promise and keep it well.

(oh ma JESUS i had to do research (ick) to get this one to work, i'm also a dog person if you couldn't tell)

Most people associated summer with sweltering heat and running through sprinklers. Most people, however, would not associate it with a life-or-death journey to retrieve lost alien DNA samples across the galaxy on a spaceship. Half the Omnitrix's rogue's gallery had been magically corrupted in a battle with Hex, giving Ben limited access to its library. 

It wasn't as grueling as the past battle against Vilgax- the aliens scanned in the past had offered themselves up again without a fight- but Wildmutt's sample was different. Its home planet Vulpin also housed heaps of malignant radioactive waste, so Tetrax, the crystalized mercenary, took matters into his own hands and brought it onto the ship. Flighty, feral and difficult to control, it was hard to ease. 

"Now, no sudden movements.." Tetrax husked. "Just touch and scan." 

"Aw, yeah! Just one left and it's hero time!" Ben boasted. To prevent further damage, the Vulpimancer was surrounded by a ring of creeping green crystal. 

"Nice doggy.. good doggy.." Gwen attempted to reason. The alien responded, eagerly lapping her face and showering it in thick drool. "Ugh! Gross!" Sniffing the air, the canid alien inched toward the two human children. It snarled, then with a series of curious pants, leapt at Ben. 

"Yeesh. Talk about a sudden movement." Gwen chided. The Omnitrix-bearer was nervous- its sharp teeth and cud-like drool was an inch to his face. Tetrax and Gwen flinched. Ben knew Wildmutt, and he knew him well- this beast could maul him at any second. 

What came instead was much less lethal- the alien's panting changed to that of excitement, and nuzzling against the fabric of Ben's shirt, it started to sniff him, the gusts of hot air blowing against his tummy. 

"Nnghh! Gh-hh-Ahah-Hh--" 

Gritting his teeth, it didn't take long before he'd burst into loud, embarrassing laughter. 

"AH-hah-ha-ha-HAHA! Hehe-haha- Te-hetrax! Make him stohohop!" 

Tetrax stood, smiling innocently. Boyish laughter urged the Vulpimancer to lean in closer and pepper Ben with slobbering dog-kisses, much to Gwen's delight- this was perfect blackmail material. 

"Aw, who's a good boy? Whooo's a good boy? Who loves torturing my doofus cousin? You do, ooooooh, yes, you do!" Gwen cooed, teasing Ben with wriggly fingers. 

"Gaha-guh-Gwen! J-Juhust ge-heh-het Wildmutt offa mehe-hehe!" 

"What's that? The doofus says he likes it?" She chided. 

"Now, now, don't tease him too much. Scanning mode will trigger soon." Tetrax responded, ceasing playing dumb. 

Ben bucked, as the Vulpimancer's head wormed its way into his armpit, instinctively causing him to conk it on its skull with the Omnitrix. The watch glowed a dim orange as a robotic voice reverbrated-

 "Scanning mode engaged." Finally. Both Tetrax and Gwen helped the mushy, giggly puddle on the floor which was Ben Tennyson up. Panting in relief, the tingly, shaggy sensation passed. The Omnitrix was complete, and it was safe travels back from here- safe, long, travels where Gwen wouldn't let him live this down.  

(this picture looks really stupid HAHA)

Despite the wide range of useful alien heroes in the Omnitrix, it was no secret that Ben had a clear bias towards Four-Arms- what more could you want? Heck, the guy was hulked out, with four knuckle sandwiches at the ready- and his strength could fare useful for any situation.. especially annoying Gwen. The cousins were tasked to work together on setting up camp, and knowing them, things would only take a turn for the worse. Littered across the campsite were pinewood not yet built into a campfire and tents left unpitched- all because the two were too busy squabbling. 

"...What part of "pitch a tent" do you not understand, bonehead!?" Gwen nagged, hands on hips. 

"Grandpa said that was your job! Remind me who helped gather the firewood earlier?" 

"Four-Arms." she chided. "It's not fair! You get to go hero and I've gotta do everything myself!" Just as fate had intended, the Omnitrix sparked green once again, and Ben gave a mischievous grin, making the redhead want to swallow her words. 

"Oh, I'll have fun showing you what else he can do!" He wiggled his fingers, pressing the watch dial down. In a flash of quick metamorphosis, the boy emerged as- 

"CANNONBOLT!?"  

"Hah! Please. Like that thing can pitch a tent." 

Ben, disappointed with the form he had taken, looked down at his radish-like feet, then back up at his armor plated shoulders- then his fluffy claws... and a devious idea hatched in his spherical head. Grabbing Gwen, Cannonbolt curled up halfway, and though she couldn't see it through her predicament, there was a wide, fanged smirk across his face. 

"AH!! Whatever you're doing, don't even-" 

"Too late! Tickle-tickle tickle tickle-tickle.." His four-pronged claws wormed their way into Gwen's shirt, scribbling and squeezing against her sides while their unbearable fur fluffed against her midsection. Her tummy jerked around as she writhed and threw her head back. 

"Ggg-rr-HHH!!-Hh-HAHAHA-hahahEEEEK! Eeee- Sss-HH-Stoppit! Put me dOHOWN!" 

"Hmm... no. Unless.." Laying on his plated shell, Cannonbolt remained nonchalant as Gwen squealed, cackled and bargained. He upped the ante, lightly tracing over her navel and going over her shirt to poke at every individual rib while she was held snug in a bear-hug. "You let me go hero." 

"Nnnnn-NEHE-Never!" Fighting the press of its claws, Gwen put up a fight- only urging Ben to further egg her on. Bad idea. 

"Well, in that case..." A barrage of quick, spiderlike claw-movements were skidding and skittering around Gwen's tummy. The pine forest clearing around them were as much as a wreck for once, and a familiar voice boomed from within the trees louder than her laughter. 

"Benjamin. Kirby. Tennyson." Grandpa Max scolded. Gwen and Cannonbolt stood like deer in headlights, darting their eyes along the mangled campsite. At least there was someone who could keep Ben in check.

