#i won’t post it til i edit it (and maybe have a few other chapters done)

[tisajest]

Okay, so I think imma write a different story first.

Zombie!Regulus jegulily au is now postponed

Reincarnated!Jegulus (as in both of them have reincarnated, not necessarily that they’ll end up together again) au now has over 2,000 words of a first chapter written.

An unexpected turn of events but not an unwelcomed one.

The short of it is: Regulus reincarnated as Harry and James reincarnated as Ginny. Shenanigans aplenty!

[madeofcc]

November update !

Hey dear followers and welcome to the new souls who starts following me recently. You’re all a blessing and I hope you’ll enjoy my content.

As usual in the beginning of a month, here’s a little update of what’s happening and what happened/ will happen during October/November . There’s two update : one about my life in general and the other about my blog and content.

Check below if you want to know

This time I’ll start with the life update as I have more to say on this ^^

Life update : My favourite month of the year just ended few hours ago and October this year was pretty nice, though a bit surprising.  As usual, the spooky halloween vibes filled me with joy and the colours of this season makes me feel comfortable. It’s also finally the season in which I can finally wear my clothes, as I’m totally a autumn/winter person (though I love summer, it’s just my body who can’t dea with global warming in general XD).

I also signed up for 2 more months at work so I’ll have a job ‘til the end of the year which is awesome but also frustrating because I love everyone there and I really feel good but I know that this is temporary and I’m already stressing a bit about being unemployed again in January but anyway ... We also got more work from usual because it’s the end of the year and I do extra hours to support the team (not everydays though, but still). So considering this and adding all the daily task I need to do at home (cooking, cleaning, stretching to stay healthy and all ...) I barely go out even though I finally have the money to do some stuffs XD I decided to use some extra money this weekend because I really needed to relax a little so I went to see the last Wes Anderson movie : The French Dispatch (Not my favourite of him even though it’s still beautifull and a good tribute to France, its depressed part and its colours, with an awesome cast ) and bought the Uni pack because I got it very cheap (around 7€ which is almost the price I pay for my break lunch when I work so I didn’t hesitated a lot).

Now I just need some time to actually test and play it (I only got into the CAS yet and let’s say that I was surprised to noticed two things : 1 : This pack has one of the best CAS for everyday outfit - 2 : I already had most of the outfit because of cc creators XD ). I saw some things around the Buy/Build but not everything yet, I’ll discover it fully when I’ll play it. That’s why I’m announcing .... That I’m taking a little break from posting after ASG is done ! Don’t worry though, I’ll still be around liking all your stuff and commenting/reblog but I won’t post much content except from some edits and maybe the Asami gameplay. So I guess now it’s time to talk about the blog as I already started.

Blog Update : So, if you didn’t read the life part, know that I’m taking a break from story telling after Another Side is ending. As usual, my plans couldn’t have been made in time (the story was supposed to end this week but I still have more to tell) so I want to end it the way I wanted through November, without the stress of daily content. That way the chapters will be longer and should be better (I hope so). I hope you, dear reader, won’t mind it and will still follow the story like you did before. We’re coming to the final part of it so a lot of revelations and twists are coming ! What are your thoughts so far by the way ? Do you like the story ? Who is your favourite character ? What do you think happened to Bella ? Don’t hesitate to share all your thoughts through the comments or my ask/dm’s, I always love to see people reacting to my stories ^^

About Simblreen, this year has been one of the best and it has also been fun to noticed that some exclusive creators still kept exclusive while the free ones did their best and way far more in terms of quality and content ! Thank you all so so much for all the amazing sims/ cc / buy / build / edits / little games / stories you have created for this event. You really did an amazing work, and some are already iconic (I think I’ll die for those Skeleton dress and Desert Boots by @xldkx​ ) so again, thank you all so so much for making this community a better place for a lot of us :) I have to admit that I got a little overwhelmed the first week so I decided to wait for the treats to be public even though I loved everything that I got from everyone >< Did you noticed we were trending ? No ? You were also to shock by the world on fire because of Harry fucking styles wearing another little girl dress like they’ve never seen a man wearing a dress before ? Well, now you know :p This community rocks !

Going back to my regular content now . I still have more treats to come ! As I told you, I want to share the cast of ASG so more characters will be available and I’ll include the link directly in the chapter so you all could find it. So far, you can find : Alex on the Main page of the story / Cass’ at the end of Chapter 13 / Malick on Chapter 14 (sentence : Malick? Are you still there ?)/ The Goths (2000′s version) will be public. There’s 4 characters left though, but I will update this post later when the story will end.

As I said earlier, when ASG ends, I’ll take a little break and have planned to come back with Destiny Harbour season 2 in 2022. Between November and December, I think I will try to actually play the game a little and discover the Uni pack that I bought especially to make Destiny a lawyer. So I hesitating between playing the pack with the DH crew, Asami or a new family ... I actually still didn’t really play with the DH characters and wanted to do it when the story will be over but we’ll see. For now I need to focus on ASG and not the possible fun I might later playing ^^ I also need an external harddrive so I can finally have more storage capicity on my computer to finally learn how to make my own poses and why not try to make a render once ?!  But again, we’ll see ...

And I think that’s all :) It was longer than I thought. I hope that you all had a great October month and if you’re new, know that Simblreen lasts all year long on my page so I also hope you all had a great Simblreen this year :D

Take very good care of you and if you need anything I’m here. Thank you all so so much ♥

[annakie]

Voyager Post-Show Books Read Order + Rewatch List

I’m lending my Voyager + some TNG books to my mom to read, and I sent her an email with this list that I made.  I thought it might be helpful for other people, (and also it’d be easier for me to find next time) if I posted it online somewhere.

First, it’s also a read order for the major books covering Voyager happenings plus a few TNG books that I also own for the same era.  It’s got all the major Voyager happenings in it, and a few TNG books that are optional, though most play into what’s happening with Voyager.

In reading the books, I found it was helpful to go back and rewatch certain episodes to do things like remember who the minor / guest characters were and their plots when they showed back up, or review some character arcs for the main characters, or just the overarching plots of episodes which the books referenced.  

I also linked to their pages on Memory Alpha for easy referencing, but rewatching is better.  

Unless otherwise marked, suggested episodes below are Voyager episodes.

Any episodes I put a * after I'd say is critical to understanding the book(s), otherwise it's just helpful.  I’m happy to add to this list if anyone has other suggestions.

Voyager - Homecoming - This book deals with the immediate aftermath of Voyager's Endgame (the series finale). This and the next book are a two-parter.  They're good but not great.  The Voyager books get much better starting with the fifth. Rewatch List - Non Sequitur (2x05) Hunters (4x15) Lineage (7x12)   Prophecy (7x14) * Author, Author (7x20) Endgame (the very last episode) *

Voyager - The Farther Shore - Part 2 of the above.

Voyager - Old Wounds - This and the next Voyager book are also a two-parter.  They are... okay.  The Voyager books get a new author after this and then they get really, really, really good. Rewatch List - Tattoo - (2x09) *  Nothing Human (5x08) TNG Journey's End (7x20) (Chakotay's people live on the planet Starfleet is trying to relocate in this TNG episode.)

Voyager - Enemy of My Enemy - Part 2 of the above.

TNG - Death in Winter -  Non-essential for Voyager.  This takes place shortly after the movie Nemesis and deals with Picard having to rebuild the crew.  This is maybe the worst of all the books I've read in this series, but one important thing does happen. Rewatch List - TNG Nemesis (the movie) * Eventually, you're going to want to rewatch the below episodes, I think it'd be useful to watch them before the following books.   TNG - The Best of Both Worlds 1 and 2 (3x26, 4x1) Voyager - The Q and The Grey (3x11) * Voyager - Scorpion Part 1  and 2 (3x26, 4x1)  

TNG - Resistance - Moderately important for future Voyager stuff, skip if you want.  Most rewatch episodes were covered above.

TNG - Q&A -  Honestly, a rewatch list for Q&A would be every single episode with Q in it that hasn’t been touched on.  This is maybe my favorite of the TNG-only books on this list, but it’s not very important for the Voyager list.

Voyager - Full Circle - FIRST HALF ONLY!!! - There's a break in the middle of this book, with a timeskip in between.  ONLY READ THE FIRST HALF at this point if you’re doing an in-order read with TNG books as well.  If you don’t care about anything but explicitly Voyager books, skip down to #12 as Beyer does a good job of explaining what happens in the subsequent books between the two parts of Full Circle. This is also the book where Voyager starts becoming amazing.  The only bad thing about Kirsten Beyer's books is you'll be sad all the rest of the Star Trek books aren't as good as hers.   No watchlist as mostly the first half of the book is wrapping up the storylines from Christine Golden's first four Voyager books. 

TNG - Before Dishonor - This is nearly as much a Voyager book as TNG.  This book is instrumental in understanding everything that happens afterwards.  I won’t get into my opinion about the book itself though because it’s not very flattering.  You probably want to read at least the first and last chapters, the rest is... skippable if you’re not enjoying it. If you haven't rewatched Voyager's The Q and the Grey and Endgame yet, you're really going to want to here.

TNG - Greater Than the Sum - Just started reading this one, I’ll update once I’m done. Yes, I’m reading some of these books very of out of order. :)  *edit* It was an improvement over Before Dishonor, I’d recommend reading as it does bridge into the next books.

TNG/VOY/DS9/More - Destiny Trilogy - (Gods of Night/Mere Mortals/Lost Souls - I bought them all as a collection)  This is a massive crossover event trilogy but next on my to-read list  I do know that characters from TNG, Voyager, DS9, Enterprise, plus Titan (Riker's ship) are all in it. I don't have a rewatch list but I'll make it as I get to reading it. *Edit* OK I’ve finished reading it. My opinion is that you should read this trilogy. Yes, it’s long, but also very worth it.  Probably my favorite non-Voyager books on this list.  There are only a couple of cameos of Voyager characters but they are meaningful, and Seven has a small storyline of her own, as does Tuvok (since he’s on the Titan serving under Riker.) The writing is very good, the story is great, and reading it massively increased my understanding of and investment in a major storyline throughout the rest of the Voyager books.  I also just really, really enjoyed it.  If you don’t want to read anything else not explicitly Voyager, I still rec you read this trilogy. Rewatch List Enterprise: Home (4x03)* Affliction (4x15) & Divergence (4x16)

Okay, now read the second half of Full Circle.  Cry a lot about it. Everything I talk about from here on out is just Voyager.

Unworthy -  The adventure finally re-begins! Rewatch List In The Flesh (5x04) Okay but maybe put off rewatching this episode after the climax of the books. Life Line (6x24) Homestead (7x23) TNG - Darmok (5x02)  (The new Voyager CMO is a Tamarian, though you can put off rewatching this until Acts of Contrition if you really want, the character doesn't get important til then.)

