#( thread: sam evans. )

[ac1nums-moved]

@shadowbrn, sam evans required a starter from rachel berry.

" is it tears or the fucking rain? "

[christophersonhq]

thread title: thank you for being a friend

thread location: local mcdonalds

thread date & time: saturday, september 13, afternoon

tagging: sam evans @sammyevanshq

triggers: none

summary: kc runs into sam while out handing out resumes and sam offers him an opportunity.

DISCORD THREAD

[mackpuckerman]

Are you free to watch the meteor shower tonight or do you gotta work??

I am, drove up to my favorite spot. It's just far enough outside the city that I can see the night sky with ease. Wanna hop on FaceTime for it?

[deconstructthesoup]

First time we met Jammer, he was running basketball practice with his team, offering tips and advice to the younger players, and generally embodying everything a team captain should be. Now, we see him working with kids, helping out in so many different areas, and clearly dedicating his life to lifting other people up, but there's some disconnect there all the same.

First time we met K, she was deep in fandom discourse threads on Twitter, perfectly embodied the spirit of the person who's chronically online and always on edge, and wanted nothing more than to be magic and cool and mysterious. Now, they're a magical hacker who lives on the road, doesn't take breaks for days because they're so fixated on helping people, and is magic and cool and mysterious, but in a whole other direction than they thought they'd be.

First time we met Sam, she was doing a livestream for a trend that she didn't fully get, going through her life with a big smile on her face, and was the type of person who would be irritating if they weren't so clearly authentically kind. Now, she's an actual celebrity who's running a talk show that she's not quite sure how to run, shining brighter than she ever has before, and is running on impulse in a way that, against all odds, works out in her favor.

First time we met Evan, he was alone in every sense of the word, living from moment to moment, prioritizing safety above all else, and having no idea how to deal with his out-of-control powers. Now, even though he has people and a home and a semblance of stability, he's still clinging onto the behaviors that kept him alive, still ready to pack up his life at a moment's notice, still keeping an eye out for the moment where he starts casting a shadow.

Everything stays but it still changes, huh?

[heartfe1t]

    ❝    i think avoiding coach sylvester is for the best. maybe kind of impossible, especially for people with our level of pure star quality, but... it would be a good choice.    ❞    the next sentence comes out rather matter of factly for what she's saying, but it is rachel's point all the same.    ❝    well we definitely can't win nationals if we're dead, sam    ❞    she's practically pouting over it.

@heartfe1t. sam firmly believed that sue sylvester had a dartboard with all of their pictures on it. hell, he wouldn't be shocked if she had individual dart boards for each of them and changed her target based on who had slighted her last. maybe that was a chaotic and dramatic way of thinking . . . but he believed it. ❝ then we better just avoid her. because i think right now it's not even nationals we have to worry about. ❞ sam said, frowning, ❝ it's literally staying alive. ❞

[crobones]

evan made sure to ask sam where she wanted to recieve the power like all of her friends did. evan made sure he asked sam if they should go to directly to Qohlye or to the mysterious island in the sky. evan requested that sam be in charge of the summoning ritual. evan made sure to listen to every word she had to say and hyped her up every step of the way, making sure to mention the threads she can see between them that she always strives to protect, and nurture, and strengthen. evan is moved to tears from just how kind sam is.

evan nearly threw hands with Qholye - an eldritch being as old as magic, all-knowing, all-seeing, and 5'10" with medium brown skin, very high cheekbones, a full beard just beginning to go grey at the tips, and grey at his temples, curly hair that's shiny and black, and sort of slender features, and those same bat-like wings extending out from his back, and a set of goat horns out and curled away from his face - not because he didn't think sam was powerful enough, but because it was another connection they could all share. and it worked.

he utilized the things he's learned from her and convinced Qohlye to share power anyway. because he believes she deserves the world. she does deserve the world. and he will do anything he can to make sure she has it. but she doesn't want the world. she just wants to be sam. and he knows that, but he'll try while they still have the chance.

[fratttymatty]

Stereotyped Part 2

(All characters are 18+)

Not everyone forgot.

