#uhm i'm trying to think of other fandoms...

[https-immotmari]

❝ Crush na crush na crush kita! ❞ ─── pjsk boys!

WRITER'S START IN BEING DELULU!

Just from the title, y'all should have a thought of where I come from lmao ＜（＾－＾）＞! Anyways, third request came in and I hope you don't mind the reader's gender being neutral, thank you!~

fandom! .project sekai character(s) used! .akito shinonome, toya aoyagi, tsukasa tenma and rui kamishiro gender of reader! .gn!reader however, implied fem!reader implied in toya's and tsukasa's sections head start! .reader, in both akito's and toya's, is a senior, reader in toya's section is tsukasa's older (by one minute) twin sibling, light angst in toya's section, rui's reader is a foregnier and doesn't understand nor speak japanese very well however, they can understand english

. . .akito shinonome!

❝ Di mo ba nadarama? (Don't you feel?) ❞

what in the H E double hockey sticks is he feeling?!

he doesn't know why his heart goes crazy just the mere sight of you he doesn't know why he suddenly stutters his words when talking to you, he just doesn't understand why his mind wants to see you every day.

well, to everyone, it's no surprised you've captured the hearts of majority of the student population in kamiyama high. you're literally the IT girl/boy/person of kamiyama and you aren't even aware of it.

you're even a great senior! he met you through toya, who was trying to find tsukasa since he wanted to confirm something and they found him talking to you, and he was instantly whipped! though, he denies it.

toya lightly teases him that he acts like a mess when you're around him and akito just barks back with lies, just to save his pride.

"I'm telling the truth, toya. I don't act weird whenever (last name)-san is around." akito denied his best friend's, toya, accusation. him? having a crush on the school's heartthrob? that's stupid. he would never-

"excuse me?" akito suddenly froze on the spot as toya twirled his head only to see you carrying a bunch of test papers. "oh? toya? and uhm.." you squinted your eyes, trying to recall the name of the frozen ginger beside toya, "oh right! akito, right? you're ena's cute little brother, hm?" you tilt your head forward a bit, smiling in his way.

in the end, toya had the last laugh as he watches his best friend being completely different around their senior, "I told you so." as akito clutches his chest, where his heart is at.

just innocently dropping hints to toya that he 'needs' help with a difficult math problem, that's probably a year above them level, and that he needs a reliable and amazing senior to help him.

he ends up having tsukasa and sometimes rui, it's rare having you to 'help' him since you're quite busy as well.

but, that doesn't stop him! he often has toya delivers his little gifts, after a long time convincing toya that it was his older sister's, ena, request to deliver 'her' gifts, to your desk when you're not around, some students may have thought that toya has a crush on you.

his little gifts consist of key chains of (favorite things), sometimes flowers and pins with your favorite series/anime/manga/etc.

how he knew this? he actually got information from one of ena's conversation with you and your post from your social medias, in which he secretly hearts everything on an alternative account.

he turns into a lovesick puppy the moment you walk in, if he were a puppy, his tail would be going crazy all the while his face would be a hot mess.

during the sport event, you were one of the mc's and it made akito's motivation in winning increased TO THE MAX!

he was running faster than ever, even ena was suprised to see her little brother like that, poor tsukasa who was on his back, tsukasa was holding onto akito's shoulders for dear life.

"shinonome-san is running as fast as ever! it seems like he's eager to win, don'tcha think, partner?" the other mc look at you, waiting for your commentary.

you chuckled, smiling as you watch the intense match between your juniors, mizuki and akito. "I couldn't agree more, partner! even poor tenma-san is holding on for dear life~" both you and your partner snickered.

after he won that match, he was congratulated by you over the mic and no one can image the furious blush appearing on his cheeks, like, YOU, out of all people, were to congratulate him first before toya can?????

he was on cloud nine that even toya had a difficult time in getting him back to his senses till they were in their band practice, an hand to shake him back to life.

he denies this for a long time but, on valentine's day, instead of the classic chocolates and flower, he actually got you special and that he's proud of but, never admit it was him.

he got the valentine's day special chocolate pancake with (favorite fruit) on the side from the place where he usually buys his pancakes, he bought it using his hard-earned money. he also made oragami flowers, bouquet of flowers actually, the flowers being all of your favorite kinds. he actually spent a lot of time and dedication on the oragami flowers and learned them from a lot of youtube videos.

of course, he remained anonymously.

out all the gifts you've received that day, his gift stand out the most due to his effort in making it perfect. you gushed about it to your friends and one of them was ena. she had a gut feeling that it was her little brother, akito, but never got confirmation.

he doesn't know why his heart goes crazy just the mere sight of you, he doesn't know why he suddenly stutters his words when talking to you, he just doesn't understand why his mind wants to see you everyday. Don't you feel it?

. . .toya aoyagi!

❝ Crush mo rin kaya ako? (Do you have a crush on me too?) ❞

you're actually tsukasa's older, by one-minute, twin sibling so, he's known you very well.

though, he wasn't able to have a lot of conversation with you back then since you were more focused on your youngest sibling's, saki, health and was always in the hospital, in which he couldn't go, fearing that it upset his father.

despite not often having to chat with you, toya can see you as the loving and caring older tenma sibling, within the three tenma siblings, you're the matured and calm one, one of the reasons why toya and you got along pretty well.

him crushing on you came when you caught him tearing up a bit after an argument he had with his father, he was a little kid at the time, and instead of degrading him for crying, you sat beside him and comforted him, whispering nothing but sweet things to him as he cried in your shoulder. you comforted him like how you comforted tsukasa whenever he has his episode due to him thinking he wasn't a great enough brother for saki.

after comforting him, you gave him a small smile and encouraged him to go after what he loves the most, and at that moment, the thing, or person, he loves the most at the moment, till now, is you. he just doesn't realize it till his unitmates told him he was, in fact, has a crush on you.

he felt the warm and loving aura coming out of you that you always give to your family, especially to your younger siblings. something he had craved from his father ever since he was born and yet he never received.

after that day, this little kid was always following you around like a little duckling, except in the hospital, in which you find it to be amusing and adorable since you've ever known toya to be the quiet yet blunt stoic kid and seeing him following you around whenever him and you are inside your house.

toya, at the time, didn't know why his cheeks felt warm and his heart going slightly faster than before whenever he encounters you. it makes him space out sometimes.

one time, he made a claw machine empty because he wanted to give you plushies like he gives to saki, through tsukasa, as well! you were surprised to see a lot of stuff toys in your room when you got back home from the hospital.

it made your face brighten up and as a thank you, you gave toya one of your beloved books in which you cherished the most so, image the shock expression he had once tsukasa told him that it was one of your cherished books you held dearly, and you gave it to HIM??

upon knowing that fact, the book you gave to him now has its very own section in his bedroom shelf, it even has its own clear protection case to keep the dust away if he's not reading it at the moment.

nobody is allowed to touch the book besides him and you.

now that you two, alongside tsukasa and saki, have grown into teenagers, you two have more screen time with each other now that saki is finally out of the hospital!

since you and tsukasa are the same age, meaning when toya was a freshman in kamiyama, you were a senior at miyamasuzaka, the same all-girls school saki is in.

despite being in different schools, you two interacted a lot! especially when all four of you hangout after school!

his feelings for you were rather obvious, at least to tsukasa and saki, he was so different from his quiet and stoic self.

whenever you're around, he smiles more often all the while talking to you, toya can't help it! you're just a beautiful scenery, it's a crime to not admire you. saki even called him out-

"(n/n) sure does look beautiful, right, toya-kun?" saki innocently teased the blue haired individual, who was admiring her older sibling as they baked a bunch of cookies for the four of them.

toya immediately snapped out of his daydreaming upon being called out, "o-oh.. yes, of course they are." he shyly nodded, feeling his cheeks warming up. saki simply chuckles, knowing damn well that she'll be the matchmaker alongside her older brother.

when vivid bad squad was formed, he immediately rushed to you and told you about it, you smiled at him, he was finally doing what he wanted and not what his father wanted, and you were proud of him.

whenever he's at band practice, he often unconsciously rambles about you to his bandmates, an and akito teases him about it, telling him that they didn't know toya has a crush.

that's when he furrows his brows, crush?

due to his oblivious self, an and akito, mostly an, explained to him that he has a crush on you, and he was like "oh...oh!"

now with this newfound information, he felt even more nervous around you, sometimes stuttering his words as if he's malfunctioning robot.

his heart just goes crazy and with the way you acted around him these couple of years, thanks to an explaining how most women acted when they have a crush on you, he wonders if you also have a crush on him too?

. . .tsukasa tenma!

❝ Cross my heart, P.S. I love you ❞

he met you first in phoenix wonderland, you were a guest invited by one of your friends.

he, alongside his troupe members, was greeting the guests ever-so loudly and cheerfully and when his orange-yellow eyes set on you, his world just stopped right there and then.

your (h/c) was shining, complimenting your sparkling eyes and dazzling sweet smile, he felt his heart was racing, racing fast.

he was so stunned that when you and your friends came up to him and his troupe members, he was fumbling with his words all the while his troupe members cheerfully, mostly emu, greeted you and your friends. tsukasa's eyes were mostly on you, though he did try to act normal and tried to look at your friends as well but, his eyes kept glancing over you.

rui, who noticed this, teased him after you and your friends went away. tsukasa denied it, saying you look 'familiar' to him though, rui didn't seem convinced.

over the time your there, his eyes were trying to find you again, wanting to see if he was daydreaming that time but yet every time he sees you, he malfunctions again.

on the other hand, you caught him spying you from afar and whenever he quickly hides, you find it amusing.

he didn't know why he wanted to find out more about you, though you were a random guest, you can be EVERYWHERE!

but, I guess lady luck blessed him after a couple of weeks, he was in front of saki's school, miyamasuzaka, and while waiting, he saw you again! alongside your friends.

his eyes went wide, and my dude just stood there like 🧍‍♂️

once he and saki were back at home, he immediately bombarded her with a lot of questions about you.

