it started with a dm

Notes: 

this was just a silly little prompt of mine:
Seeing the proposal vid of Shayne and Ali Orok as well as their song "it started with a dm" again, suddenly an idea struck in my head....what if Anton (actor of Antinous EPIC) and Theo (voice actor of Telemachus) had a story inspired by Shayne and Ali's song

ALSO THIS IS AN ALTERNATE UNIVERSE OF WHERE THE SCRIPT ENDS

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Three years ago, Theo didn't know his voice would one day echo through the same fandom halls as Anton Vale.

Back then, he was just that guy; the dependable voice actor with a following big enough to get invited to mid-tier cons but not big enough to draw lines that wrapped around buildings. He had the kind of career that was steady and respectable. His voice was beloved—soft-hearted princes, neurotic college students, the occasional anxious anime protag—but he was never the lead. He was the voice you felt in your bones but couldn't quite place, a whisper in the background of your favorite comfort show, and the guy fans would squint at during panels and say, "Wait, aren't you—?"

He loved it. Loved being in the booth at 2 a.m. with nothing but his dog, his mic, and a crinkled script. He wasn't chasing fame; he just wanted to tell stories.

Then came Epic: The Musical. And with it, Anton Vale.

Anton wasn't just talented; he was mythic. Like someone tore him out of a tragedy and dropped him into Gen Z pop culture. Former stage prodigy, yes. Critically acclaimed, yes. But it was his portrayal of Antinous that made the internet spiral.

No one expected it. One week, no one knew his name. The next, his face was plastered across TikTok slideshows, his voice lip-synced to filth, his Antinous stares dissected like scripture. He didn't just act, he devoured. Every scene was aching, restrained intensity. Every line delivered like it cost him something.

And yet.....no livestreams, no panels,no fan meet-ups. Anton Vale was as elusive as he was adored. His entire social media presence boiled down to cryptic lyric tweets, abstract sky photos, and a few grainy shots of his dog. None of himself and It drove fans mad. The silence only made the obsession louder. He became a myth wrapped in mystery, in shadows and symmetry and sharp jawlines.

Theo, meanwhile....was chaos incarnate.

His online presence was a hurricane of shitposts, self-deprecating humor, and chaotic retweets. He dubbed memes, live-reacted to fan edits, and broke into full voice to read thirst tweets about Telemachus' biceps.

His pinned tweet was literally:

"if Telemachus had ONE supporter it would be me. if he had none it means I'm dead."

He'd die for the fandom and for Sharpwolf, the ship between Antinous and Telemachus. He wasn't even supposed to pick sides; voice actors were supposed to be neutral, stay professional. But Sharpwolf had a chokehold on him. The forbidden tension, the slow-burn enemies-to-lovers ache and the ridiculous power imbalance that somehow still felt soft.

And then there was Anton....Anton who played Antinous. Anton who was Antinous.

Theo tried not to think about it. About him. Tried not to replay his scenes late at night, analyzing every flicker of emotion, and every barely-parted breath; tried not to save his edits and tried not to search his cryptic posts like they meant something more.

He failed....miserably.

His laptop held Sharpwolf fan edits like secrets. His Spotify was cursed with playlists titled "Sharpwolf but they're both cowards" and "antitelemachus2ambreakdown.mp3." And his dreams? Well, they featured a certain brooding tactician way too often. Not that he ever said any of this. Not out loud, nope, not to anyone.