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justwearthegoddamncardigan · 6 months

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Hi Rin! I've been reading your writings and I've been having the best fun, thanks you for the hard work! Seeing that you are accepting requests I was wondering if you could do a Minho x reader? (Female if possible but ofc if not that's good too!) With reader having a sweet and caring personality and Minho at the beginning scoffing at her bc he thinks everyone is too soft on them but newt and others commenting of him being hyper aware so they tease him saying he has a crush? And then a scene where he starts developing feels and he's like nonono but there's no way out hehe. Hope you have a very lovely day!

This is so cute!!!!!! Thanks for requesting (and waiting 😭) ❤❤

Got a very teenage vibe from this as I was writing, hence the title

Teenage dream

Minho x fem!reader

Set during tmr (movieverse, before Thomas)

Notes: this is more of a Minho pov fic? Hope that's ok :))) Kinda switches back to reader at the end though

Warnings: vomit tw, language, reader's drunkness levels change drastically within minutes, ALSO TEENAGE AWKWARDNESS TO THE MAX, I swear Minho has better game in my other fics, he's just a silly sweet guy here lmao

"Light 'em up!"

Minho stands back as the other boys throw their stakes into the bonfire, watching you giggle at their raucous cheers from across the Glade, an involuntary smile rising on his face.

Before long, the party's in full swing; meaning everyone is now yet again horribly, stupidly drunk.

Minho, as usual, has only had a bit of Gally's concoction, and is idly chatting with Ben as he hears a loud crash.

"What the..."

He leaves Ben, jogging over to the scene to see... of course.

It's you, the two-months-in Greenie, and you're sprawled out on the ground in a mess of barrels that have been knocked down, potatoes spilling everywhere.

Your arms are tangled with Newt's- Newt? and you're both laughing, harder than Minho's seen Newt laugh in a while.

"We- the potatoes. The potatoes," Newt manages to say, gasping between cackles.

"Eh. Problem for tomorrow," you sing, extracting yourself from the barrels and potatoes that are now all over the ground.

"Here," says Minho, containing his eyeroll and stepping forward to offer Newt an arm.

"Thanks, man."

Minho tugs Newt up, and yep, he's plastered cause Newt flies up and stumbles forward, crashing into an amused Jeff and nearly sending them both tumbling down.

You stand beside Newt, body folding in laughter as you reach out to grab his arm.

"What's going on?" Alby's voice cuts through the chaos.

You wobble over to him, grabbing one of his hands and clasping it between both of yours in a praying motion. "Sorry, Albs. We'll clean it up in the morning, promise."

"Yeah, you better," says Alby, and his voice is stern but Minho can see the smile reaching his eyes.

What the hell? What happened to their strict leader?

"Thanks, leader man," you say with a grin, patting his chest and giving him a cheesy thumbs up.

Suddenly shouts sound out nearby, and Minho turns to see someone staggering around before turning and throwing up right onto a tabletop.

"Dammit, Ben," mutters Jeff, pinching the bridge of his nose and rushing over.

"Did someone throw up?" Minho hears you ask, before you jog over, veering slightly off to the side as you run.

He sighs and follows you, to where the Gladers are standing around Ben making various ew and gross sounds as if they don't have someone chuck up at least every couple months.

"I ain't cleaning this up for you," Minho tells Ben as he helps him up.

"The whole damn table is gonna stink for months," groans Jeff, looking over the table the Medjacks lent for the bonfire.

"Sorry," mumbles Ben, his words slurring slightly.

"It's alright," you say comfortingly, grabbing a piece of wood you got from god knows where and scraping the stuff into a bin.

"Hey, strong men," you call. "Grab this table and go spray it at the hose."

"Sorry," repeats Ben.

Minho sighs, and shakes his head. "Not your fault you're a lightweight," he says light-heartedly, punching his friend in the arm gently.

He watches as you wash your hands quickly before grabbing a cup of water and bringing it over to Ben.

"Here," you say, handing it to him. "Don't worry, the table's fine. Worst case we'll use it as firewood for next time."

You trip slightly as you step back, and Minho shoots out an arm to grab your waist before he even knows what he's doing. "Alright?" he asks.

You grin, patting his arm. "Guess I'm not as steady as I thought I was."

"Oh really," Minho lifts an eyebrow. "You thought you were steady when you fell into three barrels of potatoes?"

"Ya know, the one time that happens..."

"You mean, just now?"

"Yeah, that one time,"

"Stop with this couples banter," groans Ben. "My head hurts."

"Hungover and drunk at the same time," you say, nodding so sympathetically Minho genuinely can't tell if you're acting or not. "Here, let's get you to bed."

⭒----⭒

"Every month we manage to top the last month's mess," announces Alby, sitting on a table as he addresses the Gladers, most of whom are still waking up and groaning.

He throws out orders for each group, eyes shut and massaging his temples as he speaks, before he gets to; "Y/n, Newt. Gardeners."

"Minho and I already packed up the potatoes from yesterday," begins Alby, and Minho warms as he feels your eyes on him.

"Some of them were crushed under the barrels," Alby continues. "We lost some supplies."

You bite your lip, looking up nervously. You exchange a glance with Newt, and you're wearing identical guilty expressions.

Alby rolls his eyes. "Like scolded children, both of you. Just get to your jobs, go on."

"Thanks mate," says Newt, clapping his friend on the shoulder.

"Yeah, thanks Alby." You give him a little sheepish smile before leaving.

"I'll check on our leftover supplies," says Newt. "Minho, come with?"

"Wh- sure," says Minho, following behind.

⭒----⭒

"Something on your mind?" asks Newt, shifting some food barrels around.

"You're all too soft on her," mumbles Minho, crossing his arms.

"What's that?"

"You, all of you. With Y/n. You shouldn't be letting her get away with things just cause she smiles, or reward her cause she does one tiny nice thing."

Newt turns around, an amused expression on his face, which is infuriating but also extremely worrying.

"What," snaps Minho.

"Nothing," says Newt, all innocent. "What do you mean 'get away with'?"

"Like just then," says Minho. "She got drunk at the bonfire and made a whole mess, then what? Just flirted her way out of trouble? That's bullshit right there."

"I was with her, I made that mess too."

"You weren't the one who fell into the barrels," Minho fires back.

"And how would you know that? You must've been watching her pretty closely." Newt's full on grinning now, hands on his hips in mock sternness.

Minho deflects. "Whatever, she shouldn't get away with making a mess like that."

"Mate, everyone gets shucking plastered at the bonfires. Don't tell me you've been blind to Zart passing out on the ground every month or how Ben can hardly get through his morning runs."

"I mean, yeah, but people don't knock whole barrels of crop over."

"Winston damn near fell into the fire last month."

"That's different," insists Minho.

"Fine," says Newt, sighing. "Can we go back to when you said she flirts her way out of trouble?"

Minho freezes. "...what?"

"Go on then," says Newt, grin stretching on his face. "What'd you mean?"

Minho averts his gaze, uncharacteristically conflicted. "Ya know, just like... how she had her hands all over Alby last night, when he should've been yelling at her or something."

Newt raises an eyebrow, tilting his head at Minho. "What, did you want her to get in trouble?"

"No! Of course not," protests Minho. "Just- in general, it's not fair. To flirt like that and... you know," he finishes weakly.

"That's not flirting mate, she's just an affectionate drunk."

"Yeah... Whatever."

"You know," begins Newt. "One of these days you'll understand, and the rest of us'll be here, laughing our damn asses off at you."

Minho scrunches up his face, confused.

Newt laughs, tossing an arm around his friend. "Give it time, you'll get it."

⭒----⭒

It's a month later, after the next bonfire, that someone finally has the courage to tell it straight to Minho.

" -and people think she's like, the greatest soul to bless the Glade. It's stupid. The other day, she helped Gally carry something, ya know, cause his shoulder was shucked, and I swear, the whole of the Builders had stars in their eyes." Minho huffs, rolling his eyes.

"And," he continues. "She looks after Greenies like they're incapable of walking. Then suddenly everyone loves her?"

"Everyone loves Newt," Ben points out. "Why aren't you getting all pissed about him?"

"I'm not pissed," argues Minho. "I'm just observing... stating. People give her credit for just being a vaguely decent human being."

"Minho. You sound insane. You're literally listing good things, and twisting them into... whatever bullshit point you're trying to make."

Ben continues. "Y/n is a decent human being. She's kind, caring, better than the rest of us assholes at accommodating the newbies. She helps people out. Is that so bad?"

"I mean, no... but-,"

"But nothing!" interrupts Ben. "Why are you so obsessed, anyway? Haven't you given some thought into why you're hyperaware of her every move?"

"Oi! Are you telling him?" Newt's voice rings out from across the empty dining hall.

"Yes," says Ben, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Cause this is exhausting."

"Shuckin' finally," says Newt, clapping Ben on the shoulder as he slides into the bench beside him. "Someone needed to do it soon."

"What," snaps Minho.

"You have a crush," says Ben, tugging on his hair exasperatedly. "A stupid schoolyard crush- which I don't even have memory of, but you're just so-"

"What Ben is trying to say," interrupts Newt. "Is that you like Y/n."

"What? No, I-"

"And," Ben cuts in. "Somewhere in that thick head of yours, your lovey-dovey feelings are fighting with your denial and causing this." He gestures vaguely towards Minho.

"I don't know what you're talking about," retorts Minho.

"Of course not," says Ben flatly. "But now that we've told you, it should only be a matter of time."

"I mean..." Newt struggles for a second, before giving up, shoulders sagging. "Yeah, Ben's summed it up pretty well."

⭒----⭒

A crush? There's no way. Minho frowns to himself, lost in thought as he walks out of the shower block.

The Glade is in the best time of the day right now. It's when everyone's wrapping up the day's work and hitting the showers, before waiting around for dinner.

Minho's showered early today, so the dining area just has a few people idly sitting around chatting. He nods at Newt, who makes eye contact with him across the dining area and starts walking over.

Newt stops though, as someone else slides into the bench across from Minho. It's you.

Minho widens his eyes at Newt, who simply grins and turns to sit somewhere else.

Fine. Minho sighs internally, turning to you. "Y/n, hey."