Nothing in the Rustbucket worked like it was supposed to. Flushing the toilet was a three-man effort, the oven would start sparking when the stove was on, and most inconveniently, opening the fridge cut the air conditioning- which was left running as the Tennysons trekked back from a strenuous hike at the Grand Canyon, and to their dismay, Ben and Gwen were greeted by a snail trail of melted ice-cream stretching from the faulty fridge.

“Aw, man! That was our only real food!” Ben whined, wiping his brow, standing at the puddle like it was blood at a crime scene. Gwen stood next to him, equally distraught, as the chunks of cookies and cream barely reached their shoes.

“Yeah, if only SOMEONE didn't leave the AC on!” she snapped.

"Oh, that's an easy fix. A little Grey Matter'll work wonders!” The tiny trooper jumped up onto the kitchenette’s counter, over the stove and made a springy leap up to the top of the fridge and launched himself toward the dusty air vent. Incessantly technobabbling to himself, Gwen looked up with a little too much faith in him. 

"You know, I think this is one of the only good ideas you've had all summer.." 

Grey Matter crawled, slimy hands soldering wires to the best of its abilities. Almost there. Wiping out gunk from crevices without breaking a sweat, his sagacity was paying off well.

“I think it’s working!” exclaimed Gwen, a moment too soon.

“Just a clean around the filter, and..” Red light creeped through the vent as a low jitter signaled the Omnitrix’s cooldown. There was a thud- and Ben’s lower half stuck out through the roof, leaving the air conditioner in worse condition. 

"-Unf! Oooowww!!" 

Stuck in the vent from his shoulders up, he could do nothing but kick and flail- as Gwen erupted in mocking laughter. 

"Hey, hey! Help! Seriously! Stop laughing and let me down! Ugh, I'm telling on you!" Ben whined and kicked at Gwen's face, unaware. 

"Oh, I'll help you down, alright.." Her smug smirk, one of pure, unadulterated childlike mischief, was out of sight, which left Ben oblivious to the assault that was to come. Yanking his shoes off with a struggle, and swiftly, her shifting fingers swooped along his socked feet.  This was so worth losing an entire tub of ice cream.

"WAIT!!- Nnng- heh-HUH-hahaha-Whahaha-what gi-HI-hihives!?" 

"I'm just helping you down, what's with the attitude? Do you want to spend the rest of summer vacation with your head up a vent like an ostrich!?" Gwen played dumb, almost-reluctantly sliding off Ben's left sock, nimble fingers flossing through toes, ringing unrelenting laughter. 

"Ggh-HAH-haha-HA!! Stohop making f-huhun of me!" With each trace at the arch and dig at the toes, his face flushed from above. Gripping desperately onto the roof, he thrashed, threatening to crash on the carpet. 

"I bet there's a spell in here somewhere.." pondered Gwen. 

"nn-NNN-PLEAHASENO!" In fear of the mere suggestion, Ben fell facefirst into the confection on the carpet. Holding back giggles, Gwen walked away as he grumbled. 

They wouldn't be getting any cool air for days.

"G-AAAAAAH!!" 

A failed leap of faith sent Gwen, donning the Lucky Girl mask, careening down the Seattle Space Needle hopelessly, just barely escaping Charmcaster and her bag of tricks. Her own hero exploits were as infrequent as they were dangerous- which was why, for safety's sake, she would be frequently accompanied by Ben.

"huh-huh-Phew..-whoo-.." 

As her arms flailed in an ostrichlike attempt in flight, Stinkfly's gangly hands had grabbed her mid-air, a light buzz coming from his insectoid wings. Gwen was safe and sound- but his putrid smell couldn't escape her. 

"I really saved your butt there, didn't I?" his phlegmy voice reverbrated, Charmcaster's flying golems hot on their trail. They weren't any trouble- they were easily apprehended by the goop from his eyestalks. 

"Yeah, but you really didn't need to smell like one! Now, hurry!" As they lost the evil enchantress, Gwen sassed and the duo flew toward the Rustbucket. Manoeuvreing over buildings with beating wings and showing off to onlookers, Ben was taking his sweet time for someone she told to hurry.

Gwen rolled her eyes. "What part of hurry don't you under-ST-eEK! " With a mischievous smirk, Stinkfly's legs reached over to poke at Gwen's middle- exposed from the wind blowing against her costume. Letting go of one arm, its brittle claw wormed (insect pun) into her armpit.

 "Ahaha-HA! Y-yooo-you-hoo-hoo STINK!" she bucked. 

"I know!" Keeping it up, two legs squeezed at the midriff like dough, while another set prodded at her ribs. "Not so lucky, are you now? Are you?" Even in a repulsive form, Ben still couldn't help but boast. 

"Ghh-AHAHA-Heh-sto-STAHAHAP!" Gwen cackled. Fortunately, he heeded her demand- but only when they noticed Charmcaster, brandishing her magical bag behind them. Glowing red, the Omnitrix cooled down. Trouble. 

"Looks like Lucky Girl has a weakness!.." she cooed. "And, oh, would you look at that! I have just the thing.." As wriggly, teasing stone hands flew towards Gwen, she couldn't help but grumble under her breath. Cousins.

(I ran out of "good" aliens.)

(also Gwendolyn's design is just so fucking good I literally love it for reasons I can't explain)

Another time adventure was the perfect opportunity to whisk Ben and Gwen away from a lunch of fried grasshoppers. Though their presence would cause many, many timeline discrepancies, they were the key to thwarting a major anomaly in Ben 10,000's way ..but their importance wouldn't stop the two from running amok in his headquarters. The two marveled at their own accomplishments, their egoes only expanding in the process. 

"Woah! I get to learn more spells?" Gwen leafed through collections of magical runes, unusually eager. A slew of scrolls rolled off onto the metallic floor making a mess. "And that's my black belt!" 

"Another hoverboard? Oh-ho-HO, check it out!" Pushing buttons and flipping switches they shouldn't have, the cousins made a mess of the tall tower- and it wasn't long before their future selves stepped up from the elevator doors, glaring dourly. 