Children of the Storm - No rewatch list.

The Eternal Tide -  My FAVORITE of all the books. Rewatch List- Q2 (7x19) * The Gift (4x02) TNG True Q (6x06)

Protectors -  This and the next two books are their own trilogy, so the below episodes are for all three. Rewatch List - Twisted (2x06) Unity (3x17)   Counterpoint (5x10) Dragon's Teeth (6x07) Unimatrix Zero (6x24) and Part II (7x01) (If you haven't rewatched TNG - Darmok 5x02 yet, do that now)

Acts of Contrition 

Atonement

A Pocket Full of Lies - Watch List - Year of Hell Parts 1 and 2 (4x08 and 09) * Shattered (7x11) *

Architects of Infinity - It’s been a couple of months since my first reads of these two books but I don’t recall any particular episodes jumping out as needed rewatches as I did.  Let me know if you think I’m wrong and I’ll update the list.

To Lose The Earth 

[runawayface]

WIP Wednesday

Hi there!  I don’t often participate in WIP Wednesday, but I figured it’s been awhile since I gave an update on Runaway Year 2.  So Chapter 3 (The Luau) is mostly done!  Just gotta edit, but I’m putting it off because I loathe editing.  And with how long these chapters have been, it’s no easy or short task.  The last chapter ended up being posted about a week early, not sure I want to post this one early as well so I’m just gonna keep putting off editing.  I want to avoid posting the first three in rapid succession, only for the final four to take forever.

Speaking of the final four... Chapter 4 is coming along nicely, I’m maybe 1/3 of the way done writing it and I have the ideas to finish it up.  Chapter 5 has nothing... literally nothing.  Not a single word.  Not even 100% sure what I’m gonna do with it, but I probably should have thought that through. 😂 I have a vague idea.  Chapter 6 has few paragraphs and a few chunks of dialogue, but not much.  I do at least have the idea figured out.  Chapter 7 is in the same state as 5, nothing at all.  I have a more solid idea so that helps, but there’s zero content.  I probably shouldn’t have dived into posting on AO3 until I had a little more in each chapter, but oh well, we’re here now.  Nothing a few writing marathons can’t fix, provided the time/energy/motivation all fall into alignment.

So that’s what’s happening!  I don’t wanna throw Chapter 3 out there too early and end up with a huge gap between 3 and 4, so I’ll stall it another couple weeks to give me time to get other chapters more caught up.  ‘Til then, I can’t let a WIP Wednesday update go by without a sneak peek!

~*~

“I hope I’ll be seeing you for your birthday tomorrow?” Gus asked hopefully.  He loved hosting the residents of town at the saloon on their birthdays, he was always so generous and welcoming that way.

“Not this year,” May answered.  Gus looked devastated.  “Harvey and I are going to the city for a four day weekend.”  At this news, Gus’ disappointed expression brightened considerably.

“Well in that case, I’ll give you a free pass,” Gus replied, just as jovial as ever.  “You two deserve a nice trip together before your little one arrives.  Just a little disappointed that you won’t be returning to the saloon to relive the moment.”

“The moment?” May asked, raising an uncertain eyebrow.

“Come on, don’t tell me I have to be the one to remind you that it’s not just your birthday, it’s also the anniversary of the night you and Doctor H got together!” Gus remarked in disbelief.  “In my saloon, no less!”

“Oh… I guess I hadn’t thought of that,” May replied sheepishly.  So much focus had gone into planning their trip and celebrating May’s birthday, it hadn’t really occurred to her or Harvey that it was also the anniversary of when they started dating.  There was certainly a lot to celebrate this year.

“Don’t tell anyone, but I’ll still give you your free birthday drink whenever you do manage to stop by,” Gus added quietly.  “Non-alcoholic, of course.”

“Of course,” May replied with a grin.  “Thanks, Gus, you’re awfully sweet.”

[kxhlzn]

i | THE BIRDWATCHER.

SYNOPSIS: You spend some time brewing over big news, and Ben has a favor to ask.

GENRE: Coming-Of-Age, Drama, Angst, Romance, Slow Burn.

PAIRINGS: Stanley Uris/Reader, confusing Richie/Reader, Unrequited!Beverly/Reader, Bev/Ben, Pining!Eddie/Richie.

WORDCOUNT: 4.5k

WARNINGS: Profanity, semi-nudity, gay pining. Bullying, homophobia, etc in future chapters!

SONG RECS: 'She' by Dodie.

AUTHOR'S NOTES: I made a post about my choice to rewrite this series, so here's the first chapter! The Losers' Club are all fifteen here, but this is still set in 1989. Pennywise doesn't exist. Reader is bisexual, or at least interested in guys and gals (& maybe non-binary pals! Whatever floats your boat!) Also if this all over the place don't come at me pls. Slightly edited and idk if it is even good so— 🤪✌🏻

There's been quite a few changes :)

MAY 1989.

DEAR LOSERS' CLUB,

No, that wasn't personal enough. You wanted each of them to know what they meant to you. Each of them.

DEAREST BEVERLY,

Why must your thoughts always drift to her first? Why can't she be third or fifth?

TO RICHIE,

You huff dramatically and crumple the notebook paper, attempting to toss it into the waste bin a few feet away.

A detached sigh tumbles from the wide desk across from you, and your history teacher slowly retracts his novel from in front of him to reveal an unamused expression.

He rolls his tongue against his cheek, and waits. When he is met with silence, he shifts in his seat. "... Aren't you, uh... Against wasting trees or whatever?"

You blink. "Yeah, obviously."

"Yeah, obviously!" Mr. Ellis laughs bitterly, and rolls his eyes. "Well, can you waste them a bit quieter?"

Before you can respond, he puts up a finger like he's suddenly been enlightened. "Or, better yet— Leave."

You tap your fingertips against your thighs, and kick your feet up onto your desk. "You know, if I didn't know better, Mr. Ellis, I'd think you didn't like me or something."

He stares at you blankly. "And where on Earth did you come up with that idea?"

You shrug, "No clue. Mr. Ellis, can I confide in your honest feedback on something?"

"I imagine you will anyway—"

"—So, listen... I'm going on a personal journey when summer break is over and I'm afraid I won't ever see you again," You explain, curving your brows inward. Your teacher uses his index finger to trace a single tear gliding down his cheek. "And, um, I don't— I don't know how to.. How do I tell the only true friends I've ever had?"

He pretends to think it over long and hard. "Let me see..."

"I don't care," He finishes, picking up his novel where he left off.

You scowl, and drop your forehead against the surface of your desk, the echo reverberating throughout the empty classroom, save for two people.

Mr. Ellis unwraps a cookie and takes a large bite, and glances at you intermediately between pages. He sighs again. "Will you leave if I tell you what to do?"

"Faster than when the lunch bell rings," You chirp, grinning brightly and leaning forward eagerly on your desk.

He rolls his eyes and puts his feet up on his desk, and pressing his back into his chair. "Go have some fun. Get high. Jump off roofs and ding-dong ditch. Just go be a kid, and tell them when the time is right. Okay?"

   A light breeze rushes through the windows propped open with history textbooks, rustling the papers stacked on Mr. Ellis's large desk. Outside, the faint echo of laughter and summer jitters resounds within the four walls surrounding you.

You nod firmly, and skip to an open window.

Tossing him a grin, you give some finger guns. You crawl up onto the large sill, and before you hop out, Mr. Ellis calls your name.

He has the softest expression you've ever seen on him. "Listen— It's been a pleasure having you. Even if you were the loudest, most persistent, and possibly the worst student I've ever had. Just, uh— Be honest with your friends, okay? Don't wait 'til the last minute. They'll never forgive you if you do."

You give him a two-finger salute before hopping out the window.

You found out you were moving away from Derry in early April, due to an accident involving your grandfather's motorcycle obsession, but there was never really a good time to tell the people you've been slumming it with since you were eleven. The first time you tried, Richard Tozier pushed you off a cliff (a story for another time), and the second time, Ben burned himself on Beverly's flat iron (also a long story). The third time, the words fell dead on your lips when Stanley Uris told you you were the closest thing to a best friend he had.

You swear he was on the verge of tears.

So, you postponed. Now, it's late May, and you haven't said a word to them.

You know you have to tell them— You know this, you do, but the timing is never right. At least, that's what you keep telling yourself— Because somehow the words "you're a coward" are far too intimidating to admit.

Especially to yourself.

Heat swells across your cheeks, the massive, and rowdy, kitchen bustling with voices and feet. Your apron hugs your waist and you peer over your shoulder at Beverly, whose red hair is vibrant against the pale walls. Her blue eyes glance up to meet yours, and they are gentle. Bristling, you face Stanley on your right, who is speaking softly with an elderly woman on the other side of the counter.

The soup kitchen is a bit vacant in terms of people to serve, as it's the first few minutes before the dinner crowd pools in at seven. This time is the most peaceful— Pots and pans full of nutritional foods are filling up quick, and you're all anxious to help anybody who walks in the doors.

In Derry, there isn't much funding for volunteer work, so you do what you can— The local church offered up lodging for the soup kitchen, so you're all pretty thankful for the church leaders.

You study Stanley silently, his eyes focused and mild as he speaks with the woman. He's grown quite a bit since last summer, and he let his hair grow out a bit, so now it's a wild mess of curls. You like that he's eased up on the product, so he's all-natural. In order to catch what the woman is saying, he leans forward, in all his 5'8" glory.

He glances at you and places a hand on the woman's shoulder. "Thank you for telling me, Louanne. I'll see what I can do."

She smiles. "Bless you, Stephen."

You snort while she waddles off, and Stanley leans on the counter with his attention locked on you. There's a hint of amusement in his eyes.

"She seems sweet," You say, "How you liking volunteering, Stephen?"

He tries to prevent himself from laughing. "Stop! That's so mean, she's sick."

"What ever do you mean?" You quip, leaning on the counter next to him. Stan rubs your hair into a frizzy mess and stands tall.

"Uris, I need you over here on dishes," Willow, your team leader, shouts from across the kitchen. You can only briefly catch her curvy figure before she disappears behind the doorway.

"Nah, Willow, I got it! Stan's good with the old ladies. Real player, this one," You respond, poking Stan's stomach, "Maybe you'll get lucky."

"That's gross! Go away."

You laugh maniacally.

The dinner rush is heavy once seven hits, but it fades out at about 7:45. People are ecstatic that's it stew night because they are allowed to take a styrofoam bowl on the go. A few stragglers are permitted to camp the night out in the main hall, as the homeless aren't taken to kindly in Derry. Mayor claims it's 'bad' for traffic and tourism, but you know that Derry is the last place anyone would want to tour in. You're pretty sure it's been wiped off the maps, but that's a conspiracy theory for another time, one that Richie had so kindly coined.

