status: celeb || 6'0 . he/him . 34 . actor . Port Carroll . ENFJ
CURRENTLY FILMING IN: Rome, IT // London, Blackpool, UK // Los Angeles, US
Have you seen ( Eric Sanders, he/him )? They look a lot like ( E.van P.eters ). The ( 34 ) year old ( actor & aspiring film producer ) is so ( charismatic, intelligent, gregarious ) but I heard they can also be really ( stubborn, condescending, impulsive ). Can you believe they’ve been in town for ( four months )?! They live in the ( Port Carroll ) neighborhood and kind of remind me of ( black clothes, leather, juniper, whiskey, and Triple Black Nikes SF AF-1 ). If I was asked, I’d guess that they were ( The Celebrity ) in their yearbook for the class of ( 2010 ).
BIO ↓
Eric Sanders is one of the two sons of a famous actor couple. He liked studying the history of cinematography (and history in general), learning languages, and taking acting classes. When he wasn’t busy training his brain cells, he was even busier fooling around and making trouble – alone or with his twin brother, Zach, whether he liked it or not.
With Eric’s biggest dream to become a film producer, the first suggestion was to begin the journey on the opposite side - as an actor. He didn’t start with a loud bang or whatever one might expect from an already famous last name; he wanted to earn all the points himself, prove that he didn’t need the preferential treatment. He didn’t ask his parents to help him get a certain role or into a particular project, but he did appreciate a fistful of advice based on their own experience, a few invaluable dos and don'ts for an easier start, all the nuances he hadn’t learned in his acting classes.
Eric’s career gained momentum, and marrying his high school sweetheart, Veronica, was the cherry on top. While more awards flooded his shelves and more and more diverse offers filled his inbox, his private life had gone from a dream come true to hell when he discovered his wife’s infidelity. The heartbreak they miraculously managed to keep private changed everything. After months and years of ignoring Veronica’s affairs and feeding himself the same lies she kept repeating, he found enough courage to break at least one of the two hearts that once swore to beat for each other and started anew.
Eric is charismatic, intelligent, and undeniably a born leader. He has always been considered the more open and friendly of the brothers and has helped Zach make friends more than once. Despite Eric’s way of being, he also needs to slow down sometimes, especially before going to the set. He likes to unwind with his favorite playlist since he’s a perfectionist and gives 100% in every role or scene, but once the shooting is over, he makes every wrap party a fun experience.
Connections
Autumn Manchester - girlfriend 🖤
Oscar Lockmoore - BIL
Ashton Ryder - friend
Lilith Van Doren - friend (former lover)
Joel Hawkins - friend
Temple Peregrine - neighbor
Agnes Robshaw - Vivienne's teacher
Summer Manchester - Autumn’s sis
NPCs
Anne Sanders - mother
Noah Sanders - father
Zach Sanders - brother
Emily Sanders - SIL
Doom Slayer - Zach’s dog
Daniel Bergren - Eric’s manager
Vivienne Sanders - daughter
Rio Sanders - niece
Ian Sanders - nephew
Veronica Barda - ex-wife
Nick Barda - ex SIL
THINGS YOUR MUSE WILL NOTICE ABOUT MINE ↓
⸻ WHAT THEY LOOK LIKE :
He's 6 feet tall.
Short brown hair; sometimes he styles it to bring out his natural curls if it's longer, and he dyed it blonde for a role once.
Has a “bad idea” broken lightbulb tattoo on left ankle, and a tiny heart on left shoulder.
His favorite accessories are a “fuck you” doodle pendant, a silver Gucci Dive watch, and bead bracelets.
All his clothes are black or at least dark. Eric loves leather jackets, and his favorite Nikes SF AF-1 are Triple Black.
⸻ WHAT THEY SMELL LIKE :
Juniper, rosemary, and black currant. Shower gel.
⸻ WHAT THEY TASTE LIKE :
Skin - salty & cologne tart. Kisses - probably something sweet or mint gum.
⸻ WHAT THEY SOUND LIKE
His voice is musical but gravelly, gravelly but musical. He speaks in an engaging, captivating way, so he's an excellent speaker and a good storyteller.
Eric is very expressive and gesticulates a lot.
When he's more serious or angry, his tone turns very matter-of-fact and stern, depending on the situation.