"hey, saki, do you perhaps know somebody in your school with (h/c) hair and (uniform style/details about your uniform)?"

"oh, well there a lot of people with (h/c) hair in my school but, with the way you describe certain details uniform, I think you're referring to (last name)-san!"

that's where he learned about you as he watched saki talking about you gleefully, you were an assistant and close friend to the MORE MORE JUMP! members, no wonder why saki seems happier to talk about you to her older brother.

and no wonder he recognized you, he once saw you in shizuku's social media, in which he follows since they are good acquaintance with each other.

he thought about messaging you since shizuku tagged you in that one post. he wanted to formally apologize for weirding you out on that day.

and that's how you basically meet the blonde weirdo yet cutie from the theme park you visited a few weeks ago again. he firstly messaged you by introducing himself before apologizing for his behavior a couple of weeks ago, you honestly find it amusing and adorable. you two chatted with each other all day, and then the next day, and the next day-

after that, he invited you to hangout after school whenever your free, sometimes he brings along saki and toya, since you two bonded within the private messages you two have been sending each other.

honestly, he hasn't moved on from your first encounter, he still acts like a silly idiot around you. tsukasa doesn't even know why like, you're like everyone else, average yet has a certain charm around you making tsukasa even more invested into you.

whenever he's around you, he feels like very different that has him questioning himself about it. like, why does he feel funny around you but not to others? why does he feel the urge to impress you more with his charms and talents? why does he stutter his words out like a fool whenever it's you? WHY DOES HIS HEART YEARNS FOR YOU?!

I feel like he's seen a various of romance theaters, movies, dramas, etc (thanks to saki) so, he caught up with what's happening to him, it went like this;

"I'm in love..." the blonde muttered, finally knowing the reasons why he's acting differently to a certain someone. he had finally solved the mystery of his strange behavior whenever you're around!

"I'M IN LOVE- HAHHHHHHHHHH?!" tsukasa immediately stops himself upon seeing in the corner of his eyes, his troupe members all can be seen in the doorway, spying on their leader while rui was recording it with his signature smug cat-like smile plastered on his face.

in the end, let's just say rui, maybe emu and nene, got their blackmail for tsukasa.

he was quite shy at first but, he warms up since in his thoughts, he NEEDS to impress his crush, aka you, because the only way your crush is gonna notice you and wants to talk to you is to impress them! (tsukasa's words, not mine)

expects him to be a very, very, VERY gentleman towards you such as carrying your things, bringing you little snacks, escorting you to your house to your school along with saki, and many more that I can't possibly list down.

when he heard you were a fan of phenny-kun, he just has to impress you with his voice imitation of phenny-kun, he just had to. I mean, it IS his job, alongside his troupe members, to make people smile. his day brightens up whenever you enjoy his imitation of phenny-kun! doesn't he love you too much?

he probably made a play dedicated to you and have scenarios where you, the main character, and he as the love interest, he's too busy daydreaming he didn't notice that one of rui's inventions is coming straight to him-

he became a simp, your simp to be exact.

doesn't he love you so much? Cross his heart, he'll love you wholeheartedly that's for sure!

. . .rui kamishiro!

❝ 'Di ko alam ang nangyayari (I don't know what's happening) ❞

he honestly didn't expect himself to be having a crush on somebody, especially when his crush is oblivious foreigner such as yourself.

you were the infamous transfer student he had heard about from the juniors; it was quite obvious due to your appearance alone, so you stick out like a sore thumb. if that wasn't bad enough, you also had a hard time understanding and speaking their language. you usually kept quiet as you feared that you might sound like an idiot when speaking japanese.

so now, picture this, a transfer student from (country) that has a hard time understanding and speaking japanese in a japanese high school, seated next to the well-known troublemaker of kamiyama high, now surely it won't be chaotic? spoilers, it did.

rui honestly finds you amusing, he would chuckle whenever he would ask for something to you, and you would completely give him another thing instead what he asks for.

it was another day in class in this new high school of yours, if the lectures make your head dizzy because it's difficult in understanding the teachers a bit, the purple head boy next to you makes it more difficult.

"psst.. mind letting me borrow your eraser for a moment?" he whispered to you, not wanting to get caught by the teacher. rui watched as you confusedly scanning your desk, trying to understand what he wanted from you.

'okay, he clearly wanted to borrow something... but, what??' you were thinking a bit too hard that the lecture from the teacher is mentally blocked from your head, now focusing on the given task by your seat mate.

"um.. t..t..this?" you tried pronouncing the said word in japanese but, it only sounded broken a bit, all the while showing rui a sharpener.

and that moment, rui kamishiro knew, he'll be going to enjoy this year.

you being shy reminds him a lot about nene but, in your reason, you were afraid of sounding stupid while speaking his country's language. though, he'll give you the benefit of the doubt since you were learning how to speak the language.

he teases you even though you mostly don't understand all he just said, which amused him more while you were determined to learn about the language more to know what rui is saying to you most of the time.

eventually, it was one of your daily routines to have rui tease you every day, even though you don't understand half of it but, hey! you're at least getting better with your japanese.

and with that, rui and your friendship began to develop as time went by, the purplenette introduced his unitmates to you and you were thankful that they introduced themselves in english. p.s rui rambles about you to them.

sometimes rui say english words to help you understand what he or other people are saying. though, if someone was mocking or insulting you, rui wouldn't even try to tell you what they are saying instead, he just guides you away from them by wrapping one of his arms around your shoulder and distracts you, though you had a gut feeling that the person was saying bad stuffs to you, you pick up some of their words and understand soe.

I think rui having a crush will take a long time since he's more on focusing on his inventions and his performances with his unitmates so, catching his attention in you, romantically, it's going to be a long ride. though, if you did, in which is going to happen, congratulations then.

though, he did start to feel whenever your around as the days goes by, and honestly, dude was confused. I feel like he has no grasp of like love and crushes since he's probably more focus on his works and his unit's performances that he doesn't have the time to think about anything else like love.

so yeah, it took him a long time to solve this difficult equation on why he feels weird whenever you are around/mentioned. he doesn't know what's happening to him.

with that, he went to nene and intentionally drop a topic like "what if somebody feels weird whenever somebody's around them, like something's making your heart beats faster?" and nene just look at him with a blank expression of hers, already knowing what's up with her childhood (best) friend however, she won't say it just for fun.

even with his newfound feelings, he acted the same but, once you come closer to his chest area where his heart is at, you'll hear his heartbeat. his teasing is still the same though he increased it to the max, anything for you<3

within school/lunch breaks, he'll teach you japanese words and how you pronounce them while you teach him english/(native language) words and how you pronounce it. though, that doesn't mean he'll stop teasing you just because him and you are teaching each other different languages, from time to time, he says to you compliments in japanese and when you try to pronounce it, his smug cat-like smile widens even more.

but, he'll only get scolded by you after you search about the phrases back at home, he'll do it again and again even if he's going to get scolded by you and he'll probably get the silent treatment by you<3

although jokes asides, he'll calm you down whenever you're feeling really anxious about speaking japanese, especially in front of the class whenever a teacher calls you out for recitation. he's one good listener and advice giver, so any problems you have, please go to him and he'll make it better, especially for you.

fast forward to summer holidays and school was ending, with all the moments and days you've spent with rui, you finally made a decision, something you'll feel embarrassed about but, hey! rui someone that is dear to you. as rui finished packing

up his things and mostly every one of your classmates were outside now, you approach rui very differently unlike the way you've approached him before this.

"rui.." you muttered out, loud enough for the said person to hear and make his head turn towards you.

"hmm, yes?" his eyes went immediately towards you, seeing a letter in your hands, your gaze shyer than ever, and some sort of red tint in your cheeks.

"I.. uhm.. I.." you stuttered out, trying to find the words you wanted to say to him. rui, noticing it, gives you a pat on the head as a sign of encouragement as what he always did to you whenever you feel nervous/anxious.

eventually, you finally did as what you have planned the day before, "I.. just want-ted.. togiveyouthis..!" you quickly finished yourself, saying it all in japanese, while handing the letter to him before quickly rushing out, leaving rui with a dumbfounded with a letter in his hand.

the mad sciencetist, I mean, the purplenette boy stared at the letter the rest of the time as he walks home, wondering what you wrote in this. though once he had opened and read it, he lets out a smile, not his usual smug cat-like smile but, a genuine and gleeful smile.

with his heart beating crazily as he only thought about what you wrote in that letter, his thoughts filled to the brim with you, he honestly doesn't know what's happening right now.

WRITER'S END IN BEING DELULU!

Apologies for the long wait! school just recently started and this january I'm filled to the brim with projects and performance task ＞︿＜!

and also, I had writer's block with rui's section though special thanks to one of my lomls @liqis-postoffice for the ideas &lt;3

rules! + masterlist!

#❝ Dream that I can never have again ❞ ─── mari's tales #project sekai x reader #project sekai #akito shinonome x reader #toya aoyagi x reader #tsukasa tenma x reader #rui kamishiro x reader

[hiwelcometothemonstersancturary]

House Tour (not the house we wanted, but the house we have)

Fandom: Poppy Playtime.

Synopsis: Angel (referred here as "you") introduces their house to the toys after the events of the game.

---

"It's not much", you hurriedly tell the group. "And it's not very big, we'll have to get a bigger house as soon as possible, can't forget to immediately look for what's on sale around here".

You stop on your tracks to face the door to your house, hearing the others stop just behind you. Searching for the right key, you add:

"Also please don't mind the fact everything's a big mess, I'm more organized than that but last time I was there it was a week or so ago and I left in a rush".

