#just roman is the himbo it's fine

[vinbee631]

Chance Meeting(s)

alright, it's time for day 3! or, it's 4 now...

day 3.5 of logince week! prompt is competition

this is maybe my favorite oneshot form this series so far, but i did not have time to proofread very much, so we'll see how this goes lol

i hope you enjoy!! <3

The Gainseville Billy Goats was your fairly standard youth soccer team. Every other day, excluding weekends, a large group of first and second-graders would meet to practice running around and kicking not-soft objects.

It was a wonder the Reyes twins’ mother allowed them to even attend these practices, the worrywart that she was, but the twins' insistence on any and all physical activity left her practically unable to say no.

Roman and Remus loved sports. From the time they had learned to crawl, they were constantly moving around, looking for new things to try.

For their parents, it could be a tad exhausting, but it was wonderful to see them be so enthusiastic about new activities or sports or games.

Soccer was the first sport they were able to play on an official team, with jerseys and everything! The boys were in love with it instantly; they didn’t even get distracted during practice and run off like the rest of the kids!

And then, after a few weeks of practicing and learning and so so much running, the boys finally got to participate in a real game! Against another team with other kids!

The twins didn’t stop smiling the whole time, grinning even wider when they passed the ball to each other or when someone on their team scored a goal.

The game could be pretty choppy sometimes. Since they were still only in first grade, some of the kids could be a bit iffy with the rules. Roman and Remus, of course, followed them to a T, but they understood if some of their friends needed extra time to figure things out.

Their opponent, the Newberry Newts (Roman and Remus really liked that name! They thought it was clever) was basically the same as theirs, just with different kids and blue jerseys instead of orange.

If they were following along with the pe-sific defensive rules, Roman’s current opponent was supposed to be number 42, “SPENCOR.”

That wasn’t his actual name, Roman knew, only his last name. But they were in the middle of a game! He’d have to get to know him better when they weren’t trying to beat each other at soccer.

His future friend was also very good at the game, and they seemed to know all the rules like the back of their hand already! Sometimes, they even tried to help the referees! Roman thought that was kind of silly, trying to correct an adult, but usually, they were right! Roman was pretty impressed.

Roman had made a continuous effort to smile at Spencor whenever they made eye contact, even going so far as to shoot them a thumbs-up for their best moves. Unfortunately, they never returned the smiles or gave a reaction to the support. Oh, well. Maybe he was too distracted by the game Roman understood.

By the end, Roman was practically vibrating at the excitement that was meeting a potential friend. Once his coach had let everyone return to their families, he rushed over to his parents.

“Mama, mama, can I go say hi to that kid over there? I wanna go say hi!” Roman’s mother chuckled, very used to his enthusiasm.

“Well, I had been planning on congratulation you for your first-ever soccer win, but I suppose that can wait a few minutes. Be safe, mijo, and stay where I can see you, alright? We have plenty of time.”

Roman grinned, quickly giving her a hug before turning to his brother.

“Hey, Re! Do you wanna come meet someone with me?” Remus glanced up at him, looking a bit confused. “Sorry, can you repeat that? I only heard ‘meet someone.’”

Roman nodded, reminding himself to slow his words down a bit. “I’m gonna go say hi to someone, they were on the other team, and I wanna meet them! Wanna come?”

Remus shook his head. “Nah, I wanna eat my snack for now, but have fun! Lemme know what they’re like, okay?” Roman quickly agreed, turning to rush over to meet this Spencor person before they had to go, but something stopped them.

Spencor, like the rest of the kids at the game, had gone over to meet their family, talk about the game, and eventually head home. It seemed like they were with their mom right now, but something seemed wrong.

She wasn’t yelling at them. Roman would have been able to hear it from where he was standing. But she looked really upset with them. Maybe they had gotten in trouble for something? It might not be the best idea to go talk to them if they were in trouble.

Suddenly, Spencor’s mom stormed off, leaving them by themself, and- crying?

“Hey! Are you alright?” Roman ran over to Spencor, suddenly spurred into movement at the sight of his tears.”

“I’m fine,” they grumbled, “now please, leave me alone.”

Yeah, no, Roman wasn’t convinced.

He carefully sat down on the ground in front of them, smiling gently when they didn’t immediately try to shoo him away again.

“I could leave, I guess, but it seems like you’re still upset. You don’t have to talk ‘bout it if you don’t want to! I just figured you might want some company or something. And I think you’re really cool, so I wanted to say hi!”

They blinked, startled out of their tears. “You- you think I’m cool?”

“Well, yeah, you’re cool! You’ve got cool glasses and you know a lot about soccer, and you’re really good at it too!”

“But… but my team lost. So, you’re probably better than me…” they muttered, folding their arms and sitting down in front of Roman.

“Well, yeah, my team won, but that doesn’t mean that one person on one team is better than one on another! We’ve all got different skills, and lumping people together as the best or the worst is no fun. You should just, well, have fun! And, you did really good out there. I liked how you kept telling the referees about the mistakes they made. I wouldn’t have been brave enough to do that!”

“But… I got in trouble for it. Mom says I’m not supposed to talk back to adults, it isn’t respectful,” they replied sullenly, curling up and resting their chin on their knees.

“Hm, well, sometimes adults aren’t always right. So, as long as you’re nice about it, you should try and tell them when they make a mistake. ‘Cuz everyone makes mistakes! And then we can learn from them!”

Spencor seemed to think it over for a minute, then ultimately seemed to agree with Roman. “Y-yeah, I think you’re right. You’re really smart,” they said.

“Aw, thank you! I… I never asked for your name. And I never introduced myself! Oops! I’m Roman, by the way, sorry I forgot.”

“It’s alright,” they responded. “After all, everyone makes mistakes, right? I’m Logan.”

With a wide grin, Roman decided that he really, really liked Logan. He hoped they’d get to stay friends for a long, long time!

…

After second grade, the twins moved on to another sport: basketball! Not that soccer hadn’t been fun! It was just…

Graduating from second grade meant moving up to the next soccer team. The twins really enjoyed it at first! The team was a bit smaller, and things were a lot more organized and they learned different skills now that they were older.

It was just… their coach was not very understanding about Remus’ need for repeated instructions. And when Roman had tried to fill in the gaps for him, he’d gotten yelled at talking over their coach!

Once they told their parents about this problem, they had quickly been taken off that soccer team.

Later, after Roman’s anger and Remus’ embarrassment had calmed down a bit, their parents had asked if they wanted to look for another team to play for, but the experience had left a bit of a sour taste in their mouths.

Besides, there were so many other sports left to try!

So, at the recommendation of one of Remus’ friends, they joined their elementary school’s basketball team. It was a very different sport (hands, not feet, Roman had to remind himself sometimes), but they loved it even more than their previous choice!

About halfway through the season, the team was scheduled for a game in Newberry.

Huh, where had he seen that name before?

This match wasn’t any different from all the others they’d been in. Except, Roman swore there was something familiar about this town. He’d never been to Newberry Elementary before, so where had this eerily familiar feeling come from?

It wasn’t until about halfway through the game that Roman spotted a jersey that answered his question.

“SPENCOR 42.”

Hey, that was Logan!

Roman had been wondering if he’d ever see his friend again. After that soccer game, the Billy Goats wouldn’t get the chance to play Newberry until the next season. And, by the time that came, it seemed Logan wasn’t on the team anymore.

Roman had been pretty disappointed at first, but his and Logan’s towns were pretty close by. If either of them did any sort of traveling in the future, there was a chance they’d get to see each other again.

The memories of Logan had passed through his mind every so often for the next few years, and now, that hope had finally paid off!

For once in his life, Roman was really hoping this game was going to end sooner.

Finally, the game was finished (Roman’s team had lost this time, he was pretty sure there was- like, poetic meaning to that, or something), and Roman rushed over to greet his friend- for real, not just the monotone “good game” handshake he had exchanged with all the players.

“Hey, Logan!!” They turned, seemingly startled that someone was calling out to them. “I- sorry, do I know you?”

“Yeah! Sorry, I’m Roman! From soccer a couple of years back? I didn’t think I’d ever see you again!”

Logan’s face lit up in recognition, and they nodded. “Ah yes, I remember. It is good to see you as well. Did you continue on with soccer? I haven’t played since that season we met.”

“Um, nah, me and my brother got kinda bored with it after we aged out of our first team, just a year after you quit. We switched to this instead! It’s hard to stick with just one sport when there are so many cool ones!”

“I see,” Logan nodded again, though they didn’t seem to quite agree with Roman’s statement. “Have you two been enjoying basketball, then?”

“Oh, yeah! I mean, I’d love any sport I get to play with Rem, but basketball’s pretty cool! A lot less running, that’s for sure!”

Roman was delighted to see Logan crack a small smile at that. Geez, they’d only talked twice and Roman was already picturing them being his closest friend.

“So, uh, my parents usually take me and my brother out to eat or to get ice cream or something after a game. Would you wanna come with your mom or dad? Or whoever brought you? I can even ask them for you if you want! Or- not, sorry if that was too forward.”

Logan blinked, processing Roman’s word vomit. “I… er, I suppose I would have to ask my mother. And, I… if you- uhm, if you wouldn’t mind… you may ask her. And, there’s no need to apologize. You just… pardon, you talk very fast, so it took me a moment to understand.”

“Oh, yeah, I do that a lot. Re yells at me for it all the time ‘cause he really can’t understand me if I do it!” Logan didn’t get the chance to question Roman’s statement before his mother was walking toward them.

“Are you going to introduce me to your new friend?” She asked curtly. Roman nearly grimaced at the ice in her tone. Maybe she’d just had a really long day or something and was in a bad mood.

“Hi! My name is Roman! I met Logan at soccer a couple of years back, but now we get to see each other again! I was just gonna ask if you guys would like to join us for- er, one sec. MOM! ARE WE STILL GETTING ICE CREAM?!”

Roman’s mom chuckled from the other end of the court. “Yes, honey!” She called back. “Why don’t you invite your friend to come along?”

“THAT’S WHAT I’M DOING!! …So, er, would you like to come with us? It’ll be me, my brother, and one of his friends, I think. We like to hang out afterward and celebrate, even if we lose! ‘Cause… as long as we played a good game and didn’t give up, we didn’t lose too bad, I don’t think!”

As Roman continued to chatter excitedly, a small sneer had grown on Logan’s mom’s face. “I’m not sure how comfortable I am allowing my son to hang out with someone so… loud. Apologies for declining your offer. Logan, you have five minutes to say goodbye, then you had better be in the car before I leave. Clear?”

“Crystal,” Logan muttered, glaring at the waxed wood floors instead of his mother. Roman sighed, feeling a sudden urge to reach out and squeeze Logan’s hand protectively.

“Sorry for making her mad. I guess I am pretty loud sometimes, huh?”

“What? No!” Roman blinked. He had never seen Logan be this passionate about something before, in all the two conversations they’d had together. “My mother was being entirely unreasonable and unfair! Perhaps she’s in a bad mood today, but that isn’t an excuse for treating you unkindly.”

Roman shrugged. “It didn’t bother me too much. Even if she meant to be offensive, I don’t really care. I am loud, and I like being loud! I just… I wish that didn’t make it so you can’t come along. It’s not gonna be the same without you.”

Logan smiled, a bit sadly. “It’s okay. I should probably get going though. Hopefully, we’ll get to meet again soon?”

“Oh, yeah! I really hope so! See ya, Logan! Have a good day, or week, or however long until I see you!!” Roman waved at Logan until he couldn’t see him anymore, and then deflated, sinking the whole way to the floor and groaning loudly.

“His mom said no, I take it?”

Roman just groaned louder.

…Heh, louder.

…

For the next couple of years, until Roman hit middle school, he and Remus tried out a new sport just about every year, sometimes even more than that! After basketball was hockey, then baseball, then lacrosse (which Roman had hated so much he quit along with Remus after only two weeks).

In sixth and seventh grade, the boys joined the football team.

Roman was a bit more nervous this time, as opposed to his brother, who was still just as chaos-incarnate and tornado-ey as he was when they were kids.

Don’t get him wrong, he still loved sports! But.. well, he had hated lacrosse because it had bordered on being a contact sport, and because it was really hard, but that wasn’t the point.

Football was a contact sport.

It was fine! It was just like every other sport he played! Except, a lot higher chance of getting injured, and a lot of pushing people around! And… actually catching the ball. Yeah… this would be fine.

Roman had practiced harder than anything in sixth grade, and even played one or two games instead of sitting on the bench the whole time! He wasn’t very good, Remus was a lot more comfortable at this sport than he was, but he enjoyed the time he got on the field, and he didn’t get injured his entire first year of playing!

Then, there was middle school football.

In middle school, there was a chance you wouldn’t make the team. In middle school, there were a lot of bigger, taller kids with years more experience than Roman.

The practices were rough, lots of tackling running, grueling exercises that increased in difficulty if you messed up. Roman worked himself near to tears every single day they had practice, and it still wasn't enough to keep up with the stronger kids.

His parents could tell how miserable he was, but when they tried to intervene, Roman refused.

Remus was happy! And for him, Roman was more than happy to be dragged along into anything. So what if it meant hours of sweating and working himself so hard his muscles ached for days afterward? So what if, no matter how much effort he put in, he would always be teased for falling behind?

Sports had been his life since he was five. He couldn't just give up because they were a little challenging!

And then, he hadn't made the team... and Remus had.

Which was fine! Roman was more than happy to sit in the bleachers and cheer his brother on from a safe distance, away from all the pushing and shoving and sweating and painfulness.

And if he finally admitted to his family one day that he was grateful for the excuse to fall away from the intense exercise he'd been putting in for so long, the only reaction they'd ever give him was sympathy.

The fact that he had failed only stung a little bit when he realized he was trying so hard to do something he had really never loved in the first place.

But, he did love cheering. He loved watching the games, seeing his brother in action, doing his crazy, awesome thing.

Which was how he found himself trying out for the cheerleading team the next summer.

He’d gotten a few odd looks for that, being the only male presenting person interested in a “sport” like this, if you could even call cheer a sport.

Roman didn’t particularly care about the looks. He was happy! He and Remus would still be close to each other, and they would both get to do something they enjoyed! And Roman enjoyed the hell out of cheerleading.

After only three practices, he was lifting girls in the air and helping them strike poses. A base, he was called, and the much smaller girls he tossed around were flyers.

Sometimes, he’d be in the back of a base triangle, supporting the backs of the flyer’s feet. Other times, it was just him and Callista, his partner flyer. He would lift her in the air, set her on her shoulders, or hold one of her feet as high as he could safely manage as she struck an impossible pose.

It was still hard work, it made him break a sweat most practices, but oh, was it so much fun.

Much better than football, anyway.