"What have we told you two about not touching anything?" reprimanded the older Ben. "That was a present from New Petropia!" 

"You too, Gwen." Gwendolyn deadpanned. "You know, I'd think us- you out of all people would know better." 

"Ugh, jeez! Guess you're still no fun.." The ten-year-old Ben rolled his eyes, blowing a raspberry at his elder- who exchanged a sly, knowing smirk with Gwendolyn.

"Well, we do know a thing or two about fun..." In the blink of an eye, Future-Ben went Four-Arms, holding his younger self up by the wrists with his first pair of arms. Gwendolyn straddled the latter cousin's legs with a wry smile. 

"Consider this revenge." she teased, baring her long nails at Gwen, tracing, scribbling and spidering over her sides. Four-Arms, bigger and more rugged than he was in the past, dug into Ben's ribcage and armpits, just harsh enough to be unbearably soft. 

"Wha-What are you- Wait! No! We're really so-HORRY! Ah! Haha-hah-heh-HA!" Gwen pleaded through laughter, throwing her head back as her older self dug into her armpits while she thrashed with every touch. 

"Ple-HEASE! I'm -huh- not gonna-ha-ha- touch yo-hour stuff! You're gonna KI-HEHE-HILL ME!" 

"No use bargaining, shrimp." Changing form, a (new!) agile simian alien emerged and webbed Ben up. "I call him Spidermonkey." Its tail yanked his shoes off, and eight fluffy fingers spidered over his soles. Hitting the floor, he thrashed in silky bonds as one of many new forms exploited weaknesses that he himself knew better than anyone. 

"Just s-huh-SE-hehend us to the Null Vo-hoi-d ahat thi-his point!" 

"We're just getting started! I've got 9,998 heroes left!" 

"You know, Gwen.. great point earlier. I did get to learn more spells. Esthesio Pluma!" The younger redhead gulped, preparing for the worst. Fluffy feathers descended out of nowhere, flitting and floating at the flick of Gwendolyn's wrist. They ghosted over her stomach, telekinetically flying into her shirt to fluff at her belly button. The other plumes brushed over her neck in slow methodical fashion, and into her armpits. 

"AH-hehe-HEH-hehehe! Lemme GO-hoho! You've behehe-heen through this!" Gwen reasoned, attempting to swat away the feathers, curling up into a kicky ball. 

"Should we let up?" Nonchalantly, the older Ben rasped whilst running around in XLR8's form, waggling his tail quickly over his younger self's stomach while his claws targeted multiple spots simultaneously.  

"We don't want us to suffer forever.." Gwendolyn assured, relinquishing control of the floating feathers. As quickly as he started, XLR8 stopped, reverting back into Ben. The past-cousins had a moment to catch their winded breath before getting back on their feet. 

"-huff- I'll get me back someday.. Maybe.. now!" Just as Ben was about to slam his watch, his future self poked him on the stomach. "-y-IEEK!" 

"If you tried, we'd know." she jeered. 

----------------------------------------------

and that's the end of that! damn, that last one was long. back to requests!

[idealisticrealism]

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So many things happening in this BTS vid/trailer so I'm gonna make a list: (warning, spoilers ahead)

Well they confirmed that the theme of the season is Thony finding a way to survive after losing all her usual supports

Fi seems to question if fighting to get back to the US is worth it? (they're totally just saying that for drama; she'll be back lol)

My dream of a Thony and Nadia team-up is coming true, thank god. Let's just hope it lasts after they learn of Arman's death...

Thony meets Arman's parents, and I'm going to cry so much

There are so many clips of Thony looking absolutely devastated and distraught, though that's kind of standard for this show lol

Thony cleaning up a crime scene in a warehouse for Jorge feels far too much like a redo of meeting Arman in 1x01 and I hate it

Though it looks like this time she'll literally have to cut up the bodies to dispose of them, and damn that's next level

Ramona shows up at Thony's house; she seems to actually be the one in charge rather than Jorge, who is the younger brother. Which could mean the writers are going to redo the dynamic of Arman and Hayak, where Arman (Jorge) has no choice to put Thony in these tough situations in order to protect her from becoming 'useless' to Hayak (Ramona)? Though Jorge thinks Thony should already have been killed, which is exactly the opposite to how Arman was with her when they met

"Jorge is fascinated by Thony and who knows, it could evolve into something" It it evolves into anything other than her killing him, there's gonna be hell to pay

It looks like Fi's parents house is attacked by men with guns??? And Fi seems to almost be on the run in some shots? What's going on over in The Philippines???

JD is back yay

Russo is also back, and busy raiding La Habana

Thony holds a gun on someone who is kneeling in the desert, and also Chris looks to be out in the desert too??? What is happening

Jorge holds a gun on Nadia while she's standing next to a dead body in a body bag- is it Arman or just someone that they just thought might have been him?

Anyway whoa that was far more info about S3 than I expected to get at this stage, but I'll take it. Let's just hope this season isn't just about being 'intense', but also about grief and family and women supporting each other no matter what...

[ambivalent-anarchy]

Defending Peter Parker (Round 2: Tom Holland)

Here <- Andrew Garfield

Soooooo I'm doing this cuz I'm bored to show y'all how dumb some of your arguments and criticisms of the live action spidermen are. I did Garfield already. I'll do Maguire if someone shows me where people have hated on his spidey cuz all I ever see for him is people treating him like he's the most perfect Peter Parker to ever exist. I'd never tell anyone how they're "supposed" to feel about a situation so I won't do that and also don't take this seriously I'm just a dumb teenager. I'm just taking the dumb opinions y'all like to pass as fact and rebutting them with actual facts.

"hE's OnLy So PoPuLaR bEcAuSe He'S hOt"

😐If this is your main critique of Tom Holland's spiderman, pls go find another one. This is so overused. The "they're only famous cuz they're hot" excuse has been used for every hot actor/actress ever. At this point, it isn't even real criticism, you just come off as lame. And yeah, alot of people like him because he's hot, but that's definitely not the only reason.