"Don't apologize, Angel", Poppy replies back, as gentle as ever. "I'm sure it's not even that bad! And, look, even Kissy agrees with me! Right, Kissy?"

The taller girl mutters a quiet "hm-hm" sound.

"Nothing will ever be as bad as the factory, Angel", Dogday adds. You turn around to see Huggy still holding into the dog's poorly-adapted wheelchair, smiling in return. "Besides! You're here with us now! That alone makes things a lot better".

"You guys give me too much credit", oh, finally, you found the key! "I'm just doing what I have to. Anyone else would do the same".

"Li-ar", Mommy Long Leg's voice echoes. "No one never ever took care of Mommy when she was hurt".

"I was the one who tore your arm off, I kind of had to help".

"Li-aaaar".

You sigh, finally opening the door and stepping inside: "C'mon, everyone, it's pretty small but it should do the work for now".

You counted the toys one by one as they entered: Bunzo, PJ, Poppy and Kissy, Dogday and Huggy, a very bubbly Miss Delight guiding Catnap inside, all the mini huggies, all the mini critters, all the other mini toys, then Mommy Long Legs. More than 80 in total.

Thankfully the money you got from that case was enough to cover a house and finances and medical expenses for at least an year for every single one of you. You still didn't know how the court case against the remains of Playtime would go, but with all the evidence against them, it should be enough money for a lifetime, right? You would never be able to pay for everyone's treatment with your current job...

"Angel, dear?", Miss Delight calls. You smile, give one last look outside, and close the door. "What an interesting house you have!"

"Oh, it's nothing much", you put the keys in a small counter, taking off your jacket and throwing your bag in a corner. "Huggy, can you help put Dogday in the sofa?"

"Angel, I'm very sure I can-"

"You need to wait two weeks before you can do any big moves, don't you even think about moving yourself only using your arms again unless you want another emergency surgery, big dog", you immediately cut him off. Dogday sighed, Huggy happily offered his hands to help the big puppy. The mini critters mischievously laughed. "Same thing for every single one of you. Medical orders".

The house's clock pointed at 8:44 PM. It wasn't late, thankfully.

The toys all gathered around the living room, curiously staring and exploring its corners. Someone - Bunzo, maybe? - had entered the kitchen, probably just wanting to take a good look at this new weird place. You decided to let them be, turning the TV on and trying to pick up a channel:

"So, uhm", you mutter. "This is the TV. Didn't change much since '95 except for maybe image quality. We now use CDs and DVDs instead of just cassette tapes, but I'll show that to you guys later. You can grab anything from the kitchen, I don't mind".

You blinked, hearing the sound of your Windows XP computer turning on. Somehow, PJ Pug-a-Pillar had figured out how to use it. You would be proud if not a bit worried:

"You found the computer", you announce to the group. "Okay. Don't mess up too much with that thing, I need it to work. I'll show you guys how to use the internet later, I think you would like it".

Long Legs decided to sit next to the TV, stretching her neck so she could watch it better. The mini critters seemed to really like her, as they still haven't let go of her arm.

"Angel, do you think the news are all still about us?", the spider doll asks.

"Well..."

You sit on the floor so Dogday can see the TV from the sofa. Bunzo immediately jumps to your lap, making himself comfortable. You pet him as images of the abandoned factory covered with cops and investigators appear, headline written as "PLAYTIME CO. INVESTIGATION STILL UNGOING".

You sigh. Bunzo seems to look up at you, confused.

"Is that a good or a bad thing?", his ears move. You stop petting him.

"It's not good nor bad. If the news aren't screaming how the investigation found out how you guys were made, then we can assume the Prototype is doing a good job".

"He always did".

Everyone, including you, turns to stare at Catnap. He decided to sit next to the sofa, lying his back against the wall. The ceiling was too low for him to be comfortable like that...

"Mommy cannot agree with you", Long Legs groans. "Would you want to know hy?"

The feline simply stares uncomfortably at the pink toy. She rolls her eyes, muttering something about him denying the evidence before turning her attention back at the tv. You're glad these two didn't get into a fight again, but you still don't feel comfortable. Most of the bigger toys are sitting on the floor, with the smaller ones either using Kissy, Miss Delight and Dogday or the sofa as a sitting spot.

The images in the TV then cut to you, eye bags and all, staring at the camera and politely answering a question.

"Look!", Bunzo points. "It's mom!"

"I'm not your... Nevermind", you put some of your hair behind your ear. The you in the TV keeps talking:

"No, I didn't see any guards or cops when I came in there", you shake your head, tired.

"No security at all?"

"I mean, the factory is full of weird machines you need to use a thing called a 'grabpack' to make them work, but there wasn't anyone who stopped me from grabbing one and going inside. I bet even a child could have gotten themself trapped in there from how lonely things were outside..."

"Do you think one of the monsters escaped the factory before?"

"The toys, is that what you mean?"

Your eyes finally showed some light as you bit back at the word choice. You lifted your head, now more determined than before:

"If any of them escaped, they are either dead or locked away somewhere by whoever knew about what Playtime was doing. Or do you really think these kids wanted to stay inside that prison? They were fighting each other over what to eat, for God's sake!"

"Angel...", Poppy muttered. "You didn't tell anyone about the..."

"Cannibalism? Hel- heck no. You guys will be regarded as monsters by a lot of people if i do that. Until things calm down, no one outside the investigators of our case will know".

You decide to get up from your spot, much to Bunzo's dismay. You pet his head before stretching yourself, hearing some bones pop:

"The kitchen is right there. Bathroom is there, and my room is there. I don't think there's any clothes good enough for you guys, but we'll see. You must be hungry, right?"

You step into the kitchen, followed by some of the toys and Long Leg's head stretching head. Miss Delight excitedly walks close to you as you look for what you have.

"Well...", you mutter. "I have some snacks and food, but not enough for all of us. Maybe we should get some pizza today, and tomorrow I'll rush to the grocery store".

"... Pizza?", Bunzo asks in the big toy pile that formed at the kitchen's entrance, his head between the smaller huggies. "What's that?"

"It's an italian dish made from bread dough and topped with plenty of ingredients!", Miss Delight answers in her cheerful tone before turning to face you: "But... You have pizza, Angel?"

"No, but I can just ask someone to deliver to us. I have the money", you grab the kitchen's telephone, searching in the drawers for the number of that one very good pizza place your friend worked at. "Since no one here ever ate a pizza I'll just ask for five of each flavor. Might do the job, seeing how many of us are in there..."

You turn, lying against the kitchen's corner, only to realize that everyone was staring at you. Even Catnap had gotten out of his spot, curiously watching, and you could see Dogday's head as he was trying to take a good look at what was going on.

"You guys can explore the house, y'know. It's our house now, not mine", you tell the group, going back to the living room, telephone in hand so the poor giant puppy could be included. Another door was opened, and the mini critters and huggies were now conquering your bedroom. Good for them.

You sat on the floor again. Bunzo proclaimed your lap, and Poppy decided to also sit next to you.

"I don't have to eat, Angel", the doll told you, watching TV. "Prioritize the others, alright?"

"Neither do I!", Dogday replied. "I ate at the hospital, don't worry about me".

You roll your eyes and pet Poppy's head. "I know you don't have to eat, doll, but you, young sir, have to eat. A freaking lot, actually! Didn't I tell you guys food isn't a limited supply anymore?"

A mini critter screamed and something was knocked over. Long Legs immediately got out of her spot, coming out of your room with a mini craftycorn trying to chew on a blanket.

Dogday, however, was whimpering. He lowered his head and fidgeted with his hands: "Are you sure? You did so much for us, Angel..."

"And I'll do even more. I'll be your legal guardian if everything goes well, remember?"

"But..."

Catnap then "accidentally" bumped his tail against Dogday's face. The pup's eyes widened, and you laughed at how offended he looked. The feline pretended to watch television as Dogday stared at him.

"Catnap!"

"I didn't do anything this time".

Now the pup was looking at you for answers. Poppy was laughing as well, all the while Catnap's tail kept bumping into Dogday.

"Listen to what the Angel has to say", he simply told him. "And eat".

You were smiling. Never in a thousand years did you think your life would become this weird, but you were glad it was like this nonetheless.

Then you realized something, and crossed your arms:

"Catnap, you do realize you'll also have to eat a lot instead of giving your food to the mini critters, right?"

The feline's tail stopped moving.

"What".

#poppy playtime #dogday #catnap #poppy playtime angel #poppy playtime poppy #kissy missy #huggy wuggy #mommy long legs #miss delight #save everyone au #poppy worldwide #garca writing

[grollow]

What are your opinions on the pale king?

Oh boy. Uhm. This feels like a massively loaded question considering that I know that Pale King-related discourse is very common in this fandom but I'm feeling brave today so let's go. Prepare for a long reply, anon, hope you're ready for Ashe to actually write their headcanons on main.

Well first off, I think the fandom does the character a grievous injustice the majority of the time, which is exceedingly frustrating considering that he’s one of the few characters in the game to have any nuance at all. The majority of the fandom either goes out of their way to demonize him (by far the most common sentiment, which is infuriating), or they make him way too sympathetic and/or try to excuse/write off/defend/redeem him for the horrible things that he’s done in the events of the game. Both of these stances ignore that the character is layered like an onion and deserves to be treated as such.

I’m gonna address the demonizing thing first, because it’s more common in fanfiction which is where the majority of my followers found me, and is also where the mass of my experience can be found. Demonizing PK as “ruthless, evil baby killer” ignores the fact that he was put into a no-win situation as king of a kingdom that was entirely reliant upon him (whether by his choice or not is unclear, canon makes it obvious people are inclined to follow wyrms but we do not know for sure if this is something he wanted or just incidental). His own dialogue and actions show us that everything he did, he did with a heavy heart. He did not do these things to be cruel, he did not do these things thoughtlessly, and he certainly did not do these things and forget about them.