Most of the kids who volunteer at the soup kitchen in the church are hoping to capture some hours for the college applications, but you volunteered because you felt like it was the right thing to do; It was simply convenient that it looked good on apps.

There's light shuffling and clanging as volunteers work to clear up the church for Sunday mass. You balance a tray of plates and glasses pressed against your chest with one arm, while you wipe down a table. There's a hand on your shoulder that suddenly startles you, causing you to drop the tray on instinct.

Glass shatters everywhere, then silence.

"Fuck!" You whisper violently, and you drop to your knees, frantically trying to pick up as many shards as possible before Willow comes screaming.

Beverly is beside you, as is Stanley, and all three of your try to clean the mess.

"God, I'm so sorry," Beverly says, "I didn't mean to freak you out."

"Uh, no, no, it's okay," You reply quickly, looking up at her. She smiles softly.

You flush and revert your attention back to the problem at hand. Your cheeks burn a bit, so you try to ignore it— But it leads to carelessness, and you give yourself a clean cut across your forefinger.

Hissing, you retract your hand and examine the damage. The minute you notice red, you become uneasy. Beverly and Stanley both take a sharp inhale.

"Oh, God— Uh, Stan, you got this? I'm gonna go get her cleaned up," Beverly says.

"Yeah, I got it."

"Thanks. C'mon, let's go," Beverly tells you, but you shake your head.

"I'm fine! S'just a cut. I can slap a bandaid on it later," You reassure her, but she's not having it.

"Now," She warns, gripping your arm softly.

Bottom line, Beverly Marsh can make you do anything she wants you to.

You kick your legs out in a steady beat, seated on a counter, while Bev digs around the first aid kit in the storage room. Her back is facing you, so you have a chance to study the freckles up the top of her spine and into her hairline.

You hold your right hand with your wrist, squeezing harder each time your wound throbs.

"Got it," Bev whispers, and she turns quickly. Positioning herself between your knees, she takes a hold of your finger and wipes it briefly with a wet cotton ball. Next, she uses a clean one to wipe disinfectant across the slit. "How bad does it hurt?"

You lie. "Not much."

Her blue eyes look at you with amusement. "Please."

"Okaaay. A bit more than 'not much'."

"Hm," Beverly applies a bit of cream on your cut. "What kind of bandaid do you want?"

She holds up plain, princess, and car bandaids.

"What the fuck are those? Gender-specific bandages?"

She says your name sternly.

You sigh. "Princess, please."

Beverly smiles and opens the package.

The room is quiet for all except the rustling of the paper, and you pop your mouth awkwardly.

"Hey," Bev says slowly, "Um, listen... You do realize that Stan—"

The door is cracked open and the curly head of Stanley peeks through. "Hey... The cut isn't bad, is it?"

You and Bev glance at each other, and Bev shakes her head.

"No, not at all. Just finishing up," She replies, sticking the pink bandaid on your wound. You hop down and wiggle your finger at Stanley with a grin.

"Good as new!"

He smiles softly. "Glad you're okay. I cleaned up all the glass, so don't worry about it."

"Okay! Thanks, Stan," You say, hooking your arm around his neck. He prickles a bit but relaxes immediately.

Beverly unties her apron and lays it on her forearm while she walks on your free side. "M' still upset Ben couldn't make it."

"Me too," You agree, "He was really looking forward to it."

"He can always go without us," Stan adds.

"It's not the same, though!" You say.

Stan shrugs.

It's humid outside the church, but that's to be expected during the summer. The sky is a deep cloudy sapphire, with the buzz of bugs filling the air. The older volunteers disappear into their cars while you, Stanley, and Beverly talk amongst yourselves. Bulbs above the entrance are the only source of light within a few yards.

Beverly puts her weight on her left foot, the gravel beneath her crackling while she recites a story Bill told her about local legends.

Just as she reaches the climax, the church doors creak open and Willow appears. She keeps her back to you while she locks the entrance, and once she turns, she eyes the three of you.

"Y'all need a ride?"

All of you glance at each other, and Stanley checks his watch.

"We'd love one!" You chirp, giving him a light shove.

"If it's alright with you, of course," Bev adds.

"I wouldn't have asked if it wasn't!" Willow says sharply, but without venom. "Hop in."

Somehow, you end up squeezed in the middle, with Stanley and Beverly on each of your sides. You scowl, eyeing the passenger seat with a purse in it.

Stan's clearly uncomfortable, his shoulders curved inward while he anxiously taps his kneecaps. He seems to be looking everywhere but at you and Bev.

"Everything okay?" You whisper.

He shrugs. "Yeah, just, uh— My mom isn't big on me getting home so late from the kitchen; She wants me to quit."

"That's fucked," You say.

"Hey!" Willow barks, glaring at you through the rearview mirror. "I may your super cool team leader, but I still don't appreciate you using a dirty mouth in my car."

You snicker, and she bursts into laughter.

Beverly pokes your shoulder. "Hey, um— Would... Would it be cool if I stayed with you tonight? My dad, he, um... He went out drinking when I woke up, so—"

"Of course," You interrupt. "Stay however long you need."

"Thanks..." Bev says quietly, and she leans against the window of the car.

Willow pulls up into your driveway within five minutes, and Bev steps out. You make an effort to give Stan a brief hug before you go, and he gives you a little wave as Willow leaves.

You and Bev remain quiet when you sneak into the house through the front door, in fear you might wake your mother. When you enter the living room and see the woman's knocked out cold with the television on, you wave Beverly upstairs. She obliges.

You creep up to your mother and crouch next to her head. She's got a bit of drool pooling on the cushion, and you crinkle your nose.

Retrieving a pillow from a loveseat, you tuck it gently beneath her head and pull a blanket over her. Giving her a quick kiss on the forehead, you leave a glass of water and ibuprofen on the coffee table.

"Does she always do that?" Is the first thing Bev says when you reach your bedroom. You're a bit taken aback, but you regroup swiftly.

"Yeah. She gets these really bad migraines," You explain, leaving your bag on the floor and kicking off your sneakers. "And, um, they can sometimes turn into seizures, so we try to let her sleep as comfortably as possible."

"Oh," Bev says, "Can I borrow some pajamas?"

"Yeah!" You reply, "Just grab something from the closet or my drawers."

"'Kay," She snags a blank tank while you pick out a yellow nightgown. You're facing the mirror when Beverly pulls off her t-shirt, and you nearly choke. You can't seem to take your eyes off her back, even when you know you've been staring for too long. "Is your little brother asleep?"

You drop your attention to the floor and quickly pull off your shirt. "Yeah, should be. I'll kill the little shithead if he's not."

Bev smiles. "He's a good kid; If he's awake, he's probably reading. He likes to read, right?"

"Yup," You pop the 'p', "He's into numbers and all that. I'll never understand it."

"He probably thinks the same thing about your art, you know."

You hum and pull the nightgown over your head. "Everybody thinks that way about art, Bev. If you're not dedicated to a nine to five office job, then you're somehow a deadbeat, leaching off the productive middle class."

Bev laughs gently, and it's airy and elegant and perfect. "You're always opinionated, you know that?"

When you toss her a quizzical look, she elaborates and walks over to face you. "Not in a negative way; It's like... It's like you must have all these thoughts swimming around in that pretty head of yours."

Pretty?

Beverly continues. "I mean, you're just so... I don't know? Most people don't care about anything, let alone the world or society. You're bound to make a difference."

You blink at her, your fairy lights hanging loosely from your window and spreading a gold light. Her ocean eyes are iridescent. She's iridescent. Her pink lips curve into a smile, and she glances at the floor.

"What?" She whispers.

You sputter. "N-Nothing. Just, um— Thanks. Thank you, really. I— I just, nobody's taken me that seriously before," You explain, tucking a thick strand of hair behind your ear. "I've always just been Loudmouth."

Bev's face melts into one of sympathy and curiosity, her long eyelashes brushing her cheeks. Gingerly, she places a hand on your shoulder, one that shoots electricity throughout your skin. Her grip tightens. "Listen. Quiet people don't do shit, okay? People who keep their opinions to themselves don't make history."

You shrug a shoulder and give her a lopsided smile. "I can't even make a difference in backwater Derry. How the hell am I supposed to change the world?"

Outside, rain begins to patter restlessly against your windowsill, keeping the stars awake. Inside, Beverly looks at you like she just might think you're a goddess.

"You've already changed mine."

Your entire life, people have told you how the world has to be: Simple, honest, and conservative. They've told you who to be, who to love, what to do. It's always been "you'll meet someone who makes you feel like the world is glowing", followed by, "don't rush, you'll find him soon". What if you don't want to find him? What if you want to find her?

What if you already have?

Beverly Marsh is incomparably the prettiest girl you've ever seen when she's jumping from the cliff into the lake below.

Scratch that, she's incomparably the prettiest girl you've ever seen, and she makes your universe glow.

She's a flash of red, shimmering, shining, iridescent; A ruby tossed into the sky like a plain penny into a wishing well.

   She's radiant, tomboyish, and beautiful.

Beverly, in all her elegance, has learned to tame your chaotic hair, your wild eyes, and the crooked pair of overalls that swallowed your thighs. Her, that gentle smile, rendered you speechless daily. You, notoriously nicknamed Loudmouth or Mouth, were silent for her.

You've already changed mine.

"Hey, Mouth! The hell are you gawking at?"

Richie Tozier waves a hand in front of you and you crank your eyes up to his squinting face. His freckles surround the massive pair of glasses on the bridge of his nose, and his black hair nearly blinds him.

You throw up a palm to block the sun, but his giant head is doing most of the work. "Your mother over there in her Sunday best."

If he swung his body around any quicker, his head might have popped off like a Barbie doll. He gazes off into the woods across the quarry, his lips upturned in an unattractive flytrap.

Beverly slips her cream-colored gown off her pale shoulders, drawing all eyes to her. The sun beats down on her chopped red locks, accenting the constellation of freckles along her nose, and warming your flesh under its rays.

Catching the way they all gaze at her, as starstruck as yourself, it hits you like a freight train— you weren't looking at her like you should have been.

Under the intensity of her icy blue gaze, you feel so small; so homely. Your chest aches, but that girl doesn't give you time to grieve. She is in the air in a split second, high like an angel, falling towards the murky waters below.

  The boys crowd around the cliff's edge, mouths gaping, eyes bright. It strikes you from the heavens, like a harsh cacophony: These aren't your boys anymore.

  You had slipped out of the world briefly, and before long, you are alone at the edge.