A small group still remembered the real Jared and Mia — the soft-spoken, nerdy, queer teens who used to spend lunch break debating Star Trek morality and designing custom D&D characters. Their disappearance, and the grotesque rise of Matty and Cassie, hadn’t gone unnoticed.

The ones who remembered?

Sam, the sharp-witted programmer who’d had a quiet crush on Jared.

Nick, the gentle artist who sketched queer comic heroes in secret.

John, an anime-loving introvert with a heart of gold.

Mike, a soft-spoken violinist who always stood by his friends.

David, a closeted gamer who lived for late-night raids and Reddit threads.

And Ashton, who'd once told Jared, trembling, that he thought they might be more than friends someday.

Together, they became The Resistance.

They met in the old library basement after school — the one with flickering lights and dusty CRT monitors — and pored over everything. Magic symbols, memory manipulation theories, ancient myths. Ashton was convinced they could reverse the transformations. That they could bring Jared and Mia back from the cheerleader-and-jock hell they'd been trapped in.

“We just need to reach them,” he whispered one evening, eyes wild. “Like, speak their true names or something. Deep down, they’re still them. I know it.”

They even tried a spell — a homemade incantation scrawled in Sharpie on a scroll of printer paper. They lit candles. They chanted. They believed.

But they didn’t know that Matty had been watching.

He was the leader now — not just of the school’s social elite, but something bigger. Something darker. The same magic that had transformed him was in his blood now, and it responded to threats.

When he kicked down the basement door, the air shifted. His towering frame filled the space like a monster from a video game, broad shoulders wrapped in his black hoodie, MAGA hat twisted backward like a crown.

“What the hell are you losers doin’?” he barked, stepping forward, football in one hand, glowing faintly. “Tryin’ to make me a nerd again? Tryin’ to make Cassie wear cargo pants or somethin’? Nah, bro.”

His voice was poison, laced with mocking power. “Y’all really think you can stop me? You think I care who I used to be?”

The others shrank back. But Ashton stood tall. “You were our friend, Jared! You loved who you were — and who we were!”

Matty smirked. “That guy was a faggot. I’m a fuckin’ beast now.”

The moment the words left his mouth, the football in his hand exploded with light — a surge of energy that slammed through the room like a sonic wave. The six boys screamed, their bodies writhing as they were ripped apart and rebuilt from the inside out.

Their glasses shattered. Their shirts tore as muscles erupted across their frames. Spines straightened, posture widened. Gay, nerdy softness burned away in seconds, replaced by testosterone-soaked swagger.

Their clothes melted into varsity jackets, tank tops, joggers, and gym shoes. Minds fuzzed over with static and dumb, aggressive confidence.

Sam became Ethan — cocky, flirtatious, with a backwards snapback and biceps he couldn't stop flexing. Nick became Caleb — obsessed with deadlifts and creatine, always down to “smash chicks or weights.” John became Oscar — tall, quiet, but with the blank stare of a jock who'd taken too many protein supplements. Mike became Evan — the bench-pressing prankster who loved locker room talk. David became Josh — dumb, loud, and totally convinced his pecs were more important than calculus. Ashton became Leo — the worst of them all. Arrogant, homophobic, and completely loyal to Matty.

“Damn,” Matty grinned as he looked over them. “Y’all are slayin’, bros. Welcome to the team.”

The new jocks looked around, blinking in confusion — and then laughing, high-fiving each other, punching shoulders and bragging about gym routines.

The Resistance was dead.

Now, it was Matty’s Crew — the school’s new kings. Seven 10/10 alpha jocks, straight as hell, dumb as rocks, and ready to bully anyone who looked like who they used to be.

When Cassie strutted into the basement to see the results, she squealed. “Like, oh-em-gee, babe! You did it!”

Matty kissed her, hard and messy. “Told you, babe. No more weirdos in my school.”

And so, the last hope was crushed. The old world forgotten.

Now, there was just protein, gym selfies, MAGA hats, and cheerleader drama.

Forever.

(Ethan, Leo, Caleb)

(Oscar, Evan, Josh)

But Matty was their leader.

