#i need to go find a more active fandom to get a little more love and then i'll realise it's just because we're dead here

[allilcat]

Ive been noticing an increase amount of Dreamtwt refugees, and let me preface with saying: Welcome!!! Genuinely, we lovingly welcome you to this happy lil community.

That being said, Tumblr is confusing, between the big etiquette book and the interface that hasn’t changed since 2008 there is a lot to learn. So this is my little attempt to a welcome guide tailored to our lil dream community! Feel free to add your own recommendations and stuff.

Tumblr is a Blogging site, a goog ol relic from ye olden days, your ‘profile’ is your blog, and you can put anything you like on there! However, please do change your avatar and background, we have a massive bot issue here and we tend to auto block someone with a standard avatar.

The main tags for the dream team are as follows: - just their entire usernames, but, those do get hooped up in controversy from time to time. -Dreamblr for the content creator dream

-Dreblr, for C!Dream

-404blr for CC George

-pandasblr for CC Sapnap

-Dtblr for the Dream team

PLEASE REFRAIN FROM USING: #Dream, that’s for people actually posting about their dreams, and #myct as it is mostly used for general MYCT stuff, we prefer to stick to our own spaces.

‘how do I find people?’ you go to any of these tags, find someone you vibe with and click ‘follow’. The algorithm here sucks, and we don’t advice the ‘for you’ page.

On that note, the ‘like’ button is useless, use reblog instead! If you like someone’s hot take, art or stupid shit post, REBLOG. Its how we keep our fandom alive and active here :D

When you reblog you usually keep your comments in the tags, one only really uses the comment section when they DON’T want to reblog. (usually because of le discourse).

Send people asks! People love to chit chat, you can do it anonymously! Tell that one artist youd love to have their brain for lunch! Engage with everyone! We love discussion and open communication here. (prob since there is no real word limit to posts)

Tumblr has developed a nice ‘block liberally, no need to make a fus’ culture. You can block someone for any reason, and it really isn’t a big deal.

On the Tumblr is more relaxed note, we tend to be more relaxed on CC boundaries, since most CC’s do not use twitter. If you don’t like people breaking CC boundaries, even in places where they cant see it, follow the advice above and blockkkkk!!!

Please spell out words! Don’t censor triggering words at it can fuck with people’s filter settings, by censoring these words you put people in more risk.  

Now for some technical advice: Most tumblrina’s turn on ‘hide likes and follower count’ . Any blog can have 4 people following it or 4000, we like to keep it mysterious.

Also turn of ‘best content first’- once again, the algorithm is not to be trusted.

Furthermore, you can really personalize your Tumblr experience and please do! Under ‘account’ you can find many options to filter the content you see, make use of it, for your mental health sake.

#Dreamblr #404blr #pandasblr #dreamwastaken #sapnap #georgenotfound #dtblr

[olderthannetfic]

I deeply do not understand fandom creators who try to get people to stop reposting their creations on platforms where the OP doesn’t have an account. Asking people to credit them - absolutely! It’s reasonable to want credit for your work. But to insist that the work only be appreciated by people who have accounts on the exact platform the OP has? And to ask followers to harass any re-posters en-masse until the re-poster and all rebloggers delete the content? I’m baffled by this.

How is fans sharing your work and linking fellow fans back to your account a *bad* thing?!

--

Are you new?

Most creators don't want their work reposted. They may appreciate shares from Youtube and the like. They certainly do not appreciate someone making a separate video upload or whatever.

Fandom creators are even warier, particularly about their work escaping its intended context and finding hostile outsiders. Of fucking course they do not want their work on some other platform. That's the way to get waves of harassment sent back towards that fandom creator. It also often involves lots of asspats for the reposter and nothing for the creator.

I have no sympathy for reposters crying that they got harassed over art theft. Stop stealing if you can't take the heat, asshole!

Maximum audience is what shitty influencers want. It is not the ethos of fandom. Some people seek fandom fame more than others, but there has always been a strong sense of finding your corner, not of trying to get your shit out to the entire world.

WHY THE FUCK would I care about people needing the "convenience" of my fic on their own platform of choice? I use AO3 because I support AO3. I loathe Wattpad and will certainly not want to increase its popularity with my free labor and my content.

Yes, it does annoy me when people screenshot this blog and put it on twitter. I am intentionally not on twitter because twitter is garbage. I have no desire for my own writing to increase twitter's relevance. Fandom should stop treating twitter like The Place To Be. If people feel like they're missing out by being there and not here, good!

And obviously, I roll my eyes when some attention-seeker posts my shit to reddit and gets eighty billion upvotes. If you love me so much, go give my reddit account that karma. (If you're doing your own hobbydrama writeup or something, that's different though. I'm talking about c&p posts with little of your own content.)

There are different ways of sharing, and some of them are more annoying than others. Some platforms are irrelevant to a creator, while others they actively oppose being popular. Nobody is going to know or care if you post some fan art to a private discord with your friends.

Have some god damn sense, anon.

[rallamajoop]

Resident Evil 7 and Mia's secrets

(Oh, did you think I was done talking about Mia? Not even close! >D)

Coming into this fandom late, I was surprised that popular fanon has it that Mia never does come clean to Ethan, post-RE7. Sure, RE8 depends on Mia not having told Ethan he died in Dulvey, but that has nothing to do with her own past with the Connections (and far more to do with Ethan's own denial, but that's a whole other thing).

Myself, I’d taken it as given that the scene where Ethan learns the truth must have just happened off-screen. Because, disappointing as that omission is, the whole damn game is leading up to it.

And having replayed RE7 lately, I realised there'd be no better way to explain my take than to catalog every time the game spells out to us that Ethan knows Mia’s keeping secrets and wants answers, and that Mia herself wants to come clean.

Heck, it’s just about the very first thing we learn about them.

“Ethan... You were right. I did lie to you. I shouldn’t have, but…”

Ethan's not actually stupid, and Mia's secrecy has obviously strained their marriage for some time. And as soon as Ethan finds her, he’s asking questions.

Here, he’s mostly asking who did this to you; it's way too early for real answers. But then Eveline takes control, shit goes down, and next we see her, it’s in her recorded message from the “Mia” video tape.

“There’s so much you need to know.”

When Ethan finds Mia again under the old house, he’s angry and has every right to be, and he doesn’t pull any punches.

“I always wanted to tell you…”

But Mia’s memory’s still a mess, and Lucas interrupts. Ethan’s next chance to ask questions comes in the boat, and he wastes no time.

“You had something to do with this, didn’t you?”

Mia’s a little more defensive here, but she’s not lying about the holes in her memory. The game’s gearing up for the big reveal anyway, and the writers aren’t about to let her spoil it early.

If you choose Zoe instead of Mia, Ethan spends the boat ride asking all the same questions, only louder.

“I knew Mia was hiding something.”

But in the end, what do we get?

Whoever you choose, Ethan only gets a few brief moments with Mia after she frees him from Eveline’s mould, and no explanations are offered. But if you do pick Mia, then we end with Ethan flying away with her in the helicopter, saying only, “Mia's back and she wants to start over,” and I’m left going, wait, what? Haven’t we skipped something here?

In defence of the fanon consensus that Ethan never finds out the truth, that does seem to be the ‘canonical’ intent ‒ at least inasmuch as there's this one throwaway bit about Mia not wanting Ethan to know buried in a bonus text file only available with this one overpriced DLC for RE8. That’s it, that’s as much explicit recognition as this thing ever gets, one way or the other. And fucking hell, but that's a let down.

Even if we assume that Mia’s desire to come clean goes away once her memory comes back, why would Ethan just stop asking? He’s been asking questions the whole damn game – was clearly asking questions long before the game began! Knowing that Eveline was controlling people doesn’t explain what Mia had to do with it all. Now he’s suddenly all, ‘killed the bad guy, saved the girl, everything’s fine’? Was all that ‘a door closed’ bullshit supposed to be him accepting he’d never get answers? Why?

There are workable ways to spin Ethan never finding out. You could suggest he just accepts that Mia’s memory is gone (hell, for all we actually see of the ending, Mia genuinely might have lost her memory again after Eveline sucked her back into the mould). After all the trauma Ethan’s been through, you could also suggest he’s gone directly into denial, refusing to face anything that might threaten his ‘happy ending’ with Mia. You could even suggest that that bit with Eveline saying 'I can make him love you' is her actively wiping Ethan's suspicions away. There's some lovely, subtle horror in any of these possibilities ‒ I would genuinely love to see all of them explored in fic! But none of them actually come through in the ending we get, and that omission is the single biggest issue that makes that conclusion to RE7 unsatisfying to me.

The whole damn game has been building up to the big confrontation where Ethan finds out the truth and (eventually, if not immediately) finds a way to forgive Mia, so we can still have our happy ending. As much OTT hate as Mia gets, the game is consistent in portraying her as someone who is painfully aware of how bad she’s fucked up, regrets it, and is committed to doing everything she can to protect the man she loves from the fallout of her mistakes.

I cannot overstate how willing Mia is to die to save Ethan, from the very moment she realises she's infected. She does die to save him if you choose Zoe over her. It's so much of why I ship them do hard.

But most frustrating of all, denying Mia the chance to come clean denies her any chance to explain herself. How did she get involved with the Connections? Did she know from the outset who she was working for? Did she genuinely buy into the idea they were finding ways to win wars without losing soldiers on battlefield, that the human casualties of all their work was worth it? If not, why did she keep working there? Was she slowly frog-boiled down to the deep end, did they have dirt on her, did she fear they might kill her if she tried to leave? What excuses did she make to herself as the months or years went on?

It's possible Mia’s the kind of hypocrite who doesn’t care about the human casualties of her employer, just as long as she and hers are okay, but nothing we see from her sells me on that interpretation. And even if she ever was, it's even harder to believe she's still that person after all she's been through.

It aggravates me that the games never gave us answers, not just because I want explanations that cast Mia in a sympathetic light, but because not giving us answers leaves this huge hole in her character. I'd even take explanations that cast her in an unsympathetic light, as long as it all ties together.

It irritates me even more because, even if Capcom wasn’t up for giving Ethan and Mia the big emotional confrontation they deserved, the solution was so simple: let Ethan find Mia’s diary on his way out of the ship. The whole goddamn franchise is filled with diaries and documents where characters lay out their backstories and motivations in ludicrous detail – why does Mia never get one? Just give us a handful of entries dated over the years, laying out her own feelings and anxieties about the job she’s doing. It would’ve been so easy!

It irritates me nearly as much that, even in the few corners of this fandom sympathetic to Mia, no-one seems to be very interested in answering these questions in fic or shared headcanons (and if there are examples out there I don't know about, please do link me to them!) How much did Mia know about what she was getting into when she started working for the Connections? Was it the job she kept telling herself was just until she could find something better, only for that ‘something better’ to never come along? Did she have stains on her record that made it hard to find another job? How much of her lying was a misguided attempt to protect Ethan, and how much was simply about protecting herself? There's so much to explore here!

This is also where I mention that I've already put my money where my mouth on this one, and written up my own take on Mia's backstory, and how Ethan might have found out the truth. You don't have to agree with my version, of course ‒ I mean it when I say I'd love to see other people's ideas too. Heck, I'd even be up for versions where Ethan ultimately can't forgive her, just as long as people come at it from the angle of looking at Mia as a character, not just a one-dimensional-villain.

But of course, I'd still prefer to think about versions where these two do find a way to make it work. It takes a lot to make me ship het this hard, but these two stealth-badasses have pulled it off with style.

#Mia Winters #Ethan Winters #mithan #Resident Evil 7 #Resident Evil Village #Resident Evil #Mia Winters week #RE lore #meta

[firesnap]

When I was in law school I was struggling with the worst depression and anxiety combo of my life. I hated going to school, I hated studying, I hated how trapped I felt because I'd paid all that money and hated everything about what I was doing.

I started putting on vods of people playing Minecraft while I was studying to distract me from how frustrated I was. I put on Wilbur Soot, admittedly, because he was a cute looking guy with a British accent and then I fell in love with his content.

I remember the late night streams with a guitar and relating to how, hey, yeah, that's me too. I get it. The things that keep you up at night and that parasocial relationship with a screen that can't answer you back was a strong pull.

I followed his content casually when I was finishing school. And then Covid happened. I got more invested. DSMP happened. I finally gave in and started watching streams live. I gave in and joined fandom.

I made friends. So many friends. I've traveled so much. I've met people and listened to so much music and gotten into arguments with strangers and slept on people's couches and sat in the fucking dessert in August. I don't regret a moment of it. I loved it.

But I can't support someone who is a dangerous person. I won't speculate, or make this about him, other than to please use common sense. The same reason we all critiqued another's creators fans for sticking by him applies here.

I've run an update account about this guy for a while now. Through the nature of looking up articles, finding clips to share, and asks and submissions we receive, I end up with a lot of info I never wanted. But I can't ignore what that information tells me about the person I've been supporting.

I feel like this is an active grieving process. I skipped denial pretty quick, but bargaining has happened. Parasocial or whatever, but so have tears. Anger. So much anger and disappointment. Fear about the relationships I've built and a growing emptiness of feeling like a hobby and community I've loved is now just gone and that it's For A Good Reason. Guilt because someone was hurt, truly hurt, and supporting them has to come first but I am also just. Sad.

Quiet, aching sadness over the loss of not some dude whose content I watched, but every other little thing I'll miss about being around and always having something to look forward to and people to laugh with me about it.

Please be patient. Be kind. Pay attention to red flags and support those trying to work through their own abuse and neglect. I'm sad now, but they need support more than any fan of a band ever would.

#i don't know what's going to happen with this account #i need time

[booksandabeer]

Stucky, Fandom Longevity, and "Primacy Bias"

There’s this post that's been floating around the past few days about how the Stucky fandom in its heyday produced fic and art masterpieces like they were all collectively possessed by an unprecedented spirit of creative insanity. It’s a good, fun post and I agree with the person who wrote it. (not rb'ing because I didn't want to hijack their post with something that's only tangentially related).

It was indeed a magical time and the creative output in both quantity and quality in the two-year period following the release of CA:TWS is—with perhaps a few exceptions—unmatched by anything that I’ve seen before and since. However, going through the notes on that post, I noticed something that left me a little irritated and quite frankly sad since it is in congruence with, and to a certain extent the confirmation of something that I’ve been thinking about a lot lately.

For one thing, there are so many people in the notes expressing sentiments along the lines of “it was such a wonderful time; I wish I could go back; I miss these fics; I want to read these fics again,” etc., etc., you get it. And it feels a little silly pointing this out, but…you can just do that? Almost all of these fics are still right there, waiting for you to be (re)read. Yes, a lot of people left the fandom after The Great Devastation of 2019, but their stories didn’t just disappear. It's not like there is now a big, black hole where the Steve/Bucky tag used to be on AO3. So, if you miss these fics and you want to revisit them—just do it. Chances are the authors will be delighted that people are still finding and enjoying their stories all these years later. And—since apparently this needs saying, too, judging from the notes on that post: A lot of people seem to be very concerned with losing ‘coolness points’ for openly admitting that they still miss the ship and often feel tempted to dip their toes back into the Stucky pool. I don’t know how to tell you this, but if someone tries to shame you for simply enjoying or missing something, they are an asshole. Not to mention that all this is happening on tumble.com—'coolness' doesn't exactly live here. And that is a good thing, to be clear. Fandom is not about being cool. It’s about being as enthusiastic, as silly, as absolutely fucking unhinged about the things you love as you want to be. So, stop caring what other people think and enjoy yourself.

The other thing is that there seems to be a pretty widespread misconception that the Stucky fandom hasn’t produced any good fanworks after 2016.

First, that is patently and demonstrably untrue. There is so much incredibly good fanfiction and fanart still out there. Not as much as back in the day, sure, but it still exists. And more is being posted every day! Even some of the OG Big Names are still around. One of the most beloved Stucky series that started all the way back in 2014 was updated as recently as December of last year. The artist, who I believe the op is referring to as creating ‘baroque’ paintings, posted their latest Stucky art not even two months ago.

Second, I find this “primacy bias” more than just a little insulting to the many hardworking and incredibly talented people who are still putting their blood, sweat, and tears into creating for this community. And it’s one thing if people who have long left the fandom believe or say something like this, but it’s frankly irritating when I see people who are still very much active—and therefore definitely should know better—feed into that same false myth. Yes, it sucks that the Stucky ship isn’t as big as it used to be, but that doesn't mean there isn't any 'fresh talent' to be found anymore. I’m also not saying we shouldn’t still celebrate and recommend older works—I do it all the time! And it sure as hell doesn't mean everyone has to reblog absolutely everything all the time, either. Your blog, your rules.

But maybe we should put a little more focus on the good things, on the creators and the community we have now, especially if we want that community to still exist in another ten years. I mean, imagine you’re a person who’s just gotten into the fandom (because yes, there are indeed still new people discovering Stucky all the time) and one of the first things you’re being told is “eh, nice that you're here, but you’re about 7 years late; the big party is already over.” Does that seem like a fun space to hang out in to you?

So. Let’s all—and I do not exclude myself from this because God knows, I love to complain—spend a little less time mourning the ‘good old days’ that are never coming back anyway, and instead focus our attention on enjoying and appreciating both the incredible treasure chest of an archive we have AND the wealth of high-quality art and fic that is still being created by this wonderful community every single day. With this in mind:

🥳🎊Happy Stucky Week 2023!!! 🎊🥳

*I want to make it very clear that this is a general thing that’s been on my mind lately and that I’m trying to work through here—probably not very coherently. I'm not trying to tell anybody 'how to do fandom' and I’m most definitely not vagueposting about any particular incident, person, or group in this fandom. This isn’t a callout post. It’s an I have a lot of thoughts and feelings about this and I don’t know what else do with them post.

#stucky #stucky fanfic #fandom culture #i once again have no idea what to tag this #fanfiction forever #fanart forever

[sister-lucifer]

The Demon Brothers + Punishment (Part 1)

PART TWO HERE

Lucifer, Mammon, Leviathan x Gender Neutral Reader (separately)

Genre: NSFW Headcanons

Summary: How and why the older brothers would go about punishing you 

Content/Warnings: dom/sub dynamic with sub reader, spanking, toys, degradation, fingering, overstim, y’know the usual punishment stuff 

Like my writing? I take requests! NSFW or SFW for any fandoms in my bio! 