Sandy curls appear in front of your face, tilting to reveal the kind eyes of Stanley Uris. His mouth forms a firm line. He seems to be at war with himself as he stares out into the blue sky, dotted with white clouds.

  He stays silent for a moment, searching for the right words. "I want to go last," He finally breathes, seemingly triumphed in his verbiage, "I don't want them to see me cross my fingers behind my back before I go."

  The vulnerability he expresses warms your heart, and you grin up at him, having gained your confidence back. You are grateful he didn't pry into your dilemma. You didn't expect otherwise, but it was still nice. Stanley is a boy of few words, but the word 'shy' doesn't fit right, as it implies bashfulness or a sweet innocence.

   Rather, he prefers the quality of speech over quantity, believing that the chattiest voices aren't always the loudest. A respectable notion, sure, but you tend to believe it in theory rather than in practice.

   Stanley's thin frame makes no unnecessary movements, but rather awaits yours. One of his hands cuffs the other in front of his hips. The cool breeze had only an inch to squeeze between within the crevice of your shoulders.

You pull your yellow scrunchie from your hair, and wrap it around your wrist, as Stanley speaks, "Promise not to tell?"

“Pinky promise,” You insist, holding up the smallest finger on your right hand. When his wraps around yours, you toss him a childlike grin. “I never break them.”

   You're gone, cascading down towards the green waters, each wave crystallizing in your descent.

     "I know."

Stanley crosses his fingers behind his back and steps off the cliff's rocky edge.

Stan’s dive is a flash of gold: Like a bird, graceful in its dip, his curls like its wings.

  You find yourself wanting to ask him what it's like to fly.

The water is cool, luckily fizzling the heat out of your cheeks when Beverly appears beside you, grinning softly at—

Bill.

You swallow thickly and turn your head to Richie and Eddie arguing about something pointless. Richie's skin is set ablaze every time Eddie points a finger at him or moves closer.

Across from you, Ben's eyes are set on your face, and you nearly jump when yours land on them. He sputters silently and glances over to the boulders near the trees.

You tilt your head in question, "Ben, what is it?" It's too late now, but you realize you weren't very subtle. At all.

He facepalms. "Can we, uh...?"

Nodding in understanding, you doggy paddle through the lake and onto the shore. Ben is quickly beside you.

The boy leads you over to the boulders and sits on a large one. His hands are glued to his knees, and you can tell he's anxious.

You lean your elbows on your thighs and wait.

"U-U-Um— Can I..? Would you..?" He shakes his head suddenly and regroups. "I need— I need help with something..."

"...Okay..?" You gesture for him to elaborate.

"Can you help me write love notes to Beverly?" He spits out softly, and you choke on your own spit.

You stand up abruptly, like you sat on a pin, and cross your arms. Your brows curl inward in confusion, embarrassment, and anxiety. "W-What? Sorry, I don't— Why?"

"Because... You are a girl, you know? You know a lot more personal stuff about her, I think, right?" He asks, rubbing his clammy palms together.

"Uh," You run your fingers up your arm, "I guess? I don't think... That would be... She doesn't..."

He gives you an awkward crooked smile. "I mean, it's okay 'cause you're a girl. I wanted to ask Bill or someone else but since they're guys it might be different..."

"H-How so?"

"Well— You know. They might secretly like her or something," Ben says, staring at the dirt by his feet.

You swallow, and glance out to the water; To where she is. Beverly meets your eyes and smiles gently. Your stomach does a flip.

"Can I— Can I think about it?" You inquire softly, and Ben nods swiftly.

"Yes! Yes, of course. That's okay," He sounds a bit sad.

You reach out and rub his shoulder. "You're an amazing person, Ben, you know that? She'd love anything you wrote to her."

You smile crookedly, the corner of your mouth twitching.

Ben nods slowly and shakes his arms a bit to free himself of nerves. "You're right— I should just be more confident..."

He's obviously trying to convince himself more than you.

"Bev—" He shouts suddenly, and she looks over with a grin. One of her hands runs through her hair, and you can feel her eyes burning holes in your face just seconds before she focuses on him. "You look beautiful today!"

Beverly Marsh smiles ever so gently, her cheeks blossoming in a shade of scarlet. The freckles lining the bridge of her nose accent the brightness of her eyes, and you swallow thickly.

She really does.

Tapping a pen against a thick sheet of paper, you push your tongue against your cheek and read over the words again.

PROS:

♡ helping ben!

♡ practicing writing!

♡ practicing stationary!

♡ getting ben and bev together!

♡ making bev feel good!

♡ getting over the butterflies?

You scowl. The hell does that mean? You glance at the clock, which reads 8:37. You consider the pros to writing anonymous love letters to Beverly, which seems to be a lot— And the selfish part of you tells you that it would be beneficial to you— How so? You're not quite sure, as admitting to yourself that it even took nearly an hour.

Within your friend group, you've always been relatively open— Keeping up with honesty, kindness, and always wearing your heart on your sleeve. Stanley said it was naive to do so, but you feel that in a world that is so blatantly harsh and negative, being real with those around you is a heap of good. So why is it suddenly so difficult to be honest with yourself?

You concentrate your thoughts of Beverly, so that you might understand, or in the least identify, what exactly your true intentions with her are. Immediately, your stomach curls, and you feel your insides turn to mush. These sensations are familiar— You've had countless encounters with them.

You picture her in your head, memorize the features of her that always seem to stick when she's around. Her red hair, her freckles, those eyes... And her lips. The curve of them when she grins, or laughs— And briefly, ever so, you imagine what'd they'd be like pressed against yours—

"Hey," Your mom says, your door now swung open, and you scream, tipping out of your desk chair. You land flat against your back and groan.

Your heart beats painfully in your ribcage.

"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you. Come do the dishes," She tells you, and you nod profusely.

You inhale through your nostrils and run your fingers through your hair, sighing. Once she's gone, you push your head into the crook of your elbow.

Tears unravel into your arm.

Why did it have to be Beverly Marsh?

[ 🌱 ] taglist (from original write):

@hannarudick @cedricisnotonfire @russian-romanova @pacifythepanda @queen1054 @thebitchiestnerdtowalktheearth @delicrieux (you get to be on here cuz.. i said so).

[crashdevlin]

Bottle- 17: Goodbye Sokovia (FIN)

Bottle Masterlist

Author’s Note: Originally posted to ao3 (This is an edited and improved version), I work in info from the comics (Like Hawkeye was married to Mockingbird and Red Skull had a disappointing daughter) and I took a few liberties with what the scepter could do (but not really because the Mind Stone was used to create the Twins so what I did is not that far-fetched). This is a lot more angst than I realized when I wrote it, but it’s compelling angst.

Summary: Cassandra Campbell is a Stark Industries lab tech with dubious genetics and a history with the new Director of SHIELD. She’s been working in New York since right before the Chitauri invasion. What does she have to do with Loki, and what will happen when he returns? Starts post TDW and continues to the end of AoU.

Pairing(s): Phil Coulson x OFC (Past), Loki x OFC (Non-con), Clint Barton x OFC, Steve Rogers x OFC

Word Count: 3571

Story Warnings: So many, worst (to me) are bolded. Younger woman/older man relationship,non-con, mutilation, torture, mind control, PTSD, depression, alcoholism, forced abortions, bad things (non-con) in a church, insomnia, memory manipulation, eventual consensual oral sex (female and male receiving),

Chapter Warnings: canon-compliant violence, 

Cassie sat in a jump seat as they flew into Sokovia. Pietro stared down at her from the seat next to her. "You've really never killed anyone?"

A flash of a lab hit her brain, but she shook it off. "No. Never." The words came out with a slight accent.

"What are you called?" Pietro asked.

Cassie chuckled. "I've had many names. Vierhundert Zweiundfünfzig, Junior, Joanna, Cassie, Alex, Red Queen. 'Cassie' is my preference."

"Why do you speak with an accent when you talk to us, but not to the Avengers?" Wanda asked, from her seat on the other side of Cassie.

"Because you're in my head, I think. Because you can hear the truth of my thoughts, which are coming in more and more as German. Why do you think that is?"

"You have... hidden pieces that are starting to leak," Wanda said, staring uncomfortably into Cassie's eyes.

"I was afraid you'd say something like that."

"This is your fear. That the hidden pieces might come out. Why did you see the man in the armor?" Cassie looked away and Wanda gasped. "You made yourself see him. How?"

"He is a fear. He is a painful memory and a future fear. But he's one that I know I can deal with. I thought of him as soon as I saw your... red electric mist. I couldn't let you show me the other thing."

"You are very strong," Pietro mused. "Even I can't hold her back from my mind."

"Neither could I. I just pushed the influence a little."

"I can't do that."

"No one can. I mean, that I've met," Wanda said.

"I'm sure it's not a big deal. I just have good fortitude. Strong will of mind." Cassie looked away as she realized Clint was listening.

"It is big deal," Wanda insisted, staring at her in that uncomfortable intense way again. "You don't want-"

"Wanda," Cassie interrupted, her voice strong and clear, with no sign of the accent. "I've had people in my head. You aren't the first and you probably won't be the last, the way my life goes. If I were not able to control, even a little bit, of what my brain does in these situations, I would have gone mad instead of going to Austria."

"You had no control when you were a child. They were completely in-"

"I don't want to hear it, I don't want to know," Cassie whispered, standing. "We're about to go into a huge, deadly fight and I can't have my attention fractured."

"You're afraid it will break you, if you know," Wanda whispered.

"It would."

**********************

Steve stood near the cockpit of the jet as everyone finished their final prep before the fight. "Ultron knows we're coming. Odds are we'll be riding into heavy fire, and that's what we signed up for." He smiled slightly at Cassie. "But the people of Sokovia, they didn't. So our priority is getting them out. All they want is to live their lives in peace, and that's not going to happen today. But we can do our best to protect them. And we can get the job done, and find out what Ultron's been building. We find Romanoff, and we clear the field. Keep the fight between us. Ultron thinks we're monsters and we're what's wrong with the world. This isn't just about beating him. It's about whether he's right."

"Orders?" Clint asked.

"Pietro is our warning system. He can make it around Novi Grad to quickly to make sure those in charge get the evac started."

"I will get people started leaving. I don't how many I can reach at one time, I've never tried, but... as many as I can," Wanda offered.

"Clint, take the high ground, keep us apprised of movements around the city. Thor, you take Bruce to the fortress where Natasha is being held. Banner finds Nat, you find out what he's building. Vision, you follow Tony and burn Ultron's ties to the internet so he can't run. Cassie, until such a time as you are needed elsewhere, you work on getting people out of the city, and take down as many Ultrons as possible. Okay?"

Cassie smiled, slightly. "Well, it's nothing special, but at least you aren't trying to leave me behind this time." She tightened the holster belt around her waist and stepped toward the door. "Let's go kick some robot ass."