Well, whatever, that last part didn’t matter. Roman was happy, his brother was happy, and they were looking forward to another great season their eighth-grade year.

Just when Roman didn’t think things could get any better, he spotted a familiar jersey number among the Newberry Panthers.

“SPENCOR 42”

Logan was so much taller than when Roman had seen him last. He looked almost muscular underneath the bulky football pads, but he didn’t do much playing.

Except for in special teams.

From what Roman remembered, Logan was pretty fast. He could run at a solid speed, and for a while. So, it wasn’t much of a surprise to see him break out of a 4th down and three and run the whole way to the endzone, the Gainsville defense falling in his dust.

Roman had to physically restrain himself from cheering for his opponent.

The game ended in a solid tie after a bit of a disappointing overtime tossup, and Roman was a bit disappointed to see his childhood friend disappear into the locker rooms with the rest of his team when it was over.

Once his mom had given him the all-clear, he’d quickly gathered his things, said goodbye to his cheer coach and teammates, and quickly made his way to the locker exit. When he got there, though, he regretted his haste just a little.

He could hear the screaming from a distance, but he hadn’t figured out it was coming from the doorway until he rounded the corner to the exit doors.

Roman recognized her clear as day. It was Logan’s mother, very loudly berating her child as a small crowd of teammates began to gather behind them, looking just as furious as Roman felt.

“And don’t fucking bother following me! You’re walking home today!” Their mother scowled deeply, turning in Roman’s direction to storm off to her car.

“Fucking pansy,” she muttered as she passed Roman by, and he tried to pretend that didn’t sting.

Roman considered for a moment running up to Logan to see if he was alright, but with his teammates around him, Logan seemed like he was already starting to feel better.

Maybe he should just head home this time.

“Hey, kid. You lost?” Roman jumped, turning to face the voice that appeared next to him. “Uh, sorry, no. I just- was waiting for someone. I wanted… wanted to say hi before I left, but now seems like a bad time, so I was just waiting-”

“It’s all good, just checking. Out of curiosity, where do you know Lo from?” Ah, so this mysterious stranger had him all figured out, huh?

“Oh, we met playing soccer as kids, and we’ve run into each other playing sports a couple of other times. It’s usually a while in between meetings, though.”

The person chuckled. “Sounds like Logan. Kid bounced around sports as fast as he can run. My name’s Remy, by the way, he/him, Logan’s older brother.”

“O-oh, Roman, he/him. I’m sorry about your mom being an absolute asshole.”

Remy tried to hide a chuckle behind his hand. “Oh hon, I like you. Once he’s calmed down, I’ll send Lo in your direction, ‘kay? Unless you’re on a time crunch or…”

“Oh, no, I have nowhere to be. Besides, my brother’s the quarterback, so we’ll probably be here for a while, anyway.”

“Oh, sick. Well here’s hoping I’ll see you around. And uh, if you don’t give my sibling your number by the time you’re done talkin’, I’ll put it in his phone myself, got it?”

Roman chuckled nervously. “Uh, not quite sure you you meant that to be threatening or not, but okay! Can do. I don’t know why I didn’t think of that before!”

“Oh, bless him, he’s a himbo,” Remy muttered as he walked away, but the small smirk on his face gave away his true feelings.

Roman decided he also wanted to be friends with Remy.

After what seemed like an eternity of waiting but was probably only about ten minutes, Logan emerged from the lockers once again, being nudged along by his brother.

“Just hear me out, yeah?” Logan rolled his eyes, but then he caught sight of Roman, and he was pretty sure he was going to cherish that smile forever.

“Roman?” He grinned in response, shooting Logan some slightly awkward finger guns. “Hey! Knew I recognized my favorite number 42!”

Roman was not expecting to be wrapped up in a hug, but hey, he was not going to complain about this in the slightest.

“It’s been years! I was seriously considering we may never actually meet again!” Roman chuckled. “Yeah, seems our sport choices didn’t align for a while, I guess.”

“Did you bounce around too?” Logan asked, still smiling, and gosh, didn’t that make Roman feel special?

“Oh yeah, played all kinds of stuff. Even football for a bit, but I am not a contact sports guy, y’know? Well, you wouldn’t,” he teased.

“No, I get it, that’s why I do the running. Tackling people… not my favorite thing, but the team keeps me for my speed.”

“Well yeah, why wouldn’t they? Your two special teams’ stunts were amazing! They’d be stupid to think about anything but keeping you!”

Oh, and now Logan was blushing.

…Cute.

The two continued to talk, even as Roman’s brother and parents eventually came looking for him.

But, as Remus was hanging off of him, loudly complaining about needing to go to bed, Roman suddenly remembered something.

“Wait! Maybe… we could exchange numbers? Just so the only times we talk aren’t just these little meetups.”

Logan lit up, nodding quickly. “Of course! Here, just take my phone and I’ll take yours.” Roman smiled, tapping away and taking a moment to snap an embarrassingly silly photo of himself to be his profile photo.

“Talk to you soon?” Roman was very happy to say that with certainty this time.

“Yes, talk to you soon, Roman."

[griffonsgrove]

OC || Introductions

hello my darlings!! I've really been wanting to introduce a few of my main characters to you all!! I was thinking of possibly doing headcanons/oneshots/drabbles in the future! (May be purely self-indulgent but we'll see) That being said, This is basically a very brief intro and info dump about each character. So let's get started!!

All characters and art belong to me!! Like I've said before I'm an artist and draw scenes and characters. I have a shit ton of art of all these guys that I'd love to share if anyone's ever interested!

cw: death, murder, cannibalism? minor sexual themes (one of my ocs is an incubus), minor violence.

Night

I've had her the longest, I made her several years ago. She's literally just a self-insert for EVERYTHING I enjoy sshejwka. But on another note! This is Night, she's a humanoid griffin hybrid (griffins being the mythological beast, half eagle half lion). She's very sweet and friendly. She's so mom-coded omg. Like she'll bake you little treats, makes sure your dressed for the weather, and reminds you of things you need to get done.

She has this locket around her neck that she keeps close to her. This is because it contains her "soul" or "spirit" inside of it. Every griffon has one, and it's what helps her to transform. Which btw shapeshifterrrr. Her true form being that of an actual griffin. She's a gentle giant though don't worry.

Tom

I know what you're thinking and no, he's not related to Bill Cipher. Tom is a 25-year-old art college student. He's a no-nonsense kind of guy, and very easily irritated. He's a fine arts major and does a lot of painting. He HATES his roommate (there's literally nothing wrong with him he's so nice and friendly, tom is just a dick). He's got a pet snake!! He's a hognose named Poncho! He's a total stonerrrrrrr, it's the only time he'll be chill honestly.

He and his roommate live in a city style apartment, on the first floor, complete with a basement. Unbeknownst to his roommate, Tom has a secret black market business selling organs to dealers. The basement is where he does all the harvesting, it strictly prohibited for anyone to go down there. It makes hella money though, which he uses to help pay his tuition (art college is expensive!)

Orphan btw. His mom is Night actually (an adoptive relationship) She loves and cares about him very much, the same goes for him. He usually acts more behaved if she's around.

Roman

Roman is, well he's a--thing?? creature?? I haven't decided in all honesty but he's dangerous. He travels all across the country, making sure to be well hidden. He's a serial killer oop. His signature weapon being a bowie knife. Bros got some major sadistic and animalistic tendencies. Eats his victims btw. He can't rly show his face in public, and the mans gotta eat right??

He likes to hunt. His victims are essentially "prey" to him, and he does so enjoy the thrill of a chase. He's got a looooooong tongue (as you can see) he's accidently bitten it once or twice with those sharp teeth of his. Has a tail as well, yk what espeons tail looks like? yea it's like that. His ears are sensitive btw he doesn't like them being touched.

Can never stay in one spot for too long, constantly on the move, he's got great stamina and can run for quite a long time.

Damien

WOOO. RUFFmEOW. BIG STRONG MAN LETS GO RAGHHH. ya so this is Damien. As you can tell I love him very much and I'm so very normal about him. He's an incubussss (sex demon basically). Literal definition of a Himbo. He's a big beefy guy who's wholesome and sweet, despite his line of work.

Super flirty, and also hypersexual. It's what he feeds off of, and how he regenerates and gets his magic. which btw, he can be summoned!

He's got a looot of body hair, happy trail for dayysss! Also has a bunch of peircings, snake bites on his face, and nipple peircings on his pecks. He's got numerous scars littered all over his body too. He's really sweet an attentive, as well as respectful! What more could you want in a man??

Alecto

BIG WOMAN. she's literally just my "villain" version of Night, however she's not a self-insert. I gave her, her own story and lore. She's the main antagonist in an animated series I'm creating. Her name is based of the Mythological woman "Alecto" Who was a fury of the underworld, she symbolizes rage and spreads it across the world.

She's very quick to anger. "hot-headed" (Pun-intended). The back of her hair is literally fire, and it can grow and change depending on her mood. Those gauntlets on her arms are strong AF and razor sharp, you do not want to get on her bad side. Ngl, she kinda feral at times, yk how Miguel O'Hara literally ran on all fours to chase after Miles Morales??? Yea she does that.

She's evil muehahshegsh, but also classy. She's also really tall!!! like about 8'6'' DAYUM. she'll crush you.

--------------------------------------------------------

annnndd thats a wrap!! These are the main Oc's that I adore and use on a regular basis, they each hold a special place in my heart. I rly would love to do occasional drabbles or head canons with my babies at some point, but I'm not sure anyone would read/enjoy them 😭

Nevertheless, I do hope you enjoyed my small ramble about these guys, as you can see, I'm totally normal about them.

Oh!!! and if you're ever wanting any more of my art just lmk!! I mainly post my writing on this blog, but if y'all wanna see, I can def show!!

[firenati0n]

hello friend I have a question for you based on the viral tiktok trend of "How often do you think about the roman empire?" - my question is: what is something you think about with a degree of regularity which is far above the average population 😅 sorry for my very random ask, my brain is weird 💜

hello hello!!! :)

GREAT question because i think of too many unnecessary things far too often but if i had to pick one...

LMAO i JUST woke up thinking about this...i think about the movie 27 Dresses all the damn time because I desperately need James Marsden and his charismatic fine ass in more romantic comedies. we are being robbed. we are being deprived. my himbo king. why aren't people casting him in more leading man rom com roles????? i am forever mad about this.

edit: i literally had to circle back to this ask bc i am still thinking about it asdjfklajsdlf he's so charming and nice and pretty like okay EYES okay SMILE okay SUNNY DISPOSITION how am i supposed to cope?? AND he can sing??????? helloooo??? hairspray? enchanted? PUT HIM IN MORE MUSICALS!!!!!!!!!!!!! MUSICAL ROM COMS!!!! i am begging. i am on my fucking knees. i am so desperate.

to fill this void, i reflect on 27 dresses with a degree of regularity which is far above the average population, as you put it so well :)

i have a need and it's him in more rom coms yes thank you for coming to my ted talk

[lelianaslefthand]

having a major dilemma with what class i want my next hawke to be. gabriel is sebmancing (YIPPE) and i think is gonna be blue/purple with a hint of red not sure yet but that’s not my main concern.

like for one im obsessed with a pro-mage hawke that isn’t a mage, i saw a post about how they’re like the only one who has had a truly positive experience with mages and magic on a personal level (the post was a lot more eloquent but i don’t remember who made it) and i’ve been knawing on it ever since. i know he wouldn’t be a rogue so i love the idea of the rogue prince and his knight in shining armor 🥺 he’s also very much himbo which i KNOW is cliche m!hawke characterization but i am not immune to himbo propaganda and warrior just fits that very well.. also im doing it in a more intellectual way so its fine. taking bethany into consideration i love a good older brother/baby sister dynamic, he would take her to the deep roads so the templars cant get her and im NOT killing her off for tragedy purposes this time so she'd become a warden. i havent spent as much time with bethany as carver and the other times i have i didnt know you could save the sibling you bring to the deep roads by also bringing anders rip :/

HOWEVER the older failbrother and little cringebrother dynamic with hawke and carver is just so appealing to me (especially right now in the midst of my succession brainrot being a kendall and roman girl). he’d also be a blood mage just bc i think it’s fun but also the contrast of blue/white holy prince and his red/black maleficar bf is *chefs kiss*.

okay actually after this stream of consciousness i think i will go warrior... like i obviously have more thoughts about that than mage, as much as i love putting blood mage pc into situations. okay time to spend 50 years in the character creator 😵‍

[dear-ao3]

attention friends, romans and countrymen alike.

i have a question.

first of all, no, i am not dead and left my blog to run off of queue for the rest of time. i am very much alive, just now at home because the semester ended and i had to make the terrible trek up through the damned state of delaware to my home, which took far longer than it should because a prime truck decided to not deliver things with its promised next day prime shipping (smh jeffery put your back into it). and since i am now at home i am slightly sad because i can no longer see brad whenever i wish, nay, i cant even text him whenever i wish because he is off galavanting in some european country or other having a glorious time leaving me alone by myself with my dog and my squishmallow, which has since been named dino de vito so thanks for whichever one of you sent that one in.

but anyway.

my mother has been trying and failing to convince me to crochet something for brad for the last few months (which is really a feat because she only found out at thanksgiving that we were dating) and i keep declining because 1. crocheting takes a lot of time an effort, 2. it costs money and 3. you should wait awhile before you make someone something because there is every possibility that they will hate you in a few months and burn all of your hard work into ashes along with the polaroid pictures that you took in a five guys.

now brad and i have been dating for like 3.5 months, which isn't very long in the grand scheme of things, but we have lasted officially longer than taylor swift and jake gylanhaal did and considering she gave him a scarf when they had been dating for less time (yes i know they broke up and it was terrible and also the scarf is a metaphor for virginity and all of that and theres only supposed rumors that the scarf existed and she didnt make it it was one of hers anyway but the principle remains the same) i think that i can make brad a scarf.

now is this just to quell the pestering of my mother? perhaps. is this mostly because i miss my absolute himbo of a boyfriend and wont see him until january 27 because we have a stupidly obnoxiously long winter break? potentially. is winter break boredom getting to me? quite possibly. (seriously i have been home for less than 48 hours and have been covid tested 4 times in 4 days) in any case. i have decided that a scarf is in order.

will this cost me money? yes. but. i think that im getting paid one more time and also brad is a stubborn himbo with an unhealthy dose of toxic masculinity that manifests in him feeling the need to buy me literally everything ever (seriously one time he almost rejected the sandwich that i bought him as a thank you because he had spent far too much money on leggings that i didnt exactly need for me even tho it was literally 4.95) i think this would be nice. also we are planning to take a day trip into nyc when we get back to school and 1. it will be freezing and he has no cold tolerance and 2. he will once again insist on buying everything on said trip so the least i can do is make sure that he doesnt freeze.

i have a pattern for said scarf picked out. (and i also bought not one but two crochet hooks from michaels today but i had a coupon so it was fine. even though i haven't bought yarn yet but we will get to that.) it is very nice and i will not show a picture of it because i haven't purchased it yet off of etsy (yes that is right i am buying a pattern. i only every follow youtube tutorials or make something up but well i want it to look nice and this was a very pretty pattern. i must really love this man.)

but now. the question. the one that i said i needed to ask about 700 words ago.

is getting red yarn to make it from bad luck?

i only ask this because the scarf is red in the taylor swift song, all too well, which was referenced above, and she and joke gylanhaal broke up quite catastrophically after he stood her up on her 21st birthday, not that that will be an issue for brad and i as he will literally be in europe during my 21st birthday and would not be here regardless and also he would not have the scarf yet. but my mother thinks that he would look in "a nice cranberry red" or "a greenish blue." she is also outraged that he owns literally no colors and wants me to somehow fix that with this scarf.

these are the yarn colors that i have to choose from:

i personally like the red one more because he has a navy blue wool coat and i think that the red would look better with it and also he would think its funny that im giving him a red scarf because of his recent taylor swift obsession but i do not want to curse us so.

who has thoughts.