"Hey," you greet, flicking your hair back. You've got a small towel resting on your shoulders to keep your clothes dry while your hair's still wet. Minho notes this information for no particular reason.

"Listen," you say, leaning forward intently. Pretty. The thought crosses Minho's mind without his consent. You look clean, fresh out of the shower, sunset casting your face in a warm glow. Nope, no way this is happening.

"Uh Minho, ya with me?"

" 'course," he responds quickly. "What's up?"

You grin, clearly seeing through him, but you continue anyway. "So, Ben tells me the forest around the Runners' hut is really pretty. Flowers and all. Is that true?"

"Yeah," says Minho. "The pond is nice too."

You hum, nodding in thought. "Take me sometime?"

"Yeah, sure," says Minho.

You know what, shuck it.

"Do you wanna go now?" he offers, resolve clicking inside him.

Minho's heart picks up at your smile, beaming at him. "Yeah, let's go."

⭒----⭒

"I can't believe you've never been here," says Minho, standing with his hands in his pockets as you wander around the forest.

"I can't believe no one ever brought me here," you reply. "It's beautiful."

"Yeah..." He trails off, watching you bend and smile at some purple orchids. "...beautiful." Fuck.

"Can I be honest with you, Minho?" he hears you ask.

"Of course," he responds, leaning on a tree.

"I was kinda worried," you begin, still looking down at the orchids. "That you didn't like me, or something."

Minho's eyebrows fly up. "Wh-"

"I just- I wanted to clear it up. Cause you seem like a cool person, and I'd like for us to be... friends." You sound uncertain, and Minho feels like an absolute shit.

"No!" As your head whips up, he hastily continues, "I mean, yes, of course, just-"

He groans. "It's my fault, I'm just- I was stupid. An idiot, actually. I've been-"

You've got a confused expression as Minho huffs out a frustrated sigh. "It wasn't anything like... what you're thinking. I just had some other feelings- thoughts, in the way. And I guess it came off like I didn't like you. But I do. I like you a lot," he admits.

You let out a soft laugh. "I'm glad. I didn't want it to be," you gesture vaguely. "Ya know."

Minho smiles, and seems to shake himself slightly, nodding towards a tree near the Runner's hut. "Come check out these ones."

He leads you to a tree with white flowers peeking through the leaves.

"Hey, Minho."

"Yeah?"

"What'd you mean 'other feelings'?"

Um. "What?" He asks nervously.

"You said there were 'other feelings' in the way. What did that mean?"

"Just... in general," he says weakly. "Feelings, thoughts. Etcetera."

You frown slightly at him, confused, but you're distracted as he reaches up to the tree.

"These're Ben's pride and joy," he says idly, plucking one of the flowers. "A damn pain to grow at first, but now they just bloom on their own."

You swallow as he turns to you, holding up the flower.

"Here."

Your heart beats fast as he steps into your space, and tucks the flower into your hair, behind your ear.

Neither of you move. Minho's hand is still hovering at your cheek, your face tilted up to meet his eyes, open and earnest.

Oh. Oh.

You break first, ducking your head down. "So, uh-"

"Yeah," says Minho, hand rubbing the back of his neck self-consciously.

He takes a deep breath. "So I, uh- I don't know what I'm doing, like... at all. Ya know, Ben and Newt had to sit me down and... whatever. I just- I like you," he confesses in a rush. "And I know I've done a shucked job of showing it, but I really, really like you."

You huff out a laugh, incredulous. "Minho, I like you too. That's mostly why I wanted to get closer to you."

"Oh," says Minho. "Well... do you think we could go on a date sometime? Maybe here, with the flowers. We could do dinner?"

You smile. "Yeah, I'd like that."

"Great," says Minho, grinning in a way he knows looks stupid (he doesn't care). "Cool.

"I guess we should be getting back, then." Minho gestures back to where the Glade is probably eating dinner now.

"Yeah," you agree, starting off behind him.

"Minho?" He turns at your voice, looking down at the hand you've extended, palm-up.

As he puts his arm out in the same way, slightly confused, you slip your hand in his, interlocking your fingers. You see his wide grin as you glance to your side.

"Hey, Y/n, think that date can be tomorrow?"

"Yes, absolutely."

Went full teenager throwback for this one - the awkwardness is tangible

Thanks for reading <3 Requests are open as always :)

#the maze runner #minho x reader #tmr minho x reader #tmr minho #my writing

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multi-fandom-friend · 4 months

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🌑Creepypastas Personalities and things they do in my eyes🌑

🫀 Eyeless Jack is very stoic, not showing much emotion ever. If he has to, for example if he helps to calm down Sally he’ll show concern. But outside of the mansion he never shows emotion. He’s kind when he wants to be, and isn’t completely heartless. If a pasta that he particularly likes is sick than he’ll go out of his way to check on them and grabbing something they need and once his sees that they’re okay he’s gone. If one of the proxies gets hurt in the field? He’s actually throwing a fit that they should be more careful. He’s one of those types of people where he gets mad when someone’s hurt because he couldn’t stop them from it, but he’ll never admit it.

🌲 Slenderman I see as a father figure for everyone. He’s is like a single dad. With the help of two out of his 3 brothers (offenderman is seen as a disgrace to his family’s name and unfit to be around children, especially Sally) He lets the kids (the grown adults that most of them are) rant if they want and tries to have fun with them. He understands that almost all of them didn’t have good childhoods and he feels bad. That’s why he keeps taking them in, having them promise to work for him. Once they say yes, he takes them in and the mansion grows another room (or tombs as I like to call them) 🎮 Ben is pretty nice. Sure, he’s snarky sometimes but he’s a kid. What do you expect? Plus he stays in his room most of the time or he’s hanging out with Jeff. He sees some of the other proxies as his siblings, but he’ll never admit it. Never in a billion years. He’d rather go swimming. Slender does have to trick him into showering because of how scared of water he is. Don’t ask me how bc I dunno. Personally, I would just spray him with a hose. But I digress

🧸 Sally is the average little girl, but she gets angry easily. I’m not sure where people got the notion that she wouldn’t be an angry restless spirit but that’s their opinion and it’s valid too. I feel like she’s usually nice and kind like everyone says but if she sees offenderman or anyone she deems a threat she can and will throw one of her “fits” where she makes the house rumble and she throws things towards the threat. She’s done it because she saw a spider. 🔪 Jeff is an ass. Period. But he does see the creepypastas as some sort of family. He’ll never admit it either. He makes fun of everyone because that’s how he shows affection. The only person who recognizes that is liu, his brother, who says nothing. Slender tries his best to just leave the kid alone, if he’s behind honest he’s kinda worried about him, but he says nothing. Jeff also is really smart he just never uses his brain so no one knows that.

🐍 liu is shy and quiet. Doesn’t really like talking to many of the proxies so he just keeps to himself. He only ever talks to slenderman and masky really. Sometimes he’ll have a chat with his brother, but he and his brother don’t have a very good relationship. He’s very cuddly when he wants to be and only when he wants to be. He loves a good book. Usually true crime books or something with a good plot. He doesn’t like romance novels because it reminds him too much of who he lost. He tries to be as optimistic as possible, but sometimes it’s hard for him.

🍬 LJ is giddy and goofy, always cracking weird jokes. He has learned over time what everyone’s sense of humor is so he’ll make jokes based off of that. Have dark humor? Dark jokes. Have dad humor? He’ll crack a good dad joke. Deep down he likes making people laugh still, he just doesn’t wanna be laughed at. He’s the one who hangs out with Sally the most when slenderman isn’t around because 1. He has the same childlike wonder and 2. Slenderman thinks he’s funny enough to keep that little ball of energy occupied long enough to not run off into the woods and find some poor hiker and scare the soul outta them.

🪓 Toby is kinda a mix of quiet and a fuck. He likes being nice to some people when he wants and then he’ll be a dick to others. I have a headcanon that he has BPD so that’s why he constantly switches between being nice and acting like you murdered his cat in cold blood. Usually he’s pretty nice and knows how to control it most of the time but it gets the better of him. He is also very good friends with Ben and Jeff, being nicer to Ben and meaner to Jeff. I don’t think he’d hang out with Masky and hoodie too often, but that’s just my opinion.

🚬 Masky’s just plain “I don’t want to talk to you leave me alone.” Never has liked talking never will like it. He has exceptions for certain people like Hoodie and Slenderman. Sometimes he’ll talk to liu because he’s actually one of the more chill proxies and leaves people alone unless they want to talk to him. You could also probably find him smoking outside or sitting outside Slenderman’s office because he feels important when he’s near him. 🍁 Hoodie is the opposite of Masky. Wanna talk? He’s so down. Loves talking about everything and anything. If there’s a mission, though? He stays quiet. Doesn’t talk. He’s laser focused. it’s like he has 2 different personalities.

⚕️ nurse Ann seems like the type that likes taking care of people. She is a nurse after all. She just doesn’t like men very much, considering what happened to her. She trusts most of the proxy boys not to do anything, but if they do then she doesn’t let them near her again. She gives off lesbian vibes and I kinda headcanon that she is dating or best friends with Jane. After missions she’ll patch up the people that need it and I think she’d have her own little infirmary tucked in the corner of the mansion with everything she could possibly need.

🖤 Nina is the perfect example of an extrovert. She’s so hyped up and excited that she gives Sally a run for her money. Contrary to popular belief I think she’d be pretty good friends with Jane. They both got their heart broken by Jeff but Nina continues to try and get him to love her. She likes baking and playing games with all the proxies. Sure she’s seen as annoying but she’s really one of the only extroverted people in the manor.

🕷️ Jane is quiet and kind. She likes to help where she can. I see her as religious to some extent? Not a woman of god per say but a different religion. I feel like she would be pagan and have an altar of some sort to some kind of deity. She is usually in the library reading some sort of book or bringing a book from there to the infirmary to read to Ann.

A/N: this took me a few hours to write because I had to think and plan the ones I wanted to do. Likes and reposts are highly appreciated!

