virtueofsanityx

[virtueofsanityx]

I saw you looking at me from the street.

Andrew Scott and Paul Mescal All of Us Strangers (December 2023) ↳ dir. Andrew Haigh

@lgbtqcreators - bingo challenge (free choice)

#donoham #they're in love your honor #fae husbands

[virtueofsanityx]

"if you make me an exotic and unique ring in the shop, i'll accept it over a fancy diamond, but it has to be absolutely one of a kind." cordy's grin was a little devious as she continued their little game, knowing it was likely nothing more than that. a little game they played. jokes and jabs. they would both end up back on tinder in a week, mindlessly scrolling and looking for some connection that their friendship didn't dare cross the boundary of. "yeah, well, then men should learn how to properly go down on a woman, and not fall asleep right after. if you happen to stumble across any likely candidates, please send them my way. i haven't been properly taken care of in ages."

spice things up? for her, maybe, but for anyone else, it was unlikely. it wasn't his fault that some of the women in town seemed to flock to him, nor was it hers that the men seemed to do the same to her, despite his warning glances at them. "and here i thought you would settle for some exotic metal piece i made you in the shop room." he gave a small chuckle, certainly not thinking about making or buying cordy a ring or the way it would look on her finger. "she was rather boring in the bedroom. not adventurous, at all." do not think of cordelia in the bedroom. don't do it. he tried to tell himself viciously, but his mind loved to do the opposite of what he wanted, especially where she was involved. likely why the next sentence out of his mouth was one he shouldn't say aloud. "any man should consider himself lucky to find himself in bed with you and should spend countless hours making sure you aren't faking a single moan."

#c. cordelia #cordelia+liam

[virtueofsanityx]

donny's grin was wide and bright as he accepted the kiss, lingering a moment too long before pulling back again to allow graham his moment to enjoy his treat. this was absolutely his idea of bliss and he was languishing in it every single day. living forever had never appealed to him more than now. he hadn't meant to become a lovesick fool, but he was never going to complain about becoming one, either.

a little hum left him as he leaned up, snagging a bite of the tart and grinning as he lifted a hand to cover his mouth. "no plans that i know of. explore the town, maybe. but i was hoping to languish in bed all day and try to convince you that we should get a puppy. i saw one on the walk to the bakery and it was absolutely darling."

"i wouldn't kill you," graham objected, and then paused-- thinking it over contemplatively. "... probably. it might depend. but i'd be very unspeakably upset if you were gone. maybe i'd lock you up somewhere for a decade or two or however long it took me to stop being mad." he gave a hmph, and then reached out to retrieve his treat, taking a bite. then, he leaned in to give donny a kiss, sweet and mostly chaste. "thank you."

he'd never thought he could enjoy being married. really, relationships just hadn't been up his alley when donny and he had met-- let alone something as serious and unending as permanent vows, but donny'd waltzed in to his life like the little socialite he was and turned everything upside down.

graham, despite himself, had never complained. that said something in and of itself.

"do we have any plans for today?" he asked, taking another bite of the tart and then offering it to donny. he'd always been more of a stand in the corner and lurk at parties sort of fellow. that hadn't exactly changed-- but nowadays he was content to play at being donny's shadow, following him anywhere and everywhere he went.

#c. donny #donny+graham

[virtueofsanityx]

guy hesitated before he sat down, eyes wandering around the little break room in search of one of jude's siblings before he made himself comfortable. it wasn't as if he hated them, the siblings, they were nice enough... virgil was nice enough... they just made him nervous. like he was constantly being watched and scrutinized. "you surely don't know a whole lot of people then, huh?" guy couldn't imagine himself being kind or thoughtful. mostly because thought wasn't really something he considered himself to do on a regular basis. he was kind of an idiot.

he watched jude take his first bite and absolutely flushed red at the noises it produced from him. his eyes had to immediately drop, closing as he took a deep breath in and out. jude was cute, he wondered if jude noticed just how much sometimes. "i... think so? but i didn't explicitly ask them if they were human. could have been magical. the truck does seem to randomly appear and disappear."

jude patted the surface of the little breakroom table, taking his usual seat and nudging another with his foot for guy. "i'm pretty sure you're, like, the nicest and most thoughtful person i know," he grumbled. it wasn't a complaint, not really-- he was just squirming a bit because he... frankly... wasn't the greatest at knowing how to have friends aside from his brother and sister. he'd always been a rather weird kid, spaced out and lost in his own world, and largely content to keep to himself and his family. papa teased him about being a pack animal, but he wasn't wrong, really.

he retrieved his first taco and bit into it eagerly, sighing and melting into his seat. "these are so fucking good," he moaned. "seriously. did you buy them from like, a normal human taco truck? because i'm half convinced they're enchanted or something."