[happyk44]

Hello. Remember your Jasico post where Hades asks Jason and Frank why he should let them dare his children? Well… I raise you, over protective big brother himbo Zagreus. How do you think he’d get won over? Just a fun idea 😁thanks for listening.

Jason immediately gets booted because Zagreus cannot stand Zeus's children. Then he finds out that Jason backtalked his own father in front of everyone and starts howling with laughter.

This does not make him like Jason, but he lowers his dislike down to 92%. It was initially at a 95% because Jason was the first kid who didn't squirm at the idea of going on a quest for Pluto.

(The Romans might like him better than the Greeks, but he's still the god of rhe underworld and as much as they love money, it still freaks them out).

Then Nico talks about nice Jason was after Eros forced him to come out and it goes down to a solid 91.5%. Through a series of behaviours, random sweet anecdotes about Nico, the fact that he was extremely fucked up by upper world gods demanding a billion things without any payment (Pluto gave cash money at the end of his quests) or reward, all that torture, the fact that he's a good puppy, is slowly relearning how to be a person without godly restraints holding him back and basically rejected what was demanded of him by becoming some kind of priest or whatever (idk what it was, but yeah), it drops down to a firm 90% and wavers occasionally back and forth but stays there.

But Nico likes him a lot and he sees value in Nico and in Hazel unlike most of his past siblings, who inherited their father's paranoia and expressed it on people who were easy to be scared of, so Zagreus tolerates him.

Frank is different. He thinks Frank is fine. He's nice. He doesn't like that he gave Hazel his stick to protect, even if only for a couple weeks. He doesn't like that Frank is meek - his siblings are all incredibly self sacrificing and he'd kinda like someone to start protecting them for once. When Frank ups the confidence, he'll start tolerating him and sometimes agreeing to let him join on the family picnics but he will make an entire flowchart on how he will torture and kill Frank if he fucks over his little sister.

Frank's sole devotion to Hazel though (as he is, as we all know, Hazel-sexual) is a winner winner chicken dinner though.

Frank makes a comment on how can he be so violent when he's the god of life, just a curious question really, and Zagreus immediately responds with, "Life's a bitch and so am I." Frank nods and mentions how he sometimes wishes Mars wasn't his father (there's a rage in him that he hates, and a bloodlust that appears during fights that makes him wanna cry sometimes) and Zagreus is like "I don't want children" and then laughs to himself as Frank stutters over himself trying to explain what he meant.

Much like Jason, Percy is booted out of the running almost immediately but this based on the sole fact that he's pissed off Hades so much and Zagreus does not approve of people who try to beat up his dad or people who hurt his siblings (inadvertently or not) so Percy is just.

No.

Percy has no chance and shouldn't even try to befriend him, Zagreus would eat him alive.

Zagreus himself doesn't actually care about Poseidon because he is a self-proclaimed asshole who understands that's he's a terrible person and has never once tried to excuse his actions, other than explaining them, like that he drowned this entire boat because the waiter was rude to him. Zagreus very much appreciates this blatant honestly and so Percy's disapproval is solely based on him being him and he's very annoyed about that, because come on - his dad sucks, why can't you hate him over his father like with Jason??

[goodieghosty]

After Roman realized his feelings for Virgil, has He ever had thoughts of this;

"But, oh no no. This can't happen haha. He's too good for me" or "He's already rejected me before, it could happen again and I don't want to add a rift to our friendship-"

But sometimes, his mind just thinks of Virgil constantly- what would happen if Virgil wouldn't reject him if he tried? What would happen if he had a chance? But ultimately his thoughts would cycle back to;

"Yeah, right. That's impossible, I'm fine just being friends. I shouldn't make Virgil deal with my advances again."

And my boy is just silently pining the entire time, squashing down any thought of being with Virgil because he's worked hard with his friendship with Virgil and, even if Virgil would politely reject him again, he knows it would make things weird and he doesn't like the sound of that.

That's exactly it, yes

Himbo pining hella hard, unaware that Virgil is doing the same damn thing

[vivalaplxto]

Fuck it I’ll write a RoYo fic myself then.

You can take it as platonic or romantic, idc.

Summary: Roman is an overly-confident, clumsy dumbass and Youngblood is his (un)fortunate companion who got stuck with this himbo. Together they run into various obstacles (literally).

{•}

“Roman, what the fuck do you think you’re about to do?” The elf lectured his… friend? Companion? Who knows, but Roman sure was a special kind of stupid.

“I am going to hug the bear,” Roman opened his arms, “and pray that it works.”

“You’re going to die.”

“You said he looks scared, so I’m gonna let the kid know he’s safe!” Roman yelled back striding towards the were-bear with confidence. Why, out of everyone, did Youngblood have to get stuck with him?

Moments later, Roman was launched through the wall of the barn, landing right on his rear with a painfully loud thud. Youngblood couldn’t help but burst into laughter before drawing his grappling hook sword.

“You alright down there? Never mind, I know the answer,” he paused to sling the weapon toward his partner and instruct him to grab it as he pulled him back into the barn.

“So, what’s the game plan, genius?” Roman asked while brushing himself off.

“First of all, duck.”

“Where?”

“No, idiot,” Youngblood shot back, shoving him to the ground before barely managing to dodge Henderson’s attack, “I meant duck as in ‘that kid is going to pounce you and tear you to shreds.’”

Roman looked at him with those stupidly cute starry eyes once again, “thanks for saving me, again. You’re really strong!”

The elf couldn’t help but flush and stammer; that’s the first compliment he’s heard in a very, very long time.

• • •

Finally, it was over. Unfortunately, they didn’t find Roman’s family sword, but they did manage to get a temporary one from Dorian in return for the magic nail. It was a blessing, Roman insisted, that they made it out of that barn somewhat unscathed.

“By the way, youngins, there’s buckets o’ water in the back,” Dorian gestured, “you two look like you could use em.”

“Roman’s the one that dragged us into this mess anyways,” Youngblood grumbled just loud enough to be heard, earning a gasp from Roman.

“Ah, kids,” Dorian chuckled as the pair headed out of sight, “never stop fightin’, do they?”

• • •

“Damn it, Roman, stand still!” Youngblood yelled, splashing said man with a pail of water and almost missing, then scooping another bucketful, preparing to chase him once again.

They were right behind Dorian’s, in a small shed with a big tub of water and various metal tools and trinkets on low-hanging shelves and a few scattered about the trampled-down, wheat-covered floor; a perfect recipe for pain. Yet, Roman decided to mess with his elven companion and run around like a little kid.

It didn’t take long for Roman to run into a shelf, then proceed to trip on a hammer. Instinctively, Youngblood dropped the pail of water and ran to catch him just seconds before a possible concussion.

“See, you should’ve listened,” Youngblood sighed, but couldn’t help the smile that crept onto his face seeing Roman look up at him like a mischievous puppy.

“Thanks, again.”

“I’ll drop you.”

• • •

The sun was setting along the horizon, tinting the wheat field a light shade of blue. The duo was exhausted, but especially Youngblood.

“We should rest,” Roman suggested, “I’ve got a temporary sword, so I’m satisfied for now.”

“Yeah,” the elf agreed, rubbing his neck and sighing, “you should head home. It’s getting dark.”

“What about you?” the ward questioned, “I can’t just leave you out here, it’s cold at night!”

Youngblood shuffled in the grass, “I’ll be fine, besides, it’s not like I can’t sleep on a rock or something.”

There was a moment of silence, before Youngblood felt himself be lifted off the ground and carried by none other than his himbo companion himself.

“Roman, what are you doing?!” the elf yelped in surprise.

“I’m not letting you sleep out here, you’ll sleep on a bed tonight,” Roman beamed, before tossing propping his shorter companion onto his shoulders.

“A piggyback ride? Seriously?” Youngblood shouted, but Roman didn’t let his bitterness offend him, and kept walking.

“Yup! It’s how my father told me to carry heavy things!” the man grinned, “hey, how about making that noise you made before to kill some time?”

“I’m still baffled that you don’t know what singing is…”

“Singing! Yes, that! Can you do that again? I like it!”

Youngblood allowed a grin to slip by, resting his head on Roman’s and humming. Maybe meeting this guy wasn’t too bad if it meant he could finally rest peacefully.

[sidespart]

For the fic title thing: Make Up Your Mind/Catch Me I’m Falling

Make Up Your Mind (this seriously got away from me and became basically a whole string of conscious fic whoops)

Logince, Bakery/coffeeshop AU Mutual Pining/ Not-Actually-Unrequited love, + loceit friendship

So Janus owns a Bakery (struggling to think of a snake/lie based bread pun for the name but ehh). He is the head only baker and sends most of his time in the basement kitchen blasting the phantom of the opera soundtrack and kneading dough. 

Logan is his childhood friend. Janus hired him as cashier after Logan dropped out of collage but then he never left and is now basically manager/ accountant/ hbic of this whole operation.

So one night as Janus is leaving he’s casually like: ‘oh by the way, a couple are coming by tomorrow for a wedding cake consultation’

And Logan blocks the door and is like: ‘Janus. We don’t do wedding cakes. We don’t even do cake. You only make weird artisanal bread. it took me 6 months and 8 powerpoint presentations to convince you to sell banana loaf’

Jan, his eye enormous: ‘but Logan, you should have heard this guy on the phone. They only want to use LGBTQ businesses for their wedding, they want to support the community that’s supported them for so long. He spoke so passionately and eloquently about why it just had to be us I couldn't say no’

Logan, his eyes not enormous: did you tell this man we make wedding cakes just to make the phone conversation end?

Janus: I was going to miss the murder, she wrote marathon, Logan 

So Jan manages to escape, and Logan rolls his eyes but like. This is nowhere near the worst ‘cleaning up after Janus lied to get out of a situation and made everything more complicated for no goddamm reason’ incident that he has had to deal with during the course of their friendship so, whatever: he can tell the couple there was a miscommunication when they show up in the morning. 

Next day, the guys arrive. Virgil, who barley introduces himself and then stays hunched in his hoodie not speaking for the whole meeting, and Roman. 

Roman does not have a problem speaking. Roman has lots of ideas.

Roman has a binder. 

Somehow in the course of this conversation Logan goes from ‘we don’t make wedding cakes’ to ‘I’LL SHOW YOU, WE’LL MAKE THE BEST GODDAMM WEDDING CAKE THIS TOWN HAS EVER SEEN’

Maybe it was the passion of Romans argument. Maybe it was the slightly disdainful look on his face when he looked round the shop. Maybe it was the ridiculous amount of money he was prepared to pay (see: Janus insists on only making specific, weird bread as to why the shop’s always on the brink of collapse). Maybe it was the power of the binder (Logan is like 80% sure Roman hit him with the binder at one point). Maybe its just Logan hasn't had a full blown passionate argument like that since high school debate club and the rush of adrenaline made him dumb.

Whatever the reason - they’re now fully committed to making this 6 tier, purple and blue, Disney inspired, multiflavoured wedding cake

(Janus, who skipped out on the meeting because he is Like That: But Logan....we don’t make wedding cakes...this was really irresponsible of you...

 Logan: I know where you sleep. I could kill you at any time) 

Which would be doable (the weddings a while off, and Logan is ready to RESEARCH) except Roman keeps. Coming. Back. 

With new ideas. And tweaks. And suggestions. All of them seemingly designed to make the cake less structurally sound. 

Basically every time he comes in they end up having a blazing row, first about Romans inability to make up his mind about the cake and then about...literally everything. One time they spent 25 minuets arguing about whether or not Shakespeare wrote all of his plays, which somehow turns into ‘who was the best host of blues clues?’ which then turned  into ‘how would nationalised healthcare best be implemented?’ (the loudest arguments were during the blues clues section).Logan had even fewer customers then normal that day.

(Logan: I hate that guy so much! He shows up at 2pm every day and now my blood pressure has started going up at 1.55pm in anticipation of the fight! He’s causing me actual medical distress because he’s so stupid!

Janus:...you’ve memorised some guys schedule and your heart starts racing whenever you see him?

Logan: yes! because he is my enemy!

Janus:...

Janus: mmKay.)

ANYway, one day Roman turns up and is like: Can’t fight today. Need caffeine. Must Study. and sequesters himself on one of their two rinky dink tables and starts pulling enormous textbooks out of his bag. Turns out Roman is in law school, he’s back home for the whole summer to help with wedding prep and has been neglecting his summer reading. He wants to be an environmental lawyer and, ideally, singly handily prosecute every oil company and give a speech at the UN whilst wearing an immaculately fitted Italian suit. 

Logan has a panicked moment of OH NO HE’S SMART (he doesn't need an oh no he’s hot moment because Roman’s been hot the whole time). Very carefully he does not think about how upset hearing Roman mention the wedding again made him feel, and then shares a bit about his own anxiety during college which led to him dropping out.

Roman says degree or no degree its obvious Logan is one of the smartest, most capable people Romans ever met.

Cue: blushing, stammering, Logan standing up to quickly and knocking half a pot of coffee over etc etc all that good fluff. 

And after that their conversations are less confrontational (although they still debate like. everything.) and more friendly.

They have one (1) more conversation about the wedding wherein Roman apologises for being so stressed and snappy over all the preparation stuff but he just wants everything to be perfect for Virgil. (Logan, awkwardly: you must love him a lot. Roman, himbo-ly: Yeah!) aaand then Logan changes the subject to the best rhyming structure because Romans big sappy grin is making his heart do awful twisty things-

And eventually, Roman asks Logan to go out with him outside the bakery.

