#sorry my sleeper agent got activated

[fuzzbuns]

THE MOST FRANTIC SCRIBBLE IN THE WORLD BECAUSE HOW DID I NOT KNOW ABOUT OFFICIAL MERCH OF ATSUSHI WITH GAY PEOPLE EARRINGS WHAAAAT WHAAAAT??!!!111111!11111

[sunstar121]

me rn if you even care (<- their head is so full of ttrpgs they feel like they are going to throw up)

[dearimasu]

THE TUMBLR YEAR IN REVIEW IS COMING. A YEAR HAS PASSED. OH MY GOD. OH MY GKD. OH MGOD.

[todd-machine]

BRAIN CELL ACTIVATED YAHOOOOOO

[cupcakeslushie]

Sorry if Tumblr did not in fact eat this message and you get a duplicate, but I'm confused about some things in the feral Leo AU and was hoping you could provide some clarification without spoilers. What's the purpose of taking Donnie as well, for the Krang? They already have pretty much the perfect pawn with Leo (at least probably in their eyes), so was their goal to eventually get all of the brothers? Does the hivemind include the Technodrome, so they're using him to try and pilot another one? Is Leo brainwashed by the Krang, possessed, or something else entirely? It's not really entirely clear to me at this moment.

And where are April, Casey, and Splinter during this entire debacle?

Sorry I got it, I just haven’t had much time, until today to go into my inbox!

Kraang’s whole thing is consume or control, so yeah, they want all the turtles under their command, because they can see their strength. Of course they’d try to assimilate them into their new army.

The hive mind doesn’t necessarily include the Technodrome. It’s a separate consciousness that they control. They have full access to it, but the Technodrome isn’t given the same courtesy. It obeys whoever is at the helm, and the Kraang don’t converse with it. Only give it orders. Since Brother Kraang is dead, yes. They need a new pilot/source for the start of their new Technodrome. We’ll just have to see what their plans are for Donnie.

Leo’s part of the hive mind right now. Prime forged the link during their time together in the prison dimension. Leo didn’t realize that type of connection of control was there, and was kinda activated like a sleeper agent. Once Mikey gets rid of the link, Leo will be back to his feral—but less murderous, healing self.

Casey, April, and Splinter are gonna be in the next update, they were coming up a second or two behind Mikey, but if I wanted to add them in it would’ve meant more panels, and at least another week’s wait until I could upload it. I had to finish it and put it out before my “weekend” was up.

[andhumanslovedstories]

not to blog about the MCU in 2024 but jesus christ I can't believe that's how they decided to end Natasha's story. And on the SAME CLIFF where they killed the other female lead of one of their franchises. They fuckin buried Natasha in a fridge. And it wasn’t even like. Good fridging. They killed her for emotionally nothing. Like sometimes sexism still manages to tell a compelling story. That’s the bar I’m working with here. God and the fact that we get to in the same movie compare the way her death is handled versus tony stark’s UGH SORRY SORRY SORRY I thought about my girl Nat by accident and got activated like a sleeper agent but what, I maintain, the FUCK

[church-of-lilith]

Ted Lasso winning a GLAAD award for Outstanding Comedy is probably the funniest joke to ever come from that show.

I love the show dearly, the characters will always have a special place in my heart, but their queer rep was a joke—and I don’t mean in an award winning way.

Colin’s storyline being focused around his straight counterparts rather than his actual journey and coming out

Keeley entering into a toxic relationship with a questionable power dynamic that ends up almost destroying her career

Trent’s two throwaway lines about coming out to someone twice and having a daughter that literally never got elaborated on

Ted’s seven layer dip story.

I may not be actively posting for that fandom anymore but any time someone tries to give them accolades for ‘queer rep’ I am activated like a sleeper agent. Don’t try to rewrite history on me. I was there when it aired. Sorry to all of the comedies with great queer rep who lost.

[gojos-thot-patrol]

nanami kento, hope, “is it mine?” 💛💛💛

fun fact Nonnie, this was actually the phrase to activate my domestic fluff sleeper agent, so congratulations on finding that!

Now Presenting...

Starring: soon to be father Nanami Kento

Your heart was racing far faster than you had ever given it permission to. Honestly. When you first invited him over, you expected Nanami to brush you off. Laugh in your face and tell you to get lost. Honestly, you wouldn’t have blamed him. You were the one that left him high and dry, telling him out of nowhere that you had gotten a job in the states and you were going to take it. That you loved him so much, but you worked hard for your career and you knew he couldn’t leave Tokyo. 

He was devastated, but he didn’t try to stop you. He understood you had to do what was going to make you happy, even if that meant leaving him behind. And you really thought you were going to be happy! America may have sucked, but it was the first home you had ever known, and you excelled at your job! Things couldn’t have been better! In theory. While you should have been on top of the world, the bitter taste of losing your lover stuck to your lips. It made it impossible to move on. Still, you were determined to make your new life work.

Then everything changed.

You were lost in your thoughts when Nanami knocked on Satoru’s apartment door, sending you scrambling to open it. You were thankful Gojo agreed to vacate for a bit so you could have this talk. “Coming! I’m coming!” You called, before basically throwing the door open, startling Nanami a bit.

“Hi Nanami!” You smiled, catching your breath.

“Hey Y/n,” He said, eyes full of concern. “You ok?”

“Yea, yea, I’m ok!” You said, moving out of the way of the door and gesturing him inside. “Why wouldn’t I be?” He took one more good look at you before walking inside.

“You called me at 3 am on a plane to Tokyo, after only being in America for 2 months, saying you made a horrific mistake and that you needed me.” That was a week ago. Nanami was away on business when you called him, leading you to crashing in Gojos spare room while Nanami chased his own tail in Africa, praying to whatever deity that would listen that you would be okay until he could get to you.

“Oh, yea..” You muttered, rubbing the back of your neck, “Sorry about that..I was kinda having a moment. Fun fact I called you like, while standing in line to board.” You laughed. And buying your ticket the same day. It was very frantic.

“Y/n, whats going on?” Nanami asked, worry dripping from his soft voice as he took a step to you. He wanted to pull you into his arms, hold you close and assure you it would be okay. But, he wasn’t sure if that was very appropriate anymore. 

“I, um..” You tried to say it, you really did, “Want some coffee?” You smiled nervously.

“Sure?” Nanami more asked than said. You nodded and went to the kitchen while he sat on the couch. You came back with a cup of coffee for him and tea for you. He raised an eyebrow at it.

“When did you start preferring tea?” He asked. 

“Oh, I can’t really have a lot of caffeine anymore.” You muttered, taking a sip, “Health reasons.”

“Is that why you left?” He asked, resting his hand on your knee. You felt the tension start to melt from you at his small touch. You let go of the nervous breath in your chest and nodded, placing your hand on his,

“Yea, kinda.” You nodded, “I uh…I started getting sick, all the time in the morning, which sucked because I was also constantly hungry,” You laughed a bit at the cruelty of that, “I got headaches all the time and I was so like, moody? I guess? And then I started feeling tired a lot and my sense of smell got crazy good-”

“That sounds like..” Nanami started very gently, feeling his body tense with the apprehension. 

“Yea, uh, actually” You muttered before running quickly to the kitchen and running back. Gojo insisted on keeping the picture of the fridge. “Thats because it is.” you handed the photo to Nanami.

Kento stared at the ultrasound in his hand for what felt like impossibly long. Trying to process the reality of the small, fuzzy gray jellybean, swimming in a black sea. It almost looked like an alien, or an alien jellybean, and it was hard to believe something so small had the potential to be so life changing. His heart felt impossibly full as he imagined his life with this little smudge involved. He imagined the small moments, helping them with homework or showing them Mario Kart for the first time. Reading them to sleep and taking them to school, slowly discovering who they were and what kind of person they’d be. It was overwhelming. 

“Kento,” You whispered, wiping a tear from his eye. You were wreaked with the thought that they were tears of despair. Your gentle movement ripped him out his his day dreaming, and away from the ultrasound to look into your eyes. He held your hand to his cheek, and any thought that the tears were negative evaporated from your mind, like a drop of sweat onto a Texas sidewalk in the summer. There wasn’t a hint of sadness in his soft eyes, instead all they held was love and adoration. Hope overflowing out of him in the form of tears. 

“Is it mine?” He asked. It’s not that he doubted you, he just needed to hear it. The two of you had been apart for two months, but that didn’t take him out of the running to be the dad. It had to be him, he knew it was him. He knew his baby when he saw them. You smiled gently and nodded.