Also, please reblog! it’s free, takes two seconds, and really helps me out 

Feedback is encouraged and appreciated:)

Not fully proofread! Let me know if you see any errors

Lucifer 

He low key takes it too seriously 

Very stern but gentle 

(Unless he’s particularly angry of course) 

“You know why I’m punishing you, yes? I need you to learn from your mistakes, my love, that’s what good little pets do.” 

The severity of the punishment depends on the offense you committed 

Something small will likely result in him making you cum on his fingers after you’ve apologized profusely 

Then he’ll treat you to his cock 

But when you mess up big time 

Ooooh boooy 

That sadism really comes out 

Collars, leashes, handcuffs, you name it he’ll use it 

He needs to be in a particular mood for his sadism to come out, but when it does it’s all or nothing 

He’ll either be kissing your forehead gently or pushing you down with a foot on your chest while he toys with the remote of a vibrator 

No in between 

He’s actually not super into spanking. Although he’s not opposed to it, it’s not his go-to 

He finds there are plenty of other, more humiliating ways to teach you a lesson 

And he intends to show you all of them 

“Now, now, no whining. You did this to yourself, my dear. Take your punishment now, or else you’ll only make your situation even more dire.”

Mammon 

As much as Mammon likes to play rough with you, rarely ever will he actually punish you 

He prefers to be playful, if a bit mean spirited at times 

You’ll often have a couple of bruises or bites, but that’s to be expected; usually nothing more 

So, what exactly merits a punishment from Mammon? 

Well, the first option is to ask for it

He’ll happily oblige, but he’ll start slow in the beginning and ask you if you’re okay at least four times before he actually gets going 

The other option is to make him jealous 

If he sees you getting a little too friendly with another demon he’s sure to lose it 

Drag it out for as long as you can 

That’ll make him even angrier 

Double points if you act oblivious about it later 

The second you’re home alone he’s bending you over his lap and spanking you until itll hurt to sit down for the next two days 

And he’ll make you apologize after each one 

When he decides he’s had enough with that he’ll move on to roughly shoving his fingers in you 

He’s going much too fast, but he doesn’t care 

You deserve it for pissing him off like that 

And he’ll talk down to you the entire time, making sure you’ve been thoroughly humiliated 

“This is what little sluts like you get for acting out! Maybe next time you think of pulling a stunt like that you’ll remember how this feels.”

Leviathan 

Oh this sweet baby loves you far too much to hurt you! 

Punishments are so incredibly rare with Levi 

You could ask, yes, but he’ll be so nervous there’s only a half chance he’ll actually go through with it 

“O-Oh my stars, are you ok?! I-I know, I know I haven’t actually done anything yet, but…gah! I’m just so worried about you!” 

Sweet boy 

That means your only option is to earn your punishment 

The best way to do that is to get him on a day when he’s already mad about something 

Maybe Mammon stole one of his figurines to sell, or maybe he’s frustrated about a certain level of a game 

That’s the best time to misbehave 

Leviathan is rather possessive, even more so that Mammon, so the same tactics would work on him tenfold 

Leviathan usually isn’t very active in his punishments 

Instead he’ll tie you up on his bed and leave you squirming with at least three vibrators assaulting your sex 

He’ll have the remotes with him at all times, but after a while of playing with them he’ll just leave them on the maximum speed while he ignores you to game 

And he can get very, very invested in his games 

You might be there for thirty minutes, maybe three hours 

Depends on how he feels and how invested he gets 

One things for sure, he’s not done with you until you’re practically thrashing against your restraints as you desperately try to quell the overstimulation 

“You sound pathetic, whining like that…this is what happens when you underestimate me, human! This is all your fault…”

#obey me shall we date #obey me #obey me headcanons #obey me smut #lucifer obey me #lucifer headcanons #lucifer smut #mammon obey me #mammon headcanons #mammon smut #leviathan obey me #leviathan headcanons #leviathan smut #obey me x reader #obey me x gender neutral reader

[nalyra-dreaming]

I'm sorry but I can't believe sex in ep6 even topic of discussion.

1)Why would they go to such lengths and spend their time and resources on making floaty sex, if it didn't mean anything and didn't serve any purpose? What purpose did it serve? Well, the first and last time we also saw floaty sex in ep1 and it was clear representation of connection and pleasure that sends you flying to Saturn and back. So, logically, ep6 sex too supposed to show connection and pleasure.

2) Next point (i'm not sure about this one tbh): perhaps there's one more parallel to ep1 scene - Louis "didn't consider himself a homosexual at that time" and we see cut to him having enthusiastic sex. In ep6 he was telling Daniel about being numb and we have cut to him PARTICIPATING in sex and not just lying there like a corpse.

3) They literally included Lestat stopping and checking on Louis and not doing anything before Louis kissed him. He noticed that Louis wasn't mentally there and stopped. Clear indication that Lestat wanted CONSENSUAL sex, if he truly didn't care he would just proceed to fuck Louis because Louis wasn't stopping him.

4) Give Louis a little agency, would you?(general you, not you, Nalyra) As I said, we didn't have any indication that Louis wad pressured into it, that lestat didn't care about Louis' consent and pleasure. Just because you're depressed doesn't mean you're incapable of making decisions. Louis' kiss was him reassuring lestat that he's here with him. He KNEW that lestat needed reassurance to proceed. Lestat can't read Louis' mind, he can't be 100% if Louis wants it or not, so he has to rely on what Louis TELLS him with words and body language. Louis told lestat with his actions that he wants him to proceed. That's Louis' decision, like it or not

5) I know fandom likes to act like Claudia is mentally 14 forever, but for majority of story she's grown woman. I'm actually not sure if she truly thinks Louis wouldn't mind her being in his head while they're having sex or she's actively disregarding his boundaries (that he didn't establish) but there's fact: it's weird. Maybe she thinks she's helping Louis to "cope" with sex because she's projecting her trauma with Bruce on Loustat (which is understandable!) but for me Louis' sounds uncomfortable, and resigned, half-heartedly trying to deflect Claudia. "Anywhere sounds like nowhere" - for me it was clear that he doesn't really want to leave and doesn't want to have this conversation but he fails to say it outright and shut down Claudia. So he just makes up excuses not to leave, avoids telling NO, and blocks his mind when Lestat notices that something is wrong.

So, my point, that cut from Bruce to Lestat was Claudia's mind coming to comparison. She thinks Louis does it to appease lestat, she's probably tries to help telling Louis about her escape plan, she views Louis' reluctants as fear of Lestat and that's it, when probably main reason is Louis simply not wanting to leave.

I'm so sorry for long essay, hope you don't mind! Love your work and blog:)

:) Glad you like.

And yeah... I cannot believe we're at this point again/still either.

Exactly. This is a deliberate thing, a deliberate connection to the best sex Louis had. As said before, it carries meaning.

Well, I mean, there are a lot more instances of Louis saying something and the show showing us something else. Or vice versa. That is... exactly the point. Louis is telling the tale for an effect. And that effect was to lead to the justified "murder night". But the why will be part of season 2.

I know

Louis is (not just) depressed because of Lestat. He is deep in the rite of passage. He addresses that on the bench. And yeah.. for some reason Louis' never gets his agency in these discussions. Because he could have moved away. He could have left. But he did not want to. He stayed right there, in Rue Royale during those 6 years (for example). Where Lestat could find him. But I digress. Louis does have agency, indeed. And it is often dismissed for some reason -.-

Claudia's thinking is very black and white, pun not intended. It's stark contrast. She hates and loves with the full power of puberty, at all times, no matter her mental age. Her hatred for Lestat colors her perception of Louis' love for him - she just cannot imagine Louis loving him. Oh she understands it. But to her Lestat is like Bruce, the worst of the worst, and she cannot fathom that there are actually vampires out there... who are much, much worse. That is part of the horror, that she just cannot... imagine, because ultimately Lestat and Louis raised her as a child and then a loved family member - not as a coven member. She has no point of reference, unfortunately. And no, Louis neither wants to have that conversation (but he is too nice to shut it down), nor does he want to leave. And that just... flies right over her head.

Neither Claudia nor Louis actually fear Lestat, and definitely not even after the fight. The car scene made that quite clear, imho.

Oh, they are angry at him, and justified in that anger. But fear? Nope.

#Anonymous #asks #ask nalyra #amc iwtv #iwtv #amc interview with the vampire #interview with the vampire amc #iwtv amc #iwtv 2022 #interview with the vampire #lestat de lioncourt #louis de pointe du lac #loustat #iwtv claudia #claudia de lioncourt #episode 6 #floaty sex

[ominoose]

𝐂𝐫𝐲𝐩𝐭𝐨𝐳𝐨𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐲

Pairing: Jake Lockley x AFAB!Autistic!Reader Summary: Short fluff self-insert with Jake because fandoms gotta become cringe again. Also shout out to Bigfoot enjoyers! Warnings: None WC: 779

“And so like, they weren’t even just screaming, they were vocalising! Phonetically they were forming words, like there was cadence to it, y’know?!”

“Mh hm.” Jake nodded, nursing the coffee mug in his hand, watching the short woman pace back and forth across the kitchen, her own cup of tea completely forgotten and abandoned on the table like many others over the ages. Poor things.

“And- And the University of Wyoming studied the recordings for a year! And guess what!”

The man was an expert at this, and knew well the question was rhetorical, there wouldn’t be enough time to actually get a ‘What?’ in there. Instead, he widened his eyes a little as he took another sip of bitter coffee, waiting expectantly for the next revelation.

“They said the noises were from lungs that were larger in capacity than humans! And it was an actual deliberate language!” The huge grin, wide eyes and shaking of her hands marked the clear importance of the sentence, this was not a finding to be taken lightly.

“No way.”

Coming home from a late shift in the cab, Jake usually would’ve poured a glass of whiskey, kicked off his shoes, loosened his tie and claimed the couch to binge some shitty reality tv. Sue him, it was entertaining to be invested in drama that was less world ending over godly feuds and more Becky's boyfriend kissing her ex. If his girl came to sit beside him and let him use her thighs as a stress toy, it was the recipe for a perfect night.

When he came home tonight to see his beautiful girl practically bouncing on her toes, hands stimming, actively chewing back a smile and practically bursting at the seams with some hot info instead, how could he not walk over and get his fill? After all, she info-dumped with more passion than any gossip the Kardashians could give. As her man, it was his solemn duty to share her burdens, even if that burden was her excitement over some Bigfoot evidence from some random American woods.

“I also heard that the area the sounds were recorded historically had a lot of Chinese settlers- and the vocalisations have a large resemblance to Mandarin! I mean that, like, implies the Bigfoot community only either cropped up at that period or something but, like, it’s still insane I mean can you imagine we haven’t encountered Bigfoot yet because they all speak Chinese and can’t understand us?” How she spewed so much without taking a single breath was a mystery in and of itself, those crypto-whatsits oughta look into that.

“Who’s ‘we’, bebita? There’s only one American in this room and that’s me. Stop trying to steal my guy.”

“Your guy?” The smile on her face grew, adoring that he entertained her info-dumps and enamored with his cheek, “Since when did Bigfoot go to New York?”

The Latino shrugged, completely nonchalant as he drained the last of his coffee.

“When he calls my cab to take him there.” The curl of his lips betrayed his own amusement and the short woman giggled as she bounced into his lap, hands patting his shoulders.

Stimming was still a relatively new concept to Jake. To him, he understood it as needing to shake off big feelings, good or bad, before they drowned you. He could understand that, feelings were a fuckin’ lot even to him, and he didn’t have autism (no matter how much his amor tried to peer review him, he’d dodge those accusations like he dodged the Avengers).

Seeing her stim to him, with him, over him, that was intimate. That coiled into his very soul, snug and warm. Knowing her feelings for him were so strong, so intense she had to literally, physically, manage them before they made her heart explode? It was literally impossible for the thoughts in his head to try and do some self-sabotage. No one could tell him she didn’t love him, not even himself.

That wasn’t even accounting for the obvious fact that she felt safe enough to shake her heart around right in front of him, with that beautiful smile too. She’d kill him before any bullet or cultist ever could, and he’d accept it with open arms.

“You think that Mothman guy and Bigfoot are amigos? Think they’ve ever hooked up?”

The light in her eyes when he casually sprinkled her other hyper-fixation in there, always making a point of showing he remembered each and every detail of her spiels, could lead him out of the darkest black hole.

“You’re weird, Jake Lockley.” Her giggle was girlish, high pitched and sweet as honey, “They’re divorced, actually.”

#jake lockley x reader #oscar isaac #omiwrites

[underqualified-human]

Pomefiore: I can be your Angle or your Devle

→ Request: hiii I would like to request headcanons relationahip for vil schoenheit, rook hunt,  epel felmier from twisted wonderland, with a fem mc who is actually a real angel (you know, with wings, ethereal, believer in God, etc) but at first it didn't seem like it since mc is usually stubborn and very naughty, the opposite of what would be expected of an angel jeje it's all, thanks in advance  → A/N: Okay so I changed it slightly  → ⚠ Warnings ⚠: Mentions of family issues, → Fandom: Disney:Twisted Wonderland → Genre: Headcanons → Pronouns: She/Her

You were born from a literal holy matrimony- and you hated it.

Your father was an angel (the key word being was. He fell almost directly after your birth) and your mother was a human. The apple clearly didn't fall far from the tree when it came to following rules. When you first arrived in Twisted Wonderland you figured it was some weird last resort after your expulsion from your Catholic All-Girls School (long story, don’t ask), but quickly came to realise that it was definitely not. On the bright side, you ended up getting a boyfriend, score!

General Headcanon:

I'm pretty sure a Nephilim/Giborim would be mistaken as a kind of fae, so keep that in mind as you read

Vil Schoenheit:

One of the first people to notice the more ethereal aura that your appearance has and finds himself staring at you more than what is considered normal, even after you start dating

It almost scares him sometimes, how you look in certain lights. Like when you punch someone in the nose for badmouthing him.

Normally he can smell rebellious spirit like a bloodhound, but your appearance caught him off guard. Which definitely intrigues him.

Tries to curb some of your more violent urges to varying degrees of success. You still end up getting into a bunch of fights and he still ends up helping you tend to your  

Whenever somebody brings up parents you go silent and he definitely notices.

If you want to talk about it he'll listen, if not then so be it

Definitely pushes you to do at least one photoshoot with him, whether he's successful or not is up to you

No clue how to help with your wing care, but provides you with any products you need

If any of his fans say anything he's not afraid to defend you

Rook Hunt:

A little bit creepy at first. asking invasive questions and general stalking

He tones it down later but definitely has a notebook about you (that you don't know about)

You get a lot of love poems throughout the entire relationship. He never runs out of ways to compliment you. It is insane.

Likes picnic dates, also teases you by bringing some sort of bird dish

Knows every bad thing you do, he’s just there, watching. He’s not going to try and stop you or report you if no one else does.

I like to think he's a bit of an artist, both visually and by the written word. You're the subject of most if not all his creations. 

Some he gives to you and some he keeps to himself. Just as a little keepsake.

If you'll allow him, he would love to sketch and pet your wings. He will start to describe them in great and poetic detail so be warned.

If there's anything special you need to do with your wings to keep them healthy/hidden he'll do everything to help you.

Epel Felmier:

Relates so hard to having an appearance contradicted by actions/attitude

Likes to join you in any rebellious/ general delinquent activity 

Tries to fight people that stare at you for too long

Makes sure to keep you far away from Vil, even if you like make-up and fashion he does not want to put you through that

Skips things like etiquette and dance classes to just hang out with you (Vil thinks you're the problem child, which isn't completely wrong)

Likes to give you little apple carvings he makes, some of wings and birds others just things he likes to carve

He didn't grow up with chickens, but his family did know some people who did. What I'm saying is he applies chicken grooming tactics to your wings and is surprised when you take offence. (You get a new nickname from it.)

One of his favourite things to do is to lie down with your wings wrapped around him. It makes him feel safe and helps him calm down, like being wrapped in a blanket while listening to your heartbeat. He'd kill anyone if they ever found out though.

Can't really relate to your family issues, but introduces you to his pretty early on in the relationship.

#aries writing #twst #twisted wonderland x reader #disney twisted wonderland #twisted wonderland #x reader #twst x reader #pomefiore x reader #vil x reader #vil shoenheit x reader #vil schoenheit #epel felmier x reader #epel x reader #rook x reader #rook hunt #rook hunt x reader #epel felmier

[moonlit-imagines]

Rekindled

Dick Grayson x Kyle!reader

warnings: guns/violence, death, brutality. like, the typical arkham game themes. not graphic, tho!! mostly mentions

a/n: this sorta takes place in the arkham knight storyline but you really dont have to know anything about that game to read this, i wanted to give enough detail bc i liked this idea and the arkham game fandom is under appreciated. also lowkey y/n is based on an oc but almost all my y/n’s are <3

prompt:

Gotham was on fire. You were dumb enough to stay behind. Selina had been MIA for longer than you were used to, and every effort of contact was futile. Last time this happened, she had been arrested and thrown into Arkham City, so it was needless to say that you were a bit worried.

Last thing she told you was that a “pretty worthless supervillain” needed her help with something, but she left it at that. Yeah, she had a habit of making herself scarce, but she was your only family and you two always kept in touch. And now that the evacuation was in effect, you felt even more uneasy.

You pulled on your suit, black leather and spandex hugging your body tighter as you zipped up. Pulled your gloves on, claws and all. Clicked the belt around your waist, equipping your small set of weapons and utilities. The headpiece was pretty simple, just some silly cat ears to match your aunt’s, along with the goggles for good measure.

Gotham was more dangerous than you’d ever seen, only delinquents like yourself roamed the streets. Except, they didn’t carry a code like you. Scarecrow caused a panic, this “Arkham Knight” had a personal vendetta to fill, the city was on its knees. Tanks were starting to load onto the islands, troops taking over buildings, and riots overwhelmed what little protection was left here. You knew a few places to go, but your best bet was the movie studios.

Panessa, Batman’s secret base with the Wayne name slapped right on the outside, it always made you smile when you saw it. You were hoping to find an ally inside, maybe someone who could help you find Aunt Selina.

And you may be thinking you’d just sneak inside like a lovely little cat burglar would, but why not try the front door. “Stray.” You spoke into the voice box and chuckled as the doors opened for you. “It’s like they were waiting for me to crawl on back.” You stepped inside and into the elevator and poked the down button, trusting the rickety old elevator to deliver you safely to the lower level.