"hE's NoT sPiDeRmAn. He'S iRoNbOy!"

UUUUUGGGGGGHHHHHHH okay let's get to it. (If you can't tell, I really hate this argument)

1) Let's be real. The fandom pushed irondad wayyyy more than the actual movies did.

2) If you still use this argument after Far From Home, you missed the whole point of what FFH was supposed to be.

I was scrolling through tumblr and I saw a great point that someone made.

That entire movie was about him coming into his own as a hero, facing his problems head-on, and dealing with the threat by himself. That was the point of the whole movie. Yes, he had the Stark tech to help him make a suit, but he designed it himself, and then he went up against a threat that had incredibly powerful Stark tech at their disposal and still won. By himself. Everyone was asking who the next Iron Man would be and Happy even flat out said "You're not Iron Man." Because he isn't. He came into his own. He is established now.

Peter started the movie a bit lost without Tony and just wanting to deny his responsibilities and get away for a while.

He ended the movie finally accepting himself for who he was and even having to fight against Stark technology. He had to rely on himself and instead of worrying about this title that's been put on him, he has to just go with his own instincts (all the way down to his web shooters running out and having to literally just rely on his mind and his body) and look his responsibilities in the face. Idk a better way for him to have broken out of being "ironboy".

3) Plus, they needed some way to bring Spiderman into the MCU. And Tony is practically the MCU's Bruce Wayne when it comes to "adopting" children. Of course he was gonna be the one to bring him in.

"He HaS tOo MaNy MeNtOrS! tHeY nEeD tO sToP hOlDiNg HiM bAcK aNd LeT hIm GrOw Up AnD bE aLoNe!"

Hahaha no.

Tony- okie dokie that's only one

Happy- Happy Hogan is not Peter's mentor. He literally helped him out in ONE scene. That is not enough to be a mentor.

Mysterio- He is also not a mentor. Storywise, he was Peter's scapegoat to caste his responsibilities onto because he didn't want them/feel he was worthy of them. And then later he was a villain. Just because the two have one small pep talk, doesn't mean he's a mentor.

I think most ppl that say this stuff really just don't want Peter to have any help. What you guys fail to realize is that getting help does not make you any less of a hero. You can still be a solo hero and get a peptalk every now and then. Batman, Superman, Ironman. They all get help from people in their movies and I don't see anyone complaining about it or saying they need to be alone.

Also, grow up? This dude is literally a sophmore/junior in high school. They talk so much about how he's literally a kid. Alot of the spiderman comics take place with him still being in high school. He doesn't have to be an adult. And as far as maturity goes, it's not like he's a dumb kid. He's just a teen doing what teens do.

"nO uNcLe BeN!"

Come on guys. How many times have we seen this origin story? We all know it.

The story takes place when he's ALREADY spiderman so Uncle Ben is ALREADY dead. (They even have his suitcase in FFH). Just because they don't really mention it doesn't mean it didn't happen. We don't need to see the same origin story again. I mean, does every Batman movie mention Bruce's parents dying in the alley? No. Cuz we all already know it does. Origin stories are integral but the MCU wasn't erasing his, they were simply just starting after it.

And in every spidey story Uncle Ben always teaches him "with great power comes great responsibility". Well if you watch the movies, MCU Peter learns his lessons in responsibilities sooooo we're covered there.

"When you can do the things that can, but you don't, and then the bad things happen, they happen because of you."

Yeah yeah we all love Uncle Ben but him already passing doesn't mean the story's bad. That's just where they wanted to start lol.

"ThErE's No ReAl CoNsEqUeNcEs WhEn If LoSeS!"

Homecoming: If Vulture would've won, there would've been more easily accessible alien weapons available for criminals like the Shocker, the Tinkerer, etc. Also Vulture would have been a criminal loose on the streets. Regardless of his intentions, he was a guy willing to kill for what he wanted.

FFH: What Mysterio was doing, even though it was an illusion, was actually causing casualties. His workers talked about it to him over and over again. Especially if the last attack in London (i think?) would have worked, alot of people would have died. Also the world would have been tricked into depending on someone that actually couldn't really keep them safe.

Lol but regardless, Peter doesn't have to be dealing with a gigantic threat. The whole thing about being a superhero is doing what's right, regardless of how big or small the situation is. He's literally fought with the Avengers. I think he's proven himself.

All in all Tom Holland is the best (for me personally). I never have an issue when he's on screen and he's really just so awesome😊

Tagging great ppl: @allegra-writes , @yumings , @spideyyeet , @sunkissedspidey , @tommyunderoos , @chaoticpete , @sovereignparker , @thesherlockianavenger , @bubblebucky , @eridanuswave , @ithoughtthiswastwitterbutfr , @kidney9-9 , @gwenvrse , @the-weird-bisexual , @kelieah

[atsunflower]

Hospital for souls — Silent rebellion

Rated: SFW

Author notes: Man, this chapter was a pain. There isn't much to say about this one. Thanks for everyone who left a comment in the last chapter, y'all are absolutely endearing.

Warnings: Mentions of anxiety, cursing and very pissed off people.

III — Silent Rebellion

Previous || Next

Screams and pleas filled his sleep. His mind was frantic, but his body felt like it was cemented on the surface he laid.

Memories were vivid in the back of his mind, though he couldn't see anything with closed eyelids.

He remembers the glint of metal and he remembers the metal in the blood stench.

Am I dead? — and his body jolted awake.

The discomfort Sakusa felt wasn't caused by the way he slept in the couch and he wasn't disgusted by the sweat layering his skin.

He felt disgusted by the memory of crimson painting his hands.

Recalling the vivid image, his legs led him to the kitchen in auto pilot mode. Reaching for the sink, hands grabbed the soap, rubbing it as if his life depended on it. His eyes wandered around the place, taking in the cleaniness of it.

She had a good taste, he would give her that.

"Shit, Komori" In long strides he went for the bedroom the Kobun was. Resting his body against the doorframe, he took on the scene before him.