He’s good at accents and has a good singing voice.
⸻ WHAT THEY FEEL LIKE :
Warm, welcoming, friendly. It doesn't mean he likes being touched by/touching everyone, all the time, but a lot of non-verbal communication involves subtle touch.
Fit and athletic thanks to regular workouts.
His touch feels mostly soothing and tender; it feels safe to be around Eric.
"There's nothing I can do. Nothing. I'm here." The words tumbled from her words in an avalanche so visceral it almost physically hurt. "I don't-... I don't have anyone left even there. My best friend went after my Dad, Mickey broke up with me, my whole family is falling apart, I just-..." Hands lifted to tangle up in her hair and tug on it a little, the stimulation to her scalp helping to redirect some her energy to an actual physical sensation.
Lowering down onto the end of her bed, tears still streaming, each inhale was an uneven staccato that released as a hiccupping torrent of sobs. "I'm sorry I called you I just-.... I needed a piece of home." And he was the closest thing she had to a friend in Rome, despite their earlier contentious interactions.
The more she shared, the more sense her current state made, and Eric appreciated Aspen's honesty and openness. As his ex wife's best friend and given how uncomfortable their previous interactions had been, he was surprised that she called him, but her explanation made sense.
Unsure which of the issues ached the most, he just sighed and decided to sit beside her first, his arm going around Aspen's frame once again to comfort her. He could feel her pain, not just because he was an empath; he had been in a similar situation a couple of times and he knew how this kind of helplessness could sting.
"That's a lot," he admitted with a heavy sigh that came with a single gentle stroke down her shoulder. "But... most bonds aren't so easy to break, even if it seems like it. I don't really know your dad but he doesn't strike me as someone who'd hurt your mom. And your mom knows that for sure." He smiled in sympathy. "And as for your friend and Mickey... I know that if he loves you, he'll come back as soon as he realizes that it doesn't solve anything. And if he won't, he's an idiot."
Even before she'd come to Rome, Autumn had already made up her mind to give him a second chance. She'd let Rome be the start of their new chapter and though she had no idea how it would end, she'd decided to be optimistic.
Heck, she was even somewhat getting to know Lilith a little bit, weird as that was. It had taken balls for the woman to approach her like she had at the party, and Autumn couldn't help but respect it. Especially because she understood the fears she must be going through because even outside of their looks, Lily and her had quite a bit in common. It truly was kind of funny just how consistent Eric was with his taste in women. He should have known something was off with his ex wife because she was the antithesis of the type of woman they were.
Eyes dropping to his hand as it extended across the table, she pursed her lips for a moment just long enough to make him sweat before reaching her own town to set in his own. Oh how she'd missed his touch, enough to cause a flutter of her eye lids before she lifted her attention back to his face and that way that he looked at her. "It was the best pasta I've ever had." Then again what else could she expect from Italy? "It was fun peeking in on your filming earlier. I was so nervous watching you run across those roof tops." Even if he had been harnessed, it'd still taken her breath away.
With her hand closing on his, fingers lacing, Eric felt the tension leave him in a soothing wave. He relaxed into the feeling, the warmth of her touch meaning so much more than it had a few weeks earlier. He smiled at Autumn, his thumb brushing over her knuckles back and forth, dreaming the same lucid dream they had experienced during the reception. Hearing that she liked the food, his smile only widened, and Eric could easily start rambling about their personal rankings of pasta places, so it was fortunate that she steered away from the food subject.
"The first thing I did, I slipped. The first step, and I fucking slip," he laughed. She would not have enjoyed the scenes he had made before her arrival, and he didn't even mean the stuff he had filmed with their fellow Carroller. The stunts were incredible, and Eric appreciated everyone's hard work - he couldn't wait to see the final result. "The funniest thing is... I still felt badass. I felt so cool." The waitress was back, so he just chuckled and put their conversation on hold so he could pay for the dinner. Of course, he didn't hesitate to mention how impressed they were with the dishes they had tried there.
"I was nervous knowing you were there, watching me," he admitted a moment later, turning back to Auttie and immediately reaching for her hand again. "It was... a good kind of nervous. Motivating." A pause. "I know you didn't come here for me, but I appreciate it so much..."
She clung to him, arms pulling herself in tighter as the sob wracked her entire body. "I'm sorry." A choked whisper the words skipped on the back of her cracked breaths as she finally let him go, face a mask of utter devastation. "I just have nobody else."