#c. guy #guy+jude

[virtueofsanityx]

"feel real, look real, have real knee problems and tennis elbow." gio's grin only grew as he took in the delight that the card seemed to bring his very cute repairman, leaning against one of the counters in the kitchen and folding his arms casually across his chest. "not so much, anymore, i usually try to hand out the professional ones, but these make an appearance occasionally when i really wanna fuck with someone. its all yours, remember me fondly every time you look at it."

"opening is this weekend, so a few days off. if this can be a quick job, still gives me time to prep without any major hiccups. not that i can't handle a few hiccups, but if you get it fixed, there's definitely a free ribeye in it for you along with what i'm already paying." gio's grin widened a bit, and he leaned over to get a little look at the repairman while he bent over to examine his job. "would i impare your work if i hung out in here with you while you worked? chopped up some veg?" took a few quick peeks at that bum.

"dude." carmine's mouth fell open, a truly ridiculous amount of glee painting his features as he took the card and stared at it. that tore another laugh out of him, to the point where he was half convinced he'd cry. "no! holy fuck. are you even real?" he gasped out, clutching the card to his chest. "okay, all right. how often do you give these out?" he couldn't help but ask. "i'm keeping this." forever. it might end up on his fridge, or in a tiny frame somewhere.

it was hard to get serious after that, but carmine tried. "when's opening?" he asked, pulling the fridge away from the wall a bit and plugging it in before opening it. "all that sounds like a fan, i think," he said. "if that's all it is, i think we're looking at four to six hours, maybe, if we have to replace it all together."

#c. gio #gio+carmine

[virtueofsanityx]

"biggest win? over a million. i used it to build a school in a town that my sister was absolutely in love with. we lived there for years before we moved. schools still there, as far as i know." he didn't much care for what he threw his money at, but there was some kind of warm and fuzzy feeling that went along with acts of service like that one. not necessarily very altruistic of him, but he liked feeling like he did something good to counterbalance all of the bad he'd definitely done. "perfect. are you a whisky guy? we can find your brother after." ez decidedly threw his arm around the handsome strangers shoulder and led him toward the bar, not missing a beat. "anything you want, on me. but you have to tell me your name and your favorite color, for posterity's sake."

gabriel blinked at the man. "i got nothin'," he admitted after a moment, holding both hands up in mock surrender and giving a breathy laugh. he could see the allure of gambling, of winning riches-- but they'd never had enough money for him to see parting with any of it on a longshot 'maybe'. they were lucky if they had a roof over their heads and at least one square meal a day. "what's your biggest win been? what'd you do with it?" he asked, curiously, and then hesitated before addressing the offer. "roy's my brother, and... um, thank you." what else did one say to that? riel didn't know. he was new to this. he'd never been bought a drink, either. "if you want to, i won't say no," he decided eventually.

#c. ezio #ezio+riel

[virtueofsanityx]

"your name is robby and you have a cousin named rob? is it a family name sort of thing?" daisy lifted an eyebrow as she adjusted a few things in her arrangement, fussing and picking at it until she was absolutely happy with it. "i guess its one of those time will tell sort of things for me. if i decide to make a change or not, time will tell."

"i don't actually mind giving you discounts, you know. being the only flower shop in town has its benefits, especially when it comes to witches and their ingredients." her eyebrow lifted as she turned to look at him again, trying not to look too concerned. "what kind of job?"

“Wrinkles can be beautiful, too.” He made a point not to stare at the ones forming around her nose and eyes as she laughed. It was rude to stare, he shouldn’t stare. “My cousin Rob, he says your 30s is when your body starts hating you so maybe it would save you bunch of random body pain.”

Robby could feel his cheeks heating too. “I’m not trying to flatter you I swear.” He was trying to flirt, it was different. “I really do like talking with you. And soon you won’t have to give me a discount, I promise. Crow says that Georgie can get me a job and then I can buy everything full-price. I really do like peonies.”

#c. daisy #daisy+robby

[virtueofsanityx]

"you mean robby? he's nice and he likes flowers. half the town stops by my flower shop to see me, you know. i run the only flower shop in town." daisy ignored the way her cheeks warmed, and shot a pointed look at her brother, arms folding over her chest and almost daring him to make a comment about it. "he's a friend. you're welcome to come and meet him, i'm sure he'd be delighted."

who: daisy / @virtueofsanityx where: walden's/home

"did you ever plan to inform your big brother that some guy keeps stopping by the flower shop to see you?" tariq had heard walden unhappily muttering about it the day before. when it came to daisy, tariq was rather protective, but he tried not to be overbearing. it wasn't often, though, that you gained a second family when losing your first and he was determined to do everything he could to not let anything happen to this one.

