lttommy - Tumblr blog

[lttommy]

“‘s that so?” somehow, impressively, after all this, tommy thinks ed still looks...unphased. put-together and tidy and expensive, in that vaguely effortless way ed had always managed. he starts on the drink; not ed’s typical, if memory served. “good. we were starting to run a little dry on our old topics.” as the drink exchanges hands and tom can lean onto his elbows on the varnished wood, watching ed watch the unmoving tchotchkes of ginger’s, he distantly wonders how ed can do it — go through, well, this, and still end up in front of him without the perpetual wrinkles tommy’s duffel-bag life had left him with. 

he starts, for just a moment. tommy had always wriggled his way out of such an exchange with ed; he’d always had sophia to take up that space beside edward for him, but now? now it felt rather distinctly like those wrinkles were beginning to show, and tommy smoothed his hands over his shirtfront to emotionally iron them out. “shit, man, i’ve got like, an hour left still. lemme— lemme text aster first, ‘kay? make sure i didn’t fuckin’ forget about any plans this evening or anything.” 

@lttommy​

“i’ll take a vodka soda,” sitting at the bar across from tommy. he was heading over to murphys after work, thankful that their deeply different schedules meant there would be no awkward run in as he collected his things. eddie now without his boyfriend or best friend to live with was relatively homeless, luckily he was able to afford an air bnb in the meantime. “you know tom, we actually have so much in common, tons to talk about babe.” gratefully taking the drink from their hand and sipping on it as his eyes wandered around the relatively empty bar. “it’s a really really fine establishment you have here, you know,” leaning forward and lowering his voice so that only tommy can hear, “would you like to go do coke in the bathroom with me?”

[lttommy]

@raphaelbrcoks​ / your unrequited love for life will surely —

by god, if tommy’s never been more protective of a coat in his life. the matching ones with aster? also precious. but this task he was given, from the raphael they were sworn to protect — he’d given aster a little murmur of raph’s okay, i think, in effort to assuage so much of the tiniest a smidgen of her worries (and his own) that he could, before taking her (and these grandiosely tasked items) upstairs for the evening. 

in the morning, he sends a text: aster’s picking up breakfast. whaddya want? 

there’s not much wiggle room, there. raph isn’t getting no, if tommy has to fetch a spare key to raph’s apartment and deliver it to bed himself. raph is proving his existence, his alive-li-hood, and he’s getting food out of the endeavor. 

“hey,” eloquent, as always, upon first sight of the smaller. “come in, red just left. last time i went i picked up the totally wrong order, so now i’m on takeout probation. mornin’.” 

[lttommy]

watch the sunrise. he'd almost forgotten about that offer. they'd talked about it weeks before proper new year's; with aster's comfort found beneath the stars paired with his own insomniac tendencies, it only made sense to spend the night the same way they had so many others. 

granted — we all know he still would’ve said yes under the most insensible of situations, too. such as in below-freezing temperatures. tommy is now, as he has found himself frequently to be in the redhead’s presence, fussy, tucking the old fleece blanket they’d brought up tighter around her form. “hm?” comes his reply, distant and paying very little attention, a further tendency of his, until he’s content that his girlfriend won’t be turning into an ice block under his arm anytime soon. “n’aw, babe, i didn’t do anything, really. you handled it all like a fuckin’ champ, i was just your pretty arm candy. though, if you wanna think that...” sad aster was the worst. it was even worse, he thinks, than when he was the one at fault for sad-aster, was not being able to do anything about sad-aster other than crack his soft jokes and press kisses to her temples. “maybe you should date me about it. like, forever, if you’ve got the free time.” 

𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔰𝔱𝔞𝔯𝔰 𝔠𝔞𝔩𝔩 𝔬𝔫 … @lttommy​

the new year’s party went CONSIDERABLY worse than anyone had been expecting. what aster thought was just going to be an awkward night of trying to dodge robin without setting off any alarm bells was quickly changed to the lowest point in their group since they were literally punching each other. even though no one left bloody this time, aster would consider it worse. the trust and hearts broken that night stung more than the close call of robin’s broken nose. though the eager plans they made with raphael earlier in the night seemed to fizzle out, aster was far too worked up to just go to bed after fighting with robin. not for lack of trying. it’s a while of laying in bed next to tommy before she’s propping herself up on one elbow to look at him in the dark. ‘ can we still go watch the sunrise? ’ at least it would serve as a distraction. as well as justifying staying up beyond the fact she couldn’t get to sleep while it felt like everything was falling apart. everything except for her lover accepting her offer with a kiss. gathering blankets and aster slipping one of his hoodies over the shirt she had already claimed that night, they headed up to the roof aster wasn’t exactly sure if they were allowed to turn into a makeshift bed but had already decided she didn’t care about that tonight. tossing cushions and covers around with tommy had her smiling more than she had since shit hit the fan at midnight. it wasn’t the most well presented set up in the world, but it was warm and cozy. besides, aster cuddled up to tommy than anything else. “ thank you. ” aster’s soft, vague words break the silence. “ for coming with me. for everything tonight, ” she clarified. not just the pulling her closer and reassuring her when she needed it, but also twirling her on the dance floor. being her midnight kiss. pretty much every silver lining of aster’s night came in the form of thomas moore. “ you are the best thing in my life. ”

[lttommy]

"i don't know how. there's not been a single fuckin' time we've done this that i haven't fucked it or myself up somehow." which, for the metaphoric record, was true; already today, he's fully dipped his sleeve into paint left behind by previous diy-ers, but hey, it's not like his clothing was expensive or anything. made it rather easy to be a good sport about it all — well, that, plus the company. "but i sure am glad you do anyway." both tommy's sleeves are rolled up, an action that would've been better as a forethought, and he leans onto the table once again, stretching to steal a kiss. "it’ll be great. 'kay, so what are we doing, matchin' stuff? little color schemes? tell me the vision, beautiful."

𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔰𝔱𝔞𝔯𝔰 𝔠𝔞𝔩𝔩 𝔬𝔫 … @lttommy

aster adored all the time she got to spend with her friends this holiday season. though she heard it every other year, this little road trip was the first time it truly felt like friendsgiving. though she was still a little too happy for some alone time with tommy. “ you know i really like diy-ing with you. ” they were both quite imaginative. it was inevitable for things to keep circling back to creativity. from the jackets to painting the scroll for tommy’s room. “ i thought this pottery thing would be really fun. i mean, anything is fun if i’m with you. plus, we get a little souvenir from our trip. ”

[lttommy]

raphaelbrcoks​:

he smiles as tommy talks. to be clear, he has a habit of smiling when everyone talks, because he learned long ago that talking isn’t as easy for everyone else as it is for raph and so it’s important to be as encouraging as possible, but with tommy he doesn’t even have to try. there’s an energy to tommy that raphael responds to really well, an energy he picked up when tommy first moved to new york and raph was the first person to approach him and kill him with kindness to guilt him into a friendship (and hey, it’s more or less worked, so he’ll be issuing no apologies for whether or not tommy actually wanted raph to approach him). 

any remaining tension leaves his shoulders as he fixes tommy with a shake of his head and says, “no, no, you’re thinking of this all wrong. dying is the best way for an artist to really blow up. michael jackson and amy winehouse would be nobodies by now if they hadn’t known to play the long con and die at just the right time. getting murdered by eddie’s hands could be the best thing to happen to your career, trust me on this.”

with that being said, he’s still about to turn around and get a head start on trying to figure out this machine, but tommy distracts him by pushing a package forward. “this is pretty much the sketchiest package you could possibly push my way. like, if i were to gift someone a bomb, this would be the bag i would put it in. so opening this up is a total mark of trust on my part, i just want to put it out there.” when he finally deems it time to shut up and actually get to opening the present, his eyes light up. “yo, this is dope. i’ve been harassing various strangers on the internet forever about this record, who the fuck did you kill for it? did i have a reason to be concerned about the packaging after all?” he would be happy if this were it, but tommy’s got another thing waiting for him once raph digs deeper. “oh.” he looks through the jar, at the cookies he mentioned off-handedly were his favorite, at the entire ensemble that’s put together with deliberate thought. it feels nice, a little confirmation that raph’s not more invested in this friendship than raph after all, even if raph was the one to initiate it. “this is really nice. you’re, yeah, you’re really nice. thank you.”

he doesn’t linger on it for much longer, since tommy’s clearly looking for an out to not just stand there and be embarrassed, so he directs his attention to the coffee maker. “yeah, i don’t know, it’s supposed to make this really concentrated and professional-tasting coffee, but i couldn’t tell you the difference. coffee is just coffee to me, which is to say it’s all equally bad. but more power to you for being able to just, drink something bitter for fun. coffee drinkers weren’t hugged enough in their lifetime, it’s fine.” then, back to the machine: “either the silver or black button turns it on, i think. or maybe that’s the button that self destructs it, life is full of surprises.”