Logan: hahaha this is friendship, we are great friends, we are going out as friends. I am not going on a date with a man with a fiancé because that would be the actions of a crazy person.

 So they go on their date. It’s amazing. Roman leans in for a kiss at the end and Logan is delighted!

And then devastated.

He pushes Roman away, yells some creative insult (malodorous centurion?) and flees. Spends the next week basically hiding in the kitchen area, refusing to see any customers and working on the wedding cake.

(which is looking perfect by the way)

So after a week of Logan moping round the kitchen Janus finally blocks the door to stop him leaving and demand he tells him what the hell is wrong. And after a few minuets of filibustering Logan ends up telling him everything.

“In any case, the very fact that he is the kind of man who would cheat on his fiancé means he’s not the kind of man I thought he was. Therefore any alleged feelings I may have developed towards him would now be null and void” says Logan, looking like the worlds sadist accountant

Janus: So...wait. You’re saying wedding cake guy and hot lawyer guy are the same person?

(Logan: you need to come out of the basement more often Janus: YOU need to tell me what’s going on in your life more often. (they have had this conversation many times in the past))

So Janus sincerely tells Logan he’s sorry...and that he’s even more sorry that he needs him to help him deliver the cake to the venue tomorrow.

(this thing is way to big for one person to carry and there’s no way Jan would trust any of their occasional teenage cover staff to do this and ‘we’ll go round the back and you wont have to see anyone anyway comon Lo’ you basically built this monstrosity you should see it home)

So, reluctantly, Logan goes. And they go round the back as promised, and get this enormous cake settled, and then get told to wait there one sec cus one of the grooms is going to come sign for it and before Logan can throw himself out of the widow (get OFF me Janus we’re on the ground floor it’s FINE)  from behind them they hear squeeing.

There’s a curly haired dude in a pastel blue linen suit who Logan has never seen before in his life looking at the cake and cooing over ‘all the little details! its perfect! oh Virgil is going to love this! You know he was so embarrassed about asking for a Disney themed cake he had to ask Roman to go with him to -”

“Who ARE you?”

The man blinked at Logan, who realised dimly that he still had one foot up on the windowsill and slowly returned it to the floor. 

“I’m Patton” said Patton.

“And I’m Janus” said Janus, removing his arms from where they’d still been clamped around Logan’s waist and stepping smoothly towards Patton, clipboard held aloft “A pleasure to meet you, if you could just sign here...”

“BUT-” Patton paused, hand still raised to accept the clipboard, and looked over again at Logan who found himself mumbling:  “but - but the groom is supposed to sign for it?”

And Patton just smiled at him looking a bit bemused and goes ‘I am the groom? And who are you kiddo?”

Logan says he’s Logan. Patton suddenly looks a whole lot less friendly. 

“Oh.” says Patton. “You.”

And since Logan’s mind is currently refusing to take in the information in front of him Janus is the one who ends up stepping in between them and going “so just for 100% transparency - you are Patton. 

“yes?”

“and today you are marrying the love of your life: Virgil?”

“Yes!”

“And are either of you, at any point today, also planning on marrying one Roman Sanders, caffeine addict and terrible communicator?”

And Paton burst out laughing and says “ROMAN? Virgil’s big brother Roman? He’s my best man but I don’t think we’re planning to take it any further...”. And because Patton is apparently much quicker on the emotional uptake than Logan he gives him a vey soft, if slightly exasperated, look and says:

“Roman - who again, is my future brother-in-law- is helping set up in the main hall.”

And Logan likes to think he said thank you before he took off fucking RUNNING through the building but he can’t be sure.

So he gets to the hall, where a load of people are setting out chairs, putting up flowers etc,  and skids to a stop at one end of the aisle. Shouts: “ROMAN.” (Roman and Virgil, who were standing at the other end arguing over a flower arrangements, both look up) “YOU’RE NOT MARRYING YOUR BROTHER.”

“um.” Says Roman “No?”

Explanations are given. Virgil, who is a lot more talkative now that he’s not on 7th wedding appointment of the day burn out, is ready to physically fight Logan for breaking his brothers heart. And then once he understands the full story is ready to kill both of them for being such dumbasses.

Roman: But I s2g I told the guy on the phone that it was the groom and best man coming??? Logan: Yeah he might have lied and said you were a couple for a joke, or he may have just straight up not listened to you. Either way, he is just Like That.

Logan: WHY DID YOU NEVER MENTION VIRGIL WAS YOUR BORTHER?? Roman: I WAS TRYING TO GET TO KNOW YOU AND ALSO SEDUCE YOU WHY WOULD I WASTE TIME TALKING ABOUT MY LITTLE BROTHER??? Virgil: Yeah...he does like talking about himself, sorry he’s just  Like That.

Anyway it all ends fluffily, Patton and Virgil get married. Roman cries. Logan and Jan hang around for the wedding. Roman and Logan hold hands throughout the speeches and dance during the reception. Roman has to go back to law school soon but they agree to call each other every day at 2pm to catch up and argue. 

Janus gets off with the moustachioed DJ. 

And Roman and Logan get another chance at their first kiss.

[izzyfandoms]

Himbo sk8er Virgil who keeps getting onto nerd Roman for watching him skate when really Roman is just crushing hard but Virgil is Himbo so he eventually comes to the conclusion that Roman just wants to learn how to skate

Prinxiety - Watch

GENERAL TAGLIST: @quillfics42 @aj-draws @phantomofthesanderssides @phlying-squirrel @sly-is-my-name-loving-is-my-game @because-were-fam-ily @imtryingthisout @a-creepycookie @emo-disaster @littlestr @spooky-scary-virgil @fuyel @mimsidoodles @soupgremlin @aroaceagenderfluid @birdsbookshiddeninrealbirdsskin @quirkalurk @gingers-trashy-stuff @iinyxtello @justaqueercactus @melodiread @mrbubbajones @glassferns @pun-master-logan @gayturtlez @k1ngtok1 @yourneighborhooddisaster @alexxander-the-gay @full-of-roman-angst-trash @selfcarejanus

Masterpost

Roman jumped, startled, when Virgil's head suddenly snapped to stare at him. He ducked behind the tree he was half-hiding behind, hoping that Virgil hadn't actually spotted him.

He waited for a few seconds, before he turned and took a peek around the tree. He jumped again - this time backwards - when he found that Virgil was, in fact, staring at him, but this time from much closer.

Virgil's expression wasn't quite as annoyed as it had been when he'd caught Roman staring at him in the past, but Roman was too surprised by his sudden approach to notice.

"Ah, sorry!" Roman said.

"Why were you watching me?" Virgil asked, his arms crossed.

"I wasn't watching you!"

Virgil raised his eyebrows in obvious disbelief.

After a moment, Roman sighed.

"Okay, maybe I was watching you. Why does it matter?"

Instead of answering, Virgil stared at him for a few seconds, looking him over slowly and critically. Then, he uncrossed his arms and ran his fingers through his purple hair.

Roman took the moment to admire him, as Virgil was very, very attractive.

"Fine," Virgil said.

"What?"

"Fine, I'll teach you how to skate."

Roman blinked in surprise. "What?" He repeated.

"I'll teach you how to skate," Virgil repeated, a little irritated. "Isn't that what you want? Why else would you be watching me?"

Well, Virgil may have been very, very pretty, but he certainly was oblivious.

Roman's initial thought was to turn him down. He didn't particularly want to learn how to skate, no matter how interesting it might look.

But...

Learning how to skate would mean he would get to spend time with his wonderful, wonderful crush.

Roman grinned at Virgil.

"Alright! When do we start?"

[sodamnbored]

Jason Grace: The Power, The Hair, The Drama

You know how Percy’s powers can keep him dry even without him really trying? Do you think the same is true for Jason with wind?

I don’t really subscribe to the idea that Jason is super well put together and his hair is always neatly combed into place, I like to think it more or less looks permantly ruffled and windswept -

But, if he did for whatever reason make an effort to do his hair and brush himself up for something, it’d be cool if he could keep it nice and the wind isn’t allowed to touch it at all without him really having to think about it.

Like he could be standing next to a full on tornado and still be looking fine as hell all put together and not a hair out of place while everyone else is trying not to be torn apart and cows are flying everywhere and stuff.

And it might take more focus but idk maybe if Piper or someone else did their hair nice and had something going on that they wanted to look good for but the weather was bad he’d be able to just walk them wherever they’re headed and make the wind back off them. Protect his buddies do’s.

If Jason does comb his hair like a good Roman and make an effort though, then I’d go the other way. That he absolutely cares about his hair looking nice and absuses his powers to make sure he looks pretty at all times. He’s as bad as the Aphrodite kids. Himbo Jason shrieking if he gets distracted by something and his parting gets ruined.

Also just cause I’ve seen so many Star Wars posts lately and so many talk about Vader being dramatic and using the force to make his cape billow just for the effect - if we’re acknowledging himbo Jason: this is definitely a thing he does too!

Stepping up to the monster of the week doing his ‘son of Jupiter, Praetor of the Twelfth Legion’ speech while wind whips around him out of nowhere to floof up his hair and his shirt.

Strutting down the Via Praetoria to senate meetings with his Praetor’s cape billowing dramatically like he’s a runway model. Reyna rolled her eyes at him but stopped complaining when Jason gave her the fan effect for her cape and hair too, and now both of them walk around camp looking powerful and windswept at all times regardless of the weather.

What is the point of wind powers if you can’t abuse them for showmanship?

[full-of-roman-angst-trash]

Explanations for the "Sides As DHMIS Episodes" Post I Made Over A Year Ago

Okay, I was never really planning on explaining this post but today @roman-eats-glitter stumbled upon the post and gave their own version of it. This prompted me to rewatch DHMIS, expecting my opinion to change. Surprisingly, it didn't. So here are my explanations for why I assigned the episodes I did to each side.

P.S: My explanations are a bit all over the place since I wrote them rather quickly and at the end of the day, it is just my opinion. Also, this post has a lot of talk of stuff like gore, food, death, etc. since DHMIS isn't exactly the most kid-friendly series so please don't read this if you are sensitive to that sort of stuff. If I need to tag anything please tell me.

Ep. 1 Creativity- Patton:

Short explanation: Patton reminds me so much of the notepad.

Long explanation: The whole “orange with a silly face” is something Patton would definitely say. When the red guy says that using his hair to express himself is boring and the notepad just repeats what he says, that reminds me of the whole selfishness vs selflessness video where Patton keeps the same argument no matter what Janus says. He is exactly the type to go cloud watching. Also, the whole clown and green is not a creative color, reminds me of how Patton thought in a very white and black mentality. He thought that certain things were good and bad even though many morals and ideals are conditional and/or subjective. (Also “green is not a creative color” reminds me of how Patton doesn’t like Remus). Arranging sticks sounds like an activity Patton would tell you to do. The line, “Listen to your heart.” This video is one of the more tame ones in the series. It’s also one of the ones that escalates very quickly which reminds me of how Patton snapped and turned into the giant frog so suddenly. Also, I feel like covering a heart with glitter is something that Patton would do if he did gore. It ends very suddenly and with, “yeah let’s never do that again,” Patton is definitely the type to try and swipe a situation under the rug or quickly move on from it.

Ep.2 Time- Janus:

Short explanation: The clock reminds me of Janus.

Long explanation: The clock sounds so condescending and passive-aggressive, which reminds me of Janus. The clock guy had a top hat and a cane, that’s Janus. “An old man died.” “But look a computer.” That reminds me of the philosophical ideology that someone is always suffering yet life goes on. This reminds me of Janus because of his views on society. The clock tries to manipulate them with the advancements of technology by putting them right smack in front of a huge computer much like Janus tried to convince the other sides in Selfishness vs Selflessness by putting them in the courtroom. When the clock avoids the questions the characters ask and then just screams, it reminds me of when Janus told everyone to forget about the bad things Max Stirner has done. When the characters age rapidly at the end the clock says, “It’s out of my hands, I’m only a clock. Don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll be fine but eventually, everyone runs out of time.” Even though Janus is deceit, he seems like the type to hit you with the cold slap of reality.

Ep. 3 Love- Roman:

Short explanation: The yellow puppet reminds me of Roman.

Long explanation: At first, I didn’t really know what side to put for this episode, but after rewatching it multiple times, it reminded me of Roman for many reasons. For one, Roman is definitely the type to run away when upset. I strongly believe in himbo Roman so part of me says he would absolutely call a butterfly a little baby pigeon. Also, the butterfly’s first statement is “it doesn’t have to be, I hate you and you hate me.” I feel like out of all the sides, Roman needs/needed to learn this lesson the most. After all, Roman has been shown to actively hate the “Darksides” without really giving them the benefit of the doubt first. Also, I feel like the phrase “Life’s unfair cause everyone hates you and no one care,” is something Roman would think to himself. I feel like Roman sometimes loves things too much just like the yellow guy does when he says “I love this tree and I love this stick.” Plus the whole idea that everyone has a special one sounds like a fantasy the romantic side would have. The whole cult part just reminds me of how dedicated Roman was to staying behind Patton’s ideology and not wanting to challenge it.

Ep. 4 Computers- Logan:

This one is pretty self-explanatory. The computer is smart, straight to the point, believes that research is one of the only things to do on a computer, and has anger issues. Sounds like Logan to me. But seriously the computer screaming reminds me of Logan screaming at Remus in the latest episode.

Ep.5 Healthy Eating- Remus:

Short explanation: The can and meat guy reminds me of Remus so much.

Long explanation: First, the unsettling tone of the video honestly reminds me of DWIT, and the whole part of the red guy being gone reminds me of how roman was practically out for the whole video. They are loud and cut off the duck a lot, something that Remus would do. The meat also pokes duck with a fork, something Remus would do to another side. The house that showed the human organs and stuff literally looks like something Remus would make. When the phone turns to a sandwich it reminds me of how Remus can make things appear and disappear. The meatball with the eye is a Remus thing. The food groups shown in the video are an abomination that only Remus could come up with. Also, you can’t tell me Remus wouldn’t have a human body anatomy model that has a movable mouth and eyes as well as makes noise. The whole can eating the duck’s organs is what really reminds me of Remus because of the gore. The yellow puppet being tortured and then eating the canned duck kinda reminds me of how Remus seems to be able to make the other sides and Thomas snap after being annoying enough. Also, this episode is arguably one of the most fucked up in this series which is why I think it’s perfect for Remus, who is arguably the most unhinged and unpredictable side.

Ep.6 Dreams- Virgil:

Short explanation: This whole episode just screams anxiety to me.