#creepypasta fandom #creepypasta headcanon #jane the killer #nina the killer #jeff the killer #eyeless jack headcanon #ticci toby #nurse ann #hoodie marble hornets #mh masky #homicidal liu #sally creepypasta #laughing jack #ben drowned #slenderman

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gassywill · 11 months

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(Pt 3) The Gassy Master - Dual Punishment

The gagged twink was thrown onto the bed next to me, Jake pulled out another identical sleeping bag from the wardrobe. Ben looked over at Jake saying "We really doing this" Jake nodded and said, "Oh fuck yes we are". I didn't know what was going on, I was still hard in the sleeping bag and wanted to cum so badly. I looked to my left at the gagged and bound slave and was shocked when I noticed who it was. I must have been dazed before, after wearing that gas mask for so long. It was my friend from uni, Alfie. Was he into this? Alfie was cute but came across really straight. I couldn't imagine him being into this, he didn't look too happy though. He was trying to talk to me through his gag, his muffled screams did nothing. However, he was probably in shock at seeing me too inside a sleeping bag in a room that reeked of farts and burps and dry cum. It was at this moment Jake came over, he looked over both of us. "Ok, boys here is what's gonna happen. We need a full-time slave to use, we are going to use Aflie as leverage." Jake looked into my eyes, quite menacingly. I was scared of what they would do next. Jake continued "We have taken Alfie to convince you to stay here willingly and suffer our gas forever. He will be gas masked to my ass while I eat 2 cans of beans, he will then start to suffer when my vile gas kicks in" Alfie moaned. Trying to say no to the idea clearly, he was looking at me and Jake whilst thrashing around gagged. Jake slowly placed his hand on my dick, still hard from the toxic torture I endured. "All you have to do is say yes to me and Ben being your gassy masters for the rest of your life" I refused. They had to be joking. They wouldn't prey on someone innocent who hadn't even said they wanted it. Alfie looked in terror, Jake summoned Ben over. He brought the gas mask, to my surprise the mask was fitted over my face again, the toxic remanence still lingering. They connected the dual hose again, but this time one leading to Jake's ass and the other to Bens's. Jake ran his hand over my dick and said "Night bitch". They both opened up their asses and released a barrage of farts down the tubes, I could hear them laughing as I slowly passed out. I woke up again, this time in an upright position. Still, in the sleeping bag, it was wet around my dick, I must have cummed recently without knowing. I was still in a gas mask, could feel the tube hanging from the bottom of it but couldn't see where it went. I looked over, and opposite me tied to the wall was Alfie. He was tied up, with a gas mask on too, he looked drained. He was wearing grey joggers and a T-shirt. His grey joggers had a wet patch near his dick, had he cum too? It was at this point I needed to fart myself, I let one out it wasn't anything big but mine did tend to stink a fair bit. I thought it was in the sleeping bag so not too bad, I then heard Alfie start to choke. Ben walked in, "I see you've noticed that you now have to punish your friend" Ben picked up the hose showing it going from the bottom of my sleeping bag to Alfie's mask. Ben then picked up a separate tube going to the sleeping bag, he farted down it and watched as both me and Alfie choked on his gas. This was not going to end well...

#gassy farts #gay farts #male farts

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fleogecorpse · 9 months

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# CREEPYPASTA/MARBLE HORNETS HEADCANONS

#note : silly thoughts + and attempt to revive this dead asl account

nina is, obviously, a scene queen and has managed to drag cody into it. now they both dress like scene kids and became a lot closer, both skateboarding when they have nothing else to do.

jane’s a metalhead. often times she blasts music at full volume at her and mary’s place.

due to burning herself, nina lost all of her hair and can’t grow it anymore. as a result she wears wigs and false lashes, and draws on eyebrows. slowly though she’s getting used/more comfortable without them.

brian uses mobility aids, ‘nough said. he has a toothgap too.

until slenderman took him in BEN couldn’t stay in the outside world too long, so he mostly stayed in electronics.

helen’s both touch starved and touch repulsed.

sally’s a shy, closed off and quiet girl. she tends to stay away from the men of the mansion, and even when they grow close with her she’s still very wary.

laughing jack has no insides or anything, just an empty body that’s like a rubber hose cartoon.

liu is the lead singer/guitarist in a band

clockwork has a shaved head and she looks fucking amazing

toby has 2c-3a hair that reaches just above his chest. most of the time he wears it in a low ponytail or man bun, sometimes half up.

cody is toby and lyra’s half brother through their dad.

while the rest of his senses got enhanced, eyeless jack lost his taste.

nina knows how to play the drums, toby can play the cello, brian can play the bass, and jeff knows piano.

alex can’t play a single instrument but he has a good singing voice.

jeff is actually really good with kids, much to the others’ surprise.

helen can’t cook for shit.

they didn’t choose their aliases, it was the humans/society/idk.

#creepypasta headcanons #creepypasta #marble hornets #marble hornets headcanons #marble hornets fandom #creepypasta fandom #jeff the killer #ticci toby #ben drowned #laughing jack #jane the killer #eyeless jack #masky #hoodie #tim wright #brian thomas

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the-name-is-z · 1 month

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SKELETONS | ch. 7

daryl dixon x f!oc

masterlist

a03 link

Summary: The group encounters some obstacles on the way out of Atlanta, and none they were expecting. Warnings/Information: AMC's The Walking Dead OC Insert | 18+ Advised | strangers to lovers; the slowest of slow burns; gore; angst; horror; humour; m/f; descriptions of explosion, violence, threat of violence, suicide, entrapment, ethical arguments

Chapter 7 - Outlands

They hopped between buildings on the way out of Atlanta. Rick kept talking into his radio every day, and when Iris asked, he explained that he was speaking to a man who saved his life, in hopes he could hear him.

They decided Fort Benning was their goal, and even though they had to siphon gas along the way, abandon cars, the journey would get harder still. Shane and Iris joined the group in the RV, while Daryl switched to his motorcycle.

It was the first time Iris had left the city since the outbreak. She was uneasy, out of her comfort zone, but comfort seemed to be a concept of the past. Shane was driving Iris crazy cleaning his gun and taking the pieces apart. Though, Andrea seemed to take a liking to him.

“Oh, jeez. Ah, no.” Dale grumbled. Iris turned to see the entire road blocked up ahead, cars flooding the highway. Daryl came back from scouting ahead, having an easier time weaving in between on his bike. “See a way through?” Daryl nodded, motioning for them to follow him.

“Maybe we should just go back.” Glenn suggested, analyzing the map in his hands. “There’s an interstate bypass—“

“We can’t spare the fuel.” Dale grumbled. T-Dog rubbed a hand down his face as they watched Dale weave carefully between the cars after Daryl. It was ominous, all these abandoned cars, all these abandoned lives. A few of the cars had corpses inside, but it was hard to tell whether or not they were walkers.

“Can we get through here?” Glenn asked as they came up to a particularly thin gap. His question was answered with a loud hiss and a pop as something in the engine broke, steam flooding Dale’s field of vision. He stopped the RV abruptly, wincing as it sputtered.

“Damn.” Iris muttered. Everyone filed out of the RV as the others walked over from the car.

“I said it. Didn’t I say it? A thousand times. Dead in the water.” Dale huffed.

“Problem, Dale?” Shane asked, walking around with a shotgun.

“Just the small matter of being stuck in the middle of nowhere with no hope of… okay, that was dumb.” He shrugged, looking around as Daryl started to loot the car in front of them.

“If you can’t find a radiator hose here…” Shane trailed off.

“There’s a whole bunch of stuff we can find.” Daryl stated, elbow deep in someone’s trunk.

“I can siphon more fuel from these cars for a start.” T-Dog hurried off with a jerry can.

“Maybe some water?” Carol asked.

“Food.” Glenn nodded.

“This is a graveyard.” Lori stated, frowning at their surroundings. There was a long pause as they considered what she meant.

“Then make sure you say thank you before you put a knife in their skulls. They have no use for it, might as well benefit us.” Iris replied, wandering into the fray of abandoned vehicles. Lori scowled after her, shaking her head. Daryl snorted.

“C’mon, y’all. Just look around, gather what you can.” Shane called. Dale stayed and showed Glenn what he was doing, teaching him a thing or two while the others dispersed.

Iris was happy to dump out a duffle bag and fill it with things she liked, clothes, jackets. She found toiletries she collected as well as a few boxes of tampons. Someone was prepared when they left home. She turned as she heard some frantic whispers to see a hoard of walkers heading their way. She swore under her breath, pulling herself underneath a van. She watched as dirty shoes and feet meandered past, the others underneath cars all the way back to the RV.

She spotted T-Dog running between cars, his hand pressed tight to his arm that was bleeding profusely. She swore again. They would smell his blood. And, depending what he cut himself on it could be infected. He could get tetanus. He could bleed out, right there in the street. He stumbled, leaving a trail of fresh hot blood as he made his way closer to the RV.

A few walkers caught his scent, coming toward him as he sat back against a flipped car. Daryl slipped quietly behind one, making quick word with a knife. Iris made to get up, but she watched as Daryl laid the dead walker on top of T-Dog, pulling another on top of himself. They walked past without a second look, and Iris was impressed.

After a few minutes the shuffling had subsided, and she waited for a few more before beginning to crawl out from under the car. She ran over to Daryl, helping T-Dog up and braced on their shoulders. Iris hauled open the door of a welding truck, hoping she was right in assuming it was equipped with a first aid kit. It was, alongside a bag of clean clothing. Iris grabbed a scarf, tying it over the wound as Daryl used his bandana as a tourniquet. They brought him back to the others, who stood by the edge of the highway.

“My baby, they’re after my baby.” Carol sobbed into Lori’s shoulder. Iris followed their gaze to Rick’s silhouette whisking Sophia off into the forest, a group of walkers on his tail. With T-Dog in safe hands, she and Daryl quickly jumped the barricade, going in after him. They followed Rick’s shouting to a creek where he stood by himself.

“No, no, she was here. I left her right here.” He muttered.

“Where’s Sophia?” Iris asked, jumping down into the creek next to him. He was staring into a tree well, shaking his head.

“She’s gone. I left her right here, told her to hide. She’s gone.” Rick explained, shaking his head in disbelief.

“Sure this is the spot?” Daryl asked, examining the tree well. Rick nodded.

“I left her right here.” He repeated. “I drew the walkers off in that direction up the creek.” He pointed.