"Language," Steve said, with a smile.

"You want lift?" Pietro asked, picking Cassie up and running without waiting for an answer. He came to a stop and dropped her off on the other side of the bridge into Novi Grad. "Not too fast for you?"

She laughed. "Pietro... glad you're on our side now. Get to the Polizeistation."

"Good to be a good guy, huh?"

"What, you didn't see that coming, Pietro?" She smirked and ran for the far buildings.

*********************************

The robots were easy. A few well-placed bullets, a hit to the processor with a heavy baton, a knife in the same locale... one time just a well-executed kick. No, it was when the landscape started to hover higher and higher that Cassie had a problem. "How are we supposed to save the people from a flying city?!" she shouted at the Ultron closest to her, before ripping its head off.

"Do you see? The beauty of it, the inevitability. You rise, only to fall," Ultron's voice answered her from a robot clawing its way to her from underground. "You, Avengers, you are my meteor, my swift and terrible sword and the earth will crack with the weight of your failure. Purge me from your computers, turn my own flesh against me. It means nothing. When the dust settles, the only thing living in this world will be metal." Cassie stomped on its head, growling at the implication.

"I'm not a fucking meteor. Spent my whole life trying to avoid causing-" she mumble to herself, grabbing an Ultron and ripping its arm off. She bashed it into the robot's head repeatedly.

"Cap, you got incoming," Stark said, over comms.

"Incoming already came in," Steve groaned. "Stark, you worry about bringing the city back down safely. The rest of us have one job: tear these things apart. You get hurt, hurt 'em back. You get killed, walk it off."

"Funny." Pietro was suddenly right next to her, pulling a robot to pieces. "Is Captain America always so funny?"

"Only in a fight. How you doin'?" Cassie asked, breathlessly.

"Better than you. You're bleeding."

"I'm fine. Not dead yet. How are you not bleeding?"

"Too fast to bleed. None of them can see me coming."

Cassie laughed. "Okay. Sounds good. I'm going to the bridge. Sounds like they need a bit of help there. Find Wanda, meet me there?"

Pietro gave a small salute and disappeared. A few moments later, Barton came over the comms. "All right. We're all clear here."

"We are not clear!" Steve responded. "We are very not clear!"

"All right. Coming to you."

"I'm halfway there!" Cassie said, picking up her pace. Cassie jumped onto the back of an Ultron and plunged her knife into its processor as Natasha and Steve destroyed several over by the bridge. "Welcome to the fight, Natalia. How was your downtime?"

"Cramped and cold. Just like I like it," Nat answered, smirking a little as they finished off the last Ultron in their area.

"The next wave's gonna hit any minute. What have you got, Stark?" Steve asked, stalking through the city.

"Well, nothing great. Maybe a way to blow up the city. That'll keep it from impacting the surface. If you guys can get clear," Stark came over their earpieces.

"I asked for a solution, not an escape plan."

"Impact radius is getting bigger every second. We're going to have to make a choice."

"Cap, these people are going nowhere. If Stark finds a way to blow this rock..." Natasha started as the three of them looked out at the clouds, creating a thick fog.

"Not 'til everyone's safe," Steve insisted.

"Everyone up here versus everyone down there?" Natasha pushed. "There's no math there."

"I hate to agree, but this is thousands versus billions. Literally," Cassie whispered.

"I'm not leaving this rock with one civilian on it."

"I didn't say we should leave." Steve took a deep breath as he turned to Romanoff, who just nodded to confirm she was saying what he thought she was. "There's worse ways to go. Where else am I gonna get a view like this?"

"Glad you like the view, Romanoff. It's about to get better," Nick Fury's voice came through their comms. Cassie laughed, excitedly, as a helicarrier broke through the clouds. "Nice, right? I pulled her out of mothballs with a couple of old friends. She's dusty, but she'll do."

"Fury, you son of a bitch," Steve said, with a smile.

"Ooh! You kiss your mother with that mouth?"

"Not since the ‘40s, he doesn't," Cassie wrapped her arms around Nat and Steve and jumped down, excitedly, as Pietro showed up in front of them.

"This is SHIELD?"

"This is what SHIELD's supposed to be," Steve answered.

"This is not so bad."

"Let's load 'em up," Steve said, rushing to grab Sokovian citizens.

"You know, this might not end horribly, after all," Pietro said, to Cassie as she rushed for a building full of people.

"Don't say things like that. As soon as you start being optimistic, things go bad."

"Oh, what can go bad now?" Pietro asked, before disappearing.

"So much," Ultron said, dropping down behind Cassie, grabbing her and flying away. He dropped her on top of a building and examined her. "You're the Hydra one, right?"

"I'm not-"

"Made by Hydra in 1989. Trained by that horrid Strucker character. Honestly, anyone who wanted to know about the Avengers need only look to you, their latest recruit. The wolf in sheep's linen."

"What? What are you- you're making less sense than usual."

"You really think you're a righteous woman? How sad for you. You're more tangled in their strings than I ever was. Assuming you make it to that battlecarrier, ask your friend Fury about Operation Playtime Distortion. I think it'll change your life," Ultron said, before flying away, leaving her on the top of the building.

"Playtime dis- what?" she mumbled to herself as she grabbed an electric cable and used it to abseil down the building.

"Thor, I got a plan!" Stark said when she was about halfway down the building.

"We're out of time. They're coming for the core," Thor responded.

"Rhodey, get the rest of the people on board that carrier."

"On it."

"Avengers, time to work for a living."

"Screw you, Stark. Your suit and your computer do all your work," Cassie said as she got to the bottom of the building and started running for the church.

"I'll buy you a drink when we get out of this," Stark said. "Romanoff? You and Banner better not be playing hide the zucchini."

"Relax, Shell-head. Not all of us can fly."

"Thank you, Nat!" Cassie said, running up to the church as Natasha crashed a truck into the fence around the perimeter.

"What's the drill?" Natasha asked.

"This is the drill. If Ultron gets a hand on the core, we lose."

Hulk jumped into the church as Ultron flew closer. "Is that the best you can do?!" Thor shouted. Ultron just lifted his left hand and a swarm of silver entered their vision.

"You had to ask." Steve said, sarcastically.

"This is the best I can do," Ultron answered.

"If they're all here, then they aren't there, so... let's do this," Cassie whispered.

"This is exactly what I wanted. All of you against all of me. How could you possibly hope to stop me?"

"Well, like the old man said. Together," Tony said, looking toward Steve.

Hulk shouted, sending a chill down Cassie's spine that readied her for the fight, as Ultrons ran and flew at them, full force. She pulled her knife with her right hand and a baton with her left and went to work, feeling alive and right as she rained destruction upon Ultron. 'Ask about Operation Playtime Distortion', rang through her mind over and over as she stomped and beat and stabbed the robots. As the primary Ultron was lasered down in the ruined churchyard, Cassie beat another one's head into the rubble. Clint put his hand on her shoulder and she had to stop herself from crushing it.

"They'll try to leave the city," she heard Thor say, so she stood.

"We can't let 'em, not even one. Rhodey!"

"We gotta move out. Even I can tell the air is getting thin. You guys get to the boats, I'll sweep for stragglers, be right behind you," Steve said.

"What about the core?" Clint asked as Cassie watched the last few Ultrons being destroyed by Vision and War Machine.

"I'll protect it," Wanda volunteered. Clint turned to her in surprise. "It's my job."

Clint nodded and started out. "Nat. Cass. This way."

"You have a silent thing with the Maximoff chick?" Cassie asked as they ran.

"You have a thing with her brother? Pickin' you up and runnin' off with you."

"He's nice. Fell in with the wrong crowd. I can relate," Cassie said, running ahead of them.

"Cass- I'm gonna hotwire-" Clint shrugged as she disappeared from view and wrenched open the door of a two-seater convertible. "Only enough room for the two of us, anyway," he said to Natasha.

She was already on the helicarrier when the city fell and she watched in horror as it disintegrated just a few moments later. When she greeted the last lifeboat, she was dismayed to see Wanda crying over Pietro's body. "He saved my life," Clint whispered.

Cassie turned into his arms and cried for a few minutes, before pulling away. "What about... Tony? Thor? Everyone else."

Clint just nodded, prompting her to break down further. Clint helped her down to the bridge, where Fury stood staring at the hole that used to be Novi Grad, Sokovia. "This is the best we could have hoped for, Campbell," Fury said, turning and walking up to her as Clint disappeared from her side.

"I know. I know. This is just... we saved as many as we could but... Pietro died... it's just..."

"You thinking of getting out of the superhero game?"

"No. Yes. I don't know. I just... this isn't, at all, how I pictured my life five years ago. When Phil told me that you okayed my release, I... expected to get my Bachelor's and spend the rest of my life in a lab. This... death, carnage... so much destruction."

"If it weren't for Phil, you'd've been in the Fridge when Hydra took it. I wasn't planning to let you out."

Cassie turned to him, swallowing. "You put me in a cell. I've always wondered why. Surely there were better places to put me. Back then, I was just a normal, non-super, child. You could've found a home for me, but you put me in a cell like a criminal." She wouldn't ask. Operation Playtime Distortion wasn't something she wanted to know, she was sure of it.

"Clint mentioned that you might be remembering things. Are you entirely certain you want to be askin' questions, Cassie?"

"You put me in a cell because I did something to deserve it, didn't I?"

"You don't want that answer, Cassie. If I were you, I'd do anything in my power to keep those memories under lock and key."

"Thank you, sir," she said, before turning and walking away.

********************

"We going for shawarma, this time?" Natasha asked, as they approached a Quinjet set to fly them back to New York.

"What?" Cassie asked, looking over at her.

"After the whole thing with Loki and the Chitauris, we went out and Tony bought us shawarma. It was good," Clint said, putting his arm around Cassie's shoulders.

She turned her head slightly. "Clint, can I talk to you?"

"Course. Hey, Tasha, get the jet started. We'll be in in a minute," Clint called, before leading Cassie away from the jet. "What's wrong?"

"When we get back to New York... I'm not going to stay."

"Wha-what do you mean?"

"I'm not quitting or-or running away, this time, but... I need some time to... find myself again. This whole event, it just showed me that... I started running long before Austria. The last few years, I've been running. I ran from telling Phil about Faye, I ran from telling anybody about what Loki did to me. I dropped everything on that one. Stopped going to school, just drinking and working and getting as little sleep as I could survive on, which is very little when you're a superhuman." She looked down at her hands, the dirt and blood caked under her fingernails. "Clint, I don't want to run any more. I want to try for a... a new normal. I want to go back to school, finish my Bachelor's degree. I want to... work in one of Tony's labs again and sleep without fear for a while."

