#never say goodbye finale | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

zepskies · 1 year

Text

Never Say Goodbye - Epilogue

Pairing: Dean W. x Female Reader

Summary: The first time you and Dean sensed each other’s thoughts and feelings, you were just kids. It would take years to realize that you both were bonded for life, and even longer to finally meet. [Soulmate AU] (Rated M for eventual scenes – 18+)

AN: Song inspo for this chapter is “Sweet Time” by REO Speedwagon!

Word Count: 2,200 Warnings: Fluff overload!

Epilogue

Seven months later…

Dean settled his hands on your waist as he sidled up behind you in the kitchen, this time in the apartment you shared with him.

You jolted a bit in surprise, but your spine still tingled pleasantly when he enveloped you from behind.

You had gotten ready so quickly this morning that you hadn’t even greeted him yet. He was reminding you of it now as he pressed a kiss behind your ear.

“Gooood morning, Vietnam!” he joked.

He could call you and Sam nerds all he wanted, but Dean loved a classic movie reference.

You smiled and grabbed one of his hands.

“Hey, baby. How do I look on my first day as Senior Library Curator?” You turned and showcased what you were wearing.

Dean took in your long black pencil skirt, dark red blouse, and your “I mean serious business” heels with a low whistle, and he twirled you by the hand for effect. Dean himself was already dressed in his work uniform.

“I always like you in red,” he said, briefly focusing on the hint of cleavage, then down the curve of your waist before his gaze fell to your heels. His grin deepened. “I’ma need you to keep those on tonight.”

You laughed and grabbed onto his arms. “I will cook for you in nothing but these heels, but I just need you to do one thing for me.”

Dean’s brows raised as his grin edged into a suspicious smirk.

“I’m listening,” he said.

“I need someone to come pick out the flowers with me this weekend,” you said. “And the plates at the dinnerware rental place.”

Dean tipped his head back and groaned. That was so not “just one thing.”

You rubbed his arms.

“Please?” you asked. “I’ve already got the silverware picked out. I just need some help deciding on a few things.”

“I’m really not the one you want to take. I’m good with anything, seriously.”

You pouted at him. “You can’t be serious. You really don’t have any opinion on this stuff? This is our wedding, Dean.”

He gave you a measured look.

“Listen,” he said. “I don’t care if you want a Mariachi band with little sombreros on every drink. I just wanna get married.”

You laughed, but the sentiment behind his words made you smile. Your hands slid up to his shoulders as he pulled you in closer. A new silver ring, this time with a small shining stone, glinted on your left hand.

One of the few things Bobby had saved of Aunt Karen’s had been her wedding bands. He’d seen no better use for her engagement ring than giving it to his almost-son, for his almost-daughter. Dean was grateful, and you were honored to wear it.

“Okay, how about this,” you said. “I’ll ask Ellen and Jo to come with me to pick the flowers and the plates. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is creating a music playlist for the DJ.”

Dean perked up at that. Since the Roadhouse burned down, Ellen and Jo had moved up to Sioux Falls. Last he’d heard (yesterday, from you), Ellen had all but moved in with Bobby.

“But no ACDC,” you warned him. “And I’ll be approving the list when you’re done.”

Now it was his turn to pout. “Killjoy.”

At the puppy-dog downturn of his eyes, you rolled yours. You knew he was playing you, but somehow you were always weak for it.

You made a sound of exasperation.

“Okay, fine. One ACDC song.”

Dean flashed you a grin. “That’s why you’re my favorite.”

“Mhmm.”

“And, just so I know, are we still on for the naked cooking?” he asked.

You scoffed.

“Oh, no. That’s for men who obey me. You, sir, just welched out of every request I made.” You emphasized this with a finger pressing into his chest. Dean chuckled.

“Touché,” he said. “Okay, here’s what I can do for you. I will…take you out for dinner on Friday.”

You crossed your arms, waiting expectantly. Knowing he hadn’t hooked you yet, he amended.

“Tomorrow?” he said. “We’ll get sushi. Come on, we never get sushi.”