In the bed, the brown-haired male slept in a peaceful state, as if his life wasn't on the line a couple of hours ago.

Through the chapped lips, air exhaled in a steady pace; the sight itself allowing Sakusa to breath properly for the first time within the last hours.

"Sakusa-san?" Your whisper ringed on his ears. You came from your personal bathroom, holding a bunch of clothes and bandages.

Staring at your figure, he saw how tired you looked. He couldn't ignore the bruises and scrapes littering your hands and face either."Komori-san had a tranquil night. But I still think he should go to a hospital, just in case" He noded, stare hardening while you spoke.

"How are you?" The tall male asked in a mere courtesy, you were still unsure wether he cared or not about your well-being.

"Fine" You spat drily before making your way to the sleeping man. "Gotta wake him up to see how the wound is" the whisper left your lips in a rushed manner.

Sakusa observed as you crouched down to the bed's level, setting the materials you brought on the nightstanding. Placing a hand on Komori's right shoulder, you shook him gently, only to startle him awake.

"[Name]?" The man frowned, holding the hand you had on his shoulder on an vice grip. "What the hell? Where the fuck is Kiyoomi?" Hatred dripping out of his grey irises, you shivered under the weight of his stare.

"I'm right here, Komori" Your husband said pulling off of the doorframe. A sigh of relief left the kobun's lips while both males exchanged knowing looks.

You cleared your throat, shaking the wrist Komori was still grasping.

"Can I see your wound so you guys can discuss whatever?" You didn't mean to snap, but hell, were you tired. At least, the brown haired man had the decency to look sheepish at his outburst. "Other than pain, are you feeling anything?"

"It just hurts like hell" Komori replied eyeing you. He took in your appearence, noticing how bruises litered your face, how a greyish tone colored your eyelids and how chapped your lips were. There was a weight in your features that made you look even more tired than you were supposed to be.

"Do you think you can bend the ring and pinky fingers?" He hissed but did as was told. You undid the bandages, seeing the stitches were perfect. You hummed in satisfaction, changing the dressings and readjusting the splint. "You need to see a doctor, I can't say if there is a nervous damages in your arm." He nodded, eyes locking to your handiwork while you checked his vitals.

"What happened to my arm?" His voice was rushed, reacalling the memory of being stabbed.

"[Name] said the knife hit an artery. You didn't want to go to a hospital so she saved your ass." You didn't bother to listen their dialogue, leaving the room as fast as possible.

Coming from them, the word 'save' held no meaning to you.

"We gotta contact Fukuroudani and check if they found something." Sakusa said pinching the bridge of his nose "What the fuck is Johzenji supposed to mean?"

"I don't have idea. Do you think Inarizaki is involved?" Komori asked, doubting the Miya were related to the recent events.

Something about the fight was off and the Itachiyama oyabun couldn't pinpoint what it was.

"I guess they're not. But we can't let our guard down either" The ravenette huffed trying to ignore the weight on his chest.

"Well, guess she has a list of reasons to want us dead. And still, [Name] helped us last night" He shrugged, sitting on the bed. He looked around the place, not reconigzing it. "Where we are?"

He knew you weren't related to the incident, but a part of him refused to trust you.

Inarizaki isn't one to be trusted, after all.

"It's [Name]'s place"

"Suits her" The Kobun hummed "Well, guess we have to make some calls"

"Komori" Sakusa voiced, using a stern tone "We need to talk."

"Not a fucking chance" Was all the brunette said, ignoring his Oyabun as he reached for his phone, dialling Konoha's number.

Your body jolted up when you felt people in your surroundings.

"Oh, [Name]-san. You're awake" You heard Komori saying while you observed they making themselves comfortable in the armchairs of your livingroom. You grimaced at his nice attitude.

"You aren't supposed to be out of the bed." You frowned watching three paper bags seating in you coffee table, the rich scent of cinnamon and coffee filling your nostrils.

"Don't worry. It takes much more to knock me out, I'm fine" The hazel haired man said as he handed you one of the bags with his damaged arm as if to prove his point. He was supposed to be in big pain and yet, his face showed no sign of discomfort.

He should be used to it, you supposed.

You opened the bag, eyeing its contents. You realized it was from the café across the street; the wave of nostalgia hitting you again as you took both paper cup and caramel muffin in your hands.

You took a bite of the baked good, feeling the taste of cake and caramel melting in your tongue. You smiled at it, recalling the rushed mornings when you would go to the eatery, in your way to work.

"Is the muffin that good?" Komori asked as a glint of amusement crossed his eyes.

"I just missed this place really bad." A pleased face took over your features, almost making you forget the current situation you were in.

Again, why you had to go through this?

"[Name]" The ravenette's voice blared in your ears "Hurry. We have important business today" All of sudden, the food tasted stale in your mouth.

Both men were waiting for you on the entrance hall, observing how you quickly you tidied the place.

"Shouldn't we clean before we leave?" Komori asked Sakusa.

You rolled your eyes and stood to grab your belongings. From the kitchen drawers, you took a plastic bag to dispose the thrash.

"The lady upstairs takes care of the place for me" Oh, you heard it. "It's not like anyone is coming back here anytime soon, too." You three took the elevator, going to the sidewalk where the car was parked.

"What's up for today, then?" The Kobun asked as you three entered the vehicle while Sakusa occupied the driver's seat.

"We have a meeting with Fukuroudani and Inarizaki" Your husband said eyeing you through the rearview. You ignored them as they chatted. "Looks like they have info regarding Johzenji"

"Are we going there?"

"No, they're already on Itachiyama, waiting for us" The ravenette answered as he drove smoothly through Tokyo streets.

You were doing your best to forget the memories of the night prior, but you realized you have never experienced such stress. Your lungs gave in a shaky breath as your mind felt like on the verge of breaking down.

"So it's really like they aren't involved... you know" The silence was thick as you recalled their accusations.

A couple of minutes later, you realized the ride didn't last much as you spotted Itachiyama lands, the mansion being seen by distance with the pristine white of its walls. Across the gates, the clean pavement and stunning garden welcomed you while you spotted the expensive cars parked by the house entrance.