[thecoddaughter]

Sam knows, deep down she knows, but she has to see it. Over time, the less connection she felt with people the less she saw the lines. She never liked to believe in the golden thread or red string of fate. Destiny was not a word she particularly liked. If destiny was real, Evan would be dead, but Evan wasn't dead. She had saved him. She would keep saving him. Breaking her wand wasn't dramatic nor was it loud. In fact, it wasn't even all that hard. When your best friend––the man you love––has that familiar crushing weight on his chest, its like a mother lifting a car. Maybe it wasn't that hard because someone else was already there, prompting the break––always stalking that sneaky Tad. Now protecting. Evan had more protection than ever. The book was in Jammer's hands. Evan was in Sam's arms. The air mattress was deflated and they were falling in on each other but she didn't mind. Before this––before falling asleep and rediscovering demons––Evan mentioned coming to stay with her. He was picturing couch... She was picturing this. She shook the thought out of her head and hesitantly rolled out of the bed as he began to stir and the voices of K and Jammer got louder outside. Planning was happening. The two were bonding, K and Jammer; the lines Sam had missed so were glowing brighter. She glanced back at Evan as he deflated the mattress and wondered if all his admiration was just that––full stop, he's like that with everyone... but differently. She thinks this throughout the day. He is complimenting Jammer, holding him by the arm, insisting in the way that only Evan can, but it's different. He isn't calling Jammer the greatest wizard of all time. He's just calling him their leader who is full of magic no matter what reality is. Sam doesn't know what reality is. Sunday breakfasts with slow mornings and finally seeing Evan settled down and soft––not in the e-boy way K craved but in that softness you get when you can be yourself without defenses; how he is with Sam in the small moments. Engaging and calling upon Sam Butler of all people, though he has never known her as that. Sam shakes out of it, moving her gaze away from him and back out into the storm.

[smythehq]

"it's fine, really." sebastian spoke more reassuringly, grinning when sam looked around and agreed with him on the questionable design choices of the school administrators. "yeah, i mean this entire place is a hazard, but the walls are particularly heinous." he teased, nodding along and raising a brow, "oh? what's going on with...all that? you sound...scattered?" he didn't know sam well enough to tell if 'all over the place' was a good or bad thing, to him it sounded like a nightmare, but he wasn't sure if sam was the type of guy who cared about things being in an orderly fashion. "the positive outlook is...well, it's..." he sighed, "well, i haven't said anything especially mean to anyone today, so i think i can count most of today as a success? but i doubt it will last, i don't think my brain is wired to have patience for people in general."

"sorry again, man," sam said, holding his hands up in mock surrender. "i didn't mean... you know, to bulldoze you." he could never really read sebastian, but then again, he couldn't really read. automatically, he checked out the color of the walls and sebastian was right—they were actually awful. sam laughed slightly. "you're not wrong, they're a hazard." sam let out a breath when he spotted sebastian's smile, returning it with a genuine one of his own. "yeah, i'm good. just a little... all over the place. literally... or metaphorically? god, i don't know." he shook his head. "but yeah, all good," he added with a smile, "you? how's the positive outlook going? reaping the rewards or resisting the urge to smash something?"

[end-otw-racism]

On Your Left! — Changes to Captain America Fandom Tags

Repost of our statement on the original thread.

We here at End OTW Racism oppose this decision.

Not only is this inconsistent with their existing policies, but it’s also unnecessary, unasked-for, and causes issues for those already writing about Sam Wilson as Captain America. 

Primarily, we’re concerned that there are many Sam Wilson fans and many MCU fans of color in the comments declaring that they oppose this decision, which raises questions: who asked for this? How did this become such a pressing concern that it needed to happen now? Who decided this? Given the cultural context of pushback against having Black actors cast in roles originated by white actors, including the #NotMyCap movement, this decision seems to cater to the worst of fandom, further marginalizing stories about Black characters and treating stories about white characters as the “neutral default.”

We, the team behind End OTW Racism, wanted to speak on this issue not because we’re personally invested in the MCU fandom, but because we wanted to use this opportunity to highlight how AO3 specifically (and the OTW generally) makes institutional decisions that uphold racist biases, perhaps without even intending to do so. We’re also concerned at the lack of transparency behind this decision - there is no indication how or why this decision has been made, nor by whom and what spurred them to decide this now, in a current cultural and political climate that’s grown ever more hostile to Black people.