Mostly because Dean didn’t trust raw fish. But if he must, he could get some fried breaded shrimp if it made you happy. Plus, there were all those dipping sauces.

Dean liked dipping sauces.

“Dancing,” you said. “Tonight. Sushi after. Tomorrow, I promise I’ll cook for you…with the heels, and very little but the heels.”

Dean thought about it with an undecided hum. He wasn’t working late tonight, so he supposed he could go out. He almost grimaced at “dancing,” but you were gentle in pushing him past his comfort zone with stuff like this (and teaching him how to dance, slowly but surely).

Still, it was worth it to see you get all dressed up. Naked cooking was also very worth it.

“All right, I think I can make that work,” he said.

You smiled brightly, and he realized it was already worth it.

“Okay, I just have a few minutes before I need to get out of here,” you said, taking a breath.

You were a bit nervous about your first day in your new position. You had just been promoted after almost a year. While you were comfortable in your job at the museum, overseeing the rare books library, you’d never been a manager before. You would now have two new hires under you, and it was your responsibility to train them as well.

Dean felt your nervousness. He rubbed your back. “Hey. You’re gonna be great, baby. You know what you’re doing.”

With a grateful look, you braced your hands on his chest and smoothed out his black Sioux Falls PD uniform. He filled it out well.

“Gotten used to having a real uniform yet?” you asked. “Hope my dad’s not driving you too crazy.”

Dean grinned. “Nah. I’ll admit, he kicked my ass a bit in the beginning, but he’s a lot like Bobby. Soft in the middle.”

In fact, Jack was the one who’d recommended that Dean try out the police academy to begin with.

“You’ve got the instincts,” Jack had told him. It was their first time sharing a beer, about a month after Dean returned to South Dakota permanently. He’d been struggling to find a job that would fit him (and his lack of professional experience).

“What you lack in discipline now, you’ll make up for in knowin’ how to read people,” said Jack. “Being solid under pressure. Good at running down leads. And who knows. Maybe you’ll make detective one day.”

Dean smiled at the idea, but he still cocked his head uncertainly.

“I don’t know. I’m not exactly used to grabbing a warrant before I pick a lock, ya know?”

“Well, I know this.” Jack pointed at him. “You’re a shark, Dean. Sharks can’t stay still, they’ve gotta keep swimming.”

“Okay, meaning?”

“Doing construction, working on cars, fixing people’s houses…after a lifetime of being under fire, are you really gonna be content doing any of those?” Jack asked.

Dean was grateful for that conversation. While there were things he missed about his old life, he was able to build a new one. And he didn’t have to hang up his gun to do it.

Dean let go of you so he could twirl his keys around his finger and clip them to his belt in one smooth motion. “Just you wait. I’ll be runnin’ this town in no time.”

“That’s a scary thought.” You laughed. “Oh hey, has Sam called you? He’s supposed to tell me if he’s bringing a plus one to the wedding.”

Dean smiled, despite a rueful twinge. Sam was halfway through his first year in law school—over in New York. He came home for the weekend whenever he could, but if Dean was honest, it was hard letting Sam run back to school.

What made it easier was that Dean wasn’t alone this time. He had you. You were also understanding, and you insisted that Sam stay here at the apartment whenever he came home.

“Yeah, he was gonna tell you in person this weekend, but…he found her,” Dean said.

You gasped. “No, he did?”

“Yeah, he really found his soulmate. On the subway of all places.”

You laughed. “That must’ve been a fun ride.”

You could only imagine the chaos of starting to hear your soulmate’s thoughts in a New York City subway. You were so happy for Sam.

You clapped your hands.

“Oh, I’m so excited to meet her! This is going to be so awesome! Is he bringing her this weekend? What’s her name? Is she going to school too?”

Dean laughed and calmed down your onslaught of questions. That, at least, hadn’t changed.

“Okay, come on. You’re going to be late for work,” he reminded you. “Your first day as head boss lady of dusty books.”

