iaconic:

i was just rewatching Store 23 and i just noticed someone fucking cat whistled at ben prime and he looks so fucking distressed just-

and when everyone is just crowding around him and ben 23 outside from the window he’s just-

he’s just trying to hide himself and just keeps kinda all huddled up like pretty sure after s3 of AF and UA, Ben was just like, “I’m stressed, I don’t sleep, I don’t like being stared at anymore, and this is just weird and please can everyone leave me alone,” but it’s internal in his own universe since everyone has come to know Ben’s confidence (and borderline narcissism) as that in the beginning was something he DID like

but really he just liked the recognition and appreciation for what he does since he’s always struggled trying to catch up and maybe not necessarily be just like Gwen, but have something he can be proud of and feel exemplary in. I mean, remember in the OS episode with Gwen 10 just how fucking defeated he looked realizing that Gwen is better at using the watch then he is! Ben just wants to be good at something, and while he didn’t LOVE his secret getting discovered, he did love getting praise 

For a while

But at the end of the day, this is still an adhd, autistic child who has ptsd from pretty much going into this alien life at a super young age, who’s been bullied for a huge portion of his young life, once thought his cousin was killed right in front of him, got his grandpa in the hospital once and blamed himself that whole episode, and is pretty much the designated hero of the Earth. He doesn’t handle death well, is TERRIFIED of ever killing someone (has threatened it, but after Ultimate Kevin, he’s so scared and vehemently against killing), and after remaking the Universe, there’s just a lot of stress on his mind that he feels he can’t even really acknowledge or display that any of this is bothering him

That’s sort of an issue with anything with a YOUNG hero in anything when you really dissect things, and Ben isn’t an exception to that overlooked fact.

He hates too much attention. He wants recognition, but not over glorified attention to the point where he feels like he can’t keep his curtains open.