You reblogged in the right neighborhood

I could see him realizing he's not straight and his response be a small "oh" and fall silent.

This is an interesting point, especially since I’m currently working on a fic where Ben makes some realizations (and actualizations) about himself. His sexuality and status as aromantic are features, and they are what indirectly spur Rook’s motivations in a way, though I hadn’t planned on having it be truly central to Ben’s story.

For quick background, ‘Exit Strategy’ is an unfinished fic that starts off with Ben ‘accidentally’ getting separated from Rook. The two, in this fic, have a quasi-sexual, committed platonic relationship which Rook wants to make into a traditional romantic one. Since canon (Omniverse specifically) doesn’t make any references or inferences to LGBTQIA communities or terms, I made the decision that Ben is ignorant of a lot of the nuances of gayness, with same sex couples being seen as rare but normal, but a sexless couple being deemed strange. It takes Ben talking about his relationship issues with a person similar to him (an alternate Ben, I admit) for him to realize that aromanticism exists at all.

But for Ben this is a relatively small thing, given his overall narrative of autonomy (I don’t want to detract here, would love to elaborate if mutually desired). For Rook’s it’s more central because his sole motivation in the fic is devotion. Since the characters are in a different timeline, one more similar to ours, they’d be exposed to our terminology and comparable history— I am now a bit curious how Rook would react to concepts like asexuality and aromanticism, when he, in this fic, had previously chalked Ben not wanting to date him as being a form of rejection.

(Did I respond to the actual questions asked? Let me reread the ask…)

(It’s nearly five in the morning, whyyyyy-)

The idea of Ben being disconnected from his base, human self does get touched on in the fic, albeit in ways you are likely not referring to. His disconnect from his Anodite heritage, and by extension a large chunk of his family; the disconnect from not really having peers outside of his family, bosses (counting Max), and partner; and the disconnect of his own physical self not measuring up to those of hos many forms do influence his decisions.

But we’re here to talk about the LGBTQIA stuff, so let’s swing back around to one of the story’s focuses (or more accurately, catalysts): Ben being uncertain of his future. As an aromantic with past failed ventures (examples: Kai and Julie), he believes that what he has with his current partner won’t last and that he’ll never be able to satisfy someone without sacrificing portions of himself (he doesn’t want a standard dating relationship, he wants a friend). At the same time, he also wants to start a family, which throws a wrench into a whole heck of a lot of things. I will mention that he’s twenty at the most— I had him do something that a lot of people in my life have done, which I hate, and that’s ‘Oh, I’m an adult now. Kids Immediately’. But hey, that’s life, and if I’m stuck dealing with these people’s terrible decisions than Ben’s forced making said terrible decisions. She said, mostly joking.

I could see him realizing he's not straight and his response be a small "oh" and fall silent.

This is an interesting point, especially since I’m currently working on a fic where Ben makes some realizations (and actualizations) about himself. His sexuality and status as aromantic are features, and they are what indirectly spur Rook’s motivations in a way, though I hadn’t planned on having it be truly central to Ben’s story.

For quick background, ‘Exit Strategy’ is an unfinished fic that starts off with Ben ‘accidentally’ getting separated from Rook. The two, in this fic, have a quasi-sexual, committed platonic relationship which Rook wants to make into a traditional romantic one. Since canon (Omniverse specifically) doesn’t make any references or inferences to LGBTQIA communities or terms, I made the decision that Ben is ignorant of a lot of the nuances of gayness, with same sex couples being seen as rare but normal, but a sexless couple being deemed strange. It takes Ben talking about his relationship issues with a person similar to him (an alternate Ben, I admit) for him to realize that aromanticism exists at all.

But for Ben this is a relatively small thing, given his overall narrative of autonomy (I don’t want to detract here, would love to elaborate if mutually desired). For Rook’s it’s more central because his sole motivation in the fic is devotion. Since the characters are in a different timeline, one more similar to ours, they’d be exposed to our terminology and comparable history— I am now a bit curious how Rook would react to concepts like asexuality and aromanticism, when he, in this fic, had previously chalked Ben not wanting to date him as being a form of rejection.

(Did I respond to the actual questions asked? Let me reread the ask…)

(It’s nearly five in the morning, whyyyyy-)

The idea of Ben being disconnected from his base, human self does get touched on in the fic, albeit in ways you are likely not referring to. His disconnect from his Anodite heritage, and by extension a large chunk of his family; the disconnect from not really having peers outside of his family, bosses (counting Max), and partner; and the disconnect of his own physical self not measuring up to those of hos many forms do influence his decisions.

But we’re here to talk about the LGBTQIA stuff, so let’s swing back around to one of the story’s focuses (or more accurately, catalysts): Ben being uncertain of his future. As an aromantic with past failed ventures (examples: Kai and Julie), he believes that what he has with his current partner won’t last and that he’ll never be able to satisfy someone without sacrificing portions of himself (he doesn’t want a standard dating relationship, he wants a friend). At the same time, he also wants to start a family, which throws a wrench into a whole heck of a lot of things. I will mention that he’s twenty at the most— I had him do something that a lot of people in my life have done, which I hate, and that’s ‘Oh, I’m an adult now. Kids Immediately’. But hey, that’s life, and if I’m stuck dealing with these people’s terrible decisions than Ben’s forced making said terrible decisions. She said, mostly joking.

(Tap for higher quality)

(Appearances as of Apocalypse Day 365)

They're not doing anything tho

Just chilling

Tap for quality

Mikey, waking up and having cards fall off his face seeing mondo without clothes

Mikey: Babe could you-?

Mondo: BABE?

Mikey: Oh shit I meant to say bro!

Mondo: No fuck you. From now on you have to refer to me as babe. If you call me bro I will not respond to it. You can upgrade but you can’t fucking downgrade.

IDNSNXNWJD "You can upgrade but you can't downgrade"

I feel like they wouldnt even do it on purpose, like the signs would be there but everyone just thinks theyre close friends, like they sit next to each other and cuddle, share food, and everything but kiss in front of others and no one knows

At time of posting, it's literally just me in there

Companion piece for Testing the Boundaries by freshcreationgarden

Arist: AnixDraws @anixdraws

Characters/Pairings: Neku/Beat/Joshua/Haz

Partner: Fresh @freshcreationgarden