“You’re the only person I’ve been with in years Kento, if it’s not yours, its Jesus's,” You laughed. Nanami grappled you in what was possibly the most gentle tackle ever, hiding his face in the crook of your neck as he pulled you into his lap. You hugged him back as you giggled, , kissing the side of his head as you melted into his embrace. You hadn’t felt this safe and loved since you left, and you realized america was not worth giving up this. You had no idea what you were thinking, leaving the love of your life for a place that didn’t even have free healthcare. It was almost like you did it for plot reasons, it was crazy!

Nanami pulled away, and almost pulled you into a kiss before stopping himself. He needed to remember, he couldn’t really assume anything in this situation. “Whats the plan, darling?” He asked, looking up at you from the place you sat in his lap.

“What do you mean?” You asked.

“Well, what are we going to do? We don’t-have to be together to raise a child…” It felt like pulling his fingernails out of the beds to say it, but Kento believed in a womans right to her body and her future first and foremost. Whatever you wanted to happen would happen, without question or push back. Though, the soft spot in his heart hoped he already knew the answers to his questions. Why else would you tell him? Why else would you come back?

“Oh, shut up,” You laughed, shaking your head, “I want to start a life with you Kento, I want to start a family. If you’ll have me that i-” You didn’t have time to fully finish your sentence before Nanami's hands were on the sides of your head pulling you into an impassioned kissed. Honeyed warmth filled your chest and butterflies filled your stomach. You pulled each other impossibly closer, kissing each other like it was the last meaningful thing the two of you would ever do.

“I love you.” Nanami gasped as he pressed his forehead to yours.

“I love you too.” You whispered, placing a soft hand on his cheek. A knock interrupted the moment, startling both you and Nanami out of the bliss of your reunion.

“Can I come in? Is it safe?” Satoru called from the other side of his own door, making you erupt into a fit of giggles. 

“Yea, come on in Satoru!” You called. He ducked into the living room, and broke into a wide grin when he saw you sat side saddle on Kentos lap.

“You two seem close!” Said captain obvious, “So you guys are back together, right?!” You shared a look with Nanami, and then a smile and a nod.

“Yea, I think it’s safe to say that.” Nanami grinned. 

“I think so too.” You confirmed. 

“Yes!” Satoru cheered, raising up his hands in celebration. “Love wins yet again!” Look, he may have thought that love was the worst possible curse for him. That doesn’t mean he couldn't tell when his friends were genuinely happy. The two of you laughed with your friend before turning back to each other. Nanami pressed a loving kiss to your cheek.

“I’m so glad you’re back.” He smiled.

“I am too.”

[meanbossart]

Misc. Ask compilation

These aren't all of the asks I want to reply to, just some that I can answer relatively quickly to clean the ol' inbox out before things get out of hand. Thanks for your patience!

HAHAHA THANK YOU FOR PERUSING AROUND and for enjoying my work! I had a... Weird Gale experience my first playthrough which led to his characterization being what it is in my comics. Here's the beat-by-beat of all the shenanigans: https://meanbossart.tumblr.com/post/740827466716807168/alright-i-am-like-90-sure-there-is-one-line-in-a

And here's just some of my personal thoughts on him! https://meanbossart.tumblr.com/post/736193145686114305/can-you-tell-me-more-about-how-you-would-make-gale

I would be lying if I said I'm not conflicted to know my style still bears some remnants of my edgy teen roots (not your fault not noticing it though, you aren't the first and won't be the last) BUT... That comic did mean a lot to me as a youth, so I guess I should be proud 🤷 and honestly it is a little cool that such a thing would survive for so long in what I do, crazy how that works.

LMAO, re: the bottom/top debacle, I was honestly so surprised to see people react to it like it's something novel. If I ever expected to get any push back on the matter, I thought it would be from people assuming DU drow was the top and taking issue with how violent and big he is (and yknow, some people are weirdly protective of Astarion as if he isn't a sneaky murder machine rippling with lean muscle)

Very disheartening to see that mindset still so alive and well among young people, but I guess it just means I gotta draw DU drow throwing more back and Astarion drooling over more ass until the stereotype is forcefully banished out of people's minds!

(more asks below the cut)

"Sleeper agent activation phrase" absolutely took me out, Thank you so much LOL

YEAH I got it pretty late though, Astarion had already told my durge that he was a vampire of his own accord (and the response was, of course, "no duh") I forgot wheter this happened before or after the first romance scene triggered, but I think after.

Since this was after DU drow decided he was gonna fuck him out of pure contrarian spite and was shamelessly laying it extremely thick, He happilly let Astarion drink his blood. Hell, he was probably a little Too Eager - the guy likes pain and he likes letting people he trusts do with his body whatever they will, and while he didn't yet trust Astarion at that point, that event might've very well reminded him of something from his past that planted a seed which would eventually grow into his genuine affection for the guy.

Ah, he definitely got a half-chub as it happened too. I'm sure Astarion noticed it and just walked off rolling his eyes and thinking "eugh of course" lmao.

Hello!!!

Oh man, I grew up fascinated with horror things. I remember from a very young age just looking at the covers and backs of horror movies at the film-rental even though I wasn't allowed to watch them. I was also easily scared but I sought those things out anyway - I think i just enjoyed the visceral reactions it drew out of me and was always curious about most things taboo.

When I got access to the internet that just opened a (very unfortunate) door to all things vile and awful like it did for so many people at that age in time. Though my tastes have changed a lot since then (Less August Underground, more The Devils kind of guy nowadays) my stories and art are just always going to fall into a horror-y category because I just... Don't think there's many better ways to showcase the human experience and emotional range without many of the elements native to the genre, and I'm all about that.

Thank you for your question and your sweet words, have a good week yourself!

I did a little write-up about that over here! https://meanbossart.tumblr.com/post/742508493562593280/i-dont-have-a-particular-question-in-mind-sorry

That's the result of a scene that happens relatively early in the story I'm writing ("A Novel Experience" on Ao3).

{SPOILERS} DU drow accidentally passes out on a blade which puts a relatively deep gash on his hip. Meanwhile, Astarion is weakened and starved after certain events that transpired the prior night. They have a private exchange both in a somewhat hazy-state of mind and Astarion ends up prodding and prying at his wound while feeding, so it's a laceration and bite mark that just scarred over badly.

Elves apparently don't grow body hair so never LOL guess they'll just have to slip&slide up on each other for heat

[imagine-darksiders]

Hello! Just a curious thought, but have you ever hear about Warframe? There might be a few characters I think you’d like if you haven’t!

The name ‘warframe’ has so entrenched itself into my mind because of relentless YouTube ads and sponsors that if it’s so much as mentioned, I immediately go into a violent rampage like I’m a sleeper agent who’s kill code just got activated.

Sorry, I cannot look at that game like I can’t hear the words ‘Hello Fresh’ or ‘Nord VPN’ without burying my teeth into my own arm.

[starplusfourletters]

I read specter of the past (hand of thrawn book 1)

This turned into a liveblog srry

Me, reading the Thrawn trilogy: Okay obvi Mara/Luke is a slow burn

Me, skipping to the duology set 10 years later: GUYS YOU’RE LOSING DAYLIGHT

Oh no they have a passive aggressive “may the Force be with you” / “good luck” thing oh no I might ship it

Also the small existential crisis that ensues every time I remember Luke is (checks Wookieepedia) THIRTY-EIGHT YEARS OLD. I cannot picture Luke Skywalker a day over 22 I think my brain would explode [actively represses the sequel trilogy]

This book is absolutely crawling with badass female smugglers and I’m living for it

Oooh proto-convor! [two pages later] OH NO PROTO-CONVOR DEATH ☹

Mara Jade, Force sensitive specializing in precognition, former Emperor’s Hand, second-in-command of the most powerful information dealing organization in the galaxy: Runs into a wall and spends the rest of the book knocked out

Lando “Could I Please Get Back to My Day Job It Has Been Two Decades” Calrissian. Just let the man mine in unlikely places it’s all he’s ever wanted

I got way too happy about the implication that the Imperial whose name I've forgotten figured out the tractor beam thing. He solved Science! Good for he!

Loving how everyone’s opinion on Karrde is basically “nice guy; sus that he insists on getting paid, though.” Like yes this is still a capitalist economy and he runs a business with a large number of employees

We interrupt your space fantasy to bring you a “Chicken Fried” music video with clone sleeper agents

Okay everybody place your bets is Car’das a secret brother, secret father, or ex-boyfriend (hype for some Karrde backstory and realizing the extent to which my brain has decided he and Kaz Brekker are the same person is Extensive)

Legit starting to feel sorry for Gilead “Sad Fascist Grandpa” Pellaeon. Somebody give this guy a peace treaty and a hug. Also more and more irked about No Prisoners why did that need a retcon

Really enjoyed the book’s interrogation of the premise “how do we actually make a galactic organization that includes cultures with mutually exclusive legal and ethical codes WITHOUT being fascist.” Felt very Trek. Actually went further toward radical inclusivity than Trek usually does; the Federation does have an element of “you must be this close to 20th-21st century American values to ride” which is its own kind of cultural imperialism and in this essay I will -

I simply cannot get enough of these books’ “protagonist stumbles, Kramer-like, into the Site of Maximal Galactic Importance Du Jour.” I will let you know when it stops being funny to me. Also really like how the villains are starting to learn to use it to their advantage; like yeah it DOES look like a conspiracy when you think about it

[penny00dreadful]

Return of The King - Part 3

Is it getting hot in here? 🥵

I'm sorry guys, this is a CHUNKY chapter but in other good news it's finally up on AO3! 🥳

Part 1 Part 2 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 AO3

“Vampire.”