Even if his wasn't the chest she wanted. Even if he wasn't the man who's arms she craved, he was a piece of home. He was a tether to Carroll. He had shown up. "Everything is falling apart, Eric. I don't know if I can do it anymore."
He couldn't tell what exactly had upset her so much, but - in some way - he had been there. Eric knew how it felt to be alone, and far away from home when things fell apart; he had just been there. And even though she wasn't his friend, and he had no idea what to blame for her mood, he could see how sad Aspen was.
"Shh... I'm here." The wet spot on his shirt and her sobs told him that he had made the right decision to come here. "I'm here, I'll listen. You're not alone anymore, okay? I'm here." His cheek sank into the waves of unruly coils.
He knew exactly where he would take Autumn. Since his first day in Rome, Eric had been adding new places to the list of perfect date spots, hoping he'd get to make use of it sooner rather than later. There were a couple of adorable cafes and restaurants, cute gelato spots, and some non-touristy places for evening strolls, along with some typical must-sees. She had to give them one more chance; they didn't make sense with anyone else but each other.
And then everything happened so fast; the wedding reception in Carroll, Britney trying to stir the pot, Auttie deciding she needed to leave the town and agreeing to come to Rome. There he was, having dinner with Autumn Manchester at one of those restaurants he had planned to take her to.
"Vorrei pagare, per favore," he smiled at the waitress and turned back to Auttie. He had missed her so much: her presence, the physical contact, especially the most intimate form of it, and to know that the yearning was mutual gave him hope. They didn't make sense with anyone else but each other. Eric risked overshooting it early into the night and reached over the table for Autumn to take his hand, but something was telling him she wouldn't ignore him. "Did you like the food? I think their pasta is among the best I've tried."
Lilith tilted her head briefly in a way that might have served in place for the world 'well', like she gave any true credibility to what he said. Maybe, there was a part in her somewhere that wanted those things too. But she knew happily ever after was just a thing the movies and books all made up, to sell them something. "I wish you luck," was all she said instead, fingers dancing through the air as if to ward off the thoughts.
Eric could use the break, she agreed. He deserved to not have his life completely fucked for a change. If only she hadn't participated in that recently.
Her stare lowered when he took her hand, then gave him a look, at first not understanding what it was Eric meant by it until she paid better attention. Oh, a dance. Right. Would only be the second of her night, surprisingly, and normally she enjoyed dancing. The two of them, in fact, had some playful history between themselves, when it was just them being silly and bopping. Call it nostalgia or seeing no reason to fight it, but Lilith made no qualms the way she had with Grady. She let him pull her out and lead her into what could loosely be termed a dance, but was mostly just them going through the swaying motion.
Eric was safe to dance with.
In fact, he represented safety in all fronts.
Grady, however, was nothing but a question mark.
Question marks couldn't be trusted.
Eric used to be a question mark.
"He's got something going on with his family right now," Lilith brushed off the idea of calling or texting Grady further, tonight. The man made that plain already, she wasn't going to get involved further. Maybe she already had too much. "We're doing the fun, fooling around stuff already, E, don't worry," her eyes rolled some. "I'm getting my rocks off, as they say." Lilith snorted to herself, a smirk at her mouth as she looked away. "You should be doing that yourself... I mean, you flew all this way and you two aren't even going to try for a quickie in the back of one of those paid for cars?" Eric would probably push his luck if he tried it, but she teased him with the idea regardless, knowing he would be too smart to actually chase the words.
If someone, and by someone he meant Autumn, noticed him dancing with Lilith, he would probably lose a few points from what he had just earned, but it was impossible to attend this party and treat his friend like she was air. It would be immature and irresponsible of him to cut the ties because they upset Autumn. Bitter truth: Eric knew he would be capable of ditching it all. He had let toxic requests and pleas control him for years because he was in love, and now the only hope was that such an unhealthy relationship never found him again. He could feel that Auttie could never be like that. She would never force him to make a poor choice. It was safe to love her.
So, Eric let them sway to the music, with his free hand now placed on Lilith's hip and his eyes focused on hers. He wanted her to be happy, safe, and just to feel herself. It was a shame that it took them so long and so much to notice the precious core of their relationship. Better late that never, though.