“Excuse me. Rare dusty books,” you corrected with a playful slap to his chest. “But this is too important! Ugh, I’m calling him right now.”

“No, you don’t. He’s in class, and now we both need to get to work. Come on, get those perky buns movin’.”

He ushered you out by lightly spanking your butt. You sighed, but you were still smiling as you grabbed your purse and let him guide you out the front door. You lived on the first floor, so it was a quick walk to where both your cars were parked: the sleek black Impala and a blue Camaro, side by side.

Before you forgot, you reached out and grabbed Dean by the collar.

“All right, Officer. Have a good day today,” you said.

Dean smirked and tucked a strand of your hair, freed from your clip, behind your ear.

“See ya, beautiful. Don’t dust off any suspicious lamps.”

“I thought you said genies weren’t like that in real life,” you quipped. You leaned up on your toes, and he met you there with a kiss that was sweet at first, but then it lingered and deepened. He held you to him close.

These were the small kinds of moments that he liked to savor with you. Because it reminded him of a time when he never thought he would have this—a life outside of hunting. A life after hunting.

It wasn’t perfect, but it was a real life with you, where Sam was still an important part of it.

“I love you. You know that?” said Dean.

And he meant that, deep in his bones.

When he gave you that ring a few months ago, it finally hit him that what he felt wasn’t just part of the “cosmic bond,” as you’d once called it. The two of you had scraped and fought hard to find each other, and even harder to stay with each other.

And he hadn’t protected you just because he felt responsible for your safety. He’d done it because the idea of losing you had scared him worse than dying himself.

So when you smiled and kissed him again, Dean breathed in your perfume and reminded himself that those darker days were in the past. Your airy laugh reminded him.

“Yeah, I do know,” you replied with a wink. “I’ll see you later.”

He tugged you back by the hand. “Uh, uh. If I say it, you gotta say it.”

“Oooh, I see. My bad,” you nodded. You took his hand—the one that wore his mother’s ring—and you kissed his knuckles. “I love you. I love you, and I love you. Be safe out there.”

He grinned and finally released you. You got in your car and watched him leaning against Baby with his arms crossed and his sunglasses on. In his police uniform, he looked like a scene out of Bad Boys.

You beeped the horn at him twice before you pulled out of the driveway. Dean watched you go with a smirk. When he realized he was pushing it for time himself, he climbed into the Impala. He stroked the leather steering wheel.

What do you know, Baby. We’re respectable.

Jack was definitely going to ride his ass for being late. Today, that was all right.

Dean never thought this would be his life, but he had a feeling that his dad would be proud.

He would be, he heard you say in his mind, through the soul bond. He is.

Dean smiled.

Focus on the road, he reminded you. He sensed the equivalent of you rolling your eyes. But a few minutes later, he heard you jamming out to REO Speedwagon. Another rock wannabe, in his opinion. Only you would listen to that crap.

Baby, we can take our own sweet tiiiime. And spend it when we want to ‘cause it’s yours and miiiine, you sang, and not always on key.

Let our love come easy and we fiiiind…~

Dean shook his head, despite a fond smirk.

…Well, he thought, maybe this one wasn’t that bad.

We can make it. And we’ll take our own sweet time.

AN: *sniffs* Who's peeling onions?

But seriously, thank you so much to all of you who read and enjoyed this story! It's been one of my favorites to write in a long time.

And I will say, if I do get requests, I will return to this AU and dabble some more. I love early seasons Sam and Dean, and this world is a special one to me!

Keep Reading: Bonus Track #1

What's Coming Next:

My next series will be in The Boys fandom. For those of you who liked "Checkerboard" (Soldier Boy x Reader), get ready. There be a prequel a' comin'...

