#sam + independence

[jaewritesfic]

Everlasting Trio DPxDC Nobody Knows Au Pt 3

Parts 1 and 2

They both fall silent and stare. 

That's an answer to one of many questions they've been asking themselves for years, isn't it?

Their best friend disappeared, and it wasn't abduction or murder. It was an escape.

“You guys don't have contact with Jack and Maddie, do you?”

Tucker swears there's a record scratch in his brain.

Sam gapes. “You mean your parents?”

Danny smiles, small, grim and humorless. “Jack and Maddie.”

Jesus Christ.

Sam glances over at Tucker and they exchange a look. Tucker knows they've been feeling a shared guilt for a long time, feeling like they didn't do enough. They had suspicions about something fucked going on in Danny's home life since the beginning of freshman year, but they never blew the whistle about it.

Rationally they know it wasn't their responsibility. All of Amity had suspicions - someone should have called CPS, and it shouldn't have been a couple of kids. A goddamn adult should have stepped up.

It doesn't keep either of them from feeling like they failed their childhood best friend.

“Considering I've spent the last four years suspecting they killed you and chucked your body into the portal to hide it? Hell fucking no, Danny,” Sam asserts.

The set of Danny's shoulders relaxes significantly. “Good,” he breathes. “Good. Please keep it that way.”

“What the fuck was going on in that house, man?” Tucker asks, a little sick to his stomach. He knows right away he shouldn't have asked.

Danny's expression shutters into something polite and pleasant to hide discomfort, and he immediately starts ‘casually’ gathering his papers and computer into his bag.

“Listen, I'm really happy to see you guys - seriously. I really should get going though, I-”

Sam reaches out and snatches him by the scruff of his shirt before he can even stand up all the way, yanking him back down into his chair.

His dumbfounded expression makes Tucker snort a laugh, so familiar and puppy-like. Danny is still all big blue eyes and nearly visible question marks when taken off guard. Tucker missed that face.

“You're not going anywhere until we get your phone number,” Sam argues, not a hint of wiggle room in her face or tone. “We'll get lunch or something, all three of us. Go to the mall. We're living in the same city, you know I'll hunt you down.”

When Danny hesitates, her face and tone melt into something softer.

“Please, Danny. We miss you.”

Danny melts a little, sighing and smiling. “...yeah. Yeah, I missed you too. I've missed you guys so much.”

“So?” Sam prompts, holding her hand out.

Danny huffs a little laughing breath and fishes around in his pocket, unlocking his phone and plopping it into her hand. 

His nails are black and green. Gradient.

Tucker doesn't know much about nails, but he knows there's a difference when Sam paints them and when she splurges for acrylics.

“Are those professionally done?” he asks, bemused. Danny had never expressed an interest in that kind of thing as a kid. It's kind of cool to see signs that he's, like…growing into himself.

Danny shrugs, and it feels good to see that he doesn't even seem to consider Tucker might give a shit in a bad way.

“I'm on my hot girl shit,” he deadpans, and Sam nearly drops his phone with the force of her startled laugh.

Tucker snorts. “Oh, well about time.”

“Hey!” Danny protests, offense fake and eyes dancing. “What's that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing, nothing! You had a glow up is all.”

Danny snickers and kicks him gently under the table.

“Okay, dick.”

It's like they never parted at all for a moment.

“Here, Mr. Hot Girl Shit,” Sam says, handing Danny his phone back. “I put our numbers in and sent a text in a group chat so you can't forget to reach out. I'm serious, Danny. We missed you, don't disappear. It was scary enough the first time.”

Danny grimaces, at least looking genuinely apologetic. “I know. I'm sorry. I really do need to get going today, though. I've got an appointment.”

“What kind of appointment?” Tucker asks.

The grin Danny gives him is mischievous and has a few teeth sharper than he remembers there being. 

He breezes past them and out the door with an impish response of, “Hide and seek with furries.”

Part 4

Masterpost

[acebender]

Sam in Cooldown: "I am considering modifying Keyleth's memory so she forgets about him entirely"

DO IT

[ramen-flavored]

Captain America wouldn’t approve of these fireworks scaring my dog

[ryllen]

why the bachelors at stardew valley all wear 2 layers of clothing

[lambmotifz]

honestly besides the fact that sam canonically doesn’t want to have physical control over dean (he prefers to be controlled by dean for many reasons, most of which come from his trust issues with himself & his masochistic tendencies) i also won’t ever be able to get into top!sam dynamic simply because aesthetically it’s so much less appealing to me than bottom!sam. when jared said “the idea that sam doesn’t use his brawn and size to save the day but he wants to restrain that power - that was very attractive to me”. he gets it. there’s something so delicious about the fact that sam doesn’t use his physical power to his advantage, and even more than that, some part of him craves the feeling of being restrained, the feeling of being small and maybe a bit helpless. and dean is canonically the only one with whom sam can allow himself to be vulnerable like that because dean is the only person he trusts unconditionally. and it drives me insane

[dareduffie]

loving sam winchester is a trap that you will not ever find your way out of. i've been here for over a decade. i keep thinking i've escaped. and then it's 2 in the morning. a tuesday. i'm crying because sam winchester fought tooth and nail to break free of his upbringing's teachings that his life is not his own, only to learn that it isn't, it never was, and he was destined from birth to belong to the devil

[shallowseeker]

I actually don’t know the answer to this. I never got big father vibes from Sam tbh. I think he’d have been happy being childless or raising a child within a village structure. He seems very comfortable as a mentor, which is why he’s typically shown mentoring Jack, professor-style, inside the bunker library. (Dean and Cas, on the other hand, tend to meet him in the kitchen or Jack’s bedroom.)