"This sort of desertion should be forgiven, right?" He smiled at her, only adding "Especially since he's still texting you" in his head. With a subtle nod, he accepted her answer; the whole thing was amusing, surprisingly close to chatting girlfriends, so he was Zach 2.0 now. He chuckled at the "suggestion" and slowly spun Lilith as if to buy himself some time to answer.
"There is nothing I'd want more right now; she looks so gorgeous..." He closed his eyes as if to refresh the image and groaned a little dramatically, but all as a joke. "But we both know it would ruin everything, and... Call me old-fashioned-" an euphemism for 'a pussy'? "-but I wanna savor the moment when it finally comes. Quickies are for happy occasions." And Auttie still didn't know what to do about him.
"It was long." And she'd slept most of it away rather than get lost in her own head about her father, or her feelings for Mickey. It was easier just to push that all away and get all the rest she could. Stepping into his suite that was the mirror image of her own across the hall, Aspen set the bottle on the little counter of the kitchen while he started to look for glasses. "I mean I've done nude stuff with male models and stuff like that, but there's usually not so much... you know... movement. I think that's where the nerves come in."
"Well, at least I'll know what to expect under your robe now." She teased with a playfully sidelong look at him as she filled their glasses and slid one over to him. "You're cute, Eric. Calm down, I'm not going to bite you, and I'm going to see more than what you sent me, so... it's fine. It was a good ice breaker."
"They're always like that, aren't they..." Eric smiled over at Aspen. He - they - better accept it because this was just the beginning. Maybe he had gotten a bit lazy during the break a few months earlier, surprisingly satisfied with the things slowing down in that small town manner. "Yeah, it's a bit different... But not that different, you should be fine," he assured her. In both cases, all nuances narrowed down to faking a comfortable, intimate moment.
That's why he had to agree that, maybe, it was a good ice breaker and he shouldn't worry so much. He chuckled, a single nod serving as a thank you for the glass filled with champagne. "It was like a teenage girl seeing someone read a page from her diary," he explained himself, but judging by his smile, he clearly just got over it. "To the absolutely perfect, seamless scene we'll shoot tomorrow?"
Opening the door at the very first knock, Aspen knew that she look like crap. She could feel the swelling in her face from crying, could feel the redness of her eyes in the dryness of them, knew that her broken heart was written all over her face. Just seeming there was surprisingly cathartic, like a piece of the home she was so sick for was standing right there in front of her. Even if it wasn't the one that she wanted. Heck she wasn't even really sure she liked Eric after their last personal interaction, but in that moment she appreciated his entire lack of hesitation to come console her.
The moment his hands were free and he'd turned back to her Aspen threw herself around him in a crushing hug that had her burying her face into his chest and wishing it was someone else's. And all at once, all anew, she burst into sobs and fresh tears that wet his shirt beneath her face.
He felt like his ex wife, playing Aspen's bestie in that moment. Veronica would laugh at this... The hug came out of nowhere, like an affectionate attack, and even though it was pretty awkward at first, Eric just hugged her back. Consoling, quiet.
"It's okay, Aspen, it's okay." It was the strangest moment for something close to parental instincts to kick in, but he instantly adopted the role of protector. He had seen her crying on Ronnie's shoulder once or twice, and now he was in that position, well aware that she must have wished it was someone else.
They danced and they laughed and they kissed. The rest of the world fell away, lost in the desperate thrum of the music that drowned out everything else. A protected little bubble apart from everything else. And there, in that bubble they could be, and they were, happy. There in the atmosphere so like that brief moment of perfection on new years, this time she didn't want to let a thing ruin it. No giant screens with horrific footage, no accidents, just them and a moment drawn out for as long as they could.
"It's almost like I hoped you'd come... so you could see it." And part of her hand. That same part of her that still wondered if this was some sort of hyper realistic dream had dared to imagine this very situation. As the song mercifully slowed again, she lifted one of his hands back into her hair, melting beneath his words and beneath the look in the dark pools of his eyes.
"I am..." Leaning forward for his lips, she spoke against them rather than kissed them, at least a first. "I am so in love it scares me to my core."
Eric's hand surrendered to her suggestion and combed the blonde strands. He played with them as they slipped trough his fingers like golden sand, soft and silky. Forming tiny coils and loops, he watched them with a smile because it felt like the first and the nth time he got this close to her.