"oh, 's that so? are you sure that's not just you wanting to center yourself as the next courtney love of it all?" should it be reassuring to hear from raph that ed's doing murder against him would be fine? not at all. but they've never had a direct method of conversation; so what tommy hears is that raph cares about him and his career path, which he'll take as an agreement.

in the same vein, he laughs over raph’s next comment, burying the color blossoming across his cheeks in a scrub across his own shoulder as he fiddles (read: tries to look like he’s busy) with the appliance afore him, muttering, “i know, i know, but i don’t know where to buy wrapping paper in august and i don’t intend to learn just for you.” 

he thinks that evens out the exchange of affection, here. like just a spot of playful bullying clears the fact that he knows raph’s favorite cookie from record, and then the other is just as swiftly abiding by the same apparently universal rules, which tommy can’t help but grin over. of course raphael brooks only took the signals he wanted to. of course. he has to find it endearing, though — after all, it is the only reason they’ve made it this far. “i’ve been schmoozing the folks at white noize for like, weeks. mostly for selfish reasons, but they let me come in early when they got a shipment in, so i’m pretty sure that’s the definition of trickle-down? packaging ended up being pretty okay from what i could tell.”  

no you’re welcome, because the thank you was misplaced anyhow. his gifts were hardly enough to start a dent in what he owed raph. “hey, don’t blame me! i’m tryna’ retroactively fix that issue, but i’m the opposite of the gift: good packaging, questionable interior. besides, bitter stuff doesn’t give you that sticky back of the teeth feel...” tommy turns that grin to raph, pushing himself off the counter and finalizing, “go, sit. i’ll give you ample heads up if i start a fire, swear, then we’ll figure out from there if we need to come up with matching alibis. are we card gaming today or utilizing your good hulu?” 

[lttommy]

@ielnico​​ // did you fake how you feel when we parked down by the river that night?  

by the time tommy’s returning to the apartment, it’s days later, heavy with exhaustion and the clothes he’d last left the apartment in on an afternoon that feels weeks past. as much as he can lie to everyone else — to himself — and say that the time apart it was to give nico space, to let them both cool off, it’s just that: a lie. 

nico’s the person he’s been dreading speaking to the most. aster’s was urgent, murph’s was soothing, ed’s was self-preservation. nico? he admires nico. looks up to nico. the tense glares, the passive-aggression that waits for him under the best of circumstances...it’s unavoidable and he’s been avoiding it for just those reasons. 

so, yeah, there’s a hope in the sluggish way he turns the key in the deadbolt, inches the door open as if he could just slip in undetected. there’s a quiet prayer he can buy himself just another night without facing that...disappointment, maybe it is? the change of heart in someone he’d just gotten close to calling a friend? alas; nico is the first thing he’s greeted with in the apartment, and tommy jumps, swearing under his breath before he takes a steadying one. 

“fuck, you scared the shit out of me.” the startle is replaced with a smile, tommy’s easy stage confidence sliding over his visage like a second skin. “don’t you usually stream right about now?” 

[lttommy]

asian brew !!

asian brew: your muse spills their drink all over my muse 

thank god it’s iced. that’s all that courses through tommy’s mind, even as the over-compensatory stream of comfort begins - “oh my god, i’m so sorry,” why? you’re the one who got spilled on. tommy’s rocketed upright the moment bubble tea made landfall with his lap and thank god it’s iced, even if it leaves him with chunks of ice wedged in the top of his boot and a shiver, it’s far preferable to the alternative. 

“no, christ, you’re good, you’re good! don’t apologize, i was in the wrong place like an asshole.” this part is true: he’d been holding up the counter with a proper rockstar’s posture, which is to say, jack shit of one, and tripped her. the fact that he could blend into the background that easily might be the catalyst to leading him down the nearest box-dye aisle, but that wasn’t the point. the point was that tommy blushed when he realized he’d grabbed her elbow to try and stabilize her from going down entirely - her, a complete and utter stranger he couldn’t even place why her face seemed familiar - and pried his hold free to grab napkins from the counter to dust boba from his shirtfront with.  “no, i’m sorry, this is completely my bad. shit,” a laugh as he peeled the hem of said shirt from waist, like air was going to do the trick. “see, i even wore a shirt that already has paint n’ shit on it. all for my grand scheme of destroying your shop. really, uh,” god bless name tags. he glances down at hers as his hands fall idle in the job of blotting himself, a task abandoned. it’s not worth it, he can just go home and change - that fact alone makes it far easier to laugh it off on behalf of the both of their continuing blathering apologies. “kyle. you can confiscate my punch card or somethin’. swear, i deserve it.” 

