#since i was using Sammy's drawing for a long while before this

[rainyreyn9]

A little late night flight between the trio :'3

This was heavily inspired by one of my lovely friend's drawings, I decided to draw it in my style as well with Artie being added in. Idk how correct his color palette is, but all I know is that we're all dual colored hair so ¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯

[according2thelore]

it's close to eight by the time dean knocks on sam's door.

sam doesn't sleep in here--hasn't in a while--but it's nice to have his own space. it still has all of his things: the box of photos underneath his bed, his beat-up copy of frankenstein in the nightstand drawer, his journal.

that's what he's doing when dean finds him: journaling. he's lying back against his headboard, pen in hand, sketching out a sigil from one of their last cases. it's truly dismal, but his journal has always seemed so naked without the harsh lines of sketches. dad was a much better artist.

john used to say it was all that time in vietnam--being in the marines was long periods of being bored out of your mind before the most compressed three minutes of hell you could imagine. gave a man a lot of time to draw.

sam erases the sigil again. fuck.

dean's knuckles on his doorframe is equally a welcome reprieve and an extreme annoyance.

but when sam looks up, he's taken aback.

dean's dressed to go out.

to go out, go out.

he's wearing one of his tighter t-shirts underneath his nicest flannel, the one with both cuffs intact and the maroon colour still vibrant enough to bring out his eyes. he's wearing his ass-jeans, though dean has no idea that's what sam calls them. his hair is freshly washed, his stubble is freshly shaved, and sam knows if dean were just a little closer, he'd smell like cedar and open air and leather.

sam's stomach sinks.

dean hasn't gone out in...months.

not since...

"hey," dean says, a little out of breath. "get dressed."

no. god, no. fuck no, even.

sam can think of a million things he'd rather do than be dragged along to watch dean try to talk his way into someone's pants. than tense his fingers around a warm beer bottle and watch polished fingernails brush against dean's forearm.

pull his teeth out with pliers, for example. eat his own shit, for another. start licking things from the artifact room that they had sorted into the "deadly" pile last week, for yet another.

"oh. uh." sam says. "nah, i'm--uh. i'm good."

dean deflates. there's no other word for it. he slumps against the doorframe, and sam hadn't realized that dean had been perched on the balls of his feet--almost nervously--until his heels hit the ground with a thud.

"what? no!" dean protests. he's got his cajoling voice on. "you've already got jeans on, man! grab your shoes."

sam straightens his legs out on the bed, lets his journal fall onto his thighs, but makes no move to get up.

"i'm wearing a shirt that says 'librarians make me naughty'." sam says, because it's true. it was a shirt that dean had wrapped in the shape of a candy cane and put under their lean-to christmas tree last year. he found it in a goodwill, and laughed for ten straight minutes when he saw sam's face upon opening it.

it's not sam's fault it's the softest shirt he owns.

dean rolls his eyes and waves a hand.

"i'll take you how i can get you. c'mon."

sam's stomach twists as he realizes dean isn't going to take no for an answer on this one. he's going to push and pick and bother sam until sam gives in. until sam is forced to watch.

"i haven't showered since yesterday." sam's pleading, now. but instead of dean's face screwing up in annoyance or rolling his eyes or dismissing him, dean's eyebrows shoot up. he leans a shoulder against sam's doorframe, mouth pulling up into a lascivious grin.

"ooh stop dirty talkin', sammy, i still gotta dine you first."

both the words and the quicksilver flash of dean's tongue on his bottom lip freeze sam mid-thought.

"you--what?"

dean's smile slowly fades. sam isn't playing along with the game, doesn't know the words to the song dean's singing, and dean's let down. sam's insides squirm. it doesn't matter what dumbass thing dean's come up with, sam hates to let him down.

"...you haven't checked the calendar recently, have you?" dean asks. with his date outfit and styled hair and casual lean in sam's doorway, he looks like a dream. a wet one.

the calendar ? "wh--yeah. it's friday."

"july fourth."

"yeah."

"yeah."

they stare at each other in silence for a few seconds. sam finally breaks it, "so what're you--"

"get your clothes on. please?" dean smacks a hand on the doorframe once, like it's a done deal. "meet me in the car in ten."