"Meeting room, now. You included, [Name]" And here he was, his timbre giving the fact that Itachiyama's Oyabun wasn't someone to be defied.

The air inside the house was crispy cold. Your body hurted everywhere and the unsettling feeling in your stomach wasn't going away anytime soon. You didn't want to have anything to do with this reunion, and you were restless about the idea of facing both Osamu and Atsumu after this whole month.

You despised them for making you go through this.

You were never been into the meeting room before. And the image before your eyes wasn't like anything you have imagined.

It wasn't like the regular conference rooms, with a large table with a good amount of seats and all. No, the place screamed traditional: pristine dark floorboards, paper pannels covering the walls and a large chabudai table on the floor, with ten pillowy seats partially occupied by the guests.

The room smelled like burning incense and sake, the scent making you calm in a weird way.

Sakusa indicated your seat as you three made your way to the table. The five men slighty bowed their heads, greeting you.

Your husband grabbed a jar of sake out of nowhere, serving the porcelain hakushika before you first and the proceeding to fill his, Komori's and the other guests cups after.

"Kanpai" they said before downing the alchool down. You mimicked their actions, feeling the liquid burning your throat. You winced at the sensation as Suna sent you an amused look — it took all of your might to not show him your middle finger.

"Heard y'all had a shitty night, huh" Atsumu said on his provocative manner as Osamu eyed him warily. Your husband sitting by your right seemed unfazed by it while Konoha clicked his tongue.

What a way to make disaffections, you thought.

"If you don't have anything useful to say, Miya, shut it." Komori warned the blond man without traces of simpathy " Shall we start?"

At this, the four other men eyed you with caution. Weren't you supposed to be here?

"[Name] was there and she could reconize the woman. It's her business too, since she was attacked first" Was Sakusa's response to their implied question.

"Were they aiming for her?" The ravenette you never saw before asked.

"I don't think they were necessarily targetting [Name], Akashi." You frowned at Komori's reply. Something didn't click, you thought as you opened your mouth:

"Did they attack Inarizaki?" A proud feeling took over your chest as you realized your voice sounded steady.

Suna frowned and looked at Osamu. The latter nodded at the brunette.

"Not directly. They tried to interfere on some of our business and kinda stalked one of Tsumu's... acquaintances. Yeah, that's all" it was Suna's answered not getting your point.

"How many people know the circumstances of our marriage?" You asked directly at Sakusa, seing him frown.

"Just the involved parts. What are you implying?"

"I... I think they are trying to use me to create a strain between Itachiyama and Inarizaki" Your voice wavered at it. Atsumu obnoxiously laughed at what you said as if it was some kind of joke.

"How cute, [Name]" the blond twin giggled as the atmosphere got heavier and heavier "Tho our relationship 's already strained. Ya ain't that special" He wipped an invisible tear to add to his annoying act.

"Actually..." The man Akaashi butted in, his face contorting in a pensive manner "I think she is right."

"Yeah, it's not like they know how the alliance between your houses was estabelished. Think, they tried to incriminate her and last night she was the first one to be attacked" Konoha added to the discussion. You looked at him with surprise "Don't be so surprised, we should know the reason why you went there last night."

"Okay. So the fact is they're after [Name]-san, trying to destabilize both Itachiyama and Inarizaki. Why?" Akaashi inquired, rolling the white hakushika between his slender fingers. The cup glinted in the dim light, reflecting in the gunmetal gray of his irises.

"Well, lucky us, we went ta Niiyama today." Atsumu chimmed in and you didn't have idea of what he was talking about.

"Nee-san doesn't know very much tho" Osamu added to his twin's speech "Looks like these Johzenji guys are a bloomin' gang"

"If they're a gang, what are they up to, then? It's kind dumb to mess with the families when you're this insignificant" Konoha asked seeming trully dumbfolded.

"They're trying, at least, show some bravery" Suna retorted, fidgeting with his cellphone. Straightening his back, a glint of unnecessary pride crossed his eyes as his lips twisted in a provocative curve "Inarizaki and Itachiyama are the most important households. If Johzenji manage to cause ruckus, it can gain some sense of respect between another gangs"

"Still, it doesn't make much sense" Akaashi said as he fished an manila folder on his suit. Suna shrugged at it, coming back to his usual aloof demeanor. "Well, looks like it's you problem. Fukuroudani will cooperate if needed, but it's not like we can be of much help right now" The male handed the envelope to Komori, before standing on his feet. "This is all the information we gathered from the guy we captured yesterday. It's not much, so we will send him to you by nighttime." He completed his statement with a solemn glare, out of respect.

"We have to go now. Thank you so much for having us here, Sakusa-san" Konoha said as he and Akaashi bowed their heads at Sakusa "Let us know if you need anything" The ash-blond haired man bid his farewells as Komori walked them to the doors. The air got thicker with the five of you stared at each other; Suna mouthed something at you, but you couldn't catch what. Atsumu looked at you two with a mischievous smile but opted to keep quiet instead.

The Itachiyama Kobun returned, sitting back on his previous position.

"You okay, Komori-san?" Osamu asked as a mere courtesy, trying to break the still atmosphere.

"Oh, it's nothing. Just a cut that [Name]-san managed to patch up" The hazel haired Kobun replied in a polite tone while the infamous Inarizaki duo arched their brows to the honorific he used to reffer at you.

"Glad ta know she is not useless ta y'all" Atsumu provoked as he got up from his seat. He held back the urge to strech as his fellow companions did the same "It's time we go, too. Since they afta' Ina too, let us know if they try somethin'." Looked like the blond really meant it.

"We will see you off, then" Sakusa spoke for the first time in a while as you all stood from the low sitting position.

You husband and his Kobun went first, opening the doors and guiding you trought the corridors. Suna walked by your side, when he ruffled your hair for no special reason.

"Make sure to rest, you look like shit" He snickered but you were too tired to argue "I have something for you. Here, take it." the tall male handed you a beige envelope with a cute sticker of a Kitsune sealing it.