Steve nodded, squeezing his hips lightly, just once. “I thought so too.”

Eddie glanced down at his fingers again as the feeling started to return to them. The darkness felt close around them, almost cocooning them, not stifling and claustrophobic but safe and comforting.

Even so, even with the safety of the darkness, the firmness of Steve's thighs under his and the laughter that had convinced him of Steve's Stevesness (not to mention the incredible chemical sexual attraction that was almost definitely mutual) he couldn't help that last lingering thread of doubt that there might be something lurking unknown in the background.

Eddie looked up, searching Steve’s eyes.

“Are you still you?”

Steve cocked his head to the side, a slight crease appearing between his eyebrows. “What do you mean?”

“I mean are you still Steve? Or are you mostly Steve but with a bit of Vecna in the back of your mind ready to be activated like a sleeper agent? Are you a part of the hive mind? Are you Vecna wearing a Steve Suit?”

“Uh. Honestly man, I don’t know. I think I’m still me? As much me as there ever was.”

“Can you feel him like Max could?”

“No, I don’t think so? I’d know, right? If I could?”

“You don’t think so?”

“No, I mean when I woke up I could feel something. But not a Vecna something, more like a bunch of small fluttering somethings. Like a swarm or… a cloud?” 

“Like the bats?”

“I guess? It doesn't really feel right, though.”

“But no demodogs or demogorgans or Vecna?”

"Nope."

"And you don't feel like this thing is… I dunno. Watching or taking over or something?"

"Not really, it's difficult to describe. It's like," Steve looked around, trying to figure out how to say what he needed to say, absently fiddling with the hem of Eddie's top, "it's like it's just a very, very small bit in the back of my brain. I don't think it's capable of watching or taking control. It feels honestly like it's a bit left over from whatever made me like this. Like it's not even really conscious."

Okay. Honestly what other kind of answer could he hope for? Steve's eyes were so sincere, so honest like he always was. He genuinely told Eddie when he didn't know the answer to something. He didn't know what that swarm/cloud was in the back of his head and he didn't think it was an issue.

So Eddie didn't think it was an issue and he moved on.

“When did you wake up?”

“I don’t know. It’s pretty difficult to keep track of time down there. But I was…” he gestured around his neck and body, lifting his shirt up to show his unscarred sides and Eddie had to fight himself not to touch. “Fixed. And I didn’t start to feel hungry until I got back here.”

Well… if he was a vampire and he was hungry…

“So, blood?”

Steve ducked his head a little as he smiled. “Are you offering?” God damn it his smile was enchanting. It should be a terrifying thought, the idea of offering himself up for a meal but he wasn’t scared. Not as scared as he really probably should have been.

Evidently he’d been silent for too long because Steve gently pushed him out of his lap and scooted back a little. “Don’t worry about it, man. I’m not hungry.”

Eddie felt his body slump, his weight back on his own legs and just the thought of how nice it had been to be so close left an ache in him. But he didn’t push back.

"I could be. Offering."

"I don't think that's a good idea."

"You don't want to taste me?" He pouted, batting his eyelashes.

Steve's eyes visibly changed, his honey brown swirling with yellow like cat's eyes as he bit his lip, his entire face hungry in such a sexual way Eddie could feel his body react almost immediately.

Shit, he was really playing with fire here, wasn't he?

"I'm not going to bite you."

Eddie tutted. "Pity."

"Tell me about it."

“Okay well, when did you last eat? What did you last eat? Is Farmer Dan going to find a vampire cow in his pasture in the morning?”

Steve snorted. “No. I ate this morning. Butcher's blood.” He smiled across at Eddie before his face morphed into panic and he held his hands up. “Not, like, the blood of a butcher! I mean blood from the butcher’s shop!” 

“Yeah, yeah, relax, sweetheart, I figured.”

Steve’s face tinged slightly pink at the pet name and it made Eddie’s heart flutter, which only made Steve’s blush deepen. 

Well shit. 

Nope, he needed to get it back under control.

“Are you telling me that Hawkins' famous dead King Steve Harrington stealthed into Barry’s Butchers and stole?” Eddie slapped his hands to his face in mock horror. “You’re a criminal, Stevie.”

“No, that’s not exactly how it happened. I just kinda… walked in the front door.”

“You- you what? No, man. No way, The whole town knows you’re dead. You’ve practically been canonised. People would have freaked out if you just walked in.”

Steve wrinkled his nose in disgust. “Yeah, so I’ve seen. But um… no, I was able to… I don’t really know how to describe it-”

Eddie’s eyes widened as the pieces clicked for him, leaning forward again.

“Oh my god, can you thrall people?!”

Steve shrugged. “Kinda.”

Eddie slapped his hands down on Steve’s knees, physical distance forgotten. “That’s so cool. Thrall me. Thrall me!”

“You- what?”

“Put me under your spell.” Eddie purred. “I wanna see.”

“How do you know I’m not thralling you right now?”

“Are you?”

“No.”

“Okay. Thrall me.”

“You’re putting an awful lot of trust in me.” Steve was looking at him like he was crazy but with an undertone of apprehension. 

Eddie sat back again and could feel his whole person getting softer. “Well yeah, Stevie. I trust you. You’re a good guy, you’re a protector down to your soul. You’re safe. Of course I trust you.”

Steve’s entire being seemed to inflate with bashful pride. “Okay.”

“Okay.”

Eddie watched as Steve’s eyes seemed to worm their way directly into his brain, warm and welcoming and safe.

A different kind of safe than he was used to from Steve, an immediate feeling rather than an earned endearment.

Say "Tears for Fears are musical geniuses".

"Tears for Fears are musical geniuses." Eddie repeated, monotone and bland before immediately scowling.

"Dick move, Harrington."

"Oh, I'm Harrington again now, am I?"

Eddie nodded, crossing his arms and exaggerating his upset face. "You're in the doghouse after that."

"Oh no." Steve pouted, pushing out his bottom lip in mock sadness. "How can I make it up to you?" He blinked his big brown eyes at him, looking so innocent and sincere it lit a hell of a fire in Eddie's belly, the only thought going through his head was corrupt him.

"I'll think of something." He growled feeling his own confidence bolster at the return of the pink blush over Steve’s cheeks. “Pretty cool power though. That’s how you got your blood?”

“That was a part of it.”

“Wait.” Eddie’s smile was starting to split his face, his excitement bubbling through. “There’s more you can do?”

“Yeah. You wanna see?” Some of Eddie’s excitement seemed to be rubbing off on Steve and he sounded almost eager to show off.

“Do I wanna see? Of course I wanna see!”

“Alright.” Steve stood, holding a hand out for Eddie. Eddie allowed himself to be pulled to his feet with a disgustingly hot amount of strength, leaving their hands intertwined. “I’m gonna hide.”

“Well that’s hardly fair. This is your house, you know it inside and out. If we play hide and seek, I’ll never be able to find you.”

“I’m not gonna leave this room.”

Eddie glanced around, there was almost nowhere to hide in here. Maybe under the bed at a push or in the closet but the doors were closed and they would definitely make a noise if opened.

“Where could you possibly-?” Eddie turned back, looking to his side but Steve was gone. He was… what had he said?

The space where he’d stood was empty, there was nothing there and Eddie was having trouble concentrating on the spot where he’d just been.

He squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head trying to get himself to focus. Steve had said something about hiding? Maybe? Quite literally nothing had been moved in the room, there was no flutter of curtains or movement of bedsheets, the doors to the closet were still closed and the bedroom door was only cracked slightly open, like it had been this entire time. If he’d been in here… something would be moved, right?

There was a thread of something in his brain, just beyond his reach. Something he couldn’t quite grasp, like trying to catch smoke in his hands.

Something about it didn’t feel right, there was a release of pressure on his fingers as he moved forward that he couldn’t concentrate on. The only option he really had was that Steve had somehow left through the door…

But he’d… 

What had he said?

There was a vague thought in the back of his mind that he should be more worried. Steve had only just reappeared back in his life, back from the dead and was gone again. He should be worrying that Steve had maybe run, or abandoned him or disappeared forever but again, it didn’t feel right.