Regarding their existing policies: they cite James Bond as example, but James Bond films often change continuity with each successive actor, and Sam Wilson as Captain America exists in the same continuity, timeline, and universe as Steve Rogers as Captain America in Disney’s MCU. Moreover, there are several counter-examples where fandoms aren’t split off into a new tag when a new lead is introduced to the same storyline/continuity - as mentioned in the comments on this post, AO3 hasn’t done this for Bridgerton or Doctor Who (among others). 

The Bond parallel is further irrelevant because the actors are all playing a character with the same name. Captain America is a title that multiple characters have assumed. In other fandoms, when there are multiple characters with the same title (such as Doctor Who and Black Panther), current practice seems to be to use character and freeform tags to disambiguate, which many commenters on this announcement confirm.

The cited existence of non-MCU Captain America films also doesn’t hold water, as The Flash seems to be disambiguated just fine with its myriad of tags, including The Flash (Movie 2023), The Flash (TV 1990), and The Flash (TV 2014). Many other comic books and comics adapted into tv and film likewise don’t seem to suffer from having multiple continuities and multiple actors as leads of similarly-titled projects, sometimes released simultaneously. Changing the tag to “Captain America (MCU films)” would disambiguate between MCU/non-MCU film continuities very well, without needing to isolate “Sam Wilson as Captain America” stories away from the rest of the MCU films in which he plays such a prominent role. 

This decision also seems to default all existing MCU Captain America stories to the Chris Evans as Captain America tag, which requires all authors who’ve written about Sam Wilson as Captain America to do the labor of “fixing” their stories, as if they’ve been the ones to mistag their work. This also doesn’t take into account the many Alternate Universe stories and such that may feature Sam Wilson as Captain America prior to him taking on the mantle in canon, putting those authors in a bind as to where their stories “belong.”

We encourage those who are similarly opposed to this decision to write to AO3 with their concerns: https://archiveofourown.org/support

If you need a sample script, you are welcome to use or adapt the following: 

Dear Tag Wrangling Team,  I am writing to you to express disapproval of the planned changes to the Captain America tag by splitting it into “Captain America (Chris Evans Movies) ” and “Captain America (Anthony Mackie Movies)” and to encourage the OTW to change the tag to “Captain America (MCU)” instead.  Sincerely, [Your Name]

[traceytonight]

Tracey rambles about Tron Ares again

Tron Ares fills me with so much dread, each passing day is like a countdown to the death of a franchise I care so much about.

The producer, title & main character, is literally Joker Morbius alleged pedophile since the early 2000s himself Jared Leto. That alone ruins the movie for me, and yet every following bullet point makes everything about and around it so much worse.

-Premise is explicitly "What if the Grid came to the real world".

NO, the interesting part of the series is THE GRID, where all of the deeply meditative commentary about our world and visually interesting splendor is supposed to be! Yes we had the lingering plot thread of Quorra coming to our world, however;

-Nothing directly tied to Tron Legacy is specifically being followed up

So no seeing where Sam Flynn could have taken Encom, no Quorra adjusting to our world, No Edward Dillinger Jr scheming with the resurrected MCP; But most disrespectfully of all, they didn't even bother to get Bruce Boxleitnter back, THE GUY WHO PLAYS TRON (and Alan Bradly & Rinzler). The one guy who actively loved this series and campaigned for a Third Tron film for over a decade, and previously Tron Legacy for even longer. But you know who they are bringing back?

-Kevin Flynn is back

THE GUY WHO FUCKING DIED IN THE LAST MOVIE. Undermining the noble sacrifice that was integral to the core themes of the film.

And just today we got this:

This is so far from an advancement design wise of the Light Cycle from either film. None of the simple shape language of the original. None of the sleek visual melding of human & technology of Legacy. While the light cycle was always cool for being a futuristic video game-ass motorcycle, its was just one of the multitude of visual elements that served the thematic purposes of Tron flawlessly.

Meanwhile, this not only physically separates the driver from the cycle, they further emphasize it through all the little gaps where there were none on either prior design. They so easily could've had the red line on Ares connect into the obviously aligned part of the bike.

