Post by newwwwusername on Jan 18, 2023 10:17:41 GMT
Warning : Vaguely ableist behavior from Robert, misunderstanding
Chronology : Pre-The Murder At Haversham Manor
Headcanons : Autistic!Dennis, Dennis has ADHD, Sandra is insecure about her appearance
It was show week, so everyone was stressed and, when Dennis saw Sandra walk in, he was immediately concerned.
It was something maybe not everyone would've immediately caught- How she was just slightly off- But, it was clear as day to him. When she walked in, she threw out an empty Starbucks cup, the residue on the inside being the beige-brown color of the coffee she normally ordered, and she had another one in her hand that was already halfway drained. Her facial expression was also worn and there were bags under her eyes that she either missed when doing her makeup that morning or was unable to hide in full.
"You look tired" Dennis told her flatly, concern laced in his voice. "Are you okay?"
"Well, I was fine until you let me know I apparently look like shit" she replied in annoyance, walking past him with a grumble. His heart sank- He definitely did not tell her she looked like shit. He looked at Robert, who was standing nearby, searching desperately for guidance or support, but he just got a scoff from the taller man.
"You can't just say shit like that, Dennis" he reprimanded before going to follow Sandra, leaving Dennis frozen in the hallway. A part of him wanted to cry, but he refused to. After all, he was the one (apparently) in the wrong, and it would seem pretty shitty if he started crying because people were mad at him for it. On the other hand, he had no clue what he had done wrong and Robert's response only made him feel worse about it.
He silently walked into the boys' dressing room to change into his costume. They weren't doing a full dress rehearsal that day, just a cue-to-cue run-through for the light and sound techs to get everything ready, but Chris still wanted everyone in costume. He was in the process of getting his vest on when Max walked in to also get dressed and immediately picked up on how off Dennis now was.
"What's wrong?" Max asked, walking over to help Dennis clip his bowtie on.
"It's silly" Dennis muttered, face unreadable. "Thanks" he added, gesturing to the tie. He always had issues clipping it himself cause his motor skills weren't that great, so the little ways the others would help always stood out to him. Max waved a dismissive hand at that.
"Don't mention it" he dismissed. "Now, whatever is making the cheery Dennis Tyde upset cannot be silly" he insisted. "Even if you think it's silly, I promise I won't judge"
"I pissed off Sandra and Robert" Dennis caved. "But I don't know what exactly it is I said and they won't tell me"
"Well, what happened leading up to them getting upset with you?"
"Sandra walked in and she looked tired" Dennis explained. "She had an empty cup of coffee and another that was already half empty, dark circles under her eyes, and just overall looked out of it" he continued. "So, I was concerned cause, y'know, she's my friend, and I told her she looked tired and asked if she was okay"
"And then what happened?"
"She looked upset, told me she was okay until I 'let her know she apparently looked like shit'" He did air quotes. "So, she stormed off and then I turned to Robert hoping for some kind of explanation, but he just scolded me, saying I 'can't just say shit like that'" He air-quoted that as well. "And then he left to find her"
"Okay so, I think it's a case where Sandra is insecure about her appearance" Max explained gently. "And you saying she 'looked tired' just brought up those insecurities"
"Oh god..." Dennis looked horrified and wanted to cry even more. The last thing he wanted to do was make Sandra feel self-conscious.
"It's okay though" Max quickly reassured. "You didn't know, and you were just concerned. I'd just talk to her about it"
"She's never gonna want to talk to me again" Dennis began to spiral. "Fuck" he stamped his foot. "I put so much effort building up our friendship and now it's all down the drain because I couldn't keep my mouth shut"
"Dennis"
"You know, I may as well just quit!" he laughed humorlessly. "No one's ever gonna wanna work with me again since I'm such an-"
"DENNIS!" Max shouted, pulling the shorter actor out of his spiral. "It's not the end of the world" he assured. "It's just a little misunderstanding. Do you want me to go find Sandra so you can talk to her?"
"Yes, please" Dennis nodded earnestly. "What about Robert?"
"He just has a stick up his ass" Max dismissed. "I'll talk to him" he promised before leaving. A minute or two later, Sandra walked in, an unamused expression on her face.
"Max said you wanted to talk to me?"
"Sandra" Dennis breathed out. "I am so sorry" he apologized immediately. "I was so careless- You look great. You always look great. I was just concerned cause of the empty coffee cups- But, that's no excuse, and I understand if you never wanna talk to me again, and-"
"I accept your apology"
"You what?" Dennis' head snapped up, a paralyzed expression on his face. Sandra couldn't help but crack a smile.
"I could never stay mad at you" she told him gently. "If anything, I should be the one apologizing for snapping at you like that earlier" she continued, leaving Dennis increasingly confused. "You're Dennis freaking Tyde" she chuckled. "You don't have a mean bone in your body"
"You're... You don't hate me?"
"No, bud" she assured him, walking forward and wrapping her arms around him, which just made him want to cry even more, but he refrained. "I could never hate you"
"Oh..."