Just as he reached out to touch the doorknob a pair of arms snaked around his waist, holding him tight and a voice whispered low in his ear “Gotcha.”

Eddie would forever deny the squeak he let out as he was lifted off his feet and spun back into the room, being gently let back down with his heart thundering and his breath ragged, none of which was the result of the surprise of Steve’s sudden reappearance and had everything to do with the feeling of being lifted like he weighed nothing.

He turned back to Steve who had his head cocked to the side and a slight smirk curving up the side of his face.

“You get this cute little scrunch in your nose when you’re confused.”

“You were there the whole time?”

“Yeah. Just like I said.”

Eddie stared at him, trying to keep his brain from going to all of the most depraved of places, thinking up scenario after scenario of how those damn thralling powers could be used.

He had to focus on other things. On the… on the nerdier aspects of vampirism or he might spontaneously combust.

“Sunlight?” He blurted out.

Steve blinked for a moment, surprised, before his smirk softened. “I haven’t been out in the daytime yet, I don’t know.”

“Crosses? Holy water? Consecrated ground?”

“Haven’t broken into a church to check.”

“Garlic?”

“God, I hope I can still have garlic. My nonna would never forgive me.”

“Your nonna? I thought you were Irish?”

“My dad’s from Ireland. My mother’s mother is Italian.”

“So you’re just all around very Catholic?”

"I haven't been very Catholic in a while." Steve laughed.

“Okay. We'll have to re-examine the crosses and holy water later on then. Can you turn into mist?”

“I don’t think so?”

“Can you turn into a wolf? Or a bat? Please don’t tell me you can turn into a bat.”

“I would have assumed you’d think that’s cool.”

“You can?!”

“No, I don’t think I can.”

Eddie huffed, crossing his arms. “It would be cool. It would be so super cool but honestly Stevie, I’m mad.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah! Out of the two of us I'd objectively make a better vampire. I mean look at me.” He took a step back and spun in place. 

Steve tracked the movement closely. “I’m looking.”

Eddie glared, trying to seem haughty and irritated but it was a losing battle against that smile. 

“And look at you. What kind of vampire looks like he enjoys golfing?”

Steve’s mouth turned down in an immediate scowl. “I do not look like I enjoy golfing. It’s not even a real sport.”

“Are you gatekeeping sport?”

“No.”

“Sounds like you are.”

Steve rolled his eyes. “Whatever. Yeah, fine. I don’t have a vampire fashion sense. I look more like a-”

“A werewolf.”

“A w- a werewolf?!”

“Yeah. All that hair.” Eddie smirked, running his hand over Steve’s chest. 

“Don’t hate on the chest hair, people love the chest hair.”

“Yes they do.” When Eddie finally managed to drag his eyes away from Steve's chest and back up, his gaze landed on his head hair and a horrible thought occurred to him. “Oh shit! Mirrors! Stevie, what are you going to do if you have no reflection anymore?!”

“I have a reflection, don’t worry.”

Eddie sighed in relief, placing his own hand over his heart. “Thank god, I don’t know what I’d do without that hair. I’d never be able to get it right and you’d hate me.”

“What?” Steve laughed. “You’d learn to do my hair if I couldn’t see myself?” 

“Well, yeah. It’s important to you, right?”

The laughter stopped abruptly and the smile slipped from Steve’s face replaced by a look that was impossibly soft. “You don’t think it would be a bit… vain? Or like… ridiculous?”

“I think I’m the last person allowed to pass judgement on what makes people feel comfortable in their own skin.”

Steve looked at him for the longest time, so long that Eddie started to feel the need to fidget.

“You’re a really good guy, Eddie. You know that right?”

He scoffed, rolling his eyes.  “Sweet talker.”

“No, I mean it. It’s why I came to find you first before anyone else.”

“Pretty lucky, you finding me in your bed.”

“Never felt luckier.” Steve flashed that smile that used to make all the girls in school swoon and Eddie’s heart was practically beating out of his chest. 

“But uh,” Steve looked down, nibbling on his lower lip. “It wasn’t exactly luck that led me to finding you here.”

“What did you prowl after me from the treeline like a creature in the night hunting your prey?”

“No, dude, that sounds so creepy. I-” Steve faltered, his cheeks reddening slightly. “I followed your… your blood. Your scent.”

“My what? I’m not even bleeding.”

Steve nodded absently. “It’s really potent.”

“Oh god, don’t tell me if I skink,” Eddie hid his face in his hands, peeking out through his fingers. “I don’t know if I can take it.”

“No, you smell like… it’s like…” Steve inhaled lightly through his nose, as if trying to not make it obvious that he was smelling Eddie’s blood in the air. “It’s really difficult to describe. Like trying to describe a new colour.”

The smell must be really god damn strong right now because he could feel his blood rushing through his body, unsure if it wanted to go to his heart or his face or his dick. “Okay, well what’s the first thing that comes to mind? First word that jumps into your head. Go.”

Steve’s eyes fluttered ever so slightly.

“You smell like… October.”

“October.” Eddie deadpanned. 

Well that’s definitely not what he expected. He didn’t even really like the taste of pumpkin.

“Yeah, like… leaves falling on a cold morning. Like a log fire. Mixed up with… with sugar and the night and scratchy warm wool all jumbled together into… Eddie.”

Eddie had to bite down hard on his fucking cheek to stop from outright swooning. Jesus Christ who gave this guy the right?

“Uh-huh. Right. So,” he choked out. “That- that’s it then? The thralling and the blood smelling? Oh!” He snapped his fingers. “Do you have darkvision?”

"I don't know what that is."

"Can you see in low light?"

"Oh yeah." Steve glanced around, only seeming to now notice the room was lit by just moonlight. "I can see you just fine."

"Okay so, darkvision, blood smelling and thralling. Cool."

“I also heal quickly, move fast and I’m super fucking strong.”

“Oh.” 

Oh no. 

Now his brain was full of images of Steve throwing him around like a ragdoll and he was pretty sure he was about to expire on the spot.

Like, he'd guessed based on what he'd seen but having it confirmed was… something else entirely.

“Wanna see?”

“Wh-which part?”

Before he could even blink, Steve was in front of him, gripping him around the thighs and hoisting him up. Eddie was vaguely aware they were moving. Where to? He really didn’t fucking care at that moment, he just squawked like a bird and latched on as tight as he could, wrapping his legs around Steve’s waist and scrabbling at his shoulders.

“Don’t worry, I won’t drop you.”

Eddie couldn’t respond, his- he wasn’t- his brain was in his dick and he was pretty sure he’d dropped like twenty IQ points.

His entire body was rattling with the force of his heartbeat as he was pressed up against the bedroom wall like he weighed as much as a stuffed animal and he was practically panting from everything thrumming through him.

“I have a question for you.” Steve asked, even and measured and frustratingly calm.

Eddie looked at Steve whose eyes were so cocky and self-satisfied it should have been an immediate turn off but he was pretty sure nothing could turn him off right now.

He only managed to breathe out a mmhm as Steve held him there, gently, with only the weight of his body keeping him in place, sandwiched in between a solid chest and a solid wall and with his legs clamped around Steve’s hips and holy mother of god.

“That bandana in your back pocket…”

Yeah, Eddie had completely stopped breathing.

“Does it always stay on the same side?”

Steve wasn’t even looking at his eyes anymore, he was pretty resolutely staring at his lips, his jaw, his neck and Eddie had fucking transcended consciousness, no longer on this plane of existence.

He shook his head, like an idiot before trying to push an answer out. 

“I sw-” His throat swallowed suddenly, involuntarily, against his will. “I switch.”

Steve nodded, his eyes still hot on him, low and lidded. "Me too."

Eddie could do nothing but stare with his mouth parted, the puffs of air he was breathing out gently ruffling Steve's hair.

“And how do you like it?” Steve’s hands were slowly crawling backwards, inching up his thighs towards his ass.

Eddie swallowed again. “Rough.”

Steve’s eyes were nearly black but there was none of that yellow colour that had appeared before around the edges. Any colour that was visible was that human honey-brown.

“I could hurt you.”

“I’d like it.”

“No, I could really hurt you. I’m not… I’m not human anymore.”

“You never would though.”

Steve searched his eyes, looking intently for any kind of doubt or hesitation but of course there was none. Eddie had been all in for a long time now. He slung his arms loosely around Steve’s shoulders, running his fingers lightly through his hair and squeezing his legs tighter, bringing the two of them incrementally closer.

“You have to tell me to stop. If I- if it’s too much or too far… you have to tell me to stop. Or slap me, punch me, push me away, anything-”

“I’ll tell you to stop, I promise.”

“Okay.”

“Okay. Will you kiss me now, please?”