You took it with grattitude while he smiled softly at you. You mouthed a quiet 'thank you' at him as the brunette ruffled your hair again.

"Well, thanks I guess" Atsumu bid a half-assed farewell as he got out of the mansion. Suna and the other Miya twin followed him suit, not without bowing their hads at Sakusa showing some courtesy. You swore the gray irises of Osamu lingered a little longer in your figure; you choose to ignore the churning sensation in your stomach as you tried to decipher his intense stare.

"What is it?" Your husband inquired, glaring at the envelope in your hands with suspicion; you opened it and froze when you looked at its contents. With the lack of response he snatched it from you in a rough manner, crumpling the paper.

"Hey, you don't need to be rude!"

"You don't get to tell me what to do" He bluntly said as he inspectioned the envelope "It's not like I have any reason to trust you, Miya runt."

Within you, something snapped. You were sure you'd regret it later, but for now, you would blame the stress you were upon.

"Very much to respect your women" Your voice dripped venom as you recalled what he told you in the first day you met "You know, it's not like I wanted to be here, anyways"

"[Name]" Komori warned but you choose to ignore him.

"I hate this fucking yakuza thing. I despise you as much as I despise the Miya" You told as you looked at him dead in the eyes.

"Oh, fancy words coming from a Miya yourself." The ravenette said, keeping his cool.

"I'm not a fucking Miya!" You sneered, althought you wanted to scream "I'm not at fault that good for nothing of their father got my mother pregnant. Bad news to you: you fucking married a bastard"

"I can tell I did" His brow arched. His silence was unsettling but you didn't want to back out at this point.

"Well, I did too. Tough I regret the day I was forced to get involved with a criminal bastard like you." It was too fast. In a second, his tall frame was towering over yours.

You froze under his hard stare, sure he could end your existence anytime he wanted.

"Get the fuck out of my sight" The deep baritone of his timber killed any courage you garthered.

Yakuza would take away any dignity you had.

❥ taglist is closed: @ukaiwachin @keekee-732 @chiibichann @shinguchi @captain-shittykawa , @fortheloveofbakugo @daisyjaebae @jihoonspout @floodinginstars @fl4mepillar @trash4sportsanime @translucentthoughts @teaanbanter-blog @hqxreader @ly-nia @shadyjinyoung @julimausi1311 @keuromi @onigiriimiya @ayaeushi @wolfiepirate @sekshi-namjas @tomo-uwu @letmegetthisclear @katokanae @worlds-tiniest-spook-pastry @cherryonigiri @ushijima-meixiu @bimboiiying @crownedcupcake17 @thenerdyrebel @idiot-juice-enthusiast @caprolls @keijination @toaster-stick @ynjimenez @wolfytrixa @wakaitoshi @clowninfortodoroki @shiningotak-ku @kemochie @lilacshouko @imomomi @ohmythatmiya @freewitchjellyfish

I had to remove some names since tumblr wasn't letting me tag them. If by any chance you want me to try and tag you again, leave an ask.

[ziracona]

me: about to start a trial in dbd. my cat: Lays on my hands. me: ok nvm i guess. Ty for answering my michael ask. Hope it didn't come across as me saying "does this go away" and more "does he find out ways to manage his symptoms better?". So. What made him change his mind about listening to the voices in the later chapters? ALSO. Do Frank and Julie hesitate from interacting with the survivors out of guilt? or just because They're Like That. Does this ever change? - Sleepy

Lol, cats be like that. And np!

Hmmm, Michael—apologies if some of these things weren’t as self-evident as I thought they were in-fic :’-) — So! For him, it was a combination of several things. DbD Michael has had years of isolation and suffering to ruminate, and the only source of familiarity or anything that’s not a blanket negative in his life for all those years has been Laurie. He’s never hated her. He used to love her. As an adult, his motivation for killing her was never anger; it was just the price the voices told him they needed for him to be left alone in peace, which is all he really wanted and has been desperate for for years. But like, a couple decades of hunting in the realm were not pelasant for him. He hated being trapped there, and eternally unable to accomplish anything. It was hell. Laurie wasn’t exactly a source of community, but she was literally the only thing in the whole realm that he had any connection to at all. And once she started talking to him, that kind of did a lot. I mean, no one since he was a small child has even spoken to him by name outside of Loomis, who calls him ‘it’ and a demon as much as anything else. He’s starved for recognition and connection and affection, whether he’s aware of it or not, and he does remember Laurie. She’s like, one of the only good memory sources he has of his entire life. He liked her, they were happy as kids. Once she recognised official who he was and started talking to him about being her brother, it was confusing, because no one had treated him like a person—much less a person they were even as positively disposed towards as ‘sad’ or ‘conflicted’—since he was six. He’d never been offered any version of the future besides the one the voices and Loomis carved out for him and threw at his face every day. In Family Matters, Laurie tells him he’s supposed to protect her, and that they look the same when she sees him without the mask, and that he should keep it off because he’s so much less scary without it while she’s dying, and I think more than anything he just doesn’t know how to feel about all that. Laurie has been with him for years and never done it. In fact nobody has ever treated him like this before, and it’s nice just kind of universally to be liked or shown affection and familiarity or kindness, and it’s completely alien to him, but it’s not bad, and it’s the first not bad experience in decades, so he’s confused and it’s odd, but he also wants to hear more and tries to not kill her so she can talk more—tries to shake her shoulder to wake her back up—but it’s too late by then and she bleeds out. I think Dwight mentions later in a different chapter that even though Michael kills Laurie within a few minutes, he’s gone the entire trial until the very end. It’s because he spent the rest of that time trying to get her to wake back up before finally giving up and accepting she was dead.