PK in essence was presented with next to no options to defeat an enemy that was willing to stop at nothing to get what she wanted; she was willing to kill countless people, with no thought for what all she harmed and damaged along the way. He was king and responsible for those people’s lives. He had to do something.

We don’t know what he knew going into the vessel plan. Based on Monomon’s studies, and the Pale King’s own, we can assume that he probably tried other options. We have wingmoulds and kingsmoulds to show us that he absolutely was experimenting with void before he reached the conclusion of sacrificing his own children. He had to have come to the conclusion that this was the only option that he had. Based on the seal on the Abyss, it’s one that he regretted, found disgusting, and if you take his death in White Palace to be from guilt (which I do), it’s one that he never forgave himself for. “No cost too great.”

Vessels by design are supposed to be empty. I do not think this design choice was to be cruel. I think he tried to design them not to feel not only to protect them from Radi but also to protect them from experiencing what he was asking of them. And I truly, 100% believe that by the end, he realized he’d failed. That Hollow was not empty. He just had no other option, his grand be-all end-all plan was relying on their success.

(Note: My headcanon is that World Sense is PK’s apology to Hollow, in his own way. I also headcanon that PK foresaw Hallownest being saved in one of / all of the endings, and all of them involved Hollow having to be sacrificed. I believe that he died of guilt for doing what he thought he had to.)

So with all of this in mind, though: How can you demonize him for a choice that he made, that was a no-win situation? Is it a wrong choice? Probably. Were there better options? We’ll never know. What we do know is it is not one he made lightly. He knew his acts were monstrous. He did not go into these decisions thinking himself a hero. He locked himself away afterwards and it ate away at him slowly. Heavy is the head that wears the crown. He lost everything in an attempt to save his kingdom from dying to the Radiance. Whether you like him or not, you have to acknowledge the fact that he did think that his plan would save his people. That his end goal was a good one.

(And I will not get into arguments about colonizing / conquering / etc. I do not think this is usually a source of discourse, but when it does come up, it’s usually in defense of the Radiance, who is as guilty as he is of the same damn shit. @ruthlesslistener wrote a post on that subject that I’m sure I’ve reblogged. There’s no point in me repeating it.)

So with that in mind, you might be asking yourself, “So are you not a PK apologist?” And the answer is no. He’s done fucking horrible shit and I am not sorry at all for him. I do not pity him. I do not think he deserves forgiveness. I do not think he deserves to be redeemed. There’s a big difference between understanding the reason a character does something and agreeing with it. Most of the time, when people try to redeem him, it is either erasing the whole baby pit thing (either by time travel or just simply saying it Never Happened), or altering Hollow’s perception of that act (as if they are the only one who was hurt by that act). In the case of the former, you are no longer writing the Pale King. You are writing a wyrm shaped guy. The choices he made exist for a reason. Wiping them out, without good cause, drastically alters his character. I understand people think he has a cool design/character motif, he does. But that’s not even the tip of the iceberg of what makes him an interesting character.

He isn’t a villain.

He isn’t a hero.

And he would not want you to redeem him. He sure as fuck didn’t try to redeem himself.

Let him be morally gray. That’s what makes him a fun character to write and an excellent plot device to include. Let him be complicated. He deserves at least that much.

#asks: answered #anon #headcanons #hollow knight #the pale king #look at me being brave #and sharing an unpopular opinion on main

[mvskedxrtist]

Dirty Little Player

Wᴀʀɴɪɴɢ: PwP, Mommy Kink, Praising, Degration, Hypersensitivity, Slight Humiliation, Thigh Riding, Slight Caught in the Act

Nᴏᴛᴇ: This was the other fandom I had a few ideas for so you might as well get them now! Sorry there hasn't been any smut in a while, I've been really busy with school and the first quarter is ending this week so I'm trying to get stuff in before I can get to writing.

AFAB!Reader x Leviathan - Dirty Little Player

It was a normal day in the House of Lamentation, Leviathan staying in his room to play a new game he got, Satan reading in his bedroom, Beelzebub eating another large snack in the kitchen while Belphegor was sleeping on the couch with his pillow. Lucifer was out at Diavolo's castle, Mammon was also out gambling, and Asmodeus and you were in his room, gossiping a bit.

"You know, we should go shopping soon. All of us." You had suggested to Asmo as he laughed a bit and sighed. "Yeah, that might never happen, I've tried and even when you're here, they won't go. Well not as much I guess. But still, honey we might as well just shop together tomorrow since we both know, anyone else might not. Maybe Mammon or Satan but that's all I can think of." Asmo muttered and shrugged his shoulders while doing his makeup.

You nodded your head a bit and sighed before getting up from the bed. "I'll cya later, Asmo. I got some homework to finish." You waved bye as you left the room, hearing the beauty guru bid you bye.

You were walking towards your room when you heard the slight whines coming from Levi's room, a bit worried that he had hurt himself somehow, you walked towards his room and opened the door to see the Otaku rutting against his pillow. He had snapped out of his horny mind when he heard the door creak, shrieking softly and covering himself as he started right at you.

Oh the demon was embarrassed for sure, his huge crush just saw him rutting like a dirty little dog! "U-uhmm, Hey player two..." He said softly and looked away from you embarrassed, knowing that he just ruined his own chances to get with you. "So.. Who were you rutting off to, Levi?" You just asked all of a sudden, not realizing how embarrassing it would be to answer the question.

You had closed the door by now as you sat on his chair and looked at him. You really just wanted an answer. "Uhm.. Y-you.." He mumbled softly but you were able to catch his words. Now at first, you were embarrassed by that, but then that turned to a dirty smirk. "Oh really.. Well then, continue. Just ignore me." You wanted to tease him a bit, just to see how long he'll go before begging.

Leviathan looked embarrassed from your words but sighed and tried to get himself off on the pillow, feeling your eyes on his back. He couldn't deal with it anymore and shook her head, getting on his knees in front of you. "I-I can't!!" He told you, his face flushed from embarrassed and his neediness. "My, are you a dirty little player huh?... Get on my thigh then." You instructed him and the gamer had agreed quickly, sitting on top of your bare thigh since you were wearing shorts at the moment.

"I'll help you with this~ just be quiet unless you want your brothers to hear all of this~ the door's closed but any loud sound could attract them over~ and you wouldn't want that now would you?" You were torturing the Otaku at that point because of your teasing, he felt embarrassed that this was happening and that he could get off but that just made him harder. The purple haired male had started grinding against your thigh slowly, soft moans coming from him while your hands were holding his hips so he stayed up.

Minutes had passed while he was rutting on your thigh, you were pressing soft kisses all over his neck and near his chest that he felt flustered by. You both knew soon that he would have to release, so you decides to help him out on that sooner. You grabbed his hips and made him bounced up and down your thigh softly like he was riding it. The male was moaning a bit louder while holding onto your shoulders, loving the feel of your touch near him. "H-hah~ Mommy I'm gonna...~" Levi had kept whimpering in your ear, wanting his sweet release. He just couldn't hold it in anymore.

The next minute, the male was cumming on your thigh and your shorts, moaning while throwing his head back slightly, he felt jittery a bit but knew he was more sensitive. You kissing his lips passionately while he whimpered in it was proof enough. "H-hah... T-thanks Mommy~" He chuckled softly and laid his head on your chest, trying to catch his breath. You were watching him carefully and smirked a bit, kissing his forehead. "Levi, you are very lucky I like you. You dirty little player."

#top reader #my writing #smut #mvsked.writing #fem reader #femdxm #obey me #obey me x reader #obey me x mc #obey me leviathan #levi x reader #om! leviathan #leviathan x reader #om! shall we date #om! nightbringer #obey me x reader smut #obey me x female reader

[novalizinpeace]

This question doesnt have anything to do with the story- i just wanted to know if you have any tips on artstyle? Yours is just so fluid and smooth and i think it looks awesome

i uhm

Thanks???? i honestly don't know what to tell you, 'm not used to get compliment in my artstyle, to be honest idk how to explain it.

from start, i don't have a defined artstyle, at least not that i noticed myself. My style tend to adapt itself acordding to the situation.

i blame the fandoms i grew up into, since they teach me a lot of the things i still use to this day.

and of course years of following deviantart tutorials to learn how to make good sketches, lineart, coloring, shades, ect... and i'm STILL learning, 'cause i really like to make crazy things with my art, and that required work.

The only thing that came to my mind to recommend you is to eat tutorials like a starved man till you find the one that work for you (there's millions of lineart tutorial out there, and heavens know i tried at least half that millions while trying to find a way to make lineart easer for me), make artist challenges to get ideas and get out of your comfort zone, and don't give up, 'cause master a artstyle till you become comfortable in it takes time, to give you and example, i took me 11 years to finally learn how to make Sonic character like it supposed to be.

and i didn't even mean to! I learn other things on my way like dynamic lines and tridimensional sketches that, somehow, help me work with this specific artstyle, you never know how useful is a tutorial till you try it and suddenly it become a constant in your art process.

Learn from the true masters out there, that my recommendation.

#nova habla mucho cuando se pone nerviosa #so sorry if this isn't helpful #i just got all nervious for the compliment #ask #nova say

[yaderyngoch]

I made a comment a while ago about a JayTim Tailor AU, and then the brainworms wouldn't stop so now I've actually written it.

Disclaimer that I'm super new to the fandom so this is my first time writing for it, and I also written one little fanfic in the past 3 years for a different fandom so I am Rusty and they're probably very OOC lol.

--

Tailor’s shops, Tim had found, were rather soothing places. Quiet and smelling faintly of amber and cedar. His chosen shop was an octagonal room lined with built-in shelves and racks of suits and armoires of darkly stained mahogany. A table in the centre of the room housed a swatch book of different types of wool and lining silks that Tim liked to flip through just to feel the delicately woven fabrics.