Even if this is meant to show the separation of the programs from the grid for some thematic element we're unaware of at the moment, we're already going to be getting a lot of that considering the movie takes place in an average ass city.

Also, to be truly nitpicky, it looks really uncomfortable to sit in & I don't like all the added greebles.

To circle back around, what I really hate about the cast, besides the obvious one, is that there are a lot of actors who I think will work extremely well in the world of Tron. Greta Lee, Gillian Anderson, Evan Peters? Inspired casting choices.

Meanwhile production wise we're literally taking David Fincher's collaborator trifecta. Jeff Cronenweth (Cinematographer), Tyler Nelson (Editor), and Trent Reznor (Composer, backed up by Nine Inch Nails) all worked on The Social Network, another one of my favorite films. Jeff is literally the son of Blade Runner's cinematographer, Nelson was co-editor on The Batman, a film with incredible pacing thanks to their hardwork, and while I'm not the most familiar with Reznor's full body of work, I've sincerely liked everything I've heard and think in conjunction with Jeff & Tyler he will make something fantastic and fitting for the tone of this film.

However, the screenplay is done by the writer of Harry Potter & the Cursed Child, and is being handled by the director of Pirates of the Caribbean 5. Choices that feel at odds with the prestige praise I was just handing out a paragraph ago.

Theres so many good elements that are eclipsed by its central glaring protagonist, seeming lack of the interesting setting/designs or integral thematic elements that I look for in Tron, and lack of expectation regarding the choice of director & writers.

Because my two greatest fears are not about if the movie is awful and destroys the franchise as I'm expecting it could, it's either:

What if the movie is genuinely good? Well acted and performed, somehow actually has the same level of philosophical inquiry that Legacy & Identity have? How am I gonna face that reality with the enormous horrific issue starring in it?

What if the movie is bad in everyway that I think it will be, but does financially and/or critically better than the first two? The franchise is not killed again, but revives and bases everything going forward around this awful outlier in the series?

Unless this movie fails so horrifically that Disney wants to scrub it from existence, as they tend to do, the future of any Tron media will undeniably be forced to cohere itself to the existence of Ares.

If you want something that actually expands on the musings and universe of Tron, play Tron Identity. A game so lovingly crafted for fans of those elements of Tron as a connected series. And I know this factually, as the writer of the game itself (who also created Thomas Was Alone) watched my twitch stream of it and confirmed my ramblings about the deep seeded lore and intent of design of the TREES that appear in the game. Only one example of the incredible attention to detail the game delivers on. Plus its also getting a sequel that unlike Ares, I'm awaiting with bated breath.

[ac1nums-moved]

@shadowbrn, sam evans required a starter from mercedes jones.

" why are you so nice all of sudden? why are you following me around? don't you have practice or something? "

[emdashbitch]

there's a theory going around that Chris Evans won't be playing Steve, he'll be playing the Beyonder, who takes a human form exactly like Steve's in Secret Wars II (since RDJ is Doom and Peter's allegedly a major player in Doomsday, it's possible they're going to parallel this with Sam & Bucky against a Steve look alike).

It could be interesting kinda... since there is a version of Peter that ends up with the Beyonder's powers when Doom tries to steal them. Peter was one of the people who helped the Beyonder learn about being human, so that could be a linking thread. It seems likely, since the next Avengers after that is Secret Wars.

I'm really not seeing how he'd be a contender to Dr Doom otherwise, not with the way the RDJ and the alleged "Peter is a major player" thing is implying that there will be some kind of face off between them

It's fucking ambitious, it'll be interesting to see if the MCU pulls it off considering how bad they've been flopping since Endgame disappointed so many people

[johannestevans]

Directory of Work Updated!

Good evening, all!

Get these directly to your inbox from Buttondown.

I am unfortunately still basically bed-ridden with a some respiratory virus that’s been at me for a little over a week now - thus why I’ve not been publishing much. I do have several works that are awaiting attention that I’m quite excited about - some commissions and art trades in the wings, as well as some pieces that have been planned for a while.

Rest assured that once I’m able to actually write properly for any length of time without passing out again, a variety of delicious new works will be out to you.

Firstly, I’m just after updating my Directory of Work on Medium, which is a few hundred shorts strong now!

