Action/Video.

[collegedropout]

Who: Sam Winchester and you
Broadcast: Fleetwide
Action: The Space Bar or SS Bloodsport
When: The 9th - sometime these next few days.
(Note: feel free to take your time tagging this if you have a calibration with him! Or we can wrap it up quick or plan out the ending, whatever you prefer! No rush.)

[ACTION.]

[So — Sam got updated. Thank fucking christ. Nami, you'd better be ready for him to excitedly knock on your door at some point. You can also find Sam at The Space Bar, where he's right back to bar-tending. Feel free to stop by if you need him. But as everyone settles back into normalcy aboard the fleet, Sam makes a new entry to the network. Gotta air out that dirty laundry business.

A few days after they've returned home:]

[VIDEO.]

So, um. That was something, huh...?

[He clears his throat, drums his fingers on top of an old red book.]

Let's just clear the room — I wanted to apologize for... anyone who had gone into my head, or whatever you want to call it. I know there's a lot in there that isn't exactly pleasant to deal with. But I'm cool with it. I mean, I remember it all, and I'm totally fine with everything. So if you're worried about the whole trespassing thing... I'll get over it.

I'm just... I'm sorry, because I know some of it was... Yeah.

[He's dealt with worse. Far worse.]

There are some things for me to be thankful for, right now, in better news; I got a quick trip back home between the Marsiva and the Bloodsport. See, um... My brother, he made it out of a predicament in one piece when I was sure he was gone. And I did, too. Somehow. And I got to meet my mom. Like, in the flesh, as herself.

So as shitty as this month has been in some respects... I'm... just happy I've got her and my brother.

[Ehem.]

Anyway. Enough of the sappy serious stuff.

Anyone want to rent out a book? I'm starting to get quite a collection here.

I've got a list, I'll post it for you guys.

[ATTACHMENT://

IT by Stephen King (Peggy)
A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (Rick)
The Marvelous Land of Oz by L. Frank Baum (Arthur)
Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! by Mo Willems
Lord of the Flies by William Golding (Bucky)
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (Sawyer)
Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss]



... And...

[He holds up two more: All My Friends are Dead by Avery Monson and Jory John, and... The Big Book of Lesbian Horse Stories by Alisa Surkis and Monica Nolan. He winces.]

Look, I'm not going to kink shame — but someone please take the horse one. You can pass it around like it's The Ring video for all I care.

Comments

[collegedropout]

[He tucks his hands into his pockets.]

Ah... it's not... I guess I haven't.

[After his dad had died, it was a lot harder to admit that he was... you know. Him. He did some crap Sam would have never done to a kid in that kind of life. But for some reason, the thought of someone else seeing his father in a bad light... Protective to a fault, the Winchesters. He smiles mildly.]

After my mom died, my dad took me and my brother on the road; I was just a baby, and Dean hadn't even started school yet. He'd... wanted to find the thing that killed my mother, and the best way to do that was to start life as a hunter. It got him connections and potential leads. The problem was... you know. Having children. So Dean and I were alone a lot in different places, while he was gone.

[He perches a bit, on the nearest surface; you know him, he's predictable.

After a beat, when he feels it's good to continue, he says:]

Dean always knew the truth of what happened, but he and Dad never told me anything about what he did, where he went... or what happened to Mom. All I knew was that Dad always left us a gun, and he had a long list of rules, and we never stayed in one place for too long.

[namisan]

Sounds like your dad had a lot of issues juggling priorities.

[She can't blame the man for going down the revenge path, though, all things considered. Death of a loved one is a very driving force. But to drag his kids into it? That's a poor choice, to say the least.]

Did he know your mom's wishes?

[collegedropout]

You could say that.

[He taps his foot, looking back -- it's always weird, especially with how far away it feels. Even stranger, to remember it at all in such clarity after his stint in hell. God, it's weird how time works across the board.]

... I'm pretty sure he did, but I think it wouldn't have mattered; he was obsessed until the day he died. Once I learned about hunting, I tried to do what they did and... fit into the family, but it just -- didn't really feel like something I wanted from life. For a ton of reasons. Mostly, I didn't have that same blind desire to avenge my mother, because I never really knew her.

[namisan]

You were just a baby.

I don't know how I'd feel, to be honest. [She frowns.] I mean-- I never knew my mother by blood. She died when I was still a baby, too. But I've never really given any thought to try avenging her death. I think if I knew who was directly responsible, I'd probably feel a sense of duty to confront them about it. But...

[She's not an avenging kind of person, though. So maybe it's moot. Either way--]

To have that obligation forced on you by others isn't fair. You get to choose how you feel about things, right?

[collegedropout]

[A really fucked up baby, he thinks. It's not the nicest opinion to have of yourself as an infant; he'll work on it, okay? He didn't deserve any of that shit, so he hardly deserves it from himself, too, right?]

Guess so, yeah. I get what my father wanted, but...

[He shrugs.]

We've always had a rocky relationship, but it took a while to get back in each other's good graces after he told me I couldn't come back if I left. Got full schooling, and that meant going somewhere they weren't. And then all the other crap hit the fan, and... I lost someone the same way he did, I guess, uh, I almost fell into the same blind need for revenge. For a while.

It didn't make it all okay, but it offered me some... perspective I didn't have.

[namisan]

[She knows about the loss, too. It's another piece of the puzzle that is Sam Winchester, slotting in between other fragments.]

You ever tried dragging people into your desire for revenge? [Mildly.]

[collegedropout]

[He chuckles softly.]

You know, I don't think so, but I'm such an old man; who knows how sharp my memory is.

[It is weird -- some things can be so crystal clear, but other things, not so much.

He's just kidding around, though; trying to lighten the mood.]

[namisan]

[Snort. She gives him a quick grin.]

Well, perspective is one thing. But if you didn't, you know, if you can remember that far [--old man--] then you're already doing a lot better than he did.

[collegedropout]

That's a low bar, but... thanks.

[He grins back, thankful.]

I guess if a pirate says it, I should really take their word.

[Of course, the Strawhats are more morally sound as far as Sam's concerned.

Hunters, y'know. They have their issues, too.]

[namisan]

Are you kidding? Never take a pirate's word. The only people they're ever honest with is their friends.

[So there.]

[collegedropout]

[He smiles rather impishly.]

So that means you're super honest with me, right?

[namisan]

[Look at this shameless grin, Sam.]

Of course. Pirate's honour.