"wait--!" sam tries to protest, but dean is gone, leaving a breeze in his wake that smells like cedar and open air and leather. what a dick.

~~~

sam's foot taps nervously in his favourite toe-tapping corner of the impala's passenger footwell.

sam didn't dress up much, just a henley and one of his flannels that has no rips in it. last minute--just as he was about to walk out of the door--he turns around and swaps his jeans for the ones that dean smacks his butt in the most, a dark wash that brush his ankles, just a touch too small.

he brushes his teeth while he hauls them on one-handed, just in case.

because sam is starting to suspect--in the way drowning men must suspect that now is the second someone's noticed they've fallen overboard--that dean's not taking him out-out.

for one, they drove straight past the only town big enough to have more than one bar in a fifty-mile radius.

dean hasn't gone out-out in months, but it still makes sam exhale slowly as he sees the interstate exit fly by.

dean hasn't gone out-out in months because sam sleeps in his bed now. he does...other things in his bed, too.

it was a long time coming, an impossibly long time coming. they'd been fucking like rabbits since November after the first pop of tension, as acrobatic as two middle-aged men with chronic hip, shoulder, knee, and back pain between them could get.

sam adored his brother down to the very core of him, it's what he's made up of.

he has no need for sex or attention outside what dean can give him. even before they started this, sam hadn't had sex with anyone in a few months.

but dean...

dean hasn't gone out since the weekend before he and sam kissed for the first time. he hasn't made any indication that he wants anything else, anything more. a waitress had slipped dean her number on a check at a diner back in march, and dean had left the check on the table, barely even looked at it.

that doesn't mean he can't change his mind.

they hadn't had sex in a week due to back-to-back cases that left them strung thin, and dean had showed up on his threshold tonight in a going-out outfit.

sam can draw conclusions, even if he can't draw sigils for shit.

they'd never had the 'exclusive' talk, because they're not boyfriends. they're brothers. a hell of a lot more than boyfriends. un-break-up-able for one. the word is so juvenile it makes sam's teeth hurt. as if the other half of his mind could be the same thing as a teenager and her dirtbag crush.

dean's a grown man. his eyes can wander. sam's been trying to prepare himself for it, for the other shoe to drop. sam's under no impression that he's a paragon of sexuality.

and dean's always leaned feminine when it comes to sexuality. exclusively feminine, actually.

sam's convinced his number is about to get called right up until dean pulls them into an empty field. even when dean turns the car off and gets out without a word, sam is unsteady on his feet.

when dean starts walking around the car to the trunk, sam opens his door.

"where are we?" he calls, hauling himself to his feet.

dean's grinning--full on grinning--cheeks pink in the dark light. he's left the impala's brights on, and it's the only light (outside of the moon) for miles.

"don't know." he says, cheerfully, and opens the trunk. sam quickens his pace, until he's standing next to his big brother in front of the trunk.

"you don't--" sam starts to repeat, but he doesn't finish. in the trunk is a blanket, a bottle of jack, a plastic bag knotted high at the top and smelling like cooked meat of some kind, and a box--a huge fucking box--overflowing with fireworks.

when sam looks back up and meets dean's eyes, dean is glowing.

"happy anniversary, sammy." he crows. he reaches in and grabs the box of fireworks, shuffling underneath its heavy weight as he rounds to the front of the car, dropping roman candles in his wake.

sam is left reeling.

dean...dean did go out-out. he took sam out. on a date. this is a date, sam realizes, as dean hums the rolling stones under his breath while stabbing firework sticks into the ground. he unties the plastic bag, and finds two tupperware containers of steak he hadn't known dean had grilled, two forks, two knives, a smaller container of plain lettuce, and a bottle of whipped cream.

surprisingly thoughtful and a touch tasteless. sam's big brother down to a tee.

sam's big brother out on a date.

"c'mon sammy, gonna light these without ya," dean calls, "you fall in and get stuck in the trunk?"

an hour later, sam and dean are sitting in the grass leaning against the impala's front grill, pressed in tight between her headlights, lighting sparklers with the same lighter, burning them down to their fingers, and trying to stick them down the backs of each other's shirts.

an impasse gets reached when the back of sam's flannel singes a shade darker, and they settle for stealing bites of each other's dinner, instead.

"you're wrong, y'know." sam finally says, trying to stab at his container of lettuce. dean's legs are sprawled out in front of him, but his eyes are just on sam, body tilted towards him. he hmms, but doesn't ask.

"i kissed you november fourteenth." he says, matter-of-factly. "not the fourth."

frankly, sam thinks if they had something as mundane or tooth-rottingly saccharine as an anniversary, it should be the second sam was born. or the day dean came and got him from stanford. dean choosing the day they first kissed as an anniversary settles awkwardly and lopsided in sam's stomach. he doesn't like it.

dean scoffs, "okay, first, i kissed you." sam rolls his eyes. "and second, this isn't that. this is..." dean trails off. he clears his throat, and for the first time in almost an hour, dean's eyes flick away from sam.

he stares out at the open field. it's balmy tonight. almost uncomfortably warm. sam's sweating in his flannel, but isn't ready for the nakedness of taking it off, especially now that dean's gotten distant.

crickets sing in the grass around them, and far away in the treeline, cicadas scream. the air smells like burnt cardboard and smoke, and sam can still feel the fizzles of wonder in the tips of his fingers that fireworks still get out of him, despite how much he's seen.

dean is silent for so long that sam doesn't think he'll speak again. sam finishes his lettuce, and steals another bite of steak out of dean's container.

"ninety-six." dean says, finally. that's all.

sam's chest immediately floods with emotion so vivid it sets him back on his heels.

1996. sam knows. sam remembers. dean's over-long hair that summer. his eyes like lamps in the dark. the way he smelled like grass and home and fireworks. sam's sweat on the back of his neck. dean's sweat under his fingernails as sam grasped his forearm in wonder.

"that's the first time i almost kissed you." dean admits it like it's been pulled out of him by force, a touch breathless, a lot shameful. he doesn't meet sam's gaze.

sam's breath catches. he looks at his brother, at the grey hair at his temples, at the frown line in his brow. at the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes. at the freckles on his cheeks. the hard line of his jaw, how there's a spot of stubble right underneath his ear that he's missed.

he pictures a seventeen-year-old dean pulling his thirteen-year-old self up into a kiss. he knows how much he had ached for it, for something that he couldn't even name. he remembers how much bigger dean was then, how he blotted out the entire sky.

"you should've," sam says, voice cracking, mouth dry.

"no," dean says immediately, hard. his voice is so harsh in the soft night that sam flinches back. dean jumps, leaning forward into sam with his shoulder, shaking his head and soothing a hand down sam's knee in apology. "no, i shouldn't've." he shakes his head. "it would've..."

but dean doesn't finish his sentence.

sam's never told dean this.

but when sam had died, that first time, knees in mud at cold oak, he closed his eyes in dean's arms.

and opened them in dean's arms. a dean ten years younger, flecks of burnt cardboard in his hair, eyes sparkling as he looked up at sam like he was the most precious thing in the world. sam was wearing a shirt he lost over eight years ago, and could taste ozone in the back of his throat, and was filled with such a profound sense of belonging and gratitude and peace that he melted right back down into dean's arms.

that had been heaven, sam thinks. he wasn't there long, but he remembers staying in that moment with dean as long as possible, bending low so dean could throw an arm around his shoulders as they surveyed their kingdom of sparks.

dean lights a sparkler, jolting sam out of his thoughts. he sticks it in the ground in front of them, and they watch as the flame races down the wick, shooting tickling sparks across the grass.

"we haven't celebrated the fourth before," sam thinks out loud. he sees dean shrug out of the corner of his eye. hell, the last time sam celebrated the fourth of july, it had probably been with jess and brady.

"we haven't been..." dean gestures vaguely.

they haven't been this before. they haven't finished what they started in that field all those years ago. sam wants to laugh.

unfinished business.

"twenty-nine years," sam says, at last, in wonder. he barely gets the words out before dean pulls him down into a kiss, forcing sam to slide from a sitting position into practically laying on top of him.

if sam was hot before, he's on fire now. everywhere dean touches is drenched in sweat, everything between them hothothot. sam sinks his fingers into dean's hair and scratches lightly at his scalp, making dean shiver and collecting sweat under his fingernails. dean tastes like jack and steak, and does that thing with his tongue that drives sam crazy.

when the pounding in his head starts to beat behind his eyelids, sam leans back, having to press a hand to dean's shirt to hold him off as dean tries to follow him, eyes still fluttered closed.

sam shucks his flannel, and rolls the sleeves of his henley up.

"give me a second." he pants, wishing that he had the foresight to show up naked. dean takes his flannel off, too, wincing as he has to shift his weight around. laying on the grass for long periods of time is for younger men, it seems. younger than forty-six, anyway. sam watches a bead of sweat roll down his big brother's neck, and realizes that yeah, he can actually lick that stuff away now, if he wants to.

sam vows to pay more attention next time.

"you're in charge of planning next year's." dean says, decidedly, he hauls himself to his feet on joints that creak and walks back to the impala. the air doesn't feel cooler when dean walks away, but it still feels awful.

dean opens the driver's side rear door. he emerges with a large, flat box.

when dean settles back down next to sam, it's revealed to be an apple pie.

"oh thank god." sam puts his head in his hands. "i thought the whipped cream in the bag was supposed to be for your dick."

dean's mouth snaps open, brow furrowing.

"if you want to get laid tonight you're not going to comment." sam interrupts, finger held up in warning.

dean clearly struggles with himself, before sighing in defeat. he pops the top open of the pastry box, and reaches around the blanket for his fork.

"i'll have you know i'm a real class act." dean pouts, shoveling apple pie into his mouth. "poised." he protests, sending crumbs flying all over sam's lap.

and the worst thing, the absolutely most humiliating thing in the whole world is that sam wants to kiss him anyway.

neither of them know, though, that this is their last anniversary. this is the last sparkler that dean will pick up. this is the last piece of apple pie sam will kiss out of his big brother's mouth.

they still have a few more midnight drives, a few more cold beers and warm nights and stars, a few more long days that end in warm, happy silence.

if they did know, maybe sam would lean in here, and lean his head on dean's shoulder, press his nose in so tight against dean's pulse that his nose bends at the tip and his breath clings to dean's collarbone.

but he doesn't.

they sit, a foot apart, until the last sparks of light fade from the sky.

[chowdergal]

Thinking more about the Sinners Bound!AU...

Let's say that after Mary bites Stack and Mary runs out, Annie immediately knows what the hell they're going up against. She then has everyone remain inside for their protection (while also trying to move Smoke away from Stack's body).

It doesn't take long after that for Annie to realize that those strange folk from earlier were most likely vampires. And thankfully, her family has dealt with creatures like this before: some have even kept them as guards to protect the house from unwanted assailants.

Thankfully, Remmick is dumb enough to take whatever bait Annie throws at him and gets himself caught in a trap the moment he's invited in. Cue Annie binding him to the Moore family.

Remmick is obviously pissed. Royally pissed. I mean, what the hell man? All he wanted was The Preacher Boy and his magic ability to summon ancestors. He just wanted to see them again, dammit! But nope, now he's stuck; doomed to be the Moore family's pet dog servant. You bet for the first few weeks that family was getting the silent treatment (unless he was forced to speak).

And since he's bound to the family, it interferes with his vampire borg collective hivemind, meaning he can't control anyone he turned. Joan and Bert are who the hell knows where (probably got themselves burnt up, tbh)--And Stack, Mary, and Cornbread are basically their own person--just hungry for blood. Somehow...everyone adjusts to their new lifestyle just fine... eventually.

Remmick begrudgingly does the tasks Annie and co. want him to do--whether that be washing dishes, folding laundry, taking out the trash, protecting the family, etc. Hell, he also plays bouncer with Cornbread at the Juke Joint--which gets a few eyebrow raises since why is this pasty white boi checking people at the door. (To which Cornbread says, "he's not White, he's Irish!" 😭)

Buuuut eventually Remmick and the family start to get along willingly. Perhaps he eventually becomes family--and when Sammie uses his gift at the juke joint one night, Remmick finally sees them:

His ancestors.

(Totally gonna draw more for this AU 😭)

Edit: I did!!

[desmond69miles]

Hi there!

Can I ask for an ink demon x reader headcanons for a chubby fem reader who’s really cuddly and sweet, but can’t always portray her emotions correctly? You can do SFW and/or NSFW, it’s up to you! But I’m in the mood for something cutesy and fluffy!

Also, I love your content, have a great day/night! ^^

It's been a little since last posting and asks have been marinating in the ask box for awhile... It's finally time to get them done in some spring cleaning.

And as always, thank you for your ask! I apologize for taking a literal lightyear - shits been INSANE.

Warnings/Tags: No big warnings! Major fluff, hints at reader being autistic. No NSFW!

[-: Starting off strong, your relationship with Bendy is a little rocky to start. Both of you poorly communicate your emotions. The Ink Demon being the Ink Demon, he's not always open for cuddles, hugs, and kisses, and struggles to properly set the boundary for when it's okay for physical intimacy. Most often him setting a boundary is a violent growl and a snap of his teeth; not the most welcoming thing. And of course, you can't properly communicate that it's hurtful (and scary) when he responds that way to your affection so most instances end in separation and the silent treatment.

[-: I do think that the more you were around each other and the more you got used to each others patterns/behaviors, communication would become easier and less vocalized, more shown throughout body language, especially on Bendy's part. His major communication is through body language, not spoken words, much like any animal (and there are verbal cues such as a low growl - meaning 'space, please' - a hiss - meaning 'I'm getting pissed' - and your personal favorite, a quiet trill meaning 'show me some affection').

[-: I can imagine some frustration on both your end and the Ink Demons, this is new to the both of you. Thankfully Sammy is there to give some pointers on how not to be mauled by his lord (which works a lot better for you). But as I said above, time, effort, praise, and unconditional love will make everything easier.

[-: Oh my lord, I know Bendy would be very stubborn even if communication was therapist approved. Like, imagine this,,

It's the middle of the night. Or, at least you think so; there's no real way to tell time this deep down in the studio. It was a very, very long day of walking, fighting for your life, and dealing with Sammy and there was nothing more you wanted than a hot bath and to curl up with your inky lover. The bath was achieved successfully, Bendy sat by the tub and played with a rubber duck while you relaxed and climbing in bed was fairly easy as well. Half way into your sleep though, your eyes opened to the sound of crunching. This wasn't like a bag of chips crunching or like paper, no, it was... hard. Boney, if you would.

"Bendy, what the hell are you chewing on?"

"A bone."

"...Can you stop?"

"...No."

[-: Back onto the cuddly and sweet part, I think that Bendy would like that in moderation. He needs his space occasionally as I said before, but I do think he'd curl up against you like a huge dog (in the middle of the night you'd wake up to him licking your arm but that's besides the point). PDA around the studio is a heavy no no but in closed doors, in strictly demon domain, the Ink Demon doesn't mind if you cling to his arm (more likely leg, have you seen how tall he is?) while he draws/chills.

And... I got no more inside my brain.

Thank you guys for reading <3 Comments/Reblogs are like cocaine please keep them coming

[bensbush]

My pirate AU drawing has been getting a lot of love, so I thought I'd share my ideas about each character within this universe!

Yaz's Crew: Brooklynn and Ben

Sammy's Crew: Darius and Kenji

Yasmina:

Runs a very organized ship

Super skilled with a sword

Worked as a member of the royal navy, and went rogue when she realized how corrupt their organization was. She often targets ships owned by the navy to steal supplies and anything else of value.

She's considered a major threat by authorities due to her knowledge of their system, and how successfully she uses that knowledge against them.

Has issues with teamwork sometimes, as well as trusting people to complete tasks up to her standards

Brooklynn:

Has an uncanny sense of direction

Was famous for leading her own crew, but after losing a battle to another infamous pirate, she lost her ship, her crew, and her hand.

Yaz found her drifting in the sea and brought her back to good health.

Her missing hand was replaced with a hook

She and Yaz clash sometimes because Brooklynn is used to being a leader, but with time they've learned to get along.

Ben:

Loves cannons and will find any excuse to fire them

Yaz saved him from imprisonment by another crew of pirates, and he was so grateful he pledged his loyalty to her forever (even though she didn't really want it). His background was pretty sheltered and comfortable, so he had a lot to learn about being a pirate.

Bumpy is his pet crocodile, he found her as an egg and raised her on Yaz's ship. Yaz and Brooklynn freaked out when they saw her for the first time and told Ben to chuck her in the ocean. He set Bumpy free, but she follows the ship everywhere because she sees Ben as her mother.

Sammy:

A bit of an unexperienced leader, but her attitude makes up for it most of the time

Skills in carpentry have saved her ship from sinking on multiple occasions

Became a pirate to fight back against a crew that targeted her village and her family. After winning the fight, she was able to take over the ship, form a crew, and travel around to more towns in need of defending.

Her intentions are often misunderstood because through word of mouth, a lot gets mixed up. Her association with village raids gets her in trouble, even though it's her apprehending the raiders.

Darius:

Most recent addition to Sammy's crew

Has great aim with a pistol

Wanted to study sea creatures, but didn't have the money for higher education. When Sammy stopped at his village, he snuck on the boat to see it up close. The boat left the port while he was still on it.

Sammy was impressed that Darius was able to go unnoticed for so long, and she offered him a place in her crew. Darius was conflicted because it meant it would be a long time before he saw his family again, but living at sea was the future he'd wished for since he was a kid.

Brand was distraught when Darius went missing. He finds out he's alive by seeing him on a wanted poster.

Kenji:

Likes hanging out in the crow's nest

There is no financial reason he needed to become a pirate, he came from a rich family. He got into a big fight with his father one night and went to a bar to get drunk, which is how he met Sammy. They got along instantly, and he impulsively agreed to join her crew to get away from his dad.

He regretted joining the crew once he realized he'd have to work

The sense of community on the boat gave him a reason to stay, they were like his first real family

I wish I had the commitment to write a fanfic about this, but knowing myself I don't! Someone else is gonna have to step up and take one for the team

[clonedchaos]

👟 𝓡𝓲𝓹𝓹𝓵𝓮 𝓔𝓯𝓯𝓮𝓬𝓽 🌸

Orchids and Oranges: A Yasammy Week Special

Yippee! It's Yasammy Week, brought to you by @yasammyweek! Pardon the late kickoff, had to attend my sister's bridal shower today as well as writing this 2,000 word one shot in one day. I know most ppl here are doing art, but I can't draw, so fanfic it is! Enjoy! <3

Day 1: Hurt/Comfort

Rating: G/PG

Summary: Yaz thought she had left the dinosaurs behind. She thought it was time for her to finally heal… until she came face to face with one on the mainland.

AO3 Version:

Tumblr Version:

Yaz wrapped her arms tighter around Sammy’s waist as she gradually got used to the fluid movement of the stallion below them. The saddle wasn’t the most comfortable or practical of inventions, but Sammy had insisted it was far better than riding bare back.

Yaz let her gaze wander as a smile crossed her lips and her heart gave a little flutter. The maple trees surrounding them were colored in vibrant shades of orange, red, and brown. Despite fall coming to a close, Texas was still as humid as ever. It was the polar opposite of her home upstate— the moment it hit October, the temperature would plummet. 

Yaz had gotten used to the frigid air over the years thanks to her daily morning runs. She would be quite out of her element down here if it weren’t for the months she spent stuck on a tropical island. She’d take the Texas heat over Nublar’s every single time.

And, of course, she loved Texas because of Sammy. Her parents had been the textbook definition of southern hospitality ever since Yaz came down to spend the week with them. Sammy had been a hurricane of energy and enthusiasm ever since her arrival. She talked a mile a minute at any possible opportunity and paraded Yaz around to see every nook and cranny of their land. It had been fun; she knew Sammy had been waiting a long time to introduce her officially to her family-- cattle included.

A pleasant breeze brushed past them, Sammy’s hair tickling Yaz’s nose. Yaz sneezed, the sheer power of the act nearly sending her reeling backwards.

”Bless you!” Sammy immediately chimed in, looking over her shoulder. Her hands held the reins in a loose grip as the stallion came to a stop. His ears and tail twitched. Yaz’s behavior had irked him.

“Sorry about that, bud,” She apologized, patting the horse on the flank. A whistle and nudge from Sammy ushered the stallion forward again. 

The cowgirl kept her eyes on her girlfriend. Yaz felt that wasn’t the appropriate course of action given she was the one guiding the horse down the path. It seemed almost as dangerous as taking your eyes off the road while driving.

”The trees are mighty beautiful, aren’t they?” Sammy cooed with a grin. She reached forward and plucked a leaf out of Yaz’s hair. How long had that been in there?

”It is beautiful, Sammy,” Yaz admitted. Truly, the scenery was gorgeous. The Gutierrez’s land was pure nature’s bliss, all 700 acres of it. She liked to call it “The Eight Wonder of the World.”

Sammy glanced up towards the sky, its colors glowing with muted hues of pink, blue, and purple. “It’s gettin’ late. Perhaps we should head back to the stable.” Her gaze darted to and fro before she leaned forward and whispered, “Ol Kota’s eyesight isn’t as great as it once was.”

Kota nickered in response. Yaz snorted. “I think he heard you.”

"Oh, that wasn't an insult, boy!" Sammy quickly corrected sheepishly, getting a chuckle out of Yaz. Sammy's baby talk toward her critters wasn't at all meant to be taken seriously, but Yaz couldn't help but think it was adorable. 

“I suppose you’re right. Hey, think I could beat Kota in a race?” Yaz asked with a clear undertone of a challenge. If he galloped at full speed, she knew he would be able to overtake her effortlessly. But at his old age, she might just have a chance if he were to trot.

Sammy’s eyes shone as she turned her attention back onto Yaz. “Oh, that’s a gre—“

Kota saw the Triceratops first. The elder stallion reared up onto his back legs. Yaz lost her grip on Sammy and hit the ground hard. The breath drew out of her lungs, leaving her momentarily stunned at the blunt impact. Surely that was going to leave a sizable bruise on her tailbone.

”Woah, boy! Easy… Easy!” Sammy yelped as she tightened the reins and fought for control. Yaz instinctively rolled to the side to avoid getting trampled on by hooves, just barely scraping by with nothing more than a dust cloud in her face.

With her chest heaving in gulps of air, Yaz finally lifted her gaze toward the instigator. A bulky Triceratops stood before them in the path, its head lowered and grazing on the sparse patches of grass that sprung up from the dirt trail. At the stallion’s cry of fear, the herbivore lifted its head. Its horns glinted off the dying sunlight’s rays, the tips sharpened points that could skewer her should the animal desire.

Yaz didn’t know why, but she screamed. She screamed a blood curdling cry that sent the nearby birds scattering. Her hands tore up clumps of dirt as she balled them into a fist. Her heart pounded, she could hear it in her ears and feel the blood coursing through her veins. It was getting hard to breathe. Why could she not breathe? Why couldn't she think? Why was her vision spinning? Was it a concussion, or was she losing it?