#c. daisy #daisy+tariq

[virtueofsanityx]

"yes, i think i'd definitely be a witch." there was a wry sort of humor in her answer, amusement coloring her tone as she glanced around her little occult shop as if that would clue jackson in on the private joke. of course, she wasn't going to get her hopes up too high that he would pick up on it. it wasn't likely, but a girl could hope. "but would i be a good witch or a bad witch?"

Jackson’s eyes went wide in wonder. “Really? Witches too? Oh man, I’m gonna have to make a whole new board! There’s so many new possibilities now. Maybe I’ll even need a new string color…” he drifted off for a moment, thinking of how he’d need to rearrange his studies and theories on the board. “Witches must be the coolest, if even vampires need their help. You’d probably be a witch, because you’re cool.” Witches must be like clerics, Jackson decided. No good adventuring party made it far without one.

“Oh I bet. They’re probably in the top brass security levels, all the aliens. Man, it’d be wicked to meet one.”

#c. beatrice #beatrice+jackson

[virtueofsanityx]

"art belongs in a museum." there was a wicked little smirk on her face as she said it, head tilting from one side to the other as she examined him. she could feel his heartbeat in the room, the steady little thrum of blood moving through veins, hot and sticky and perfect, and though she avoided becoming an absolute monster, her eyes did close for a moment as she savored the sound. "if i painted you it would be a cruelty to the universe to hide it. but if you're shy, that's okay, too. that piece..." her eyes turned to the piece he'd gestured at, and she smiled a little. "that's a hunter from bolivia. i had such a crush on him, even when he was trying to stab me in the heart. perhaps that's my curse, always falling for the man trying to put me under. he ended up married with three kids, far as i can remember, but that was over fifty years ago."

"so, the beholder in this case was blind?" he murmured quietly, still admiring the various pieces dotted around the studio. it was easier for him to focus on something that did not cause him to blush, or make his insides squirm uncomfortably, as he warred against his baser instincts. years had passed and still, old habits died hard. "what was this one supposed to be?" he asked, only vaguely interested in the answer as he stiffened, sensing her approach before he heard her steps, or felt the brush of her lips against his cheek. torin felt his heart stutter. "mountain man?... naked?" he repeated, eyebrow lifting. "if I were to let you paint me in such a way, I would hope you wouldn't share it. with anyone."

#c. daphne #daphne+torin

[virtueofsanityx]

annie had spent countless years studying to become a doctor. it wasn't technically her destiny, as she had been slated to become a powerful witch and the matriarch of the family line, but magic had been a decidedly useful tool and nothing more to the girl when she'd been growing up and studying her books. that's why she'd started the practice, that's why she'd spent so long in school and, frankly, ignoring things like social life and hobbies. so healing was her passion, and when she walked into the exam room and found herself face to face with a patient who had a jaw that could cut glass, she told herself it didn't effect her in the slightest. "it's a nasty cut." she stated simply as she shook herself off and wandered over, fingers pressing gently against the skin just beside the wound, divining a little about it as her eyes went glassy for a moment. "silver? nasty stuff. poison to the wrong people." perhaps why it hadn't stopped bleeding despite the age of the injury. she waved her hand a little and a rolling tray and a stool slipped across the floor for her, where she sat and started to thread a needle. "after i stitch this, you can't get it wet for a couple of days, but it should heal up just fine after that."

who: annie / @virtueofsanityx where: her practice

most of maven's wounds healed fairly easily and quickly, but leave it to him to cut himself on an old, smashed silver bolt that had been sticking out of the kayak he was repairing. not just a small cut, either, but one that went from upper-thigh to knee, having caught him when he was standing up. he knew he should have been more careful. he had been changing the bandages he had wrapped himself with since yesterday and it had yet to quit bleeding, a sign he might need a few stitches. that was how he found himself sitting in a doctor's office, stripped down below his waist to his boxers. if he thought he was running low on luck before, maven definitely was reminded of it when the doctor that walked in happened to be one of the prettiest women he had ever seen. "you don't think it'll take too long to heal once it is stitched up, do you?" he asked as she entered the room, gesturing to his leg that was oozing a bit of blood onto the exam table paper.