When you stepped out, there was only one familiar face that wasn’t behind a pane of glass. Didn’t know Batman kept prisoners. “Y/N?” Robin asked from across the room, setting down his tablet to meet you halfway. “What the hell are you still doing in Gotham?”

“Selina’s missing and I didn’t want to leave without her. What’s…all this?” You motioned at the containment cells, starting to understand why there were prisoners when you noticed their Joker-esque features. The lot began to make trouble, beginning to harass and poke fun the same way that clown would.

“Ignore them. I’ll call Batman.” Tim told you. “Make yourself comfortable, I guess. You already broke in.”

“Broke in?” You scoffed. “I used the door, actually. Still have my little voice thing activated. I just had to say my name and I walked in. Kind of rude to assume I just break in just because I happen to be a burglar from time to time.” You ranted and heard a chuckle from Robin just before Batman answered his call.

“He wants to talk to you.” Tim called you over, holding out his arm in an awkward way to you could talk to Bruce.

“Tell me everything, y/n.” Batman instructed.

“Hey, good to see you, too. Uhh, yeah, so Lina said she was hired by some loser supervillain to steal something they needed. That was basically all she told me before she left, been a few days. Can’t get ahold of her.” You explained, looking over at Tim and shrugging. “She considers most of the so-called ‘supervillains’ of Gotham ‘losers,’ though, so it doesn’t really narrow it down.”

“Okay. Stay at the movie studios. I’ll look into it.” Batman hung up just like that and you rolled your eyes.

“Yeah, I’m not allowed to leave either. This…” Robin motioned to the Joker lookalikes, “is what Joker left behind in his death. All that infected blood from Arkham City, it wasn’t all caught, and I have to find a cure.” Robin went back to his tablet and you sat on a nearby chair. “Catwoman tell you much about the City?”

“Only that it was a shithole and Two-Face is a loser.” You started scrolling through the computer before you, reading little lab notes here and there. “How’s Oracle?”

“She’s in the city, of course. Refused to evac, wanted to help, but no one expected anything less.” Robin noticed you snooping, but let you continue. “Nightwing’s okay, too.” Your eyes peeked to the side and your brows raised. “Well, not really. Ego’s bruised since Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy kicked his ass the other night.” You laughed out loud, quite amused by the news.

“Good, he probably needed it.” You leaned back in the chair. “You know, I could probably help out there.”

“I already tried, Batman said to stay here.” Tim sighed.

“I don’t work for Batman. Maybe I wanna go kick some ass and try to find my aunt.” You explained, only half-jokingly. If was only seconds after that projections of the Riddler showed up all over Gotham. “Oh, brother. Not this guy.” You groaned, watching Nygma go on about his plan until Catwoman appeared on screen, causing you to bolt up and out of your chair. You would have run for it now if not for his explicitly telling you to stay away.

“Oh, and Stray, dear? Keep away, please. This is for Batman and Batman only, and if you get too close I might just…oh, well, you know.” Riddler chuckled at the insinuation that he’d detonate the bomb around Selina’s neck. Robin looked to you, noticing you were completely flush as you watched the broadcast.

“Y/N, he’s won’t let Nygma do anything to her. Try to stay calm.” Tim tried to snap you out of it, which only caused you to transition from fear to rage, jumping up from the chair and pacing around to keep from hitting him.

“Just…shut up, T—Robin. Shut up.” Your claws were drawn and you were steadying your breathing before things got ugly for everyone. More taunts were thrown at you from the Joker-infected and you needed to get the hell out of here, so you headed for the elevator.

“Wait, hey! Y/N, you can’t go out there, it’s not safe.” Robin jogged up beside you, but you ignored him. “You can’t save her right now, Riddler is obsessed with besting Batman. You can’t interfere or it’s over.” You stepped into the elevator and just as you were about to press the button, “Dick is in the city.” You paused.

“Why do I care?” You rolled your eyes and watched Robin pull a wrist communicator from his belt.

“You care.” He handed you the comm. “You can call any of us with that. We have our locations on, too. Keep in touch.”

“Where is he?” You sheepishly asked, looking down at your boots. You knew Tim had a stupid, told-you-so smirk on his face.

“Near the docks, he’s working on something. He’ll probably need your help.” Your eyes sort of lit up when you heard that, but you quickly took yourself back to reality knowing Tim was just trying to make sure you weren’t alone out there. For Dick’s sake.

You were still considered apart pf the family, even if Selina and Bruce weren’t a thing at the moment and you and Dick had gone your separate ways. You still caught yourself thinking about Dick Grayson often, wondering what could have been, what you would have done differently, why you guys even chose to leave. Sometimes it made sense, sometimes you struggled not to pick up the phone.

But now you stood on the rooftop of Panessa Studios, looking out to a city in ruins. A city in need of saving. As much as you respected Bruce, there’s no way you believed he could do this all alone. And if he was going to save your aunt, maybe you should lend a helping hand in the meantime. You fiddled with the device on your wrist, trying to get the hang of the new model communicator until you found Nightwing’s contact programmed in. Clicking the button made your stomach drop, you froze up as the line rang.

This comm was given to you, but wasn’t updated in the system as yours, so Nightwing answered the message from Batcom #1 and was shocked to see your beautiful face waiting for his answer. “Y/N! Are you…are you still in Gotham?” Dick’s calling of your name was embarrassingly high-pitched, but he recovered it upon his question. “Please tell me you’re not here.”

“Dick, I’m wearing cat ears and my aunt is being held hostage at the moment, of course I’m here.” You sarcastically answered, just like he remembered. “Tim gave me this thing, said I could go help out if I wanted. Just have to stay away from Riddler stuff for the night.” You explained, showing the Panessa Studios sign in the background.

“Yeah?” You could see Dick’s smile, like he and Tim knew exactly how to plan and you just wouldn’t figure it out. But despite this cold, brutal night, you felt all warm and fuzzy inside when that smirk grew on his face, you knew he was happy to have this opportunity. “I kind of need a partner for what I’ve got going on, Penguin’s doing something shady down by the docks. Wanna join me?”

“I could get behind that.” He sensed a bit of flirtation in your voice. “Meet you there?”

“I’m already here, why don’t I meet you in the middle? It’s really bad out here…” Dick rubbed the back of his neck nervously, thinking he’d come on too strong.

“You’re worried about me?” You chuckled and he told himself his suspicions were true. “How sweet.” You began walking to the edge of the roof, beginning to plot your path to avoid any psychopaths that may try to murder or kidnap you. “It’s not that far, I’ll be fine.” You hung up on him and he took a deep breath. Seeing his ex, probably his first love, after a long, long hiatus, it probably freaked him out more that Gotham’s takeover right now.

You barely felt the nerves he did, you knew you had a certain power over him. Not that you’d like to use it, not like you used to. Getting away with petty little crimes with your charm until you finally gave him a chance, let him show you the other side of things. Betraying that trust would put you down the wrong path once again.

Dick waited patiently for you, staring at the rooftops you may travel across to try and spot you, completing ignoring the smoke and flames from below. Running into trouble up there wouldn’t be much of a problem, everyone was busy robbing stores and shooting each other on the ground. You’d heard about some freaky bodies strung up on rooftops, some more Riddler shenanigans hidden around the place. Honestly, it didn’t surprise you much. This was Gotham City, where anything could happen.

Soon you found yourself just a few more steps from your past. You and Nightwing, both masked, stood across from each other with only a gap between buildings between you. With a graceful leap, you swung above the road and landed right beside the vigilante, who was a bit too stunned to speak, but he was the famed Dick Grayson…he doesn’t stay quiet for long. “Nice landing.” His smooth voice made you smirk involuntarily.

“Hope I didn’t keep you waiting.” You rolled your whip up and clipped it back to your belt.

“Eh, you did…but I’m willing to forgive and forget.” He quipped in his nonchalant tone, same boy you’ve always known. “Bat bossing you around?”

“Yeah, he wanted me to stay at that run-down movie studio. I really wasn’t about it.” You sighed, looking down at the arms deal below. “But I guess you know the feeling a lot better than me. I never really listened to the guy, you know?”

“Oh, I know.” Nightwing chuckled, kneeling down by the ledge. “You’re my inspiration for breaking away. Always giving Bruce shit, not taking him seriously. He hated it.”

“Hated me?” You asked him, wide-eyed.

“Actually, I think it was the reason he liked you so much back then. Usually people see him as like, an authority figure.” Nightwing explained, still observing the Penguin goons below. “And the people who didn’t listen were usually still a little afraid of him. But you were just that ‘kid’ who never quite listened and didn’t quite care.” You chuckled at some old memories that came back to you with his words. Memories of awkward patrols and first encounters with Batman and the first Robin. You and him were so young back then. So young and so hopeless.

“So you’re saying he approved of me?” You teased with a taunting smirk and poked Nightwing in the arm, causing him to scoff and roll his eyes. “Oh, yeah, the big bad Batman approved of the poor little street cat.”

“Well, as close to approval as possible. He is still a hardass.” Nightwing realized in that moment how easy it was to fall into your old ways. No awkwardness, just two people who have a bond you can’t break with time. “So, uh, these guys down here.”

“Righttt, the Penguin guys. North Refrigeration, huh? Man, you’d think Oz wouldn’t be so predictable.” You remarked as a car sped past you on the street behind, shooting an automatic rifle into the sky, but you paid little mind to it. “Remember the Iceberg Lounge? He must really like the cold.”

“He’s definitely got a gimmick.”

“Don’t we all?” You pointed to the cat ears on your headpiece and you both burst into quiet chuckles. “Are we gonna go down there or what, Dickie?” Your nickname for him made his heart flutter.

“Bruce wanted me to wait, he’s got a plan.” Nightwing sighed. “I’m only listening now because of how insane it is tonight, but I wish he’d let us handle it ourselves. He needs a break.”

“I think we all do.” You crossed your legs on the concrete rooftop and wrapped your arms around them, looking past the illegal activities below and over at the city skyline across the water. “If we all make it out of here alive, I think it’s time I leave Gotham.” You stared in silence for a few moments, pretending not to realize Dick staring at your profile. “Wanna do my thing and not listen to Bruce?” You snapped out of it and raised your eyebrows in a playful way. “You can’t say no, it’s not in my nature to listen to big strong men.”

“You wanna go bother these guys down here? They’re just doing their jobs.” He joked, getting up to play your game.

“Oh, well that’s too bad.” You shrugged, nearing the edge of the roof. “Maybe I just wanna say ‘hi.’”

“Oh, well if that’s all you wanna do.” Nightwing stood beside you and you both took a quick leap from the building to the ground, startling the group of thugs and interrupting their very important work.

“Shit! Catwoman?” One of the thugs asked before getting punched in the gut by yourself.

“Hah, he deserved that! Rest of us know who you are, Ronnie’s just a dumbass.” Another thug assured you before Nightwing shocked him with an escrima stick. You both took turns knocking around these cronies until all of them were laid out across the ground, only ones left were hiding inside of the van beside you.

“That was fun.” Nightwing nudged you with his elbow as you walked side by side to the back of this van. “We’ll have to do that again sometime.”

“How about when we find their hideout?” You suggested, knocking on the van doors. They flung open and were shocked to see two vigilantes waiting for them, then desperately drove off just as you’d planned. Nightwing grabbed you by the waist, pulled you close, and used his grapple gun to bring you both back the the rooftops so you could easily follow the van without being spotted. It was a bit off-guard, being pulled in like that, but you didn’t mind at all.

After some time and a bit of flirty remarks here and there, you both made it to the Penguin’s hideout. “You sure you’re in? There’s a lot of people in there, we can still wait for Bruce.”

“Come on, Dickie. It’s nothing we haven’t done before.” You tilted your head to have him come along with you and led him to an unconventional entrance. “It’s gonna be tons of fun, you’ll see.” You opened the rooftop vent and slid down first, crawling beneath the floor and estimating how many men you’d be going up against with your infrared goggles. Probably twenty or so, but you and Dick had trained together for a long time, it would all come back to you in an instant—you hoped.

The both of you popped out from the shadows and immediately started beating on these criminals, watching them all scramble to figure out how to react. “Told you, fun!” You called out to Dick, tossing a pair of bolas at a goon’s legs causing him to trip right into Nightwing’s roundhouse.

“Never doubted you for a moment!” Nightwing answered, pushing another thug your way so you could catch his arm with your whip, pulling his fist into his face. “Ouch! Why’d you do that, man?” Nightwing punched your victim once again. “Starting to think you like getting hurt.” The two of you continued throwing punches in sunch a calculated, synchronized way, catching a few as well. Once a thug managed to land a punch to your face, Nightwing was right to the rescue. “You okay?”

“Never better, baby.” You held your cheek and he worried you’d got a concussion for a moment before realizing you called everyone “baby.” Dazed, he also caught a punch to the back, knocking the final thug down with only his elbow. “That was it? That wasn’t even a challenge, that was a warm-up.” You told Dick, who was still kind of staring at you. “Hey, I told you I’m fine, don’t worry.” You smiled.

“It’s not that.” Dick chuckled. “It’s just, I’m thinking about what you said earlier.”

“What’d I say?” You kicked a guy’s arm away from your foot, wondering what Dick meant.

“About leaving Gotham…I’ve got an extra room at my place.” Dick shamelessly offered, but you could hear the nervousness in his voice.

“An extra room? Did you move apartments?” You raised a brow and saw his cheeks turn red under his mask.

“Uh, well…no.” He rubbed the back of his neck with his gloved hand. “I have extra room in my bed, though…if you’re down.” You stared at him, shocked and expressionless. Not many people could do that to you. “I don’t want to put you on the spot, and I don’t want to make you uncomfortable. I don’t expect anything out of you, but y/n, I want you in my life again.”

“…What?” You quietly answered him, still dumbfounded by the sudden proposal. You absolutely loved seeing him tonight, and you loved fighting beside him, and you loved him. It was like everything was coming back together.

“I left Gotham, I left everything behind. I left you behind. And I know that was both of our decisions, but if you’d just leave Gotham with me tonight, after all of this is over, I’d like to start over with you however you’d like.” Dick and you stood below these dim string lights in this criminal base surrounded by beaten foes, piles of money, and loads of firearms. A hell of a place for a romantic speech like this. “I just realized how much I was missing without you. And all the dangers of tonight, and you and I getting stuck here. I don’t want to be apart again, y/n.” He confessed to you.

You both quietly stood there a moment, not knowing what to do. You were still sweating from the fighting that had concluded a few minutes ago. Still breathing heavy with a fast heartbeat, but now for a new reason.

You said it yourself, you wanted to leave. Tonight solidified that decision. And Selina would understand. You were a Stray, you went where it was good for you, and maybe Blüdhaven would be good for you. It wasn’t on fire nearly as much, didn’t have as many supervillains, wouldn’t give you a target on your back.

And it had him.

And he was offering you everything.

And without another thought, you took a few paces forward into his arms and pulled his face in for a deep kiss, hands carefully cupping his cheeks as not to scratch them. Dick was surprised at first, but couldn’t resist what he’d been wanting since he left for Blüdhaven. He wrapped his arms around your waist and slowly kissed you back, the passion was still there. Both of you felt it.

You pulled away slightly and gazed into his eyes, both smiling stupidly from the kiss. “Does this mean you’ll come with me? Please say it does.”

“Yeah, Dickie, I’ll come with.”

taglist: @ravenmoore14 // @summersimmerus // @xoxobabydolls // @evilcr0ne // @thedarkqueenofavalon // @elenavampire21 //

#dick grayson x reader #dick grayson #dick grayson imagine #nightwing #nightwing x reader #nightwing imagine #batman arkham games #batman arkham knight #batman arkham knight imagine #dc comics #dc comics x reader #dc comics imagine

[tsukasalvr]

hihi I'm starting to hyperfix on tbhk again and the lack of tbhk writers on here is criminally low :,)

sooo could you do teru minamoto x supernatural!reader but the reader is a type of supernatural that's like a vampire but not really like she needs blood and flesh to survive but she can like be in light. maybe she blends into the school to try to regain any type of humanity and teru notices and thinks shes gonna harm a student but when he confronts her she confesses that she just wants to fit in. So teru kinda just drags her around to make sure she doesn't go bonkers and it turns out she actually is nice and not malicious but still seems extremely weak from the lack of blood to maybe teru offers his arm to drink from and he realizes that not all supernaturals are bad

I'm tried while writing this so sorry if the plot seems to complicated or something

also I dont mind if its headcanons or a one shot whichever fits you're schedule <333

AN: FRRRR like the tbhk writers rn are doing amazingggg!!!!!! But there’s literally so few of them and idk if I would consider myself an active tbhk writer cus I’m so inconsistent with my works LMAO but I do have a lot of tbhk works so I guess I’m pretty good

supernatural!vampire!reader

Anime/fandom: Tbhk

Character: Teru Minamoto

Warnings: I don’t proofread

A/n: I love girls and I love girls girls bless all the girls

Tbhk masterlist | Main masterlist

Teru Minamoto

It’s one thing that you’re a supernatural, but it’s another that you’re also a vampire which makes you an even more danger to other students

He watched you sneakily, hoping to catch you alone, but you’re always hanging around other people smiling and laughing that it makes him curious on what’s your motive. Are you getting close to these people so you can feed on them later? But he hesitates on that thought with how real your smile looks, as if you really do enjoy hanging around others and don’t want to feed on them

It’s hard to catch to you alone and is only able to find you alone when it’s the end of the school day, you looked at him worried and explain your situation on how you don’t want to feed on others and just want to be a normal student and how if he wanted, he can watch until he believes her

Teru doesn’t know why he decides to believe and trust you, he’s never hesitated like this. So the next day he never strays far away from you and it isn’t till a week later where he finally believes you but still wants to watch you just for the safety of others, which you agree with

Teru can’t help but want to smile whenever he sees you and even though he knows it’s wrong, it doesn’t take long until the both of you become a couple and he sees how tired you actually are and how you try to hide it but it only seems to get worse every day

He gets worried and without thinking offers his arm and neck for you bite on so you drink some of his blood. But even after he realizes what he said, he doesn’t go back on what he says and reassures you it’s okay and although your hesitant, you agree and at least once a week, Teru lets you feed on him a little and will ask if raw meat will work the same if he isn’t available

Although Teru thinks it feels weird and can’t help but blush whenever you bite him, it’s all worth it to see you better

#tbhk imagine #tbhk headcanons #tbhk x y/n #tbhk x reader #jshk headcanons #jshk x y/n #jshk x reader #teru x reader #teru headcanon #teru imagines #teru minamoto x reader #minamoto teru

[vilevenom]

Let's Be Us Again

Fandom: Dreamworks Trolls

Pairings: Hickory/John Dory

Summary:  Hickory was certainly the last troll John Dory thought he'd see after moving to Pop Village. To say it was a shock was a bit of an understatement. But they could pick up where they'd left off before, right?....right? Excerpt:

"John Dory," Hickory breathed, his eyes widening as they landed on John, the smile slipping from his lips.

