#thymander

[icarusatmidnight]

My mind is refusing sleep once again so enjoy this quick doodle of Olea and Thyme I never finished and never posted~ ✨

[icarusatmidnight]

And, hey! Since the last post was a neat segway, why not! I’m not sure I know I’ve said this before, but I always like the way Oleander and Thyme communicate their feelings and how it works out so well for them.

Thyme isn’t really someone who enjoys chasing after people loudly. He greatly prefers subtle displays of affection, ones just ebb the surface to show he cares but it’s never loud enough to be distracting or like he’s demanding your attention. Thyme likes hooking his fingers through Oleander’s belt loops when they’re hanging around, like on subways or whatnot. He likes resting his head on Oleander’s shoulder too. A little note, I’m here and I like you.

On the other hand, he adores getting loud displays of affection. He likes being noticeably wanted and desired. And that’s exactly what Oleander does best. He likes being loud and a bit messy for his affections because they’re his and he’s free to give them to who he wants. He doesn’t like public displays of affection much, but at home, he’s very handsy with Thyme. He loves pulling him into kisses, light and harsh, and he loves playfully annoying Thyme too. It’s nearly impossible to ignore him when he wants his attention, poking Thyme like an unruly child. I’m here and I want you.

But Oleander despises being demanded in return, almost spitefully so. If Thyme ever pulled him into a kiss like he does in the early stages in their relationship, he would’ve flat-out end their whole affair. And even in the later stages, he’s still gonna get annoyed because no.

Oleander has very rigid boundaries that he’s also very vocal about. If Thyme does a thing he doesn’t like, Thyme will (politely) heard about it and Thyme will absolutely not overstep it unless Oleander changes his mind and says so. That’s actually why Oleander goes so ‘heart eyes motherfucker’ for Thyme in the first place. Kid respects the boundaries he puts up and never fucks with them, and that is ridiculously attractive to Olea.

Really, they just work well together and I love them. c:

[icarusatmidnight]

Oh gosh, asks definitely coming your way for this one! For Olea and Thyme, #s 4, 10, and 19. And for you, #22 and 29. (Let me know if you want more asks and I'll send one for the other two, too!)

:D!!! Thank you so much for these and sorry it took a bit of time for me respond. I kinda went overboard with ninety percent of the questions. ^^;; For anyone curious, the questions are from this ask game too~ It’s cute, so reblog it and have fun!

4. Their favorite physical feature on each other? 

Thyme would die for Oleander’s smile and his tooth gap, oh my god!! I will never be able to stress this enough. Thyme always has had a thing for teeth but he really digs people who have imperfect teeth, like crooked ones and teeth gaps and the like, especially when they smile all bright too. Oleander isn’t honestly much into bright smiles, but he smirks like a goddamn boss and his tooth gap just peeks out and it kills Thyme every time. It’s goddamn beautiful & he will fight everyone who says otherwise! o:

And I wanna say ‘awkward natural charm’ for Oleander because he’s kinda endlessly fascinated by the way Thyme holds himself. But! I’ll go with his eyes for Olea because he dearly loves Thyme’s mismatched eyes too. He has one albino pink eye and the other is this deep dark brown color but unless it’s during one of the Icarus meetings, he tends to cover up as his pink eye. It’s one of the signs of his burn. But Oleander thinks they look so frickin’ cool! *o*!! Even putting colors aside, Thyme is just so expressive and bright and it definitely carries into his eyes effortlessly too, all that love and warmth and joy. You can just see the whole of the universe within them and it’s a crime that he tries to hide them behind contracts and dark sunglasses.

Like Oleander knows that Thyme is uncomfortable showing them at times and he definitely respects that, but he also really wants to burn all the sunglasses that boy owns. >:(! Your eyes and existence are beautiful, Thyme, deal with it!

10. Do they have pet names for each other?

Haha! They should have pet names but not really?? Oleander isn’t much of a nickname person in general and Thyme is so a ‘romantically calls you dude, platonically calls you babe’ kind-of guy. I think if they ever stumbled over a set of names, they’d be ridiculous and semi-ironic. 

Sugarpop would be a good one though. o:

19. Describe how they communicate.

TT___TT!! This is my favorite question, ngl, and I might’ve gone overboard answering it.