[lttommy]

bong, alleo & rileco !

bong: would you turn vegan for someone you love?

“if they’re cooking the meals? hell yeah. i’ll eat whatever’s put in front of me, so i def’ can’t complain if someone’s like, trying to give me nutrients.” 

alleo: would you ever date someone from your childhood?

“actually...no, i think. child-childhood? they’d know a...totally different version of me than the one i turned out to be, and if they liked that one, they won’t like this one at all.” honestly, if they liked that one, he might need to be a little concerned for them; a young-tommy was...not his best look. 

rilco: who was your childhood crush?

“oh, the girl from almost famous, penny lane. a movie with a whole plot about wanting to pursue rock in a stifling home? yeah, duh. then, later, brie larson in scott pilgrim. i had a crush on those twin keyboardists...and on that drummer, from lemonade mouth. they’re honestly the whole catalyst of my sexuality-awakening.” this feels like a running theme. “somehow, though, my first real-person crush was even more embarrassing. i had a big baby crush on my first guitar instructor. i thought she was so pretty.” yep: definitely a theme. 

[lttommy]

ginger's !!

gingers: your muse gets drunk and mine has to drag them out of the bar 

                           ( bug used uno reverse for drunk tommy rights !! )

people tipped like shit. tommy broke his favorite pair of earbuds, and that loose thread on his boots was fraying more and more by the passing hour; which is all, well and truly, a long-winded way to say that tommy was in the mood to get drunk. drunk enough to squeeze all the relaxation and enjoyment of life the past week had deprived him of. 

this part, he was good at. unequivocally, tommy was great at drinking, at replacing that lead ball of money-related stress with a fuzzy warmth, until all that was left was — raphael. raphael, who he questions got stuck with this job, until he immediately tacks on, “no, actually, don’t answer. if it’s jus’ your turn on th’ chores wheel it’s gonna make me sad.” it probably makes sense. nico’s probably out, with riley or work. ed and murph probably both have early mornings. but that’s too rational; no, tommy’s far past rational as he slings a heavy arm ‘round raph’s shoulders and leans heavily into their four-inch height difference, continuing to croon in that laughter-laden, vowel-dropping way of intoxicated!tommy’s. “did ginger sic you on me? it’s not even that late yet!” 

it was. the way tommy’s head drops to the top of raphael’s, lashes fluttering the moment he’s out of the environment of the bar, should’ve been enough proof of that fact. instead, he keeps insisting he’s fine, puffing air from that cheek squished against raph’s hair and prattling, “how’s my girl piper? how’s the family? how’re you?” all the way upstairs, all the way to the door, where he nods, appreciatively, at his house keys until raphael has to take over there, too. the grin on his face is something like ah, my evil scheme, all coming together — whilst also being lopsided and pressed against doorjamb, as he is entirely unhelpful with the multitude of keys raph is being forced to flip through. “it’s come t’ light recently that i’m not very observant. so you gotta promise t’ tell me the second you need somebody in your corner, yeah? i wanna be there for you, brooks. ‘kay?” 

[lttommy]

white noise records 😎

white noise records: your muse gives mine music recommendations

it was a harmless comment. offhanded, even. surely, when murphy mentioned that he was looking for new workout music, of any ulterior motive, it would’ve been to hint tommy to tag along with him to the gym. 

no. no, of course it couldn’t be that easy. instead, tommy latched onto the most predictable part of the statement and took murphy’s phone, then and there, to start rifling through his music apps like the proverbial panty drawer, making soft little asides to himself about which bands he approved of or which he had never listened to as he started glancing at his own phone, looking the most productive and focused the other had probably ever seen him. 

it makes for terrible, absolutely non-existent conversation. quite literally. tommy’s newfound fixation lasts even as they say their goodbyes for the evening, where tom is giving one-armed hugs because the other is holding his phone speaker up to his ear. 

and that seems to be the end of it. the topic is not returned to for days, until tommy sends murphy a link to a playlist, titled, simply, #28. it’s the same length as murph’s regular workout sessions, and top-to-bottom with more obscure songs by some of murphy’s liked artists, more obscure artists that sound like some of murphy’s top songs, and a couple absolute left fielders hidden in the depths where the energy flow called for it.  oh; plus the remedy to his error. a text to caption the playlist that reads, ‘if we listen to the same music at the gym tg, you think i’ll get your gains too? 😝’

[lttommy]

roliza, murphia, fralex

roliza: when it comes to relationships, if you had to choose, would you choose security or chemistry?