The Triceratops bellowed and raked its front leg on the ground. Despite being in fear’s clutches, Yaz subconsciously knew it was about to charge. Suddenly the aspect of getting trampled by a horse seemed far more appealing.

The Triceratops stomped forward, waving its horns threateningly. Yaz couldn’t move. She wanted to pull herself off the ground and bolt toward the nearest tree. She wanted to be safe, to be inside, to be far away from this prehistoric beast. But her body was rooted to the floor, tied down by unseen vines. Despite the adrenaline pulsing through her veins and the chilling numbness of her hands, she could only watch powerlessly as she sat directly in the line of fire.

“Yaz!” Sammy was suddenly right by her side on horseback. Quite literally her knight in shining armor. She extended a hand down to her. Yaz felt a sharp pierce plunge through her heart at the palpable fear she found lying behind Sammy's eyes. “Come on!”

Yaz still felt frozen by invisible roots. She wanted to reach for Sammy. She wanted them to huddle under the blanket fort Sammy had insisted they build in her room last night. Her and Sammy had been at checkers for nearly two hours before Sammy’s mother had called them down for dinner. She wanted to wake up in the morning and breathe in the aroma of fresh, fluffy cinnamon rolls and salted, crisp bacon. Would she ever partake in these memories again? Or would they be snuffed out, much like her life might very well be. If only she could just…

MOVE!

With one hand wrapped around the stirrup, Sammy leaned down and grabbed Yaz by the arm. Yaz knew her girlfriend was strong, like really really strong. Calling her "country strong" wasn't just a cute pet name, it was a fact.

Sammy's rapid maneuver was enough to nudge Yaz up and back into the saddle. With a quick snap of the reins and click of her heels, Sammy ushered Kota forward. The trike missed them by a hair, nearly getting clocked on the muzzle by the stallion's hooves.

Yaz had her arms wrapped around Sammy in a death grip, her face buried against her wool jacket. It felt like she was holding her breath for every second until they had made it safely to the barn. Her chest was tight and sweat rolled down the side of her head. She could barely feel her fingers besides the buzzing, staticky feeling she noticed there.

"Yaz?" 

She looked up with rounded eyes. Sammy released the reins and kicked her leg up and over as she dismounted. Immediately, she turned and extended a hand toward Yaz in a gesture of assistance. "Are you okay?"

No. No she wasn't. With a shaky breath and trembling hand, she reached out. Sammy's hands were worn with numerous callouses; no doubt a result from her long days of working hard on the ranch. Her fingers intertwined with Yaz's. At the touch, the dam holding back her tears finally broke. Yaz sank to her knees and began to sob.

Sammy was right there, kneeling down and pulling her into an embrace. "It's okay, Yaz. I'm here," She cooed, gently rubbing her back in a circular motion. 

Yaz nestled closer to her, hoping Sammy's very presence would be enough to chase away her inner demons. "I... I thought... I thought we'd be done with dinosaurs," She admitted weakly. She hated feeling like this. Vulnerable. It was like she was a little kid all over again; someone who needed to be coddled and comforted by her mother.

"I know..." Sammy replied sympathetically as she rested her head against Yaz's. "I wasn't expecting to see a trike so close to home."

It was getting a little easier to breathe now. Just a little. "Why? Why is it here?" She choked out, closing her eyes.

Sammy grew silent. Yaz didn't expect her to answer that rhetorical question. After all, how in the world would she know what a dinosaur was doing hundreds of miles from Nublar?

Rather, Sammy began to hum. Her tone lilted in a melancholic sway. Yaz seemed momentarily taken aback as her heartbeat began to steady and her limbs slackened. With every rise and fall in tempo, Yaz begun to notice an unmistakable pattern in the rhythm.

Yaz leaned back and cupped Sammy's cheek in her hand. Her eyes still stung, and she knew she probably looked like a bedraggled mess. Right now, that didn't matter. "How do you know that song?"

Sammy leaned into Yaz's touch. "Your mother taught it to me. She knows you've been having a tough time since the island..." She trailed off and averted her gaze.

Yaz relaxed her features and silently urged Sammy to continue. "She told me it used to help you when you were little... and I thought it might help in this situation," She murmured sheepishly and rubbed her arm in embarrassment with flushed cheeks.

Yaz cracked a gentle smile at that and swiftly planted a kiss atop her forehead. "It did help. I'm sorry. For freezing like that..."

"Hey, none of that," Sammy lectured sternly with a good-natured smile. She held both of Yaz's hands in her own. "Just because we're off the island, it doesn't mean those feelings just up and disappeared. But I know you, Yaz. You're the bravest, most stubborn fighter I know. We just need to take baby steps again."

Baby steps. Right. It was like running a marathon; you don't go full sprint right off the bat. You pace yourself until you're further along with the finish line in sight.

"It just... surprised me is all," Yaz continued. The fireflies casted a gentle, infrequent glow across the purple and blue painted sky. "I thought I would be over this. But what if...? What if there are more dinosaurs?" Particularly the ones that would have them for a midnight snack.

"I don't know," Sammy admitted, returning the kiss on Yaz's forehead. "But what I do know is that I'm here if you ever need me. We conquered Nublar together. And if dinosaurs are on the mainland now, we'll conquer that together too. You're stronger than your fears."

Yaz smiled and pulled Sammy close. There was one constant in her life when it came to dinosaurs: Sammy. When her PTSD got the better of her on Manta Corp's island, she was there to help ease her nerves and shift her attention toward other matters. Even if they were states apart, she knew Sammy would just be a phone call away. And that was enough.

"I'll always be here for you, mi rosa. For now, and forever."

[motelsnleatherseats]

A new school year was on the horizon as the summer days were coming to an end. Dean had spent the weekend with Sam dreading it and complaining, asking why he couldn't just get his GED like Dean did so he wouldn't have to worry about school anymore, but John wouldn't stand for it, and if there was anyone in the Winchester bloodline that was gonna actually graduate and get their diploma, it was going to be Sam. Plus it kept Sam busy and out of trouble on the days where he'd bring Dean along on a hunt. But he was going to do it the right way, Dean would make sure of it.

"What are you going to do while I'm at school?"

Dean breathed out a long exhale as his fingers idly massaged the back of Sam's scalp as he rested his head on his chest. He was half-laid up on him in a familiar and comfortable position. The television was off with the distant sounds of cars passing along the main road outside of the motel granting them occasional background noise.

"Might find some part time work. Hustle or whatever," Dean commented as his eyes fell shut. It had to be approaching midnight.

He'd find a way to keep himself busy, but he knew he'd always have to be available if John called and needed something. He could potentially pick up a local case if one ever presented itself, but his main objective was just to keep an eye on Sammy.

"Kinda miss when you were with me at school," Sam commented and Dean gave a short laugh.

"Speak for yourself," he replied. "You're the smart one. Tests and books ain't really my gig. Plus the teachers were nothin' like they were in pornos." Dean cracked one eye open to gaze at Sam with a half grin.

"Shut up," Sam spoke as he nudged him before he shifted his glance up towards Dean, moving his hand to draw little patterns against his chest with his index finger. "You're smart too, y'know. I just meant I'm gonna miss not being around you all the time."

"I'm still gonna pick you up and drop you off, it won't be that long. I'm actually kinda shocked you're not sick of me already." Dean moved his hand to cover Sam's against his chest before he curled his fingers against his palm.

Sam went quiet for a moment as he seemed to mull over Dean's comment, pinching his lips together as if sealing off the words that sat on the tip of his tongue. He recognized the look, the little pouty expression that his little brother used to get when he'd spend too much time chatting up girls before this whole thing between them got started.

"Sammy."

"You're not gonna find someone else while I'm not around, are you?" Sam responded abruptly. Dean gave a laugh, much to Sam's dismay because he was met with a petulant scowl and a whine.

"Seriously? C'mon, man, I'm not gonna go prowling for chicks while you're at school," Dean replied with a lift of his eyebrows. He may have had that reputation before, but Sam was in the picture now. Even if he had contemplated the seriousness of their situation, he knew that Sam's jealousy and possessiveness would be hell to deal with if he even considered getting something on the side.

"Promise?" Those damn puppy eyes. Dean lifted his hand to cup his cheek before he leaned down to press a kiss to his lips.

"I promise. Now let's get to sleep, gotta get up early to get you to school tomorrow."

The day dragged on longer than Dean expected it to. After a morning of Sam seducing him with heated make out sessions and heavy petting to try and convince him to let him stay home, Dean found himself hesitant to drive away even after his brother had walked through the main doors of the school. They hadn't really had a conversation about what they were in terms of a relationship, but Dean had an inkling that Sam would classify them as exclusively together. That didn't really bother him, in all honesty. Ever since they had their first kiss, Dean's eyes found themselves fixated on his brother more than anything, and any desire that he used to have when it came to flings or one-night stands had basically disappeared completely. What did bother him was the fact that Sam was still so young, and maybe the feelings he had towards Dean were getting wires crossed somewhere and he was mistaking his familial bond and reliance on Dean to take care of him as something on the more romantic side. A new school year meant a new opportunity for Sam to meet other people, and maybe that'd be good for him.

By the time the school day came to an end, Dean had posted up outside against the Impala, glancing at his watch to count down the minutes before a rush of kids would come flooding out of the doors.

"Dean Winchester?"

Dean turned his head in the direction of the familiar voice, his eyes falling on a pretty brunette with a pretty smile heading his way.

"Rhonda?"

"I thought that was you. I mean, kinda hard to miss with the car and all," she retorted as she came up to him as he pushed himself from the car, turning to face her better. "Thought you were leaving town before summer," she chided, giving him a playful push against his shoulder.

"Ah, yeah," Dean chuckled, giving an ostentatious shrug of his shoulders and a signature cocksure smile. "Plans changed. Dad's job kept him around longer than expected. What are you doing here?"

"Uh huh, and here I thought you were just making something up to let me down easy," Rhonda responded with a tilt of her head, but that smile still remained on her lips. Shit, she was flirting. "Picking up my sister, she's a freshman this year."

"Oh yeah, uh.. Darla, right?"

"Mhmm. And you're here for... Sam?"

"Sammy, yeah," Dean spoke, and is if on cue, the bell had rang and students started the migration out of school. Dean shifted a bit, shoving his hands in his pockets as he glanced towards the doors to scan for his brother.

"How could I forget?" Rhonda said with a grin before she stepped into Dean's personal space and nudged his arm with hers, drawing his attention back down to her. "Well you know, since you're hanging around a little longer, maybe we could get together? Catch a movie or something?" She offered. Dean felt a small clench in his chest, something akin to uneasiness. "I picked up a couple more things from the lingerie store," she added in a whisper and Dean's cheeks grew hot.

"Hey, hey, that was a one time thing," Dean replied with a nervous laugh, clearing his throat afterward.

"I know, I was talking about for me," she purred.

"Dean?"

Dean whirled around like he had just been caught in the act, Sam standing on the other side of the Impala with his eyes going back and forth between the both of them.

"O-oh, hey, Sam. How was school, are you ready to go?" Dean asked and stepped away from Rhonda, moving to open the passenger door for Sam who was on the brink of staring daggers at him. "C'mon, let's go grab something to eat, huh?" He offered as he ushered Sam to get in with a short huff of a protest from his little brother. He moved back around to the driver's side where Rhonda was still standing, watching him with an inquisitive gaze. He awkwardly slid passed her and against the car to get to the door before flashing her an uncomfortable smile. "Sorry, we gotta go. It was, ah.. nice running into you," Dean spoke before he climbed into the car.

"Yeah, same here..." Rhonda trailed off, lowering herself a bit to gaze better through the window at him. "Call me sometime, yeah?"

Dean gave a tight lipped smile and a half nod of his head before he watched her walk off and flag down her sister before they had gotten into their own car. He sat there in uncomfortable silence for a few long moments, feeling Sam's eyes boring holes through him.

"What the hell was that?"

"Nothing. She just recognized me from a few months back, came over to say hi," Dean answered, starting the car before he pulled them onto the road, all but peeling out of the spot.

"'Call me?' Did you have a thing with her?" Sam asked, his arms tucked tightly over his chest with his back against the passenger door, keeping as much distance as he could between them to display his trepidation about the whole situation.

"What? No, Sam, c'mon," Dean retorted with a snort. "I mean, well.. once, but it was a long time ago, way before you and I even started doing anything," Dean defended himself, chancing a glance towards Sam. He looked pissed. "Look, she just came over to say hi, that's all, I swear. I'm not gonna call her," he continued, doing his best to convince Sam that it wasn't even a notion that crossed his mind.

The silence persisted. Sam was good at giving the cold shoulder, but he felt that this was probably gonna be worse than just a few hours of no conversation given the fact that Sam had expressed this particular concern the night before. As each second passed, the pit in Dean's stomach grew.

"What's her name?" Sam asked, voice too calm for Dean's liking. He contemplated on asking why he wanted to know or just changing the subject, but there was no point in lying to Sam or avoiding the situation. Whether or not it was his fault, he had gotten caught red handed.

"...Rhonda Hurley."

"Hm."

An uneasiness settled in Dean's shoulders as Sam seemed to signify the end of the conversation with his nonplussed sound of a response. His fingers itched to reach for the radio to do something to cut the silence, but that would have been a bad move as well. They were half-way to the motel before Dean found his voice again.

"Wanna get something to eat?" He offered, voice soft and apologetic.

"Drop me off at the library," Sam retorted.

"What? Why? It's the first day of school." Dean looked at Sam with his eyebrows furrowed. "You're mad at me."

"Just drop me off, please. It's for school," Sam responded, his gaze still out the window, refusing to give his brother any read into his feelings at that moment.

Defeated, Dean sighed and drove towards the public library as requested, though he wasn't happy about it. He wanted to further explain himself, to make sure that Sam knew he had no intention of calling her and if he were to ever run into her in public again that he'd dip out as quick as he could, because being on Sam's shit list wasn't worth it. Once they pulled up, Dean put his arm against the back of the front seat bench and leaned a little closer to Sam.

"Want me to come in and wait for you?" Dean offered and Sam had turned to look at him, his expression still indecipherable. He noticed how his eyes flickered to Dean's lips for a moment he took that cue to lean in for a kiss, but Sam was quicker and had pulled the door open and slid out, leaving Dean awkwardly bent over the center and watching as Sam took a few steps back.

"Don't wait up."

"Sam.. Sam! Hey!" Dean called out, frowning before Sam turned to walk backwards as he headed towards the library. "Call me to come get you, okay?"

Dean was met with a roll of his eyes before Sam had turned back around and headed inside. He was in deep shit and he knew it.

Against Dean's best judgment, he drove away from the library, beating himself up about even letting Rhonda come over to say anything. How could he have known that he'd run into her, let alone have her be trying to get up close and personal right as Sam walked up? He didn't actually do anything, he shouldn't have anything to feel guilty over. He went back and forth of feeling deserving of punishment and coming up with an argument to plead his case to Sam once he gone to pick him back up again, but the guilt laid heavy on his shoulders. He checked his cell phone every 2 minutes to see if maybe somehow the ringer was dysfunctional or maybe his phone was dead, but he knew Sam was making him suffer. An attempt at watching TV was made, but he couldn't focus. His knee bounced nervously, eyes unfocused on the screen before he just turned it off and paced a bit. After an hour of waiting around, Dean knew he had to keep himself preoccupied with something else, so he left the motel and went to the nearest diner to pick up some food for the both of them. Something healthy that Sam liked, even one of those health conscious shakes Dean thought tasted like lawn mowings, just to get on his good side.

Another hour had passed and their food was growing cold on the table. One more glance at his cell phone had him reaching for his keys, the metal digging into his palm hard as he went to pull open the door before someone else had beat him to it, nearly hitting him in the face. Sam stopped abruptly, obviously not expecting to see Dean there.

"What are you doing?"

"What do you mean, what am I doing? I was gonna come and haul your ass outta the library. Why didn't you call me?" Dean asked, though he was relieved that Sam had actually come back.

"I told you not to wait up," Sam responded as he shouldered passed him, throwing his back pack onto the floor by his bed before he flopped back on it.

"Yeah, okay. Like I'm still not gonna worry." Dean watched Sam as if waiting for a further explanation, or just something other than disinterest. He sighed as he received a shrug in return. "Are we not gonna talk about earlier?"

"What's there to talk about?" Sam asked, giving a slow blink as he regarded Dean, eyebrows raised slightly. "You said you weren't going to see her, right?"

"Yeah, but I can tell you're pissed about it," Dean responded, caught a little off guard, though relieved that he wasn't going to make a big deal over it.

"Then that's it, isn't it? I believe you." 

Dean's eyes narrowed. This was too easy.

"That's it? You're not mad, then?"

"I'm not mad."

"Okay... well, I got you some food if you're hungry," Dean replied, though still wary of Sam's current emotional state.

"Thanks," Sam replied, flashing a hint of a smile that did nothing to dissolve the pit in Dean's stomach.

Dean had decided to leave the conversation at that, not willing to look a gift horse in the mouth. If Sam wasn't going to make a big deal out of it, then there was no need to further plead his case. Maybe Sam was getting better about his little jealousy issues. Hell, he was impressed Sam didn't tackle her upon seeing them talking to begin with in the way he used to act out when he was vying for Dean's attention. Or he was still mad at him and he was putting on one hell of a poker face. He tried not to dwell on the thought for too long even as he stole glances towards his brother to try and get a better reading on him.

The rest of the evening passed quietly, both of them eating in their own time and winding down from the day. Dean had showered first before he had gotten himself ready for sleep, slipping into his designated side of the bed as he heard Sam showering up after he brushed his teeth. He stared at the bathroom door, seconds ticking away feeling like minutes before the creak of the door was heard and Sam stepped out, dressed in his boxers with his damp hair curling by his ears. Dean wanted to ask if he was going to join him, but he swallowed the bit of vulnerability, wanting Sam to make the conscious decision himself.

Relief was an understatement when Sam crawled into the same bed and pressed his form up against Dean's, fitting himself as the little spoon. He curled his arm around his torso and buried his face against the back of his little brother's neck, giving a deep inhale of off brand shampoo and bar soap.

"Did you fuck her?" Sam asked in a voice so quiet Dean wasn't sure he heard right.

"What?" He lifted his head some to gaze at Sam's profile.

"Did you fuck her?" He asked again before he turned his head to meet Dean's eyes. Dean stared for a beat, unsure of how to answer, but Sam's eyes were demanding of a truthful response.

"Yeah," Dean replied remorsefully. 

Sam rolled his smaller frame to face his brother, another unreadable expression there as he moved a hand to reach for the amulet around his neck, toying with the adornment. Dean wasn't sure what else to say so he simply moved his hand to caress along his arm in an apologetic manner. Really, he had nothing to be sorry for. Sam knew what Dean's sexual appetite was like long before he had shown any remote interest in Dean or what he was doing with other people. Still, there was a part of him that felt guilty, because he was sure he was all of Sam's firsts, and Sam would never get to lay claim on any of Dean's.

Sam gave a little tug to the amulet in his fingers, tipping his head up to press his lips to Dean's, earning a small sound of surprise from the elder, because where did that come from? Grateful that Sam wasn't punishing him for his truthfulness, he leaned into it and let his eyes close. Sam was quick to deepen the kiss, parting his lips and welcoming Dean to do the same before their tongues grazed one another, the subtle lingering of mint there. Dean moved his arm to curl around his brother's middle, pulling him against him better before Sam rolled on top of him and gave a soft moan. His hand went to reach for the bedside table to turn off the light but Sam reached out to grip his wrist, giving a soft 'mm-mhh' before he lifted his head.

"Did you do it with the lights off with her?" Sam asked, voice a touch breathy. Dean responded with a soft, discontent groan as he tipped his head back with a roll of his eyes, not wanting to think or talk about Rhonda Hurley anymore. "Tell me, I want to know," Sam urged with a roll of his hips down against his groin, this time earning a pleasured groan from Dean's parted lips.

"Y-yeah, Sammy.. lights off," he exhaled, moving his hands down to Sam's hips where he gripped and gave a tender squeeze, pushing his own hips up for more friction.

"Did she suck your cock?" Sam asked, lifting his form to sit up as he straddled Dean and he gave deep rolls of his hips. Dean bit down on his bottom lip as he felt his cock begin to fatten under the pressure of Sam's actions and he slid his hands up along his sides, having a hard time participating in the conversation.

"Jesus, Sam," he exhaled, his green eyes wide as he gazed up at his little brother, a mix between turned on and concerned. It was hard to enjoy dirty talk when it was about someone else. "Why do you want to know?"

"Because I wanna do it better," Sam replied as he leaned down and kissed Dean once more before he slid his body down his brother's thighs, trailing his hands down his torso until they were at the waistband of his boxers, tugging them down. Far be it for Dean to turn down a blow job, but Sam's fixation on what he did with Rhonda was making it feel like some kind of non-existent competition. Sam would win. Every. Single. Time.

"Wait, wait," Dean interjected as he reached down to grip one of the other's wrists, shifting to sit up on his elbows as he gazed down at him. "She's never gonna compare to you. No matter what. You don't have to be better than anyone."

"Then why don't you want to have sex with me?"

Dean's chest felt heavy with the weight of Sam's question. He had put off actually doing the deed with him because somewhere deep down inside, he was afraid that Sam would change his mind about this intimate relationship they had delved into, but now Little Brother was becoming impatient. He fell back against the bed with a sigh before his arm came over his eyes.

"Is it because I'm not a girl? Because I'm not pretty or have tits and a pussy?" Dean could hear the bitterness in his voice.

"No, God no, that's not it at all," Dean replied quickly, dropping his arm and angling his head to meet Sam's gaze once more. Not pretty? Fucking hilarious. "I just.. want to make sure you're ready. That you're not gonna, y'know, hate me for it afterward or change your mind."

"Why would I change my mind? I'm the one that came onto you," Sam spoke, the edge now missing from his tone.

"Because you're young? Because you're confused? I don't know, I worry about shit like that all the time," Dean admitted, silently beating himself up for being a professional boner killer in that instance.

"Are you confused?" Sam asked.

"No.. actually I've never been more sure of anything in my life," Dean replied. If he had to compare everything that he ever felt towards anyone he took to bed, or anyone in general, nothing could hold a flame for what he felt towards his brother. Somewhere along the way of taking care of Sam, of practically raising him, he had put him on a pedestal. Sam was to be treasured, to be revered, to be worshipped, and who better to do that than Dean himself?

"Okay," Sam replied before he flashed him a smile. Okay? Okay??? That's all he could say in response?

"Okay what?"

"Okay, then just shut up and let me suck your cock."

Dean's eyebrows shot up in response, words failing him in that moment as Sam resumed what he had originally planned by curling his fingers in Dean's boxers and tugging them down, letting his cock spring free from the thin material. A soft groan left the elder's lips as he felt Sam curl his fingers around his length, holding it upright before he wrapped his lips around the head, the first touch of wet heat sending a shockwave of pleasure through him. 