#c. annie #annie+maven

[virtueofsanityx]

"i dunno if that's necessarily true, but it's nice of you to say." gio shot kori a grin over his shoulder. he was well aware that he was a disruption to the natural order of things, a mess to the family unit that had well and truly established themselves without him. he was nothing and no one, really, just a piece of a different puzzle. it was a lonely feeling, but gio thrived on pomp and circumstance, and never allowed those pieces of himself to show, knowing what it would mean for him if they did. the vulnerability it would open up. "i haven't really spoken to them in a while. they paid for all of my schooling, and set up a healthy little trust fund so i would never want for anything, but yeah, it's a bit of a betrayal. and i don't know how to come to terms with it."

"I know." kori confirmed. most people, well more people than not, found it a rather annoying quality, actually. for most of her life, kori tried to pretend like it didn't bother her when she was thought of as 'too much'. however at this particular moment, she remained starkly silent to intake this influx of information. she had another brother. of course, their parents had told her about the car wreck when she became old enough to understand and generally walked her through any questions about her brother's adoption. they mentioned the existence of damien's twin, but only quietly, sadly, in the past tense. even kori didn't ask about it, but none of that was true. ...and damien had known he was alive for years now? she started to chew on the inside of her cheek. "yeah, I can walk." kori fell into step behind giovanni, but did not immediately start asking questions as she was still more concerned with mulling things over in her mind. "giovanni? it's, uh- it's nice to meet you." she said simply, then finally. "so you must have a crazy complicated relationship with your parents, huh?"

#c. gio #gio+kori

[virtueofsanityx]

mina smiled but didn't respond, allowing her cheeks to pinken only slightly before she brushed it off and moved toward the ever growing pile of dishes behind the bar to start rinsing them. his next question gave her pause for only a moment before she shrugged. "human girl in a supernatural town working behind a bar because her dreams of writing romance novels fell through when a man ruined her life. lowly. its the start of any real great romance novel, to be frank, but it also gives the girl in question reservations about opening up to love again. classic trope, mildly annoying when it happens to you and not in a book." mina lifted her eyes from her work to shoot the man a little grin. "until the bosses boyfriend shows up, then i usually slip off upstairs to my room. its really sad watching the boss pretend he isn't in love and watching the boyfriend become a complete and total puddle of goo every single night."

"is it rude to say that you've aged well?" bartemius asked, raising a delicate eyebrow as he plucked the newly filled glass from off the bar top and swirled the contents slowly. his lips twitched as she saluted him with her own glass and while she downed her serving, he nursed his own. "do I?" though it might have come as a shock to most, bartemius did not know how to socialise and rarely did he ever engage with women -- especially mortal women, or women he at least assumed were mortal -- beyond pleasantries. "lowly? why do you call yourself that?" he asked, with genuine curiosity. "I like that you think that." he admitted, taking a sip from his glass. "and I always tip well..." he placed his glass back down. "are you working here all night?"

#c. mina #mina+barty

[virtueofsanityx]

"you know you're kind of adorable when you try to explain things right in the middle of doing them." it slipped out of his mouth in the most saccerine voice, making him want to slap himself and snap himself out of it. he almost felt like a puppy, pathetically making eyes at it's master and waiting for dinner time, and honestly, some of that might have been true about him. since he'd come back to himself, he'd still held one to quite a few of those more canine aspects, though it usually came out in his quick temper.

but not with jude. never with jude.

he felt his face blaze up red when those pretty eyes snapped up to him so quickly and he widened his own, following dilligently after the witch into the back and sitting at the table, watching him with a pleased feeling sitting warm in his chest. "i just figured it would be a nice treat. you... you deserve nice things and stuff."

what little tension jude's shoulders had held disappeared as he realized just who had waltzed in. "hey, guy," he said, offering a lopsided grin and then glancing back to the screen. guy was chill. he wouldn't take offense if jude finished this fight and got to a good stopping point.

"yeah, i'm doing this pokemon challenge thing," he explained, praying to fuck that the gym leader didn't wipe his team. "where if they die they die for real and you gotta get rid of 'em." not the best explanation, but judas was notoriously bad at multitasking. he could barely walk and chew bubble gum at the same time. he angled the screen so that guy could see better. "and-- yeah. that's what i meant. the card decks. cards. decks. you what?" his eyes lit up, gleeful, and his eyes immediately left the game-- landing on lunch. "dude! fuck yeah. c'mon, i'm due for lunch anyway." a simple spell had the lock flipping, the open sign reading closed, and jude waved guy to the little break room that harbored a well- loved table and chairs. "you're the best."