Steve leaned forward, gentle and careful. His lips were warm and smooth and he was pliant and golden and god damn perfect but Eddie was having none of being treated like a delicate porcelain doll. He bit down hard on Steve’s bottom lip, being rewarded by a sound of surprise before it changed into something darker and the thrill was like a live wire through him.

It was like being hit by lightning the way his whole body tensed from anticipation then went limp, trying to mould himself against Steve’s chest like water. There was a large hand in his hair and another on his ass grinding, pushing and pulling him forward and backward and Eddie was pretty sure he’d never tasted anything so indulgent in his life before. 

They were a mess of grabbing hands and desperate tongues and his jeans and boxers were being ripped effortlessly under him, right down the middle so he didn’t have to unwind his legs and holy motherfucking shit he nearly came on the spot from that alone. 

He begged Steve to bite him. Begged and pleaded and whined and got downright pissy about it but Steve refused.

“I’m not going to accidentally kill you in the middle of fucking your brains out.”

“It wouldn’t- fuck, Jesus Christ Ste- it wouldn’t-” Eddie was finding it very difficult to string a coherent sentence together in between getting his guts punched out and the rhythmic up and down movement of Steve’s thrusts. “Wouldn’t be a bad way to go- Ah!”

“You’re a menace. Let me be sweet to you, baby.”

“Yeah, real fuckin’- real fuckin’ sweet. Oh, fuck me. T- Tell that to my jeans.”

Eddie was completely lost to the stars, surrounded and invaded by Steve and he’d never been more thankful for anything in his life before.

If he could show himself from the start of spring break a snapshot of this moment, that this is where everything led… sweaty and panting and undone, being wiped down with extreme care with the only thing that was in reach which was some scrap of fabric that had been magicked out of somewhere, by the man of his dreams who was looking at him like he was someone… he’s pretty sure he’d do it all over again. 

Just to get here.

Although… Eddie grimaced as he thought a little harder on it.

“Something wrong?” Steve asked as he helped Eddie out of his ruined jeans, dropping down heavily next to him on the bed. Steve’s hair was sticking to his forehead with sweat and he was sleepy and blissed out, blinking at him with those giant hazel eyes.

“I think I would have preferred if you didn’t have to die for us to have gotten here.” 

Steve pursed his lips and shrugged. “We’re here now. I think if I hadn't died we’d have gotten here anyway. I’m kind of crazy about you, you know?”

“Oh really?” Eddie grinned, laying back, closing his eyes and stretching out his body like a giant cat, completely comfortable in his nakedness. “I couldn’t tell.”

“Har har.” Steve crawled up the bed, settling down on the pillows next to him. 

Eddie reached over to brush a lock of hair back into place. “I’m crazy about you too.”

Steve smiled, turning his head a little to hide in his pillows. “I can tell.”

“Am I that obvious?” Eddie wiggled around, trying to snuggle himself up as much as possible under the covers.

“Yeah.” Steve followed suit, burying himself in deep. “But I can also hear your heartbeat and it’s been singing to me since you swung that bat.”

“I mean,” Eddie shuffled a little closer. His body was so tender. He was going to be so sore tomorrow, he couldn’t wait. “You were a creature of the night creeping up on me to come and steal my seed.”

Steve blinked at him before lifting his hands and holding Eddie’s face softly. “Jesus Christ, you are so fucking weird.” He pulled him forwards into a kiss that was so adoring and sickly sweet Eddie thought he could feel a cavity coming in.

He kept his eyes closed for a second after the kiss was broken, sucking his lips into his mouth. 

“Do you sleep?” He asked, yawning.

“Better than I have in years, ironically enough.”

“Good. Because I don’t know how much longer I can stay awake for. And we have a lot of people to see tomorrow.” 

“Yeah.” Steve turned his back, pulling Eddie’s arms tight around him. 

“G’night sweetheart.” He mumbled against the back of Steve’s neck.

“Night Eds.”

~x~X~x~

It was an entirely new experience, waking up slowly, one that he hadn’t had in over a month.

Before this he would jump awake from every little sound in the boathouse and when he was safe again with Uncle Wayne he’d always wake up suddenly, either screaming, panting or crying. 

Lying relaxed and easy, opening his eyes slowly and feeling warmth and comfort around him was something he had sorely missed. 

Steve was pressed up against his chest and held tight, still passed out and beautiful in the indirect morning light. 

Eddie snuggled back in, not wanting to move, not wanting to give this up for anything in the world.

If he hadn’t seen first hand the devastation that the Party was currently experiencing he would have made a hell of an argument for staying here all damn day. 

But he’d already been gone for far far longer than he ever had before and they were going to notice. There was no need to send them all into a panic ahead of time, especially when it was going to be an extremely emotionally exhausting day already.

Steve huffed in his sleep, stirring and apparently irritated at the very idea of having to wake up. Eddie gleefully filed it away, delighted that sunshine boy himself Steve Harrington was not a morning person.

He was shoved onto his back as Steve rolled over, draping himself completely over Eddie’s chest and apparently settling down to go straight back to sleep.

“Stevie.” Eddie sing-songed.

Another huff.

“It’s time to rise and shine with Mr. Sun.” He traced his fingers across Steve’s face, outlining his cheeks, his jaw, his nose.

“Mr. Sun can fuck off.” Steve grumbled, rubbing his cheek against Eddie’s sternum. “‘M a creature of the night. Mr. Sun is my enemy.”

“We don’t actually know that yet. We’ve gotta get you out into the light to find that out.”

Steve turned his head, poking his chin into Eddie’s chest, squinting and trying to blink the sleep out of his eyes. His hair was a mess, completely flat on one side, sticking up in every direction in the other. Paired with the unhappy scowl on his face it was the most adorable thing Eddie had ever seen.

“Come on, baby. We gotta go inform everyone you’ve risen from the grave.”

“Just call them here.”

Eddie froze for just a second, regaining his composure quickly but not quickly enough to not be noticed. Steve sat up, hovering over him. “What is it?”

Eddie chewed on his lip, looking up at the concerned look he was getting. “They won’t come here. It’s too- they think you’re dead, first off. So it would be like breaking and entering… or tomb raiding or something. But they’re all not really… in a place to be around anything that reminds them of you. It hurts too much.”

A complicated set of emotions flitted over Steve’s face before he let out a soft “Oh.” slumping where he sat.

“We usually meet up at my place now. Big Government gave me and Wayne a house so that’s nice.” He reached up to push back some of Steve’s wild morning hair. “But I’m going to have to borrow some pants. Some savage got at my jeans last night and I’d rather not arrive home in DIY assless chaps.”

“You’d hear no complaints from me.” Steve muttered, smiling a little as Eddie wormed his way out from under him, wincing slightly as he stood, crossing the room and starting to dig through the drawers.

“Of course I wouldn’t. But I’m just taking these to get home in,” he waved a pair of sweats around “I’ll change into something more fashionable once we get in.”

Steve scoffed. “Fashionable. Right.” 

Once Steve had managed to drag himself out of bed and he got dressed, they both stood in front of the closed front door.

“It’s pretty sunny out there.”

“Yeah.”

“No neighbours though. So no one to see if you shrivel up.”

“I won’t shrivel up.”

“Maybe you’ll turn to ash.”

“Oh thanks, now that’s in my head.”

Eddie took Steve’s hand. “You really think you’ll be okay, though?”

Steve squeezed his hand back. “Only one way to find out.” He swung the door open and without missing a beat stuck his hand straight out into the sunlight.

The hand didn’t shrivel up or turn to ash but Steve didn’t leave it out there for too long. “Feels like really intense summer sun. Like a heatwave. But that’s all.”

“That’s good, I guess.”

“Better than ash.”

“Yeah.”

They both looked out across the front garden again. Eddie’s van was about ten feet away, without a lick of shade in between.

“Think you can make it into the back okay?”

“I’ll just sit in the front.”

“Not that I don’t want to parade you around town sweetheart, but people will see you. You’re supposed to be dead.”

“I can hide. Use my thrall or whatever.”

“Oh yeah, and I’ll wrap the van around a tree when I get confused about where you’ve gone.”

“Well obviously I won’t use it on you.” Steve rolled his eyes, tugging on one of Eddie’s curls.

“You can choose?” Eddie slapped Steve’s hand away, trying and failing to smooth his hair back down.

“Kinda. I can choose who isn’t thralled.”

“Freaky.”

Steve chuckled. “Thanks.”

Eddie smiled back, having to drag his eyes away to check his watch. “Okay. It’s still a bit early to start volunteering at the shelter so Wayne could be home. I might have to pretend you’re not there.”

Steve nodded, nonchalant and entirely too innocent. Eddie couldn’t help but feel like he was walking into a trap but Steve just smiled at him, gentle and easy.