"Fuck, Sammy," Dean breathed, moving a hand down to push his fingers through his still damp locks, tightening a bit at his scalp as he felt him descend on his arousal, the velvety sensation of his tongue and cheeks making the muscles in his stomach quiver. His teeth bit down on his bottom lip as he inhaled through his nose and exhaled a pleasured sound, watching as Sam tried to take as much as he could into the depths of his mouth, the head nudging the back of his throat and making him lift his head a bit from fear of gagging. "Just.. relax your throat a bit and breathe through your nose," Dean guided, giving another moan as Sam did as he was told, now starting to bob his head.

He had seen plenty of girls go down on him, some more enthusiastically, some with a hell of a lot more experience, but nothing looked or felt better than watching Sam suck his cock. The sight alone made his length throb against his tongue, his thighs tensing slightly as his toes curled against the sheets. The wet sounds were like music to his ears as they were paired with soft little hums and gentle gags when he took too much, but it was perfect. He gave his praises through tender tugs of his hair and groans of pleasure, all while resisting the urge to raise his hips.

Sam pulled up after a few long moments of concentrated bobbing to take a breath. His lips were glossy with saliva and slightly more plump than they usually were with a thick line connecting his bottom one to the head of his cock. Then he grinned up at Dean, mouth poised so close to the engorged head that it gave another throb in his grasp.

"Am I doing okay?" Sam asked, cheeks a little flushed, and God, he's never looked prettier.

"What do you think?" Dean asked as he lifted his hips some to get his cock to slip within his brother's grasp, the hardness against his palm a clear indicator that he was doing a fine job.

"Can we..?" Sam asked, expression so hopeful, how could Dean ever say no? If Sam thought he was ready for it, then Dean would give that to him. He deserved that much.

Dean licked his lips and swallowed, holding his gaze for a long moment before he nodded his head.

"Yeah, c'mere baby," he replied, coaxing Sam back up his form before their lips had joined in another embrace, Dean rolling them over to have Sam on his back. He kissed him with a deep seated hunger, licking into the pink of his mouth as he savored every sensation, his heart beginning to pick up pace the closer they got to sealing the deal. He kissed down his brother's throat as his teeth scraped gently over the thrum of his pulse, earning soft mewls from Sam as he arched up against him. His hands made quick work in discarding their boxers, now a tangle of limbs in the sheets. Dean fit between Sam's thighs, grinding their arousals together as he moved one hand to push under the bend of Sam's knee to bring his legs further apart before he trailed his fingers inward to caress against his sweet little hole.

"You touch yourself here?" Dean asked as he lifted his head, gazing down at Sam who had circled his arms around his neck and gave him a nod as he bit down on his bottom lip.

"Yeah.. just my fingers.. wanted to be ready for you," he divulged, his cheeks taking on more of a pink hue. Dean smiled, bordering on a smirk before he stole one more kiss and detangled them briefly.

He got himself up from the bed with reluctance, but if they were going to do this, he was going to make sure that Sam was comfortable. He rummaged through his duffel for a small bottle of lube he kept stashed, coming back to his brother and resuming his position.

"You still want the light on?" he asked as he uncapped it and smeared some of the clear substance on his fingers. Sam nodded and spread his thighs for him, his lips pinched between his teeth.

"Wanna see you," he murmured in reply before Dean had moved his fingers down to touch against his hole once more, Sam giving a little jolt at the cool sensation. "S'okay," he nodded, granting Dean permission to do what he set out to do.

Dean pressed his index finger against the tight clench of his rim before the lube helped it ease inside, meeting less resistance than he anticipated. Sam's eyebrows knit together at the slight pressure, but he willed himself to relax to indulge in the sensation of Dean actually being inside of him, feeling his digit massage his inner walls as it slipped in and out. It didn't take long before he was able to add a second one, the pinch of additional pressure making Sam wince slightly, but he still pressed his hips down against the feeling, the softest little sounds of pleasure leaving his lips under his brother's thrusting fingers. Dean put his mouth to work to help distract from any pain as he kissed along his throat again and along his collar bones, his cock giving a small impatient throb as he scissored his fingers inside of him, urging a deeper stretch so he'd be able to accommodate his length better.

The wet squelches of lube played a beautiful melody to accompany Sam's breathy sounds, and the drag of blunt nails between Dean's shoulder blades only added to the heightened sensitivity of his body before he lifted his head to find Sam's eyes once more.

"You ready, sweetheart?" He asked, and Sam subdued a wide smile with a bite down on his bottom lip, giving a nod of his head.

"More than ever," Sam breathed as Dean slipped his fingers free. He took what was left of the lube on his digits and slicked up his own arousal with it, moving to grip the base of it before he aligned himself with Sam's hole, nudging lightly against it.

"Tell me if it hurts, okay? And I'll stop," Dean spoke and waited for the go-ahead from Sam, both of them taking a steadying breath before he had pushed forward, the head catching his brother's rim before the resistance let up and he slipped inside with a groan, Sam's body tensing as he sucked in a breath. "Relax, baby. Breathe and relax for me," Dean coached, waiting until he felt Sam unclench enough to allow movement. "I'll go slow," he murmured, voice breathy. The tightness was incredible, and even the way he clenched and quivered around him sent pulse waves of pleasure through him, but he had to remember that this was Sam's first time. Shit, it was Sam's first time. He was taking his brother's virginity.

Dean pressed their lips together again in a kiss, another distraction, a silent 'I got you' in the form of physical affection. They stayed engaged in a lip lock as Sam's hands moved up and down Dean's back, fingertips pressing against the flesh, nails leaving light half crescent shapes against freckled skin until Sam exhaled against his mouth, giving another nod of his head.

"M'okay. You can move now," Sam breathed and Dean went right to work, giving slow and shallow rocks of his hips, feeling the slow drag of his cock against his insides. He dropped his head some, letting his forehead press against Sam's shoulder as he continued to move, his thrusts going a bit deeper, pressing just a little harder. Sam's arms had curled around him as his thighs pressed to his hips, giving little swivels against each movement that made Dean's head spin.

"God, you feel so fucking good," Dean spoke with a voice like tires on fine gravel as he breathed hotly against his skin, earning a soft whine from Sam between his panted breaths. He could tell his brother was biting his tongue at any discomfort, or maybe he enjoyed the slight sting of pain because it made this real and not some porno fantasy where everything was exaggerated screaming moans of ecstasy, but he checked in, making sure Sam could handle it. "Feels okay, baby? I'm not hurting you?"

"Bigger than fingers," Sam managed to reply with a strained laugh as he held at Dean's nape, pressing his mouth against his ear to give more of those delicious breathy sounds. "Don't stop, I want to feel you all the way," he spoke and Dean groaned, moving to find his mouth again as he angled forward and gave a full thrust, bottoming out. Sam arched, parted lips against Dean's as he gave an outward cry. His heels came to press at the small of his brother's back, holding him in place as he quivered and spasmed around him. "Oh fffuck," he whined, chest rising and falling faster. "I feel so full.. nngh, you're so big," he gasped and Dean throbbed.

"Yeah? You like me that deep, Sammy?" Dean asked, his pupils blown wide with lust as he held Sam's gaze, thankful that he opted to leave the light on because Sam's expression was one he'd commit to memory forever. He gave a grind forward and Sam let out another choked sound, giving a nod of his head as his eyebrows knitted together, those stained glass eyes glassy and dark.

"Do it again," Sam urged and Dean pulled his hips back, giving one fluid roll forward to sink as deep as he could which earned him something akin to a sob as he felt Sam suck his stomach in, the tightness around him increasing.

"Fuck, you're so hot," Dean hissed, nipping at the sharpness of Sam's jawline. "Like big brother fucking you?"

"God, Dean," Sam mewled and Dean shifted his hands up along the other's shoulders before he guided his arms up, curling their fingers together on either side of his brother's head. "Yes, yes, I love it so much.. fuck me, please," he pleaded, squeezing his fingers between his own before Dean took the lead and set a rhythmic pace, each stroke deep and firm, causing Sam's smaller form to bounce slightly. Any pain that Sam may have felt either went ignored or dissipated, because he was matching Dean's pace by countering each thrust with a throwing of his hips against his cock as it plunged in and out of him. The sound of skin on skin grew louder in slick plap plap plaps as they exchanged moans and grunts, entranced by each other's pleasured expressions, locked in an intense gaze that only exemplified their desire for each other.

Dean shifted his hips slightly, angling his body down enough to catch Sam's cock between their abdomens. The added stimulation had Sam writhing and he released Dean's hands to bring them to his shoulders, giving a sob of pleasure.

"Wait," Sam breathed, eyelashes wet with unshed tears from the overstimulation. Dean stilled, panting, eyes darting back and forth over his features to ensure that he hadn't hurt him or gotten carried away. "I don't wanna come that fast.. let me just," he murmured, pushing his brother's shoulders to guide them to roll over so that he was straddling Dean now, careful not to have had him slip out. Dean stared up at Sam, sat atop him like it was his rightful throne, face and chest flushed, hair disheveled. 

Dean moved his hand to run along the taut, slender torso before him as Sam leaned back some, his hands finding an anchor point right above Dean's knees. He could see every newly developed muscle in his abdomen, the stretch of skin from growing quickly framing his physique so perfectly. He gazed in awe, licking his lips and catching his breath before Sam rolled his hips, lifting and dropping down, sucker punching a moan passed Dean's lips.

"Shit, Sammy," he breathed, fingers now gripping at Sam's tanned thighs, squeezing possessively as he countered his movements with arches of his own hips. "Look so fucking good riding me like that," he praised, moving one hand to curl his fingers around his brother's leaking cock before his hand was batted away.

"No, wanna come on your cock alone," Sam drawled, his expression somewhat dazed. Dean gave no argument as his hand gripped his hip instead, watching as Sam set his own pace, up and down at first, the new position giving him a front row view of the show, seeing just how stretched his cock had his baby brother's virgin hole. He groaned as his lashes fluttered, full set of lips remaining slightly agape as he continued to let pleasured sounds drip from them. And then he sat fully down on him and began to rock back and forth, the grinding of his engorged cock dragging along his insides had his balls seize up, impending orgasm quickly approaching.

Dean's eyes were fixated on the way the muscles moved, the way Sam tipped his head back and dragged one of his own hands up his body, touching over his chest and his neck an into his own wavy locks. He had never seen anything so sensual, so breathtakingly arousing, he could have come right then and there, but he wanted Sam to get off first.

"Oh my God," Dean groaned, eyes rolling back for a moment as he pressed his feet into the mattress, aiding in Sam's riding motion before he saw his eyes flutter shut and his mouth fall open wider upon the constant pressure against his prostate. It only took a second or two more before his little brother was coming untouched, making a mess against Dean's stomach and chest before he was right behind him, forcing his hips down a bit harder before his dick throbbed and pulsated, emptying a hot and thick load deep inside of him.

Little thrusts of hips were given as they rode out their orgasms, both of them soon breathless and boneless as Sam leaned forward and collapsed against Dean's chest. His eyelids were heavy and his body was thrumming with post-coital bliss as Dean caressed along his back, blinking his vision back into focus.

"Goddamn," Dean breathed, taking a moment to catch his breath. "You okay, little brother?"

"Fucking amazing," Sam retorted with an airy chuckle, taking a deep inhale to exhale a content sigh. "Told you I was ready."

"Yeah, you called me out on that one." Dean smiled lazily to himself, bring a hand up to smooth through Sam's hair before he kissed the juncture of his shoulder and neck. Their moment of intimate affection was interrupted by Dean's cellphone ringing, making him grunt and curse under his breath. "That's probably dad. Are you okay to move?"

Sam gave a nod of his head and forced himself to sit up, slowly lifting his hips to have Dean slip out of him, come soon to follow.

"I'm gonna clean up," Sam murmured as he got off the bed with shaky legs, Dean giving a nod before he sat up himself and hurriedly moved to fish out his phone from his jacket pocket, flipping it open as he watched Sam head into the bathroom with a sweet little smile his way.

"Hello?" Dean answered as he flashed Sam the same smile, giving a little head tilt to check him out in the process. He was expecting a gruff voice on the other end but it came out much more feminine, his expression dropping when he realized who it was that was calling him.

"Hey Dean, it's Rhonda. Look, I'm sorry to bother you so late, but you're good with cars right?"

"Uh.. yeah, why?" Dean looked away from the bathroom where Sam was busy taking care of the aftermath, afraid that all the color had drained from his face. What perfect fucking timing to call.

"Weirdest thing happened. I think someone was vandalizing cars in the neighborhood or something cause my tires are slashed and they broke my rear window," Rhonda replied, voice distressed. "I already filed a police report, but I don't know if my insurance will cover all of it. Was kinda hoping to call in favor about getting my tires switched out if you have the time."

Dean's eyebrows pulled together as he suddenly looked towards the bathroom again, swearing he caught a glimpse of Sam watching him through the mirror.

"Oh, um, I'm not really sure.. I'd just take it to a mechanic. Y'know, let the professionals handle it." He wasn't about to get roped into meeting up with her after the conversation he had had with Sam earlier. "I'll let you know. Sorry, I gotta go."

"Oh, okay-"

Dean closed his phone and gazed at it in his grip for a moment or two before he noticed Sam standing in the doorframe of the bathroom.

"Ready for bed?" No question about who was calling, which was strange considering Sam could probably piece together that it wasn't their father. Dean let the silence linger for a beat or two before he set the phone down and cleared his throat.

"Yeah." He padded back over to the bed and got settled on his side before Sam joined him, pressed up nice and close. "Hey, Sammy?"

"Hm?"

He couldn't bring himself to ask. Sam wouldn't do something like that, would he?

"..Goodnight" Dean opted for instead, reaching over to turn out the light on the nightstand.

"Night. Love you."

"I love you too."

↳ part 1 || part 2 || link to ao3

[thatonecrookedsmile]

"There's nothing wrong with dreaming. Wishing for the impossible is just human nature. That's how I got started. Just a pencil and a dream. We all want everything without even having to lift a finger. They say you just have to believe. Belief can make you succeed. Belief can make you rich. Belief can make you powerful. Why with enough belief, you can even cheat death itself. Now that... is a beautiful, and positively silly thought." -Joey Drew.

[OPEN YOUR EYES]

-Line-

-----

I mean, at the end of the day, he wasn't so wrong about that last part.

This one also took a little longer to finish. I wonder why /s.

I usually don't like drawings where I have to create a design for a character I've never drawn before. It ends up making me force myself to come up with ideas and sometimes I end up not liking the design anyway. At least this time? That didn't happen (thank goodness).

At first, I didn't know what to do for this prompt. What I originally conceived was a more "joke" drawing with Joey and Sammy, with Sammy literally drawing the line between him and Joey with a big pencil. No big deal, right? But then the phrase "end of the line" came to mind and then… this happened. Funny. A while back I had an idea for a drawing about Joey's afterlife. The idea was much simpler, from what I remember. And compared to what we have, quite different.

"Death" is what came for Joey, and it's what comes for everyone. What he faces is nothing less than what will determine his fate. It is the very Arbiter itself - the eye that sees all - who decides where souls whose lives are over will go. The heavenly gates in the great beyond? The burning flames in the darkest pit? The void of vast nothingness? Somewhere else beyond? Reveal your soul and the Arbiter will decide. I have a certain guess as to where Joey is going, but I'll leave that up in the air.

Maybe I thought just a little bit too much about a character that I probably won't draw in a long time,but i don't mind giving a little lore even to characters that i don't see using much in the future, you know.

(Also, since I used Joey's audio log from BATIM CH3 in the beginning, did you know that Dave Rivas (Joey's current VA) did his own reading of that audio? He's going to be a guest on the Indie Horror Talk Podcast, and the video they posted teasing Dave's appearance there has him reading this same audio log, only with his Joey voice. So now we have Joey's first audio log in the series voice acted by both his first VA (David Eddings) and his current one. I thought that was cool, you know. I found this out a while back and wanted to talk about it for a sec.)

(Alt. without the text):

[superbpudding]

YIIK and the use of Deviated Perspectives.

Hiii everyone :3

In this post i want to talk about YIIK:a Postmodern RPG and the way it uses something that's called in it as "Deviation Perspective", in this pose specifically i want to talk specifically about the main NG story and won't touch as much NG+ and the books Deviation Perspective 1 and 2. I also won't be touching about Nameless' gameplay segments here. However i will still mention the new I.V content that was added to the story and also may use DP1/2 and NG+ elements as sources of arguements for my theories, so if you haven't read or played any of these yet beware of spoilers.

Now that we're done with that i want to point out something important, despite the fact that the term Deviation Perspective was introduced after 1.0 came out, the very essence and meaning of this term is fundamental to the story and was a major part of it since 1.0. Deviation Perspective is showing structurally same event at the core as before however under a different perspective.This can be done with either a purpose to show how similar these scenarios are and make you want to find more similarities between them, or exactly opposite and to show how despite them being similar at their core but opposites of each other in their meaning. Most noticeable DPs have shared visual composition, like Alex running down a long road surrounded by his parallel selves, or man and woman sitting together with woman on the left and man on right. In a way you could say that parallel lives are Deviation Perspective of a person, where a seemingly similar person is shown under a different perspective.

Im almost done with that prelude of a text but before i get started one more thing: in Deviation Perspective 1 Vella explains the concept of her hew album to William, describing it as "the first song is your ideal first date with your soulmate, the next songs are deviation perspective of that", i think this line is extremely relevant to the game's story counting the relevance of music as a theme in the story.

So,

Chapter 1: a Wild Cat Chase.

As this is the first chapter there isn't really a Perspective to Deviate yet, so mainly here i will try to draw attention to different key moments in the story that i will mention later in the post.

The chapter begins with Alex arriving home from school (he just graduated), he goes home and is met with his mom's letter telling him to go buy groceries. He walks in the direction of the shops area of the town(that lacks grocery store) but as he's about to do it he gets distracted by a cat who steals the list and Alex is forced to chase her.

As the chase goes Alex eventually gets stuck in a Factory Hotel dungeon, in it he meets his childhood friend Panda and shortly after he meets Sammy Pak, who looks suspiciously similar to Alex's mother with the haircut, necklace and glasses, while also showing a fear of becoming her own mother. When you finally do find Dali the mom's letter is nowhere to be found however Alex doesn't notices that at all since he's too involved in helping Sammy now. He then goes through a hall with doors on the sides which ends with robot Wilhelm, Sammy's roommate. After defeating Wilhelm you and Sammy go to the elevator and she goes missing while being locked into the Iron Maiden. Upon arriving home and checking ONISM Alex sees the post about Sammy, he then goes to sleep and sees a dream.

The chapter isn't over yet but i want to point out they key elements, Alex is given a task by his mom, he distracts himself and chases something which is usually based on ONISM post, boss fight in a dungeon, after that something that feels more real than everything that happens before.

Anyway back to the chapter, Alex wakes up the next day and goes to visit the Factory Hotel again, however he meets Michael(standing in the same position as Dali did) and instead goes to Camera Shop and Arcade instead, after that he finally goes to Factory Hotel and encounters a Soul Survivor, Michael takes a picture and they leave in horror, making related ONISM post later.

…….Now im gonna nerd out, one of the most repeating patterns in yiik is a boss fight happening and representing some real events that happened after it, usually caused by Alex so the boss itself is usually a parallel to Alex in some way. The case with Sammy and Wilhelm is more so unusal because other cases the "victim" of this boss in current situation is Sammy-a woman who Alex never ever met, so he couldn't have somehow caused harm to someone who he didn't knew. Instead i think that Wilhelm represents Alex's self destruction in that specific scenario, with Alex paralleling Sammy to himself(ONISM posts, the lines she says, her appearance, her being in his Mind Dungeon, the phone calls in Chapter 5) and a machine parallel of him(Wilhelm) harming this another version of him, him finding out about Sammy Pak's case on ONISM1999 and causin himself psychological self harm by becoming obsessed with it and becoming who he is for the rest of the game.

As for section after Sammy disappearing i want to point out how Michael acts yet again acts as a distraction for Alex who allows him to not go to Factory Hotel(which he probably wanted to do after he saw the ONISM post) and instead to go around the city and visit Arcade, with them finally going to the Factory Hotel being connected to creation of another ONISM post, possibly making it be rather that the post came first and Alex made up a situation for it. He even stands on the exactly same place as Dali.

and now we arrive to

Chapter 2: a Chance Traveler

The chapter start with Alex and Michael sitting together by Alex's computer discussing various thing but seemingly without much direction, it's implied that they kept going like that for days without doing literally anything towards the actual Sammy's case. Finally there appears an ONISM post about Vella, you meet her and there's a small fight against her in which you can't win(at least in the plot), but eventually Vella agrees to become somewhat your friend. Vella also having same affinity and shared skills with Sammy. You then get DMed by Rory about his sister and go visit him with Vella, you also have a nice talk about race on the bus with Vella that she really enjoys. You finally arrive to Rory, do his dungeon all that stuff and then the Golden Alpaca cutscene happens, in it he calls Vella a "Chance Traveler" while the background has stage decorations from Vella's Mind Dungeon, after which he kills the Choir Soul Survivor. Want to call attention to one of the key elements in this scene that i want you to remember-Rory suffering with his parallel self as the center point of the scene, which is then destroyed after the boss fight happens.

This chapter parallels chapter 1 a lot, you meet Vella who's Alex's new woman who he chases now (just like Sammy) and you also meet Rory, another ONISM user and parallel to Alex(just like Michael). However i want to point that due to such factors as ONISM1999 posts, Mancer's key unlocks path to Sammy's role and Rory appearing in KNN i think that in Chapter 2 Rory is the one who takes the role of Sammy as the "victim" of Alex, while Sammy is his victim in a way that Proto-Alex kidnaps her. Golden Alpaca being like Wilhelm and representing Alex saying very fun stuff about Rory's sister.

Chapter 3: Reluctant Apology Tour

The chapter begins with Alex's mom coming home and telling him to get a job, after him pretending to try to get a job he wakes up at night and follows the entity to radio tower, getting asked to search for Mystical Ultima LP Legend, interestingly the related to this ONISM post appears only way later in the chapter. You go visit arcade but Vella doesn't want to join you, you meet Michael and then go take Rory to be with you on a journey instead of Vella. Rory sits in the exactly same position as Vella during the bus ride but gladly Alex doesn't talks about his ethnicity. When they finally arrive at this chapter's town they get 2 new party members, Claudio and Chondra, mirroring Alex getting party members like Sammy/Michael and Vella/Rory in previous chapters, Chondra being somewhat(like really fucking somewhat cause idk what's going on really with Chondra she's weird) both Alex's desired woman(paralleling Vella and Sammy) and also being Alex's critic(paralleling Michael), and Claudio being parallel to Alex(paralleling Michael and Rory).