He’s more open to talking in The Tower once he finally sees her again, and he still wants suicide pact, but is willing to compromise to get what he wants, and is kind of enjoying himself for once because stuff is happening and he has hope. He gets chewed out by two small strangers for being a bad brother, and then flips out when he realises Laurie was not going to do joint suicide today (and honestly a part of why he flips out so much in The Tower is Laurie’s “I meant like in a few months, not in 12 minutes! Why would you think I meant that?” embarrasss him and hurts his feelings. Michael is sensitive and does not like feeling mocked). Then Laurie shows up to have a showdown with him after he has calmed down a little, and the stuff she says about him having to be dead to her so she can still remember him as a kid as someone she loved really hurts, I think, even if he’s not introspective enough to get why. But at the end of it, when Laurie can’t kill him while he’s unconscious and chooses to leave him instead, he’s not unconscious for that whole speech. He’s awake a lot of it, because he’s smart enough to play dead (and routinely does in Halloween films when in his best interest) and is playing dead waiting for a chance to stop her from killing him for real. So, that means he’s awake and just super injured for her whole “I can’t do it. I can’t kill the memory of you. I hate myself for it, but I still love you. I wish that things could have been different. I wish our lives were good, and that I understood you. I wish I’d been old enough to do something. I wish you still loved me.” speech to what she thinks is his unconscious body, and while he didn’t get everything she said, he got most of it—he’s not stupid. And it was sweet, and sad, and overwhelming, and I don’t think anyone has ever said they loved him since he was six, and the people who did once are all dead now. I don’t think it occurred to him anyone could, or should, or would want to. And he doesn’t understand Laurie, because their lived experiences are so different, but what she says means something to him too. Laurie says in 600 Seconds that he’s all she’s had for forty years, and in a lot of ways, even if he felt it very differently, that’s true for Michael too.

When he finds Laurie in Vs., he’s still looking for his way out, but more than that, he’s just looking for her. Laurie immediately assumes he’s there to try to commit suicide with her again, but he doesn’t actually make her try that initially. Just comes to collect her. And then as soon as she gets attacked by Krueger, starts kicking ass and taking name on her behalf. Listens to her about not killing Quentin, partially because she’s threatening him with a knife, but partially because at this point he trust her as much as he’s ever trusted anybody. And she and Quentin work to save him, and do, and she gets him out of the realm, and so by the time he comes to find her for the last time in 600 Seconds, she’s not Cynthia Myers: the second sister I need to kill to obtain peace anymore. She’s Cynthia, the baby sister who remembers me and fought someone to protect me, and said she loves me, and is going to kill herself with me so we can both be at peace. And so when she begs him not to kill her, he cares. You have to understand, his few memories of Laurie from the last year or two in-realm are like, the only memories from his adult life that are even partially good. He’s never had a real shot at being a normal human because of Loomis, but she’s been working so hard to treat him like one just the same, and it matters to him that he can tell how much he matters to her. So when she asks him, his initial response is, “...Well. If I kill her and live, I can be at peace, but then what? What does life really have that I want?” And the answer is, as far as he knows, not really anything. He never thought past the quiet. And if he dies? He could be at peace that way too. So if Cynthia wants to live so badly, he can let her, because he doesn’t really want to kill her, and if she kills him instead, it’ll still be quiet. And that’s kind of nice. He can have looked out for her once before the end, like she wanted.

And then of course, Laurie is distraught over that response and tries to talk him out of killing himself too, and to convince him they could have a normal life together as family and deserve one. That it’s what she wants, and even if it seems impossible, she knows they could find a way to make it work for him too and to be okay, and says she had been good on her word so far. And she has, she got him out of the realm like she promised. And she wants it so bad, and Michael doesn’t really want anything but quiet, or he hasn’t, not for years, but he does now, because being with Laurie he’s almost felt like a real person again. And Michael has always disconnected himself from the killings—not in a DID way, just, he doesn’t think of the desire as his, because it’s not—it’s the voices—so he wears the mask if he’s going to kill. And it’s the voices who want Cynthia dead, but she’s asking him not to do it and not to die either, not them, and so he just makes his own choice for the first time in years, and says no to the voices, and does what she wants, because he hopes it’s what he wants too. Being with her is the closest to alive and happy he can remember feeling, and wants that. He wants to be Michael again, and not the Shape, he just doesn’t know if he can. But he decides to try. And then again, when she comes to find him in Out of Darkness, there’s that scene where he considers killing her when she’s asleep, because the voices are so overwhelming and he can’t stand it and he’s so depressed, but he remembers he promised her he wouldn’t kill her, and so he doesn’t, and then she wakes up a little when he goes back to the couch, and smiles at him and uses him as a pillow because she loves him and trusts him and isn’t afraid to touch him or show physical affection, and if almost kills him because being touched in any way not meant to hurt or move him is a thing he can barely even remember anymore. But it feels good, like, unbearably. And he doesn’t know who he is anymore or what he wants, except that he wants to try just in case maybe things can be okay. And so he does, and they are. Slowly, but they are. And he gets to be happy.

So, in short. The TLDR is his whole life he had two doors: Listen to the voices, or suffer alone in misery forever. And someone offered him a door number three, and because that person loved him, and he wanted to try for a life where he could keep being loved and maybe remember for real how to love somebody back, he took it. He never wanted to kill Judith, or Laurie. He did it out of desperation. And if he’d gotten help, he’d never have even killed Judith. He was just never presented with an alternative. Nobody ever gave him a way to choose to be Michael anymore. Until Laurie. And that’s what he really wanted—has always wanted. To get to be the fragments of a person he managed to keep alive through all those years of abuse and loss and isolation. Laurie was just what it took to convince him he had a choice. And that it might be one that even maybe could succeed.

As for Julie and Frank, they avoid the survivors out of a mixture of guilt, and also discomfort. It’s not super fun to be around people who hate you or judge you, no matter how much you deserve it. And they do feel bad, and neither one likes to think about that or the shit they did very much, much less be actively reminded of it. This does get better though! It takes a while, but the road trip Julie and Frank end up joining does a lot to help. Gets a couple of bridges built, and things get a lot better. It takes time, especially for them to not feel like totally shit around the people they hurt the most, but the more years pass, the better that gets, and they become a lot less prickly and defensive or self-isolating when around the survivors.