On one side of the shop window, there was a mannequin dressed in a half-finished suit, one side left without the facing so onlookers could see the canvas and careful stitching that gave the suit its structure. On the other there was an old treadle sewing machine, though Tim doubted it was still functional. Nevertheless it helped add to the timeless sort of atmosphere of the shop, something that felt so far removed from all the computers and cold artificial displays Tim usually worked with.

He’d been coming to this tailor for a few years now. Bruce had recommended him, and Tim had been coming ever since. There was something calming about the familiarity. Coming in and greeting the salesman who recommended a few suits for him to try on, settling on one that he thought looked best before the salesperson called the tailor out to him. It was always the same tailor, an elderly man with small, quick hands and soft eyes by the name of Lucius Fox.

Tim waited for him now, dressed in a neat blue suit the salesperson had chosen off the rack for Tim. The shop did offer entirely bespoke suits, but Tim had always found that to be much more elaborate than he felt he needed. As long as he looked neat and presentable, it worked for him.

He flipped through that fabric swatch book, tracing fingertips along the pinked edges of soft blue wool and reading the sticker on the back of the previous swatch as though he had any idea what any of it meant. Camel hair, it said. Tim didn’t think the fur of a camel would be particularly soft or good for suitmaking but evidently he was wrong.

“Mr. Drake?” Called a voice from the door to the tailor’s workshop itself, a voice lower and smoother than Tim had been expecting.

Tim looked up to see a man walking towards him, tall and broad with a streak of white through dark hair, a ruler and chalk in one hand and a pincushion secured to the other wrist with a band of black elastic. He’d forgone the jacket of his three-piece suit, the sleeves of his dress shirt neatly rolled up to his elbows, a tape measure draped around his neck. The suit was fitted just enough to display a figure far sturdier than Tim would’ve expected for a tailor, just hints of a broad chest and arms that filled out the sleeves far better than most.

His face was just as chiselled, with sharp green eyes that seemed to shimmer with amusement, the corner of his mouth turning up just slightly.

It took Tim far too long to realise he’d been staring, and he quite quickly flicked his eyes back down to the book before him, feeling warmth rise on his cheeks. “Yes, that’s- uhm.” He cleared his throat. “That’s me.” He looked back up at the Tailor. “Sorry, I just was expecting someone… else.”

The Tailor smiled in something between understanding and amusement. “Yes, Mr. Fox is out for the week so he’s left me to handle the shop. I’ll be taking care of you today.” The blush rose higher on Tim’s cheeks, and if he didn’t know better he’d assume the Tailor was doing that on purpose, with that honeyed voice of his and those smoothly spoken words. “My name is Jason.”

“Tim,” he answered, picking at the band of his watch.

“A pleasure to meet you, Tim,” answered Jason, and Tim was almost irritated at how well such a simple and common name rolled off Jason’s tongue. Jason gestured towards the pedestal in front of the three-way mirror, a platform just a little bit above the ground that made fittings easier, evidently. “Stand up there and face the mirror,” said Jason, tone polite and professional despite the command.

Tim nodded, trying not to follow Jason’s order too quickly and trying even harder not to fidget. He’d gotten better at it over the years. At his first fitting, Mr. Fox had smacked him upside the head with a ruler and told him to sit still. Now though, he had a feeling he’d find it just as difficult to behave as he had back then.

Jason came to stand close behind Tim, and it was with another small amount of irritation that Tim noticed even atop the pedestal, Jason was still slightly taller than him. “Tell me a little more about how you like your suits to fit.” His voice was softer now that they stood closer together, a gentle sound rather close to Tim’s ear. Tim couldn’t tell if he could feel the body heat radiating off of Jason, or if it was his own body that was warming up.

“Well… I’m not really sure I have much of a preference. Mr. Fox just fixed whatever he thought looked bad.” Tim wasn’t particularly meticulous when it came to fashion.

Jason hummed in understanding, stepping back just slightly to sweep his eyes over Tim, analysing the way the suit fit him with a careful, sharp stare. “Well, Mr. Fox is very good at what he does, but between you and I? He's also ancient and tends to prefer older, boxier styles, which I don’t think particularly suit you.” Tim felt rather like a blank canvas, where Jason could see the vision of the finished piece and Tim couldn’t. “You have a much narrower waist than most of the men I see. I think you’d look far better in something that showed that off a little more.”

Tim tugged at the hem of the jacket, trying to see what it was that Jason saw, but as far as he was concerned a suit was a suit and as long as it fit he wasn’t sure the cut of it made much of a difference. It was something to wear to a formal event and want to take off as soon as he got home. As far as he knew, the one he had on already fit fairly well for the most part.

“Here, I’ll show you what I mean and you can see what you think,” Jason continued, stepping closer to Tim again, standing right behind him so that in the mirror he could see his own silhouette overshadowed by Jason’s. Jason stroked gentle fingers up Tim’s spine, a featherlight touch to smooth out the wrinkle at the base of his neck. Tim suppressed a shiver as Jason leaned in close to place a pin to mark where the extra fabric near the collar needed to be taken in.

“Generally, off the rack suits were designed to fit men with far worse posture than you,” Jason explained, moving on to pin the sides of the suit. He sounded… appreciative, nearly praising despite the aforementioned posture making more work for him.

Tim could definitely feel his body heat now, attention narrowed down to where he could feel the delicate brush of skilled fingers along his waist, sliding a pin through the fabric with ease and precision Tim wouldn’t have associated with larger, stronger hands, far less wrinkled than Mr. Fox.

Tim could feel the warmth of Jason’s breath, could see him leaning in close in the reflection of the mirror. Now that Jason wasn’t looking at Tim’s face, Tim couldn’t help but stare at Jason’s, at the piercing, intense gaze, careful and precise in his work. He was much younger than Tim assumed most tailors were, likely only a few years older than Tim himself.

Jason moved to the other side, momentarily placing a hand on Tim’s waist to pull away the fabric needed. Tim wondered what he was thinking, so focused and diligent, fingers so much more skilled than Tim would’ve expected. It was an art, really, and there was beauty in simply watching the way Jason worked, in feeling each gentle brush of fingertips along the fabric, light and delicate and telling of so much skill in those hands. Some part within Tim desperately wanted to ask for more, for a taste of what those feathery sweeping touches promised.

“How does that feel?” Tim snapped his eyes away from Jason’s face and back to his own reflection, reminded quite quickly that Jason was a professional only doing his job and Tim desperately needed to get it together. Jason was reminding Tim that he desperately needed a few things.

“Uh… what?” Tim asked, feeling suddenly rather silly and realising he hadn’t been paying any attention at all to any of the things he was supposed to be paying attention to.

Fortunately, instead of the irritation Tim had been expecting, Jason simply laughed, a low chuckle rumbling in his throat. “The suit. Does it feel too tight? Too loose?” Oh- right. That was why Tim was here.

He looked at his silhouette in the mirror again, this time actually looking at himself instead of at Jason, and found he quite immediately knew what Jason had been talking about before. More than just fitting him better, Tim felt like he looked more… like himself. Not someone putting on a costume to go play the character of some high-society heir. He looked… really good, and good in a way he hadn’t expected to see in himself.

“Well?” Jason asked, smirk tugging at his lips again. “You seem quite easy to leave speechless, but I would appreciate at least some feedback.”

“Oh- sorry. It feels good. Thank you,” Tim answered, looking back at Jason in time to see his satisfied smile.

“Good,” said Jason, stepping closer again. “Now for the sleeves, I think they’re a little long for you, hmm?”

Tim nodded, knowing at least that much needed to be fixed. The hem of the sleeve was barely above his knuckles. Jason leaned in, left shoulder brushing Tim’s right as he slid one hand past Tim’s hip, one hand on either side of Tim’s.

Tim’s breath hitched, trying to calm the way his heart raced at their proximity. He knew this was part of the fitting, that this was the easiest way for a tailor to roll up his sleeve. Mr. Fox had done it too, but when Jason touched him, it was… different. No- Jason was just doing his job. He was a professional, Tim shouldn’t be thinking these things.

Jason’s index finger brushed Tim’s palm as he started to roll the sleeve up, tucking the excess fabric inward so it looked more like what the finished product might be. He slid two fingers beneath the sleeve to help smooth out the folded edge, the backs of them brushing along the sensitive skin of Tim’s wrist. Tim would be surprised if Jason couldn’t feel his racing heartbeat like this, but if he did, he didn’t say anything of it, simply curling his fingers and bringing them down slightly to bring the sleeve down just a little.

“How’s that?” Jason asked, voice hardly above a whisper now that he was practically speaking in Tim’s ear, their faces only a few inches apart. He slid his fingers out of the sleeve, pulling away again so Tim could examine the length for himself.

“Yeah,” Tim answered breathlessly. “Yeah, I like that.” He realised now that Jason had pulled away, he very nearly felt cold. But at least the distance gave Tim room to catch his breath and chase away those creeping thoughts.

Then, Jason stepped in front of Tim, between him and the mirror, and Tim’s heart stuttered in his chest. Tim had nearly forgotten about how Tailors marked the second sleeve, and he was swiftly reminded when Jason dropped to his knees in front of him.

Tim immediately held his breath, staring directly forward and absolutely refusing to look down.

“You know, I can’t do this if you don’t relax,” Jason teased. It was then that Tim realised he’d balled his hands into fists, and then that he knew that Jason definitely knew what he was doing. He released the breath he’d been holding, unclenching his fists and relaxing his arms at his sides.

Jason hummed in satisfaction, and Tim felt that gentle brush of warm fingers against his own as Jason held the ruler up to measure the new length of the sleeve from the tip of his thumb, sliding a pin into place before repeating the process with the other sleeve. Tim was trying not to tremble, trying to ignore what he could see of Jason in his peripheral vision, trying not to wonder what it might be like if he used that tape measure for something other than its intended purpose.