“I’m on to you.” Eddie said as he stepped out of the house and crossed the garden to open the passenger door. He wasn’t, he had no idea what devious thing Steve was thinking up but he didn’t have to know that.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

By the time he had rounded the van to pull his own door open, Steve was already sitting in the passenger seat, moving faster than Eddie could see.

He just rolled his eyes, hopping inside. “Show off.”

They didn’t really talk on the ride over, Steve was taking in all the ways the town had changed in the past month, how abandoned it was, the cracks in the earth.

Eddie hesitated at the threshold of his front door, turning to look back at Steve from the hallway.

“Are you not gonna invite me in?” Steve asked with a cheeky smile.

Eddie smiled right back, shaking his head and waiting with his hands clasped behind his back.

It was Steve’s turn to roll his eyes now, taking a swift and unimpeded step forward into the house, grinning again.

“Ed?”

Wayne’s sudden voice came from right behind him causing him to jump nearly a foot into the air.

“Are we air conditioning the whole road now? Close the door.” His uncle was waving his hand in front of him in a closing motion, completely blind to the resurrected vampire standing just to his right.

“Right, sorry!” Eddie shot Wayne what he hoped was a bashful smile while Steve sniggered loudly beside him. He closed the front door and whacked Steve across the arm before following his uncle into the kitchen.

It really hit him then how strange it all was as Wayne started informing him of the latest drama at the shelter. It was a very strange sensation, to be standing, talking to his uncle as if it were just the two of them, like there wasn’t an apex predator of a creature standing over his shoulder directly in Wayne’s line of sight but not seen.

It made him feel uneasy, like he was on display in a zoo or some kind of arena. And Steve, ever the meddling bastard, was trying to torture him.

“Marion needs to get her head out of her ass.”

Wayne just shrugged as he knocked back the last of his coffee. “It’s easier to let her think she’s in charge.”

“I don’t know how you hold your tongue around her.”

“Not all of us go pickin’ fights against ‘the man’ for no good reason, Ed.”

“There’s plenty of ‘good reason’!” Eddie threw his hands up. “Marion wishes she-” He inhaled sharply as a pair of hands grasped his hips and Steve ground himself right up against Eddie’s ass.

Wayne cocked an eyebrow at him. “You alright?”

“Uh,” Eddie breathed out as he attempted to jab his elbow backwards, trying to make it look like he was running his fingers through his hair. “Yeah, I’m-”

That was a terrible mistake. A terrible mistake because as he’d shifted his hair he’d left his neck exposed and there was now a pair of warm lips running gently up and down his skin.

“I’m fine.”

“You sure you’re not comin’ down with something? You look a little flushed.”

“Yeah, you look a little flushed, Eddie.” Steve’s husky voice breathed into his ear and he fought hard not to shudder. He was gonna stake Steve in the heart himself, the prick.

Eddie breathed in, flapping his arms around trying to make it look like a dramatic gesture. “I’m good, don’t worry about it.”

Wayne stared him down for a few more seconds before putting his empty cup in the sink. “Alright. I gotta run. Don’t be gettin’ up to any mischief while I’m gone.”

“No promises.” Eddie laughed, a little hysterically, waving his uncle off. “Bye Wayne!”

As soon as the front door clicked closed he rounded on Steve who had the most infuriating smile on his face.

“Were you trying to fuck me in front of my uncle?”

“Wanted to test my limits.” Steve tilted his head innocently.

“Your limits? You nearly gave me a heart attack!”

“So I heard.” Steve purred, leaning in close but stopped short, his eyes snapping to the front door over Eddie’s shoulder. “Someone’s outside.”

“Yeah, Wayne. Don’t change the subject. I didn’t know I was starting up with some kind of sex demon-”

“It’s not Wayne.”

Eddie glanced behind him to see the door still closed and no one lurking in the window before looking back at Steve. 

“Are you still hidden?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay.” Eddie took a few deep breaths trying to bring the flush on his cheeks down and get himself back under control before he made the few strides necessary across the floor plan of the house and swung open the front door.

Shit.

Robin stood there, with her arms wrapped around herself, wearing a sweater that he was positive she’d stolen from Steve months ago, the same blank look on her face and her eyes on the ground.

Eddie hesitated for just a second before he decided whatever was about to happen, it was better for it to happen inside. He stepped back from the door, letting her in and coming up with a complete blank of how to move forward with this suddenly delicate situation.

After he’d clicked the door close behind her he turned to Steve who was openly staring at Robin, wide eyed and incredibly worried. He looked devastated, letting out a small exhale, a whisper of “Robbie” that sounded so pained and so small.

Robin’s head snapped up with a quickness she hadn’t possessed for a long time, her eyes sharp and alert.

“Steve?” 

The colour had completely drained from her face. Eddie had never really understood the phrase white as a sheet until that moment, it was like she didn’t have a single drop of blood left in her head. 

Robin swayed dangerously on the spot for just a second before her eyes rolled completely back and she collapsed into a dead faint.

Before Eddie could reach out, before her body could even hit the ground Steve had almost teleported from one end of the room to the other, catching her securely in his arms and clutching her tight to his chest.

“How…” He breathed, turning his panicked gaze back up to him. “How could she see me? Eddie? She wasn’t- she wasn’t supposed to be able to see me!”

Steve knelt down on the ground, settling Robin gently in his lap and cradling her close to him. Eddie just shook his head dumbly in their direction, he didn’t know. He didn’t have any answers. He was just as shocked as Steve was.

Before either of them could say anything else, Robin stirred in Steve’s arms. 

The two of them looked down at her with bated breath as her eyes fluttered open, squinting and confused before widening when she realised who she was looking up at.

“Ahoy, sailor.” Steve whispered.

Robin placed a shaking hand on either side of Steve’s face. 

“Am I dead?” She croaked, her voice weak from lack of use.

“No,” Steve let out a wet laugh, sniffling immediately after. “No, Birdie, you’re not dead.”

“Oh.” Her eyes darted around Steve’s face, taking it all in before glancing to Eddie, taking in the room behind him then back to Steve as though trying to figure out exactly where she was. 

Robin blinked slowly once more before her face crumpled and twisted into a sob and she threw her arms around Steve’s neck. 

“I’m sorry. Robin, Birdie, Bobby, I’m so sorry. It wasn’t supposed to go like this, it was supposed to be a gentler introduction, I swear. You weren’t supposed to see me.” Steve babbled as Eddie tried to quietly remove himself from the situation, to give them some privacy, slowly backing away, patting his pockets, looking for his cigarettes.

“Stevie-Evie. Steve.” Robin implored. “I'll always see you.”

Part 1 Part 2 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 AO3

@romanticdestruction, @darkwitchoferie, @justforthedead89, @didntwant2come, @estrellami-1, @warlordess, @goodolefashionedloverboi, @weeennussy, @studentlife-with-sassyaf-friends

[boatem-probler]

WHOAAAAAAAA WE'RE HALFWAY THERE in... Tokyo Soul!

1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / You Are Here! / 9

Yes, that's right, with this batch of episodes, we are officially past the halfway point of this show! Well, I'm actually a little further than that, because I've been watching ahead, I've just been lazy about actually making these posts because I don't like updating the navigation on all of them.

We got a twofer this time, as Taurtis is once again not here. In these episodes, the boys finally go to the hospital, Sam is allowed to commit war crimes, and Sam and Grian return to the superstore.

This report contains mentions of: violence, guns, injury, brief transphobia, police/military brutality.

Previously on Tokyo Soul:

“THE MIND SLUGS HAVE ACTIVATED”

This Time...

Episode 28 – THEY ARE BACK!

Grian wakes Sam up to ask him if he heard Taurtis leave the house last night. Grian had heard Taurtis moving around and speaking “some weird language”, and assumed he was “having one of his clone episodes”, implying that this is something he does regularly, and had seen him walk out of the house. Apparently he usually comes back when this happens, but he didn’t this time, and Grian is concerned.

Grian: “He’s kind of like a little puppy, he’ll find his way home, right?” Sam: “Yeah, just like last time when he got deported or whatever and we found him outside the house.” Grian: “No, last time he died, remember?”

Jerry and Dom have replaced the TV with a potted plant.

There’s a Trump caricature named Tronald Drump at school. He’s campaigning for King of Japan. This is when I remember that this series is from late 2015/early 2016 and not from like, 2011.

The cop from before shows up at school, and says that someone named Okami told him to go get Sam and Grian and bring them to the police station.

The police station is lousy with SWAT team members. Okami, Silly, and Pufferfish Pete are waiting in an office.

They want to talk about the alien invasion. Grian is ecstatic that he’s being backed up on this. Pufferfish Pete also claims that Sam and Grian are “sleeper agents” and will be ���leading the charge” against the aliens. I’m pretty sure he doesn’t actually know what a “sleeper agent” is.