When they go to the cave dungeon you can notice a lot of ONISM users who are trying to find Sammy Pak in the cave, mirroring Alex. In the said cave dungeon the party encounters Perfume King, symbolising nostalgia, the central character in this encounter is Chondra so i think it's fair to assume that this encounter represents Chondra and her disgust towards nostalgia-specifically her missing brother, changing from first not wanting to talk about it at all and then admitting how she hates it. I could say that it's all there is to it, however Perfume King is very explicetly parallel Alex, so it could also more specifically represents Alex bringing up Chondra's brother to her later on in Chapter 4, or in general his obsession with nostalgia that Chondra notices in him.

Finally, let's talk about Vella's Mind Dungeon that keeps on the pattern of Sammy's Mind Dungeon and Rory's Mind Dungeon from previous chapters. I don't know what i can say here that wasn't said before, Alex sees Vella only through the lense of her in media and who she was as a media character, sexualising her by meeting her naked in bath and making it a requirment to kiss her to progress, but stil admitting that she doesn't loves him and can't enter the door for her loved one.

I really want to bring up the appearance of Alex's house in her Mind Dungeon which has different layout(and also has framed images above the piano) and also featuring Sammy in the kitchen, which first of all reflect one of the Sammy related ONISM posts and also reflects a fragment of Alex's memories, with the taller Sammy being his mother who cooks and the smaller Sammy nearby her being A������.

At the center of the map of Vella's Mind Dungeon we can see Essentia in bed-Alex wanting to see Essentia as parallel to Vella(since it's possible to meet your parallel lives in your Mind Dungeon). I want to note an important gameplay element that at first doesn't seems so important-you meet Vella's parallel lives and assemble them together to progress further, specifically you need to assemble 4 of them together. When the band assembles Vella literally points out to Alex how his depiction of her is wrong in the lyrics of her song:

"Take my word for it

I'll always be a loser, you know it

I know it's just a dream

Fame is not for me

I'm a hack

I have nothing to say

Drown me in the sea

That is better for your ears"

Alex goes behind the stage and we encounter a very important imagery-a long road to Vella's album with hooded parallel Alexs on left and right. With the cover of Vella's album being somewhat a prophecy-"Mystical Ultima LP Legend"-Ultima meaning feminine "the last/the final" in latin, resulting in the title combined with other text on the cover meaning "Mystical Legend of The End LP, by Vella Wilde, on January 1st, year 2000". Completely unrelated, we see the Chance Traveler Vella in a crystal holding the MULL, with Golden Alpaca turning into Threatening Fan(who looks like ginger Handsome Krow), asking Chance Traveler to sign his copy of the MULL. After defeating him Alex takes the LP and throws it at the Chance Traveler, making her fall from the crystal. I think this scene is a DP of the Golden Alpaca cutscene, where instead of Rory it's now Vella and the parallel self is Chance Traveler instead of Choir, and Threatening Fan replacing Golden Alpaca.

The Alpaca cutscene was paralleling the "nobody cares about your sister" scene, so what does Threatening Fan parallels? Personally i think it parallels the scene coming right after you take the record-Alex playing it on his record player at the house, which is followed by a scene of Alex running down a hall to Vella with his parallel selfs on right and left, one of the Vellas also says "Can you hear?My heart is calling". When you return to reality Michael mentions that despite what we just heard the singer had male voice on the record, which is also later on brought up by Alex to Vella pretending he doesn't know. In Y2KII during Cyrille's death cutscene a song called "Can you hear?" plays, which has the same motif as "a Distant Voice" but with male singer and completely different lyrics, first line being "Can you hear?My heart is calling", i personally think that Alex was the one who made and recorded his own version of "a Distant Voice" as a love confession to Vella(also when Alex throws the MULL at Chance Traveler Vella you can hear "i love you" in background) that embarrased her in front of everyone and also yet again brought up her trauma by reminding her of the man who hurt her.

The chapter ends with Alex chasing Vella to playground where they have a conversation about Vella being hurt in the past, which probably is just Vella trying to explain Alex how what he just did hurt her but instead he tries to kiss her. Interestingly during that they swit on the swings in same position as the King and Queen sit on thrones.

Chapter 4: Mystical Ultima LP Legend

Chapter begins with Alex and the party going to the radio tower to play the Mystical Ultima LP Legend, Alex plays the record and sees the Essentia cutscene, after which he wants to find the Essentia van.

The next day there appears an ONISM post related to this, strangely Rory mentions in the post he wants to find it not because of Alex saying they need to find it but because it appears in photos of Sammy Pak(which were never mentioned before). You go to assemble the party to do this task(with Chondra and Claudio hanging out at Frankton for some reason), after which the gang checks out possible van locations until they find the right one.

I want to note how the whole sequence almost identically repeats how chapter 3 beginning goes on, Alex goes to radio tower->Gets new task to find something->Next day he travels around the map to find this thing. Even just like how in Chapter 3 you need to go to Windtown to get Rory on your team, while CH3 Michael joins you in Frankton(which in CH4 is expanded to the rest of the party).

After Alex opens the van he's transported into the mind dungeon of the first ever girl to invent womansplaining. In there she tells him that she is Sammy and Vella and that the search ends on her.

In her Mind Dungeon we can see a very similar structure to Vella's, making it a Deviation Perspective of her MD, however in this case i think the differences in DP are more important than the similarities, Alex replaces the living spiritual being (Vella) with digital electronic junk (Essentia) and replays the events of previous chapter with that replacement.

So anyway, in this MD we meet many parallel Essentia's souls, in total you need to collect 4 limbs and assemble them together in Wendy, like how you assemble 4 Vellas in a band in previous chapter. I also want to note how Wendy got the same face as the mixtape ghost, Liana. All the parallel souls in here somewhat reflect Alex, there's also some straightforward parallels to Alex in here like Wilfrid, so what's up with that? I want to point out how despite the fact that it's implied that all the souls here are a part of Essentia, however it's only ever mentioned that Naila has built an Essentia version, there's also a confirmed connection between Naila and Yuzu in the new ending and that they are both involved in making the DSV. Yuzu himself is a parallel Alex and a potential King, he seems to be angry at Naila for her ruining his life and him sacrificing himself for her. So, my theory is that the cycle was started with Naila, she built the first Essentia model and became one, after that she came after Yuzu and was his Essentia, putting him inside the DSV, after that a new model was made and cycle continued, Essentia comes after Alex parallel->Spreads her memes to them->They become the next meme host, be it an Essentia or an ONISM Man. I want you to keep this in mind for later chapters.

Btw i want to draw attention to Naila here and her story, which is at it's core really similar to one of Alex's father and also somewhat Vella's ex. She leaves her family for someone else which leads into her and the husband breaking up, this event brings her into sorrowful state and also is a starting point for development of Essentia, which now parallels Alex and him going on ONISM1999-his way to meet his parallel selves.

Alex kills Yuzu with Essentia's sword and then after a nice dialogue with Essentia in which Alex asks her did he hurt any other parallels of Essentia which results in her leading him to his MD, also during this scene the same theme plays that plays when Alex monologues about Dali and Sammy in Chapter 1. In the Mind Dungeon you are shown a view of Alex running dawn the hall of his parallel lives with the prophecy of him destroying the world in the end (DPing the end of Vella's MD).

Not really related to DPs but i want to note how Alex looks in this room, he's on flames in front of the earth, seemingly destroying it, however there's another interesting element here, the alchemical symbol of creation behind him. This symbol actually appears a lot in Essentia's MD, mainly you can see it under the tubes with Essentia models, you can even see one under tube with Wilhelm, so what's up with that? I think that this shows the alchemical creation of an Essentia model and the fact that it appears behind Alex here implies that Alex destroying his own world is an important element to put him inside a DSV and make a new Essentia.

Chapter 5:The Y2K Problem

In the start of this Chapter Alex and Essentia go to Alex's house. Following the pattern of appearing once every 2 chapters Avril is home again, after talking about her getting a job(resolving the issue of Alex having to do anything) she tries to talk with Alex seemingly with intention to give him some new task, however the digital distraction in face of Essentia is already here and she doesn't even gets to say what she wants from Alex. As Essentia and Alex go to his room (similar to how Essentia Entity follows Alex to his room in Chapter 3) he is directly told by Essentia the task that Alex should do (like in Chapters 3 and 4). After that Alex calls Vella which is a DP of actually 2 moments: Alex calling Vella in Chapter 2 about Rory and Alex in Chapter 4 meeting Vella alone before he can get everyone else on party, this phone call is the one in which Vella tells Alex about Rory's suicide and also this call is required before the rest of the party appears in Frankton. Talking of, just like in Chapter 4 Alex gathers his friends around Frankton so they all can together go follow a task given to him by Essentia.

Now, you have probably noticed that in this post I haven't previously mentioned the Michael cutscenes, mainly because they don't DP anything and are their own thing, however i want to draw attention to the one that plays before you meet Proto-Michael. Mirroring Alex, Michael runs in the hall of his parallel lives and sees his greatest sin in the end, ONISM1999, he also makes an interesting comment about how the world ends in it.

I don't have much to say about the calendar segment, mainly due to it's nature of being Chapter 5's calendar segment, so I'd rather skip to the end of it.

Chondra runs in the hall of parallel lives similar to Michael, however the center of attention here isn't ONISM1999 but Michael himself, who sits while holding King's revolver in his hand instead of his own, showing him being a potential King. I honestly have no idea what the fuck does Michael being the King as Chondra's flaw means as i came to this conclusion literally just right now while writing this, so interpret this how you will and write down your interpretation in comments/tags!!!

So anyway Alex wakes up in the middle of the night because of the phone calls. There are multiple characters calling Alex in this section...or is there? Alex uses phones to go to the mind dungeon, also the specific list of characters that call him here either appear in Alex's mind dungeon or they are their parallel. I also want to note how these specific phone calls draw parallels between various characters by swapping them in some way.

Sammy is swapped roles with Alex where Alex is the one who went missing and Sammy is the one with a toy animal. Michael and Chondra have their appearances and interests swapped, while Michael is also called a "panda boy" in Chondra's call. Avril and Antonio have their voices swapped, they are also swapped with Chondra's and Claudio's parents, who talk to Alex as to Aaron after he went missing. There's also Jane referring to Alex as Roy, the protagonist of Two Brothers, with Jane being Roy's Sammy (or at least how Alex wants it to be).

Alex meets his friends outside and goes to NYC, once again Alex is running towards him destroying the reality, interestingly the Backalley Boiz stage from the Mall is here, alongside the vans, also an addition that was made in I.V is that you can see a record player nearby in the cutscene before boss fight starts. Proto comet "banishes" Alex's friends from his life, i want to point out how this is an unwinnable fight with the only other fight like that before this being fight against Vella in Chapter 2, making it a DP of that and also drawing further connection between the end of the world and Vella.

But before i continue to Chapter 6 i want to mention the KNN ending. This ending is Alex choosing not to fight the destruction but to escape it all together by going to the soul space. He goes to KNN which in a lot of ways DPs the Factory Hotel, at there Alex does what seems to be Sammy's job, he makes coffee copies files and so on of different not so hard work, seemingly yet again paralleling him to Sammy. However there's a few important differences in here, the Sammy in this building isn't the Chapter 1 Sammy but the Spectre Sammy, while through the area Alex isn't referred to as Alex but as the {playername}. In KNN we see Alex paralleling YOU, the player, to your own Sammy, making you more similar to him. There's also another DPs going on here, since Alex's failures were never linear this ending is also connected to the debugger ending and chapter 6, the end specifically. First of all when Sammy asks you to go into the elevator the choice is made by interacting with the phone, even if you say no and try to make the choice again you can't interact with the elevator and instead have to use the phone, just like how Alex enters the Soul Space in Chapter 6 through the phone. Finally the whole KNN with it's parallel to Factory Hotel is a DP of this part of Chapter 1 which also connects to a thing in Chapter 6.

Chapter 6: Epilogue

Alex is left on an island with Panda, his only choice is to go to the Soul Space via phone. Aaand, almost everything after this is a Deviation Perspective of the entire game before that (and so the reason for the name Epilogue).

Alex is in the Soul Space, the first thing that happens here is the cutscene with Panda where after Alex's stuffed toy floats away from him Alex does the exact same pose that he does upon losing Sammy, DP-ing that and also showing how in both scenarios Alex is sad because of losing a person that only existed inside his head. However, isn't there still some story before that happens, Alex meeting Sammy at all and all that? Well, this is where KNN ending comes in, it is that missing piece of DP that covers all the factory hotel except right before Alex loses Sammy and ends on them being in an elevator, right after which happens the event that Panda dying DPs.

Just after this happens Alex flies to planet of Alexs, an echo-chamber of people just like him on which the Proto-Comet forms, most likely DPing Alex going on ONISM1999 right after losing Sammy in Chapter 1.

After this he follows the meteorite and watches it destroy everything he loves time and time again, unable to do anything. This DPing most of the game with Alex living through the destruction he causes time and time again unable to stop it. He Follows Voices, Sammy sitting alongside Panda pointing out the parallel between these 2 earlier in the chapter, Alex yet again loses all of his friends but "moves on" with quit your crying being an option now in i.v. interestingly Sammy and Rory are the only 2 characters who Alex's can't interact with. Avril and Antonio sitting on the thrones foreshadowing to king and queen, it also being most likely a scene from Alex's birthday when he was a child, probably the last one before his parents divorced. This segment ends with Alex going in the Essentia van, taking her place. Finally, Alex goes to "your" planet and tells you that you're destined to destroy your reality too. This section directly parallels the event of Essentia meeting Alex, however now Alex is the one in her role and you're in role of Alex. He even directly quotes Essentia before going to your planet:

"There are moments when I understand intellectually how I must act, but then something happens. Somewhere in the recesses of my mind, like a warm light in the distance, an idea forms - a completely human, flawed, and kind intentioned idea, something that all versions of me know to be a mistake. However, the overwhelming feeling of doing the "right thing" takes over and I am forced to make a choice. And every time, this version of me chooses the kind path. I cannot allow any harm to come to you."

"Something is happening. Somewhere in the isolated recesses of my mind, like a warm light in the distance, an idea is forming. A completely human, genius, and kind-intentioned idea. Something that no other version of me would do. And now my body is filled with that overwhelming feeling that I am about to do the "right thing."I always made a choice, a lazy choice.Not today. Today, I choose differently."

And just like Essentia and Alex's party, Alex and your party is now fighting different variations of Alex in boss form, with the final one being Alex's ultimate flaw, previously proto-comet and now proto-alex. Just like how Proto Comet is a losing battle, so is Twisted Beings, impossible to defeat. The similiarty between 2 fights is also pointed out by the 2 knights on left and right of the boss, with Proto Comet being acompanied by Chibi-Xenanu and Golden Alpaca while Twisted Beings got chess pieces of knights. Since the fight is impossible the only option available is to unplug the 2, yet again the Y2K bug occurs and the game is reset back to April 4th with NG+. Thanks everyone for reading! Also sorry for lack of screenshots i kinda uh forgot where i should put in some so there's probably some points in the post which would benefit from screenshot but don't have one.

[vanfleeter]

Conjure: Chapter 4

Characters: Jake Kiszka, Josh Kiszka, Sam Kiszka, Maggie Warnings: 18+ || Paranormal. Ghosts. Spells. Conjuring. Angst. Anger. Grief. Yelling. Swearing. Drunkenness. Fluff. Friendly banter. A/N: HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

“Jake, I really don’t want to be here,” Sam says as he stands outside the gate of the cemetery.

“Sam, you haven’t been here since the funeral,” Jake says as he pushes open the gate.

“For good reason..” Sam grumbles.

Jake sighs and rolls his eyes. “Stop it..” He grabs Sam by the elbow and pulls him past the gate. “Now come on, I bet he’s waiting for you.”

Sam rolls his eyes and continues to follow Jake through the cemetery. “You and your voodoo shit is really getting annoying.”

Jake scoffs and turns backwards to face Sam as he continues to walk. “It’s not voodoo..”

“Oh?” Sam digs into the bag he was assigned to carry and produces the same pumpkin and sage candle. “Then why do you have this?”

“It’s just a candle.”

“That’s not what Maggie said,” Sam says as he twists the candle in his hand. “She said you had been using it to conjure up Josh’s spirit.”

“Shut the fuck up,” Jake snatches the candle out of Sam’s hand and sets it on top of Josh’s tombstone. “It smells good.”

‘You need to get your nose worked on again, brother,’ Josh says as he walks up beside Sam. ‘Candle smells like shit.’

Sam shakes his head and sits down on the ground. “So how exactly is this supposed to “help” me?” He says as Jake lights the candle and goes to sit on the ground as well.

“It allows you to begin the healing process.”

“You’re one to talk.” Sam grumbles.

Jake cocks his head to the side and gives Sam a disapproving look. “Feeling completely healed doesn’t happen overnight, Samuel. It takes time.”

“It’s been four years, Jake,” Sam sighs. “If it hasn’t already happened, I fear it will never happen.”

“That’s because you haven’t tried.”

Josh lowers himself to the ground and sits cross legged in front of Sam. ‘Come on Sam.. Please talk to me.. Tell me how you feel, please. I know you feel guilty and you shouldn’t.. I just wish you could hear me tell you that.’

Sam shakes his head and he lowers his chin. “I don’t know, Jake.. I haven’t been back here in four years for a reason.. I can’t face it.”

“You already are,” Jake says. “Just because you can’t see him or hear him, doesn’t mean he can’t.”

Sam leans his elbows on his crossed legs and rests his chin in his hand. He stayed quiet for a while, drawing circles into the grass in front of him. Jake let him take his time, so he turned to face the sunset. It wasn’t long before Sam was standing to his feet and taking the bottle of tequila out of the bag. But instead of twisting the cap off and pouring a shot, he slings the bottle at the tombstone. Jake jumps at the sound of the glass bottle shattering against the stone.

“Fuck you!” Sam shouts. “How could you have been so stupid?! Why did you have to be such a show off?! For once in your life you could have just not entertained people! Just once! You would still be here if you weren’t clowning around!”

‘There you go, Sammy.’ Josh says as he watches Sam take out his anger. ‘Let me hear it.’

Jake had fully turned his body around on the ground so he was facing Sam and all of his anger on display. “So fucking stupid, Josh, and I still so fucking angry with you! You ruined everything! My life, the band! The only good thing that I had managed to create is a baby! A baby that won’t grow up with you around! It feels so wrong bringing another life into this world after losing one–a vital one..” Tears fell down Sam’s cheeks and he fell to his knees in front of the stone. “I should hate you.. I really should.. But I can’t..”

Jake moves closer to Sam and wraps his arms around him. Sam turns his body into Jake’s, his cries taking over his body.

“I miss him, Jake..” Sam cries over his shoulder.

“I know you do,” Jake says as holds him tighter. “Believe me, I do.”

Hearing a knock at her door, Maggie gets up from the couch and goes over to answer it. Pulling open the door she’s surprised when she sees Jake standing out in the hallway. His head is lowered, his hair covering his face. He sniffles and looks up at her, his eyes red and puffy. She doesn’t say a word, instead she pulls him inside her apartment.

Waking up the next morning, his head pounding, and his body shivering, Jake peels his eyes open and finds himself alone in the bed with the covers strewn all over exposing his half naked self to the chilled air. Grabbing the covers, he drags them back over his body but pauses when he hears humming coming from Maggie’s kitchen. It was sweet and soothing and he wanted to hear more of it.

So he climbs out of bed and throws his shirt back on before quietly making his way down the hallway and to the kitchen. He can smell the scent of lavender making him feel more at ease. Peering around the wall of the kitchen, he finds Maggie seated at the island counter with a book open in front of her. She smiles and looks up at him.

“Good morning,” She says. “How’re you feeling?”

“A little better,” He says as he walks over to stand behind her. “Thank you for letting me cry in your bed.”

Maggie giggles and turns her head to look over her shoulder. “My bed is your bed.”

He chuckles and kisses her cheek. “Then why don’t you come back to it?” He says as he begins to sway their bodies back and forth.

“I would love to, but I have been doing some research.” She says. “I think I may have found something that could help us, but it’s going to take a lot of practice.”

“A lot?” Jake questions. “How much is a lot?”

“It involves a lot of breathing exercises and getting our bodies in tune with the spirit world.”

“So in other words… Yoga.”

“Yeah pretty much,” She says as she closes the book.

“Looks like a kid’s spellbook.”

Maggie giggles and takes a drink of her coffee. “I know nothing about what the book contains or how it may or may not work.”

“Where’d you even find it?”

“Some lady in Oregon who claims to be a witch.”

“Doesn’t sound sketchy in the slightest.” Jake chuckles.

“It’s worth a shot,” Maggie says. “Probably will do something more than that dinky pumpkin and sage candle.”

“Excuse you.. My candle is–” Maggie raises her eyebrows. “My candle is horrible..” Jake sighs. “I guess we can try this.”

“Well we have at least twelve months to perfect this,” Maggie says before sliding off the bar stool. “Sam’s welcome to join too.”

Jake shakes his head. “I don’t think so..”

“Sam is just as distraught as you are, if not more.. Maybe this could be his chance to have the closure he needs to make peace with the past.”

“He’ll think we’re insane.”

Maggie wraps her arms around his body. “Just casually mention it to gauge his opinion.”

“And how exactly do I tell him casually? ‘Hey Maggie and I have a plan to bring Josh back from the dead for a day, want to join?’.”

“Well not like that,” She laughs.

“Then how does one bring that up?”

–A Few Weeks Later–

Sam twirls his fork in the spaghetti on his plate as he stares at Jake. “So let me get this straight.. You want to conjure up Josh’s spirit for twenty four hours?”

“I know it sounds crazy–”

“Crazy?” Sam scoffs.

“--But it would give us closure..”

“This is absolutely deranged..” Sam tosses his fork down on the plate and stands up from his chair. “You want me to participate in some seance to bring our dead brother back from the dead just to have some closure? Jake, you have absolutely lost your mind.”

“Sam, listen–”

“No! You’re delusional thinking something like this can happen! He’s dead, Jake!”

“I know he is..” Jake mumbles as he slouches in his chair.

“Then leave it be,” Sam says. “Let him fucking be at peace wherever his goddamn spirit is..”

“What if he isn’t at peace, Sam? What if he’s struggling like we are? What if he needs that closure too?”