Long explanation: In the beginning, the yellow guy says goodnight to the red guy and duck even though they aren’t there anymore; this reminds me of Virgil’s attachment issues and uncomfortableness with change that he has been shown to have multiple times in the series. The yellow’s guys resistance to the lamp in this episode reminds me of Virgil’s resistance and hostility towards Janus and Remus. Now the dreams that the lamp says the yellow guy can have stuck out to me a lot. Both of the dreams are nightmares. The second dream shown is obviously a nightmare as drowning in oil isn’t exactly a good dream. The first dream is also a nightmare since if you do some research you can find an article by “It’s nice that” called “Don't Hug Me I'm Scared - an exclusive interview with Duck, Red Guy, and Yellow Guy”. In this interview, it is revealed that the yellow guy is allergic to horses. In the episode, the lamp says, “You can have a dream about riding a horse,” which if you are allergic to horses would arguably not be a pleasant dream. Nightmares are speculated to be caused by anxiety. The sudden shift to real life is also very unpredictable and sudden, much like anxiety can be. In the live-action part, we see the red guy trying to pursue his career in entertainment. He performs in front of his coworkers only to be booed by everyone, which literally sounds like the worst nightmare ever for someone with anxiety. When the red guy sees the machine that controls what character is in front of the yellow guy to me symbolizes his dreams of entertainment getting out of hand and hurting others. This part reminds me of how Virgil has hurt the other sides in the series unintentionally as well as him coming to terms that he couldn’t keep the other “Darksides” away from Thomas. The ending is the only part that I can’t really say reminds me of Virgil. The closest I could come is relating the ending of DHMIS to Virgil going from a “Darkside” to a “Lightside”

[patton-cake]

Happy birthday Logan!

Summary: It's Logan's birthday! He is a bit scared for all the attention that birthdays bring, but his roommates will make this day unforgettable... right?

Pairings: established Logicality, platonic LAMP, background prinxiety (like one sentence)

Ugh

Logan woke up with a groan, he never liked this day. Something about all the positivity and the happy people made him uncomfortable. Yes, he was a year older, that's how humans work, why should they celebrate that? Logan stepped out of bed and started to change into his normal outfit.

When he walked downstairs he prepared himself for his energetic roommates to congratulate him. Roman and Patton always made a big deal out of birthdays. For Virgil's birthday the two had spend weeks planning a nightmare before chrismas themed sleepover, just with the four of them. When Roman's birthday came, Patton had made Virgil and Logan help him to turn their apartment into a broadway themed paradise, with Roman as the star. Patton's birthday was a whole different kind of special. The three roommates had really tried their best to let their best friend know how much they appreciated him. Patton had been drowned in presents, every present handmade and given a personal twist. Tears had fallen down Patton's cheeks and they ended up in a group hug.

But today it was Logan's turn. His 'special' day. To Logan's suprise, the living room was empty when he arrived downstairs. No happy chatter, no grumpy Virgil and no Roman serenading the pancakes. It was completely silent. That's weird, not even Patton was here to prepare his signature birthday breakfast. With a confused look Logan grapped his coffee mug and made himself a cup of coffee.

After a few minutes, Logan could here faint footsteps comming downstairs. Ah, there came the birthday energy. He expected to see Patton walking into the kitchen to greet him with a big hug, but instead he saw Virgil. His roommate let out a groan as his way of greeting Logan and poured himself a cup of coffee before making his way to the living room. Strange

Another ten minutes later, a louder noice came downstairs. Loud footsteps marched downstairs followed by a powerful voice singing some Disney songs. Roman.

"Morning nerd!" Roman greeted and made himself a cup of camomile tea, still mumbling the melody of the song. After questioning himself if he should try to steal a cookie from Patton's collection (he decided not to), Roman sat down next to Virgil on the couch, turning on the TV.

What was going on? .....They hadn't forgotten his birthday had they? Not that Logan was that sentimental when it came to birthdays, it still felt kind of nice to be complimented and appreciated once in a while. Maybe they were waiting until Patton came downstairs? That made sense. Speaking of their last roommate, shouldn't he be here already? Patton was always the first to wake up. 'To make my special boys some breakfast!' As Patton himself liked to say. It wasn't like him to still be in bed this late.

With a bad gut feeling, Logan walked back to their rooms, making his way to Patton. He would be lying if he said that he wasn't concerned about this whole situation. Anxiously he knocked on the lightblue door before fidgeting with his tie. He could hear a loud yawn coming from inside Patton's room, followed by footsteps. The door opened and Logan saw a very tired Patton. The smaller buy carefully rubbed his eyes before stretching his arms.

"Goodmorning Lolo...", another yawn, "What can I do for you?" Patton had definitely just woken up. His voice was really soft and tired and he was still wearing his pyjamas.

"Salutations Patton, my apologies if I have woken you up, I was simply concerned about your wellbeing."

Patton looked up at him, blinking a couple times before actually hearing what Logan said. "Those were a lot of fancy words Logan. I'm fine though! Just had to finish something last night, didn't get that much sleep."

A relief, mixed with some confusion fell over Logan. He then started to realise that it had been quiet for a few minutes now. Just when he wanted to speak up again, a weight started to lean against Logan. Patton had fallen asleep again. He must have been really tired then, to fall asleep in Logan's arms. Logan chuckled to himself before carefully picking Patton up, carrying him downstairs.

When he walked into their living room, Logan gently placed Patton on one of their couches, covering him with a fluffy blanket. He heard a chuckled laugh behind him and when he turned around he saw Roman and Virgil smirking at him. "Didn't take you for the princely type Specks. Are you trying to take over my job?" Logan rolled his eyes and ignored Roman. "I'm with Flynn Rider over here. One of those himbo's is more than enough already." Virgil crossed his arms before pushing Roman into their kitchen. The theee roommates made themselves breakfast, since Patton was clearly unable to do it for them, and sat down.

"Doing anything special today guys?" Roman asked while eating a spoonful of cornflakes. Ah there it came. The birthday plans. Except, it didnt?

"You know me Princey, I'm busy planning on how to take over the government and making Welcome to the black parade the new national anthem." Virgil finished his bowl and sat it down in the sink, "Better start making my plans, see you later nerds."

Just when Virgil walked back to his room, they could hear some movements from the living room. Patton carefully made his way to the kitchen, wrapped up in a blanket burrito.

"Goodmorning Ro, hi again Lolo." Tiredly, Patton made himself a sandwich before sitting next to Logan, leaning on his shoulder. "I'm sorry that I fell alseep on you Logan" Logan smiled softly at Patton and intertwined their fingers. "It's quite alright Patton, I hope you'll feel a little more energetic soon"

The three roommates finished their breakfast and Roman and Patton made their way back upstairs to get properly dressed. A sad feeling fell over Logan, had they really forgotten his birthday? It definitely seemed like they had...

Logan decided to leave the house for a couple of hours, going to the library. If his friends didn't want to celebrate his birthday then he had to make it a great day for himself on his own. Maybe being surrounded by books would make him feel a little happier. So Logan left a sticky note on the table with his location, grapped his coat and stepped outside.

The fresh wind in his face already made him feel a bit better. The Fall weather always cheered him up a bit, the pretty leafs colouring the landscape and the beautiful aesthetic of orange and red. Logan warmed his hands by putting them in his coat pockets and let out a sigh. Fall had always been his favourite season. The cold nights he spend together with his roommates rewatchings movies, watching Virgil turn into a his 'true form' as he called it during their annual Halloween celebration, following Roman to every little market he could find and buying the most ridiculous and unnecessary items and of course the lazy days he and Patton spend cuddled up in one of their rooms, sharing soft kisses and drifting off to sleep from time to time.

With a soft smile on his face, Logan entered the library, greeting ms. Williams who he had become really close with after spending all his teenage years in this library. He made his way to the mystery section, collected a couple of his favourite books and sat down at one of the tables next to the windows. Logan read his way through five books before hearing someone enter the building.

"Logan? Are you here?"

A soft voice echoed through the library and Logan could hear ms. Williams reassuring Patton that Logan was in fact somewhere in here. Patton thanked the librarian and Logan could hear his footsteps comming his way. "There you are Lolo! I was worried that we lost you on your birthday!" His boyfriend softly giggled and sat down next to Logan.

"So.. So you didn't forget my birthday?" Logan shyly looked down at his hands, cursing himself for the blush that spread over his face. "Of course not Starlight! How could we ever forget the day someone this amazing was born?" Patton let out another giggle before taking Logan's hands in his, "What did you think we all have been working on all these weeks? What did you think I was working on last night? Come Lo! Virge and Ro are waiting for us at home!"

Patton pulled his boyfriend up and helped him return the books to their places. He enthusiastically waved ms. Williams goodbye, who chuckled and gave Logan a soft smile as to say 'You better not let that one go Logan'. With their hands intertwined, they made their way outside again. When Logan shivered slightly from the cold, Patton pressed his side to him, resting his head on his shoulder. "To keep us warm!" Logan let out a soft laugh and put his arm around Patton's shoulder, pressing him closer. In a comfortable silence the two made their way back home.

When they were close to their house, Logan could hear music coming from inside of the place. Patton turned the key around and opened the door. The two were met by the smell of cinnamon, pumpkin bread and chocolate. Logan, as the gentleman he was, helped Patton with his coat and put both of their coats away. Patton, once again, grapped Logan's hand and tugged him to the living room. And wow.

Logan definitely hadn't expected this. His friends had completely transformed their living room. The couches were pushed against the wall, the curtains were closed and the floor was covered in pillows. Cinnamon scented candles were placed everywhere and the table was covered with sweets and other delicious foods. He felt Patton's arm wrapped around him and leaned back against his boyfriend, who placed his chin on Logan's shoulder. "Happy birthday my love." It didn't take long before Roman and (a hesitant) Virgil joined the group hug.

They spend the night watching all of Logan's favourite movies and documentaries while chatting in their pyjamas and eating the backed goods Patton ("and Roman!") had made.

A few hours after midnight, Logan looked around at his roommates. Virgil had fallen asleep after the fifth movie. His friend leaned against Roman's shoulder while using his arm as a teddy bear. Speaking of Roman, it hadn't taken long for him to follow Virgil. His head leaned on Virgil's and he snorted a bit, making Logan chuckle. Last but not least he turned to look at Patton. Beautiful Patton, who was curled up against Logan's chest, breathing softly. He had fallen asleep a few minutes ago after tiredly mumbling about how amazing Logan was and how his hair always looked so cute and how Patton could spend hours just watching him reading 'because you are so adorable Logibear! I love listening to you!' Logan had kissed his boyfriend's forehead before softly thanking him.

Yeay, Logan truly was the luckiest men alive. He had his two best friends and his adorable boyfriend who he hoped to spend many more birthdays with. He let out a quiet yawn before closing his eyes, snuggling closer to Patton, and soflty drifting away.

[rwby-sk]

What are some things that other Silent Knight fans do that annoys you or get wrong about the pairing?

Before I start this Please know I'm no queen. I don't pretend to think myself a goddess sitting upon a pedestal of all Silent Knight knowledge I am flawed and biased just like everyone else Everything that followers are just the opinions of a bored, over educated, lesbian that enjoys literature themes and tragic love

-

Here, also, is this post: https://rwby-sk.tumblr.com/post/636420351110332416/i-might-lose-followers-for-this-but-if-i-do-ill I repost it from time to time. Excellent read

-

Things other shippers do that annoy me?

Well

Here we go:

There are the dude-bro, toxic masculinity, harem protagonist, self-insert Jaune fans. I hate them on principle. But when they interfere with a ship I like it crosses a line! I will fight tooth and nail to keep Jaune the sweet, dumb, strategically brilliant, socially awkward himbo he is

Similarly, anyone who sees Neo and reduces her to either A) an awful serial killer/assassin with no morals or B) a horny kinky hot mess Neo is a very dynamic character with a fairly grey moral compass but with understandable motives. There is so much personality in her character that people just choose to ignore because writing a sexy, stabby, thief is easier

Writing these characters well, (much like writing Blake, Yang, Ruby, or Weiss well) requires you to really look at their pasts. Understand who the character is. Don't just look at how they acted in chibi that one time. Look at all of it. The pain. The baggage. The issues. The friendships. The happy moments. You don't need to know a character inside and out to be a good writer/content creator, but it really helps

-

Smaller things specifically that I can't stand? - Jaune immediately forgetting about Pyrrha / going after Neo right away - Either Jaune or Neo talking bad about Pyrrha or Roman - Neo using her semblance to look like Pyrrha (for any reason other than letting Jaune say goodbye to Pyrrha one last time with his permission) - Jaune dressing like Roman - Neo killing or hurting innocent people (We've only seen her knock out a few cops. Yeah she threatens murder all the time, but she never follows through) - Jaune being stronger / faster than Neo. That's a whole thing that blew up a few weeks ago. Neo is the better fighter. She would win in a fight. Like. Come on - Forgetting that Jaune is fine with some crime as long as no one gets hurt (Like stealing an airship / transcript forging) - Limiting Neo to only facial expressions when texting and sign language is RIGHT THERE - Making Jaune angry, about anything other than Cinder. That boy doesn't have a mean bone in his body! He would never yell at Ruby or Neo or anyone! He had that breakdown at Cinder but I think that one was understandable. Also that time he was pissed at Ozma. For making Pyrrha force herself to be the Fall Maiden / ultimately making her martyr herself fighting Cinder, etc etc for a cause Ozma can’t even win. So, also understandable

-

As a footnote; I also rarely read RWBY fanfics because the characterization is always so hit or miss. And honestly the second I see poor word choice / sentence structure I turn into a highschool english teacher and I can't stay in the story. I start fixing grammar issues or think about how to change words that are repeated too often. Don't get me started on smut scenes I swear!!!

[jadenite]

Hi. I redesigned the DC trinity’s outfits according to my own personal aesthetic preferences.

Detailed breakdown below:

Wondy:

kept mostly in line with the Perez era/JL cartoon look because they’re the most iconic to me; just added a few seams so she’ll match the other two in this group

I added some much needed straps to her bodice; I know the movie proved it can be done without straps too, but in my head the bodice should look more sporty even if it’s made of leather; therefore - straps (in the back they should form the classic X shape sports tank tops usually have) 

changed the belt to be more Sailor Moon-esque because I always loved how that V shape hugs the hip area; it’s also more contemporary

added thigh high stockings (slanted for even more V-shape effects) just ‘cause I wanted more blue on her

I am not a fan of the decision to ditch the stars from the bottom in recent iterations of the comics (which are inspired by the movie outfit) so I want to bring them back; the stars are not a pattern on the bottom anymore though, they’re in a line that follows the shape of the belt

the boots are now made up of shoes + greaves (that wrap around the entire leg so they look like boots), to mirror just a little bit of the newer designs WW has gone through and also to be closer to what the Ancient Greeks used to wear in their time; also, the white lines are now silver/metallic like her bracers (that particular inconsistency always bugged me); the boots are FLAT - no high heels or platforms or other nonsensical things that can’t possibly be useful in combat

I don’t like a skirt on her, or the ‘flaps’ they went with for the movie version; I get that the leather flaps are a very vague reference to the pteruges that Greek/Roman soldier used to wear but they just look off for me; it’s fine for her to only be in a leotard, as her fighting style is quite acrobatic anyway and she needs the full range of movement; what I’m ultimately trying to say is I like her looking more like an athlete than a soldier. 