Grian: “I’m sorry, what, I thought we were children.”

Grian does not like this one bit, so now it’s Sam’s turn to be ecstatic.

Episode 29 – KILL THE ALIENS!

They change into SWAT gear, and Sam attempts to shoot Grian “to test if the armor works”.

Sam keeps repeating that he is “leading the charge”.

Sam: “You gotta follow my command, okay, Grian?” Grian: “No, the last thing I’m gonna do, in a situation where guns are involved, is listen to you.”

They’re driven to a hospital, where Crab Man Carl gives them the rundown. There are “three or four” aliens hiding in the hospital, they may have “taken over the minds of civilians”. Sam correctly deduces that this means he’s allowed to kill whoever he wants.

He proceeds to stand in Carl’s breakfast and make a rambling movie speech.

Sam is dedicated to roleplaying Independence Day all over this hospital. Grian’s strategy is to just walk up to people and ask if they’re aliens.

Dr. Nurse MD works at this hospital in some capacity, and is getting very irritated at all these guys coming in and harassing the elderly patients.

An old lady starts floating randomly and someone shoots her. Everyone seems confused as to whether she was actually an alien or not. They also kill Tronald Drump for taking too long to answer the question “how many legs do humans have”. It is also unclear whether he was an alien or not. I’m pretty sure neither of them were. Nurse MD is now very angry.

Nurse MD: “I can give you an F.” Grian, pointing a gun at his face: “Do I look like I care?”

Sam: “Someone detain him! Can I get someone to detain that guy?” Grian: “And preferably stab him!”

Sam shoots an old man in the leg. Remarkably, this one is an alien, and pulls out a Giant Anime Sword. They retreat to the next floor and wait for the alien to come up the stairs.

Sam is having the time of his fucking life in this hospital, he’s like a badly trained herding dog just biting everyone’s ankles.

They kill the alien, but lose a SWAT guy.

They continue asking people “questions only humans would know the answer to”. Sam kills a guy for saying humans have two genders, although he seems to think “transgender” is a gender, so I’m not sure I can back him up on this one. Grian is just horrified that Sam killed another human.

They continue through the hospital, killing one more normal elderly woman and finding one more alien.

Episode 30 – DONT LET THEM GET AWAY!

Sam demands a report from Silly, who seems pretty rattled.

They kill that alien, and chase a third up to the hospital roof. They shoot her off, but she survives and gets away.

Sam does a headcount and figures they must have lost about four SWAT guys.

Also you can see the edge of the city where there’s just two big mountains and I don’t know why but it creeps me out a little. It’s the liminal space thing. They’re probably never gonna actually go to or do anything with those mountains, but they’re there on the map still. I dunno.

They bribe Dr. Nurse to stay silent with the credit cards they got from killing Drump.

Then they all go to Sushi Wushi to get coffee. They catch up and reminisce about the past, and all the murder that happened in it.

Sam: “You guys have problems, you know? I just wanna point that out. Everyone here, except for myself, clearly, has very serious mental problems.”

Episode 31 – ROBBERY!

We open on Sam and Grian pretending to watch the TV in Grian’s room. They’re pretending because the TV is broken.

Taurtis is still missing, so they go outside to start looking for him, but they don’t get very far because there’s a mobster outside their house.

The mobster informs them that if they want to see “their friend”, “the blue one”, again, they’ll need to deliver the money that Jin owes the mob. Jin apparently owes them 2 million yen, somehow.

Sam and Grian decide that in order to get this money, they’re going to rob the superstore they worked at for one day, just to really stick it to Jason.

They make it all the way to the store before they’re confronted by their utter lack of plan.

Luckily, there’s some random guy outside the store who happens to be selling alien heads! The perfect disguise!

The boys lead him into an alleyway and hold him at gunpoint, because they don’t actually have any money with which to buy the alien heads. They also take his money.

The actual robbery is kind of a shambles, given that Sam is still wearing his school uniform and both of them keep slipping up and calling each other by their actual names, but they are getting a lot of money, so it’s actually going pretty well… until the cops show up. This is now a hostage situation.

Grian keeps the cops outside by threatening to shoot one of the hostages, while Sam gets all the money out of the bank vault that the store just has.

Just as he’s coming out of the vault though, the cops start heading towards the entrance. Sam and Grian both actually do shoot the hostage, but it doesn’t help them any.

They are now officially in yet another shootout.

Episode 32 – SAVING TAURTIS!

Sam and Grian run up to the second floor, and Sam kills one of the cops. He’s also starting to get confused about whether this is real life or a video game, so Grian shoots him in the foot as a reminder.

Grian builds a dummy with one of the alien heads to distract the cops while they run into the boss’s office. They jump out the window and run out the front entrance. Sam kills another cop on the way out.

They stash their alien heads and some of their guns in a random house, but they get arrested anyway.

Crab Man Carl is disappointed in them.

The police once again have a deal for them: they will help the boys with their mafia problem, if the boys help them with their mafia problem. Or in other words, Grian will go meet up with the mafia while wearing a wire, while Sam and the cops hide out and “protect” him. Like, the cop explaining this put quotes around “protect”, those aren’t mine.

The wire, by the way, is extremely huge and conspicuous and looks a hell of a lot like a bomb. Grian’s mainly worried about how he’s going to explain it when the mafia inevitably notice it. His plan is to tell them he had a head transplant and/or he’s transitioning.

At the warehouse, Grian awkwardly tries to fish for incriminating information while Sam and the cops wander around the catwalks.

The mobsters are getting suspicious of Grian’s questions, so he tries to intimidate them and gets stabbed for his trouble.

Grian switches tactics and demands to see that Taurtis is alive, while Sam and the cops start taking out mobsters. Most of the mobsters get away once they reveal themselves though.

Once all the mobsters are gone, Sam and Grian hurry to the closet thing they saw Taurtis in, only to find… Jerry.

Then they actually try to go to the hospital for Grian’s stab wound, for once, but unfortunately the only person there is a cop who doesn’t actually work there. Needless to say, Grian does not get any help with his stab wound.

Grian Trauma Count!

Deaths Witnessed:

4 SWAT team members

2 old people

2 aliens

2 cops

A non-zero number of mobsters, sorry, I didn't keep count

1 hostage

1 transphobe

1 Tronald Drump

For a total of over 13 deaths!

Injuries Sustained:

Gunshot wounds

Stab wound

Traumatic Events:

Once again the military/police are making high schoolers do their jobs for them.

Friend who already died once goes missing for multiple days.

In more shootouts.

Coerced by the police to help them kill a bunch of mobsters.

Next Time... The Word "Splarging" Is Actually Said Out Loud

[chazz-is-a-zelda-fan]

Omg on the subject of Chazz's duel with Sartorius, I haven't touched my GX rewrites in an embarrassingly long time, but I have this idea that when that duel happens instead of Chazz just becoming fully brainwashed right then and there and effectively losing him for the rest of the season, Sartorius turns him into a sleeper agent.

So for the next however many episodes, things start getting weird and students are starting to act strange, namely Chazz as the group notices. He's very out of it these days, he's seemingly disappearing at times, sneaking out at night, he doesn't know things he should know or maybe does know some things he shouldn't, he's tired all the time and generally out of sorts. And not even he knows what's going on and is just as confused as everyone else if not more so. Because when he's activated of course, he's completely suppressed so he just has a lot of holes in his memory and doesn't know what's going on or why he's so tired and so drained all the time now, and he's probably scared to be honest. He remembers dueling Sartorius but not really what happened with that, and now things are all weird and he feels like he's falling apart and losing his mind and there's nothing he or anyone can do about it.

In my head it's a way to keep him around in the season as himself longer and give him more proper screentime while still having fallen to Sartorius, but eventually once Sartorius officially enters the school, he fully activates Chazz, completely taking over his mind, suppressing his consciousness, and takes him away to serve him and the Light of Destruction until the others can find a way to save him. Which is a lot harder to do in my head than it is in the show but that's neither here nor there atm but omg I needed to share these thoughts sorry! 😖

ABSOLUTELY GOLDEN CONCEPT!!! i got so excited knowing i JUST left a tidbit in your askbox HQHDJQJJRJWJRJRJ

duuude sleeper agent chazz… NO DON’T EVER BE SORRY ABOUT SHARING YOUR IDEAS!!!!!! I LOVE THEM!!!!!!!!!

ohhh and with the tournament going on, chazz could totally act as a carrier of sorts… abby i love your brain please never stop

[fictional-love-is-my-life]

Could you do tfp Arcee with a human S/O who confesses they are a sleeper agent who could be activated by a trigger phrase to work for the Decepticons? They don't want to, but they can't control it.

Warnings: Soft angst, fear of loved one getting hurt, threats, being threatened.