“Jake.. Josh is dead.” He grabs his coat off the back of his chair and slips it on. “But if you and Maggie want to go through with this freaky voodoo shit, then go for it.. I want no part in it.”

Jake huffs and drops his head as Sam storms out of the house, the door slamming shut behind him. Jake leans forward onto the table and rests his chin in his hands. Josh appears beside him and sighs. ‘That went well..’ He mutters. ‘Give him time, he’ll come around.’

“Maybe I am deranged..” Jake says to himself as he stands up from his chair and gathers the plates and carries them to the sink. He scoffs and turns on the faucet before running the garbage disposal. After letting it run for a few seconds, he shuts off the disposal and rinses off the plates before putting them in the dishwasher. “But if I’m deranged then I guess I could ask you to pour me a shot?”

Josh chuckles and gets up from the table. ‘Just because I figured out how to make coffee doesn’t mean you can abuse my abilities for your own drunken gain.’

Jake smiles before he starts laughing. “Come on Joshy, help your little brother out.”

‘So not happening, Jakey.’

Jake sighs and rolls his eyes. “Fine, I’ll get it myself..”

‘I think you’ve had enough to drink already.’

He follows Jake into the living room where he starts to pour himself a shot of whiskey. “Maybe I have lost my mind.. Grief can make you do funny things..”

‘Like getting blackout drunk like you’ve been doing since I died?’

“Alcohol eases the pain, Joshy..” Jake throws back the shot before pouring more. “And silly me for wanting to involve Sam, huh?”

‘Jake, stop..’

Jake downs the next shot before setting the empty glass down and grabbing the bottle instead. He goes over to the couch and flops down on it. “Sorry, Sam, I just wanted to give you some closure too.” He scoffs and lifts the bottle to his lips and takes a long drag of it. “You probably think I’m crazy too.”

‘You’re still grieving, Jake.’

“Fuck it.. Maybe I’ll get lucky tonight..”

Josh watches as Jake begins to light a few candles and lays them out in a circle on the hardwood floor. Closing his eyes, he begins to clear his mind of everything and focuses on his breathing. He needs to find peace and tranquility and Josh.

‘This could be interesting.’ Josh says as he relaxes back on the couch and crosses his legs over one another on the coffee table.

“Cinis in cinerem pulvis ad pulvis,” Jake begins to chant. “Eadem pellis participes sumus. Nos eiusdem sanguinis participes.”

‘O-o-o, fancy. Speaking all in Latin.’ Josh chuckles. ‘No idea what you’re saying.’

“Cinis in cinerem pulvis ad pulvis.. Eadem pellis participes sumus. Nos eiusdem sanguinis participes.”

Jake goes on for another hour, repeating the incantation over and over again as he focuses on his breathing.

‘Well, I’m getting bored, I’m going to lay out on your bed.’ Josh stands up from the couch and leaves the living room and Jake to his own devices.

Hours have passed and Jake is finally growing exhausted. The candles were near spent, wax drying on the floor. Blowing out the candles, Jake picks them up and sets them back on the mantelpiece before going to grab a butter knife to gently scrape the melted wax off of the hardwood floors. Once everything is cleaned up, he makes sure the house is locked up before going upstairs.

‘You finally finished.’ Josh sighs as he sits up on the bed. ‘And you look so drained.. The fuck kind of incantation were you doing?’

Jake huffs and falls down onto the bed. “Maggie is right. This is definitely going to take a lot of practice.” He rolls over onto his side, facing Josh. His eyes start to droop closed, sleep fighting to take over his body. “Goodnight, Josh..”

Josh scoffs and smiles. "Boy do you need sleep," he says. ‘Goodnight, Jake.’

The sun is shining brightly into the bedroom and covering Jake’s face. Groaning and rolling over onto his side, he grabs his phone and taps the screen to check the time. 2pm. He really slept most of the day away. The screen is littered with texts from Sam and Maggie, accompanied by a few missed calls from Maggie.

“You really slept in late today..”

Dropping his phone on the nightstand, Jake slowly turns over and looks beside him. Laying in the bed beside him is Josh.

Josh?

Josh?!

“Oh my god, you heard me..” Josh says.

“AAAHHH!!” Jake screams at the top of his lungs as he scrambles off the bed and staggers backwards away from Josh. “You.. You..” Reaching for the nearest object, he swipes a bottle of cologne off his dresser and throws it at Josh.

“Hey! Woah!” Josh shouts as he dodges the flying object. “Jake, calm down.” Without another word, Jake takes off out of the bedroom. “Wait! Jake! Stop!”

“No! Stay the fuck away from me!”

“Jake!” Josh chases after him into the kitchen. Jake is scrambling around the kitchen, searching for something. “Jake, please calm down.” Jake grabs a frying pan off the hook and swings it at Josh. “Jacob! Put the pan down..”

“No..” Jake says as he holds it out in front of him. “Not until I figure out if I’m dreaming any of this.”

“Hate to break it to you, brother, but you are wide awake.” Josh says.

They slowly circle the island, Josh with his hands held in the air, and Jake still holding onto the frying pan.

“I have to be hungover..”

“Definitely not that either,” Josh says. “You barely drank enough to get yourself blacked out again.”

“You’ve been watching me?!”

“Someone’s gotta keep their eye on you.” Josh says. “Although I always leave when you and Maggie…you know.”

“Oh my god!” Jake grimaces. “How long have you been watching me?!”

“Every time you come to the cemetery.. But then I figured out how to leave the cemetery so I’ve been here ever since. You’re welcome for the coffee by the way.”

“That was you…” Jake says as he lowers the pan.

“Morning after coffee is great.” Josh smirks.

Jake drops the frying pan down on the island counter. Josh sheepishly smiles and snatches the pan away. “Just so I don’t get threatened with it again..” He awkwardly laughs.

Jake digs his hands into his hair. “How.. How did this even happen?”

“It could be that spell you were chanting over and over last night.” Josh says. “Where did you even find that anyways?”

“I don’t know…” Jake sighs. “Maggie said she found it in some spellbook that she got from some old lady in Oregon.”

“And you thought to try it?”

“I didn’t think it was gonna work!” Jake exclaims, dropping his hands to his sides. He begins to pace back and forth and tries to make sense of the fact that his twin is currently standing in front of him. The doorbell rings making Jake freeze and his stomach plummets. Suddenly he’s shoving Josh out of the kitchen and towards the stairs. “Go, go.”

“You’re hiding me?”

“Just go!”

Once Josh is upstairs, Jake goes to answer the door. Swinging the door open he smiles brightly only to come face to face with Sam.

“Oh no..”

“Gee, good to see you too.” Sam chuckles as he steps into the house. “I’m sorry to just show up like this but I did a lot of thinking.. You may sound insane, yes.. But if I’m being honest, having another chance to see Josh again, even just for a limited time, I don’t want to miss out on that.”

“Oh uh, well..” Jake scratches the back of the head. “About that..”

“Don’t tell me you changed your mind..” Sam says. “I will gladly take the damn spellbook from you and do it myself.”

“Y-You.. Um.. You don’t have to do that..”

Sam’s eyebrows crease and he folds his arms over his chest. “And why not?”

Jake takes in a deep breath and goes over to the stairs. “You can come down now!” He calls up to Josh.

Sam looks up the staircase to see Josh stepping into view. “Josh?”

“Hey baby brother,” Josh smiles.

Sam turns his attention back to Jake. “Did you..”

“Yeah..” Jake breathes.

“Last night?”

Jake nods his head. “I was a little upset after you left.. So I thought I would try to prove to you that I wasn’t crazy and well…” He throws his hand up in Josh’s direction.

“Does Maggie know?”

Jake shakes his head. “I just woke up a little bit ago.”

“It’s 2:30..”

“Apparently doing that spell wipes you out.”

Josh walks down the stairs, cautiously as to not send Sam running away and screaming, much like his frightened brother. “You don’t by chance have any weapons on you?”

“No?” Sam says confused. “Why?”

“No reason,” Josh shrugs his shoulders.

“Okay?” Sam slowly steps up to Josh and presses his index finger into Josh's cheek. “You are real…” Suddenly he throws his arms around him and hugs him tightly. “I’m so sorry.. I was angry and–”

“Sam,” Josh chuckles as he hugs him. “Never apologize. I wanted you to say all of that. I needed you too.”

They hold onto each other a little while longer before pulling apart.

“Congratulations on the baby,” Josh says. “I’m very happy for you.”

“I wish you’d be able to see them when they come.”

Josh smiles and rests his hand on Sam’s shoulder. “Did you know children can supposedly see ghosts? I’m going to test that theory.”

“Oh boy..” Sam sighs. “Just don't freak them out.”

“I would never.” Josh says. “So!” He claps his hands. “What do we do now?”

“I need a drink..” Jake sighs before turning around and heading for the living room.

“Are you serious?” Josh says as he follows after him. “You conjure me from the great beyond and you want to drink?”

“I’m still trying to wrap my head around this.” He pours out a shot of whiskey and throws it back before pouring himself another one.

“Hello! You brought me back from the dead! I think I need to be wrapping my head around this.” Josh says as he takes the bottle from Jake’s hand. “Feels so good to finally be able to take something out of your hands. Seriously though, what do we do now?”

The front door opens and soon Maggie is joining the trio in the living room. “Oh hey Sam!” She greets him with a smile. “Lovely seeing you here.” She drops her bag on the couch. “Hey Josh,” She says as she waves at him and sits on the couch.

Sam and Josh both look at each other before Maggie’s jumping off the couch and turning to face Josh.

“Josh?!”

“Hi-i-i,” He awkwardly laughs. “Nice to finally meet you, Maggie.”

“You’re here? You’re real? How the hell are you…here…” Her voice trails and she turns her attention to Jake. “Care to explain how your brother is standing in the living room right now?”

“Depends,” Jake says. “How mad are you?”

“I’m not even sure what emotion I have right now.. Am I dreaming?” She says as she turns to look at Sam. He simply shakes his head in response.

“I got drunk last night after Sam left and I wanted to prove to him that this wasn’t just some silly voodoo shit.” Jake says.

“How did you do it?” Maggie asks.

Jake shrugs his shoulders. “I lit some candles and repeated the incantation until I grew tired.”

“And then proceeded to sleep all day.” Josh adds. “Such a boring day. Though it’s nothing new, I spent the last four years bored out of my mind in a cemetery.”

“Sleeping all day would explain why you haven’t been answering my calls.” Maggie says as she raises her brows at Jake.

“So now what? He asks for the third time..” Josh says.

“Well you can’t leave the house,” Sam says. “Last thing we need is freaking people out.”

“Let’s make some music!” Josh exclaims. “One last song together and you can say it was in the lost files.”

“But we’d need Danny.” Jake says. “And he knows nothing about this.”

“Plus he’s golfing in Florida,” Sam says. Josh turns to Sam and flashes a wide grin. Sam sighs and fishes his phone out of his pocket. “I’ll go call him.”

tag list is in my master list if you would like to add yourself! 🤍

@losfacedevil @writingcold @ignite-my-fire @takenbythemadness @edgingthedarkness @hollyco @earthgrlsreasy @dancingcarbon @josh-iamyour-mama @oliverfuckingreed @cheersdannyx2 @highway-tuna @musicislove3389 @gretavangroupie @jake-whatthefisgoingon-kiszka @thetroublegetssoloud71 @squirreledelman

[cowgurrrl]

Hey June; could I ask for mother’s day in the Miller household? With Joel, Sarah, Ellie, and Sammy doing something nice to surprise you? Just all the kids and Joel being such a wife guy and showering his wife with love, I need it 🤍

Saph!! Thank you for the request 🩷Sorry this took literally forever but here it is!!

Hey Me, Hey Mama

Pairing: rockstar!joel miller x actress!reader

Summary: Mother’s Day [1.7k]

Warnings: fluff, brief mention of breastfeeding, talks of having another baby, Sam and Daisy being Hell Raisers

You hear the whispering outside your door before you can open your eyes. It sounds a lot like Joel and the girls having a hushed argument while Sam jiggles the door knob underneath their noses, his favorite thing to do since he's started walking. You smile and roll so your back is to the door and pretend to be asleep as quiet footsteps enter the room. Joel's side of the bed dips with his weight, and a gentle hand smoothes the hair out of your face a moment later. 

"Hey," he says gently, and you hum. "There's a surprise for you." You blink your eyes open to find Sam in Ellie's arms at the edge of your bed while Sarah carefully slides a tray full of breakfast on your bedside table. Eggs, bacon, a little bit of toast, and a huge Starbucks coffee with little cards tucked under the plate fill the tray, and you smile. 

"Happy Mother's Day." The girls say in unison as Sam babbles along, trying his best to keep up with his sisters. You turn to look at Joel and see a huge bouquet of flowers in his hands. 

"Happy Mother's Day." He echoes. You sit up, giving Sam enough reason to wiggle away from Ellie and into your bed. 

"Oh, thank you, guys," you say as Sam collapses into your chest with all his toddler weight, making himself laugh. "D'you guys make this all by yourselves?" 

"Dad helped," Sarah answers, and Ellie slaps her arm. "I mean, yes."

"One job," Joel mumbles under his breath next to you, and you laugh.

"Well, thank you to everyone who made this. It looks amazing." You say as you hold Sam with one hand and grab the food tray with the other. Sammy snuggles into your side, occasionally reaching for a piece of egg which you give him until he decides he's actually hungry and all but rips your shirt trying to nurse. Thankfully, neither the girls nor Joel gives you a second glance. After almost a full year of breastfeeding, they're used to it and really don't care when or how you feed Sam so long as he's not screaming. They fall right back into their conversation as they lay in between you and Joel in bed. 

For being as old as they are, the girls never miss an opportunity to crawl into bed with you and Joel like they're little kids again. You love it, especially since you didn't get to make those memories when the girls were little and press kisses to their foreheads whenever you feel like it. Joel observes the organized chaos quietly, snapping candid photos of you four every once in a while and relishing in the slow morning with his family. 

You finish your breakfast and open the cards from the girls and even one that Sam scribbled in. Ellie gives you a beautiful drawing of one of the pictures she took in the hospital after Sam was born, and Sarah writes a heartfelt message in your card that makes you cry. Sam, ever the cuddly boy, rests his head under your chin once he's done eating and sighs contentedly, making you feel like your heart could burst. Joel catches it and smiles at you over the kid's heads. 

At some point, Daisy comes crashing in and gets Sam all riled up and wanting to play. Ellie throws Sam over her shoulder and leaves the room with Daisy trailing closely behind, ready to run around the backyard like her life depends on it, and Sarah grabs the now empty tray to take it back downstairs. "We'll be down in just a second, okay?" Joel calls after them. 

"No funny business with our mom!" Ellie yells, making you choke on your laughter, and Joel's jaw drops.

"She's my wife!"

"Yeah, but she's my mom!"

"She's got a point," you chime in, and Joel rolls his eyes.

"Would y'all just go play or somethin'?" Joel says, and you can hear their laughter even after they close the door behind them. He huffs as he turns toward you, but you're still laughing at the whole encounter. He melts at the sight of the smile on your face and leans forward to kiss you. "Hi," he says against your lips.

"Hi," you say back, resting a hand on his chest and cuddling into his warmth. "Thank you for my breakfast."

"'M glad it wasn't a complete disaster."

"The coffee definitely helped." 

"Yeah, I figured it would," he breathes. "It's a miracle Ellie didn't burn down the house."

"She's learning." You say, and he nods, but the scarred look on his face tells you everything you need to know. You glance over his shoulder to get a better look at the flowers he brought you and smile when you recognize the petals. It's a bouquet of the kids' birth flowers. Granted, their birth flowers are pretty easy to remember considering how similar they all are. Sarah was born in July, making hers a waterlily, and Ellie and Sam were both born in May, making theirs a lily. There are lots of little filler flowers like Baby's Breath and some pretty ferns, but the lilies really stand out. Thank God you don't have cats. Joel catches you looking at them and chuckles.

"The florist thought I was fuckin' with her when I asked for that many lilies. Had to explain my whole idea to her." He says, and you laugh.  

"They're beautiful," you say. "But you really didn't have to do anything."

"I wanted to. You deserve to be celebrated," he says like you just said the most incredulous thing to him. "Plus, this is your first Mother's Day with Sammy. I wanted to make it special." You're about to argue that, technically, Sammy was there last Mother's Day, you were just pregnant, but you stop at the love-stricken look on his face. Who are you to argue when he's staring at you like that? You kiss him again.

"Thank you." You mumble, and he smiles.

"You haven't even gotten your big present yet." 

"Joel-"

"Let me spoil you, please. You deserve it, and not just because you pushed Sam's big ass head out but because of how good of a mom you are to the girls." He cuts you off, and you sigh. He's not wrong, but still, motherhood doesn't feel like something to be spoiled over. It feels like something you just do, and hope everyone gets through life with the least amount of trauma. Even if you said this to Joel, he would argue and probably go on a long tangent about how important you are to the kids, and you'd probably cry. Stupid Libra, you think. Always making me emotional.

Before either of you can say anything else, he pulls a little box from his pocket and hands it to you. It's not dissimilar to the box your engagement ring hid in for months, and for a second, you think about joking that you're already married. But when you open it, a stunning cluster of gems gleams back at you. A ruby and two emeralds shining against a gold band to represent your three kids in order of their births. "I thought it'd be nice to have a reminder of them when you go back to work," Joel says, and you smile. How is he so fucking thoughtful? Carefully, you take the ring out of the box to look at it a little closer. The kid's initials are engraved inside the band as a little secret for you, but something near the gemstones catches your eye. 

"What's this?" You ask, pointing to the empty spot near Sam's birthstone.

"Oh, I asked the guy to leave a space, just in case." 

"In case what?" You know the answer. You just want to hear him say it. He blushes and fiddles with his wedding ring.

"In case we decide to have another baby." He says, and you smile. Sam will be one next week, flying through milestones like it's nothing. Sarah is in grad school, doing amazing things, and Ellie is getting ready to finish up her last few semesters of undergrad. Everyone's growing up too fast, and you've both been caught by the other looking at old pictures of the kids. Still, you haven't formally discussed the idea of having another baby until right now. You look down and turn the ring so the morning sun can hit the stones at different points before meeting Joel's eyes again.

"Another baby, huh?" You ask.

"Would it be the worst thing in the world if there was another Miller walkin' around?" 

"We may never sleep again," you say. "But no, I don't think it'd be a bad thing. I think it'd be pretty cool."

"Yeah?" He asks, and you nod, giddy smiles overtaking you two. You probably look crazy, but you can't care about it when your mind is running fast with images of Sam holding a baby, being a big brother, and teaching them things. Joel hovers over you, his chest pressing against yours, and you slide your hand into his hair. "You're serious?" He whispers.

"Yeah. Three was never my favorite number anyways." You shrug like you're talking about apples instead of humans, and he laughs. 

"Well, alright," he says. "Let's have another baby." Hearing the words out loud makes you giggle, but the sound is cut short when he kisses you. It's tender and sweet until it's not, his teeth grazing your bottom lip and swiping the pain away with his tongue. Your hand finds its way up Joel's shirt, your fingertips tracing the hard lines of muscle formed over years of playing sold-out shows. He's barely ducked his head to kiss down your neck and chest when a door slams from downstairs, and you hear the girls shouting about something.

"Dad! Sam took off his diaper, and Daisy won't drop it!" Ellie yells, and Joel groans into your skin.

"Just a minute!" 

"Now!" Ellie and Sarah scream at the same time. The sound of the faucet running, Sam screeching with laughter, and the girls yelling at Daisy fill the previously peaceful house, and Joel gives you a look. 

"It's all you, Dad." You say, and he sighs.

"Why me?"

"Because it's Mother's Day."

"That," he starts but can't come up with an argument. "Is true," he kisses you again before standing up and walking to the door. With a hand on the knob, he turns back around and points at you. "Don't go anywhere."

"Wouldn't dream of it, cowboy."

[fraudulent-cheese]

1, 7, and 23 for Scarlett and/or the pahkitwins

Fuck it, i'll do all three of them!

Scarlett:

1. Why do you like or dislike this character?

Scarlett's one of the more interesting antagonistic characters to me, even in a season with like 4 possible antagonists; she's the only one that isn't overt about her vilainy, instead mascarading as an inoffensive and unthreatning nerd. And her mask is actually credible since she doesn't mess with her competition, even when she has a golden opportunity to do so (she knew Sammy was mascarading as Amy, and simply assumed everyone knew).

Before Scarlett Fever she's also generally not super duper evil and moreso amoral. She has an objective, and she'll do all she can with her smarts to reach that goal and to get her point accross. I think that's super interesting!

Which leads to the bit i dislike: she just goes full super vilain evil in Scarlett Fever and her plan is kind of stupid. Specifically because Chris in TDPI barely gives a shit about his contestants and wouldn't concede to Scarlett basically holding his island, his show and his contestants hostage, and also because she looses the thing i liked about her. I do like that she finally snaps at Max though.

7. What's something the fandom does when it comes to this character that you like?

I like how people draw her hair! Especially post reveal, it looks awesome :D

That and she's usually well characterised in fanfiction, which is great because TDPI doesn't get many fics in general! Shoutouts to Temporary Permanence and Love You Like the Ashes In My Cigarette Box for their characterisation of her in particular

23. Favorite picture of this character?

Love it when she's pissed pre reveal. Especially this one instance, she's gonna fucking kill Max it's great

Amy:

1. Why do you like or dislike this character?

Uh. I'll be honest Amy's not that interesting in canon since she's kinda just the absolute worst repeatedly and barely gets consequences for it for two episodes so finding something i like about her that isn't headcanon is difficult.

I like how the way she acts informs alot on their possible family dynamic, considering either twins only mention a mother, and said mother dislikes Amy according to Sammy. So it's not just "Amy hates her twin for existing", it could be "Amy hates her twin because she's the favorite" and i like it when a character makes me speculate.

Also i like how ironically, despite how much Amy whines about it, she's as much defined by her sister as Sammy is defined by her (from her perspective). She doesn't talk about her own hobbies, she talks about how much her sister sucks. Her entire sense of identity seems to be centered on 'being better than her twin' and that is. So peculiar.

Anyways the thing i dislike about her is how fucking flat she is. She just sucks and that's the entire point of her character and that's all there is to her. She lies, she takes credit for her twin's actions, she at one point shifts the blame onto Sammy when she (rightfully) stands up to her and she gets her commupence when she gets the boot over Sammy and gets poisonned. And then she comes back two episodes later, stays for a minute, and then they both get cannon'd away, never to be seen again outside of a png in the finale. She's basically just a plot device for Sammy, for two episodes, and that's fine i guess but it's kinda lame. idk. Also i didn't just wanna go "she's a complete piece of shit to Sammy all the time" for the reason i dislike her because that's obvious. Oh god how long have i talked about this now

7. What's something the fandom does when it comes to this character that you like?

When they give her any kind of depth. Just any of it. While still aknowledging that she sucks. You can go in any direction and if the excecution is good i'll probably be a fan.

23. Favorite picture of this character?

Her expression sheet, none of which ended up being used outside of mayyybe bottom left. Girl why so expressive

Sammy:

1. Why do you like or dislike this character?

On paper, i think her arc is pretty good. Seeing her gather her courage and try standing up to her sister, and still trying despite how it turned out afterwards is super interesting, and i LOVE that she steals her sister's identity. I think it's super compelling that her trickery is framed in a positive way, as a karmic punishment and is generally a satisfying outcome.

Like i genuinely don't think a single other character that we're supposed to see in a good light tricks someone else, outside of mayyybe Heather during the World Tour finale, and she started out as the main antagonist. It's not super emphasised, but i like the light brains vs brawn thing going on between the twins.

As for the thing i dislike, well... Sammy's only a little less flat than her twin sister. She's an incredibly reactive character and doesn't get an actual personality outside of "victim of Amy's bullying" and "pretending to be Amy". Sammy fairs better than her twin in terms of being only defined by her relationship to her sister since she actually gets to be on her own and an actual friend in the form of Jasmine, but only slightly. I kind of just wish they were given more to do on their own.