"And you need... space for that?"

"No. I would want you to come with me, or visit me between missions or something."

"I've been considering retirement. I mean, Laura's about to have another baby and she might need some help around the farm. You willing to live-"

"On the farm? Hell, no," she said, with a smile. "But if you live at the farm, I'll visit... as often as I can."

"And where would you be living? Where would you want to start this new normal?" Clint asked, taking her hand and walking back toward the jet.

"I don't know. I haven't had time to think about it. Maybe, West Coast again. Washington, Oregon, maybe," Cassie said, as she walked up the ramp to sit in one of the jump seats.

"What's on the West Coast?" Steve asked.

"She's got to talk to you, Boss," Clint said, pulling Cassie out of the seat pushing her toward Steve and replacing her in the chair.

Cassie looked down, then up into Steve's eyes. "I want to go back to school. Life's short... unless you get frozen for 70 years. I... haven't accomplished any of the things I set out to do when I got released from the Fridge and I just... want to finish something."

"On the West Coast? There aren't any schools in New York?"

"I... I just feel like there might be too many distractions if I stay in New York."

"Distractions. Okay. Will you be coming back after you get your degree?" Steve asked.

"Of course. I love being an Avenger. I love the team, but I have to take this break. I promise it won't be long. I'm only 12 credits from my Bachelor's and then, I can come back."

"You're gonna need a job while you're playing student." Tony walked up. "I've got a small R&D lab in Olympia. You wouldn't be interested in running it, would you?"

"What?"

"Yeah, guy I had on it before had to transfer, or something believable, like that. I don't, actually, have a lab in Olympia, but I could by next week. We doin' this?"

Cassie scoffed in surprise. "People are going to complain about favoritism, Tony."

"Who? To who? Not to me, and Pepper loves you. Besides, who better to head up my experimental R&D division than an exper-"

Cassie put her hand up. "Don't finish that sentence. This is... amazing, thank you." She stepped toward him. "I'm gonna hug you."

"Don't do that. Oh, y-you don't listen." Tony put his hands up as Cassie wrapped her arms around him. "Maybe I shouldn't put you in charge, if you can't follow instructions."

"Shut up, Tony. Don't ruin it," she said, squeezing him before pulling back and looking around the jet.

"You'll come back, though?" Steve asked, again.

"Definitely," she said, with a smile.

"Might be a good time to mention that I, uh, am gonna be heading out, too. Need some family time after what just happened," Clint piped up.

"Nobody saw that coming, did they?" Tony quipped, heading toward the cockpit.

"We won't even be in the same state, Stark. Shut up," Clint said as Cassie looked away from Steve.

"Are you and Clint-" Steve whispered.

"This isn't a conversation for-" Cassie started.

"Yes. Since the party, Steve," Natasha called from the cockpit

"It's no one's business!" Clint shouted, his hand going over his face.

"You're not wrong, Barton. I'd rather not hear about it, honestly," Stark answered.

"I thought you weren't... dating?" Steve whispered.

"I wasn't... but... life is short. Too short. I realized that after Ultron attacked... I'm sorry."

"I really... have poor timing with women," Steve said, walking away.

Cassie flopped down next to Clint. "I feel like we just kicked someone's grandpa," Clint said, under his breath.

Cassie giggled and hit him on the shoulder. "Stop it. That's... not funny."

"Yeah, it is. Come on. He's a hundred."

"And? Mind and body of a thirty year old. You?"

"That's low, Queenie. I expected better from you," Clint smirked, though.

"I've never claimed to be a nice person."

"Oh, but you are."

"Says you," she whispered, leaning her head back against the metal of the jet.

KITCHEN SINK TAGS

@heyitscam99 @wonderlandfandomkingdom @unlikelysamwinchesteronahunt @mrs-meghan-winchester @henrymorganme @lonely-skys @allykat2108

[inawickedlittletown]

missjmelville replied to your post “Just finished up the next Siberia chapter. I still need to go back...”

So hey question. How long do you think it will take to edit and post and finish this story? I hate WIPs in that I am so impatient. Just trying to decide if it’s worth waiting til your done and then bingeing the whole fic or continuing reading as it’s posted...

The real answer is I honestly don’t know when it will be finished because I don’t know how long its going to be. 

I don’t really outline or anything and the part I started writing last night timeline wise would be placed in the time between Civil War and Homecoming or at least those months between Peter arriving back home and the rest of Homecoming. Currently the plan is to go through to Infinity War and past it to finish the fic which is quite a bit of ground to cover since so much of Homecoming is not going to be in line with canon (at least I currently think it won’t unless it fits in with where Peter and Tony are which I do think some aspects of it do)

Currently I am writing chapter 59. I have up to chapter 53 edited except that I have to go back and edit chapter 43 and 44 before I post them and also make a few more changes in one more chapter between 44 and 53 to then call all of that edited and even then I’m known for just going in and changing things when I feel like something isn’t quite what I want it to be. 

But as you can tell I haven’t been updating as often as I was before at almost a chapter a day/every other day. And that’s mostly to do with it being summer (because I’m outside more) and that I’m working 40 hours a week now which has cut down my time considerably so I actually don’t have the time to post and I’m not writing as quickly as I was before. I’ve only just got back to writing because I think I edited for almost a whole month without writing and now I’m finally getting back into the writing of it (and writing doesn’t take me as long as editing). So at this point I’m at posting 2 chapters a week for the next few weeks and hopefully I’ll manage to start posting more than just 2 asap because I don’t really like holding back ready chapters. 

Ultimately it’s your choice, but I think it will definitely be a month or maybe more to get through posting everything I have written right now and I just don’t know how many more chapters we’ll have after that. But I definitely get where you’re coming from. WIPs are hard to read. It’s one of the reasons I’ve tried to update frequently and will hopefully get back to that pace soon. 

[xyliane]

sugarhighs and chaperones

summary: just because people ship gon and killua, doesn’t mean they realize gon and killua are already together. killua’s daughter and a motley crew of his students take it upon themselves to correct this issue. leorio does not understand how he keeps getting roped into these things.

notes: a very special thanks to @sunfloweranimator whose comment on a previous headcanon post lead to...this mess. gen, fluff featuring inedal zoldyck, fourteen year old troll, leorio paladiknight who is too old for this shit but it’s not his problem if the kids are sugarhigh, a collection of well-meaning but ridiculous students, and killugon in their thirties. 1800 words.

notes the second: I’m so sorry for the delay, but next chapter of “all roads” is going up in the next few days! I was computer-less for most of the weekend still need to edit and this was half-phone-words

---

“Hey oldest geezer, I’ve got a question.”

“Inedal, you’re my favorite fourteen year old, but you know you can call me Leorio. Or Uncle Orio, like your siblings. Or Dr. Paladiknight if you feel polite for once.”

“But if Dad is the geezer, then you’re the oldest geezer.”

Leorio is immediately and viscerally reminded that Inedal is Killua’s daughter to an almost terrifying degree, her voice over the phone matter of fact like she’s stating the obvious for an idiot. He carefully turns away from the chart he’d been staring at to press fingers against his already pulsing forehead. He’s almost used to Killua’s oldest calling him at odd hours about topics ranging from wrapping sprains (so Killua won’t know) to how to unbreak a broken lockpick (so Killua will know). But usually, she just barges in with whatever it is she needs, knowing Leorio will have what she needs. That she’s hedging means either she’s growing up or wants something she’s not comfortable with. “So what’s your question?” he says.

She hums tunelessly, probably flipping a coin or a knife across her knuckles. Leorio almost starts to ask again, before she blurts out, “How do you go on a date?”

Aaahhh. Leorio leans back in his chair, a smug grin growing on his face. She’s a little younger than her dad had been before he’d started asking about this sort of thing, but it’s about time. Although why she’s asking Leorio and not Gon is another question entirely. Maybe she doesn’t want Killua to know. “So who’s the lucky kid?” Leorio asks. “Is it one of Killua’s students? Or someone from school?”

“Ew, gross!” Inedal half-screams, her voice echoing like she’s pulled the phone away from her ear. “No, this isn’t me! This is setting up Dad and Gon!”

“But...” Leorio crunches his eyebrows together. “They’ve been together for years. Hell, you know they’re together.”

“I know. But Gon only just got back, and some of Dad’s students don’t know, and they’re trying to set them up with each other to try to get my old man to relax a little.” She blows out a puff of air. “They don’t appreciate that he is relaxed, especially now that Gon’s back. He’d be training them over minefields, not the cliffs outside of your city, if he wasn’t relaxed. It’s obvious.”

And there’s the headache. “Have you been stealing their things again?”

“Only when the old man doesn’t notice. And I’m training my hatsu!”

Leorio is understandably terrified when she finally figures that out. Killua had to adopt the prodigy thief girl. “Inedal. Dating. Your dads.”

“Killua’s my dad, Gon’s Gon.”

“Right, right.”

“So? You gonna help me get them on a stupid date so the idiot teenagers my dad teaches can get their heads out of their asses?” Leorio waits, hoping that Gon’s influence holds out a little bit. She finally relents. “Please?”

“Anything for my favorite fourteen year old.”

----

Leorio regrets the anything almost immediately. She’s Killua’s kid, raised by Killua and Gon themselves. She will never fight fair, and uses every skill at her fingers to get what she wants. Which is how Leorio ends up chaperoning a mess of young adults, plus Killua’s kids Inedal and Fen, into a cafe in the bushes outside of Naclabore’s fifth most famous outdoor fish restaurant. It’s not the most expensive, and definitely not the most attractive, but it’s a place Leorio ends up going when he’s taking favored patients once they’ve healed after a particularly risky procedure, or the occasional friend blowing in from out of town. That the cafe next door has such convenient bushes for observation is completely a coincidence.

“How many of you have mastered zetsu?” Leorio asks.

About half of the teenagers thrust their hands in the air, cocky grins on their faces belying their overconfidence. Killua would eat his students alive if he knew they were overplaying their hands. The ones that have mastered it, two or three of the students as well as Fen and Inedal, have been in it since they got within sight of the restaurant. Leorio too, but he’s been a doctor for more than a decade and friends with some of the most reckless idiots in the world for two. It’s self-preservation. Not that Gon or Killua has been very good at that either.

Well. Leorio’s a doctor, not a teacher. Not his job. And Gon and Killua seem to be having a good time, wide grins on both their faces and only occasionally reaching over the table to toy with each other’s hands. At one point, Gon brushes something off of Killua’s cheek, and two of Killua’s students turn to each other and make a noise like tires squealing against pavement. “Okay, so. Those who know zetsu, can stay. Those who don’t, get going.” He turns to Inedal, who’s opening cameras on four different phones with a sly cat-like grin on her face. “Can I leave now? I have work tomorrow.”