"Oh! How do you two know each other?" Poppy asked, tilting her head slightly as she looked between the two, a curious smile on her face. Floyd glanced between them and shifted closer to his brother, as if he could tell that John was having a bit of an internal panic.

"That's a-uhm…a bit of a long story," John finally chuckled, his smile crooked as he spoke, "Probably, what? A couple of decades in the making?" Link to the fic on AO3 There's now a sequel! You can find it here or over on AO3

It was a day like any other, in John's humble opinion. The sun was shining, birds were chirping, and Poppy was banging at his door and shouting excitedly about her plans for the day.

Ever since they'd rescued Floyd from Mount Rageous, John Dory had been settled in Rhonda just outside of Pop Village. Poppy had taken this as explicit permission to bug the eldest brother with any and all tasks she felt could either "benefit from his previous experience as a band leader", or something she felt he'd genuinely enjoy. Which honestly, John was more than okay with. The pop queen had certainly grown on him, and he could easily see how she'd gotten his youngest brother wrapped around her finger.

Today, Poppy had requested John's help with some activities for aspiring singers that she'd set up at the community hall. She said she thought he'd be a great inspiration, and maybe he could help with teaching some basics about being in a band. He didn't really know how she figured that, given how he'd caused his own band to break up and not see each other for twenty years, but he supposed her heart was in the right place. She'd also managed to drag Floyd into it as well, so there was also that.

"I'm coming, Poppyseed," John laughed as he pushed open Rhonda's door and stepped into the sunshine. "Someone's impatient."

"Oh, I'm just so excited! The kids are gonna LOVE you guys! I made some of them listen to your old records and they got SO excited," Poppy practically squealed as she bounced on her toes. "I also thought we could stop by the market to grab some breakfast before we head over! There's a trading caravan from Lonesome Flats that rolled into town last night. There might be something new to try!"

John chuckled at Poppy's enthusiasm as he strolled over to Floyd, pulling his brother into a side hug. "Sounds like a plan, Popstar. How're you feeling, Floyd?"

The younger troll had been slowly but surely gaining his energy and health back since being freed from his diamond prison. When he'd first arrived in Pop Village he couldn't even leave Branch's bunker without an escort of at least two of his brothers to ensure they could get him back home if he collapsed. Now he simply needed a walking cane to help him get around, and a break every couple of hours to recoup his energy.

"I'm okay," Floyd sighed, smiling as he touched John's hand on his shoulder, "Feeling a little exhausted already just watching Poppy jump around, but I think today will be good."

John dipped his head in a short nod, giving his brother a friendly little shake before letting him go to strike a pose and point towards the market. "Then let's BRO!"

Poppy snorted at his antics, but skipped ahead of the brothers down the path towards the market, while Floyd rolled his eyes with a fond smile on his face.

~

Poppy hadn't been kidding about the caravan from Lonesome Flats. The market was practically overrun with country trolls - both those looking to trade or sell their wares, and those looking to bring something "exotic" back home with them. Children, both pop and country, ran amok through the crowd, nearly tripping just about anyone who wanted to move more than a foot through the area.

"Holy smokes!" John crowed as an especially rambunctious duo ran in front of him, causing him to stop fast and pinwheel his arms through the air to ensure he didn't fall over.

"Careful, old man," Floyd teased, poking his brother in the side with the end of his cane, "or you might be needing one of these."

"Shut up," John snorted, shoving Floyd lightly, making the younger troll catch himself with said cane as they both laughed.

"Oh my GOSH!" Poppy suddenly shrieked in front of the two of them, her shout causing a small handful of trolls to turn and look to see what she was yelling about. John and Floyd were among them - Floyd with a look of curiosity on his face, while John looked something like a puffalo caught in a searchlight.

"HICKORY!" Poppy screeched, before running off like a shot through the crowd, dodging around children and adults alike before practically tackling a troll to the ground some ways away from the brothers. The two glanced at each other, Floyd's expression changing from curiosity to one of worry even as John plastered a grin on his face.

"Let's go see who Poppyseed just put into the hospital, yeah?" John Dory said with a bit of a strained laugh, gesturing for Floyd to move ahead of him through the crowd.

Floyd narrowed his eyes at his brother, poking him in the chest before moving forward. "We're gonna talk about how you just looked like you swallowed a sour berry whole later, mister," he sniffed, before shuffling though the crowd, being mindful of his cane and the running children as he maneuvered around the other trolls in the market.

In the meantime, John rubbed absently at the spot Floyd had poked him while a million and one thoughts ran through his head. It couldn't possibly be his Hickory. The last he'd heard, he had gotten into some sort of accident on a mountain top and disappeared. At least, that was the rumor. He hadn't wanted to know anymore than that. He followed after his brother after a moment, bumping into and apologizing to a couple of trolls on his way as his mind wandered.

"-and then we had to fight some giants in order to get his brothers back! We totally hit the perfect family harmony and saved everyone." Poppy was just finishing a high speed ramble as the brothers approached, bouncing excitedly on her toes in front of a county troll with only two legs, his wide cowboy hat covering half his face. John let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. It definitely couldn't be his Hickory, then.

"S'at so? My, that certainly sounds like some adventure. Glad t'hear y'all got everyone back safe and sound. I'd love to meet all of Branch's brothers," the country troll drawled, a low chuckle leaving him as he tipped his cowboy hat back to grin at Poppy. John's breath caught in his throat.

"Well, you're in luck! I happen to have two of them here with me right now," Poppy enthused, turning with a flourish to gesture at the approaching duo. "The one with the magenta hair is Floyd, the one who was captured first and started our whole adventure, and the other is-"

"John Dory," Hickory breathed, his eyes widening as they landed on John, the smile slipping from his lips.

"Oh! How do you two know each other?" Poppy asked, tilting her head slightly as she looked between the two, a curious smile on her face. Floyd glanced between them and shifted closer to his brother, as if he could tell that John was having a bit of an internal panic.

"That's a-uhm…a bit of a long story," John finally chuckled, his smile crooked as he spoke, "Probably, what? A couple of decades in the making?"

Hickory visibly swallowed, letting out an awkward sounding laugh, "Somethin' like that, I s'pose."

"So, you got yourself a county accent, huh? Did you finally find what you were looking for in Lonesome Flats?" John asked, the tension in his chest loosening slightly. At least it was nice to know Hickory hadn't died. And, sure, perhaps they hadn't parted on the best of terms, but he couldn't exactly blame Hickory for leaving the way he had.

"Mm, not exactly," Hickory shrugged, tugging at his vest. "but I s'pose sort of somethin' to that effect. I mean…M'not a bounty hunter anymore, if that's what yer askin'."

John nodded slightly, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly. It was like the tension slowly bled from his body as his shoulders loosened and a genuine smile curled his lips. He'd always worried that if he ever saw Hickory again that he would either be filled with dread, anger or unending sadness. But, in reality, he just felt a wave of relief that the other was okay and seemed to be doing well. "I'm…I'm really happy to see you, Hick."

The country troll blinked, surprise blatant on his face at John Dory's confession. Poppy rocked on her heels as the two older trolls looked at each other, obviously lost in their own little world. Floyd shuffled closer to her, biting at his lower lip as he watched the cavalcade of emotions wash over his brothers face.

"Uh, well," Poppy coughed, breaking the moment and causing all eyes to land on her, "It was super nice to see you Hickory. I heard the caravan will be in town for, like, a week? We'll catch up later! We're gonna have a big party to welcome you guys tomorrow, so I'll see you then! Right now we were actually just heading to grab breakfast before going over to the community center." She gestured over her shoulder towards the other side of town.

"Oh. Alright then, miss Poppy. I'll see you tomorrow," Hickory said, his charming smile coming back as he swept his hat off to bow slightly to the Queen of Pop. Poppy simply giggled and waved a hand at him as she rolled her eyes. Floyd wrinkled his nose at the gestured, still not quite sure how he felt about this troll from his brothers past.

"It was nice to see you, Hickory," John began, taking a step to follow Poppy and Floyd, before the pink troll shoved him back to where he'd been standing, a grin on her face.

"No, no! You two obviously haven't seen each other in a while! You should stay here and catch up," Poppy chirped, patting John on the shoulder before spinning away from him. "The kids'll understand if we postpone for a few days. Plus! I'm sure most of them will want to come see what the traders brought from Lonesome Flats. They'll probably be too distracted to pay much attention to anything else." She flashed John a grin over her shoulder as she manhandled Floyd into walking next to her, the magenta haired troll squawking indignantly as he was all but pushed away. "We'll go let them know, and we'll see you later! Enjoy yourselves!" She waved at them as she hustled Floyd away.

"Poppy!" Floyd grunted, trying and failing to dig his heels in as the Queen pushed him along. "What're you doing?! John looked so upset when he saw that troll! I can't just leave him like that!"

"We're not going to leave them."

"What? But you just said-"

"Yes. We're going to go to the community center to tell the kids that we're postponing the class, but then we're going back to spy on those two. You think I'm not also curious about how they reacted to each other?! For all that is trolly, Floyd, it looked like Hickory was about to faint when he saw John Dory. I need to know what that's all about."

Floyd let out a breathy laugh as he began walking on his own at Poppy's admission of curiosity and concern. He should've known better than to question her.

~

Meanwhile, John was staring after the two of them somewhat forlornly. Sure, he was happy to see Hickory, but being suddenly left alone with him? This was, perhaps, a bit much for his heart to handle at the moment.

"Uhh," John said unhelpfully as he turned back to Hickory, who looked equally as confused and unsettled as John felt. "Should we…go get breakfast?"

Hickory blinked at him before an easy grin split his face and he settled his cowboy hat back on his head and swept his arm out towards the market at large. "After you."

John snorted and rolled his eyes before gesturing for Hickory to follow him through the bustling market. He lead them to the opposite end of the market, where there were fewer trolls roaming around, and no caravan tents set up. There, a small bakery stand sat, where John ordered a couple of muffins and some coffee for the two of them.

"Thanks," Hickory hummed as the two of them sat at a small table off to the side of the stand, pulling his hat off and setting it to the side before picking up his coffee cup to inhale the aroma.

"No problem," John said with a shrug, picking at the muffin he had sat in front of himself. "So, uh…Lonesome Flats, huh? What made you settle down there?"

"Just gettin' right to it, huh?" Hickory chuckled, glancing up at John through his eye lashes. "It's a bit of a long story, though I s'pose we've got time t'spare. Also, just to clear one thing up right quick, I've lived there for 'bout a year, but can't really say I'm much settled there."

"But you're settled enough to have picked up their accent?" John prodded, Hickory wincing slightly at the comment.

"You know that's just part of blending in, mein freund," Hickory sighed, slipping into his natural accent easily.

"Ah, there it is," John snorted derisively, shaking his head as he popped a bit of muffin into his mouth, "who're you going after this time? Better be a real scum bag or I'm going to have to tell Poppy what you're up to."

"I already told you, I'm not a bounty hunter anymore," Hickory stated, shaking his head slightly, his ears lowering slightly as he watched John pick at his muffin. "Poppy and Branch helped me get out of that life. I don't think even Dickory is doing it anymore."

John paused in the destruction of his breakfast, looking up at Hickory with a light frown. "But your brother-"

"Said it was the only thing the two of us were good for. Ja, I know," Hickory shrugged, blowing hair out of his face. "But after the whole Rock Apocalypse thing, I just-" Hickory cut himself off as he took a deep breath and glanced up at the trees and sky above them. "Queen Poppy was the bounty. We were meant to bring her and the pop string to Queen Barb, in order to secure a safe place for the yodelers to keep their music. Dickory and I established ourselves in Lonesome Flats and spread a story about getting lost in an avalanche in the mountains so that no one would look for us. But, when we finally found Poppy and Branch…She was different from what I expected." He turned his gaze back to John Dory and smiled warmly. "We grew up hearing all these horror stories about Pop trolls stealing everyone's music, du weisst? But all she wanted to do was help everyone live in harmony. She wanted everyone to be able to enjoy each others music. And I- Well, it reminded me of you. And how, when we were younger, you said you wanted to travel and experience everything you possibly could. I wanted that. I wanted that for everyone. Not just the yodelers." He rolled his shoulders and took a sip of his coffee, his voice shifting back into the country drawl John had heard when they'd first come across Hickory in the market, "So, I tried to help miss Poppy get away from Barb with the Pop string. But Dickory-" he rolled his eyes and glared off to the side, "He blew our cover."

John sat enraptured by Hickory's story, unconsciously resting his cheek in the palm of his hand and leaning forward. He blinked as Hickory paused, wrinkling his nose. "How'd he blow your cover?"

Hickory's cheeks suddenly grew dark as he ducked his head and let out a nervous chuckle. "Well, y'know, country trolls usually have four legs? And my brother and I, we most defintely don't?"

John frowned, sitting back in his chair. "Yeah? What does that have to do with-" he froze, a slow realization dawning on his face, before he let out a sudden bark of laughter. "Oh my troll! Did you two make a freaking costume?!"

Hickory hummed abashedly and rubbed at his neck. "Yessir. Dickory may have been the back end o' the horse," he muttered as he cringed, grinning crookedly at John, "he heard me tryin' to warn Poppy to run and, well, he ripped the costume apart."

John couldn't stop the peels of laughter that left him at the mental image of Dickory angrily ripping himself out of the back end of a pair of pants, slapping the table and nearly knocking their coffees over. "Hooooboy, that is PRICELSS!" He hiccupped as his laughter subsided after a moment, wiping at his watery eyes. "He must've been so pissed at you."

"Bit of an understatement, I'm afraid," Hickory shrugged, "After miss Poppy saved everyone, I pretty much told Dickory off an' moved to Lonesome Flats."

"And he just let you go?"

"I threatened to sick Poppy on 'im if he tried to pull me back into huntin'. She knows about it, too, so if I suddenly disappear from Lonesome Flats or she gets wind that somethin' happened to me, she promised to come find me. She's sweet like that."

John nodded, an easy smile on his face. "Yeah, she is. I'm really glad Branch has her in his life."

"I'm still tryin' to wrap my head around the fact that he's your brother! You talked about your brothers a bit, but what a small world we seem to live in," Hickory chuckled. "I'm also kinda surprised you even wanted to talk t'me, if I'm bein' honest."

John blinked at the sudden shift in tone from the other, leaning back in his seat a bit and wrapping his fingers around his coffee cup. "Well," he sighed, "I wont' lie. I used to imagine running into you a lot, after you first left. At first I was really upset, then I just became angry." He scowled down at his coffee. "I imagined so many different scenarios. In most of them I told you off for everything. Sometimes I did something nasty to get back at you. But, when I finally saw you…" He lifted his gaze, his frown slipping into an easy smile, "I was just happy to see that you were alive and seemed to be doing well. I guess that old saying that time heals all wounds really is true."

Hickory stared at John for a minute, his breath catching in his throat. "I'm so sorry, Johnny…"

"Please," John rocked back in his chair, turning away with a rueful grin, while waving a hand through the air, "I don't think I ever really blamed you for leaving. You were young - we both were. And I'm not exactly-" he gestured vaguely at himself, "y'know."

Hickory shook his head adamantly at John Dory, sitting forward to slide his hand across the table and rest it over John's. "Don't ever say that about yerself, darlin'," Hickory crooned, gently squeezing John's fingers, "You are so much more than you give yerself credit for."

John Dory blinked at Hickory, a flush quickly spreading across his face the longer he stared at the other. He cleared his throat after a moment, pulling his hand away from Hickory to cover one of his flaming cheeks, while an embarrassed trill of a laugh escaped him. "Don't say stuff like that, Hick," he said through a strained chuckle, "You're gonna give me ideas.

A grin settled on Hickory's face at John's reaction to his touch, taking the opportunity of the other looking in the opposite direction to slide his chair around the table to sit closer to John. "Oh, yeah? What kinda ideas, darlin'?"

John all but squeaked when he realized how much closer Hickory had gotten to him, his cheeks growing impossibly brighter as he whipped his head around to stare wide eyed at the bounty hunter turned cowboy.

~

Meanwhile, Poppy and Floyd had returned from their quick trip to the community center, and were both currently crouched inconspicuously behind a bush to watch the two having breakfast.

"I can't hear what they're saying," Poppy whined under her breath, shifting to try and get a better view of the two.

"If we get any closer they'll know we're here," Floyd sighed, shifting to settle more comfortably on his knees. "John has ridiculous hearing, and if Hickory really used to be a bounty hunter, then I can only imagine how quickly he'd be able to tell he was being spied on."

"Yeah, but," Poppy flopped back down next to Floyd, a pout on her lips, "I really want to know what Hickory said to make John Dory blush like that."

"John Dory is blushing?!" Floyd quickly sat up, shoving a branch out of his way to get a better look at the table. He gasped quietly at seeing how bashful his brother looked as Hickory got close to him, his eyes wide at the sight. Even wracking his brain for every memory he had of John, he couldn't think of a time he'd ever seen his brother look so ruffled. That was certainly something. "I don't think I've ever seen John look so…bashful."

"I know! Isn't it cute?!" Poppy squealed quietly at Floyd, grabbing at his shoulder in her enthusiasm. "Wouldn't they be SUCH a cute couple?! Awww," she sighed, letting Floyd go to cup her own cheeks, "They have history, and they look like they get along so well! Ahhhh! We HAVE to get them together!" By the end of her rant Poppy was practically rasping to keep herself from shouting about the couple sat across from them.

Floyd had his doubts, however, about how the two would do as a couple. Especially after the anxiety he could feel radiate off of John Dory when they'd first come across Hickory at the market. "I mean, Hickory definitely knows how to push John's buttons. I don't know if that's necessarily a good thing yet or not."

"What do you mean?"

The two sat back, letting the bush block their view for the time being.