7. What's something the fandom does when it comes to this character that you like?

When she's given friends and an opportunity to get away from her sister for a period of time. Hopefully a long one. I also like it in fanart where they give her a different haircut, to differenciate her from Amy more.

23. Favorite picture of this character?

This one. She so cutieful

[out-with-the-boys]

The Dance- Chapter 07

Homelander x Supe OC

Notes: 18+ This chapter contains themes of and references to deep, personal losses, which may be distressing to some readers. Please take care while reading.

Each chapter will have individual content warnings as they apply to avoid spoilers. Find this work on AO3. Tumblr master post here.

Previous chapter.

To say that Morgan was a difficult and stubborn patient was an understatement. With the extent of the injuries she sustained when a Harlem apartment building collapsed on her, she was ordered to be on strict bed rest for a few weeks at least. Keeping her down was easier said than done, however.

Bed rest literally means bed rest, Ms. Daly. Lounging in your chair in the conference room doesn’t count.

Dr. Foster had personally ordered her back to bed herself too many times already. If it wasn’t for her Hippocratic oath, Morgan was certain the woman would have strangled her by now. As punishment, she was stuck in bed for one more week before she could get back to work on less taxing duties.

At the very least, she had her script for Dawn of the Seven , to rehearse.

“And you’re sure they won’t throw a fit over you breaking your NDA?” her sister asked, her wide grin practically audible over the phone. 

“Sammy, you’re my big sister.” Morgan said with a soft snort. “We’re basically extensions of each other. Besides, I know how you are about spoilers. You’d sooner invoke the curse of MacBeth than give away the story.”

“Shh! Don’t say that name!” Sammy hissed. “You’ll jinx the movie!”

“Relax, the curse only works for stage productions.” Morgan laughed softly, wincing slightly as a sharp pain shot through her ribs.

“Hey, all the world's a stage.”

“Smartass.”

Morgan wished she could have seen the wry grin her sister was likely wearing. One day she would have to convince her to upgrade her phone to something that actually had video call capabilities. The flip phone Sammy insisted on using was sure to break eventually.

Still, even without seeing her, Morgan could sense the shift in tone before Sammy could say what she was thinking.

”Sorry to change gears here, but have you found out anything else about the Compound V situation?” Sammy asked, her voice low.

Drawing in as deep a breath as she could manage, Morgan pressed her lips into a thin line.

”I don’t have any solid leads yet.” She murmured back.

Ever since the origins of supes came to light, Morgan’s family had been scratching their heads. Neither of her parents had struck any sort of deal with Vought to juice her with their super drug. If they had, Morgan would have known about it a long, long time ago.

Another worrisome piece to the puzzle was Dr. Foster’s silent panic with a recent panel of bloodwork she had done. Morgan’s already fragile trust with Vought and its other employees had been dwindling. After what happened with Stormfront in Harlem, Morgan felt less and less inclined to keep from reading minds without permission.

This can’t be right.

Foster’s voice still echoed in her mind even weeks after the fact. She had gleaned a few things from a quick mental scan, but it was still only a fraction of the bigger picture.

Edgar had ordered a test to be run on Morgan, all without her knowledge or consent. Dr. Foster was to see if she had any markers in her system that would indicate she had ever been touched with Compound V. Much to her surprise, and consequently Morgan’s, the tests came back with negative results.

Not minimal, not inconclusive– negative .

“What do you think that means?” 

Sammy’s question echoed in her ear just as a soft knock interrupted the moment. Morgan’s gaze flicked toward the door. Her telepathy warned her before she even saw him, and her chest tightened.

“Hey, I’ll call you back,” Morgan quickly said, her voice quieter now. 

“Everything okay?” Sammy asked.

“Yeah, just... something came up,” Morgan replied, eyes still on the door as she disconnected the call and set her phone aside.

The door opened with the unmistakable quiet confidence that only one person possessed. Homelander stepped into the room, the air seeming to shift with him. His presence was magnetic, almost suffocating in the small space. He was dressed in his usual immaculate suit, the red and white cape trailing behind him with an air of regality.

“Psyren,” he greeted, his tone somewhere between a question and an observation.

“Homelander.” She didn’t bother to hide the weariness in her voice. She shifted slightly under the covers, painfully aware of how feeble she must look to someone like him—someone who never seemed to show physical weakness.

He stood at the foot of her bed, his steely blue eyes scanning her as if taking inventory of whatever scratches, cuts and bruises still remained. For a moment, neither of them spoke, the silence stretching out uncomfortably.

“Am I interrupting something?” he finally asked, his tone deceptively casual, but there was always that edge to it—like he was testing her.

“Just a call with my sister,” Morgan said. “Nothing important.”

They both knew the other knew better than that though. She was already in his head, and he had been listening in with his acute hearing. The most worrisome part about that though, was he seemed to already know what Sammy was referring to. Morgan couldn’t fathom why Edgar would have disclosed the results of her secret Compound V panel to Homelander, but he had. 

Homelander nodded, though his gaze lingered on her phone for a beat longer before returning to her. “How are you feeling?” The question sounded almost... polite. Uncharacteristically so.

“Like I got buried under a building,” she said dryly, unable to help herself. “But I’m fine. You really don’t need to worry about me.”

Homelander’s lips twitched in a semblance of a smile. “Oh, but I do. I'm the leader of The Seven, and you’re a valued member of the team. I’m fully invested in your recovery.”

“I’m just saying you don’t need to keep checking up on me like this,” Morgan replied, her voice steady despite the tightness in her chest. “I’ll be back on my feet soon.”

“I’m sure you will,” he said, that small, almost imperceptible smile tugging at the corner of his mouth a little more. He took another step toward her bed, close enough now that she could feel the subtle shift in the air between them. Something about the way he was staring at her, trying to discern what he could about her from a simple look, made her feel like a bug under a microscope.

Conversely, she hadn’t ever taken her eyes off of his, and now his thoughts were a storm of unanswered questions. He had no way of knowing when she was in his head, and that unnerved him. Even more than that, the origins of her abilities had come into question, and he wasn’t even remotely sure of how to deal with that. 

“Penny for your thoughts?” she asked, a spark of mischief in her eyes. “I can hear those gears in your head turning.”

There was a brief flash of surprise that passed over his face before his expression quickly darkened. He was already worried she was in his head, but now he knew she was teasing him about it.

“Oh, I don’t know.” he huffed, his lips pulling into a tight smile. “Why don’t you tell me? Go ahead, tell me what you find.”

Morgan raised an eyebrow, her eyes never leaving his. “You sure you want me to do that?”

It was a challenge, and they both knew it. His smile faltered, just for a second, before it returned, this time sharper—dangerous.

“Go ahead,” he said, leaning in just enough to make the air between them feel heavy. “Take a peek. Maybe you’ll learn something useful.”

She could hear the anger creeping into his voice, the way it thinned, despite the control he was desperately clinging to. It was always like this with him. A balancing act. One wrong move and the mask would slip. One wrong word and she’d see just how close to the edge he was.

But Morgan wasn’t afraid of him. 

“I don’t need to read your mind to know you’re feeling threatened,” she said, her voice dropping slightly, her tone turning more serious. 

His jaw tightened, the facade of calm crumbling just a little. “Threatened? By you?” He laughed, forcing a smile. “You’re cute, you know that? Do you really think that? Or is that the pain-killers talking? I’m sure Doc Foster has you all hooked up with the best stuff.”

“Oh, I’ve been off the pain-killers for a while now.” Morgan said, cracking a wry grin. “Gotta keep this mind sharp. I’ve already let you see me impaired a few too many times.”

Homelander’s smile faltered, but only for a second. He adjusted his posture, arms crossing over his chest, the tension still simmering behind his eyes. “Then I guess you’re just naturally delusional.”

"Maybe I am delusional," she said with a shrug, but her voice lacked its usual bite. "Or maybe—"

Her phone buzzed in her lap, interrupting her mid-sentence. Morgan glanced down, seeing Sammy's name flash across the screen. She sighed, sending the call to voicemail and focusing back on Homelander, though something in her expression had shifted.

“Or maybe you're just not used to anyone calling you out on–" she was cut off once more as her phone began to buzz again. 

Homelander raised an eyebrow, noticing the change in her demeanor. "You gonna get that?" 

"It’s just my sister." Morgan waved it off, her voice tight as she ignored the call with a tap of her thumb. "I’ll call her back."

But no sooner had the words left her mouth than the phone buzzed again, Sammy’s name flashing across the screen. This time, Morgan hesitated, her fingers tightening around the phone. Sammy never called more than twice in a row unless it was urgent. Something twisted in her gut—a sinking feeling she couldn't quite shake.

Homelander watched her carefully, his expression unreadable. "Maybe you should answer."

Morgan didn’t respond right away. Slowly, she picked up the phone, a strange, cold dread settling in the pit of her stomach. She slid her finger across the screen and held the phone to her ear.

"Sammy?" Her voice was a little too calm, as if she was bracing herself for bad news but still hoping it wasn’t what she feared.

There was a pause on the other end. She could hear her sister breathing, and that alone was enough to send her pulse racing.

"Morgan..." Sammy’s voice broke, shaky and thin. "It's Dad. He's... he's gone."

The words hit like a physical blow, knocking the air out of her lungs. For a moment, everything around her faded—her lavish bedroom, Homelander’s presence, the soft hum of the city beyond the tower. It was just her and Sammy’s voice, raw and filled with grief, and the heavy, final truth that her father was gone.

Morgan blinked, her mind racing to catch up with the weight of the words. She swallowed hard, her throat tight, but she couldn’t speak. She couldn’t move. All she could do was sit there, frozen, as the reality sank in.

“I—” Morgan started, her voice cracking before she could even form a coherent thought. Her chest tightened, an overwhelming ache swelling beneath her ribs. “I... okay. I’ll—I’ll make my way home. Do I need to call Lucas?”

For a solid minute or two, Morgan shifted into autopilot. On one level, she was aware of the things Sammy was telling her, and she was responding appropriately. On another level, all she seemed to be conscious of was her heart thundering painfully hard in her ribcage. 

Her father had been battling with stage four pancreatic cancer for some time already, and she knew that this was an eventuality. Even so, she thought she would have had more time. He had sounded well enough on their last phone call, but now she was wrestling with the fact that he was gone.

At some point she had said her goodbyes, and she was vaguely aware of her name being called.

“...Psyren? Psyren?” Homelander’s voice pierced through the haze in her mind, tinged with irritation but laced with something else, something uncharacteristically soft. “Morgan, are you in there?”

“Yeah…” she responded automatically, her brow furrowing as she sat up straighter in her bed. The room felt too small, too cold. “Yeah, I just need to... I have to go.”

Her pulse rushed in her ears, drowning out everything but the thundering ache in her chest. Her hands trembled slightly as she swung her legs over the edge of the bed. She moved on autopilot, ignoring the sharp pain still lingering from her injury as her body adjusted. A wave of numbness washed over her, a protective shield against the weight of her father’s absence.

“Go?” Homelander echoed, the concern etched into his brow deepening. “You’re on bed rest, doctor’s orders. You can’t go.”

Robotically, she brushed past him, her eyes distant as she made her way to the dresser. Her fingers fumbled with the drawers, yanking out clothes without much thought.

“Dr. Foster can kiss my ass,” Morgan murmured, her voice hollow. The grief that threatened to engulf her pressed against her ribcage, tighter with each breath. “My dad just died. I’m going home.”

She didn’t care about the dull throb in her side, or the way her vision blurred as tears welled up. She couldn’t afford to break down. Not yet. Not in front of him. Not again. Her family needed her. Everything else could wait.

Homelander stood frozen, his usual air of control slipping as he watched her. He opened his mouth to say something, but for once, the words didn’t come. Instead, he just watched her pack with that same intense, unreadable gaze, the silence between them thick with unspoken things.

Finally, he spoke, quieter than before. “Do you need anything? I can... help.”

Morgan stopped, hovering in the entry of her walk-in closet. For the briefest moment, she let herself meet his eyes, surprised by the offer. But she shook her head, her voice barely above a whisper. “No. I just need to get home.”

Leaning her head against the open archway into her closet, she drew in a painfully deep breath. 

“I’ll reach out to Ashley then.” He said decisively. “She can help arrange everything you need. It’s not like you’ll be out in the field in the next few days anyway. You might as well spend the rest of your recovery with your family.” 

If Morgan had been paying closer attention, she might have registered the undercurrent of bitterness in his voice, tinted with the slightest degree of curiosity. That was a detail she would have to file away for a later time. For the moment, she was desperately trying to keep herself grounded and focus on the things she needs.

”Thank you.” She murmured with a gentle nod, before retreating into the closet to find her luggage.

Morgan stayed in the closet longer than necessary, her fingers tracing the edges of her suitcase. She could hear Homelander’s low voice outside the room, speaking to Ashley, but the words blurred into static. 

Just breathe. Just get through this.

It was a simple mantra that she played through her mind on repeat until the moment she was on a private jet bound for the Pawhuska Municipal Airport. The hum of the engines filled the quiet space as Morgan sat beside the window, staring out at the clouds but barely registering the view. She was exhausted, emotionally drained, but sleep wouldn’t come. Her thoughts drifted back to her father. 

She should have been there. God , she should have been there for him. For all the highs and lows he had been there for her, she should have been home and holding his hand in his final moments. Instead, she had been halfway across the country, playing at being a hero and acting as a glorified babysitter for a company that didn’t give a damn about her as a person.

Her father had always been her rock, the one who believed in her ability to change the world. She could hear his voice in her head, telling her that true strength wasn’t in power, but in the courage to stand for what was right. Before her abilities even manifested, he had taught her to be a force for good.

It was because of him that she decided to accept Edgar’s invitation into The Seven in the first place. Despite his distaste for the posturing and pageantry that surrounded Vought and its superheroes, he believed she could make a difference. But now? Now, she felt like a fraud. 

Try as she might to fight against it, she still found herself neck deep in endorsement deals, social media campaigns and all the other superfluous bullshit Vought threw at her. True, she had saved some lives along the way, but she could be doing more. She needed to be better.

The thing that probably hurt the most, was knowing that no matter what, he would have still been proud of her. She just wouldn’t ever get to hear him say it again when she needed it most.

Song: Losing My Religion by BELLSAINT Author’s notes: Thank you all so much for reading this chapter! It’s a bit shorter than the others, but for me it was emotionally heavy. In the next chapter, we’ll see Morgan return home and confront some long-buried emotions as she navigates her family’s grief, all while the pressure from Vought—and Homelander—continues to mount. As always, your feedback means the world to me, and I appreciate all the support you’ve given this story so far!

Next Chapter.

[idv-askchaoticduo]

November 24th

"Dear Sam It's been some months since the last time we spoke face to face, stuff around the orphanage are slowly getting better, we finally got a new caretaker that doesn't try to... you know... make us devoted to a false God. It's really nice having someone else to help here with the more younger ones, I've been trying to teach them the basics but it's still a long way...

Those are the new updates I have to tell about our 'home', but it's not the main reason why I'm writing this. I hope it gets delivered in time.

It should be November 24th for when you're reading this. which only means one thing for me and possibly you.

Happy Birthday, Sammy. Another year where you're not here with me, but I hope you at least have someone better to spend your days with, you always used to complain about how boring it was to only feel comfortable to talk with me... til this day I'm not sure if I should be hurt by that or not, you were always a weird one to understand.

I'm getting off-tracks... From wherever you are, I wish you the best of birthdays, let us hope for a brighter future finally free from sadness and sorrow.

Your Best Friend, Dominic."

Attached to the letter, there's a drawing presumably made by the kids in the orphanage.

. . .

"Is that all it says?"

"Pretty much, you should learn how to read on your own by now."

"I'm trying..." The Candy dealer says, just laying down on her bed while the Gambler read the note. After reading, he folds it and hands it back to her.

"I got you something too, what kind of friend would I be if I didn't?"

The girl sits up again, looking at the other pull a nicely wrapped gift from his closet. the shiny golden ribbon catching her attention.

"It's not much... but I struggled a bit to get it in the manor, I saw you look at it a lot while we were still on the streets... I couldn't get it back then but now I got the chance to! I hope it still means something to you."

". . ."

"Leave the room."

"Wha-"

"Please, I don't like you seeing me like this."

". . . Sure, feel free to yell at me if you didn't like it."

Lawrence walks up to her and ruffles her hair for a moment, she only huffs and watches him go to the door.

"Happy Birthday Sam."

Once alone... Samantha starts unwrapping it until it's just a box, slowly opening it to reveal a cute stuffed Magpie plushie with what seems to be a chef hat and apron. Her eyes seem to look at it for a moment before hugging it. The Candy Dealer closes her eyes... ignoring the feeling of small tears tainting her face.

[tenebraevesper]

Five Nights at Freddy's: Nothing Remains, Night 20: Unfixable

''Welcome my friend to a night in our circus world. We're looking for a technician and you're just the guy we've heard of. We're held away by wiring, now we're wanting out. Can you shock us? Can you tame us? But we want your body now! Now behave, for the voices in the halls will try to eat you up alive. So before the show begins, please don't hold against our sins, 'cause by dawn you'll be crumbling in your skin! We are the tortured! We're not your friends! So long as we're not visible, we are unfixable! We are the curses, crumbled inside! Look left or right, we're unthinkable! Our fate is now unfixable!''

– Unfixable by DAGames (Five Nights at Freddy's: Sister Location)

xXxXxXx

Sam sighed, leaning her head against the table. She was completely exhausted, but she still had to get her shift done. Luckily, aside from some complaints about the animatronics staring at empty spaces, they didn't seem to be malfunctioning. It didn't take her long to figure out what the animatronics were staring at either.

''I think that we should cut the night short,'' Springtrap told Sam, drawing her attention. ''I know that we agreed to stay here much longer in case the Drawkills show up, but after what happened today, I feel that it would be better for you to just go home once your shift is done.''

''Sure, but…'' Sam muttered reluctantly, yawning.

''If you want, we could stay here and keep an eye on the location,'' Michael interrupted her. ''After all, I used to work at Freddy's as a night guard, and I'm sure that Sammy and Elizabeth won't mind staying here.''

Sam smiled tiredly and looked up to see Sammy and Elizabeth running from one side of the room to the other, with the animatronics watching the two, moving their heads left and right and vice versa as if they were at a tennis match. Both Sammy and Elizabeth seemed to be quite enjoying their little game, weaving between tables and peeking out of their hiding spots to see if they were still being watched by the animatronics. Sam then turned back to Michael and Springtrap, who were sitting across her, both looking a bit worried.

''I'm fine with that,'' Sam replied, narrowing her eyes. ''However, I'd still rather go along with what we had planned, regardless of what had happened.''

''I know, but after seeing you get stabbed and tortured, I believe that it would be better for you to take more time to recover,'' Springtrap replied, his eyes glowing in a faint purple. ''Tell me, does your chest still hurt?''

''It feels sore,'' Sam admitted reluctantly. While she had managed to get some rest, she was still in a state of stupor, having to put a lot of effort into focusing on her surroundings and the people she was talking to. She was well aware that she was in no shape to confront the Drawkills in case they appeared. She took a deep breath, leaning against the seat, and noticed Elizabeth and Sammy approaching them. ''Nevertheless, it's not like this is the first time I had to experience the sensation of death, as something similar happened when I got accidentally injected with remnant. I met the other children, who basically told me that I should die so they could prove their point, that point being that William was a danger to me. They were quite frustrated when I refused to go along with it, especially since I had the chance to return.''

''That's awful-'' Michael said, only to get interrupted by Elizabeth.

''That's just plain crazy!'' she exclaimed, drawing everyone's attention. There was a look of indignation on her expression. ''Why would they want to do that to you?!''

''I guess that, in their head, the end justifies the means,'' Sammy said, turning to Sam as he and Elizabeth sat next to her. ''If it didn't, they wouldn't have gone for you. No offense, but you basically made yourself a target for them.''

''None taken,'' Sam replied. ''I am aware that I had unintentionally made myself their target simply by caring about your father, and I can live with that. However, what frustrates me is that they are simply refusing to move on. I mean, this is no longer an issue they need to deal with, as I had taken over it and I believe that I'm handling the situation quite well.''

''That may be true, but you're not handling the situation the way they want,'' Michael told her. ''Of course, it's not like their ideas ever worked.''

''Exactly,'' Sam said, adding in a softer tone, ''Speaking of which, have you ever found Phone Guy? He did say to check the heads in the back room.''

''Unfortunately, not,'' Michael replied, shaking his head. ''Although, I'm not surprised. Fazbear Entertainment had probably cleaned everything and disposed of the body long before I had arrived. However, I'm not sure whether they considered his death another tragedy to add to their record or just collateral damage they had to hide. Considering how they treated all of their employees, I'd assume that it's the latter.''

''I guess that I should make sure that I won't suffer from the same treatment,'' Sam said, glancing at the animatronics. She felt chills crawling down her spine when she realized that they were now staring at their table. She tried to ignore them and glanced at Springtrap, who was unusually quiet the whole time, having a somber look on his expression, his head lowered. ''Will, what's wrong?''

''Honestly, I don't think that really anything of that matters,'' Springtrap said in a crestfallen tone. ''It doesn't change the fact that I'm responsible for you getting hurt. If it weren't for me, you wouldn't be in this situation.''

''William, it's not your fault for what happened to me, unless you want to say that you showing care for me was the wrong thing to do,'' Sam told him in a stern tone, with Springtrap looking a little anxious. ''I agree that, if it weren't for you, I wouldn't be in this situation, and honestly, I wouldn't change anything about it. You haven't done anything over the past few weeks to warrant such reaction and no, I'm not going to count what happened before you came here, as you already got punished for that. I know that I'm just repeating myself here, but that kid acted less like someone who was on a mission to protect me and more like someone who was angry that their favorite toy had been taken away and that the person who got it wouldn't give it back, so they've been trying to come up with some kind of excuse why they deserve that toy.''

''I assume that one of those excuses included them hurting you and then saying it was the old man's fault that you got stabbed,'' Michael said, crossing his arms as he briefly glanced at Springtrap. At first, he looked troubled, but then his eyes flared up purple as he remembered the event, with the feeling of anger washing over him. ''Nevertheless, it was still disturbing to see you holding that knife in your hand.''