“Oldest geezer, we both know you’re sticking around.”

“Yeah, Uncle Orio!” Fen adds, his grin wide and guileless. “We’ll pay for your lunch, too.”

Leorio eyes the ten year old boy and the fourteen year old girl, and looks right at the oldest of Killua’s students. Razin stares right back at him. While not Killua’s longest-taught student, Razin’s in their early twenties and seems to have accepted that Inedal is too stubborn for her own good. Much like her dad and Gon.  “You're here,” they say, shrugging, and settle back into their salad.

“You’re talkative,” Leorio mutters, and they smirk and shrug again. “Fine, I’ll stay til they leave. But this is your fault.”

----

A list of things Killua’s students think they know about Gon, as per them not shutting up the entire time Leorio’s eating his lunch. (Inedal, thankfully, follows through on Fen’s promise. She also looks like a cat that ate a dozen canaries, so Leorio gives up bothering to stay in zetsu. If he’s getting a paid-for day off, he’s going to enjoy it.)

1. Gon is Killua’s best friend. 2. Gon is a two-star lost hunter best known for tracking down Ging Freecss multiple times, getting gem hunter Iundara Gola to finally accept payment on almost forty years of work, and how he helped end a war with Killua. 3. Gon is able to vanish into the woods and return weeks later having saved three endangered species and a giant hawk. 4. Gon can turn his whole right arm into a sword that he uses to carve trees into boats. 5. Gon once swam from the Yorubian continent all the way to the Bergerose Nations to find the right swarm of shrimp for a dinner for his mom. (Leorio nearly chokes on his drink at this one, because he knows exactly what they’re talking about, and...no. No. But yes. But no.)

A list of things Killua’s students think will happen with Gon and Killua, kept PG more likely due to Leorio’s adultly presence than Inedal and Fen’s youthful egging on.

1. Kissing. How many dates before it happens is a debate that lasts all lunch. 2. Easier training sessions while Killua daydreams over his best friend, an idea that a few of the more intelligent students shoot down immediately, but such voices of reason are drowned out. 3. More dates, which means less time spent being zapped for inadequate form.

That Inedal isn’t telling them most of these lists is complete and total bullshit of one form or another, says more about her ability to keep her mouth shut for the sake of the game than any inconsistencies in narrative. Fen is practically vibrating, spinning increasingly ridiculous tall tales about things Gon and Killua have done, until his ice cream arrives and he buries himself up to his elbows in the frozen dessert.

Absolutely none of this is Leorio’s fault. He’s just the chaperone.

----

The only warning most of the not at all covert gathering of students has that Gon and Killua have finished their lunch is how Inedal mysteriously vanishes from sight midway into a conversation with one of the students about how she does her hair. The student looks briefly puzzled before Killua appears all but out of nowhere right behind her. “We’re doing zetsu training for the next two weeks,” he says with the sort of gleeful menace usually reserved for melodramatic laughter by movie villains.

Almost the entire table scrambles to their feet, dishes scattering across the stone. Leorio narrowly rescues the last of his wine, sipping it as casually as he can with Killua’s grin widening to something horrible. “Sup, old man. It’s been a while.”

“Leorio!” Gon calls, and Leorio is half-choked by Gon leaning in for a hug. He’s not as tall as Killua or Leorio, but he’s built as solid as ever, and his hug is strong and tight.

“Welcome back to civilization, buddy” Leorio says.

Killua exchanges a look with Gon, and he sighs. “What are you even doing here. With my students. And...” He tilts his head to the side, lightning flickering through his thick ponytail. There’s a yelp from overhead, and Inedal bounces out of the tree, glaring and embarrassed at being found. “Two of my kids.”

“You need to stop teaching Inedal how to wrap people around her fingers.”

“You need to stop letting her.” But he ruffles his daughter’s hair affectionately nonetheless, leaving her pigtails a staticky mess. She huffs and plops into the seat next to Leorio.

Fen all but vibrates his way up Gon’s arms, tugging at the shorter-than-usual spikes on Gon’s head. Leorio guesses he got it trimmed before meeting up with Killua and the kids. “You got a date with Pa!” Fen says, smile wide.

“I did,” Gon says, and smiles warmly. Killua’s cheeks turn a little pink.

“You gonna go on another?”

Gon’s smile stays the same, but his eyes dance. “I dunno, Fen. That’s all up to Killua.”

“What do you mean it’s up to me,” Killua grumbles. “You’re the one who--”

“You have to take him out again!” one of the students says, hopes higher than Yorknew Tower.

“Yeah! Killua’s a great guy, and a great teacher!’”

“He’s kind of an asshole about his chocolate, but I’m sure you’re already used to it!”

“And he talks about you a lot, even if the stories seem weird.”

“Did you really catch stars in your fists?”

Killua holds up a hand, and everyone shuts up almost instantly. Leorio is more than a little impressed. Until Killua opens his mouth and says, “Wait, are you dumbasses trying to hook me up with Gon?”

“That is why all the students set you up,” Inedal says, and picks at her nails to avoid Killua’s boggled stare. “They even paid for Uncle Leorio’s help.”

“I wasn’t paid!”

“You got lunch. And dessert.”

“Which Fen ate.”

“Which you let Fen eat. He eats too much ice cream. Aren’t you a doctor? Shouldn’t you tell him to balance it with carrots or something?”

Killua and Gon both choke back laughter. Or more accurately, Killua started groaning about Fen and sugarhighs, while Gon asks, giggles tickling out of the back of his throat, “I don’t know, Killua. Dating sounds fun.”

“Gon, we’ve been together for fifteen years.”

“But we never officially dated, Killua. Boyfriend and boyfriend. Wouldn’t that be nice?”

Killua opens his mouth to say something absolutely ear-meltingly awful and not at all safe for Leorio’s mind, but holds off at the last minute. Maybe he thinks better of it and has actually grown up at some point in the last twenty-plus years. Maybe he catches sight of his kids. Instead he says to Gon, “More dates this time. You’re buying.”

“Half.”

“Two-thirds. And as for you all...” Killua glances at his best friend and smirks. “Before we start in on retraining your zetsu, we’re going to go back to camp straight through the mountains. Inedal, I think you could use a refresher too. Gon, you mind grabbing what we need?”

A chorus of terrified groans echoes around Leorio, who simply leans back and enjoys the chaos.

[crashdevlin]

To Hell and Back- 5: Highway to Hell

To Hell and Back Masterlist

Author’s Note: Originally posted to ao3 (This is an edited and improved version). This is an AU of my story ‘Marion’ and is just as epic as that series. 

Summary: Marion’s relentless nature gets her in serious trouble.

Pairing(s): Crowley x Marion

Word Count: 3273

Chapter Warnings: descriptions of child abuse, Hell, torture

Marion was seven hours into her twenty hour drive when she got a call from Dean. "Hey. Haven't heard from you in weeks. Tryin' to pull a 'Dad' on me?"

"No. I'm trying to pull a 'Sam'. You know, I was told to stay away." She responded.

She could hear Dean sigh through the phone. "Look, I didn't mean-"

"You did, D., but it's fine, dude. I totally understand. You need to spend time with Sam. He's gone revenge horny and you have to be with him... without me. It's cool. It's been a long time since I've had some peace and quiet, so I'm cool with this. Just tell me that you guys are keeping safe."

"Of course, we are. So, what are you up to? Any interesting hunts on the horizon?"

"No. It's all quiet on this end." She said, soliciting a scoff from the demon in her passenger seat.

"Sammy and I have been pretty busy, actually. A wendigo a couple weeks ago, a kid haunting the families of the boys who killed him after that and we just got a call from Jerry Panowski. Remember him? The, uh, the pol-"

"Poltergeist, yeah. I remember him."

"Yeah, well, there was this plane crash. He says there's somethin' janky about it."

"Oh, a plane crash? Cool, so you're finally gonna try out those Homeland credentials?"

"Maybe." There was a moment before. "How'd you know?"

She rolled her eyes. The amount of attention she paid her brother was ridiculous when confronted with the amount of attention her twin didn't pay her. "Just a good guess, I guess."

"Hey. I, uh, it won't be long, Marion. He's still not sleeping, but I'll get him back on track and we'll be fine. All of us. We'll track down Dad and it'll be like old times."

"Gods, I hope not, Dean." She exclaimed. "If it's gonna be like it was five years ago, I'd be better off just staying gone."

"What's that supposed to mean?" She'd known he was going to be offended.

"Do you honestly not remember, D.? Ten years ago, Dad started ignoring me and got all paranoid about Sam. The shouting matches between them started and he beat Sam more with his words than he ever beat me with his fists. I was an outsider for years before that but once Dad started ignoring me and you went to defending Sam, I was fucking invisible. If you and Sam find Dad and it goes back to the way it was before, then I would be happier alone."

"Dad never hit you." Dean growled. "I wish you wouldn't say that. I didn't see it. Sam didn't see it. We lived in motel rooms, Marion. If Dad hit you, we would've seen."

"You were so far up that man's ass, you could see where his fists were! Fuck, you didn't want to see! And Sammy? Dad was good at keepin' shit from him. Sammy didn't even know where Dad went all the time 'til he was eight years old!" She took a deep breath and bit her bottom lip. "Bobby knew. Bobby knew what Dad was doing. Why do you think he took me in, taught me how to defend myself? It wasn't so that I could hunt, that's for damn sure! Look, you believe whatever the fuck you want, D., but I will not be coming back to the same shit I dealt with for my whole life." She hung up and threw the phone into the backseat.

"Delusional, innit he?" Crowley asked, looking over at her.

Marion tried to fight the angry tears that were trying to pop up in her eyes. "They both had blinders on for that time of our lives, and they always have blinders on when it comes to each other. If nothing else, Crowley, this whole 'staying away from the family' thing is letting me get some shit off my chest that I never would've said in the past."

She wondered, sometimes, if it really was as bad as she remembered it to be. She often feared she might've given herself to Crowley for nothing.

Crowley seemed to sense where her mind had wandered. "I remember watching it happen, once. You were twelve, I believe. Mr. Singer was called on a hunt and sent you back to your father. Dean left to go chase a girl at the arcade down the street and Sam had fallen asleep in bed reading. John came back to the motel, drunk on somethin' cheap. You were watching Scooby Doo, he felt you should have been working on your knife skills. He grabbed your collar and shook you but his drunken fingers lost their grip and you went flying into the TV."

She nodded. "When he pulled me up off the ground, he pulled so hard that he dislocated my shoulder." She whispered.

"Your brothers didn't even ask why you were favoring yer arm or why you were having trouble hearing them with your right ear."

"They sure noticed the TV was busted, though." She chuckled. "You smoked into that biker at the next stop. I've never seen my Dad so bruised and bloody, not from any hunt he's ever been on."