Okay! At a glance, it probably would seem like they’d be complete shit at communicating at first, just given how much they differ in their styles. Oleander is sarcastic and blunt and a bit callous at times, and he does his absolute best to keep everything on a surface level. He’d much rather be thought of as shallow then to let people see his depth without his permission. Thyme instead is stupidly sincere, absolutely wears his heart on his style and is sympathetic towards people, all people even ones he’s just met. He has …kinda puppy-dog tendencies with how affectionate he’ll be around people too.

Buuuut! they’re actually really open with each other and get along amazingly well. Part of this is because like, while Olea is pretty blunt, he’s definitely not tactless. He knows when to shut up and likewise with Thyme, he knows when not to push and when to tone down a bit. They’re also both giant frickin’ dorks?? Like I also can not stress how much of their time they spend just like, sending each other stupid jokes and even dumber memes. So much time!! Is Spent!! Doing this!! Like Kingcup starts a little group chat for them all after Thyme joins Icarus so they can talk easier outside of meetings ( like ‘hey, I won’t be able to make it tonight’ and junk like that). But Olea and Thyme just ruined it~~ instantly~~ with the memes~~ She refuses to ever open it up again because it’s just nonsense and stupidity and that’s fine when it’s just Olea but not when it’s the two of them. :’l

And when they stop joking around to have a more serious talk, their differences actually help put them both at ease. Oleander doesn’t mind Thyme’s touchy-feely nature but when he’s talking about the past, it doesn’t do him any good to have that extra stimulation. And Thyme totally gets and respects that, so he’ll pull back until Olea is okay again, offering him a shit ton of emotional support in the process. And when it’s Thyme’s time to trudge through the muck, Oleander’s composed nature is kinda life-savior. Thyme has a lot of emotional support if he needs it, but having someone just let him vent?? With absolutely no judgement?? He definitely wants that more than another dose of empathy. Olea also makes an effort to be more physical too, mostly just like holding his hand or laying his head on his shoulder but that little extra presence helps let Thyme he isn’t alone, you know? 

Sooooo. That’s kinda them in a rambly nutshell, lots of silly joking about and doing their bests to be there for each other in their own ways when the other needs it. /thumbs up

22. From the outside looking in, what is their dynamic like? 

^^^ It them.

Okay! They’re friends. They’re definitely idiots in love. They joke around like loons until shit gets real, then they try to do their best to make the other one happy again. One of my favorite aspects of their dynamic though is how they seem like two halfs in a whole, but aren’t. Oleander is drawn to Thyme’s joyous ray of sunshine aura, but he’s also an extremely guilt-ridden Stepford Smiler with serious anxieties. Thyme has major heart eyes over Oleander’s unflappable rock act but it’s really just an act. He’s really unsure on even what he is, let alone who, and that’s dangerous line of thought of a kid who’s not entirely of the natural world. So, he just… pretends.

It’s really fun writing them learning more about each other and that not much changing their opinions. Oleander still likes Thyme’s need to bring a little extra joy into the world and Thyme loves how absolutely resolute Oleander is. It’s same things just in a new light~

29. What are your favorite moments that happen between them?

All of them!! ;;v;;!! I get really distracted writing them at times because I just wanna write all the scenes with them and let them be happy and sad and desperate and in love. I just really love them both, especially together.

But~ One of my favorite talkable moments in one of the first ones I kinda ever wrote for them, I guess?? Back in the early days when Icarus was just a weirdo book club, Kingcup and this other member of their club were debating over magic theories, as you do, and in the background Thyme and Oleander were just fuckin’ around, chucking stupid candy hearts each other.

They were supposed to be like a little bit of background favor but I just really really loved them in that moment. They were dorky and darling and that’s pretty much when I started shipping them. I really adored the idea of Oleander (who’d been around sullenly for years at that point) having this cute dorky boyfriend he can just screw around and be like an actual …kid with, and Thyme changed from this sarcastic bad boy to my little sunshine hopepunk nerd and I couldn’t be happier with that! 

The moment still exists in the story because I basically refuse to give up them being dorks. It’s too endearing to me~

And thank you again for the questions!!

[icarusatmidnight]

11, 15, 19 for the LI questions? For Oleander and Thyme :3

:D :D :D! Thank you, thank you!! These were really fun questions for them too, heh.

11. Do they have any inside jokes?

They have a bunch, maybe too many at times?? Looking outside in at their relationship, I’m sure some people get the impression it’s extremely superficial given how much these two just joke and screw around~~

One of the more common ones is ‘so, hey. do you wanna go [blank]’ though. Like it starts after Oleander has a bad day and just spills a lot of his feelings all over the floor and he’s not an emotional person by nature and everything just feels too raw and surface-level and he doesn’t know how to move on to the next conversation because direct and honest is how he talks but not when it concerns himself soooooo~. He just turned to Thyme and in the most monotone voice ever, goes:

‘So, hey. Do you wanna go make out?’