Series Masterlist

Dean Winchester Masterlist

Main Masterlist

@curlycarley @buckywenal24 @jamerlynn @iprobablyshipit91 @globetrotter28 @deamus-liv @irgendwas122 @deans-spinster-witch @dogbarkbark4445 @my-proof-is-you @vera0124 @deans-baby-momma @lacilou @samanddeaninatrenchcoat @theonlymaninthesky @spnexploration @itzabbyxx @cevans-winchester @imagineteller1 @icequeen1371 @tiredqueen73 @bitchwitch1981 @abbigaleelizabeth @ohgodthebogisback @where-the-river-bends @loveprof6 @shadowcrowsworld @thespnlover @this-is-me19 @stevenknightmarc @leigh70 @pallographsunspot @syrma-sensei @brain-has-left @jassackles @hobby27 @ashbatz @zaratahir @lokisnumber1whore @saranghaey @jori21 @lillyrob @adoringanakin @agirlwithdemonblood @mimaria420

#spn #supernatural #spn season 2 #dean x reader #dean x you #dean winchester #dean winchester x reader #dean winchester x you #dean winchester x female reader #dean winchester x soulmate!reader #dean x female reader #spn fanfic #soulmate au #sam winchester #bobby singer #ellen harvelle #fluff #never say goodbye finale #zepskies writes

359 notes · View notes

spearxwind · 9 months

Note

Since you're on the topic I have genuine question about AI art designs from a non-artist.

In your opinion would using an AI tool to generate a reference for a commission (whether it be for character design or pose) be an appropriate use of said tools?

I thought about this as well and I gotta say, personally I don't think so.

Barring for the purpose of this ask the whole "AI art is stolen art" thing (which I stand by fiercely), AI generated images are really janky, especially reference sheets. There are details everywhere that make no fucking sense, anatomy is deformed, they have a lot of nonsensical parts to them so its just one big jumble of nothing.

And, it's pulling from designs created by existing artists and warping them to fit your prompt. It's work that another artist already made, used by an AI that's trained on a specific dataset. It also pulls from popular things that people enjoy: tried and true color combos, the most popular shapes that big artists use, theres a LOT of waifus, and a lot of the art genuinely comes in the same painterly style that's really hard to color pick from. some even come with color swatches that don't match the colors on the reference

In short, it's just a machine generating something that looks neat at first glance, and then is actual hot garbage when you just... look at it closely. Not to mention that an AI prompt can be iterated, and the AI pulls from everything it has, for every prompt, so what you end up getting is completely samey designs with small changes. Good for concept art assistance, but not if you want to create a Legit Character. The AI will give you something that it has already spit out a thousand times over and then some, with no regards to composition, design technique, color theory, because all it knows is what it has been fed and what the artists its ripping off of know (meaning if they have mistakes, the AI will as well. But in a far less human way)

Meanwhile, when you commission someone you are likely to go for someone whos art style will actually fit what you want to get, or someone whos art style you enjoy. Usually these artists will be people you've followed for a while and you at least know them enough to know what they can do. And they are also reactive, you can tell them to actually change and tweak details of what they're making for you. And not taking into account the bad actors out there (as there are always bad actors in every discipline) you will have something that has been made specifically FOR you, not just what a machine thinks you would perceive as eye candy.

As for poses... just draw it badly in ms paint. The AI will not give you the pose you want for the aforementioned reason: broken anatomy (and also because it will pull from its dataset of poses it can warp features onto. It's a lot more limited than you think.) If you want a pose prompt for a commission just draw it really badly in ms paint or on a napkin and write annotations for the artist (arm goes here, this guy is grabbing this thing, etc etc) Most of us if not all of us will GLADLY interpret your pose for you and draw whatever you want us to.

And like. Literally if you're going to get commissions anyway, why not commission a design first thing of all?? Or buy an adoptable from people who already make them by hand? It will genuinely be so much better than just hoping a machine does all the work for you. Please support artists

#ask #anon #AI literally destroys peoples livelyhood btw like just dont use it its really easy #artists get their styles stolen and sold off as things they didnt draw. voice actors get their voices stolen to say things they never said #we live in an actual fucking hellscape of generated content because it is not regulated and we NEED regulations because it gets sm worse #the best thing you can do with AI is just not fucking touch it at all. my final message goodbye

89 notes · View notes