"Now, let's kill this run-through, yeah?"
"Okay..."
"That's the spirit"
Chronology : Pre-The Murder At Haversham Manor
Headcanons : Autistic!Dennis, Dennis has ADHD, Sandra is insecure about her appearance
It was show week, so everyone was stressed and, when Dennis saw Sandra walk in, he was immediately concerned.
It was something maybe not everyone would've immediately caught- How she was just slightly off- But, it was clear as day to him. When she walked in, she threw out an empty Starbucks cup, the residue on the inside being the beige-brown color of the coffee she normally ordered, and she had another one in her hand that was already halfway drained. Her facial expression was also worn and there were bags under her eyes that she either missed when doing her makeup that morning or was unable to hide in full.
"You look tired" Dennis told her flatly, concern laced in his voice. "Are you okay?"
"Well, I was fine until you let me know I apparently look like shit" she replied in annoyance, walking past him with a grumble. His heart sank- He definitely did not tell her she looked like shit. He looked at Robert, who was standing nearby, searching desperately for guidance or support, but he just got a scoff from the taller man.
"You can't just say shit like that, Dennis" he reprimanded before going to follow Sandra, leaving Dennis frozen in the hallway. A part of him wanted to cry, but he refused to. After all, he was the one (apparently) in the wrong, and it would seem pretty shitty if he started crying because people were mad at him for it. On the other hand, he had no clue what he had done wrong and Robert's response only made him feel worse about it.
He silently walked into the boys' dressing room to change into his costume. They weren't doing a full dress rehearsal that day, just a cue-to-cue run-through for the light and sound techs to get everything ready, but Chris still wanted everyone in costume. He was in the process of getting his vest on when Max walked in to also get dressed and immediately picked up on how off Dennis now was.
"What's wrong?" Max asked, walking over to help Dennis clip his bowtie on.
"It's silly" Dennis muttered, face unreadable. "Thanks" he added, gesturing to the tie. He always had issues clipping it himself cause his motor skills weren't that great, so the little ways the others would help always stood out to him. Max waved a dismissive hand at that.
"Don't mention it" he dismissed. "Now, whatever is making the cheery Dennis Tyde upset cannot be silly" he insisted. "Even if you think it's silly, I promise I won't judge"
"I pissed off Sandra and Robert" Dennis caved. "But I don't know what exactly it is I said and they won't tell me"
"Well, what happened leading up to them getting upset with you?"
"Sandra walked in and she looked tired" Dennis explained. "She had an empty cup of coffee and another that was already half empty, dark circles under her eyes, and just overall looked out of it" he continued. "So, I was concerned cause, y'know, she's my friend, and I told her she looked tired and asked if she was okay"
"And then what happened?"
"She looked upset, told me she was okay until I 'let her know she apparently looked like shit'" He did air quotes. "So, she stormed off and then I turned to Robert hoping for some kind of explanation, but he just scolded me, saying I 'can't just say shit like that'" He air-quoted that as well. "And then he left to find her"
"Okay so, I think it's a case where Sandra is insecure about her appearance" Max explained gently. "And you saying she 'looked tired' just brought up those insecurities"
"Oh god..." Dennis looked horrified and wanted to cry even more. The last thing he wanted to do was make Sandra feel self-conscious.
"It's okay though" Max quickly reassured. "You didn't know, and you were just concerned. I'd just talk to her about it"
"She's never gonna want to talk to me again" Dennis began to spiral. "Fuck" he stamped his foot. "I put so much effort building up our friendship and now it's all down the drain because I couldn't keep my mouth shut"
"Dennis"
"You know, I may as well just quit!" he laughed humorlessly. "No one's ever gonna wanna work with me again since I'm such an-"
"DENNIS!" Max shouted, pulling the shorter actor out of his spiral. "It's not the end of the world" he assured. "It's just a little misunderstanding. Do you want me to go find Sandra so you can talk to her?"
"Yes, please" Dennis nodded earnestly. "What about Robert?"
"He just has a stick up his ass" Max dismissed. "I'll talk to him" he promised before leaving. A minute or two later, Sandra walked in, an unamused expression on her face.
"Max said you wanted to talk to me?"
"Sandra" Dennis breathed out. "I am so sorry" he apologized immediately. "I was so careless- You look great. You always look great. I was just concerned cause of the empty coffee cups- But, that's no excuse, and I understand if you never wanna talk to me again, and-"
"I accept your apology"
"You what?" Dennis' head snapped up, a paralyzed expression on his face. Sandra couldn't help but crack a smile.
"I could never stay mad at you" she told him gently. "If anything, I should be the one apologizing for snapping at you like that earlier" she continued, leaving Dennis increasingly confused. "You're Dennis freaking Tyde" she chuckled. "You don't have a mean bone in your body"
"You're... You don't hate me?"
"No, bud" she assured him, walking forward and wrapping her arms around him, which just made him want to cry even more, but he refrained. "I could never hate you"
"Oh..."
"Now, let's kill this run-through, yeah?"
"Okay..."
"That's the spirit"