"Well…John tensed up pretty badly when he first saw Hickory. Maybe their history is more complicated than we can appreciate right now. I mean, they do look like they're getting along right now, I can't argue that. But, who knows how long that will last. John's never really been one to give up the reins on a situation, if you forgive the pun. Hickory seems like he might have a bit of a big personality, from what I've seen so far, and I can't imagine that will mesh well with John's, uhm…exuberant tendencies."

Poppy frowned lightly at Floyd, tapping at her chin thoughtfully. "Hmmm…maybe you're right. I guess we should probably just keep an eye on them for now. So we can at least be there if something happens between them. Be it bad," she wiggled her eyebrows at Floyd who let out a fond sigh of exasperation at her, "or good!"

When the two looked back out from behind the bush they both panicked slightly at finding the table where John and Hickory had been abandoned.

"Where'd they go?!"

~

"Sooo," John drew the word out as he and Hickory wandered through the crowded market place, snapping his fingers and slapping his hands together absently, "What've you been up to since moving to Lonesome Flats?"

Hickory chuckled at John's fidgeting, deciding to take a chance and catch one of John's swinging hands in one of his own. "Well, first I had t'make it up to miss Delta and the other country trolls for trickin' them. But, they were real nice about everythin', after I told 'em about Dickory and how I'd grown up. Got myself a nice little house, and a job workin' at one o' the shops there. Shortly after that, I heard about Poppy startin' talks with all of the troll leaders to work on this idea of a cross kingdom trade route. A way for all different kinds of trolls to experience each others cultures and music. Anyone who wanted to volunteer could represent their home kingdom and travel around. Took a bit a doin', so I think our group's only been at it for a few months? We've gone through Vibe City and Volcano Rock City so far. Pop Village is stop number three." He wiggled three fingers in the air to show the number of stops, grinning as he noted that John's hand was still firmly in his own without any signs of pulling away.

"You finally got your wish to travel wherever you wanted, huh?" John asked, a soft smile on his face. "I'm glad to hear it, Hick. After Pop village, where's your next stop?"

Hickory shrugged, dipping his head slightly to watch their hands as he gently began to swing them back and forth. "I think the caravan is headed up to Symphonyville next. Dunno if I'm really interested in headin' into the mountains, though, if I'm bein' honest." John gave his hand a little squeeze, causing Hickory to glance up at the other troll shyly. "I might be tempted t'stay in Pop Village for an extended amount of time."

John cleared his throat as he noticed the look on Hickory's face, finally pulling his hand away to tuck it into the pocket of his vest. Hickory's face fell as John hunched his shoulders slightly, but he accepted the reaction and tucked his own thumbs under his belt. He couldn't expect John to forgive him completely so soon.

"Well, y'know, there's plenty of room here, if you did want to stay," John finally said after a minute or two of silence between the two, shrugging his shoulders nonchalantly. "Rhonda and I stay just outside the village, near Branch's bunker. There's loads of room out there to expand living areas."

"Rhonda?" Hickory asked, his steps faltering slightly at hearing the name. Did John have a girlfriend? He shifted so they were walking a little further apart, now feeling a bit like an ass for his blatant flirting.

"Yeah! My armadillo bus," John said, his face lighting up as he spoke, grinning widely at Hickory, "I found her not too long after we split up, when I went back to the Neverglade trail. She's super smart, and really sweet. You wanna meet her?"

Hickory let out a breath, a sudden wave of relief washing over him at the knowledge that he hadn't been blatantly stepping on anyone's toes. "Yeah, 'course," he hummed, trotting along next to John as they headed towards the edge of town.

"She's a licker, I'll give you that much warning," John laughed, more bounce in his step as they moved away from the crowds, "She's also been known to try and eat people when she first meets them, but don't worry too much about that. I'm sure she won't try to eat you if you're with me."

A slightly nervous chuckle escaped Hickory as he followed John, starting to wonder if him meeting the bus critter was really that great of an idea. "If you say so, darlin'."

"I do say so," John chirped, snapping his goggles a little to emphasize his point. Hickory snorted quietly at the gesture, endlessly pleased that John had yet to call him out on using the endearment on him yet.

"Here she is!" John crowded loudly as the two stepped into a clearing, the large armadillo bus jumping up excitedly at seeing John. She wagged her tail, causing her whole back end to swing as she bound forward, smacking her entire face into John's chest, causing the troll to loose his breath and stumble backwards with a laugh. "Down girl," he wheezed, patting her face before her attention was caught on Hickory.

The ex bounty hunter froze as she stared him down, her tail freezing as her gaze bore into him. He swallowed thickly, shifting slightly to get ready to run, before Rhonda let out a sudden rumbling roar of a sound and licked Hickory. He gasped as he stumbled back, his hat going flying, as he found himself absolutely coated in glittery slobber.

"Awww, she likes you!" John laughed, patting Rhonda on the side as she purred and flopped herself down next to him.

"Yay?" Hickory shook the slobber off his arms, before wiping at his face, letting out little sounds of disgust as he did so. "I s'pose it's just a good thing she didn't try t'eat me," he all but grumbled, turning to look for where his hat had landed.

"Well, that might still happen. Rhonda's unpredictable like that," John chuckled, making a quick kissy face at the armadillo bus who cooed back at him, before looking back to Hickory. "You wanna shower that off?"

Hickory paused at the offer, blinking in surprise. "You comin' onto me, Johnny?" he teased, winking playfully at John. He knew he must look an absolute sight right now, but the mild flirt still managed to get John's cheeks flaming.

"No! I'm just offering you my shower," John scoffed, rolling his eyes as he rubbed at one of his warm cheeks. "C'mon, you. Rhonda's got a shower inside." He waved for Hickory to follow as he opened Rhonda's door and hopped inside.

~

"They could be anywhere! Poppy, please. Let's take a break," Floyd huffed, doing his best to keep up with the Queen of Pop, but his energy was quickly flagging. He stopped in the middle of a path in the market, doing his best to catch his breath.

Poppy glanced back at Floyd, suddenly feeling terrible for running the poor troll practically ragged as they ran around the market trying to find where John Dory and Hickory had gone. "Sorry, Floyd," she sighed, moving to support him as they shuffled over to a bench so they could sit down. "I just- well, you said so yourself. Something could go wrong while they're together."

"Hey now, I didn't say something might go wrong. I just think it'd be best to keep an eye on them in case John gets overwhelmed, or he starts a fight," Floyd muttered, stretching his legs out in front of himself as they sat down.

"Exactly. In case something goes wrong," Poppy said as she flopped herself down next to Floyd.

They both jerked slightly when they heard the tell tale sound of Rhonda roaring.

"Ah," Floyd laughed, nodding in the direction of Rhonda's clearing, "There they are."

~

John hovered outside the door of his small bathroom, wringing the towel he'd dug out between his hands. He could hear Hickory humming to himself in the shower and it sent a thrill down his spine. Maybe this time could be different? He jumped as he heard the water turn off, quickly hooking the towel onto the doorknob and stepping away. "Towel's on the knob for you!" he called through the door before moving to the couch in the larger portion of his living space.

"Thank you kindly, darlin'," Hickory called from the bathroom, the door opening ever so slightly as the country troll pulled the towel inside.

John flushed at the endearment. It's not like he hadn't noticed Hickory using it, it was just…well, it was nice to have someone be immediately kind to him upon reuniting. Perhaps the whole adventure with his brothers and their sour reunions were still lingering on his heart and mind. Just a little.

"That's better," Hickory sighed as he stepped out of the bathroom, pulling John from his thoughts. The towel was draped around his shoulders to catch the water dripping from his hair. Even damp the ends still curled up to defy the pull of gravity. "Nothin' against yer bus, but I'm not the biggest fan o' glitter. It gets in places it really shouldn't be," he said with a light laugh and a shudder, which caused John to startle into laughing as well.

"Yeah. Sorry not sorry," John snorted, waving for Hickory to sit next to him on the couch.

Once Hickory sat the two stewed in silence for a minute. John stared off at the board of Brozone pictures Branch had put together that he hadn't yet had the heart to dismantle, while Hickory fidgeted with his fingers.

"I missed you," Hickory finally breathed, breaking the silence and swallowing thickly after the admission.

John blinked, turning to face Hickory with a genuine look of surprise on his face.

"What? How's that surprisin'?" Hickory asked, a crooked smirk on his lips.

"If you knew my track record, it really wouldn't be so surprising that I'm surprised," John snorted derisively, shrugging his shoulders. "I don't know if you remember, but I broke up my brothers band before I started traveling. We did not part ways on good terms. And none of them were exactly pleased to see me when we met up again."

"A'course I remember," Hickory murmured, shifting so he was sat a bit closer to John, their thighs touching, "I'm sorry to hear that you didn't have the best a' reunions with 'em. But, from what Poppy told me, and the fact that yer still here, I assume thing's've gotten a bit better? Weren't you with one o' yer brothers when we met at the market?"

"Yeah. That was Floyd. He's the only one who didn't really seem to hold a grudge over everything. But, he's also sort of dependent on me and Branch right now, still. He got hurt pretty bad when he was captured. So, y'know, I don't really know if that's actual forgiveness, or just playing nice while he needs help," John said with a self depreciating laugh. He shrugged, turning a wobbly smile on Hickory, "So, yeah. It's a bit surprising that someone who walked out on me would miss me."

Hickory shifted back as if he'd been hit, biting his lip as he looked to his knees. "You know why I had t'leave, John," he breathed, twisting his fingers into the damp towel around his neck.

"Yeah. Still doesn't change the fact that it hurt."

Hickory nodded, letting out a breath. "Can we…can we try to start again? Believe it or not, Johnny, but ya mean a whole lot t'me. I'd really like it if we could-" he cut himself off with a startled gasp as arms suddenly wrapped around him, squeezing him in a hug.

"Of course," John breathed into Hickory's hair, "I missed you, too. Of course we can start over."

A warm smile bloomed on Hickory's face as he turned to nudge his nose against John's temple, chuckling quietly at the odd angle the other had pulled him into a hug at. "Thank you," he murmured, lifting an arm to awkwardly half return the hug, since the other was currently pinned to his side.

~

"Well, there's Rhonda," Floyd sighed, frowning as he looked around the clearing, where there was no sign of John or Hickory.

Poppy huffed, frowning as she skipped a little ahead of Floyd to peer around the clearing, but doing her best not to alert Rhonda of their presence. She had seemingly fallen asleep since they'd heard her roar. "Where did they go now," Poppy whined, tossing her head and arms back in exasperation.

"I don't-oh!" Floyd began, before grabbing Poppy and dragging her into some tall grass as Rhonda's door swung open. They watched as John hopped down from the bus critter, holding his hand up to take Hickory's as he descended from the bus as well. They seemed to be in a quiet conversation, smiling and laughing as they exited the bus and began to walk down a trail that lead further into the forest.

"C'mon!" Poppy chirped, her energy renewed as she tugged Floyd along by his wrist.

~

"Yeah, so after we rescued Floyd, I decided to stick around Pop Village. As much as I love traveling, getting to know my brothers is also pretty important to me. I missed out on so much, y'know?"

Hickory nodded as he listened to John, a fond little smile on his face as they meandered down the forest trail. He'd truly missed getting to hear John Dory's stories. Well, just him talking in general, really. He knew John liked to talk, but he liked it even better when someone genuinely listened to him, and that was probably one of Hickory's favorite things to do.

"So, you think yer gonna settle down here in Pop Village? Or just stay until Floyd can get along without a cane?"

John clicked his tongue and shrugged as he climbed up onto a fallen branch. He held his arms out as he began to walk along it like a tight rope, wobbling a little as it rocked slightly beneath his feet.

"Depends on how long it takes for Branch to get sick of me, I guess," he said with a derisive little laugh, causing Hickory to frown.

"What'd I say about talkin' about yerself like that?" Hickory scolded, shoving the branch slightly to make John stumble and catch himself.

"Hey!" John clung to a small twig as the base of the branch wobbled beneath his feet. "Trying to kill me?!"

"No. Just tryin' to redirect your stupid self depreciatin' bullshit," Hickory said with a thin grin. "Yer brothers love you."

"You say that-"

"I do!" Hickory cut him off, shoving the branch again, causing John to cuss him out as he stumbled to catch himself again. "I still love Dickory, even though he dragged me over hells half acre to hunt down trolls for plenty of not so savory folks. I still love 'im, even though if I were t'see his stupid face any time soon I'd punch him in the teeth! Yer brothers love you, Johnny, and they're probably more than happy to have you around, whether ya want t'believe it or not."

John snorted above him, but relented. "I guess you've got a point," he muttered, laughing as Hickory responded with a quiet, "a'course I do." He shook his head slightly, rolling his eyes with a grin and most certainly not paying attention to his feet and where he was walking. Because, if he had, then he would've noticed the patch of lichen growing on the fallen branch. He gasped as his foot slipped, nothing nearby for him to grab onto to keep himself from falling. He braced for the impact of the ground, but was pleasantly surprised when instead he hit something soft and a quiet 'oof' was breathed into his ear.

"Careful there, darlin'," Hickory hummed, grinning down at John as the other turned his head to peer up at his rescuer, "ya gotta watch where yer goin' if yer gonna be climbin' on things." He chuckled as John's face flushed, tipping his head forward a bit to properly get into the teal trolls space. "You alright?"

"Fine," John all but squeaked. He took a breath and cleared his throat at hearing how high his voice had gone. "Fine. I'm fine," he huffed, purposefully lowering his voice an octave, and pulling away from Hickory to tug at his vest and fix his askew goggles. "Let's, uhm, go this way," he added quickly, spinning on his heel to point down another trail, "I think the star gazing club has a meeting place up on a hill with a nice view over Pop Village."

Hickory followed with a self satisfied smirk on his lips, his thumbs hooked into the belt loops on his pants. "Whatever ya say, Johnny."

~

"Did you see that?!" Poppy quietly squealed, shaking Floyd's shoulder in her enthusiasm.

"I did," Floyd hummed, letting the over enthusiastic queen shake him. However, he really couldn't return the excitement she exuded for the two they were following. True enough that John seemed more than happy to be around Hickory, but he couldn't shake the strange feeling of dread in the pit of his stomach every time they had a "cute" interaction.

"Oh my gosh! Maybe we were both worried about nothing," Poppy sighed, stars practically in her eyes as she watched John and Hickory walk away, "Maybe we should let them finish their date in peace." She stood and brushed her skirt off, offering a hand to Floyd.

Floyd took Poppy's hand and help in standing back up, but shook his head at her suggestion to stop following them. "No. No, I don't think that's a good idea yet."

Poppy tilted her head, a frown on her face. "What? Why not?"

Floyd sighed, brushing hair out of his face as he watched his brother disappear up a trail. "I just have this awful feeling in my gut," he admitted, his shoulders drooping, "I don't know why. John looks happy, and they haven't had any sort of interaction that we've seen that should make me think something bad might happen. I just…" He waved a hand vaguely through the air, "I don't know. I'm worried about him."

Poppy stared at Floyd for a minute, as if she was trying to see through him. He swallowed thickly and shifted on his feet, a bit worried that she would call him over protective and silly for his trepidation. But, he was pleasantly surprised when instead a large smile bloomed across her face and she took his hand and squeezed it lightly. "You're a good brother," she stated, before turning to follow John and Hickory again.

~

"Here we are!" John announced unnecessarily as the duo reached a tall hill at the end of the trail.

"S'quite the hill," Hickory laughed as John rolled his eyes.

"It's not the hill that's impressive. It's the view," John retorted, sticking his tongue out at Hickory, even as he grabbed the other trolls hand to tug him along. "C'mon! It's actually kinda impressive."

It was finally Hickory's turn to flush as John tugged him along, a slow grin making its way across his face as the two trudged up the hill.

Upon cresting the hill a spectacular view of Pop Village was exposed. Pods of every size, shape and color hung from the trees, while below you could see the hustle and bustle of the market, where trolls were going about their daily lives. There was a class learning how to manouver flyer bugs zipping around the walkways in the trees, while a heard of puffalo were grazing just outside the edge of the market.

"My," Hickory breathed, before letting out a low whistle, "That is quite the view, isn't it?"

"Yeah," John hummed, before suddenly flopping down in the grass next to Hickory, leaning back on his hands to watch the hustle and bustle of the community below. "I'm kinda surprised more trolls don't come up here for the view? But I guess most pop trolls are more interested in fun, games and parties than sitting quietly."

Hickory settled himself in the grass next to John, while setting his hat to the side. "Never been one to really stick to the mold, have ya, Johnny?"

John tilted his head to smirk at Hickory, shifting to nudge their shoulders together. "Nah. The mold is boring. Plus, I think all those years spent by myself sort of made me forget exactly how energetic pop trolls can be. It can get to be a bit…much."

"What do y'mean, by yerself? Ya never picked up a travelling companion? You always talked about all o' the things you wanted the two of us to do when we were together."

John sighed quietly and shifted so he could tip his head and rest his cheek against Hickory's shoulder. "Nope," he popped the 'p', watching a flyer bug and its rider do a flip in the air, "Between hiking the Neverglade trail, where there really wasn't anyone around, raising Rhonda and moving around so much? Anyone I did meet didn't really want to stay with me very long. Or it just didn't feel right, y'know?"

"Yeah, I know."

With a light frown John tipped his head back a little to try and get a look at Hickory's face, but only really managed to shove his nose into the country trolls cheek. It pulled a chuckle from Hickory, but wasn't really what John was going for. He sat up and leaned forward, catching Hickory's eye. "You didn't find someone out there for you?"

"When?!" Hickory laughed, this time it was his turn to sound sarcastic and self depreciating, "When I was bein' dragged from town to town with no set timeline for when we came or went? Or when I was workin' on a hunt with my brother?" He ran his fingers through his hair, leaving it sticking up at odd angles. "Plus, like you said," he shrugged, "Nothin' felt right."

"I'm sorry."

Hickory wrinkled his nose, turning a bemused smile on John. "What're you sorry for? S'not like you were the one forcing me t'live the life I did. Plus, isn't it some sorta unwritten rule that y'should be happy when ya hear yer ex has been miserable without ya?"

"That'd be a stupid rule," John stated flippantly, "You're not happy I was upset after you left, are you?"

"Course not."

"Then why would I be happy that you were unhappy? I might've been upset for a while, but I only ever wanted you to be happy."

Hickory felt his heart flutter in his chest at John's words, while letting out a slow breath. "Y'mean that?"