Finally, Jason stood again, face so close to Tim’s that Tim could make out the different shades of green and blue in his eyes.

“Wonderful,” he said. “Now, if you’d please remove the jacket, it’s time to mark the pants.”

Tim was going to die in this tailor’s shop.

#jaytim #jaytim fic #my fic #my writing #*wordvomits 2k of technical sewing jargon* lick it up baby #I highly doubt there is actual interest in this but that's Okay because I am my own target audience

[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!

[kira-fluff]

a/n: this one is for @jades-bullshit per request <3 i had a lot of fun writing this so feel free to submit another request for any of the fandoms i write for! it makes my day**luke is strictly platonic

reacting to you singing an inappropriate song innocently - obey me! dateables x reader

diavolo "Chest to chest, tongue on neck (neck) International oral sex"

lets out a surprised laugh

"wow y/n, i didn't know you liked listening to this sort of stuff"

thinks it's funny the way you're humming it with the purest smile on your face

kinda makes him wanna devour you whole

he's very intrigued by the music of your world

he'll ask you more about the artist and if there are other songs that are this... blatantly sexual

can't help the big grin he has on his face

he loves you more everyday

and you're just so interesting

"humans are just so...intriguing!" *laughs*

barbatos "Anyway, every day I'm tryna get to it Got her saved in my phone under 'Big Booty'"

raises an eyebrow quizzically

"is this what they call..'horny on main?'"

LMFAO WHERE DID U LEARN THOSE WORDS WTFFF

will lowkey shames you even tho he knows you don't mean it like that

pulls at the collar of his suit

is it getting a little hot in here?

finds his face flushing

wringing his hands

you're so unpredictable

he'd spend all day trying to figure you out

to him, you're an enigma.

"you're something else, that's for sure. you always manage to surprise me."

simeon "Been around the world, don't speak the language (uh-huh) But your booty don't need explaining (uh-huh)"

humans can be so vulgar!

it's been a few centuries since he's heard a song like this

covers luke's ears, it must be done

eyes are so wide

concerned about you honestly

but after he sees your carefree expression

he can't help but just shake his head

you're still as innocent as you were the day you came to devildom

you're so precious awe

but definitely not as pure as you look lol

"it's been awhile since you've done something that wasn't very...angelic.. i guess i can let it slide."

solomon "Her pussy so good I bought her a pet Anyway, every day I'm tryna get to it"

it's been a few years since he's heard a song like this

not that he hasn't had his fair share of experiences

you're a little strange, the way you innocently smile and sing along to the dirty song

but he likes you like that

and he's a little weird too

the longer he looks at you, the more he finds himself avoiding your eye contact

when your eyes accidentally meet your staring, he quickly looks away

stutters his way through an excuse

"a-uhm... it's nothing.."

luke (platonic) "Dos Cadenas, close to genius Sold out arenas, you can suck my--"

simeon covered his ears

what was the next line? why did he suddenly cover his ears?

whatever, the entire song was so...sinful!

he wouldn't be surprised if mammon wrote the song since he's such a gross, dirty demon

lets out a GASP at the others facial expressions

doesn't understand all the innuendos tbh lol

don't do this to him he is bABY

suggests some songs that michael sang instead <3

"you don't want to listen to that demonic stuff! i have some much better songs to recommend you, but it's not like i care or anything!"

#headcanon #obey me #obey me headcanon #obey me reader #obey me x reader #obey me purgatory hall #obey me undateables #obey me dateables #obey me diavolo #obey me diavolo x reader #obey me solomon x reader #obey me solomon #obey me simeon #obey me simeon x reader #obey me! x reader #obey me! one master to rule them all #fem!reader

[kaylalovesmaneskin]

One bed trope

A/n:hey loves I just wanted to say hruuuu and this is my first obx story there will be more to come but I just wanted to say that my next few story are going to be måneskin like 2 of them and I’ll do like some other things bc I want to let y’all know that I am in multiple fandoms to so I will be doing different thing to.🤘❤️

Warning:fluff,kissing, enemies to lovers type thing and swearing teasing

Paring:Rafe Cameron x fem!reader

“There's only one room available." the hotel manager says wich caused Rafe to sigh in annoyance. Rafe and you Never had a good “connection" he basically hates you and you hate him. Well you act like you hate him. He shrugs his shoulders “We'll take it." he mutters and takes the keys to yall’s hotel room. We step inside and you internally groan at the thought of that you both have to spend one night together. “Well I hope the floor isn't too cold" you say as you let yourself fall on the bed exhausted from the day. “No it's perfect for you don't worry." he says walking to the other side of the bed and let's himself fall too. “What no! You're the one who's going to sleep on the floor.” You cross your arms before your chest and close your eyes while your argument. “Ladys First, you Are the honored one to sleep on the floor because I certainly won't" he said. “Idiot" you mumble, “I'm just too tired for arguing, also I see no end in this so I just accept sleeping in the same bed. I make sure to stay on the very edge, far away as possible.” After some minutes as you was almost asleep you suddenly feel his warm hands wrapping around your waist, pulling you close to his chest. Your cheeks warm up, but luckily it's dark so he doesn't see your face turning red. “Much better.” he whispers before it goes silent. And eventually you start to feel comfortable and end up falling asleep in his arms.

Next morning:

Rafe wake up and feel himself still in the position as he fell asleep last night. With you in his arms. You slowly moves, your eyes still closed. “Mmm.. you're warm" you mumbles half asleep and hugs him tighter. Rafe can't help it but smile at your words, wich is weird because he usually don't smile. “You're cute when you half asleep like this, if I wouldn't know you I'd think you'd be such a brave, good girl" you opens your eyes wide, realizing what is going on. “What the fuck" is the first thing that comes from your sweet mouth. “There's my good girl again" he smile, again. “Let me Go" you Protests, trying to free from his grip around your waist. But he don't want to, he want to hold you all day like this “No, you're my prisoner for today" Rafe roll on top of you burying his head in your shirt. You smells absolutely great. And to his surprise your doesn’t attempt to free yourself from him again. “You have something in your hair, uhm- do you mind me to remove it?" You did just stutter did you Rafe girlfriend stuttered! “go ahead" he feel your fingers going through his hair, it feels amazing, and it's sending shivers down his spine. “Your hair is so soft, are you using conditioner?" Your smile, glad you likes at least his hair. He only used conditioner once, your conditioner because it smelled just like you. „No" Rafe answer, just enjoying your fingers going through his hair. Then you stops, he look up directly in your eyes, he could see your cheeks going red, so damn cute. “Is this the part where it goes from enemies to lovers?" Rafe ask with a smirk. You breathes out in annoyance, but then grabs his face and places a kiss on his lips. Your lips where so soft, he could kiss them all day. “You little liar I knew you didn't hate me" Rafe say proudly “Oh shut up, you aren't better yourself" he shrug his shoulders, you has a point. He lower his head again onto her chest. “Can you do that thing again?" He ask pointing to his hair. “And what do I get in return?" He lift his head up and give you a long kiss. “Fine" you says after the kiss, happily Rafe enjoy his head massage.

#rafe cameron #fem!reader #outer banks #obx #obx fanfiction #rafe x reader #drew starkey #obx fic #obx3 #rafe obx #outer banks smut #rafe outer banks #rafe x y/n #rafe x you

[batesmotelofficial]

Asks open 𓇽

Taking a shower, be back in a bit (hopefully)

[EDITOR NOTES]

(Gif by @/the-watcher-in-the-sky)

Hiya! So I'm Editor, I also help with other slasher ask blogs like

@askhannibalthecannibal @lisaswallowsandcreature @jessbradfordschoolacc and @patrickbatemansoffice

So uhm

Go say hi :)

All blogs are minor friendly, but with implications, so don't be shy

Gorey fighting asks are accepted, because we're all older than 13 here yeah? Anywho go crazy, I love gore.

Blog hastags!!

#rp starter

#Norms art

#rp

#reblog

#ask & answer

#Norms speak

#bates family photos

[More notes]

I will not answer anything I deem inappropriate or intrusive, if you want to start an rp that is completely alright

You can also ask their opinions on stuff, like movies and pop culture and etc. But politics will be ignored, because that is something I try to avoid on this page

MINOR👊

Dms are closed.

Please don't make decisions for my characters, and if I don't know what to say in an rp please don't make fun of me, I try my best :)

Also please don't ship Norman with your character, friends are encouraged, but nothing serious, trust me, if they try Norma will kill them on spot.

I know psycho didn't give an accurate representation of D.I.D., but I'll try my best to make it as realistic as possible.

[Fandoms I'm in]

Psycho

Pretty much any horror movie

Stephen king

Ghost (band)

Hazbin hotel

Moon knight

Bluey

Lisa frankenstein

Phantom of the opera

Final fantasy

Marvel

[More ask blogs stuff]

This is my main ask blog, and I won't answer asks for other ask blogs people (hannibal, Lisa, Jess, pat)

I apologize if I'm ever deemed 'out of character' when I answer something, but if it's a complicated question I will have trouble getting my point across.

Cussing is a no-no

If you have a specific question PLEASE tell me who it's for.