Springtrap was startled, remaining silent for a moment. Michael rose an eyebrow, figuring that his father was trying to come up with another nonsensical excuse or explanation, only to be surprised when he shook his head.

''I admit, I actually wanted to murder the kid at that point, even though they were already dead. They had hurt Sam, and honestly, I didn't really care about the consequences,'' Springtrap said in a steady and serious tone. He then added in a more quiet tone, ''I'm sorry you had to see me like that.'' He sighed. ''I kind of expected for you to leave after that…''

''Well, you did explain to us what the hell had happened,'' Michael replied. ''Frankly, I would've wanted to hurt that little bastard as well for what they did to Sam.''

He fell silent, noticing Sam smiling at him and nodded. Even though he hated his father, he couldn't deny that the kid would've had it coming for almost murdering Sam. Even though her physical body hadn't been harmed, she still went through quite a horrible ordeal and it was surprising that she wasn't a broken mess because of that. He was aware that she was much tougher than people gave her credit for and knew well what she was getting herself into, being willing to still carry on with this ordeal.

''Henry might decide to pay you a visit because of what had happened,'' Michael added. Springtrap just nodded, having already expected this to happen as he was sure that Henry wouldn't let this go without lecturing him.

''Don't worry, I can deal with him,'' he replied.

There was a moment of awkward silence, with all of the table's occupants trying to figure out how to carry on the conversation without sounding strained or hostile. Springtrap was well aware that Michael, Sammy and Elizabeth were only tolerating his presence because of Sam and Michael agreeing with him on the kid's treatment was something he probably didn't want to admit. Nevertheless, he was quite happy that they actually tried to talk to him, awkward as the conversation was, instead of giving him the cold shoulder and completely ignoring him. Considering how much issues he had at maintaining a healthy relationship and admitting his mistakes, this was a huge step in the right direction and frankly, he was quite relieved about it.

''There is something interesting to note, though,'' Sam suddenly said. ''Despite all denial, by deciding to harm me, the kid had essentially shown that they are aware that William actually cares about me.''

''Not that they would ever admit it,'' Michael added. ''I mean, they're obviously not the type of person who would listen to logical reasoning.''

''I say that they're a lost case.'' Elizabeth crossed her arms, leaning back on her seat. ''If they continue like this, it will only get worse.''

''They are going to eventually lose their mind,'' Sammy added, him and Elizabeth exchanging grim looks. Both of them were well aware of how it felt to give into your desire for blood and torture or be completely obsessed with revenge, as they went through the same; Elizabeth having her mind corrupted by a murderous animatronic AI and Sammy torturing Michael for causing his death. Neither of them were proud of what they had done and they wanted to move on from their past. He and Elizabeth glanced at Sam, Springtrap and Michael, who gave them a sympathetic look, already knowing what was going through their head. ''I'm afraid of what is going to happen once they do. Lizzy's right, this can only get worse.''

''We won't let it happen,'' Sam replied in a determined tone. Sammy nodded, but he was still a bit anxious. ''Listen, I know that you are worried about me, but I'm not going down without a fight. I will be careful, but I'm not going to let that kid tell me whom I should trust. Also, I noticed that the kid didn't seem to like you guys either.''

''Yeah, they don't,'' Elizabeth said, her green eyes sparking up as she gave Sam a curious look. ''But, you do like us, right?''

''I do,'' Sam replied. ''I mean, I enjoy talking to you and you guys are treating me nicely-''

''Awesome!'' Elizabeth interrupted her, giving her a mischievous grin. ''So, does this mean that you won't mind if I call you my older sister?''

Sam was stunned, not really sure how to respond to her request. Springtrap and Sammy were also surprised, while Michael just groaned as he remembered the argument they had yesterday.

''Elizabeth, I had already told you that it would be inappropriate to ask Sam that,'' Michael told her. ''You know, there is something called tact.''

''Yeah, and you had plenty of tact to spare whenever you played pranks on Sammy,'' Elizabeth replied snappily. Michael went quiet, albeit still giving her an irritated look, with Elizabeth smiling. ''Besides, Daddy had already said that Sam's like a daughter to him and she was okay with it.''

Springtrap looked rather uncomfortable, not wanting to be dragged into this argument. He had already heard enough complaints from Emma and Henry. Elizabeth, on the other hand, gleefully ignored everyone's reactions.

''Not to mention, she is still a better older sibling than you are,'' she sneered.

''I have to agree with Lizzy here,'' Sammy added, with Michael giving him a bewildered look. He then sighed.

''Why me?'' he muttered.

''Well, if you weren't such a jerk towards me, I would have defended you,'' Sammy replied. Michael glanced at him, a look of regret on his expression.

''You know, guys, I actually don't mind you acting as if you were my siblings,'' Sam said, drawing their attention. She shrugged. ''Considering how I'm an only child, it would be interesting to see whether this relationship is going to work out.''

''Trust me, living with siblings is a nightmare,'' Michael told her.

''Of course it's a nightmare, since we have to live with you,'' Elizabeth told him, with Sammy nodding in agreement.

''You shouldn't be the one to talk,'' Michael told Elizabeth, his eyes narrowing. ''Didn't those animatronics kick you out because you were too bossy?''

''I think that the word you're searching for is 'self-sufficient', dummy,'' Elizabeth replied. Michael snorted.

''No, I don't think so,'' he replied. Elizabeth just glared at him as she heard voices from her past echoing in her head. Despite trying to ignore them, she could still remember the conversation she had with the other animatronics that were part of Ennard.

''You are crowding us.''

''Be quiet.''

''You can't tell us what to do anymore.''

''Yes, I can. You will do everything that I tell you to do.''

''We outnumber you.''

''That doesn't matter, dummy.''

''We found a way to eject you.''

''You would be lost without me.''

''Ha ha! Say goodbye to our friend!''

''I can put myself back together.''

''It doesn't matter, since I was still fine being on my own,'' Elizabeth said, crossing her arms. She smiled. ''Besides, I remember you getting quite scared when you saw me sitting in that room.''

''I hope that you enjoyed the shock therapy, you needed it,'' Michael replied dryly, with Elizabeth suddenly standing up on her seat, slamming her hands on the table.

''You know that it hurt!'' she yelled at him.

''It also hurt when I got scooped, but did I complain?'' Michael replied.

''Actually, you did,'' Elizabeth replied. ''A lot, I might add.''

''Well, who wouldn't?'' Michael continued. ''You carved me out like a pumpkin!''

''I told you that you wouldn't die,'' Elizabeth protested.

''Lizzy, I ended up looking like a decaying corpse!'' Michael snapped. ''I think that death would've been more preferable.''

''Well, you got your wish granted,'' Elizabeth replied, with Michael rolling his eyes. Sam meanwhile glanced at Sammy, who observed the whole argument looking rather unconcerned.

''Do they often argue like this?'' she asked.

''It used to be worse,'' Sammy replied, shrugging. He then added cheerfully, ''Welcome to the Afton family.''

Sam smiled, well aware of the madness she was getting herself into. Nevertheless, she didn't really care and was actually enjoying herself. She glanced at Springtrap who, while listening to the conversation, was staring at the table, looking rather uncomfortable.

''Will?'' He looked up, a bit startled. It didn't help that Sammy, Michael and Elizabeth, who snapped out of their argument, were also staring at him expectantly. ''What's wrong?''

''Honestly, I'm not sure whether I should be happy to be able to talk to you again, or mortified for what I had put you through,'' he admitted dejectedly.

''Try a mix of both, it's less of a headache,'' Elizabeth told him dryly. Michael and Sammy chuckled, while Sam just had an amused look on her expression. Springtrap, on the other hand, looked like he just wanted to disappear.

Despite all of their arguments, when it came to their father, they would waste no time teaming up and turning against him, especially considering how much he deserved it. Nevertheless, despite the awkwardness and tension, the conversation certainly went better than expected. Sam knew that the three could've done much worse, but they kept things, aside from some snide remarks, relatively civil. She glanced at Springtrap and noticing a look of guilt on his expression. She knew that he was regretting what he had done, but it seemed that the really wasn't anything he could do to atone for his past.

''Believe me, I am sorry for what I had put you through,'' Springtrap suddenly said in a more resolute tone, his eyes flaring up purple. Michael, Sammy and Elizabeth didn't look convinced, but decided to hear him out. Sam, on the other hand, was aware that he was completely honest about it his feelings. ''I wish that there was a way to change the past and I understand that you hate me. I know that you don't trust me and that you will never forgive me, and I won't ask you forgiveness.'' He sighed, trying to ignore the anxiety he felt. ''Still, I hoped that our relationship isn't completely unfixable.''

''What?!''

Michael, Sammy and Elizabeth gave him an affronted look, with Springtrap lowering his head, aware that this was the wrong thing to say and he understood why they reacted like this. Nevertheless, he had enough of being silent. He frowned, turning back to them with a determined look on his expression.

''I know that what I'm asking for is something you would never accept, and I don't blame you for refusing,'' he told them. ''After all, I had already lost you forever the moment I decided to put you through all that pain and abuse. Nevertheless, I felt that, if I hadn't said anything, that I would lose you again.''

''What do you mean?'' Michael asked.

''Michael, despite everything, I'm really glad that I was given the chance to talk to you and apologize for what I had done,'' Springtrap replied, then turned to Elizabeth and Sammy. ''I understand that you don't really believe that I want to become a better person, and I don't mind. Honestly, I don't trust myself either and you had already seen why.'' He tilted his head, smiling awkwardly. ''I'm still amazed that you're willing talk to me.''

''Don't worry, Daddy, you aren't the only one who is amazed that we're talking to you,'' Elizabeth said in a snarky tone.

''You know, Dad, you should've thought more about the consequences of your actions,'' Sammy added, glaring at him. ''Although, I guess that it's a good thing that you actually realized just how awful you were, both as a person and as a father.''

''If there's anything I could do to fix this situation-'' Springtrap started, only to get cut off by Michael.

''No, you can't,'' he said curtly, noticing the look of disappointment and regret his father gave him. Michael then exchanged glances with Elizabeth and Sammy, who nodded. ''Nevertheless, if you want to talk to us, we will be here. We had already told you that we'll be staying, hadn't we?''

''Really?'' Springtrap's eyes flared up, with him giving the three a hopeful look. ''Thank you, I-!''

''Don't get ahead of yourself, Father,'' Michael warned him. ''We decided to give you a chance, but if you mess up, we are gone for good and you won't have anyone to blame but yourself for, as you put it, losing us again.''

''I understand,'' Springtrap said. Despite his serious demeanor, he was incredibly relieved and even excited that Michael, Elizabeth and Sammy had actually agreed to give him a chance. He knew that this chance was more than he even deserved. ''I will make sure that you won't regret it.''

''Well, it's not the first time you broke a promise, so we don't expect much from you,'' Michael told him.

''I know,'' Springtrap muttered, resolving to work harder on fixing his relationship with his children. I cannot allow myself to make another mistake. He sighed, leaning back and glancing at the stage, noticing that the animatronics were still staring at them. He frowned.''Seriously, we need to figure out what's wrong with them. Not only do they seem to be self-aware, but are also able to either see you or sense your presence. Not to mention, they've been giving me weird looks as well, as if they don't know that I'm a spirit trapped inside an animatronic suit…''

''If you ask me, you should just leave them alone,'' Michael told him after briefly glancing at the animatronics. ''Every time you get your hands on an animatronic, you end up causing some kind of disaster.''

''I know, but-'' Springtrap said, only to get interrupted by Sam.

''No offense, Mike, but I don't think that we should leave those animatronics alone,'' she said. ''They have no reason to be able to sense or see spirits, since they're not haunted nor injected with remnant. Also, as Will pointed out, they were wary of his presence as well.''

''If you say so,'' Michael said, shrugging. ''At least they're not trying to kill you by stuffing you into a suit.''

''I wouldn't mind if they did that, because at least I'd know what I'm dealing with,'' Sam replied. ''Although, now that I think about it, they weren't the only ones who reacted to a presence of spirit, right Sammy?''

''Um, yeah… Plushtrap had chased me when I visited you yesterday,'' Sammy said, shuddering at the memory. ''He even managed to bite me, but the injuries had vanished.''

''Really? Why didn't you tell me about it?'' Springtrap asked. Sammy gave him an irritated look.

''I had other things on mind, or have you already forgotten about it?'' he said. Springtrap shook his head, feeling sorry for his son.

''Do you want to talk about it?'' Sam asked.

''I don't think that there is really much to talk about,'' Sammy replied. ''When I appeared in that room, I got scared by Nightmare Fredbear and then Plushtrap started to chase me.''

''Okay, but it still shouldn't be possible for Plushtrap to be able to hurt you,'' Springtrap told him, with Sammy shrugging. He wasn't really sure how to explain what happened to him.

''Maybe you being afraid had caused you to accidentally create a replica of the room and invited Plushtrap into it?'' Elizabeth suggested, with everyone giving her confused looks. ''I mean, we know that this works with Sam.''

''Yeah, but unlike Plushtrap, Sam isn't a soulless animatronic,'' Michael told her, only to give his father a suspicious look. ''On the other hand, none of us really know what exactly you had done to those animatronics.''

''Honestly, I don't know either,'' Springtrap admitted, a look of guilt on his expression. ''I shouldn't have ever tried to mess with souls, but it's too late now.''

''Maybe things aren't as complicated as we think,'' Sam said, drawing everyone's attention. ''I mean, Will had also managed to sense Sammy's presence, so Lizzy might be right about her theory.''

''You're right,'' Springtrap nodded, remembering the event. He then frowned, with something about the situation bothering him, even though he wasn't sure what exactly it was. ''However, I don't think that explains everything. There has to be more to it.''

xXx

''I assume that this is it,'' Drawkill Chica muttered as they reached the end of the road, quickly rushing past the last house on the street and into the woods behind it. ''We managed to get through one part of the town and we still haven't found anything.''

''The Boss won't be happy,'' Drawkill Foxy said bitterly, leaning against a tree.

''Honestly, I don't give a damn about him,'' Drawkill Bonnie replied being quite irritated. He crossed his arms. ''This search is pointless.''

''I had tried to argue with Connor about us searching for Afton and his friend wouldn't be efficient and that we should change tactics, but he refused to listen to reason,'' Drawkill Freddy told them, then reached for the communicator that was embedded in the back of his head, confirming that it was turned off and that they had complete privacy. ''Considering how we all agree that our creator has several screws loose and isn't worth trying to reason with, we need to find a way out of this situation.''

''What should we do?'' Drawkill Chica asked him.

''For starters, we need to disable all of the devices Connor had implanted inside us that give him full control over us,'' Drawkill Freddy told her. ''The communication device, the device that disables our AI and messes with our system… All of that needs to go if we want to be free from him. If we go against him now, he's going to fry our CPUs and we'd be unable to do anything against him. Hell, he might as well try to dismantle us and make another animatronic who would blindly obey his commands without the need of a distortion device.''

''How are we supposed to do that?'' Drawkill Bonnie asked as he sat down on the ground. ''Connor did tell us how to program the animatronics at Ricky's to be under his control, but he never told us how to remove those devices that were planted inside us. Obviously, he'd have a good reason for that, but honestly, I don't want to sit here fearing that my handsome self would end up having the functionality of a calculator once Connor decides that doesn't need us anymore. Or, we might just get turned into pieces of scrap metal; I'm not sure which one is worse.''

''Trust me, Bonnie, no one is going to be turned into scrap metal,'' Drawkill Freddy replied. ''Connor may-''

He suddenly cut himself off when he heard the door at the nearby house opening. He and the other Drawkills quickly hid behind the trees and the bushes, quickly closing their eyes so the bright light they was emitting wouldn't give away their position, as it was quite dark. A moment later, Drawkill Freddy, whose eyes were now dimmed, took the chance to briefly glance at the porch, noticing a woman looking around. She had a smartphone in her hand, using the flashlight function as a source of light and was probably searching for them.

Drawkill Freddy heard Drawkill Foxy growling and noticed the latter raising his sickle and creating scraping marks on the wood with his sharp claws, looking ready to lunge at the woman. He shook his head, gesturing to him to calm down, as they couldn't give away their position.

''Sam? Afton?''

They heard the woman suddenly call out and exchanged look of pure shock. However, they remained quiet, listening to the woman going down the steps on the porch and noticing the light being shined into the woods.

''Hello? Sam? Afton? Seriously, this is not funny!''

Drawkill Freddy had to note that the woman sounded quite angry. There was something in her voice, something that gave him the impression that she wasn't someone people would want to annoy.

''I could've sworn I heard someone walking past,'' the woman added, now in a more quiet and cautious tone. A moment later, the light vanished, with Drawkill Freddy looking back, realizing that the woman went back inside the house.

''Have you heard that?'' Drawkill Chica asked.

''Aye, and so did half of the neighborhood,'' Drawkill Foxy replied, with Drawkill Chica smacking him upside the head. His eyes glowed as he glared at her, growling.

''It seems that William Afton and the girl he was with, Sam, live at this house,'' Drawkill Freddy said. ''I mean, the woman did look rather familiar, so it can be assumed that she was either her mother or her older sister.''

''I don't think that it matters who that woman is, but that Afton lives here,'' Drawkill Chica replied. ''We have finally found him!''

''Shhh, keep quiet,'' Drawkill Freddy hissed. ''Do you want her to come out again?''

Drawkill Chica crossed her arms, giving him an annoyed look, but didn't reply. Frankly, she was just happy that their search was finally over.

''So, what are we going to do now?'' Drawkill Foxy asked eagerly. ''I assume that we are going to tell Connor about it. Or, should we go inside and wait for Afton and Sam to arrive? After all, that woman seemed to have been waiting for them.''

''No.''

Drawkill Foxy and Drawkill Chica stared at Drawkill Freddy with dumbfounded looks on their expressions.

''Say, what?''

''What do you mean, no?'' Drawkill Chica grew agitated. ''We've been searching for those two for days and now you're saying that we should do nothing?!''

''Calm down!'' Drawkill Freddy growled in a hushed tone, silencing Drawkill Chica by closing her beak. ''I'm not saying that we won't do anything, but honestly, I don't think that we should tell Connor about what we have found out.''

''Why?'' Drawkill Foxy asked.

''It's a bit complicated to explain, but I'm currently working on something,'' Drawkill Freddy told him. ''Nevertheless, I believe that it would be better if we keep this a secret from Connor, at least for a while.''

''So, does this mean that we are going to continue walking through the town, acting as if we don't know where they are?'' Drawkill Chica groaned when Drawkill Freddy nodded. ''I knew that this was too good to be true. There always has to be a catch.''

''Don't worry, it won't be for too long,'' Drawkill Freddy told her, only for him, Drawkill Chica and Drawkill Foxy to notice Drawkill Bonnie walking towards them, holding a red ribbon in his hand. ''Where have you been?''

''While you were busy arguing, I have found this,'' Drawkill Bonnie said as he held up the ribbon. ''There are more of those, all of them tied to the branches. It seems as if someone used them as markers.''

Drawkill Freddy took the ribbon and then glanced at the porch. He grinned, turning back to his companions.

''I believe that we should let them know that we were here, just to mess with their mind,'' he said, with the other Drawkills giving him a look of approval. ''Let's go.''

One by one, the Drawkills sneaked past the house and on the street, quickly leaving. Drawkill Freddy, however, cautiously stepped towards the porch and tied the ribbon around the guardrail. He then quickly left, hoping that the woman hadn't seen him. A few moments later, he joined the other Drawkills on the open street, with them trying keeping an eye on the other houses, making sure that none of the residents would notice them. Finally, they had managed to find an alleyway that, while not perfect, gave them enough cover.

''So, we really aren't going to tell Connor anything?'' Drawkill Bonnie asked Drawkill Freddy. ''Or have you forgotten what had happened the last time we went back empty-handed?''

''I don't think that we should worry about him,'' Drawkill Freddy told him grimly. ''Connor had already found another victim to occupy him.''

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[blackbloodteeth]

[2022 Nov.] - Redrew different Souls for a week long art prompt challenge, each in a different colored pen

Prompts: Nocturnal, Wind, Secret, Mask, Float, Shadow, Treasure

---

(obligatory lore dumping below, most of them just copypasted from when I made them)

Nocturnal: This Soul is a werewolf after his turning went wrong and he decides to stay over at Maka's place after finding himself not having changed back the next morning. Not sure if I'll ever get around to writing his story but this is related to one of the scenes.

Wind: Stormy Soul was actually created from a past October prompt a couple years back, and I couldn't help but think of him drifting carefree through the breeze haha He's made of clouds, condensed water, and lightning that can appear more like wings as he moves around - Just a little storm cloud floating here or there for a fun time.

Secret: Some say that if you typo Soul's name hard enough you can summon this variant, an eldritch entity of some sort that really likes bread and really loves sandwiches (PBJs seem to be a particular favourite). Quite a mysterious little guy; Sometimes the gestures get lost in translation but communication is often done through words visibly appearing over its head (there's debates over whether this is some form of stardust condensation or simply light manipulation), which range anywhere between cryptic advice or its desire for more sammies (no one actually knows how they can eat so many despite being nearly as big as one). I was gonna draw the human companion buddy and designated sammie creator variant Soul the Secrets Seeker but this pen is rather weak and difficult to use, so at least have the trivia that this guy feels something like soft fluffy dough or a plush toy depending on how your brain can process them haha

Mask: This Soul variant was originally for a past October prompt of "Disgusting" (a self-proclaimed title), and was thought to have died before he mysteriously vanished from the autopsy room. He spent a while hiding away from everyone until eventually making slow anonymous contact with Maka, who finally brought him home after seeking him out directly. Since then he's been making a steady good recovery even if his anatomy and stabilizing blood pressure makes being upright difficult, though he now wears a mask to hide his still reforming face.

Float: These two were for this prompt of a past October, though it was changed when I was dissatisfied with it (left was moved to Ominous, and right does not currently have a nickname but did come back from being scrapped entirely). The actual Float Soul is basically a Flying type Floatzel (get it?) but I've never drawn concept art, so take these two past nickname iterations. Note: Not to scale, left being around half human height and right being able to fit in your hands (if he isn't nibbling on them).

Shadow: I could've drawn the Soul who is actually a shadow but the textures for this were too tempting haha This variant was actually originally made as a standing papercraft and might actually canonically be that way (yeah I was inspired by Super Paper Mario hah) but it's been too long for me to fully remember, other than he has another form that looks more human that also lacks any art.

Treasure: This dragon Soul is said to be guarding a rare and unusual treasure all by his lonesome, though others think that perhaps maybe the thing he is truly coveting is the return of someone he's waiting for...