~~

"Ready for patrol?" Arcee asked you, her servo resting on her hip. All the Autobots shared patrol duty. They took turns to drive around the roads, going up and down a few miles around the base. This was to check for any kind of suspicious activity.

Today was Arcee's turn, usually whenever she went you would join her. Going on patrol with her gave you the chance to have alone time together. And you were able to be lovey dovey and talk about your relationship without any of the others listening in.

"Yeah." You shrugged. Your mind was somewhere else, your thoughts clouded by a current struggle.

"Are you ok?" Arcee asked, instantly sensing you weren't feeling normal.

"Yeah, I'm ok. Let's go." You stated, trying to fake happiness. Arcee didn't believe it, and you could tell. But she transformed anyway. You put on your helmet and climbed on. Once you were comfortably in place Arcee drove out of base.

Usually the drive was filled with constant chatter. But today, you were silent.

Arcee only got 5 minutes in, before she couldn't take the silence anymore. She was going to let you tell her what was wrong when you were ready. But she couldn't wait, she hated the idea that something was bothering you and she wanted to know what it was.

"Alright. What's going on? And don't say nothing, because I know somethings wrong. You're being way too quiet." Arcee asked concerned. You sighed. You knew you should tell her, but you had no idea how to even begin.

"Ok, can we pull off somewhere private? I need to tell you something."

Arcee felt a pit in her spark, worried about what it could be. She drove off the road, finding a place deep into the desert hidden behind some large rocks. She let you climb off before transforming. Arcee knelt down, sitting on the back of her legs. This allowed her to be on a closer level to you.

You stepped closer to her, taking hold of her servos. Arcee delicately held your hands, giving them a light squeeze.

"You're starting to worry me love." Arcee spoke softly.

"I'm sorry. I'm not trying to I just..."

"It's alright, take your time. I'm here for you no matter what."

You know her words were supposed to make you feel better but it actually made you feel worse. You stomach clenched, making you feel sick. You were worried if she would look at you the same, after telling her what you needed to.

"I." You started, then paused unsure how to get the information out. "There's something I've been keeping from you. I didn't want to keep it from you. I've wanted to tell you the entire time I knew. But, I couldn't. They said if I told you, they would hurt you."

"Who?" Arcee asked, starting to feel her anger rising. Someone threatened you? She needed to know who.

"A while ago I went on holiday, and you knew about that. But when I came back, someone was in my house. It was a Decepticon." Arcee squeezed your hands tighter, she was about to say something but you interrupted by continuing to speak. " They took me and well, they made me a sleeper agent. They implanted something in my head, and if I hear a certain phrase it will activate. Then I will lose my control and be forced to work for the Decepticons. They said they were going to wait until the right moment before activating it. They wanted me to live normally, to come back to you and have a good life so when they set it off it would be harder and worse for us both."

Tears began to stream down your face as you spoke. You stared at the floor, unable to look at Arcee, too ashamed at the fact you hadn't told her immediately after it happened.

"They said if I told you, they would kill you. I tried not to. But I don't know when it will be activated. I'm so scared, and paranoid of when it will happen. I don't want it to, I don't want to work for the cons. I don't want to hurt you. But after all this time the guilt finally made me tell you. I'm sorry, I'm really sorry Arcee." You cried.

Arcee wrapped her arm around you, pulling you into a hug. She gently stroked your back as you cried against her frame. Her processor running over a million different thoughts.

She believed you. She knew this wasn't something you would joke about or lie about. She felt sad that you didn't tell her, but she could also understand why you didn't. She felt fear for your life, and she felt pure anger and hatred towards the Decepticons. How dare they touch you, how dare they do this to you.

"It's going to be alright." She cooed, trying to soothe you. "We'll figure this out."

"How?" You mumbled against her chest.

"Do you know what the phrase is?" She asked. You shook your head in response. She didn't expect you to, but she thought she would ask. Now she was worried about what she said, worried she would accidently say it. "We'll go back to base, and we'll get Ratchet to take it out."

"No, you can't." You snapped in panic, stepping away from Arcee. "They said if I tried to remove it, it would go off. Even if I don't hear the phrase."

"They probably just said that to scare you, but it's not actually true." Arcee tried to reason.

"No, please don't touch it." You begged. Arcee sighed, rubbing a servo over her face plates.

"Fine, we won't touch it. But we have to tell the others. They deserve to know the situation as well." You hesitated, but ultimately agreed. Arcee put her servos on your shoulders, bringing you back in for a hug.

"I'm sorry. I know I should have told you. But I was so worried. I didn't want you to get hurt." You felt guilty about keeping it a secret, but you were more scare of the cons going after Arcee.

"I know, I understand."

"I...I didn't want you to leave me." You whispered.

Arcee lifted you into her arms. You sat on her left arm, as she lifted you up to her face. Her right servo gently held you face, her digits mixing in your hair.

"Listen to me. You will not lose me. We are going to figure this out together, we are going to figure out how to stop it. And I will be by your side the entire time, I promise." Arcee placed a kiss to your forehead. Your hands reached out, gently cupping her helm.

She wasn't quite sure where to start. What she wanted to do, was find the Decepticon ship and take out each and every one of them. But that would most likely make things worse, as there was a possibility she wouldn't be able to get them all fast enough and they could activate you. So, instead she would stay by your side and work out another solution.

"I don't want to be a Decepticon." You mumbled.

"I know."

"I don't want you to think of me differently." You were worried, you knew it wouldn't be in your control, but you were still worried Arcee would see you as a con and not want to associate with you.

"Love, that will never happen. You are my partner, you're my one and only, and I will always love you. Now 'if' it happened, I know it wouldn't be your choice, it's something out of your control, and I will still love you. I'll just fight even harder to get you back to me."

"Thank you, Arcee. I love you too." You rested your forehead against hers.

"Let's go back to base, and try to figure this out. I know you are worried and scared. But we'll get through this."

"As long as you're with me, I feel better." You patted her servo.

"I'll be with you, forever." She placed a gentle kiss to your lips then placed you down.

She transformed and once more let you climb on. She immediately headed back to base. Though she kept her optics open, watching out for cons in case they had heard your conversation and were on the way.

She was not going to stop until she found a solution. Whether it was getting help from Ratchet, or if it was blowing up the Decepticon ship. She would do anything to fix the problem and keep you safe. You were her priority and she wouldn't stop until you were safe.

[heybeyby]

hey if you're still taking asks for the ship ask game, would you mind giving your thoughts on kira/zyro (if you haven't already)? I think I saw you put this ship in another person's ask box so I got curious and wanted to know your thoughts :D

are you aware that you just activated a sleeper agent in me /pos

Ship It

What made you ship it?

I'm going to be honest it's entirely because of my working on FDWDBG that led to me shipping these two. Studying their relationship and dynamic and the possibilities just made me spiral so intensely I kinda ship this more than zyronobu (im a big multishipper so i still love zyronobu but. i just like these guys a little bit more now. sorry)

What are your favorite things about the ship?

It's just. these two are such narrative foils once you think about it. Zyro and Kira were both chosen to be symbols of two entirely different futures and perspectives towards beyblade by warring organizations, and though while they both saw each other as enemies they acknowledged each other as equals, albeit kira did so much more begrudgingly.

Plus there's like so many tropes that apply to them??? Enemies to lovers, grumpy x sunshine, cool x warm, hero x villain, touch-starved x affectionate. it’s always on my mind how zyro immediately extended his friendship to kira not once, but twice!! it’s about zyro being the only person to believe kira could change. it's about kira wanting to battle zyro fullheartedly and defying doji to do just that. it's about kira believing zyro more worthy of being saved than him. its about zyro refusing to let kira go. gripping your shoulders do you see the vision.

Is there an unpopular opinion you have on your ship?

Kirazyro is a rarepair in a small fandom so i don’t think there’s that many opinions of them in general, but one thing i’m a stout believer in is their dynamic in canon would be leagues better than most hypothetical fanon interpretations.

i’ve thought A Lot about how if shogun steel was more popular there would be so much bastardization of characters in canon i can imagine it so clearly. there’s already a lot of mischaracterization of these two (ESPECIALLY kira). having them be a popular ship and attracting Certain people would increase that tenfold. people would make them out to have this weird power imbalance that never existed. they’d make kira act unnecessarily cold and uncaring, while woobifying zyro and making him out to be a giant pushover (when in reality, based on canon, kira would more likely be the insecure one in the relationship). it's either that or they woobify both of them to hell and erase any and all potential conflict between them or their respective friend groups. HELL ON EARTH

kirazyro if it ever happened in canon would be the the slowest burn ever. like cooking a steak with a match. their relationship is that of one of reluctance and forgiveness and it's RAGGGGGGGGGH