“Without a paddle— seems where we’ve landed.” Daryl stated humourlessly. Iris raised an eyebrow. Shane and Glenn broke through the brush, scoping the tree line around the creek.

“She was gone by the time I got back here.” Rick shook his head again. “I figured she’d just took off and ran back to the group. I told her, go that way, keep the sun on her left shoulder.”

“She probably got lost.” Iris muttered. “Hard to see the road from here.”

“Hey, short round. Why don’t you step off to one side, you’re mucking up the trail.” Daryl chastised, tutting as Glenn shuffled off of the trail. Iris didn’t see much of a path, but Daryl seemed to know exactly what he was looking for.

“You’d make a terrible Indie.” Iris stated, coming up behind him. He straightened, giving her side-eye before turning back to tracking. Glenn turned to her with a half-grin and she flashed one back.

“Assuming she knows her left from her right—“ Shane started.

“She understood me just fine.” Rick snapped.

“Kid’s tired and scared, man. She had her a close call with two walkers. Got to wonder how much of what you said stuck.” Shane thought aloud.

“We’ve got to consider all possibilities. She can’t be moving too fast, not tired and hungry like she is.” Iris argued.

“We’ve got clear prints right here.” Daryl agreed. “She did like you said, headed back to the highway. Let’s spread out, make our way back.”

“She couldn’t have gone far.” Rick nodded. Daryl pulled himself out of the creek, offering Iris a hand. She took it with a nod, Rick following behind her.

“Hey, we gonna find her.” Daryl assured, Rick nodding with uncertainty.

“She’ll be tuckered out, hiding in a bush somewhere.” Shane mused. Daryl led them down her trail, following her clumsy kid footprints. She’d been going straight, but started to veer off.

“She was doing just fine till right here. All she had to do was keep going. She veered off that way” He mumbled, pointing west.

“Why would she do that?” Glenn asked.

“Walker spooked her, she ran off.” Iris proposed.

“I don’t see any other footprints.” Daryl frowned. “Just hers.” Walkers made messy trails, that was for sure.

“So what do we do? All of us press on?” Shane asked.

“No. Better if you and Glenn get back up to the highway. People are gonna start panicking.” Rick denied. “Let them know we’re on her trail, doing everything we can. But most of all, keep everybody calm.”

“I’ll keep ‘em busy scavenging cars, think up a few other chores. I’ll keep ‘em occupied.” Shane assured. He nodded to Glenn, the two of them making their way back off to the highway. Daryl stood, rolling his shoulders as he led Iris and Rick further into the woods.

It was interesting, to watch Daryl work. He was fast, easily following whatever trail Sophia was leaving. Iris had to fight the urge to call out for her, but even if she was close by, drawing walkers was too risky. They slowed, weaving between trees, leaves and other litter layered heavy on the ground.

“Tracks are gone.” Rick mumbled.

“No, they’re faint, but they ain’t gone.” Daryl corrected. He pointed into the dirt. “She came through here.”

“How can you tell?” Iris asked.

“You want a lesson in tracking or you wanna find that girl and get our ass of that interstate?” Daryl asked. Iris and Rick exchanged a look, the former rolling her eyes.

They continued onward through the forest until the rustling of leaves caught their attention. They each fell into a crouch, raising their weapons. Rick gestured to the noise’s apparent source and they crept forward. They stopped, seeing a lone walker wandering through the brush at the bottom of a small slope. Rick turned back and Daryl gestured to them both to surround the walker. They ran down either side of the slope, Rick drawing it’s attention with a small whistle. It roared at him before Daryl put an arrow through it’s forehead.

They waited for a few seconds to see if that drew out any more, and when it didn’t, Rick leaned down to inspect the walker.

“Sophia!” Daryl called. Iris watched as Rick pried open the walker’s mouth.

“What are you doing?” She asked, recoiling.

“There’s skin under the fingernails. It fed recently.” Rick said lowly. “There’s flesh caught between the teeth.”

“Yeah, but what kind of flesh?” Daryl asked.

“Only one way to know for sure.” Rick said, in a ‘fuck-it’ sort of tone. Iris watched with baited breath as Rick opened its shirt and flicked open a knife.

“Here. I’ll do it.” Daryl offered, stepping over the body. “How many kills you skin and gut in your life? Anyway, mine’s sharper.” He flicked open his own knife and Iris shook her head. Everything was a damn dick-measuring contest.

He cut open its gut, sawing through the muscle and fat and began to loot through the intestines. Rick recoiled, groaning and covering his nose with a hand at the smell. Iris watched as Daryl pulled a handful of tendon and sinew and chucked it aside as if he was carving a pumpkin. He was almost elbow deep in the damn thing.

“Yeah, hoss had a big meal not that long ago. I feel it in there.” He murmured. He ripped at a piece of flesh, pulling out the stomach. “Here’s the gut bag.”

“I got this.” Rick stepped in, slicing open the delicate flesh and stretching it open. He poked at a mushy lump of half-digested something, flicking it off the end of his knife. Daryl hummed in recognition, using his own knife to spear through the skull of an animal.

“This gross bastard had himself a woodchuck for lunch.” He mused.

“Great. Can we stop playing operation and keep looking now?” Iris grumbled, taking a big step back from their cadaver.

“At least we know.” Rick stated.

“At least we know.” Daryl echoed. Iris nodded, using her bandana to tie her hair back as a bead of sweat ran down her neck.

They turned back once the sun began to set. There was no use stumbling around in the dark when they couldn’t see the trail, and none of them would be any use dead in a ditch like that gutted son of a bitch. Rick immediately went to Carol, the dejected expression on her face making Iris feel guilty for not staying out longer.

“You didn’t find her?” She asked, resolve crumbling.

“Her trail went cold.” Rick replied. “We’ll pick it up again at first light.”

“You can’t leave my daughter out there on her own. To spend the night alone in the woods.” Carol sobbed.

“Out in the dark’s no good.” Daryl shook his head. “We’d just be tripping over ourselves. More people get lost.”

“But she’s 12. She can’t be out there on her own. You didn’t find anything?”

“I know this is hard, but I’m asking you not to panic.” Rick consoled. “We know she was out there.”

“We tracked her for a while.” Daryl added.

“We have to make this an organized effort.” Rick said, addressing everyone. “Daryl knows the woods better than anybody. I’ve asked him to oversee this.”

“We’re not gonna stop looking, Carol.” Iris assured.

“Is… Is that blood?” Carol asked, looking down at Daryl’s clothes.

“Walker blood, Carol.” Iris said quietly, trying to keep her calm. “No sign it was anywhere near her.”

“Walker? Oh, God.” She sobbed.

“How can you know that?” Andrea asked, frowning.

“They gutted it to check.” Iris said, wincing at Carol’s alarmed reaction. She sat down on the edge of the barrier and Lori rubbed her back comfortingly.

“How could you just leave her out there to begin with?” She wailed, glaring at Rick accusingly. “How could you just leave her?”

“Those two walkers were on us.” Rick explained. “I had to draw them off, it was her best chance.” Carol began to hyperventilate.

“Sounds like he didn’t have a choice, Carol.” Shane said quietly.

“How was she supposed to find her way back on her own? She’s just a child. She’s just a child.”

“It was my only option. The only choice I could make.” Rick pleaded. Iris wondered at how sheltered Sophia must be that at 12 years old Carol was so worried. By the time Iris was 12 she was shopping for her dad’s cigarettes and sewing him up after he got too drunk at the bar and made a few mistakes.

“I’m sure nobody doubts that.” Shane stated. It was unclear from his tone whether or not there was any sarcasm there, but Iris wasn’t blind to the contempt Shane seemed to have for Rick.

“My little girl got left in the woods.” Carol sobbed. Andrea came to her other side to comfort her as Rick walked off, presumably to do some soul searching. Iris walked over to T-Dog to check on him as they all made plans for the morning.

#daryl dixon #daryl dixon x reader #skeletons #the walking dead #the walking dead daryl dixon #thenameisz #twd daryl #twd daryl dixon #daryl dixon x oc #daryl dixon fanfiction #daryl dixon x female reader #daryl dixon the walking dead #norman reedus

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marinasmarvel · 9 months

Text

station 19 family headcanons

i’m choosing to ignore the fact that dean is dead and surrera divorced for the sake of my own sanity

all of the station are basically siblings with ben as their father

vic is the baby and everyone is very protective of her

maya is the second youngest but doesn’t let anyone coddle her

(except for carina)

robert actually has a playful side and has pulled a few pranks on some members of the team

travis is a bit of a scaredy cat and robert loves hiding behind corners and scaring him half to death

robert once found vic crying because it was lucas’ birthday, and he was feeling very similarly

they ended up comforting each other and sharing stories about lucas

vic and andy take naps on the hoses during shifts

other team members join them sometimes

during a very slow 36 hour shift, vic took of her shoes and started sliding around the station in her socks

everyone else joined her

travis couldn’t stop falling over and it would make everyone crack up every time

dean tried to slide and look really cool but ended up falling on his ass

little pruitt miller has everyone in the station wrapped around her little finger

like nobody can say no to her

one time when jack was babysitting she had ice cream for breakfast

dean was not happy but couldn’t blame him

nerf gun wars all the time

jack brought a fully automatic machine nerf gun and started shooting

everyone had to duck for cover but theo got hit in the nose

however maya declared carina as a no shoot zone

if they even dare shoot her maya will kill them

with nerf of course

theo is actually a decent shooter, and can hit anyone without trying

jack got hit the most and was forced to clean up

lots of wrestling matches and pillow fights

dean usually starts them

maya finishes them

very physically affectionate with each other, lots of hugs and cuddles

ben always scolds them for misbehaving and causing havoc

he’s just being dad

theo, robert, and andy always speak in spanish when they don’t want anyone else to know what they are saying

carina attempts to do the same with maya in italian but maya is a lost cause with that

everyone always gets so excited when carina comes to the station with food

she’s the best at cooking and everyone knows it

dean wants his daughter to be educated in all cultures, and has andy and theo teach her about latinx culture

he also asks carina to teach pru about italian culture

pru picks up bits and pieces of both italian and spanish languages

maya once again feels outnumbered

andrew deluca’s photo is right next to captain herrera’s in the display case

despite not being a firefighter, he is still just as much of a hero

carina cried when she saw it

the team threw a party for carina when she became head of the OB department at grey sloan

maya and carina both cried

jack is such a deep sleeper that everyone loves putting random things on him while he rests

jack once woke up with everyone’s helmets covering his body

needless to say he was confused

vic put an entire chair on him while he slept

anyways i miss them

#station 19 #maya bishop #carina deluca #travis montgomery #dean miller #jack gibson #robert sullivan #andy herrera #vic hughes #theo ruiz #ben warren #station 19 headcanons