"Duh," John snorted, moving his hand to entwine their fingers together, a soft smile on his face. "You were one of the best friends I've ever had, Hick."

"John," Hickory breathed, shifting so he was more fully facing John Dory, "You were mine, too. I thought about ya, so much, when I was out runnin' the roads with Dickory. You have no idea."

John hummed, squeezing Hickory's hand. "I thought about you, too."

Without much warning, Hickory lifted his free hand to cup John's cheek, causing the teal troll to freeze up, a startled look on his face. "Hickory…?"

Hickory didn't answer, simply letting out a soft hum as he leaned forward and pressed his lips to John's while letting his eyes slip shut. He was completely unaware of the somewhat panicked, wide eyed expression on John's face as the county troll pressed close.

"Wanted to do that for a while," Hickory offered as he broke their kiss a moment later while pressing his forehead to John's, eyes still closed. He let out a breathy little laugh as he nudged their noses together, while John could feel his panic slowly begin to ebb away, even as his heart thundered in his chest. "Seein' you in the market today felt like my whole world came crashin' down around my ears, while also finally feelin' like it was all coming back together." He let out a low chuckle, brushing his fingers down from John Dory's cheek to push under John's vest and rest against his shoulder, relishing in the little shiver he could feel as his fingers moved. "The time we spent together, all those years ago, it meant the world to me, Johnny. I want ya to know that." He swept his thumb in little circles against John's shoulder, finally opening his eyes and leaning back a little to take in the flush and startled expression still on John Dory's face. "Thinkin' 'bout you, an' the courage you had to explore the world on yer own when you were still so young. It really helped me through some hard times."

John swallowed thickly, feeling like his skin was on fire while his heart was ready to beat right out of his chest. He was pretty sure his brain was flat lining at this point, as the only thing he managed to say in return was a breathy, "Hickory," before leaning forward to press his own lips to Hickory's. He untangled their fingers so he could cup both of his hands against Hickory's cheeks and pull him in close. That caused the country troll to loose balance slightly and push John a bit, which resulted in John falling back into the grass with a soft 'oof', his breathing quick and vest dislodged from his shoulder.

"Well," Hickory hummed, leaning over John with a grin, his own cheeks flushed dark, "Ain't you a pretty picture?" He trailed his fingers down from John's shoulder, tapping lightly at the flush that had traveled from the teal trolls cheeks to his chest. He then leaned down to kiss John again, pressing the other into the grass.

For a solid minute John was in bliss. It felt like no time at all had passed between them as Hickory's hands explored his fur unbidden and he had the life kissed out of him. He lifted his own hands to comb through Hickory's bright orange locks, pulling slightly as he maneuvered Hickory's face to kiss him more deeply.

~

"I don't need to see this," Floyd groaned, covering his eyes and crouching further behind the tree he and Poppy were hiding behind.

"Shhh!" Poppy waved at him absently, leaning around the tree and letting out a happy little noise as she watched John fall back into the grass.

~

But then reality had to come crashing down around his ears. He had obligations to his brothers. Hickory would be moving on with the caravan in a few days to head into the mountains. He was only just finally getting settled in Pop Village, would a fling with an old flame really be in his best interest? Not to mention, when Hickory had left him before, he's said…He suddenly pushed Hickory away by the shoulders, sucking in a sharp breath even as Hickory let out a confused whine.

"I can't do this."

"Wh-what?" Hickory sat back on his heels, a mix of confusion and hurt on his face.

"I can't let myself fall into old habits," John stated as he sat up, fixing his vest and settling it properly over his shoulders, before pulling his goggles down over his eyes. Hickory could feel his heart plummet at that. He knew perfectly well John's goggles were like a physical wall he could put up between himself and others. "I can't get involved in a fling right now. I've got too much going on." John stood, brushing dirt from his clothes, "And, quite frankly, I'm just too old to be playing games like this anymore."

"Games?!" Hickory shook his head, reaching out towards John, who stepped back out of his reach. "I'm not playin' games!"

"We had fun, yeah?" John stated, a strained smile on his face, "This was fun. Like old times, yeah? Nothing serious, just a bit of fun." John could feel his breaths becoming short and knew he had to leave before he started crying. "I'll see you around, Hick," he said, nodding towards the ex bounty hunter, before hurrying back down the hill.

Hickory stared at the spot John had stood, his breath caught in his throat even as tears welled in his eyes. He knew this was his own fault, but it didn't stop his heart from shattering in his chest.

~

"What just happened?!" Poppy gasped as she watched John practically run down the hill, only to turn and find Floyd already moving as quickly as he could in the direction John had gone.

~

"John!" Floyd shouted once they were a decent distance from the hill. He knew he'd never be able to catch up to John at the pace he could currently go, but wanted to catch him before they got too close to town, where he knew John would put all of his walls back up. His older brother stopped and turned, and Floyd could see tear tracks on his brothers cheeks below his blatantly fogged up goggles.

"H-hey, Floyd," John stuttered, sucking in a breath and obviously trying to compose himself as quickly as possible as Floyd approached, "What're you doing out here? I figured you'd be off with Poppy planning tomorrow's party."

"John Dory," Floyd murmured, dropping his cane so he could reach up and pull John's goggles away from his face and back up into his hair. The reveal caused John's face to crumple, a wretched sob escaping him as Floyd tugged him into a hug. "Shhh. It's okay. I've got you."

John wept as the two shifted to kneel in the middle of the trail, John clinging to Floyd like his life depended on it while Floyd rubbed soothing circles against his back.

~

"Hickory," Poppy said softly as she approached the country troll as he continued to stare into space, silent tears running down his cheeks.

"Wha-oh! Miss Poppy," Hickory gasped, quickly wiping at his face and plastering a smile on as the queen sat in the grass next to him. "What're you doin' out here?"

"Floyd and I were following you guys," Poppy admitted, "We were worried something might happen between you and John Dory. I saw what just happened. Or, well, the gist of it. Did you and John get into a fight?"

Hickory let his smile slip away as he shook his head. "Not exactly, no…"

~

"Do you want to tell me what happened?" Floyd asked after a few long minutes of John crying into his shoulder. The elder sat back to wipe at his face, murmuring a quiet "thanks" as Floyd handed him a handkerchief.

"Do you have time for a stupid story?" John Dory asked, his voice thick from crying.

"Hey now, with a reaction like the one you just had, I'm pretty sure the story isn't stupid," Floyd scolded gently, rubbing at John's shoulder. "C'mon. You can talk to me."

John nodded after a moment, pulling himself to his feet and offering a hand to Floyd. "Okay. But, let's get back to Rhonda. I don't feel like airing my dirty laundry out where anyone could come along and eavesdrop."

"I feel like that's a dig for obviously spying on you."

"That's because it is."

Floyd snorted, glad that his brother at least wasn't so upset that he couldn't still dish out sarcastic remarks where necessary. He took John's help in getting to his feet and the two of them made their way back to Rhonda.

When they reached the bus critters clearing it was as if she could tell John was upset. Instead of the exuberant greeting she'd given him earlier in the day, she simply rumbled sadly at him and nudged him gently with her face.

"Hey hey, baby girl," John cooed, rubbing at her face, "I'll be okay."

Once the two were inside, Floyd forced John to sit at the little table he had for meals, while he dug around in John's cupboards for the tea he knew his brother had picked up some time ago for when Floyd came by for a visit.

"Here we go," Floyd hummed as he finally set two mugs of tea on the table, settling himself across from John Dory, who had been staring at the table, obviously lost in his own thoughts. "You ready to talk to me?"

John sucked in a breath as if coming up from under water. He blinked rapidly at Floyd for a second, before offering a small nod and pulling his tea mug close to himself. "Yeah…Sorry, yeah. It's just-well, the story starts when I was in my late twenties. Maybe twenty-six? Twenty-seven? Something like that. I'd been traveling around for a while, already, but it was before I'd met Rhonda. I was hiking through he mountains, trying to find this little village I'd come across once before when I'd first started traveling, when I was eighteen or nineteen. It had been a really sweet little town, with a population of yodeling trolls. Since it'd been one of my first stops, I didn't really want to stay very long at the time, but as I got older I sort of regretted not sticking around. It'd been the only place I'd ever met yodelers. It was a really unique, niche genre and I wanted to go back." He let out a breath and blew on his tea, lifting it but not taking a sip. "And eventually, I did find it. It was sort of tucked away, so I was running low on supplies and was completely exhausted. The trolls I was staying with had a teenager also staying with them. He was a real sweet kid who helped me get settled in and offered to show me around town when I was feeling up to it."

"Not sure how this is relevant to you breaking down in the forest, John," Floyd muttered, scrunching his nose a little.

"I'm getting to it, ya brat," John snorted, offering a small grin to his brother, before looking back to his tea, "Anyway…So, in the morning when I'm up and about, this kid comes bounding over to me with all of the energy in the world and offers to show me around again. I couldn't really refuse, especially since I was being stared down by the lady whose house I was staying in. So, we went around the town and had a pretty good time. I stayed in the village for a couple of months, and the kid stuck by my side nearly the entire time. When I was getting ready to leave he admitted to having a massive crush on me."

"Oh," Floyd blinked, tilting his head, "this still doesn't-"

"It was Hickory, Floyd," John stated bluntly, cutting his brother off and giving him an unimpressed look over his tea. He then took a loud slurp of his drink, which he knew drove Floyd insane.

"Alright, alright, I'll stop interrupting."

"Thank you. So, anyway, he confesses to me and I have to break it to him that, one, I was planning on leaving in the next few days, and two, he was too young for me. We were at different points in our lives, and it just wasn't going to work. He took the rejection relatively well, I think, but I didn't see him again until I was literally walking out of town. He stopped me at the edge of town, gave me the tightest hug I think I've ever gotten, told me to be safe, and that he hoped our paths would cross again one day."

"Your breakdown leads me to think your paths definitely met up again," Floyd interrupted once more, earning another tea slurp from John.

"Yes, they did. A few years later I was back up in the mountains. I'd planned on hanging out with the classical trolls for a while, but after a week or so I found myself getting pretty bored of Symphonyville. Nothing against the classical trolls, but it turns out it's just not my thing. So, I went trekking through the mountains to find the yodelers again. If nothing else, they knew how to throw a great party. Speaking of which, the trolls I'd managed to convince to let me borrow a room from that time were hosting a party the night after I'd shown up, and they invited me to go." He let out a little laugh, his gaze far away as he relived the memories, "It was a birthday party for one of the trolls in town. It was his twenty-first, and I guess for the yodelers that's a big deal. A kind of coming of age, uh, age."

John paused to glance up at Floyd, who gave him an encouraging little nod.

"So, I went. Turned out that it was Hickory's birthday, but I didn't run into him at the party until a few hours in. To make a long story that you don't want to hear short, he cornered me at the party, alluded to the fact that he wasn't too young for me anymore, and…well, y'know."

Floyd cringed, wrinkling his nose at John. "Thank you for sparing me the details."

"You're welcome," John snorted, sitting back in his chair while swirling the remains of his tea around in his cup. He let out a puff of air after a moment, downing the tea and smacking the cup onto the table, making Floyd wince. "I stayed in the village that time for well over a year. Hickory and I were happy. And I thought…Well, I thought things were going really well. I'd even started making plans to permanently move there. It was going to be a surprise for Hickory. I'd been looking to have a house built, and was talking to a couple of trolls about where the best spot in the village would be to build it. But then…then Hickory's brother came back to town."

Floyd reached across the table to take John's hand, which had begun to tremble around his tea cup.

"Dickory came back to town and it's like Hickory's entire personality completely changed. He suddenly barely had any time to spend with me, and when he did, he started acting aloof to me. I confronted him about it, and he apologized and told me that his brother just stressed him out. I took him at face value about that, and it was okay again for a couple of days. But, then he just ghosted me for almost a week. I had no idea where he was, and everyone in town either told me it wasn't something I should worry about and that he'd be back soon, or just brushed me off completely. When I was starting to panic, he just suddenly showed up again." He paused, squeezing Floyd's fingers gently as fresh tears welled in his eyes. "When he did show up, he told me I didn't need to worry about where he'd been. And then, he told me that he had to leave with his brother to work, and he didn't know if or when he'd be back. He…he told me that since I was a travelling pop troll I should have plenty of other places I could go, but that he'd had fun while I was in town. That he wanted to find something serious."

John couldn't keep the tears back as he hunched in on himself, barely registering the scraping sound of chair legs against the floor as Floyd got up from the table to pull him into a hug.

"I had though we were serious," John sobbed, hiccupping before confessing quietly, "I loved him, Floyd. So much."

"Oh, John," Floyd cooed, running his fingers through his brothers hair. "He's a bastard who never deserved you."

"N-no," John pushed Floyd away slightly, sniffing as he shook his head, "He was the sweetest troll I'd ever met, Floyd. You don't understand." He gently shifted Floyd to the side so he could stand up and move across the room to a cupboard. He opened the door and pulled a well worn scrap book out, shuffling back to the table to set it down. He gestured for Floyd to open it.

Inside there were pictures of a snowy landscape with quaint little wooden houses, decorated with flowery trim, and trolls Floyd could only assume were the yodelers. The first couple of pages were like this - general photos of what looked like the village John had described, before the photos shifted to a young John Dory with a handful of trolls Floyd didn't recognize, and then to nothing but photos of John and Hickory. Dozens of pages of the two of them looking absolutely smitten with each other, and Floyd was relatively certain it was the happiest he'd ever seen his brother.

Floyd frowned as he looked back up at John. "This doesn't change the fact that he essentially called you a whore before he left you."

"Yeah, I've thought about that a lot," John admitted, his tears having subsided into the occasional sniffle again. He sat back down in his chair. "He wasn't exactly wrong. I've travelled a lot. Before I met him, I'd had a few other short term partners. And after we broke up, I had a couple little flings. It wasn't hard for me to find places to stay when I turned on the ol' boy band charm," he stated bluntly, a wry grin on his face. "I never told him I was planning on moving to the village. As far as he knew, I was liable to up and leave again at any time."

"Yeah, but you'd already been there for a year. He could've talked to you. And he approached you in the first place. That's scummy, no matter how you try and spin it, John."

John Dory simply shrugged, tugging the scrap book over to himself to flip through a few pages. "Maybe. Maybe he just said those things to me because of Dickory. Maybe he realized I just wasn't worth his time." John shut the scrap book, sliding it across the table. "I'll never really know the reason, because I left the village the next day. I didn't say good bye, and I never went back."

"John-"

"No. Floyd, look. All that, in the end, happened well over a decade ago. I can't keep holding a grudge against him for choosing to break it off with me. Even if he was cruel in the way he did it. All I can really do is try to keep my heart from breaking again." John heaved a sigh, slumping against the table top, his cheek squishing against it as he turned his head to look up at Floyd. "It's why I left him up on that hill. I know all I've really done is run away again, but he's going to be leaving with the caravan in a few days. Spending the morning with him, it just brought back all the feelings I had back then. It hurts."

Floyd sighed through his nose, tugging his chair closer to John and settling himself back down. "You still love him, don't you?"

John squeezed his eyes shut, nodding against the table. "I do."

~

"So, if it wasn't a fight, then what was it?" Poppy asked, sitting herself down next to Hickory.

Hickory sniffed, grabbing his hat from where it had been discarded on the ground so he would have something to fidget with. "Gettin' my comeuppance, I s'pose," he said with a shrug. "John and I, I'm sure you could tell, we used to be a thing."

"Hard to miss, with the way you guys were looking at each other half the morning," Poppy nodded, getting herself comfortable as Hickory spoke.

"Yeah…We broke up on pretty bad terms, back then. I…I treated him pretty badly."

"What?! How?"

Hickory laughed gently, rubbing at one of his eyes, "You really want to hear the whole story?"

"Uh, duh! Tell me everything," Poppy enthused, sitting forward eagerly.

"All right," Hickory sighed, a small smile on his face at Poppy's never ending enthusiasm. "John'll tell you that we met when I was seventeen, but that's not entirely true."

"Ooooh, I can already tell this is gonna be good," Poppy cooed, resting her cheek on her fist.

"When I was about ten, a pop troll came to the village that me n' my brother grew up in. It was kinda rare to see travellin' trolls, and honestly no one had seen a pop troll since before I'd hatched-"

"Because of the Bergens," Poppy helpfully interrupted.

"Because of the Bergens," Hickory agreed, patting her knee, "So here was a traveler all the way up in the mountains, where few trolls ventured, and a pop troll t'boot? He was an enigma." He wiggled his fingers through the air, making Poppy giggle. "My ten year old brain was immediately obsessed. I wanted t'know where he was from, how he found us, where he was going next - everythin'. But Dickory didn't like that. He didn't trust the traveler and made me stay inside near the entire time he was in the village. Then a couple weeks passed, and he was gone."

"So, I mean, you really didn't technically meet until later," Poppy hummed, frowning lightly.

"True. But I thought about him endlessly after that. It made me realize there was more to the world than our little village. That I could leave," Hickory enthused, gesturing out towards the bustling town below the hill. "It opened up my whole world when he came to town." He paused, letting his hands fall back into his lap. "But I was stuck under Dickory's thumb. At least, that was until he started workin' as a bounty hunter. I dunno when or how he found out about the line o' work, but he started disappearin' for long periods of time an' leavin' me with random folks 'round town. Eventually, when I was seventeen, he left me with this real sweet older couple, who occasionally had the rare troll that passed through the mountains stay with 'em. Low an' behold, one day I'm mindin' my business puttin' dishes away, when none other than John Dory walks through the door. I nearly dropped the dish I'd been holdin', but I managed to keep it together enough t'ask 'im if he wanted me t'show him 'round the village after he'd rested up. He took me up on the offer, an' we spent a good couple months together."

"Awww! That's so sweet," Poppy cooed, grinning at Hickory.

"Yeah. Real sweet up until I told 'im I had a crush on 'im," he said, smiling crookedly as Poppy's smile fell, "He let me down real sweet like, explainin' that he was headed out of town soon, an' that I was just too young for 'im. Which, valid points. I was still heart broken, though, an' avoided 'im after that. I even nearly missed my chance to say good bye to 'im. But I'd given his rejection some good thought, an' he was right. I was too young, an' he was a drifter. I was gonna be sad for a while, but I treasured the time we'd gotten to spend together. So I said my good byes, and he went on his way."

"But I thought you said you broke up with him?"