Bats:

I actually liked the new52 redesign with the extra seams so I kept them, mostly because it reinforces the idea that his suit is all textile instead of being some sort of body armor like the movies/games keep insisting it is and I hate with a passion (he should never ever look like a heavily armored cop y’all) I’m probably gonna end up writing a separate post on why I think Batman should have a very simple, textile-only body suit

the cowl and insignia are inspired from the cartoon designs, specifically JLU and Batman Beyond; I really love him with longer ears, they really drive home the eerie, shadow-dwelling, scary presence he’s perceived as; also taken from the cartoons is the pointy boot tip - yes I think his boots should be pointy...like his ears and a bunch of other smaller details across his outfit BECAUSE I LIKE DESIGN CONSISTENCY FROM TOP TO BOTTOM

belt is also in a V shape because one can never have too many V shapes. I will die on a V-shaped hill also known as a mountain

I reintroduced blue on the inside of his cape as both a nod to the golden-age design, and because I felt he was in dire need of more color on him; I think the increasingly monochrome look he’s suffered throughout the years makes him look too different from the rest of the Justice League and I don’t like that much discrepancy of design and colors between the members

pointy shoulders are a nod to Cass Cain’s Batgirl design and I can’t list all the reasons why this works on so many levels.

Supes:

I learned to love the red trunks in recent years; the part of the fandom that liked them made a very good case and convinced me so congrats red trunk team! Anyway, I decided to keep them in my idealized version of his suit, but extended them a bit further down the thighs to be more like hot pants than underwear (for the full himbo effect); I just really like how this looks because it resembles the old timey strongman getup even more (and I’m pretty sure was the inspiration for the original design)

ditched the belt in favor of something more subtle and integrated into the trunks; I think I achieved something neat here, because, in combination with the trunks, I think I found a way to marry both the original design and the Man of Steel movie one (which I don’t hate)

salutations from Mount V-malaya: the neck, the way the cape attaches to the suit, the logo (lower part), the “belt”, the boots

also more seams, to match Bats’ design (listen, I like having some semblance of design coordination between members of a team okay)

I never liked the exposed neck on practically every iteration of Supes’ costume so I decided to fix that and took inspiration from the Justice Lord Supes design (which has a high neck suit); I am aware that the main reason he has a collarbone neckline is because of the cape but I don’t care, I still think it’s very unflattering to the body.

[sleepless-in-starbucks]

My Prince

Ao3

Summary: Logan was a knight. As such, it was his duty to protect and guard the prince. No matter the sacrifice, Logan would always make it for his prince- even if it might cost him his life. Content: Major character injury, major injury, stabbing/stab wounds, blood/coughing up blood, hiding injuries, being caught trying to hide injuries, collapsing, some not listening to a doctor/medic, talk of death/dying (but no actual death), talk of grief, poor self-care, a bit of panic, Logan thinks Roman’s going to kill him for one scene because Logan’s exhausted and prone to panicking, cuddling + literally sleeping together, despite the pain the bois are Somft and this fic does have a happy ending Pairing: QPR (technically ambiguous but meant to be QPR) Logince Notes: do NOT do what Logan did in this fic, he was being a big himbo, if you are hurt TELL SOMEONE. Also this fic is ~8.6k don’t read if you’ve got things to be doing

~

    There were a lot of things Logan didn’t like about battles. They were loud. There were too many people. Blood really didn’t smell that good, especially mixed in with sweat. They almost always ended with him getting injured.

    Though Logan had to admit, he normally didn’t get injured this bad.

    It hadn’t been his fault, not really- a bad parry that had left his enemy’s sword in his chest instead of out of their hands, that was all, but it had still happened and Logan was still left clutching at his chest and grinding his teeth together as he finished off the handful of enemies still standing around him. He was lucky it was a late-battle injury- he wasn’t sure what he would’ve done if there were still hundreds of troops to fight off.

    As soon as he dispatched his last combatant, Logan let out a groan, planting his sword in the ground and leaning on the hilt of it as he glanced at his injury. It was bad, even an idiot could tell that- the sword had gone all the way through his chest, blood staining his uniform on both sides as he watched. Given where it was located, Logan was lucky he wasn’t coughing up blood.

    Logan sighed. That couldn’t be ignored (according to his fellow knights and prince, none of his injuries could be ignored; this was just one of the few times Logan agreed with them).

    Pulling the ‘temporary skin’ potion off of where it hung from his hip, Logan smeared the sticky liquid across both sides of his wound, watching as skin that was an angry-red colour stretched over the cut. It wasn’t a good solution, he was well aware of that- it wasn’t going to stop all the bleeding, and the fake skin would soon break down; it was meant to be used in severe emergencies only, after all- but it would take care of the issue for the moment, and that was all Logan needed.

    Certain that his wound was taken care of for the present, Logan finally sheathed his sword and made his way over to where the rest of the knights had gathered, patching themselves up and taking head counts of the various squadrons. Though he spared a glance about as he pushed through the various groups, Logan was more focused on getting to his primary charge.

    “I’m dying, I tell you, dying! Call the will-writers, the cask-makers, the mourners! I shall never make it back to the castle!”

    Sounded like he was doing fine.

    Stepping past the final row of ambling soldiers, Logan smiled despite the pain that was still pulsing in his chest when he spotted Roman. The prince was sitting next to his horse, propped up by a rock he must have found for the express purpose of laying against dramatically while a soldier attempted to do something with his leg.

    “Your highness, it’s not as severe of an issue as you seem to think it is.” The soldier tried to assure Roman. Logan shook his head. They must be new.

    “I don’t think you understand, dear knight, I am DYING! This shall be the wound that ends me. To think that such a prince of power and awe might be taken out by such a mild battle is hard to believe, I know, but it is the truth!” Roman proclaimed, laying his hand over his forehead and leaning backwards in full dramatics. “Do not remember me like this, I plead, but instead as I was in battle, a mighty force of strength and-”

    “I believe that is enough out of you, your highness.” Logan interrupted, coming over and taking over for the soldier who had been helping Roman. They passed the gauze in their hand over to Logan in relief, happy to walk away and allow Logan to take up their task- wrapping the long cut running up the side of Roman’s right leg.

    “Logan! My dear knight!” Roman greeted excitedly, smiling up at Logan despite his earlier cries of ultimate pain and death. “Have you come to witness my demise?”

    “Considering your wound seems to only bear the potential for severe complications at worst, I find it doubtful you shall be dying today, your highness.” Logan said in amusement as he set about securing the bandages around Roman’s cut.

    “How dare you defy your prince’s sound and always unerring judgement.” Roman reprimanded, though he was still smiling, tone teasing. “And I’ve told you before, Lo, call me Roman. I can only hear so many people call me ‘your highness’ before I go mad.”

    “As you wish, your highness.” Logan responded, smirking when Roman rolled his eyes. “Now, Roman, do you require a healing potion for your grievous injury?”

    “I think I would rather suffer. It is the way of the hero, after all!”

    “Suffering needlessly when there are resources available to aid you is not heroic- it’s simply foolish.” Logan corrected. “May I fetch you a potion or shall I be forced to suffer your complaints throughout the entirety of the return journey?”

    Roman sighed, holding it out for almost an entire minute before he said, “Fine. But only if no one else requires it.”

    Logan nodded, noting the seriousness in Roman’s voice. For all his dramatics, the prince valued all of his subjects and had a borderline stupid tendency to always put their well-being before his own. “I will go check. Do you think you can survive a minute without me?”

    “If I must…”

    With a chuckle that was cut short by the stabbing pain it caused right where his wound was, Logan stood and walked over to where the designated medic was. The title was little more than honorific, indicating only that they held the bag of healing potions and not that they were an actual medic. Actual medics rarely came along to battles, especially to ones so close to base.

    “Medic.” Logan addressed, catching the designated medic’s attention. “How are the troops?”

    “Attended to.” The designated medic replied. “All soldiers have been patched up and healed as necessary.”

    Logan nodded once. “Healing potions?”

    “We have one left.” The designated medic replied, reaching into their satchel and removing a small vial of bright orange-pink liquid. “Do you require it?”

    “The prince does.” Logan answered, and the designated medic nodded, passing the vial to Logan. Barely a moment after, they were called for, and they gave Logan another nod in farewell before heading off in the direction of the call.

    Left by himself, Logan looked down at the vial in hand, biting the bottom of his lip. On one hand, the potion would greatly help him- if nothing else, it would certainly dull the pain of his injury, which would likely have been unbearable if Logan wasn’t so good at ignoring it.

    On the other, Roman was hurt. Not gravely so, but he was still injured. And with the chance of infections or further damaging of the injury, the cut being left untreated could pose a serious risk to Roman’s health.

    Plus, he was the prince. It was Logan’s duty and honor to serve him and keep him safe above all else, himself included.

    So, ignoring the steady pulse of pain in his chest, Logan kept the vial corked and returned to Roman. He resumed his position beside Roman, this time closer to his head than his leg as he offered the vial to him.

    “Your potion.” Logan said, quirking up the corner of his mouth. “I hope it will bring you away from the doorstep of death you seem to have found yourself on.”

    Roman accepted the potion, though he hesitated before taking it. “You are certain there is no other who needs this more than I?” He asked in confirmation.

    “No one. All other warriors have been attended to.”

    “Yourself included?” Roman asked, to which Logan titled his head and tried his best to look confused instead of possibly caught red-handed. “You’re drenched in blood, Lo.”

    “It’s not mine.” Logan replied, which wasn’t a complete lie. Not all of it was his, after all. Just… a vast majority of it. 

    “Mhmm.” Roman hummed, in a way that suggested he just barely believed Logan. “Are you sure?”

    “I think I would be aware if I had been injured.”

    “You’d hope. But still. You’ve checked yourself over? You’re completely alright?”

    “I assure you, Roman, I am just fine.” Logan lied, well aware that even a hint of hesitation from him would have Roman forcing him to take the potion even if Logan really was fine. “We leave for the castle soon. The sooner you ingest the potion, the sooner it can get to work, and the smoother your trip will be.”

    Roman watched Logan for a moment longer, clearly searching for a lie, but eventually he opened the vial. “If you’re sure.” He said, in a soft voice that suggested he was choosing to trust Logan in this, trust that he was okay and Roman was the one in greater need of the potion.

    Logan didn’t flinch as he nodded. “I am.”

    And with that assurance, Roman drank the healing potion, and Logan let out a small sigh of relief. The potion should kick in near immediately, reducing Roman’s injury down to little more than a scratch in a few hours and hopefully stave off any chance of infection in minutes, which meant that for the moment, Roman was safe.

    Of course, Logan still had a barely-addressed hole in his chest, but he was ignoring that perfectly well, so he was fine. Or, at least, he’d be fine long enough to make it back to the castle, where there’d be more healing potions and actual medics whose services he could use without taking anything from Roman.

    “Now that,” Roman said as he swallowed the potion, grinning as a bit more colour came to his cheeks and a lot more theatrics came into his tone, “may have just saved my life. You are truly a lifesaver, my dear knight.”

    “I think the potion is more what helped you than I, my prince.” Logan said, standing up and offering a hand to help pull Roman up.

    “Yes, but you brought me that potion.” Roman countered, taking the proffered hand and allowing Logan to help get him on his feet. Logan bit his lip as he did so, trying to ignore how the motion pulled on his temporary skin and made his wound ache. “Therefore, you saved my life.”

    “If that is what you wish to believe.” Logan returned, assisting Roman in mounting his horse as to ensure minimal strain was put on Roman’s leg wound. Of course, this ended up putting more strain on his own injury, but Logan once more ignored the ache. “Are you ready to begin the march back to the castle?”

    Roman took a moment to answer, settling himself in his saddle before he nodded. “Let us return to tell grand tales of our conquest!”

    Logan scoffed before he started calling out orders to the troops, the men picking themselves up as best they could and falling into place, lined up and prepared for the journey back to the castle. It took them a couple of minutes to finish organizing themselves, but soon enough, everyone was in order, and Logan gave the signal to begin walking. As the knights behind him started moving, Logan took up his own position at the side of Roman’s horse.

    At first, all was as it always was for the journey back to the castle- the sound of nearly identical footfalls against the ground was comforting in its familiarity, as were Roman’s random and slightly asinine remarks (normally about ‘facts’ about the surrounding wildlife), and despite the fact that his wound seemed to pulse with every step, the pain was manageable. It seemed that while Logan would be quite exhausted by the time they reached the castle, he wouldn’t be too badly off overall.

    But that was before the coughing started.

    It had only been an hour or two since the march had begun, the ache in Logan’s chest having been steadily growing but not doing much more than annoying him. Roman was in the middle of trying to explain to Logan why country birds were so dully coloured in relation to the concrete existence of Dragon Witches when Logan first coughed, dutifully coughing into his elbow and not thinking much of it.

    At least, until he realized that he hadn’t just coughed- he had coughed up blood.

    It wasn’t that much, not really, just a droplet or two, but the bright red colour still stood out against the dull blues and dried reds of his bloodstained uniform. Logan’s eyes widened at the sight and he hastened to rub it away, blending it in with the other stains. It was likely just the result of… of a cut in his mouth, or something equally mundane- it was nothing to worry Roman over, and worry Roman would if he realized Logan was coughing up blood, no matter the reason for it.

    Rubbing the last of the stain away into the side of his uniform, Logan tried to put the incident out of mind. He was sure it was just a one-off thing.

    That was, until he coughed again. And again. And on and on, single coughs turning into clusters that Logan was worried would soon progress into fits. He had managed to keep the prince from noticing thus far, both the coughs and the slowly increasing amounts of blood they carried with them, but if he couldn’t figure out a way to get them better under control and soon, he would be caught.

    Within the hour, his assumption proved to be correct- busy trying to cough as discreetly as possible, Logan fell behind Roman, who noticed his knight’s absence almost immediately. Though Logan managed to hide the blood before Roman looked back at him, he wasn’t able to mask the fact that he had been coughing.