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workingclasshistory · 1 year

Photo

On this day, 8 February 1912 the San Diego Free Speech Fight began when a 5,000 strong march against a ban on public meetings was disrupted by police who made 41 arrests. The ban, like many such bans around the country at that time, were to try to stop the growth of the radical Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) union (content note: sexual violence). The struggle would see one of the earliest recorded uses of fire hoses being turned on protestors, frequent police beatings and shootings, and the use of hundreds of vigilantes who tortured hundreds of members and supporters of the IWW, and "disappeared" an unknown number. One participant, Rickety Stan, recalled that: "they was sure scared of littler agitators like me… a sheriff's man came with a whip and hit me over the face and punched me in the belly and threw me in jail… I couldn't ever have quit. What did beatings or jail matter compared to the class struggle?" One 65-year-old IWW member, Michael Hoey, was beaten to death by police, and another named Joseph Mikolasek, was shot and killed by officers. One local newspaper editor, of the Herald, who tried to support the workers was kidnapped, threatened with lynching and expelled from the town. Whereas the Tribune newspaper endorsed lynching the workers: "Hanging is none to good for them and they would be much better dead". One anarchist, Ben Reitman, who travelled to support the workers, was kidnapped, violently beaten, tortured and and sexually assaulted by vigilantes, after which he was reportedly never the same. A local paper celebrated his sadistic torture and assault, and how it drove him from the city. Despite the intense violence, workers kept defying the law and the vigilantes and eventually succeeded in defeating the ban on public meetings. Similar victories were repeated up and down the country. Learn more about the IWW in this book: https://shop.workingclasshistory.com/collections/all/products/rebel-voices-an-iww-anthology Pictured: An illegal street... https://www.facebook.com/workingclasshistory/photos/a.296224173896073/2205349422983529/?type=3

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katherinezeetajones · 10 months

Text

Dancing With the Scars

Andy Herrera x f reader / light angst, mostly fluff

Previous parts can be found here.

Summary: you're engaged to the love of your life Andy Herrera. The news of your engagement shocks no one at 19, even though you've never explicitly told them you and Andy are a thing. Some questions your angle, some aren't even sure you're serious. And then a firefighter's ball is happening in the middle of it all? let's hope the dancefloor doesn't collapse. (set during the finale of season 6)

Months pass by in a blur after your engagement to Andy Herrera, the love of your life you met 2 and a half years ago in the middle of a gay bar, a place she wouldn't even imagine she would step into—yet here you are.

You sit in the back of an open aid car, parked in the barn after a hard day's work. You try to relax after a long day, but you feel restless.

"hey," Vic approaches you, sitting on the empty spot next to you. "Word on the street is that you're engaged to Andy?"

You chuckle as you turn to her. "You were there, Vic. You were there when we were in the burning skyscraper,"

Vic shrugs, feigning innocence. "Well, I gotta set the record straight, y'know. Everybody wants to know what's going on between the two of you these days,"

You shrug. "Ah, well... I didn't wanna show off..."

But you want to.

So you flash her your modest ring, a golden band on your finger.

Vic's eyes widen, her mouth agape. "How did I never notice that—"

You laugh, a little embarrassed. "I took it off on calls... Didn't want it to get lost,"

"so... When's the wedding?" Vic asks, nudging your shoulder with hers. Her giddiness makes you sheepish, seeing as she's one of the few who truly cares about gossip and drama (and her friends) in 19.

You try to think of a time frame. "I don't know, I... I mean, we talked, we planned, but... I don't know about exactly when,"

Vic raises her eyebrows. "So... What are you waiting for?"

"look, I... I don't wanna rush Andy, she got a lot going on, and... I don't wanna add on to that, y'know?"

"you're going to be Andy's wife, rookie. I don't think she would think of you as a burden,"

You shrug. "That's exactly why I don't wanna rush her, Vic... some people here had a history of screwing Andy over, making decisions on her behalf without her asking for it, so this time... I just wanna let her decide, when the time is right,"

Vic looks at you for a while. Then she sighs. "Guess you're right. But I better be invited,"

You laugh. "Of course you're invited,"

—

A breezy morning. You're cleaning the communal showers with some of your colleagues, your duty to scrub the grime off the walls.

Travis scoots closer to you, and you know the look on his face is one of obnoxious curiosity.

So you wait for the question.

"so... You and Andy...? Engaged?" He whispers to you, though he didn't have to, because the others are cleaning quite far from you.

You sigh fondly at your colleague, the freckled guy you call your dear friend. "Yes," you whisper in the same volume. "We don't have a date for the wedding yet, so don't ask. And yes, of course you're invited,"

That seems to take Travis off guard, as you correctly guessed his queue of questions he hadn't even fired out. "Oh, um... Well, in that case. I better, go back to..."

"scrubbing," you point at a spot to his left, and he chuckles as he gets to it, satisfied with your answer.

You shake your head, a little amused at your colleagues and their nosiness.

—

"are you going to the firefighter's ball this weekend?" Jack asks you, putting the hoses back into the ladder truck after things have wrapped up on the scene you're currently on.

You shrug. "I don't know, I don't usually go to these things..."

He shakes his head. "Yeah, no, I was also... Gonna skip, since... Y'know, nothing in it for me,"

You give him a look. "Jack. Ben is getting an award,"

He sighs, closing the doors of the compartment with a huff. "You just said you wouldn't go,"

"I said I don't know," you argue, and the two of you climb inside the engine's backseat.

You were about to sit but lock eyes with Andy, who's sitting in the senior man spot, right next to the driver. She gives you a small nod, and you give her one back.

You sit, and Jack nudges your arm as a response to the interaction. "What the hell was that?" He asks you.

"what was what?" You ask him, creasing your eyebrows.

"that... That thing... With you and Andy..." he gestures between you and Andy's spot, bewildered. "You don't really look... Y'know, engaged,"

You shake your head and scoffs. "What? No, that's... We're just... We're fine,"

Jack narrows his eyes at you, as the driver takes the engine on the road. "Are you guys having cold feet?"

You give him a look. "No," you said flat out, a little bit forced. "I'm just... We're just..."

And it takes you back to a conversation you and Andy had, a couple days ago.

You were watching a movie together, Andy's arms becoming a safe haven for you to rest your head on, and you finally learned that being in the arms of a woman you love is one hell of a drug.

Andy looks at you, and you feel her gaze from the corner of your eyes. You turn to her with a small smile. "what?"

"nothing," she shrugs with a smile, settling in closer to you, taking your legs and putting them on top of hers. "Just... Thinking about our wedding,"

You nod. "It's gonna be a great one,"

"you know, rookie..." Andy softly pushes you off her arms, making you look each other eye to eye in the dimly lit room. "I feel like we're taking forever in doing this,"

"you wanted a summer wedding," you offer.

She nods, but she looks troubled. "Yeah, I know I did, but... What do you want? When do you want it to be?"

You raise your eyebrows. "Uh, well, I don't... I don't have a preference, I... I just wanna do what you wanna do,"

But that's not an answer Andy's looking for, and she looks exasperated. "Rookie, I... Look, this is your wedding as much as it's mine, so you have a say in it, too—"

"I know that, Andy—"

"I feel like you're not, you're not standing up for yourself enough, you know?" She holds her hands out, searching your eyes for any hint of what she's looking for.

"why would I need to do that, Andy? I, I just want you to have everything you want—"

"that's the thing, isn't it, rookie," Andy stands up, sighing in exasperation as she walks into the kitchen. "During the entire run of our relationship, you always forget that this is supposed to be a two way street,"

You are confused, to say the least. "But I've always been putting you first—"

Andy groans, leaning her palms on the kitchen counter with a sigh. "That's the thing. You never, ever let me do anything for you, you never wanted to make me uncomfortable, and you would always refuse to let me take care of you,"

"I'm—"

Andy cuts you off with a finger. She sits back down on the couch next to you, holding your hand in hers. "Rookie. Think of yourself one of these days,"

...and that was the gist of your conversation with Andy, and you've been strained ever since.

Mostly because you're confused of what she wants, more than anything. The wedding isn't off, but when you try to talk to her about it, she would just softly stall, saying that it's something you two can figure out soon.

Which takes you back to the present, with Jack looking at you inquisitively, and Andy trying to catch a glimpse of you from the rearview mirror.

Neither of you talk the whole way back to the station.

—

The same night, you both get ready for bed in your shared apartment, still exchanging very few words. You can tell that she's not exactly mad at you, but you're still confused as to what she wants from you.

You slip into an oversized t-shirt and briefs, climbing into bed as Andy sits on the vanity chair, doing her nighttime routine. She locks eyes with you from the vanity, and sighs.

"rookie," she said to you softly.

"yeah?"

"...you have a date for the firefighter's ball?" She asks, rather cheekily.

You laugh, feeling the awkward tension slowly evaporating in the air. "Nobody's asked me yet, so no,"

"well," she turns around to look at you. "How about it? Me and you, rookie?"

You gasp in mock fluster. "who, me?"

Andy bites her lower lip, and jumps onto the bed, getting on top of you. "Don't get cute,"

She leans her face close to yours, and you more than anything, want to close the gap. So you do it. You kiss her, and she kisses you back, deep and sweet. She pins your hands above your head, nothing you can complain about.

You can talk some other time.

—

The night of the firefighter's ball is here, and you haven't seen much of Andy the whole day, a string of text messages exchanged between the two of you being the only thing you've seen of her today. You got ready on your own at your shared apartment, Andy unfortunately busy with a double shift and promises she would meet you at the ball venue.

You arrive at the ball's entrance, immediately greeted by your 19 family. Vic hugs you tight, and guides you to the photo backdrop. "Looking sharp in the red dress, rookie!"