"You know me well. You knew I'd come." His smile grew bigger as he cupped the nape of her neck. Autumn had to know, or at least suspect, what Eric would choose between this and allowing the possibility of her disappearing somewhere for god knows how long. It was spontaneous, completely unplanned - or should he say off the script - but this was the only possible way to end this day.
His heart skipped a beat when she admitted just how much in love she was... with him. Instead of telling her that there was nothing to fear, or that he was just as much in love with her, Eric pulled her even closer as they danced. So close, their heartbeats might have synchronized, or at least it felt like that.
He hummed something that could serve as a "me too", full of joy and relief, because he refused to fear the love he had for her. "If something feels so good, it can't be wrong," he assured her in barely a whisper, and stole one more kiss before choosing to fully focus on their slow, almost cathartic, dance.
Judging by Aspen's texts, she might not want to eat anything, but he still got her some strawberries & apple pie pancakes. Just something that smelled nice, a pick me up meal that he hoped would help at least a little bit, along with the fact that Eric brought them himself. She had made it clear that she wasn't doing any of that leaving-my-hotel-room crap, so she'd most likely avoid the hotel staff as well?
"Pancakes and my company, just like you ordered," he said with a faint smile, as Aspen let him inside, easily navigating through the suite and into the small kitchen space to put their dinner on the table. He didn't comment on how miserable she looked or ask what happened, because it had to be something more serious than feeling homesick. This was something she had to know she wanted to share with him, and if Eric's company was enough, without any explanation, he was still glad to help.
joel smiled broadly when eric said he was happy to be there. joel was too. the night felt perfect, or as close to perfect as anything ever got, and he was stupidly glad to have so many of his friends there, along with a few newer ones too. he was just...happy. fully, openly happy, and it made him even more grateful that eric had come, even if joel clearly wasn’t the main draw. which, fair enough.
“well, traveling halfway across the world has to help at least a little,” he said lightly. “even if it doesn’t fix everything.” if he was being honest, joel wasn’t entirely sure what exactly eric was trying to fix, but he knew enough to know autumn had been upset with him. and while joel liked eric well enough, autumn was autumn. that loyalty was never really in question.
he tilted his head slightly, still holding onto the easy warmth of the conversation. “when do you head back?”
It wasn't something he would share because of the story's bad ending, but his thoughts wandered to his own wedding. The memory itself was fond, that year — full of joy and perfectly worry-free, just like tonight must have felt for Ingrid and Joel, and all Eric was hoping for was that their ending would be happy. Actually, he truly believed that it would be entirely different from his and Veronica's.
And he was brave and audacious enough to believe that one day, he and Joel would meet at Eric and Autumn's wedding reception.
Even though he tried to hold back a chuckle, it escaped him with the silliest hint of relief. Eric let the laugh lighten the mood and last until he sighed, realizing that he had to say: "Yeah. I- didn't cheat on Auttie. I'd never do something like that." As if he had to say that to everyone, make sure they knew that. Despite the serious reassurance, the conversation kept flowing easily. "Midnight, like a damn Cinderella! I have to be back on set Monday morning, and the job I love happens to be one of those where if you're on time, you're late. Could've chosen wiser..." The plane better not turn into some zucchini after midnight, or else the comparison would age horribly...!
The phone in her other hand kept going off. Grady, with more explanations. Telling his business. Lilith did bother to check the screen — briefly — though she didn't understand why the man felt he had to explain anything to her. Even if it did assuage some of her frustration. Maybe she should just chill out and breathe. Maybe it really was exactly what he claimed.
But men so rarely told the truth.
It was gut instinct, for Lilith to automatically shut that down.
"She is in love," she commented, having to put the phone in her clutch for now so it stopped distracting her, "and so are you. As long as you both want to work on fixing things, you will. I think she does or she wouldn't have stayed." Someone else's relationship was always so easy to pick apart and spot the flaws, the joints that needed oil reapplied before they rusted up. But she spoke like her tarot cards, as if she was flipping over cards for him in real time and explaining the path forward.
Her eyes lifted to his.