    “Logan, are you alright?” Roman asked, slowing his horse a bit as Logan hurried to resume his position beside Roman. “You’ve been coughing an awful lot…”

    “I’m fine, you- Roman.” Logan responded, catching the formality while also trying to focus on not beginning coughing again. “I believe something has gotten in my throat, that is all.”

    “Do you need us to stop, my dear knight?” Roman asked, tone softer than Logan would have expected when using that nickname. It was a joke, after all, a reference back to when Roman had first called Logan ‘dear knight’ and had been met by Logan telling him he was not Roman’s ‘dear.’ So, of course, Roman went about calling him ‘my dear knight’ ever since. It was meant to be teasing, not sincere. “We can take a break if you need to catch your breath.”

    “That will not be necessary, but thank you.” Logan said respectfully. Taking a break would only increase the amount of time it took him to reach the castle and receive help. “I do not want to delay our journey.”

    “It will be no hassle.”

    “Still, I must insist we continue.” Logan reiterated, refusing to allow the stop. Though he appreciated Roman’s concerns, stopping would do him little good.

    “Alright.” Roman relented, though he continued to watch Logan worriedly. Aware of the prince’s gaze, Logan tried to stifle the cough attempting to rise in his throat, but he only managed to keep it at bay for a few minutes before he was back to splattering blood on the arm of his uniform, making sure to keep the bend of his elbow tight and close to him so that Roman couldn’t see the new red stains.

    “Are you certain you’re okay?” Roman asked, the question rhetorical as he quickly pressed on before Logan had the chance to answer, “I know you do not wish to delay us, but you seem to truly need a rest. If it would suit you better, I would not mind parting with or sharing my stead. It would hardly take a minute to arrange- it would be no hindrance to our journey.”

    At this offer, Logan hesitated. The thought of not having to walk anymore was enticing, he had to admit. Without having to exert himself in any way, Logan would have more air and energy, which, if nothing else, would make the rest of his journey to the castle at least a little less painful.

    But the consequences of the possible actions weren’t nearly as positive- either Roman would be forced to walk, aggravating his leg wound and possibly reopening it, or the two of them would ride together and would definitely be forced to endure the criticism and rumors of the high court. Logan knew perfectly well there had already been plenty of less-than-kind words about his and Roman’s relationship that had spawned from the fact that he talked to Roman slightly more often than other knights- he didn’t want to see what sort of scandal them sharing a horse could cause.

    So, once more, he found himself refusing the idea. “That is a very kind offer of you, my prince, but I assure you that my legs are fit to carry me and that I am fit to walk.”

    Roman let out a breath. “You know, Logan, for all you call me stubborn and head-strong, you often display those very traits.” He commented, sounding both amused and still worried, though Logan was relieved to find the amusement seemed to be out-weighing the worry. Roman leaned backwards on his horse, rummaging around in one of its satchel bags before he pulled out a canteen. He then shifted his position, proffering the canteen to Logan. “At least have some water? To soothe your throat, since it is clear I cannot convince you to rest it.”

    Logan hesitated a moment before accepting the container. If it would make Roman feel better about his well-being, it couldn’t hurt to have a sip.

    He was careful as he drank, not wanting any excess blood in his mouth to stain the lip of the canteen or end up in the water. It was worth it, however, the lukewarm water still nice against his sore-from-coughing throat.

    After a sip slightly longer than he likely should have taken, Logan returned the lid to the top of the canteen and tried to hand it back to Roman. But the prince shook his head.

    “Keep it.” He said, waving his hand as if to dismiss the idea that he would take his canteen back. “You need it more than I.”

    Logan didn’t fight him this time, simply nodding his head and muttering a “Thank you, my prince.” before he hooked the canteen onto his hip. Roman nodded as well, watching Logan a moment longer before he set his eyes forward on the road ahead, seemingly reassured by the fact that Logan had accepted some help, if not much.

    And for a while, his reassurance seemed sound- aided by the water, Logan was able to beat back more of his coughs, though the taste of blood remained ever-present in his mouth. With the majority of Logan’s coughing abated, Roman went back to narrating their journey, featuring many incorrect facts and legends. It was that inattention that caused him to miss when Logan ran out of water, and to miss when Logan’s coughing once more turned ‘ugly.’

    Logan, on the other hand, was completely unable to miss either of these things, nor was he able to miss just how much blood he coughed up this time. Even rubbing his arm against the side of his uniform, he was only able to hide so much of it. Grimacing at the bright red stains, Logan tucked his arm against his chest, hoping that would be enough to keep the fresh blood out of Roman’s sight, biting back on the cough he could already feel building in the back of his throat as well.

    Predictably, he wasn’t able to smother the cough, and the following coughing fit had him once more following behind Roman. The amount of blood he was coughing up now was unhealthy, he could tell at a glance, a fact that was only reinforced by the dizzying headache that was beginning to plague him.

    “Logan?” Roman’s voice got his attention, Logan looking up as soon as he had smeared the last of the blood on his lips off on his uniform, once more pressing his arm to his side. Roman’s gaze was focused on Logan, looking deeply concerned. “I hate to sound repetitive, but are you certain you are well? Because you really don’t look well.”

    Forcing himself to straighten up and clear his throat, Logan ignored the much-too-present taste of blood in his mouth and once more pushed himself to resume his position next to Roman as he replied, “I do not mind the repetition, my highness, so long as you don’t mind that my answer remains unchanged- I am perfectly alright.”

    Roman’s concern only seemed to grow at that answer, however, a look of confusion also coming into his eyes. He held Logan’s gaze for a moment, Logan trying to stop himself from erupting into another coughing fit as he did so, before he raised his hand and called out, “Halt troops!”

    Near immediately, the troops around them stopped marching, squadron leaders calling out to stop those too far out from Roman to hear his direct order. Logan held his composure as well as he could as Roman dismounted his horse, coming over to stand directly in front of Logan.

    “My highness?” Roman repeated. Logan frowned, unsure why he’d feel the need to once bring attention to that, unless-

    Placing a hand to his head, Logan turned his eyes downwards. “Apologies, Roman, I didn’t mean-”

    “That’s not the problem here, Logan.” Roman interrupted, prompting Logan to once more look up at him, tilting his own head slightly in confusion. Roman was frowning now as well, though he still seemed to be nothing more than distressed by Logan. “Plenty of people have mixed up ‘my’ and ‘your’ before, but never you. You’ve been lying to me about being fine, and while I’m not going to hold that against you, the lies must stop now. Something’s wrong. What is it?”

    “I don’t know what else to tell you, Roman, I’m-” Logan was cut off by the coughing fit he had been suppressing, doubling over even as he pressed a hand to his mouth, trying to stop the coughs. All he succeeded in doing, however, was covering his hand in blood, coughs continuing to spill out of his mouth despite him.

    “Logan?!” Roman cried out next to him, and Logan could just barely tell that the prince had grabbed his other arm, offering a balance that Logan likely would have fallen over already without. He was more focused on his coughing and the new ache in his torso, a tearing one that was soon followed by gushing warmth down his back and chest as his temporary skin broke down, likely from the strain he had been putting on it with all his coughing. “Oh, I’nago, that’s a lot of blood- Lo? Logan!”

    Against his every wish, the world was fading away from Logan, darkness taking over the edges of his vision and spilling into the forefront of it as well. He lost his footing, coughing even as he fell forward. His awareness was all but gone, the feeling of arms holding him up and the sound of panicked yelling around him fading out with the rest of the vision as he slipped into blessed, painless unconscious.

    ~

    Consciousness didn’t return to Logan quickly, or nicely, or even cleanly. Which was probably fair- Logan hadn’t exactly dealt with his issues quickly or nicely or cleanly. But that didn’t make it fun to deal with.

    Logan wasn’t sure how long he was stuck in the in-between of awake and asleep, only getting glimpses and fleeting moments of reality- the steady thump of a horse running as someone held him close, the sounds of someone panicky and someone calm yelling at each other, someone softly running their hands over his arms and mumbling gentle nonsense to him, and pain. So, so much pain.

But eventually, he did wake up.

The room he was in was dark, the few lights that were in the room purposefully dim. Logan chose to be thankful for that, squinting against even the low light. What details of the room he could make out were foreign to him, the bed beneath him unfamiliar and the furniture around the room of a design he couldn’t recognize.

An inn room, then, or some other stopping place between the castle and wherever the troops had been when Logan had collapsed. Even though Logan couldn’t remember there being any inns or towns or such on the road to and from the battlefield, that had to be the answer- if he was at the castle, he would be in his own quarters, and these were most certainly not his quarters.

Soon enough, Logan’s search of the room led to him spotting the stranger sitting at his bedside. They were dressed in a dark cloak that concealed the majority of their features, a book open in their lap, seemingly ignoring Logan. Before he could say anything to them, however, their gaze flicked up, and they locked eyes with Logan.

“Finally.” They said, sounding relieved in the most annoyed way possible as they placed their book to the side. They scooted their chair closer to the bed, reaching into their cloak and pulling out a vial of something dark purple with hints of gold. They tugged the cap off before putting it up to Logan’s lips. “Drink.”

Tired and confused, Logan did as he was told without thinking, swallowing the potion despite the slightly acidic taste it had. The stranger pulled the vial away when Logan was finished, recapping it before they put it back in their cloak.

“Who are you?” Logan rasped after a minute passed in silence, the stranger seemingly content to not tell Logan anything as they looked him over.

“Virgil.” They answered curtly. “And don’t speak.”

Logan, deciding he had too many questions to remain silent, ignored them. “Why are you here? Why am I here?”

“I’m a medic, and we’re both here because someone thought hiding their massive internal injury was a good idea.” Virgil snapped. “Now shut up. You need to be resting.”

“Where am I?”

Virgil sighed, raking a hand down the side of their face. “Stubborn, of course- you’re worse than the prince, and that’s saying something.”

Logan’s eyes widened at the mention of the prince and he moved to sit up, the need to find Roman and ensure he was okay a sudden and rather illogical need, but a need he had to chase anyways.

That was, until Virgil’s hands landed on his shoulders a bit harsher than Logan felt strictly necessary and pushed him back down.

“Listen, using up your energy to ask pointless questions is one thing.” Virgil huffed as they moved from the armchair to sit on the edge of the bed, still holding Logan down. “But if you try to get up, you will break or tear something, and there are only so many times I can save your life. So for the love of Wycus- Do. Not. Move.”

Logan huffed as well, but he settled, and after eyeing him distrustingly for a moment, Virgil took their hands off of him.

“You never answered my question.” Logan brought up. “Where am I?”

“The prince’s chambers.”

More on reflex then by choice, Logan jerked upwards, immediately regretting the decision when pain shot through his chest and made the room spin. Once more, Virgil shoved him down, though Logan could’ve sworn they were gentler this time, recognizing the motion hadn’t exactly been fun for Logan.

“I will knock you out if you do anything else like that.” Virgil threatened, this time leaving one hand on Logan’s shoulder even as he raised a hand to cover his eyes, grimacing at how his head continued to pound even though he was no longer sitting up. “If you’re going to react like this every time your boyfriend is mentioned, I will make sure you do not so much as come within a squadron’s length of him until there is not a single scar left on your chest.”

“Prince Roman is not my boyfriend.” Logan corrected through a hiss of pain, moving his hand from his eyes to press against the site of his wound. He could tell that heavy gauze covered it now, even through the fabric of the shirt he realized he must have been changed into. “Why am I in his chambers? My own lodgings are right within this castle- that is where I always go to recover from battles, why is this one different?”

“That’s something you can ask your not-boyfriend.” Virgil responded, turning their head at the sound of a door opening. “Speak of Evil and find her amongst you.”

Careful to not truly sit up (Logan wholeheartedly believed Virgil would knock him out if he did so), Logan lifted his head as much as he could to see Roman. Though he was dressed in his royal robes, Roman seemed anything but grand- his head was held lower than usual and he seemed disheartened. Even after closing the door, he lingered in place for a moment, running a hand through his hair and looking down.

“Your highness,” Virgil called out, though the address was almost mocking, lacking the respect the title was meant to carry, “are you going to mope in the doorway forever? I don’t know how long your knight is going to be awake- I’d suggest you’d use your time more wisely, though I know wisdom is not your strong suit.”

Instantly, Roman perked up, turning in the direction of the bed with renewed interest. “He’s awake?” Roman asked pointlessly as he rushed over, his question answered as soon as Logan met his eyes. “Logan.”

“Your highness.” Logan responded in turn as he quickly scanned Roman. The prince seemed to be fine, no limp or bandages to be seen. He was okay. Of course, logically, Logan had already known he would be alright, but the reassurance of seeing it and knowing it for fact was dizzying (though that might have still been his injuries).

“I thought I told you to call me Roman.”

“Roman, then.” Logan corrected, even though he was certain Roman wouldn’t have cared right then what exactly Logan called him so long as Logan was awake enough to call him anything.

Beside him, Virgil groaned. “I can’t bear this.” They declared, removing their hand from Logan’s shoulder as they stood, heading for the door. They stopped when they came to Roman’s side, turning to face the prince as they ordered, “Do not let him move, do not let him stand, do not let him sit up or I will revoke your rights to see my patient. You two can talk as long as he is awake, but if he begins to show signs of tiring, he must rest. You know where to find me if he starts spasming.”

Finished, Virgil resumed their walk, leaving the room without another word. Roman watched them go, turning back towards Logan as soon as they were gone. “Apologies if they seemed… harsh.” Roman said, not moving from where he stood near the foot of Logan’s- Roman’s?- bed. “What they lack in bedside manner, however, they make up entirely with skill. I assure you that you are in good hands.”

“I have complete faith in all the castle’s laborers.” Logan responded. “Though I admit I do not believe I have met Virgil before. Are they new?”

Roman chuckled, pulling his fingers through his hair before he answered, “No, not at all- they’ve been with the castle for a very long time.”

Logan frowned. That couldn’t be possible- he knew nearly every medic employed to the service of the army, and he definitely knew all the old ones. Logan should have known them. “How is that possible?”

With another chuckle, Roman moved so that he was sitting on the bed beside Logan, looking him over in a way that almost seemed like he thought he’d never get to see Logan again. “They’re not an army medic, Lo. They’re the royal medic.”

“They’re- why am I being seen to by the royal medic?” Logan asked, fighting back the urge to sit up so that he could be on level with Roman. “Why am I in your chambers and not my own? What is going on?”

“What’s going on is that you were grievously injured, a fact you neglected to inform me of until you collapsed while coughing up blood, and I was worried.” Roman answered, placing a hand on Logan’s shoulder, moving it down and up his arm at a steady pace. The motion was comforting and familiar, and muscles Logan didn’t realize he had tensed relaxed. “Virgil is the best medic there is. My room ensured you were safe, warm, and… and close. This was the absolute best place for your recovery.”