You laugh at her infectious smile. "Looks like we're twinning tonight,"

You pose with Vic for pictures, and soon enough everybody else arrives, giving you a turn to pose with each and every single one of your crew, all glammed up.

No sign of Andy anywhere.

The others have started filing in to the main hall, and as you were about to do the same, you spot a gorgeous silhouette coming into the venue, and there she is.

Andy Herrera, looking like the most beautiful woman on earth, with a simple yet classy black dress you rarely see her in.

She spots you, and immediately runs in to give you a hug.

"baby," she hugs you, pecking a quick kiss on your lips. "I got here as soon as I could. The shift was killing me,"

You smile in relief, just happy to have her here with you. "Let's pose for some photos?"

"absolutely,"

—

You sit on the same table as Andy and a couple more of your 19 family, half listening to Kitty Dixon's slurred speech on stage. You sigh at how the more Kitty talks, the less she makes sense.

"she's totally hammered," Sullivan whispers among the table, earning nothing but unanimous agreement from the rest.

"I'm gonna go grab some wine myself," Andy slowly stands up from the chair, squeezing your shoulder before she slips out through the side door.

"you and Andy doing good?" Jack asks, sitting a few chairs away from you.

"yeah, we... I mean, we'll talk about it," you sigh, not really sure of what to say.

"okay, cool," Jack nods, putting up finger guns too childish for his age. "I... still wanna be Andy's best man,"

You shake your head. "Sometimes I feel like you guys wanted the wedding to happen more than we do,"

Travis scoffs with disbelief. "What? No, that's not true—"

Vic sighs. "Travis, stop it. It's true and you know it,"

"I'll... I'll go find Andy, she's been gone a while," you look at the table, and seeing no objections, you get up off the chair to search.

—

"I heard what you've been doing, Herrera," Chief Ross addresses Andy, getting her attention in the middle of the floor outside of the main hall. "You don't need to be talking me up in front of the others,"

"respectfully, chief—I only stated facts," Andy approaches her, a glass of wine in hand.

Chief Ross nods, a little proud of Andy's antics, but she focuses back on. "You don't need to be doing that, because I've made up my mind. You are the captain of station 19, effective immediately."

Andy doesn't believe it. "I'm... Are you...?"

"yes, I'm for real," chief Ross nods with a curt smile. "You've shown me depths of your ability as a leader, as a person, as a friend. I'm proud to make you captain,"

Andy looks at her, bewildered. "I'm... Wow, I don't know what to say... I've... This is all I've..."

"now go back in there, Herrera. Someone's waiting for you," she looks to you with a nod, and walks away.

You approach Andy as the chief leaves the scene, confused as to why Andy's making the face she's making right now. "Andy, what happened?"

She turns to you, and she beams like you've never seen her beamed. "Oh, baby... I'm, I just became captain of the 19,"

Your eyes widen, and you involuntarily squeal. "Oh my god—this is, this is huge!"

Andy nods, immediately wrapping you in a hug. "I know, oh my god... This is my dream, this is..."

You cup her face in your hands, your foreheads pressed together. "It's everything you've dreamed of, baby... This is what you deserve,"

She beams, sighs in fondness, giving you a kiss on your lips.

"Let's break the news to 19?" You tug at her hand, letting her know you wanna get back.

Andy lags behind. "Uh... Let's keep this between us, just you and me, for now?"

You crease your eyebrows in confusion. "Why? Don't you... Wanna share the news?"

Andy sighs, pursing her lips. "Yeah, of course I do, but... I wanted this moment to just be between us... For now, y'know?"

You shake your head. "Andy, this... This is bigger than me, this is about you finally becoming the head of 19, so—"

Something in Andy seems to snap, and she abruptly pulls her hand away from yours. "Baby, you always do this!"

You turn back to her, miffed. "Do... Do what?"

"this has always been your thing, baby, you—urgh, you're so... And this is ridiculous to even say out loud, but—you're so infuriatingly selfless, but in the most warped way imaginable, y'know!?"

You hold your hands up, brows furrowed. "I'm sorry, but why is that a bad thing—"

"I'm, I'm trying to keep this between us, baby—because I wanted to have a moment, just for us, right now—and you always, always have to think of how I interact with the others, it's like... It's like you feel as if you're just from the outside looking in, like you're not part of this team!"

You're at a loss of what to say. "I... I don't think that..."

Andy sighs, putting her hand softly on your cheek. "I love you, baby. I want to marry you. But you have to... Well, be selfish, for once,"

"I don't..." You sputter, trying to form some sort of a response to this. "I don't understand why this is... Bad..."

Andy sighs, shaking her head. She walks past you, making her way into the main hall. "Look, I'm gonna go on inside first...I'll... see you later,"

You watch her go, miffed more than ever.

—

You came back into the main hall after what feels like forever, sitting a few tables away from the 19 table, not really knowing what to do or say in front of Andy, because you don't understand what she wants. You try to, but nothing makes sense the more you think of it. Miranda had just finished giving a heartwarming speech about her husband as she presents him his medal, everybody clapped, and as if it's all a blur, now everyone is moving to the dance floor for some foot shuffling.

Jack nudges you from behind, looking tipsy. "Rook, I... I think you gotta see this,"

You turn to him, seeing what a state he's in. "Jack, what are you doing?"

You both keep walking as everybody move around you to get to the dance floor, and his breathing grows more ragged. "I... I think the walls in the kitchen are smoking,"

"how would you know that?" You whisper back to him.

"I went there to get something to eat..."

You sigh. Not a good time, seeing as you were going to look for Andy. But you are a firefighter. "Fine, okay, I'll take a look with you. I don't know why you didn't just bring this up with chief Ross or something,"

He shrugs. "She looks preoccupied,"

"you're scared of her,"

"oh, I absolutely am," he admits with little shame.

You groan, and you peel back from the crowd, going the opposite direction from the dance floor.

—

And as it would have turned out, Jack was right. You knocked on the wall to get a good listen, and he's right.

"there's smoke behind this wall," you nod at Jack, who doesn't seem happy to be proven right. You take a walkie talkie from one of the kitchen staff standing nearby, and you turn it on. "Can anyone read me?"

A response is shortly heard. "Copy, kitchen staff,"

"we got smoke coming behind the kitchen walls, me and firefighter Gibson are going to the basement to look for a way to handle this, please notify chief Ross and all the captains present about this. This could be something bad, but we're hoping it won't be,"

The walkie talkie hums. "Copy that, firefighter,"

You nod to Jack, who has a hatchet in hand already.

—

The dance floor is happening, big time. Firefighters are letting loose as the music belts out, everybody dancing to their heart's content. Andy looks around, searching for her beau, but no luck.

"Herrera, what are you doing? This is your big night, isn't it? Enjoy it," Chief Ross approaches, her own face a little troubled for the gleeful advice she's giving.

"I'm looking for my... My fiance," Andy stares past Ross, still not finding you.

Chief Ross purses her lips. "She'll turn up, I'm sure. Listen, you... You see Sully anywhere?"

Andy is about to respond, when a staff member of the venue approaches.

"chief Ross?" She calls.

Ross turns her head around, nodding curtly. "that's me,"

"well, we just received reports from firefighters down in the kitchen, and one of them confirmed to us that smoke is coming from behind the walls,"

Ross and Andy exchange glances. "We need to evacuate,"

Andy shakes her head, dread settling in her guts. "Who... Who confirmed that?"

"she was with, uh, firefighter Gibson," the staff replies.

Ross nods. "Herrera, you can't get distracted. We need to evacuate everyone, this could be severe,"

Andy doesn't seem to be able to respond. "I... Yes, okay, I got it,"

Ross walks away, but stops and turn to Andy. "Herrera, I get it. But... We have to do our job,"

Andy nods, but she's rattled.

—

Soon after you informed the staff, a captain and lieutenant from 25 came to your spot, telling you that they will assess the basement, and that you and Jack should go to the dance floor to help evacuate. You had no choice but to listen, as they outrank you.

You're walking with Jack back to the dance floor, trying to hurry as anything can happen, and you need to be ready.

Jack parts from you, and you look around the dance floor, some still dancing while some others alarmed as to why the captains have disappeared from the floor.

Your eyes land on Andy, who's grabbing people to get off the floor. You approach her.

"Andy, I just got told to get back here," you say to her, and she immediately turns your way. "How can I help?"

She nods, trying to see past your need to talk to each other. "Get... Get as many people as you can away from this room, the captain of 25 just told me—"

And as if famous last words aren't famous enough, the ground beneath you shakes, cracks forming throughout the walls and ceiling of the dance floor. You wobble, and so does Andy.

Or so you think.

It all happened so fast. You close your eyes for one second, and suddenly, the dance floor has sunken into the lower floor, with several people taken with it.

You can't find Andy.

You look around, frantically trying to spot her.

Your heart drops in your stomach as you look down onto the collapsed dance floor.

'please, no...'

And your worst nightmare has come true.

You spot Andy's arm... And the rest of her is trapped under a massive rubble.

You hear deafening scream in the middle of the chaos breaking out, but you never could've guessed that it was your own voice. You rush to get down, but Maya—suddenly arriving, holds you back.

The sounds are ringing in your ears, people are talking to you, but you hear nothing. Only a muffled sound of people calling your name are faintly heard.

"rookie—rookie! We'll get Andy, but don't go down there! It's too dangerous!" Maya reasons with you, though she should've known by now that the glazed look in your eyes means that you're not listening to a thing she's saying.

You wrench your hand free from her grip, and you crawl down the sunken floor, broken shards of glass puncturing the palm of your hands, but you don't feel it.

You get to Andy, only seeing her arm. You hold it up, to try and get a pulse. There's a faint one, and you feel a breath of relief escaping you. You try to push the rubble, but it's too heavy a job for one person. You look around, and spot Travis, who looks crestfallen as he declared Michael Dixon dead, from a crush injury.

"Travis, Travis—please, please help me," you tug at him, a little too roughly. "Andy, she... Help me get the rubble off, I..."

Travis looks at you, and past you, eyes landing on the rubble behind you. "Andy, shit..."

You dragged him along, and you two start lifting using your backs. After a massive effort and strain, you finally managed to get the piece off Andy, who looks worse for wear, and unconscious.