(Extras)

My yt channel is @/normanandnormabates, I mainly post edits and stuff but I mean 🤷‍♀️

(And mb if I'm dry when talking, I've got ALOT on my mind, and I don't socialize lol)

DO NOT GET MY BLOG CONFUSED WITH THE BATES MOTEL SHOW

ITS GROSS

PSYCHO ONLY

[Top 10 horror movies, constantly changes]

1. Psycho (1960)

2.Halloween 2 (1981, I think)

3. Black christmas (1974)

4. Donnie Darko

5. Carrie (1976)

6. Silence of the lambs

7. The shining

8. Dracula (1931)

9. Lisa frankenstein

10. Split

Blog universe masterlist:

(IM SO SORRY FOR THE TAGGING)

The collector:

@/arkin-announces

Black christmas:

@/canadianintheattic

@/silentnightevilnight

@/jessbradfordschoolacc

Psycho:

@/batesmotelofficial

Saw:

@/adam-stanheight-speaks

Tcm:

@/mo0nlyte

@/johnny-slaughters

@/sissy-slaughters

How:

@/beauregard-sinclair-ask

@/ask-the-sinclars

The boy:

@/heelshire-hollers

Martin:

@/vampire-boy-speaks

Scream:

@/stu-macher-speaks

The shining:

@/winnifred-speaks

Split:

@/dennis-denies

@/patricia-preaches

Hannibal:

@/flyfishing-the-fbi

@/not-a-cannibal-1

@/askhannibalthecannibal

@/www-tattlecrime-dot-com

@/one-armed-lass

@/pool-boy-at-the-psych-ward

American psycho:

@/batemans-confessions

@/patrickbatemansoffice

Carrie:

@/my-name-is-susan-snell

@/carrie-whites-whispers

Misc.

@/ask-annabelle-the-doll2

@/jersey-devil-speakz

@/therelignedstars

@/lisaswallowsandcreature

#slashers #norman bates #in character #Spotify

[viscerax]

Hi, I was wondering if you had any general Vance headcanons? Like what his favourite subject is, what aftershave he uses (if he uses any??) and just general things like that? Thanks 🤍

Vance Hopper HC's

His favorite subject is math. He won't let people know but he's a total fucking math nerd. Specifically, Algebra. He hates Geometry tho

No clue about the aftershave thing but uhm, he's one of those guys who likes a clean shaven face. He doesn't care if people give him shit for it, he cannot stand having any stubble. Its more of a texture thing then anything, but he says "the chicks dig it"

I'm sorry guys but he would be one of those guys that spray whole cans of Axe body spray. You can smell him the moment he enters a room.

We've all established he hates getting his hair wet. He's like an angry cat. I also think his mom does his hair/is a hairdresser so she's very particular and strict after he gets his perm done.

He used to play basketball but got kicked off the team for fighting one of the other team members cuz they tripped one of his teammates on purpose.

We've already established within the fandom that hes autistic, and to expand on that, I think he often gets nonverbal. He doesn't like speaking a whole lot, and words just don't really process in his brain sometimes. People just think he's just a brooding and silent guy, but really his brain is running 500 mph and he's not focused on talking at that moment.

He stims with his feet a lot. Kicking things, kicking his feet into the dirt. He does the tappy feet thing when he is alone or with people he really trusts. Also makes little huffs and squeaks when he's nonverbal and excited.

Secretly likes wearing eyeliner.

I think if he was born in modern times, he would listen to so much ICP. Like my man would be obsessed with that shit. His favorite song would either be Imma Kill You or To Catch A Predator

He believes in ghosts and is secretly scared shitless of them

Another modern music thing, but he would lose his shit over Ghost, specifically Cirice.

His favorite candy is warheads probably. Anything that normal people would have a pained expression while eating. He loves sour candies, and he carries them around for when he's feeling overstimulated, because they help to ground him.

Chews gum constantly. Never mint gum. Its always some kind of fruity gum.

My man will absolutely tear up a bomb ass street taco. Absolutely fucks it up.

Loves unholy combinations of food. Will dip his oreos in nacho cheese (its really good yall should try it) and also gets like all the flavors of sodas from fountains. Like all of them and then drinks it like he didn't just commit the unholy sin of mixing sweet tea and powerade and Pepsi and mountain dew in one cup.

Secretly likes being acknowledged as pretty. Whether someone calls him a pretty boy or just compliments him the way they would a feminine person, he really likes it.

#the black phone #black phone edit #headcanon #vance hopper #vance hopper x reader #the black phone x reader

[babeeangel]

sitting on itzy's lap out of habit.

Chaeryeong - fluff - 609 words

Other verions: Yeji - Lia - Ryujin - Chaer - Yuna

Chaeryeong: would instinctively push you off, then regret and talk you into coming back, swearing she won't let herself be surprised again. She would be super nervous the whole time tho, so it's not that comfortable.

why is it my itzy content is flopping ? where are MIDZY ? hahaha, i find this writing very cute, had the idea while i was reminiscing a mini apple flavored kit-kat i bought in Japan... (btw i try not to care when sumtin flops. It's hard bcos social media made me used to look forward to big numbers but hey, i write for myself and the niche fandoms that could enjoy it-)

Through the screeching sound of chairs being dragged on the floor, people starting to chat again and the door getting opened by the teacher, you search for your phone in your school bag. On the tip of your fingers, you feel it and grab it as you’re lifting your head up. There you saw her, sitting on her chair, hair all over her notebooks. ChaerYeong was still writing something and didn’t even bother to look at you. You got up and started pushing your chair back under your desk, when you remembered you had something for her. Well the both of you. You reach again to your bag, taking out two mini kit-kats, one strawberry flavored, the other peach. You got up again and started walking to your friend. She still hadn;t turned her head, but she knew you were coming anyway.

“Sup Y\N ?” She greeted, without even looking at you, still finishing up prettifying her notes. “3rd period is still as boring as ever, but great. Chaer, we have a 10 minute break, better make the most out of it, stop thinking about class for 10 lovely minutes”, you answered. “Hm right’. She suddenly started tidying up her desk and putting her books away. When she was done, she pushed her chair back, to be further away from her desk. She finally turned diagonally to see you better. “I don’t wanna get up tho. It’s not like there’s anything interesting to do anyways”. “True”, you agreed, looking at your kit-kats. You handed the strawberry one to her, which she accepted, thanking you softly. You knew she’d prefer it anyway.

As you started opening its wrapper, you mindlessly started sitting on her lap. I mean, it’s not like there was another free seat. But you could only start bending your knees that Chaeryeong had already pushed you off. “W-what are you doing ?!” Embarrassed that she reacted too loudly, she looked around her to see if anyone was staring at her, but thankfully no one cared. The classroom was so busy, everyone was focused on their own thing. Unimpressed, you looked at her face. She seemed flustered more than mad, so it was okay, it’s not like you broke any boundaries, just caught her by surprise. 

“Uhm well nothing, just sitting sorry”. No hard feelings nor embarrassment in your tone, you just dead-pan started eating your kit-kat. Realizing she might have overrated, Chaer started talking you out into coming back: “Sorry, I, uh was startled. But come, it’d be unfair for you to stay standing while I'm comfy here.” After a few back and forths, you finally accepted and placed yourself on her lap.

You were both facing the table, but you turned your head back to her when you were talking. “You have a peach one right ? I wanna try it please, can I ?” You nodded as you stretched your arm behind you. She stuck her head up and took a bite out of the chocolate. As she expressed her delightment (“Mhmm that’s what im talking about !”), you whispered under your breath that she was so cute. She heard it, of course, and you felt her whole body tense up. I mean tense up even more than it already was. 

To be completely honest, sitting with her was not the most comfortable thing ever, because she was so nervous. But spending time close to her like this, made you overlook that.

A\N: did you like it ? My fav itzy song recently is snowy. Comeback was announced this mornin !

#itzy #itzy headcanons #itzy fluff #itzy x reader #itzy imagine #itzy chaeryoung moodboard #itzy chaeryeong #chaeryeong x reader #chaeryeong #lee chaeryeong #lee chaeryeong x reader #chaeryeong imagine #chaeryeong fluff

[stoopid-turtle]

hello... 😅 uhm, first of all, i truly am sorry in advance for being awkward 😭 but for once i decided not to let my awkwardness keep me from sharing (what i think/hope are) positive thoughts with a stranger on the internet, so here i am.

i'm not around much and legit only made this acc bc like you i'm a late bloomer here and needed as many outlets for my yizhan/wangxian obsession as i could get my greedy hands on, in the big year of 2023... sigh. anyway, as an avid lover of meta/analysis posts since my early fandom days began around 15 (oof 🥲) years ago, finding your acc was such a lovely surprise. i agree with your views a LOT, and really appreciate how eloquent and well-written your posts are! even more so bc there's a lot i still don't know and most of the time the source material is very hard to reach and/or understand due to the language barrier, so having other turtles to rely on to access those, even if filtered by their own biases/opinions, is wonderful. besides, such input coming from a new fan is also comforting and imo refreshing, juxtaposed with that of older fans... it keeps the fandom alive and all that jazz. it's also very brave given how ruthless some folks can be on the internet, and on this corner in particular 😮‍💨 it just felt like reading my own thoughts written by someone else sometimes. i gasped and nodded at your posts soooo many times djskdjdj thank you for that!

(btw you followed me back the other day and i legit fangirled irl bc ??? whatttttt 😅 i still think it was an accident but okay omg djskdjdj AHEM. sorry)

then today i logged in and read your recent posts feeling squeamish about sharing more thoughts and as much as i 100% relate to you saying that kind of attention makes you anxious, i just... idk, i had to let you know i enjoy everything you post, even though adult life has kept me from being able to read it all so far. i understand you stepping back and i respect that decision, i'm not by any means asking you to go against what you know is best for you. at the same time, i can't help but hope you'll still show up every now and then bc your posts will be missed 🥲 i guess the whole motivation behind this is that it just made me sad to think your valuable insights will be something i'm yet again late to, if that makes sense?

djskdjdj again, i'm so sorry for being awkward and weird and dropping all of this on your inbox unprovoked. you don't have to reply (or read this AT ALL omg 😭😭), in fact i'm so embarrassed by this that you'd probably have to reach me through inquiry lmaooo 💀 anyway, have a great life, thank you so much for the great job, bjyxszd etc ❤️💚💛

Oh, don't be anxious! I'm really not a big deal.