“chemistry, easy. it’d be hypocritical for me to pick security when i’m in the fuckin’ world’s least secure career path — if the chemistry’s right, we can probably make it through that though, right?” 

murphia: do you believe labels are necessary for a relationship?

is this one a trap? it feels a bit targeted. “my answer to this like, last year, would’ve been a definite no. but now? now i kinda get the point of makin’ sure everyone’s in agreement of the page they’re on. old dog, new tricks.”

fralex: what’s your favorite romcom?

“i’m a sitcom man! those shows you can sink hours into and completely zone out with...i’d probably have to say how i met your mother, though. just ‘cause i remember wanting to be like lily and marshal when i grew up, like everyone else in the world. we all just wanna be able to marry our best friends.” 

[lttommy]

taster ( duh ), elico, luward

taster: answered! 

elico: would you risk your friendship with someone for a chance at lifelong love? 

“yeah...yeah, for sure. i’ve risked friendships over a lot less; love seems like a pretty high-reward bet, y’know?” say nothing of the obvious part, here: that he had recently done just that. “plus, i kinda couldn’t say no, all things considering.” 

luward: would you get back together with an ex?

“like, presently? no. i have...not left things on good terms with many exes, let’s just say that. would i ever? yeah. if things change and we give it another shot, who’s to say we didn’t just fuck up the timing on the first try? i’m learning nowadays that timing’s everything.”  

[lttommy]

tomley & taster

tomley: have you ever fallen in love with someone you’ve only hooked up with?

”mm...only hooked up with? no.” not exactly true, and he knows it. tommy’s spent far too many hours lingering in hook-up’s beds well past sunrise to just say a point-blank no. “well, i mean, i’ve definitely gotten crushes. that’s probably...more often than not for everyone, right? how can you just not feel anything for a person you’re sleeping with? but i don’t think that’s proper love.” as if he’d know it; tommy’s never been in proper love in the first place. 

taster: do you believe that someone out there is made for you?

“i like to think so, but...” aster certainly did. aster was the definition of someone who believed in soulmates: her conviction on the matter could be intimidating. “i don’t think so as strongly as i think i’m supposed to. i’m just real worried about fucking up my the one, and then what? or, i guess, maybe that’s the whole point, huh? i hope so.” 

[lttommy]

madi heheheheh ily

madi: what does your muse wear to bed?

to a proper bed, enclosed by walls? tommy’s a nude sleeper. to a couch-bed, or any form of tour-room, hotel, air-mattress bed? still only brings himself ‘round to boxers/shorts and a t-shirt. (does he run warm? why is he like this?) 

[lttommy]

places prompt ask meme 🗽

gingers: your muse gets drunk and mine has to drag them out of the bar

asian brew: your muse spills their drink all over my muse

mon’s deli: your muse sees mine eating a sandwich and crying

stop & buy: our muses get into a fight at the bodega

white noise records: your muse gives mine music recommendations

apolline theater: our muses sneak in backstage for a sold-out show

precious paws animal shelter: your muse accompanies mine to adopt a pet

[lttommy]

ships ask meme 💖

bong: would you turn vegan for someone you love?

luman: do you think love can persist despite distance?

raphin: what makes you lose control?

taster: do you believe that someone out there is made for you?

grommy: do you have a musician kink?

murphia: do you believe labels are necessary for a relationship?

rilco: who was your childhood crush?

rileo: what meal would you cook for someone you loved?

frucy: from a scale of one to frankie & murphy, how much of a simp are you?

elico: would you risk your friendship with someone for a chance at lifelong love?

tomphia: how many times have you been rejected ?

roliza: when it comes to relationships, if you had to choose, would you choose security or chemistry?

tomley: have you ever fallen in love with someone you’ve only hooked up with?

alleo: would you ever date someone from your childhood?

fraster: would you be interested in something niche just because someone you like loves it?

tevward: how bro can you go?

fralex: what’s your favorite romcom?

mooks: how affectionate are you in a relationship?

jayward: would you fuck someone who’s exactly the same as you?

lucin: in a relationship, would you be the one taking pictures or the one having their picture taken?

luward: would you get back together with an ex?

red robin: who would you take shopping with you at whole foods?

tasterico: two bennington residents you’d love to have a threesome with?

reblog if you want to be sent any of these !!

[lttommy]

Another post from Skye