“I apologize for causing you undue worry, my prince, and you have been very kind in your hospitality.” Logan told him. “But I still don’t understand. There is nothing wrong with the troop medics or my room-”

“Four days.” Roman cut him off abruptly, the hand on Logan’s arm stilling for a moment. “You’ve been unconscious for four days.”

“I- what?!”

“You were so pale, Lo. You looked as if you almost didn’t have any blood left in you.” Roman continued on, tone growing distressed and his grip on Logan’s arm tightening. “You’d open your eyes for a moment and close then in the next, mumbling nonsense to yourself as you did, but you were never really awake, and sometimes you’d dream and keep trying to roll over and move even as me and Virgil held you down, and sometimes you’d whimper like you were hurting but there wasn’t anything I could do about it, and you did spasm a few times, and I thought you were going to die, Lo, I thought you were never going to really wake up again and I thought my last real memory of you was going to be you choking on your own blood as you tried to tell me you were alright and I thought-”

One of Logan’s hands shot forward then, grabbing Roman’s free hand and squeezing it hard, breaking up Roman’s train of thought and bringing his attention to Logan. He looked like a wreck, and he was sucking in breaths in a manner that suggested he was a few more spiraling thoughts from working himself into a panic attack.

“No words can properly express how sorry I am to have distressed you so greatly.” Logan said, trying to keep his voice steady and strong as he squeezed Roman’s hand again, keeping him grounded. “But I did not die. I’m right here, and I’m alive. You do not need to worry over that now.”

Roman squeezed back, raising their joined hands so that he could rest his forehead against them, taking in a deep breath. “I know. But I didn’t know that these past four days. If I didn’t give you the absolute best care, if I had taken any half-measures and then you died, I- I never would have been able to forgive myself.” He said, lifting his head so he could look at Logan, expression hurting and confused. “Why didn’t you tell me you had been injured?”

“You didn’t need to know.” Logan answered. “I was… I thought I was handling it.”

“You could’ve taken that healing potion.” Roman said, shaking his head. “Damnit, Logan, why didn’t you take that healing potion? You knew plenty well I didn’t need it, nor would I have minded if you had taken it, especially when you had a sword wound all the way through your chest!”

“You were the priority.” Logan responded, ignoring the renewed ache in his chest at the mention of his injury. “Your leg cut bore the risk of infection or worsening. You needed the potion.”

“I didn’t think I’d have to remind you of this, but you had a hole right through your chest!” Roman cried out, though his grasp on Logan’s hand remained gentle, his other hand having resumed running up and down Logan’s arm. “Anything that could have happened to my injury also could have happened to yours, and you had internal bleeding to deal with as well- I don’t care if I’m the priority, you needed that potion more than I did and we both know it.”

Logan shook his head, stopping when his headache flared at the motion. “It doesn’t matter. You were the priority. By default, you needed the potion more than I did.”

“The default shouldn’t matter when your life is on the line!”

“But it does!” Logan shouted back as well as he could despite his sore throat. “I’m a knight, Roman! My first and foremost duty is to protect the crown! It is my job to make sure you are okay above all else!”

“And you are my friend! If you had died, I wouldn’t be okay!” Roman yelled back, the fight rushing out of him as soon as he did. He squeezed his eyes shut, removing his hand from Logan’s arm to press against them even as he refused to let go of Logan’s hand.

Logan didn’t know what else to do but sit in silence, processing the prince’s response as Roman composed himself.

“I haven’t known what to do with myself since you collapsed.” Roman admitted shakily, a hand still over his closed eyes as he spoke. “I’ve either been in here, watching over you, or wandering the castle halls. Nothing could hold my attention. Nothing… nothing seemed important when at any moment I could suddenly be stuck in a world without you in it.”

“There are other knights.” Logan offered, but it was weak. He was well aware that wasn’t what Roman meant, but it was an easier version of things to face than the real one.

Roman opened his eyes then, moving his hand so that Logan could see the tears welling at the corner of his eyes even as the prince smiled painfully, running his free hand through Logan’s hair. “None of them are my knight.” He said in response, tone having gentled into something sweet and fond.

Silence stretched for a moment after that, Roman continuing to run his hand through Logan’s hair as Logan processed his words. It wasn’t exactly hard to figure out what he meant- he had said it out loud, for De’veo’s sake- but the open emotions that came with them were… Logan wanted to say new, but they weren’t; they were familiar, as if he had always known them but only now had a name for them.

“If you could go back,” Roman started after a few minutes, looking at their clasped hands instead of directly at Logan, “would you do everything the same?”

Logan thought over his answer for a moment before he spoke. “No, I wouldn’t.”

“What would you change?”

“I would tell you I had been injured.” Logan said, looking at their joined hands now as well. “But only after you had taken the healing potion. I understand my mistake in refusing to allow anyone to help me, but… I am still a- I am still your knight. I will always prioritize your health over mine.”

“That’s what I thought you would say.” Roman said. “You would die for me if you had to, wouldn’t you?”

“Of course. I’m your knight, my prince; of course.” Logan answered automatically. It was the duty of every knight to die for the crown family if necessary. If it came between him or the prince, he would always take the hit.

Though Logan knew his answer would be the same even if Roman wasn’t the prince.

Roman nodded, more to himself than to Logan. “I can’t let you be a knight anymore, then. Not after this.”

“Are you going to discharge me from service, my prince?”

“Something like that.” Roman answered. Logan’s eyes left their joined hands to look at Roman, who seemed to be more occupied with combing through Logan’s hair. Logan swallowed.

“Are you going to have me executed, my prince?” Logan asked, feeling foolish even as he spoke but having to say it anyways. He knew it was a ridiculous thought, especially after everything Roman had said, but Logan wasn’t sure what else Roman could mean- unless he was going to have Logan imprisoned, but that was as good as a death sentence for former knights-

“Oh, Logan, no, my beloved knight, not that; never that.” Roman rushed to reassure, the hand that had been in Logan’s hair moving to cup his cheek instead. Instinctively, Logan turned into the soft, warm touch, his eyes closing of their own will before he blinked rapidly, refusing to fall asleep just yet.

Roman noticed, however, letting out a small sigh. “You’ve been up too long. You need to get more sleep.” He said quietly. Roman leaned forward, pressing a gentle kiss to Logan’s forehead before pulling away. “I should let you rest…”

    Logan tightened his hold on Roman’s hand as he tried to leave, stopping him. Though Logan was sure Roman wouldn’t have any trouble breaking out of his weak grasp, the prince stopped, settling back down on the edge of the bed and looking at Logan with mild confusion. 

“What are you going to do with me?” Logan asked, well aware by now that he was being irrational in his worries but unable to dismiss them himself.

“Oh, Logan.” Roman soothed, free hand returning to Logan’s cheek, smiling comfortingly at him. “I’m making you a high scholar, that’s all. I’m not going to hurt you- I’d never hurt you, no matter how incredibly foolish you’ve been.”

Logan frowned. “High scholar… Roman, you know as well as I do that that’s a position of blood. You can’t make me a high scholar.”

“You can when you know the king and queen.” Roman joked, running his thumb over Logan’s cheek, his smile growing as Logan leaned more into his touch. “They’ve agreed to bend the rules for you as long as you can prove your intelligence, which I’m certain you’ll have no issue doing- though I will help you study while you’re recovering.”

“How did you get them to allow this?” Logan pressed. High scholar was a prestigious position, one kept within the blood families of nobles to ensure no ‘peasants’ ever got to hold it and therefore end up able to advise the rulers. Getting a (former) knight into such a position couldn’t have been easy.

“I convinced them through a blend of begging, persuasion, fact-stating, and simply existing.”

“Simply existing?”

Roman awkwardly laughed, looking away from Logan for a moment. “Like I said, not a great four days. I think my parents want that to happen again just as much as I do.”

“Again, Roman, I can never properly apologize for putting you through that.” Logan said, looking down at the bed. “I was aware that my actions would have adverse actions for me and my health, but I never considered- I never thought that you-”

“That I might get hurt too?” Roman offered, and Logan fell silent. A moment later, the hand cradling his cheek shifted to rest on his chin, lifting his head and forcing him to meet Roman’s eyes. Roman was smiling fondly again, looking at Logan with a type of love that was old but never tired. “Don’t worry, my dear knight. You’re forgiven.”

“Roman, I-”

“You were stupid, and you did a stupid thing, and you’re sorry. Don’t worry, I’ve got the basics.” Roman cut him off. “But due to my infinite wisdom as your most powerful and wonderful prince, I’m not going to let you do it again, and that’s what’s important here. Besides, I am never going to let you live this down, which I feel is punishment enough.”

Logan let out a little laugh, letting more of his weight rest against Roman’s hand as a small smile graced his face. “I’m certain it will be.”

“Hey, there it is.” Roman said softly, scooting a bit closer to Logan. “I’ve missed your smile, my dear knight.”

“You won’t be able to call me that much longer, you know.” Logan pointed out. “Apparently I won’t be a knight much longer.”

“I suppose you’re right.” Roman conceded, tilting his head. “My dear high scholar?”

Logan shook his head a bit, though he remained smiling. “Doesn’t flow very well, my prince.”

“No, no it doesn’t.” Roman agreed, his smile turning into a smirk as he moved even closer to Logan, once more cradling his cheek. “How about ‘my dear’ instead?”

“My dear.” Logan repeated, as if he were trying out the sound of it. He pressed against Roman’s hand, allowing himself to melt just slightly into the touch. “That sounds… nice.”

“Good.” Roman said, leaning forwards to kiss Logan’s cheek, prompting Logan’s cheeks to burn in a way he knew was unrelated to his injuries- though if asked later, he would claim it was mostly a side effect of his exhaustion. “Because I think it sounds nice, too… my dear.”

The following increased burn in his cheeks and giddy smile were also just side effects of his exhaustion.

“I’nago, you are beautiful.”

Logan blushed even harder. “Roman!”

“I couldn’t say that before.” Roman continued on, ignoring Logan as he grinned. “It’d be seen as favoritism, and the court politics- well, they won’t disappear with you as a high scholar but they’ll be better, and I can say that to you now.”

“That doesn’t mean you should!” Logan protested, though there was no force behind his words. The blush was an annoying consequence of Roman’s words, but Logan couldn’t bring himself to dislike the words themself.

“Sorry, my dear.” Roman said, not sounding very apologetic. “You almost get yourself killed, I get to point out the fact that you’re gorgeous.”

“Oh, you-” Logan began, moving to push himself upwards with his free hand, not sure what he was going to do once he was sitting but sure it was going to be great. His plans, however, were foiled by the stab of pain that went through his chest at the movement, his arm failing to support him as he fell back against the bed.

“Hey now, careful there, Lo.” Roman said as Logan squeezed his eyes shut, trying to ward off the black dots that had moved to swarm his vision. “There’ll be plenty of time to get back at me for all my charm later.”

Logan gritted his teeth together, trying to both block out the pain and remain conscious as he said, “You’re impossible.”

“Shh, love, bicker later.” Roman told him, tone softening as he raised their joined hands and pressed a kiss to the back of Logan’s. He placed Logan’s hand down afterwards, pulling the sheets up around him more, making it harder and harder for Logan to resist the call of sleep. “It’s time for you to rest, my dear.”

“Wait.” Logan said, fighting the urge to drift off as Roman tried to pull away, likely wanting to leave him in peace to rest. “You haven’t been sleeping.”

Roman paused in his retreat. “I- what?”

“I’m injured, not blind, my prince.” Logan said, opening his eyes enough that he could focus on Roman. “You said these past four days have been hectic and you have the bags underneath your eyes to prove it. Therefore: you haven’t been sleeping.”

“I have been… a bit.” Roman admitted slowly. “Worry isn’t very conducive to sleeping.”

“I’m okay now.” Logan reminded him, trying his best to smile reassuringly at the prince. “Please. Sleep.”

Roman returned Logan’s smile with a soft one of his own. “I will, okay? I just need to talk to Virgil about some things, and then I’ll find a guest room to crash in. I promise.”

Logan shook his head, biting his tongue to hold his awareness as he did so. “No. Sleep now. Here.”

Roman chuckled. “I think you’re more tired than you want to let on, my dear.”

Logan rolled his eyes. “You have a habit of forgetting to do tasks you deem unimportant, a list upon which both self-care and sleep often fall. The chance that you will not go to bed after leaving this room is too high for me to risk, especially given you have spent the past four days running on what I can only assume to be the absolute minimum of sleep, if that. Conclusion: if I do not ensure you are sleeping, you will not sleep.”

“And how do you propose to do that?” Roman asked. “You’re bed-bound and going to pass out in a few minutes, whether you like it or not.”

Logan patted the bed beside him.

Roman raised an eyebrow. “What? You want me to sleep here? With you?”

“Your bed is more than big enough for two people, my prince, and if we’re together I’ll know if you get up and try to leave.” Logan explained, only managing to partially fight off a yawn as he spoke. “Please, Roman. I need to know you’re resting too. You’ve seen the stupid lengths I’ll go to- don’t make me add sleep-deprivation while I’m recuperating to the list.”

“I think Virgil’ll kill you if you try that.”

“Please recall why we’re in this situation in the first place.” Logan said. “Please Roman.”

Roman sighed, but the sound was fond as he came back to the edge of the bed and pulled up the sheets. “Worried about me even now?”

“You’re my prince.” Logan answered as Roman settled in behind him, wrapping his arms around Logan and nestling his head over Logan’s shoulder like it was the most natural thing in the world. Roman was warm, his hold protective but soft, and Logan couldn’t help but melt into it, because it was natural, natural as breathing for Logan to trust him and protect him and love him. “I’m always going to worry about you.”

“You’re not going to be a knight anymore, you know.” Roman reminded him, his breath warm against Logan’s neck, the feel of his chest moving as he spoke comforting. “It’s not your job to worry about me anymore.”

“Who ever said I was doing it for the job?” Logan responded, smiling as Roman laughed and pressed a kiss against the side of his head. “Tomorrow I could be prisoner, peasant, or king and I would still worry about you, my prince.”

“And no matter what I myself am tomorrow, you would care for me nonetheless, my dear.” Roman added, pulling Logan even closer against his chest, careful to not press too hard against his injury. “But to get to tomorrow, you must sleep.”

“Sleep with me?” Logan asked, even as his eyelids slipped shut and he relaxed against Roman completely, already falling asleep with or without Roman.

Luckily, Roman just chuckled softly, pressing one last kiss to Logan’s cheek before he once more rested his head against Logan’s shoulder. “Of course I will, my dear. Now rest, and we will face tomorrow together.”

Content in Roman’s arms, Logan finally allowed himself to drift off, sure in the fact that his prince would be alright- and that he would be too.