Thank you for dropping into my inbox! I love hearing from other turtles, especially relative newbies, like myself! One of my fav parts of coming out of lurking mode is getting to talk to other people. I kinda follow back anybody who follows me, cause it seems polite? I don't know tumblr etiquette. I just follow the tags when I get the chance.

I appreciate the encouragement! I try to avoid dramatics, so I'm sorry for the upset last week. The situation is largely resolved, and I am feeling more okay. I kinda backed off because I wasn't sure of my footing here in fandom as compared to others, especially as I do think I have some takes that fall outside fandom consensus. Again, I don't mean to rock any boats and I'm not invested in convincing anybody that they should have the same opinions as I do. Hearing from turtles who do want me to continue posting gave me some more confidence there.

So, yeah, I expect I'll post some more as I have time. I'd like to post more on dd (cause he's my fav). I'd also like to try to figure out gg cause that dude is so confusing to me. I do have RL stuff going on, and I don't have the time to be super-active outside of occasional posts. But I'd like keep posting stuff. At least until I get all my Yizhan thoughts out.

#asks

[rainbowcrowley]

for the good omens ask game— a lot since you said you’re traveling! 1, 3, 9, 11, 16, 19, 23, 24!

oh, what an honour to get an ask from op! :D thanks! strap yourselves in this is gonna be a looong one!

1. when did you first watch/discover good omens, and how did you find out about it?

i actually first heard about it after the first or second trailer for s1 dropped! idk how and when exactly that was (it's been a while) but i remember thinking 'oh i gotta watch this, it looks funny and has david tennant in it'. guess what. i didn't watch it until s2 came out and the entire internet was screaming about it. so i finally caved, asked for my friends amazon account (bc she had a prime account) and gave it a shot – the rest is history.

3. have you created any fanart or fanfiction, or really any content for the fandom?

i have created some gifs! you can find them here

9. have you seen any other work by david tennant and/or michael sheen?

oh yeah LOADS. i've been a fan of DT since i first watched doctor who back in 2011? or 2012? and i've seen the twilight saga films lots of times (aro was always a fave).

now, After-GO, i've seen/listened to a lot of davids stuff (like idk, 50 or 60%? which is a lot bc he has done soo much things) and i'm currently "working on" michaels filmography :) 'm watching masters of sex atm and i just bought tickets for the cinema run of Nye, since i wasn't able to see it in person when i was in london 2 weeks ago, sadly.

11. what is (if you read) your favourite type of human au for good omens? (ex. coffee shop au, surgeons au, plant store au

i adored almost every human au i've read so far!! but the two i'm obsessed with are that one actors au everyone and their mother knows and read (Slow Show on ao3, don't have a link rn sorryy) and the formula 1 au (idk how that happened, i don't even watch f1, it's just so good) i'm currently reading.

16. do you know anyone irl who has also watched good omens?

UHM YEAH but that's because i made them watch it lmao. a few of my close friends, that is. but besides them... nope.

19. have you ever read the crowley therapy fic (the most-read fic in the fandom)?

yep! i took me a while bc it was... A Lot but i finished it a few weeks ago. let's say it fucking destroyed me yup yup ✌🏻

23. what's a good omens headcanon that you considered canon?

idk if this is considered a headcanon but... they kissed in 1941. 100%.

24. what's a theory for season 3 that you NEED to be included?

hmm i'm not sure. like, i really like all those theories going around, but i'm traumatised by bbc sherlock so i'm trying not to get my hopes up lmao. again idk if that's considered a headcanon or theory, but i think we're likely gonna see (parts of) crowleys fall and i think it will also play a part in the plot. also: book of life shenanigans. and bamf aziraphale dismantling heaven (and hell). OH and a part 3 of 1941. (maybe a kiss...? 👉🏻👈🏻). yeah.

ask game for people in the good omens fandom!

#ask games #answered #midnights-dragon #good omens

[ohmeadows]

[20 Question Fic Writer Tag]

i wasn't tagged, i just wanted to do it 😌

How many works do you have on AO3? 10 currently. if we’re counting all past accounts and orphaned works… easily 50-60.

What is your AO3 word count? currently 149,834. if we account for the grand total, well. more. ha.

What fandoms do you write for? i’ve been in quite a few, mostly video game ones, but right now it’s mostly only honkai star rail on my mind though i have the odd rhaenicent idea rattling around.

What are your top five fics by kudos? you and me are a twisted fantasy (kafhime enemies to milkies), i’m on a leash called you (kafhime with dom himeko), da capo al fine (kafhime time loops), the dew of dying stars (ruanliu mara body horrors and cannibalism), and spark (kafxuan horny).

Do you respond to comments? Why or why not? yes, i try to most of the time! i had a lapse this fall where i just didn’t have enough energy to do it for months on end, but i cleared my inbox of that backlog on january 1st. i’m trying to be more consistent going forward.

What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? none i can link bc orphaned or on old accounts, but i do love a good angsty ending if it makes sense for the way the story has been going. kinda aching to write one again i won’t lie.

What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? most of them are quite happy in terms of endings! i know people doomed so hard about da capo was going to have a sad tragic ending but that was… never in the cards for me. i already have it written and i’m very excited about getting there.

Do you get hate on fics? sort of. i wish people would offer up critiques instead of just leaving comments like “ew this is unhygienic”, “disgusting”, “can’t believe i read 8 chapters just for BOTTOM KAFKA” or whatever else pointless stuff i’ve deleted.

Do you write smut? If so, what kind? mostly, yes. i think 99% of my writing stems from a very clear and vivid image of a sex scene, and then me building backwards to root that sex in a way that feels natural and consistent to both characters. and i'm always looking for some new angle in smut, or else it'll bore me, so that means exploring new kinks or dynamics each time.

Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written? no, i frankly hate crossovers and it’s one of my blocked tags on ao3.

Have you ever had a fic stolen? oh yeah lol. sucks! what can you do! it always amuses me because if these people just bothered to talk to me in the way of “hey, i love x idea, i want to do my own take of it, can i discuss some ideas with you?” i’d be 100% down to help nurture that. i reblogged a post about it the other day but i definitely feel that fandom community has turned into a fandom clout competition which feeds into this, too many of us looking for a quick boost in some imaginary clout chasing.

Have you ever had a fic translated? several, yes. for a while i had a bunch of old fics translated into russian. it always flatters me that people would go through that effort with my works.

Have you ever cowritten a fic before? yes, i’ve written a ton of unpublished wips with others and enjoyed the process, and then one i co-wrote with junie and published in an old fandom. i’d love to do it again, tbh, it’s incredibly energizing and fun, but wrangling two people’s creativity together over an extended period of time is always a lot of work and agreements, as well as being able to actually produce. you both need to trust each other and deliver.

What's your all-time favourite ship? uhm. i don’t know. i really don’t. ships by themselves don’t make me feel that excited, weirdly enough, but rather what people make exist in them. i have absolutely lost interest in compelling ships because the fandom de-fanged them, pulled their punches or morphed every single aspect about them into “uwu soft healing together”. (i could go into a long rant about how healing tends to be kinda… ugly…. in interpersonal dynamics. but that’s for another time.)

What's a WIP you'd like to finish but doubt you ever will? most of my unfinished wips i’m completely at ease with leaving behind in the dust. most. i do spend a lot of time thinking about a dorothea/rhea court drama au.

What are your writing strengths? visuals, i think. i have a very vivid inner eye when writing and the scenes play out like a movie for me, so i pay a lot of attention to the choreography and details of the scenes, where everyone’s hands are, and so on, to try and translate my inner vision to text. i can be a very harsh editor which means i’m always looking at what effect each scene is striving for — does it make sense for it to meander, or does it need to be snappier, sharper?

What are your writing weaknesses? i feel like my vocabulary could do with enrichment. i spend a lot of time looking up synonyms because they never stick in my head, and most of my reading books is spent noting down words in a notepad i’d like to use. sometimes i leave too much to be fixed in editing instead of putting it all down in the first draft. i don’t like involving too many characters so sometimes i think fics can get a bit too narrow — and sometimes i can play that for good effect, i guess.

Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic? if you know it, sure, if you want; or at the very least use a beta who knows the language. i tried reading some fics that made use of my mother tongue and my god was it jarringly obvious google translate as well as irrelevant. i think it is worth asking twice what effect it will have for the reader and if it will come off as jarring.

First fandom you wrote for? lord of the rings! man i loved my mary sue silly era.

Favourite fic you've ever written? completed: spark. the amount of research i poured into it, as well as dedicating myself to convoluting fu xuan’s internal voice and outlook on things was some real hard work, but satisfying in the end. incomplete: the dew of dying stars. this one pushed me to research more, think harder about what i wanted to convey, and make them be worse. it’s been a very fun shift in how much i allow myself to dig deep, and relaxing and trusting the audience more. truly a new level of sicko weirdo fic for me.

#meadows.txt #meadows writes

[abbloke]

Eyyy, Murder Drones Themed Mulitfandom AU

'Tis Screech!

And here have other versions of it!

This was so fun and confusing but mostly fun to draww!! And also I WILL BE MAKING THIS. IT WILL HAVE OTHER CHARACTERS IN IT ( from other fandoms, frankly I think there will only be two doors characters that being Screech and maybe Sally. I'm still thinking about what to add but ill also start posting stuff about this and just move along the way and hopefully that works out.)

Anyways thanks y'all for sticking and still looking at my stuff despite me suddenly disappearing! I hope y'all have a nice day and stay safe!! :))

Trying to color this*: UHH UHH UHM.

#roblox doors #doors roblox #doors fanart #doors #doors screech #screech #screech doors #murder drones #MD #AU #Art #Fan art #ibis paint #ibispaint