Travis looks between the two of you. "I'll... I'll go get backup and some kit,"

He leaves you, and you start your effort on waking Andy. "Andy, baby, please... Please, please wake up..."

You just want her to wake up. You want to see her getting mad at you again, you just want to be able to hold her close to you, to have her skin against yours, to call her yours and you hers...

And then it hits you.

That's what Andy meant.

Your eyes widen, brimming with tears as you perform CPR. "Andy, please, please wake up... I get it now! I get it! And even when you called me selfless, that was never true! I have always been selfish, I just gotta show it! So please, please come back to me, Andy—so I can show you just how selfish I am! Just how much I want you by my side, not because I need to, but because I want you to! I..."

Andy slowly lifts her eyes open, groggy and breathless. "Rookie..."

You immediately cradle Andy's head in your hands, putting them on your lap. "Andy! Oh god, oh..."

"you... You mean that?"

"what? Of course I mean all that—listen to me, Andy Herrera... There's nothing I want more in this life than to call you my wife, even if it means I'm being selfish..."

Andy manages a weak laugh, seemingly the loudest voice in the whole venue that's falling into chaos of firefighters getting injured and getting rescued. Hundreds are among you two, but it's only her voice you can hear.

"rookie... that's all I ever wanted from you..." Andy smiles at you with labored breathing, and you press your forehead against hers in relieved desperation.

"once we get out of here, Andy..." You promises through ragged breath. "...we'll march down the fucking city hall, and we'll get married, I'm going to be mrs. Herrera, whether you like it or not,"

Andy laughs, cupping your face in her hand. "I like the sound of that... But... Since this dance floor collapsed... You owe me a dance,"

You laugh through your panting. "Okay... The next time we dance, it'll be at our reception, then,"

"deal. Now help me up so we can help the others,"

You help her stand, and it's back to work for the future Mrs. Herreras.

—

Tagging @geekyandgay98

#wlw imagine #station 19 #station 19 x reader #andy herrera #andy herrera x reader #andy herrera x you #andy herrera x female reader

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in-pleasant-company · 2 years

Text

Here's some of the things I learned from the American Girl Fan Podcast that I thought were the most interesting. I've sorted them by character, but they were not necessarily revealed in the order I have them listed.

Kaya (Kaya's Story/Aug 10 episode)

All plot lines in Kaya’s books are based on real stories that were either passed down through oral tradition or actually happened to members of the advisory board. Kaya’s special whistle for Steps High is based on the story of an advisory board member who reunited with his beloved horse in the same way.

The Cooperative Extension Educator program has a Kaya Club and produced a Kaya cookbook. (I think it may be this book, which is free.)

Rebecca (All About Rebecca/Aug 17 episode)

Rebecca’s school is PS 64. Jacqueline Dembar Greene mentions going to visit it, but the building is currently abandoned/condemned.

Author Jacqueline Dembar Greene, met two sisters in their nineties who showed her a photograph of their mother, Rebecca Rubin, who arrived in America from Russia in 1914.

The samovar in the back of Candlelight for Rebecca belonged to the ancestors of editor Jennifer Hirsch. (I checked Candlelight for Rebecca and there is no photo of a samaovar.) Her ancestors also had tea towels embroidered in Russian. (This photo appears in the back of Meet Rebecca.)

Kirsten (The Inside Scoop with Valerie Tripp/Sept 7 episode)

Kirsten was originally “Kristen” and from Norway. She was changed to be from Sweden because Pleasant found a Swedish sweater she liked.

Samantha

Pleasant Rowland’s niece suggested a character should be an orphan, leading to Samantha.

Valerie thinks another story about Samantha could involve Samantha’s other grandparents would come to take her to live with them on “a hardscrabble farm in Nebraska.”

Felicity

Writing Felicity’s adventures with Penny was wish fulfillment for Valerie. She wanted a horse as a child and used to give her bicycle grass pretending it was a horse.

A girl wrote a letter to Valerie Tripp after she broke her arm asking her to write a story about a girl breaking her arm. That led to Felicity Takes A Dare.

Does Felicity marry Ben? There’s a store in Williamsburg called the Davidson store.

Josefina

Josefina’s personality is shaped by the New Mexican landscape. Homes are quiet and subdued on the outside but the inside is filled with music and noise and the smells of delicious food.

Kit

Kit’s scotty dog pin inspired Valerie to create Inky.

Some details from Kit’s stories are based on Valerie’s mother’s childhood like her family running a boarding house and her brother not being able to go to college. Her mother’s thriftiness also inspired Aunt Millie.

Molly

The hula girl costumes on getting ruined on Halloween in Meet Molly really happened to Valerie but it was a neighbor who sprayed her and her friends with a hose, not a brother.

Valerie suggested Molly might go on to run the Red Cross.

Emily

Valerie used to change the numbers on her practice chart like Emily does in Brave Emily.

#american girl fan podcast #american girl #kaya'aton'my #felicity merriman #josefina montoya #kirsten larson #samantha parkington #kit kittredge #molly mcintire #emily bennett #rebecca rubin

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tomriddlehyperfixataion · 2 months

Text

The Summer of 1942- Tom Riddle x reader -p6

warning- referenced/mentioned/implied dog abuse

Tom was awfully sore the next morning, his shoulders, legs, and arms aching as he woke up to the sound of chaos downstairs. Tom groaned, wincing as he sat up-pain thrumming through his body. he flopped back down into his mattress and pillow after only a moment-he had been worked to the bone yesterday, he could just take a day of being boneless.

But his door opened and he huffed, peeking through the blanket he had tossed over his head to block out the sound from the kitchen. Prothero was leaning against the door, holding a tray with steaming food on it. “Sore?” she guessed with a half grin and Tom brought the blanket back on top of him-letting out a huff. “Sore. Get some rest, you worked far more than any starter worker would, thanks again by the way-“She left the tray full of food on the chair next to his bed and walked right back out-leaving Tom in near blissful silence and darkness.

Tom ended up outside a few hours later, sitting in the warm sun with a book in his lap, it was another one of Prothero’s-she did have good literature taste-the sound of birds and barking becoming white noise as he relaxed-the sun relieving some of the soreness he felt.

“Dog on the loose!” Tom’s head snapped up at the sudden voice, and he saw a black and white long-haired dog bounding around in the field-free and barking its head off-some of the horde chasing after the beast. Tom just watched as the dog gave the horde a run for their money, easily evading capture and looking like it was having the time of its life. Tom snorted a bit as it tripped Justin and caused him to fall on his face, its paws hitting Justin’s back as it dodged Emily’s lead.

Tom froze as the dog saw him, and its tongue dropped out of its mouth as it panted and then booked it toward him. Tom held back a screech as its paws hit his chest and his back hit the soft grass with a hard thud. Tom groaned in pain, his sore muscles aching as he felt dog tongue all over his face and neck-his hands desperately reaching out to push the beast away. “No-stop-off! Off!” Tom sputtered, turning his head away and cringing as the dog licked his neck.

Tom heard a bout of now familiar laughter and the dog was pulled off of him, and Tom sat up with a groan-wiping the slobber from his face and neck, narrowing his eyes at the dog who seemed very eager to jump back on Tom-being held by his collar by Prothero, who was laughing still. “Now that’s what I call a wake-up call,” she said, putting a lead on the dog and letting its collar go; then making it sit. “Tom, this is Ben, Ben, Tom.” Ben, the dog, barked and tugged a bit at the lead-clearly wanting to get back to licking Tom’s face.

“Charmed,” Tom grunted, getting to his feet and shaking his head, now feeling very grimy and gross. Prothero was still laughing and Tom rolled his eyes, picking up the book from the ground-groaning a bit as his legs screamed at him-and looking back down at the dog. “how’d he even get loose?” Tom asked, not really interested but he didn’t have anything else to do but be curious.

“Ate through a lead and booked it, third time he’s done it this month apparently,” Prothero said with a snort, turning on her heel to take Ben back to the shelter field where he was supposed to be. Tom followed, because he had nothing better to do.

There were so many dogs-more than the day before-at least 40 Tom counted. It wasn't just one breed either-there were collies, terriers, Danes, retrievers, cattle dogs-just, so many. With those dogs were about 4 people, keeping the dogs calm and safe, one playing with the hose, another sitting down with a herd of dogs at her feet-another playing with what looked to be a poodle, and then the last was taking Ben from Prothero, who kissed the dogs head and sent him off into the yard. “I know you prefer small yard bud, but go go-“ Prothero muttered, patting Ben’s butt as he moved into the field, getting surrounded by dogs as he did.

“All right, I gotta finish cleaning,” Prothero said, grabbing a pair of gloves from her pocket and making her way toward the building that was a bit away from the field. Tom stood quietly for a moment, staring at Prothero for a bit before looking into the field, raising his brow at the dog that was just-staring him down. It was a big dog, very fluffy, black with brown eyebrows and a white chest and paws.

“Albert!” the dog turned with a goofy smile and ran over to the one who had called him, trying to eat their hands as he slid to a stop on the grass. “Stop trying to eat my hands-ahh!” Tom turned on his heel, going into the building, seeing the walls lined with tall and long metal cages without tops, easily wide enough to hold two large dogs, at the back of the room there were smaller cages, and in the middle of the room were four more tall cages.

All the kennels were empty and most of them were soaked in some sort of cleaner, and Prothero was wiping one of them down with a cloth-sighing as she stood and wiped her forehead. “Oh-hi,” she said as she put the cloth in her pocket, taking the mop from the bucket in front of the kennel and moping the floor down-closing the kennel behind her as she finished and stepped out. “bored already?”

Tom just rolled his eyes and Prothero smiled knowingly, holding out the mop to him. “You are, here, you can mop.” Tom stared, and then rose his brow. “My body hurts, and you want me to mop?” Tom said dryly, sighing as Prothero just shrugged.

“Either you mop, or be bored for the whole day-or you can go hang out with all the dogs and get slobbered all over. In here I got most of the work out of the way, just have to finish it.” Tom stared for a few long moments, and then he sighed and took the mop, setting down the book he had been reading.

Then he realized…he didn’t know how to mop.