"I did," Hickory nodded, turning his gaze out towards the village, "John came back to the village a few years later, right on time for my twenty-first birthday. He appeared at my birthday party like some sorta specter. I turned 'round an' he was just standin' there, sippin' at a drink against a wall, just watchin' everyone else havin' fun. I thought for a minute that I had t'be dreamin', but no. He was really there. An' it was my birthday, so I took a bit of a risk." He tipped his head to smirk at Poppy, "Took 'im home with me that night."

"Oh!" Poppy flushed, waving a hand at Hickory, "You scoundrel."

Hickory laughed, shrugging as he pulled his knees up and sat forward to rest his elbows on them. "I guess so. But John, he just…he makes me feel things I never thought I'd feel, y'know?"

Poppy smiled warmly at Hickory. "Yeah, I do."

"Cause o' Branch?"

Poppy giggled, flushing as she covered her face with her hands, muttering a muffled, "Yeah."

"You two're real cute," Hickory hummed, patting her on the knee. "But, anyhow…John an' I were real happy for a good bit o' time. I think he stayed with us for a year or so? Dickory'd been gone on some long ass hunt an' I honestly wasn't sure if he was ever gonna come back. I know it makes me sound terrible, but I'd kinda hoped that he never would. John an' I were happy." A bitter frown turned Hickory's lips, and Poppy dropped her hands into her lap, watching him curiously. "He suddenly came back into town one day, makin' me spend all this time with 'im as he talked my ear off about bounty huntin'. It put me in a right foul mood, which carried over when I finally did get to spend time with John. I felt right bad when he called me out on my shit, too. I didn't realize I was treatin' him different 'cause of my bad mood. I tried to straighten up an' get back to our usual routine, but Dickory was havin' none of it. One day, he pulled me aside an' told me that since I was of age now I shouldn't be foolin' 'round with some travellin' tart. I needed to get out an' work, an' if I wanted to see more o' the world so badly then he would take me with 'im on his next job." Hickory sighed and rolled his shoulders, stretching back out to lean back on his hands. "He got a little rough with me at one point when I told 'im I wanted t'stay with John, an' that we were happy the way we were. He dragged me into town to show me where John was talkin' to some o' the other villagers, then pinned me down so I couldn't get away, just so he could tell me about how John was apparently lookin' to build us a home. I asked him how he thought that would make me wanna leave, an' he just laughed at me an' told me that if I really loved John because of how he was free to go anywhere he wanted, an' be whoever he wanted, then why was I so willing to tie him down and force him to stay in our little village. Never occured to me that John and I could leave together. I just watched him laughin' with the other villagers an' kept playin' scenarios in my head about how he'd grow to resent me for keepin' 'im there."

"Oh, Hickory," Poppy hiccupped, tears welled up in her eyes, "that's awful!"

"Yeah. But it wasn't as bad as what I did to John after that."

"Oh no! What'd you do?"

Hickory let out a breath, looking ashamed of himself. "I left with Dickory for a week without tellin' 'im anythin'. Dickory took me out on a short job, an' when I got back John was in a tizzy. He was so worried about me, I felt awful. But Dickory told me he had a longer job lined up for us, an' we would be leavin' the next day. I had no idea how long it'd take, an' I didn't even know if Dickory an' I would even go back to the village after. So, I had to set John free."

"Hickory…what did you do?"

"I was cold to 'im. Told 'im I was leavin', an' didn't know if I'd even be back. Then - oh Poppy," Hickory rubbed at his face, "I told him since he was a travellin' pop troll, he shouldn't have any trouble findin' a place to shack up an' keep warm. That we'd had our fun, but I needed to get movin' an' find somethin' 'serious'. I was just awful to 'im. I really don't blame him for leavin' like he did just now."

Poppy looked devastated for a moment, before jumping up to her feet. "So, you need to apologize!" She stared down at Hickory with determination, her fists clenched in the air in front of her.

"Wait-what? Poppy, weren't you listenin'?"

"Of course I was! But, Hickory, for all that is trolly, you've loved John Dory since you were ten. And not even because he was in a band! Now that you're both in a good place in your lives, and able to make amends, you can't seriously tell me you're okay with just moving on with the caravan and leaving things the way they are, are you?!"

Hickory swallowed thickly, fiddling with his hat for a moment, before yanking it onto his head and smacking the ground. "Good gosh golly, you're right, miss Poppy. I can't give up now. I gotta apologize an' clear the air between us. I can't just let things fester like I did before. We gotta stop this cycle of one of us leavin' the other over an' over." He stood, face full of determination. "Let's do this."

"That's the spirit!" Poppy cheered. "And I have the perfect plan to help!"

~

"So, what're you going to do?" Floyd asked, the two had migrated from the table to John's couch, cuddled together under a blanket.

"I don't know…I could probably hide in Branch's bunker until they leave. That's always an option, right?"

Floyd rolled his eyes, flicking John Dory in the ear, earning himself a pathetic sounding whine from the other. "No. As much as I think that what Hickory did was absolutely deplorable, you're probably right that he did it because of his brother. And you still care about him. He obviously still has feelings for you. You two should at least talk, if nothing else."

John sighed heavily, pulling his goggles off his head to toss them across the room. "You know I'm no good at talking. Plus, I'm pretty sure after running off like I did, he probably doesn't even want to talk to me again."

"You just talked to me. I think you did really well. And if Hickory doesn't want to talk to you again, at least you can say you tried. Trying and being honest are the only ways you're going to find yourself any closure about this." Floyd gently ruffled his older brothers hair, "But maybe wait until tomorrow? After you've had some time to rest up. I don't think I've ever seen you cry so much. You must be tired."

John snorted and shoved Floyd lightly, shooting him a playful glare. "This coming from mister I used to cry when even so much as a slightly raised voice was in my general vicinity."

"Exactly why I know how tiring crying can be," Floyd snarked back, tugging at John's ear. "Don't be petulant. Get some rest. Hang out in Rhonda for the rest of the day. I'll bring by some dinner later and we can talk some more, okay? Maybe you can show me some other scrap books you've got stashed away. I saw a bunch more in that cupboard."

"Yeah, okay. That sounds good."

"I'll see you later, JD."

~

The next day started pretty similarly to how the previous had. The sun was shining and birds were chirping, but this time John didn't have an exuberant pop queen banging at his door.

John rolled out of bed and puttered around Rhonda, getting himself ready for the day. As he pulled his goggles on he stared at himself in the mirror. He'd slept relatively well, so the perpetual bags under his eyes weren't quite so prominent, and the redness in them from crying had, luckily, completely cleared up overnight. He hadn't picked out anything special to wear, just his usual fur lined vest and cargo shorts. Pretty well the same thing he'd been wearing the day before. He didn't think he looked like anything particularly special, but yesterday Hickory had looked at him like he was the whole universe.

"Hey now, stop that," he scolded his reflection as his cheeks began to darken. "Don't get your hopes up, and don't expect anything. You're just going to talk, and if we end up at least staying friends, that's good enough." He poked the glass in front of him with a stern frown. "Be happy if you even get closure."

He then turned on his heel and headed out of Rhonda, startling when he found Floyd just outside the door with his fist raised to knock.

"Oh! You're up," Floyd laughed, stepping back to gesture at Poppy and Branch who were standing just behind him, "Branch was convinced you'd still be asleep."

"What? And miss out on a party thrown by none other than the Queen of Pop herself? I don't think so," John laughed, trundling down Rhonda's steps and giving her a fond pat before stepping away.

"Oh, good. I was a bit worried that after yesterday, you wouldn't want to come," Poppy sighed, laughing nervously as she glanced at Branch who nudged her in the side. John raised an eyebrow at their antics and glanced at Floyd who simply shrugged.

"Riiiight…Well, I'm up and about. Shall we?" John swept his arm out towards the entrance to Rhonda's clearing, waiting until Branch and Poppy began to walk before following next to Floyd.

"Are you actually okay?" Floyd asked as he and John fell back a bit from Poppy and Branch, a light frown on his face.

"I don't know," John reluctantly admitted, rubbing at his neck, "I guess? I think I know what I want to say to him, but that all depends on if he's even around or wants to talk to me. I guess I'm a bit anxious?"

"It's okay to be anxious. And if you need me, you know I'll be there for you," Floyd offered, patting John on the shoulder.

"Yeah. Thanks, bro," John smiled, nodding a little as the group of four broached what most of the village fondly referred to as the 'Party Clearing'. The area was almost exclusively used for parties and events, and was currently decorated in country themed decorations for the visiting caravan. Fake cacti were peppered around the area, while what appeared to be hay bales were scattered around for trolls to sit on. A stage and DJ booth were set up at one end of the clearing, and twinkle lights were strung over the entire clearing with various colors of streamers hanging from them. John was sure they'd be amazing once night fell and the lights were turned on.

"Okay! I gotta go do some last minute prep, and make sure all of the tables for food are set up properly. Everything today has got to be perfect," Poppy cheered as she dashed away, the brothers visibly cringing as she said the word 'perfect'.

"So, wait…why're we here so early?" John asked, frowning a bit as he looked around to see a handful of trolls milling about and setting things up.

"Because Poppy likes to be early," Branch stated bluntly, folding his arms over his chest, "And she wanted to make sure you showed up."

"What? Why?"

Branch glanced at his brother, shrugging a little. "Because reasons," he replied unhelpfully before wandering away, leaving an incredibly confused John and Floyd in his wake.

"Uh," John blinked, turning to Floyd with a frown, "Do you know what's up with him?"

"Not a clue," Floyd shrugged while shaking his head, only to turn towards the stage as someone tapped on a microphone and started a sound check. He blinked in surprise and grabbed at John Dory to face the stage as well, as a green and orange troll walked forward with a guitar in hand.

"Hickory?" John gasped, dumbfounded as to why the county troll would be up on stage, especially when there were barely any trolls in the clearing yet.

"Howdy, y'all," Hickory said into the mic, tipping his hat and clearing his throat. "This, uhm…this ain't really for the party or nothin', but I heard grand gestures are real in right now, so uhm, here I am."

John began to walk across the clearing towards the stage in a bit of a daze, watching Hickory as he nervously fiddled with his guitar.

"This is for, well," Hickory laughed lightly, his eyes trained on John as he approached, "It's for you, darlin'." And with that, he began to sing. "Tell me what I have to do tonight, 'cause I'd do anything to make it right…" ((click here if you wanna listen to the song Hickory sings, and the namesake of this fic))

John was enraptured as Hickory sang, unconsciously clutching at the front of his vest as tears welled up in his eyes as the song came to a close. "Hickory," he sobbed with a hiccup, rushing the stage as Hickory jumped down, catching the country troll in a hug. A small smattering of cheering and clapping made John pull back and look around, flushing as he realized that all of the trolls that had previously been milling about were watching them.

"Oh, this is embarrassing," John muttered, burying his face in Hickory's shoulder, causing the other to chuckle.

"Why don't we go somewhere a bit more private so we can talk? How's that sound?" Hickory asked, nudging John's temple with his nose.

"Yeah, okay," John muttered, pulling away to drag Hickory from the clearing by his wrist, the cheers following them as they left.

After a beat, Branch walked back over to Floyd with a self satisfied smirk on his face.

"You and Poppy planned this whole thing, didn't you?" Floyd asked, raising an eyebrow at his baby brother.

"Well, Poppy did. She just used me as a sounding board and asked how I thought John might react to something like this." He shrugged, stuffing his hands into his vest pockets.

"Good job, Bitty B."

"Someone's gotta look out for that idiot now and then. Glitter knows, he won't ever take care of himself."

"He's trying," Floyd sighed, wrapping an arm around Branch's shoulders to pull him into a half hug.

"I know."

~

John tugged Hickory along until they were a good ways away from the party clearing, quite near to the forest trails they'd walked along the day before. He finally let go of the other and spun on his heel to face him, his cheeks flushed and a mix of determination and fear on his face. Hickory frowned lightly, reaching out to cup John's cheek.

"You okay there, darlin'?"

John let out a shuddery breath, leaning in to Hickory's touch for a moment, before wrapping his fingers around the country trolls wrist and pulling it away from his face. "You hurt me, Hick. No amount of sweet ballad performances are going to change that," he began, holding fast as Hickory turned his face away and tried to tug his wrist free, "BUT. But…I am willing to talk about this and clear the air between us. I think we really need to discuss what happened all those years ago."

"Yer right. 'Course, yer right," Hickory nodded, "I wasn't tryin' to avoid a serious conversation with ya, I promise. I know I gotta explain myself, an' you don't owe me any sorta forgiveness."

"No one said I was unwilling to forgive you, sweetheart," John said, returning Hickory's earlier gesture and tilting the country trolls face towards him, brushing his thumb over his cheek. Hickory's face lit up as he stared intently at John. "We just really gotta clear away the old baggage, first."

"Right," Hickory nodded as the two moved to sit beneath one of the towering trees. "Where do ya want me to start?"

"I don't think we need to go that far back. Just…tell me what happened when Dickory came back to town. Where did you go for that week, and what made you decide to try and make me hate you before you left."

Hickory fidgeted, swallowing thickly as he tucked his hands between his knees. "Okay. Well, when Dickory came back an' saw the two o' us together, he was not pleased. The reason I kept bein' so waspish to ya was because he was bound an' determined to make me miserable before he knew I was gonna meet up with ya. An' then he dragged me on a job with 'im without any warnin'. I didn't get a chance to even think about tellin' ya where I was goin', cause I just woke up one mornin' in a wagon that was headin' down the mountain. When we did return, he got real nasty with me when I tried to go back home to ya. I wasn't thinkin' straight, an' he put this thought in my head that I was keepin' you trapped, instead of letting ya be yerself. He told me you were lookin' to move to the village, permanent like, an' I didn't want that fer you. You were always meant t'be free."

"…That's stupid."

Hickory let out a bark of laughter, tilting his head to smile wryly at John. "I realize that now. But at the time, Dick had me all messed up an' I thought the only thing I could do was let you go. Well…force ya t'leave. It wasn't fair, what I did, an' it weren't right. I know that now. I've known that fer a long time now, actually. I should've just talked to ya about it. I've imagined, so many times, how we could've just up an' left in the middle of the night an' been happy and together for all these years. I wasted so much of our time, bein' stupid."

"Yeah. You did," John breathed, watching as Hickory winced, "But there's not much we can do about the past, is there?"

Hickory lifted his head, watching John with hope in his eyes. John couldn't help but reach out and brush his fingers through Hickory's hair, relishing in how the country troll practically melted into his touch.

"If there's one thing I've been trying to learn and come to terms with myself, it's that the past will leave scars behind, whether you meant to hurt yourself and others, or not. But, you can work to help heal them. It'll take time and effort, but I think it'll be worth it if we try."

Tears slid unbidden down Hickory's cheeks, even as he smiled warmly at John. "Lookit you, gettin' so wise in yer old age."

"Shut up," John laughed, shoving lightly at Hickory's shoulder, only to tug him back in close to plant a kiss on his cheek. Hickory chuckled, quickly tipping his head to catch John in a proper kiss, a shiver running up his spine at the surprised little noise the teal troll let out.

"You wanna head back to the party now?" Hickory asked as they pulled away from each other, John taking the opportunity to duck down and snuggle into Hickory's chest.

"Not yet," he sighed, letting his eyes drift shut as he curled around Hickory, "Let's just stay here for a bit."

"Whatever you'd like, darlin'," Hickory hummed, letting his fingers comb through John's hair as they basked in each others company and the warm sun shining down on them.

#dreamworks trolls #trolls #hickdory #trolls john dory #trolls hickory #trolls fanfic #trolls world tour #trolls band together #things that i wrote #i hope this bad boy meets expectations #i haven't written anything since 2018 and i feel like it sorta shows here #but i did my best!

[callivich]

Just a reminder for anyone new or anyone who has been lurking:

I know it’s difficult coming into a new fandom but everyone in the Gallavich fandom on tumblr is very friendly and kind, so don’t feel nervous - just jump in and say hi.

Make an intro post and check the #gallavichintro tag to find fellow fans!

Like seriously just send a message or reply to a post. We’re here to have fun, the idea of new people is great because it means more engagement.

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Give your blog an icon. People tend to assume that ones without are spam blogs and may block immediately. Here are some great icons you can use with credit: here / here / here

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Reblog content you enjoy and write in the tags or reply to the post - how much you liked something or if you have other thoughts…..creators love to hear this!

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Go back and explore things. Older fics on ao3, gifsets and art from years past, moodboards and headcanons that are years old. None of these things have an expiration date. So reblog them, share them, let people experience them for the first time and allow people to enjoy them for the 2nd/3rd/4th time.

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#gallavich #mickey milkovich #ian gallagher #ian x mickey #calli talks #encouragement post for lurkers #this is a revised and updated version of the post I shared last year

[bronx-bomber87]

Happy Monday Fandom :) This episode is all kinds of cute. I love it so much. We get to see the depth of what Lucy would do for Tim. After he just showed up what he’d do for her in 5x12. It’s so good. Let us get started.

5x13 Daddy Cop

We start with Lucy in roll call. I would like to point out Lucy picking a spot in the back of the room. She’s never once done that before. Doing it so she can check in on her husband. Lucy is somewhat subtle about it. But she can’t help but check on him. Knowing the bullet he took for them. She literally can’t help but look back on her man. Such lingering glances too. *heart clutch.* You can see in the second one he’s looking back at her too. How can these two kill me so much with such subtle glances? Damnit I love them so much.

Lucy could not be cuter running up to see Tim before her shift. Physically turning his chair around. He couldn’t be happier to see her. First time we’ve seen him light up today. You guys are so loud and I love it. Little work flirt before her shift. Lucy saying looks like he has a lot to uh....Liaise LOL Tim straight lying to his person like he thinks he can get away with that nonsense. Lucy replying she thought they would never lie to each other.

Tim shooting back 'That was a lie.' Lmao I’m dying their banter on point as usual. The sassy face she gives him. Be more married you two please. Love these idiots in love. Lucy can’t stand it and says he’s miserable. Tim with a very unconvincing ‘No…’ Lucy isn’t buying what you’re selling....Babe your girlfriend sees right through you. Always has. She has the book of Tim locked away in her head.

Tim trying to convince her it’s not that bad. 'Nice people…Low stress….'The more you speak the more she knows you’re dying Tim. A subtle cry for help. Or not so subtle really lol He doesn’t regret doing this for her at all. But she can’t stand him doing this when he’s so clearly miserable. Lucy knows this man. He will suffer in silence if it makes her happy and they get to be together. A decision I know he would make again. Because she is his person also as we saw last ep his blindspot. So he would do anything even at his own detriment.