I’m now over to Bluesky virtually entirely - I will no longer be uploading to or posting to Twitter / X virtually at all. On the plus side, though, Bluesky has now introduced threading, and of the new works I have here, a few are threadfics on Bluesky!

With the current state of things in the USA and Patreon already being overly eager in regards to censorship and suppression of works it decides are too queer or sexual for its liking, I am increasingly anxious about the platform. I am increasingly making more of my eBooks available on different platforms, branching out most recently into publishing some on Ko-Fi and Itch.

I don’t want to stop using Patreon by any means, but I want to remind all readers that my works are always also available on Medium - without the same level of censorship Patreon employs - and that my regular updates are always available directly on Buttondown as well as Tumblr and social media in full.

SLAKE HOUSE, an erotic horror choose-your-own-ending anthology, is also growing close to publication - I believe we’re hoping for a release toward the end of this month, and of course, I’ll send out updates when that’s the case. I’m super excited about my contribution to this one, and I’m very much looking forward to readers being able to get a taste!

New Works Published

Short Story: Two Birds

Rated T, 3.2k. A priest of Aphrodite, secreted in a secluded fort for the benefit of his father, a politician, makes small talk with a new soldier. Adapted from a TweetFic.

On Medium / / On Patreon.

Serial Update: An Uncommon Betrothal

Alexos and Felice Garibaldi go back to his hotel room.

On WorldAnvil / / On Medium / / On Ao3.

New ThreadFic: To The Country

Some 1800s domesticity with a sex worker being brought out to the country after the gentleman he was nursing through his final days dies.

On Bluesky.

Dudes Rock: A Celebration of Queer Masculinity in Speculative Fiction — New Book Release on Amazon, published by The Circus Collective

What does masculinity mean to you? Whether the answer is "toxic" or something more aspirational, speculative fiction can help you find the language to talk about it. The stories in this anthology visualize all the different ways masculinity might look in a world different than our own, for better or worse. Imagine living in a universe where you'd feel safe telling your best friend you've always loved him, or where smoking hot demons exist to indulge all your worst impulses. From buff aliens to gender-affirming werewolf bites, Dudes Rock is about celebrating everything that queer masculinity can become beyond the confines of a single world, and we want you to rock with us. Featuring stories by Chase Anderson, Johannes T. Evans, Oliver Fosten, Jonathan Freeman, Rick Hollon, Sam Inverts, S. C. Mills, Franklyn S. Newton, Jay Kang Romanus, Aubrey Shaw, Simo Srinivas, Candy Tan, and Scott Vaughn.

Buy on Amazon / / Review on GoodReads / / Review on TheStoryGraph

Inside an Anthology: Dudes Rock ed. by Jay Kang Romanus

From LGBTQ Reads.

[pollka1]

Hello! Can you write something about Josh based on this song?

Hiii! I'm so sorry if the fic isn't based on this song as much as you wanted it to be 🙏🏻😭

--

Believe in what you are

Summary — Josh has finished his preparations for his prank and he accepts what he must do

It was cold. Always colder than it should’ve been. The kind of cold that gets into your bones and stays there, even when you leave.

Josh knelt on the floor, threading one last wire into a narrow slot. It clicked into place with a soft snap, and he sat back on his heels, staring at the mess of monitors and gadgets sprawled across the table. Everything was done. Every piece. Every detail. Every stage, twist, and reveal. All carefully, lovingly planned.

All of it, a monument to pain.

His pain.

It wasn’t enough to tell them. No one listened when you told them you were drowning. No one wanted to sit in the water with you. They just handed you empty platitudes like life vests made of paper.

“I’m always here for you.”

“You’ll get through this.”

“You’re so strong.”

Bullshit.

Josh’s fingers twitched again. They did that sometimes when he went too long without sleeping. Or when he was going nuts.

Or both.

The hum of the lodge above was a ghostly thing. Quiet, but there. Sometimes he imagined Hannah and Beth’s footsteps still moving through the floorboards. Sometimes he heard them laughing. But mostly, he heard them screaming.

He stood slowly, letting his knees crack, walking over to the table where the bottle sat. White plastic. Childproof. Useless. Like most things. He hadn't taken one in twenty one days. He knew because he’d carved a mark into the wood beam every night he didn’t. The scratches stared back at him from the far wall. Twenty one small victories. Twenty one losses.