He eventually figured it out and mopped all the kennels that weren't checked off on the blackboard by the door, and wiped down all the small kennels in the back. As he was doing that-he heard a growl and turned, going wide-eyed at the deep grey dog that stared back at him-its eyes reflecting the sunlight that shone through the windows; growling at him.

“Prothero?” Tom said quietly, not liking the situation he was in, having no idea how to handle it without magic. Prothero slid into the wall-facing the dog. “Shit! I forgot she was still in here, hang on-“The dog crouched away as Prothero stepped toward her, her eyes wide as Prothero kneeled and slowly put her hand under the dog's jaw. “Hey-you’re okay, c’mon, you know me-“ The dog saw Tom behind Prothero's shoulder and growled again; Prothero glanced back at him and Tom quickly took several steps back till he hit the wall-staring the dog right in the eyes. “Stop staring at her-“ Prothero ordered and Tom looked away, no longer looking the dog in the eyes but still keeping his eyes on her.

“Okay, we need to clean your room bubba, let’s go, c’mon,” Prothero breathed, leading the dog and carefully pulling her out of the room, shushing her and petting her all the while-the dog practically gluing herself to Prothero’s legs.

And Tom’s heart cracked for the first time. Because the dog was much skinner than she should be but she had several pouches coming from her underside, with cuts, burns, and bite marks all over her body and face. She was limping and her right ear was torn-the other butchered; she was shaking immensely and her eyes were so wide Tom could see the whites of them.

“What-what happened?” Tom asked when Prothero came back from moving the pitiful pup outside to a safe space. Prothero sighed, putting her hands on her hips as she clicked her tongue. “She was used as a fight dog and a breeding dog, she’s only four and has already gone through so much. But they didn’t treat her well at all and she’s terrified of everything, especially men, we’re doing our best to rehabilitate her but…” Prothero shrugged, glancing back towards the door she took the dog out of. “she might be a permanent resident.”

Tom bit the inside of his lip, ignoring the way his hands shook slightly. Never before had he felt such heartache for-anything before, not unless it was a snake of some sort. But… “Is she going to get better?” Tom asked as he half-heartedly finished wiping down the last of the kennels.

“I hope,” Prothero said, sighing a bit as she began putting cots back into the rooms. “but she hardly trusts anything, or anyone, even me. We only got her about a week before school ended so she still has a long way to go, if anything I just hope she eats more-she hardly weighs enough to keep herself healthy.” Tom hummed again, grabbing some clean metal bowls and putting them in the kennels as Prothero instructed, filling them with water after he finished distributing them.

Tom stood out of sight from the dog, who was named Navi, as Prothero brought her back inside and let her go back into her room; the poor thing curling up in the corner and hiding away from the world-still shaking and refusing to eat the lunch Prothero had placed in the room.

“If she doesn’t eat soon, we might lose her,” Prothero muttered, her eyes sad as she gave a glance to Navi, who had found her way under her cot. Tom pressed his lips together, staring into the dark of Navi’s room, his fist clenched.

The next day, Tom helped Prothero clean the dog building again, washing all the water bowls as Prothero sprayed down the cots and kennels again. Apparently, they deep-cleaned the dog building every day, just to keep everyone as healthy as possible. “So she trusts you?” Tom asked, mopping Navi’s room thoroughly as Prothero wiped down the metal door. Prothero shrugged, quirking her lip a bit. “I guess, I see her every day, so I suppose she’s decided to no longer see me as a threat,” Prothero explained, getting to her feet and tossing the dirty rag into a basket and Tom finished mopping, placing the mop back into the bucket and huffing.

He wanted to help Navi, which confused the ever-loving snot out of him because he had never wanted to help anything else before ever(other than Prothero), but he had no idea how to without his magic…he supposed he had to do this the muggle way.

Tom got up early the next morning, yawning as he went downstairs, shrugging on one of his plain shirts that he rarely wore-raising his brows at the many yells that greeted him. “Bean pole!” Justin said with a grin-coughing as Prothero smacked him in the back. “What? He is one,” Justin tried to defend, only to get a kick to his ankle.

Prothero just gave Tom a knowing look and he pursed his lips at her, sitting down at the table and eating some breakfast-eventually following Prothero out to the main building where he was put to work. He helped make all the food for the morning for all the dogs, discovering the small dogs in the process, handed that food out, and then helped get all the dogs out into the yards-about 40 big dogs and 27 small dogs. When that was done-just like the morning before-he and Prothero emptied all the kennels, sprayed them down, and scrubbed the nasty ones. He walked about the back for a long while-cleaning while in Navi’s view and Tom was satisfied that by the end of the morning-she wasn’t growling at him anymore.

The next day, she only growled for a few minutes before stopping-still staring at him-but not growling.

She drank some of her water, a win in Prothero’s book; who celebrated as she and Tom left the building. “She’s been practically dehydrated since she got here!” Prothero explained as she practically danced around as she and Tom got to work deep cleaning the bird building-several birds flying above them and one sitting on Tom’s shoulder(a conure Prothero said it was) Tom just hummed, hiding the satisfaction he felt from possibly helping Navi feel comfortable enough to drink.

Navi stared at him the whole evening when Tom helped make dinner and spot clean before all the dogs were brought back inside. He glanced at Prothero and saw she was distracted, so he knelt next to Navi’s kennel, holding his hand to the metal door, the back of his hand flat against it. “hi, I’m Tom,” Tom whispered, mimicking the way Prothero had acted with Navi every day, slow and quiet.

Navi stared at him from under her blanket, and Tom held back from smiling as she slowly stood up-shaky as ever-and took one single step towards him, sniffing towards his hand. She was still at the back of his cage-utterly terrified of him still-but she wasn't growling, and she was sniffing him.

Tom counted that as a win.

She ate some of her food that night. Tom couldn’t help his grin as he set down the food close to the cot and backed away, sliding down the wall as Navi slowly-so slowly- crawled out of her blanket, and ate.

Never before had he felt so-elated-not since he got his wand and felt as if he had found a missing piece of his soul. Tom couldn’t help but keep smiling as Prothero came around the corner and gasp-her hands on her mouth as she stared with tears in her eyes at seeing Navi finally eat.

She only ate some of her food-but that was enough-that was truly enough to see that she was going to pull through and become stronger.

Tom sat with her the next day as she ate her breakfast, and Navi kept her eyes on him-still not fully trusting him-but enough to let herself eat-maybe knowing Tom wouldn't let anyone, including himself-take that food away or hurt her.

She let him stay visible when Prothero took her out to go potty so they could clean their room. She didn’t growl-and she only glanced back at him once. Tom smiled behind his palm.

He and Prothero started being less-he didn’t know how to describe it really; snappy?- with each other as the days went on, it seemed as he gained Navi’s trust, he was also gaining Prothero’s. He never felt as if she didn’t trust him, she just didn’t know him, and he didn’t know her.

But he got up at 5 am every day with her, ate breakfast with her and the horde, worked with her at the shelter, and helped her with her farm chores. They started joking together, Tom would roll his eyes at her dumb puns, and Prothero would laugh loudly as she lifted a barrel of hay over her shoulder while Tom dragged one behind him as they cleaned the horse stalls.

They would hang out during lunch and when Tom quietly laughed one day at her stupid-stupid joke. “Did you know diarrhea is hereditary?” Prothero said quietly one time while they relaxed in the shade and Tom furrowed his brows, looking up from his(Prothero’s) book with the most confused expression. (he noticed he was a bit more open in his emotions as the days went on)

“What?” Tom said, tilting his head as Prothero looked at him over her shoulder, a grin on her lips. “Yeah, it runs in your jeans,” she said as her grin widened, laughing as Tom just stared her-and then-he laughed, quietly-a scoff almost as he shook his head.

“That’s so stupid,” Tom muttered, shaking his head as Prothero looked at him in awe, still laughing as she pointed at him. “You laughed!” she yelled as Tom shoved her hand away-unable to help the smile on his face. “I didn’t laugh-“ Tom objected, his laugh becoming more apparent as Prothero celebrated, getting to her feet and doing a celebratory dance.

“I got you to laugh! You laughed Riddle! you laughed!” Tom just shook his head-a full toothed grin on his face, kicking Prothero’s ankle as she stood over him-laughing as she fell to the ground. “Oh, you’re gonna pay for that!” Tom dropped his book with a startled expression and stood as quickly as he could-letting out a quiet yelp as Prothero reached for him-the two laughing as they ran down the hill.

“gaa-ah!” Tom screamed as he was tackled, still laughing as Prothero got on his back and grabbed at his clothes-not really doing anything to him but just roughing him about. Tom rolled over-realizing she wasn’t really on top of him-and smacked at her hands and shoulders-grinning all the while.

Tom-in the back of his head-realized this was the first time he had never done something like this, roughhousing really, or even just-playing. He didn’t have any friends back at the orphanage, and all his pureblood ‘friends’ were too uptight to even think about it past the age of 10.

Only a few weeks ago-Tom would’ve turned away at the thought of it, but now here he was-on the ground, laughing as he pushed away Prothero’s hands, dirt and grime on his clothes, dried dog slobber on his cheek.

Tom realized-as Prothero stood at the call of Mrs. Prothero-this was the first summer in his life that he was having fun. He grabbed Prothero’s ankle as she tried to walk away, laughing as she yelped and hit the ground-Tom almost screaming as she rolled over and grabbed his shoulder-tugging him into her arms and squeezing him tightly; her hand in his hair and messing it up further.

“Prat!” Tom grunted, slipping out of her grip and standing, escaping her hands as she tried to grab him again-his grin matching hers as she stood-still laughing. “Bore,” Prothero teased back, but they both held no malice in their words and as Mrs. Prothero called for them again, Tom realized that maybe for once-Tom had someone he could genuinely call a friend.

This summer was turning out far different than he thought it was going to be, but he wasn’t complaining anymore.

-end of p6-

I still don’t know what I’m doing with Tom, I really don’t XD let’s say it’s been about a month now since school ended, so-that enough time for them to go from civil to petty fighting to tolerating each other's company to being friends to besties? That’s a solid pipeline right? Idk, more Navi and Tom bonding to come.

#tom riddle imagine #tom riddle x reader #tom riddle #harry potter fanfiction #fluff fic

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