Was it the best way to kinda ask out his kinda crush? Absolutely not! But~! It worked for them and now they use it as a kinda jokey ice-breaker after awkward moments, both intensely emotional ones or like massive second-hand embarrassment, always in a monotone voice and generally detached from the previous situation at hands. It’s not really chuckles kind-of joke either, but it puts a smile on the other’s face when they’re down and that’s what counts, yeah?

15. Does their view of themselves differ from their partner’s view?

Of course! TToTT! Both of them are definitely better at seeing each other’s strengths than their own, and both are better at highlighting their own flaws too.

Thyme sees Oleander as a snarky solid rock, someone who is nothing short of himself but also still tries to improve himself too (which is so stupidly attractive to him?? Like fuck people who think they know the right words, the right acts, the right ideals and never apologize because they’re simply right. He’d so much rather someone who fucks up and who can knowledge that and learn to do better next time.) Oleander though only sees him as a weird sarcastic ball of bitter rage and a freakin’ abomination too?? He doesn’t have a damn what he is, let alone who he is and that’s just a shit feeling all around.

On the other hand, Oleander sees Thyme is just bright source of warmth, someone is just hopelessly kind and who always tries his damn best to add a dose of good to the world every day. Yeah, sure, he fails and probably fails a bunch but how can you not be in complete awe of someone who tries and doesn’t give up even when people keep shoving you down! Thyme however only sees someone is an anxious wreck, a complete idiot who hurts things because he just can’t stop and just think, nope! He needs to do instead.

And neither of them is wrong in their views either, it’s just different sides to the same coin.

19. Describe how they communicate

Oh!! I totally answered this before! :D However, let’s continue with this because I have a lot feelings about how these two talk and try to talk to each other.

In public, they joke around. Intensely. Always. There’s lots of snickering and playful taunts and stupid harmless friend fights because they don’t feel like they really have to act around each other. They just like to have fun together, so fuck it. They’re doing that.

Thyme is pretty touchy-feely with Oleander too. He just loves hanging off the kid, holding his hand, slipping his fingers into Oleander’s belt loops or even just resting his chin on top on his head because the height difference between them is perfect. Every touch is like it’s own secret message: I’m here. I like you. I hope that’s okay. And of course, it is. Oleander likes his quiet presence because Thyme never demands his attention. It’s just there when he wants it.

In private, the joking still exists but it tones down. It’s quieter joke, idle chit-chatting and much more silence because they’re both comfortable just hanging around each other. The touching tones down too at least on Thyme’s end, probably because Oleander gets more physical when they’re out of sight of other people. He just… really likes showing Thyme how much he likes him, to be kisses and shoving him back against a couch or just curling up against him and poking Thyme like an annoying little gnat. It’s fun and he knows Thyme likes to be wanted, so he gives him lots of kisses and pokes that say ‘Hey. Hey. Hey. Listen. I love you’.

[icarusatmidnight]

1 and 9 for the summer fest asks!

Aw, thank you!! :D

1) who’s into PDA and who’s super shy?

Mhmm. Thyme enjoys PDA but he tends to do it pretty lowkey himself because he doesn’t like demanding attention from people. He’s the type to rest his head of your shoulder (or vice versa) and loop his fingers through belt-loops and bag straps while they’re waiting like in crowds or on a subway. Nothing major, just little notes of ‘i’m here, hope that’s okay’.

Oleander on the other hand is a very private individual when he’s out in public. He doesn’t mind Thyme’s little gestures  and when it’s later at night, he may reach out from Thyme’s hand but that’s basically the extent of his PDA game. He’d just rather wait and shove Thyme against a wall when they get home, lol.

9) can you picture them getting married? what would it be like?

Oleander and Thyme, totally! I do think they get married down the line though because Thyme would love to get married and Oleander wouldn’t mind getting married to Thyme and would love planning an atrocious wedding so so much! I don’t think it would greatly change their relationship either. They’d still be dorky fools totally in love with each other, screwing around and playing games and being supportive and happy. :D

Thyme would just get to call Oleander his spouse and Olea would get to say husband and they’d both blush red beet for at least the first twenty years of marriage because that’s such an unreal idea of both of them. They’d love it so much.