Her big friggin dork of a man giving her a thumbs up and telling her to 'Be safe out there.' LMAO I love this man so much. Dork Tim has been activated. She loves this goober in front of her nonetheless. Lucy’s cute head tilt knowing he’s putting on an act for her. Then he lights up like a Christmas tree saying he’ll see her at the end of shift. He can’t wait because he has someone to go home to now and I love this.

The most genuine he is the entire scene. Knowing he will get to see her end of shift. The best part of his day will be seeing her and I love that. It’s written all over his beautiful face. Lucy however isn’t smiling as she walks away. Knowing this job is making him miserable and she can’t stand it. His intentions being the best and purest. But also knowing she needs to fix this for him somehow. She just doesn’t know how just yet…

Lucy sees Metro piling in and immediately thinks of her man. How well he would do there. How good he would fit in. I just adore her conferring with Harper one this. Also her spending the entire episode trying to find him a better position. Earlier in the episode they had a convo about a 5 player trade. Trying to create an opening so one could open up for Tim.

Metro has now become a potential option for Tim. She wants to start her trade. Harper warns her this could come with consequences. For her and Tim. To Lucy that’s worth it though. Tim blocked her making a sacrifice in 5x12. He is WORTH the risk of her ruffling some feathers to get him a better position. Never be over them consistently doing whatever for each other. Makes my soul happy.

So much to love about this next scene. I adore Lucy seizing the opportunity to solve Tim’s job problem with the group. They’re all gonna be at Nolan’s anyways... Might as well be one giant brain to save her man from his desk job. Super brains assemble and you know Nolan lol Their sticky note game is strong as they try to figure out an opening. Just as they crack it Tim shows up at the door.

John says his name loudly so they all hear him. Which causes them all to scramble to disassemble their brain storm session. So funny to watch them get the post it’s down as fast as they can. Then trying to get back to their seats as John does horribly at stalling Tim. I mean it's so horrible and awkward. Tim's face when Nolan is speaking is too funny. Wondering if he made a mistake in coming over here... LOL

I love him pointing out Lucy’s car and no one else’s. Could care less there are other cars out there. He points out his girl's car only and asks about it. This makes me giddy on so many levels. The minute he enters the room they could not be more obvious. The looks say everything. Also all these scenes just hit differently knowing they’re together. Makes me so happy. Look at Lucy above she couldn't be more obvious if she tried. You're a UC Lucy you can do better LMAO Being under pressure is the name of the name and you fall like a cheap house of cards here haha. It's too cute though especially with her little eyebrow pump.

Let’s not gloss over how delicious Tim looks in this scene. I always love me some street clothes Tim. But hot damn that tight t-shirt and those jeans. His hands in his pockets showing off those biceps.*fans self* Angela’s face when he talks to Lucy I’m dying. If she didn't know at this point she sure did now. Look at her in that first gif. So telling it's hysterical. Tim sensing something is off but he isn't sure why. Like did you think your man wouldn’t notice this?

So he zero's in on his girl and asks if she's ok? Not anyone else in the room just her. I LOVE how softly he asks if she’s ok? Looking right at her. Tim lights up when he speaks to her. Which gives me all the feels. His Lucy demeanor on full display in this scene. Seriously be more obvious you two. Lucy looking smug as hell and trying to keep it under wraps. Angela continues to crack me up with her expressions. Angela Lopez you are a treasure.

Lucy comes to Smitty he is the final piece in this 5 player trade of hers. They figured out how to get it done but he is sadly an essential piece. Lucy goes into this scene prepped and ready to go because well it's Lucy. This scene is hilarious because Smitty already knows the plan if Fuji retires. Flooring Lucy completely. I commend Melissa and her facial expression here it’s so funny. She gets Smitty to agree to help her in getting his friend to retire. He wants a favor though. Lucy immediately says 'Nothing weird.' LMFAO. Oh the things we do for love.

Tim eagerly comes to find Lucy end of shift. He’s so excited he’s going to come out of his skin. He heard about Lauren Fuji retiring. He's so excited as he explains this all to her. Look at that man. Bursting with joy to share this news with her. I love the pre-excitement on her face as he speaks. Saying she doesn't know how he keeps its all straight. Well played Lucy hehe

I adore him running to his person the moment he has news for her. Lucy is his safe place. One he goes to for all things good and bad. What I love most about this is Tim allowing himself to be this excited and keyed up around her. The man is glowing most of this conversation. Not holding back one emotion from her. Being as genuine as we’ve ever seen him. It does my heart good to watch him thrive in this relationship with her.

I’ll probably say this multiple times in this season. But this is what it looks like to be truly and unconditionally loved. The background this man came from, the relationships he had before her. It's hard to express emotions when they're always suppressed like his have been in the past. It's a joy to watch him like this. He's never experienced what he's had with her before. We’re watching this new Tim come out and it glorious to watch unfold. To see what it looks like when he properly loved on. To be put first and built up.

We watch as Tim tells her his tale. Explaining what all this means. Getting more excited by the minute. The way he leans into her as he tells her everything. Lucy pretending she doesn't know any of this. Playing dumb about it all and damn well at that. He has no idea. Lucy acting like this is all "new" to her. Tim getting all amped up letting her know there's an opening in Metro now. Well that there was.... Alluding to his reply down below.

What is getting her all smiley and excited is his excitement in this moment. It’s infectious and she is beaming with happiness for him. Knowing all the effort she put in was so worth it to get this reaction. She knew he would be a good fit and this proved it. He is BEAMING with excitement when he tells her he got the Metro Job. No one else he would rather share this with. This whole relationship is such a good look on him it’s insane.

Lucy's affectionate hit is everything. He loves it and is it's only adding to his already insane amount of excitement. All his other work achievements she had to regulate herself. Now she can fully be herself and be excited for him. Hence this cute reaction of hers. Loud and proud wifey right here. She is so damn excited and proud of him. No one has been a bigger cheerleader for this man than her. it’s only amplified now that they’re together.

Tim tells her he got a rock star review from Grey. Then we get some massive heart eyes from Lucy. Look at her above. If you wanted to see what being in love look it's her expression. What I love about this is Lucy getting to tell him he’s amazing. To his face. For years she’s told everyone around her about this amazing man. Gushed about him. This is the first we get to see her say it to his face. For him to hear her say it. Not only that but to hear it with so much love, pride, and affection in her voice. Love in her eyes for him. *squee* Building him up once again in a way only Lucy can. This is so precious I cannot.

Tim is feeding off her positivity and love. That nose crinkle might be the death of me. He’s SOOO amped and being this excited in front of his girl has me feeling things. He is so bright and happy it’s making me a puddle of giddy goo. Lucy brought this man back to life in so many ways. She is bringing out this new side of him and I’m so here for it. I’m so giddy for him and Lucy is feeding off it as well. I continually ask. Have we ever seen this man this excited? This happy?

We can thank that beautiful powerhouse standing in front of him. All he wants to do now is go out and celebrate with his girl. Which is massive growth btw. He’s not one to be excited outwardly about promotions or awards. But this is post-in love with Lucy Tim Bradford. He is bouncing off the walls he’s so excited. He gets to have his cake and eat it too. See his person every day and have a new exciting position. Love this first thought being he wants to celebrate with her. This man has changed and grown so much. It's glorious to behold. Truly.

Lucy wants to go out and celebrate with him so badly. If it was up to her they would leave that station right now and do that. Sadly her favor still needs to be cashed in…I love his little puppy face when she says she can't. He wasn't expecting to be spending tonight without her and it shows. All over his handsome face. You can see it's killing her to say no to him right now. But sadly Smitty and his favor can not wait. Even if she doesn't know what the hell it is yet LOL

I adore him immediately asking if she needs any help? I love this man so very much. Such a soft puppy for her. Only ever see him like this with her. He is thinking they may going out but least he can be with and help her with whatever this favor is. Ever the sweet supportive boyfriend and I love it sfm. Man really would do whatever for that woman in front of him. They could watch paint dry and Tim would be in cause he would be with her. Lucy tells him it’s something she has to do solo.

Lucy follows up she wants to celebrate him tomorrow. I love her saying celebrate 'You.' Not his job but to celebrate YOU. Look at this man above as she says this. He is legit basking in her praise, excitement, and love right now. What I really love is as she continues to congratulate him he leans closer to her. Looks like he wants to kiss her. Once again forgetting they’re in the bullpen. Their magnetic pull activating in the final moments of this scene.

Lucy saying her line above with so much love and affection. Her words having an effect on him. It shows in this next mini moment. We can see him grab her hands and pull her towards him gently in that second gif. The amount of squeeing I'm doing. Tim friggin Bradford grabbing for her girl. Pulling her closer at work out of instinct. In the bullpen of all places. Not caring they are in public. He is high off her excitement and this new job. Looks like he just wants to kiss her in this moment. Pick her up and spin her around he’s so happy.

She has to break the spell sadly. Remembering they are at work and she has to go do her favor.. but not before telling him 'Good job!' Look at this man's face as she departs. That’s a ‘I’m going to marry that woman someday.’ face. He is glowing with love and it makes me so happy to see him loved right. He is a different man since they got together. He is exuding so much love for her and pure joy. Just looking and being happier in general since 5x10.

Gah Eric killing me softly good sir. Happiness looks SOOO good on you my love. He’s earned every ounce of what he’s getting from Lucy. Just love this character so much. To finally see him be treated right getting me all in my feels. Best girlfriend ever and he has no idea what’s she done for him. She didn’t want credit. She just wanted him to be happy at work. Once again putting that beautiful man first.

I saw someone posted watching this scene was like ship crack cocaine lmao it’s so accurate I can’t haha. I’m getting high off their happiness in this scene. Tim is bouncing off the walls and Lucy is absorbing it all. The only payment she needed was knowing he was happy. Ugh they’re so cute I love it sfm. I’m so gone for these two. I haven’t loved a ship like this in a long time. I knew when I started this show they were going to be something special. Proven me right so many times over. This season truly is a gift.

We see what the favor is. Smitty wants her to deep clean his RV. Says he hasn’t in years. Telling Lucy since the Bush administration. Lucy’s eyes bulge out. Asking 'Which Bush?' LMFAO. She finds out she’s doing it solo. We then get this great shot of her in a hazmat suit. Chemicals and cleaning supplies at the ready. Knowing it won’t be great. Her ‘Oh dear god.’ Hahaha things we do for the ones we love. Her cleaning his nasty as RV so her man could be happy ❤️❤️

~~~~

Side notes-non Chenford

I love the Cold Open for this one. Daddy Cop is hilarious. If this didn’t get stuck in your head you're lying lmao

I loved Tim helping Celina out with her mom. Also what is about this man saying Spanish words with that inflection that gets me every time? Ovary explosion for me. When her says Celina’s mom’s birds names. Lorca and Neruda does it with inflection and I’m a damn puddle.

Also her asking if she single LMFAO He very is not Mrs. Juarez haha Also the way he says Juarez does thing to me lmao I have no shame in how i feel haha

#Caitlin Rewatches The Rookie #chenford #chenford hiatus #waiting for s6 #winter rewatch #S5 #5x13 Daddy Cop #the rookie 5x13 #otp: doing my job #otp: you know me so well. too well. #otp: some things matter more #otp: you did good #otp: you're nothing like him #otp: just doesn't feel like pretend #otp: unless it is #tim x lucy #tim bradford #lucy chen #lucy x tim #the rookie #eric winter #melissa o'neil #tim bradford x lucy chen

[thgfanfictionlibrary]

Active Authors Masterlist (3)

Part 1 / Part 2 /

***Active (on this blog) is defined as a blog/writer who has updated within the past year. Inactive (on this blog) is defined as a blog/writer that has not been updated at all in the past year+. On THG Writing Hiatus (on this blog) is a blog/writer who has updated within the past year but has not posted a fanfic in the fandom in the past year BUT they may return to writing in the future. Lists will be updated as needed based on activity. ***

Created: November 17th, 2023

Last Checked:----

ipsygrace :: ao3, ao3, tumblr

Popular Fic: Peeta's Games: The Hunger Games from Peeta's point of view. This follows the original work as closely as possible and much of the dialogue is taken from the original and owned entirely by Suzanne Collins. (@igsy-blog)

JHsgf82 :: ao3, tumblr

Popular Fic: What's Mine Is Yours: Peeta's POV. Post-Mockingjay/Pre-Epilogue. A pregnant Katniss is feeling sick and scared. Peeta does his best to care for her while dealing with his own fears. Response to the Fluff Drabble Prompt: “This was my lap. Now apparently this is your lap.” (@jhsgf82)

JLaLa :: ao3, ffnet, tumblr

Popular Fic: Two Wrongs: “Katniss, you’re my best friend and I love you but seriously-marry you?” A marriage for the unmarriageable. Modern Day AU, set in San Francisco. (@jlalafics)

katnissdoesnotfollowback :: ao3, ff.net, tumblr

Popular Fic: Wrapped in Red: Katniss is trying to be a good friend to her recently divorced pal. She really is. But this holiday season, fate, her own feelings, and Peeta’s daughter have other plans. An advent style Everlark story. (@katnissdoesnotfollowback)

katnissmellarkkk AKA VanillaCottonCandy  :: ao3, tumblr

Popular Fic: Gravity: But he just stares at me for a long moment, his smile never wavering, then admits simply, "I'm just so happy that I threw you that bread." I feel my chest constrict, both moved by his words and exhausted from even standing inside this place again. And my eyes overflow then and all I can manage to say is, "so am I." / Katniss and Peeta, growing back together through a series of snapshots. Set Post Mockingjay. (@katnissmellarkkk)

LemonLuvGirl :: ao3, ffnet, tumblr

Popular Fic: Both of Us: An alternate ending to Catching Fire in which both Peeta and Katniss are rescued from the arena during the Quarter Quell. Our lips collide with gentle urgency, two half conscious minds struggling in the murky waters between sleeping and waking, layered with a need for comfort and something more. We kiss until he pulls back, panting, angling his hips away from mine. I know what he’s trying to avoid. He doesn’t want to scare me. But the thought of his body reacting to me isn’t nearly as scary as the idea that we almost never got to have this. (@lemonluvgirl)

LilyMaid :: ao3, tumblr, ff.net

Popular Fic: The Awkward In-between: Days after winning the 74th Hunger Games Katniss recognized her life was changing, not just her home. She was already mourning for that old life, when things were difficult, yet so simple. With a tightening in her chest and a fear she didn't understand, she wondered what would be left. Cannon Divergent AU- pre Catching Fire (@wistfulweaverwoman)

loungemermaid :: ao3, tumblr

Popular Fic: no grave could hold my body down (I'll crawl home to her): Finnick makes his way back to Annie, alive but in several pieces. He loses his right arm and leg to the lizard mutts in the sewer. While Thirteen can patch him up, he's going to have to go back, back to the Capitol, if he's ever going to get better. As it turns out, Peeta has to go too, has to try and pull his fractured brain back together. They help each other keep it together. Finnick is there to help when Peeta can't remember what's real and what's fake, and Peeta helps Finnick cope with limb loss (@loungemermaid)

MegaAuLover :: ao3, ffnet, tumblr

Popular Fic: Katniss Everdeen Is Not A Stalker: Canon AU- Katniss as a little problem, she can't stop looking through Peeta's window, trying to find a way to pay her boy with the bread back but as time goes on she realizes she wants more. But there is a problem the District is flooded with Peacekeepers and everyone faces danger as the Capitol tightens its reigns on the district. Can love bloom in the middle of adversity? Or will it shrivel in the face of surmounting danger? (@mega-aulover)

melissaeverdeen13 :: ao3, ff.net, tumblr

Popular Fic: give you my wild: a look into katniss and peeta's life as they grow back together after the war; their experiences with friendship, love, and parenthood. (@jenniferiawrence)

#authors #active authors masterlist #active authors #everlark fanfiction #thg fanfiction #everlark #masterlist #thg

[neyafromfrance95]

hey, i hope you don't mind but i kinda need to vent a little bit 😅

as a poc it's making really sad to see that "shipping vaultghoul is racist and erases maximus and barb" is such a prominent anti argument. i don't interact with these posts or these people (because i really don't want to waste my time) but it's like they don't hear themselves. maximus is a protagonist in his own right and has so much shit going on tat has nothing to do with lucy and while barb is a minor character, she's an activate member of a corporation that seeks to end the world for profit (and we get to see her own conflicts towards this) and not just cooper's wife. they're so much more than love interests but they need "special treatment" because their s/o are white 🙄

plus what is this narrow minded type of thinking where once you start to ship a couple all the other relationships become invalid? it's fiction ffs. no one is better than anyone and there's no such thing as a 'supreme ship'

i think the worst thing that came out of fallout shipping discourse is reducing maximus to a love interest of lucy when he is much, much more than that and as you said, a protagonist in his own right! like, can we stop only talking about him in the context of romance with lucy and hype him up as he deserves?! he is so complex and refreshing, he deserves more than being a talking point in a shipping discourse.

and while i mainly ship lucy x cooper, i'm fine with lucy x max and the majority of vaultghoul shippers are too. not to mention that max is like my ideal type of a dude, lol. i crushed on this man so hard while watching the show. so, those of us who ship vaultghoul do not dislike max or think he is boring (there is a difference between finding a character boring and finding his relationship with the other character a bit bland).

tbh, i hope max gets even more development and important storyline points in s2 so that maybe ppl will stop acting like he is just lucy's boyfriend.

and i think it's also weird to dismiss the possibility of max x dane when the representation this relationship could offer is very important. and as an enby myself it would be so validating for me to see the enby character paired up with the main dude (that again, i have a massive crush on).

also, i love barb and her relationship with cooper. she is a cool villain and her & cooper were a hot classy couple. tbh, it's just that ppl rarely get too shippy when it comes to the exes, especially when one is a very minor character. but i'm excited for whatever we get with her in the future.

in the end of the day, i hope the discourse (whether it is about cooper vs max for lucy, the age gap or the human x ghoul thing) won't get too heavy in this fandom bc it will ruin it and make our experiences here full of frustration instead of fun.

i'm personally all for multishipping lucy, the ghoul and maximus with everyone in this series.

#fallout #vaultghoul #lucy maclean #fallout amazon #fallout tv series 2024 #maximus #ghoulcy