Lingering on his face, the uncertainty that pulled in the corner of his lips but the hope that made his eyes look lighter. "You deserve to be happy," Lilith said, in a moment of softness. He shouldn't forget that. In a way, she felt it was her duty to keep reminding him, if she must, because she was part of what might be standing in the way of that, now. And she hated it. "Trust your gut, okay?" Her hand found his elbow, the touch reassuring but temporary.
"Can't believe you have me standing here, rooting for a romcom ending," she huffed, shaking off the tender pause. "I am not even a part of Booktok." Maybe she should be.
The longer he listened, the less it sounded like the old them, and more like the new form they had taken. It was a happy plot twist despite the complications and everything that could have been damn easier. It could have been worse, too, but it was human to focus on what didn't go right, rather than the opposite.
Just when he thought that her eyes and touch had never felt so reassuring and supportive, Lilith made a romcom comment, and Eric couldn't not laugh at that. "I'd say tragedies add more spice to the story, but in real life...?" He grimaced and shook his head in amusement, deciding that he'd much rather choose a happy ending if the story was his own life. "I've had enough, thank you." He winked and all but downed that drink because he needed it.
The caffeine, not alcohol. He had had enough alcohol the other night. He should make better choices.
He put the drink aside and took Lilith's hand so they would step a little more to the center because he had just decided that they should dance, so they needed a little more room for that. A subtle invitation; he was ready to give up this idea if she wasn't in the mood for a dance with him, but he really was hoping that she would enjoy it just as much as he.
"Your date blowing up your phone?" He smiled at her. "Answer. You deserve to be happy. Even if it's nothing serious... You deserve some fun distraction."
"Mm that's definitely no fun. But she'd get a very cool WAG jacket though," Ashton wasn't actually sure if that applies to coaches too, but why not? The players' wives and girlfriends get some cool playoff jackets every year just for them. Ash made a face or empathetic pain, imagining how that would've felt, "oof.. worth it though?" I'd he asked Zach that he was sure that brother would say yes. Eric may have a different opinion on that, "stunts, definitely just a hobby, not work then." Zach could've been an amazing stunt double though for Eric.
"To be fair.. in hockey games at least, they do usually keep it to hockey talk, it's just dumb things like interviews during intermission or immediately post games asking what can do you better. I don't know Joe, let me breathe first," Ash chuckled, knowing at least the day to day media is about the work, he could imagine Eric getting questions much less so about the films and shows he do and more so about Hollywood gossip. "Hacks huh? You'll have to share," Ash leaned onto the table, brows raising, curiosity piqued now that it was brought up. "Our exit interviews post season can get just as nosey as yours." The one time where for a long while the focus is just on you, daunting at the start of your career, exhausting as the years go on.
Ash let out an incoherent half grumble half sigh, shaking his head quickly to shut that idea down, "honestly, sometimes probably worse, some of these people get big money on sports gambling, and well, makes everything uglier." The fact that if them playing poorly or too good can make people lose money, there will always be hatred spewed towards you. "Good, save your moments for real desperate times, I'll win her a stuffed toy so that she won't focus on anything else," Ash lightly shrugged to the curiosity of Vivienne's yapper personality, "it's good, that kids are talkative, also means she got a good memory to even be able to spill the tea."
Eric laughed and nodded; he had only now realized that this career move would make his Mom a WAG, and that made the whole idea even more like the strangest fever dream. Lucky that Zach had broken some bones doing crazy somersaults, and they could talk about that. "He's good, he wouldn't have learned shit without those mistakes, so... In this context, I think fucking up is always worth it." He grinned. Oh no, he was being a smartass again.
Eric laughed— he knew exactly what Ash was talking about. Bad as he felt, laughing at something as annoying as that, he couldn't help it. Fortunately, his friend didn't mind. "I would've done ANYTHING I could so I could catch a breath instead of standing here, answering dumb questions, right? Damn, they really do amaze me..." He sighed. "I'll share some Shaolin secret tips with you, and I truly hope they'll work for you too."
It was sad how much sense this part made; it wasn't fair, but some aspects were easy to understand. Negative emotions could be strong as hell, and they usually grew even stronger than positive ones.
"If my daughter secretly plans my downfall, then so be it," he laughed and wanted to add something. "Okay, enough! No more nagging," he said in an exaggerated old man's voice. "Let's take our lovely companion-" he turned to Dawn "-and take her on a little stroll, so I can take a picture and send it to Viv, hm?"