#c. guy #guy+jude

[virtueofsanityx]

"whatever it is, if it's frustrating you, it's unkind and uncalled for." ram lifted an eyebrow, eyes watching the phone for a moment longer before twisting to look up (and up and up it would seem) to the boy standing in front of his desk. "if you need help with the trace, let me know. i'm a bit of a freelance fbi hobbiest. enjoy playing around with stuff like that." his grin was sharp only for a moment before it softened and he leaned down and unzipped the bag at his feet. a well worn copy of hamlet rested in it along with a few others. some of his favorites. "the library's copy has been checked out, but i have this one i'm willing to let you borrow if you promise to keep it safe and bring it back as soon as your done. and if you don't mind that i've got certain lines highlighted already. someone as pretty as you shouldn't have to wait for cindy to finish and bring it back before getting his hands on what he wants."

"well..." talbot scrunched his nose up, trying very much to focus on the matter at hand and not the hot librarian's hot voice. "bothering might be a rather strong word for it, but i suppose so, yeah. i dunno. i can't figure out if it's malicious or flirty or friendly or..." he trailed off, flushing a little. "anyway. yeah! that's a good idea, probably... right? if it gets any weirder i might have to. um, but yeah-- i'm here for hamlet, but i couldn't find it on the shelf. do you mind checking if it's out right now?"

#c. ramsay #ramsay+talbot

[virtueofsanityx]

"cameras are easily played with, or haven't you ever grown a tree out of nothing to block one?" there was a gentle curve to her lips as she accepted the cigarette back with her lips instead of her fingers, letting them graze gently against the skin of his fingers as she pulled another long drag from the thing and blew soft little smoke rings into the air. "though if you've got ideas, far be it from me to stop your creative whimsy."

as she stepped back again, allowing the slightest hint of a breeze to blow between the pair of them, her grin widened a little. "pink is a good color on your face. do you accept offers from every woman who throws themself at you? because i must admit that most men would at least ask my name before agreeing to fuck me against a brick wall. not that i mind too terribly, i usually just like to get to know the pretty boys who fulfill my most basic needs when i can. foster some kind of strange kindred friendship."

jumpy little fairy.

roy had been called a great many things in his life. most of them unflattering, very few meant to be complementary, and never... that. it had him caught off guard enough that his cheeks burned, and he failed to conjure a reply straight away, instead simply blinking and blushing for a moment while he tried to regain his wits.

now that she'd given his cig back, he finally took a drag, studying her and trying to decipher both the seriousness of her first batch of words and how much legitimacy there was or wasn't behind the offer. his lips curled just a fraction as she teased his hair, and he offered her the smoke once more.

"you know there's cameras back here?" he asked casually. there was a part of him-- the logical part-- that wanted to say no thank you, ma'am, i'm working, because fuck did he need this job... but the rest of him wasn't thinking with the head on his shoulders. "i'm sure we could find somewhere more creative, though..."

#c. duri #duri+roy

[virtueofsanityx]

"matter a' fact..." gio, who was laughing right along with the man, pulled his wallet from the inside of his jacket pocket and flipped out a business card, flashing it at the man. the card seemed normal, with just his name, the number to the restaurant, and his title as executive chef on it, until someone bothered to read the tiny text at the bottom, which read 'excellent head, great in bed'. it had been a joke, but he'd liked the cards so much he'd kept them.

and they'd done surprisngly well for him in vegas. hopefully this town had a sense of humor.

"my pretty little head is worried about this grand openin' i'm having going off with a bang, which, by the way, is one of the sounds that the fridge keeps making. a mechanical sounding little bang, and clicks, and it's not cool at all, it's like a warm spring day in there."

carmine couldn't help but huff a short little laugh under his breath as the owner essentially unceremoniously told the poor guy to scram and then ushered carmine presumably to the kitchen, or wherever else the fridge in question was kept.

not one to mince his words, then, but carmine didn't mind that. he preferred to keep more straightforward company anyway, they were grand and far more fun. "hey, me being here means you don't gotta worry your pretty head about it anymore," he teased, trying valiantly not to fixate too hard on that smirk. or the face. or any of it.

christ.

he was working. he was a professional. kinda.

"'s good to meet you, giovanni," he offered, "i'm carmine--" and then he was promptly choking and flushing a shade darker. his laugh was immediate and boisterous, though, and he offered the man a wild grin. "shit, you ever thought of putting all that on a business card?" he cackled, shook his head, and exhaled, though the grin on his face couldn't melt away quite yet, even as he slipped his tool bag off his shoulder and started inspecting the fridge. "what's it been doing?"

#c. gio #gio+carmine