The meds had made the grief dull. Too dull. He wanted it sharp again. He needed it to hurt, because if it hurt, it was real. And if it was real, he could do something about it.

He turned the cap anyway, just to hear the soft pop. He stared at the white capsules inside.

His hand trembled. He shoved the bottle back into his coat and pulled out his phone. No new messages. Of course not. No one really checked in anymore. Not after the first two weeks. After the funerals. After the awkward visits and the “Call me if you need anything.”

He had needed something.

But no one came.

Josh sat on the floor again, this time leaning back against the leg of the workbench, letting his head rest against it with a dull thud.

His breath hitched, and for a moment, he felt like he might cry. But the tears never came. They hadn’t in a long time.

Instead, he laughed.

He wondered if they’d even recognize him now. Sam. Chris. Ashley. Jess. Mike. All of them. Would they hug him? Would they still laugh at his jokes? Or would they flinch when they saw the look in his eyes?

Would they flinch when they realized he meant it?

Josh stood again, slower this time. He walked toward the cracked mirror mounted on the far wall. He hadn't looked at himself properly in days, maybe weeks. The person who stared back looked haunted—his jaw sharp, cheeks sunken, dark circles painting his eyes like bruises from the inside out.

“You wanted a laugh,” he muttered to his reflection. “Here it is.”

The psycho mask sat beside the mirror.

Josh reached for it, brushing his fingers along the edges. His hands stilled for a moment. Just long enough to hear the house settle. Just long enough to imagine the sound of Hannah’s voice telling him to do it.

His jaw clenched.

He pulled the mask down just for a second to feel the weight of it.

It fit perfectly.

He yanked it off and dropped it into his duffel bag with the rest of the gear.

This was who he was now. This was what happened when you lost your sisters, lost your grip, and no one bothered to catch you.

He wasn’t asking for pity.

He wasn’t asking for forgiveness.

He was asking to be seen.

Even if it took a mask to do it.

As he climbed the stairs back up into the main part of the lodge, the lights flickered once briefly. Then silence.

A storm was coming.

And Josh was ready to greet it.

[professorfcknmoriarty]

@bamboo-princess

He tries to talk his way out of it.

It wouldn’t be the first time that Evan had fallen asleep sharing a bed with Sam, K, and Jammer, but it would be the first time he did with any of them since he and K ended things.

There’s about a million equally unpleasant things that Evan would prefer to do over sharing his air mattress with Sam and K. He knows how those things work; he knows at least one of them is going to end up pressed against him.

He can’t even really say for sure which one of them would be the least awkward to be cuddled up next to. On one hand, he has K - who he has very vivid memories of both their last time together and their last time sharing a mattress, who, despite it being his choice to break them up, he’s still not over. Or Sam, his absolute best friend in the world who just recently had to see his dong for the first time and who he’s also realised he’s been falling in love with.

It’s less than ideal.

Except they don’t let him get out of it. He reluctantly crawls onto the air mattress with them, trying to mentally map the best location to place his body, only for two sets of hands to reach for him and pull him down between the two.

Evan’s heart skips a beat.

And then another.

He forgets how to breathe.

Sam wastes no time in snuggling up on his right, tucking herself under his arm as she settles the blanket over their bodies. She rests her head on his chest, closing her eyes.

On his left, K moves slower, a little more shy as they squish their much smaller body into his other side. The mattress shifts and groans in agony under them, not designed to take the weight of three full grown adults at once, and Sam slides a little closer, budging up until her leg is thrown over his.

K wraps a hand around his waist, half lying on him, their face against his side.

When Evan remembers how to breathe, he sucks in a ragged half-gasp, doing his best to dispel the shakiness.

He’d forgotten how good it felt to touch someone in more than passing, how wonderful the feeling of another person’s weight pressed up against him.

He’d missed this more than he’d let himself realise.

They don’t say anything when they’re awoken by Jammer’s cry for their attention, don’t comment on the hot tears still on his cheeks.

K squeezes his hand as they step outside and Sam threads her fingers through his, them emerging as a unit to face the great Tadershacourt.