Sam’s certainly A Dad, but hmmm.

He doesn’t seem to settle as easily into boundary-making part of it (with Claire, for example, in Don’t You Forget About Me, she gets irritated with his psycho-analysis, and in Ladies Drink Free, she balks when he switches from giving-a-lot-of-independence mode to rule-making mode). Dean and Cas are way more comfortable being frank with her, and often instinctually move to lay down the line with her, which she responds to because deep-down she appreciates the boundaries and feeling cared about.

Sam values independence so much that sometimes he is hesitant to restrict it, even when it’s parentally necessary to keep the person (or others) safe.

We see that with Jack, too. Sam makes his opinion known, but stands back when Jack is raging and choking a gas-station employee (13x23), whereas Cas immediately moves to full-body-tackle/discipline him. So does Dean, using the gun to get his attention, an “equalizing” force. This is partially how Dean and Cas feel like parents, at least in the day-to-day, despite their flaws.

The one boundary when get from Sam is restricting Jack from unhealthy foods, which…isn’t terribly meaningful in the day-to-day. Jack seems kind of annoyed by it, even.

Don’t get me wrong: Sam does a lot of cool stuff. Sam is willing to sacrifice himself for Jack, in 13x23, which feels like the Sam martyr complex redux, but still hits. He’s holding a firm bedside vigil and considering crossroads dealing to get Jack back in 14x07 & 14x08.

Then, he wobbles with Billie’s plan in season 15, voicing his discomfort with Dean’s revenge and Cas’s destiny talk, but not willing to step up and make a boundary. Then, with the rib-bomb, again he voices that he thinks it’s “wrong,” but he does not lay down any “rule” to Jack for the sake of safety.

Sure, there’s other factors, but at core, Sam sometimes does not take rule-based stands with kids, because he tends to overvalue their independence at the expense of safety. (When he does take actions he’s not happy with, he has a tendency to shift that, I think. It’s why he laments being afraid to lead the hunters in season 12. Because when you make decisions, the mistakes are on you, and taking responsibility terrifies Sam. But then, doesn’t it terrify us all?)

Happy to hear your thoughts!

[daisyridleyedits]

"What have you done?" "A funny thing. I didn't tell anyone."

—Magpie (2024) — Official Trailer

[paunchsalazar]

Dean and Cas should have had their own nephilim… I think it could kill Chuck instantly and change the world for the better….

[aliusfrater]

i wanted to explain myself to myself in an understandable way. i gave shape to my fears and made excuses. i varied my velocities, watched myselves sleep. something's not right about what i'm doing but i'm still doing it — living in the worst parts, ruining myself.

richard siken, war of the foxes

[hikkokoro]

Sun got replaced(only for a week tho)

Just a fun what if episode

What if Evil sun needed more info, so he went to the SAMS og dimension and went undercover as Sun, while the real sun is stuck in a closet somewhere in the pizzaplex.

[timdrakesbussy]

my HC for ASS trio’s music preferences is that the three of them listen to different kinds of rock music. with sam, he’s into more metal and hardcore punk. abigail is a gothic rock chick, siouxsie and the banshees CHANGED her life. and sebastian is into deep cuts of alt rock (though he enjoys hüsker dü and sonic youth who are more popular). however, they don’t mind each other’s tastes, they even listen to them together and give recommendations. sleepovers in seb’s basement with bauhaus blasting softly as they sleep is like a religious ritual for them.

the three of them shares another bond by hating oasis and clowning them together. sam would play that goddamned intro in acoustic because he's a little shit like that and he'll get oncoming pillows thrown at him.

[idreamofsleeping]

WHERE ARE MY TED LASSO FANS I CANT BE THE ONLY ONE LOSING MY MIND OVER HANNAH WADDINGHAM’S CHRISTMAS SPECIAL

[vox-anglosphere]

On this Independence Day, we thank America for her help in the past.

[beardedmrbean]

[bunnybonesstudio]

Imagine Miguel coming back to good terms with Sam during S3 and discovering she’s now best friends with Demetri.

Like, image how weird that must have been for our guy. ‘My ex girlfriend, who I’m now friends with again, is now best friends with one of MY best friends and I had no idea.’

And not just any friend either.

Demetri.

Demetri ‘give each other handjobs’ Alexopolous is best friends with Samantha LaRusso. To the point where Demetri probably knows more about Sam that Miguel does. And Sam is just caught up on all the Eli drama.

It’s like, nuts.

I’m honestly surprised Miguel’s head didn’t explode, lol.