Crowley gave a small smile. "They don't remember anything because they don't want to. But one day, they'll know John for who he really is."

She smiled, brightly, and reached over to pat Crowley's knee. "Thank you for putting an end to that."

"It wasn't me, Darling. That was... that was you. It was your deal."

"You gave me a pretty sweet deal compared to the idiots I mark."

"I'm glad you are finally starting to realize that."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Crowley walked into his study while Marion got settled into the room he'd specifically chosen for her. He sighed as a demon wearing an old redneck appeared beside him. "You've got one of my Winchesters." The intruder said, eyes flashing yellow.

"No, I've got mine." Crowley responded. "Wanna read 'er contract?"

"I claimed the Winchester kids before those brats were even born. The only reason you have that contract is because you were able to convince Lilith that she could help you get your numbers up. If it were up to me, that one would be dead." Crowley sighed and made a show of pouring his scotch. He'd heard this spiel many times before. "She's a wild card, Crowley. She could make us or break us, and I find the boys much easier to manipulate. Don't think for a single minute that you really have her under your control. Contract or not, she's a hunter."

"She's not just a hunter, Azazel. She's a Winchester. Instill loyalty and they will follow you to the ends. I've got her as long as her family keeps pushing her away." Crowley smiled, sarcastically. "Wild card: tamed."

"I hope you're right, Crowley."

"Crowley... who's this?" Marion asked, walking into the study and giving a wary look to the other demon in the room. "Thought it was just gonna be you, me, and the hounds."

"Can't help the higher-ups comin' to check on us, love. Marion, Azazel, Marion." Crowley motioned between the two with his scotch glass.

Marion looked at Azazel for a few long moments, her breath coming in short, her heart racing as she fought panic and rage. "I'm not feeling very well. I'm gonna go lay down." She swallowed before retreating from the room. Crowley was following right behind her and, as soon as the door to her bedroom closed, she turned to him with fury. "You've been lying to me! For years!"

Crowley shook his head. "What do you mean?"

"I recognize him! Not the man, not that meat suit, the eyes! Those jaundice-looking, sickly yellow eyes! He's the one who killed my mom! And Sam's girlfriend, right?!" Crowley opened his mouth to respond, but Marion didn't give him time to answer. "Because they got in the way of whatever your bosses have planned for my family and you want me to just sit back and be your fucking house human? What kind of person would I be, what kind of hunter would I be, if I didn't try to warn them?"

Her breath was coming in short as she ranted. "How can I sit here and play pretend like I'm your pet? Sit here, surrounded by the monsters manipulating my family to their own ends and not say anything?"

"Marion, please... don't make me-" Crowley's eyes pleaded but she felt no pity.

"I won't ever stop trying. Any chains you place on me, be they literal or metaphysical, I will break them, and you will have to explain to Lilith why you had to kill me." She shook her head as angry tears started to pour down her face. "You might as well take me to Hell now, Fergus, because I'm never gonna stop."

A hand appeared on her shoulder as the redneck with the yellow eyes showed up behind her. "I thought you'd never ask."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Marion woke up in a chair, drenched in sweat, with the smell of sulfur pervading her senses. It was such a hot rotten egg smell that it made her gag. "You've brought a live one? How did you even manage?"

"Crowley had her on contract. Didn't even have to engage a reaper. She's here, but no one can know she's here. We don't want her being found. Oh, and you can't let her die. Anything else is fair game, Alistair."

"Can't let her die? She's a human in Hell! Why can't I kill her?"

"Believe me, I feel your pain, but if she dies, she goes up." Azazel jabbed two fingers upward. "And she knows a lot more about our plans than I want Heaven privy to. Just give her some of that potato soup you used to whip up for the Jews, keep the torture less than fatal and we'll be fine. After we finish the plan, then you can take her out."

"So... you're Crowley's bitch." Alistair walked over to her as Azazel disappeared. "It's been a long time since I had to worry about keeping a victim alive. It's definitely a unique challenge down here. So, did you get caught with something you should have left alone? So curious, you humans."

Marion looked at him defiantly but said nothing as he slowly brought a knife to her sweat-soaked clavicle. "I love when they think they can hold out. You think you're strong because you're a hunter, a soldier for your father's cause. In the end, you are just a fragile little girl in a vessel full of pain receptors... and I know just how to activate every single one of them."

"But you won't." She whispered, hopefully.

He smirked. "Why wouldn't I?"

"Because..." She swallowed. "You need to keep me alive. If you torture me the way you want, I'll go into shock and I'll die. If I have no hope, no reason to try to hang on... if you put me in a position where I might have any say in whether I live or die... I will choose to die, and you can't let that happen. So... you'll have to go soft on the torture, Al."

"You're right, of course. But I have all the time I need to slowly break every part of you, and unlike every other soul in this place, you won't be made whole again at the next dawn." He dug the knife into her skin, slicing a shallow cut from her clavicle to her navel and smiling as she cried out in agony.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Marion spent much of the next few decades screaming. She was usually alone, but for Alistair. Every couple of years, Azazel would show up to see if she was still alive and to mockingly monitor her mental state. Lilith showed up just twice to taunt her. She never saw Crowley and after a few years, she didn't think she wanted to.

She didn't try to talk, anymore, her voice disused except to scream in Alistair's face. She thought she might have even forgotten how to speak until the day Azazel walked into her cell with a guest in tow. Her eyes widened at the sight of her father... his soul, anyway.

Her voice was hoarse, but she managed a whisper. "Dad?"

"I'm so happy to see this little family reunion! It's not every day we get to see something so touching in Hell." Azazel quipped.

"Marion, what are you- your brothers have been looking for you for months." John's voice was pure confusion, but his words made Marion tear up at the thought that she'd only missed several months on Earth, while she'd spent a century in Hell, alone and in pain.

"It's been quite a bit longer for poor, young Marion, and to answer for her, since I know this is all a bit overwhelming... she fell in with a bad crowd, John. She made friends with a demon, a pissant little crossroads demon." Azazel slammed his hands down on her shoulders and she whimpered. "Between that and her nosy Winchester nature, we had to shove her deep into the Pit so that we could maintain the plan."

"Friends with a demon? What is he talking about, Marion?" John asked, his voice full of accusations.

Marion looked down, dread filling her as she was forced to finally divulge her greatest secret to her father. "He saved my life. Back before Mom, before this hunting bullshit, before any of us knew about monsters." She closed her eyes. "We were at the park when D. and I were four. Dean begged and pleaded and finally convinced you to get us ice cream from the truck. I was more interested in a butterfly, this pretty yellow and blue one. I chased it out of the park and it flew into the street. There was a truck and it would've flattened me, but Crowley pulled me back just in time."

Marion looked up. "He disappeared so fast and I was so young... I thought I imagined it... but then I saw him again after the fire and he kept showing up whenever I was alone and I was alone a lot. He told me when i was nine that he was a demon, but... he'd always been so good to me, so I didn't think it mattered."

"Here's my favorite part, John." Azazel cut in.

"He saved my life on several hunts." Her voice had started coming in stronger, but much more hoarse for the effort. "And when you started hurting me, I knew I could count on him to stop it, but I... I didn't want him to hurt you to get the job done. I knew it was the alcohol and the stress and the sadness you felt when you looked at me and saw Mom. So... to make it stop without hurting you, I made a deal." She gasped out a sob as her body tried to cry but was too dehydrated to manage the tears. "I agreed to help Crowley find people who tried to run from the hounds, and he made it where I'm invisible to you when you're drunk. That's why you never noticed me anymore, because you're always drunk."

"You sold your soul?" John growled.

"No. I sold my life. You sold your soul. Which one did you do it for?"

John looked away. "Dean was dyin'. I had to."

Marion shook her head. She knew more than John thought she did. "Because somebody's gotta stop Sammy if this prick's plan works, right? You would've done it yourself if you thought you could, but no, you leave it to his brother to kill him."

"I just gave up my life and my soul and the only weapon that could take this monster down to save your brother! What else can I give?"

"Nothing now." She said, looking from her father to the demons standing over them. "Just... don't give them what they want! No matter what they do, don't-!" Marion managed to frantically get out half of her warning before Azazel's fist connected with the side of her head.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Marion had woken up alone and stayed that way for a while, decades. Alistair had stopped coming to torture her, having found a new Winchester to play with that he didn't have to worry about keeping alive. Gallons of water, buckets of 'potato soup' which was mostly just potato water, and vitamin pills kept showing up with an increased frequency. So when her cell door opened and a form slunk in, she almost felt up to whatever fight was coming.

Crowley turned around from silently closing the cell door and surveyed the scene before him. If he hadn't known he was in the right place, he would never have recognized her. She was seventy-five pounds, if she was soaking wet, and she was covered in dirt and dried blood. On the wall over her head, there were hash marks, seemingly drawn in blood. A quick count told him that there were three hundred and sixty-five of them. More than half of them had a circle around it. Days and years. He heard a shuddering sigh as he stepped closer to her.

"You never came." She whispered and he had to school his face to keep his emotions at bay.

"It took me this long just to find you, Pony." His words were soft, and he used a nickname from her youth to put her at ease. "You think Azazel would just tell me where he put the only thing..." He faltered before continuing. "...worth taking from me?" He walked forward and pulled on her shackles to break the links. "I've spent years trying to find you, couldn't be blatant about it, called in favors from people I've been holding for centuries. Come on, stand up."

She shot a weak glare at him. "Do I look like I can stand?" She whispered.

"Well, if you wanna get out of here, you're gonna find the will to walk, sweetheart."

"Out?"

"Out." He insisted, helping her to her feet and ignoring the way the wounds and scars under his hands made him want to kill Alistair. "Out of Hell. A lot's happened since you've been gone, Pony. Sam died, Dean sold his soul at a crossroads and now the tin soldier who killed Baby Brother is on the way to open the Gates of Hell and let everyone out, which is sure to be a party. Sam and Dean are on their way to stop him, but he's bound to get the gates open for a few minutes, at least. I'm going to draw you a map. The soldier is gonna open that gate in about nine hours." Crowley pulled out a familiar piece of paper and turned it over, drawing a map.

He handed her the map, making sure Marion could see that it was drawn on her contract. "You make it there. You don't get caught. You make it here." He pointed to the far point on the map. "You make it topside and you burn the map. Azazel and Lilith can't bring you back without the clause in your contract saying your body can cross without a Reaper. Get topside, burn the map. Understand?"

She nodded, weakly. "Topside. Burn it."

Crowley ran his thumb across her dirty cheek and sighed. "Good luck, Pony."

She took a shaky step toward the door and sent and unaddressed prayer up to anyone who was listening. "Please, let me get out safe."