Shannon Was Here

Shannon Cherubini Twenty Four Male Artist Teacher Student

[the-garden-of-delights]

“The Two Crowns” (1900) (detail) by Sir Francis Bernard Dicksee (1853-1928).

[emily-simon]

@emilysimosays: if it looks like he’s in pain, it’s because he is and as it turns out, artists are not cut out of roller skating, who would’ve guessed? ( @shannonkilroy )

[shannonkilroy]

Twitter

@holdymoly: so a same-sex couple just had triplets and they're both the dads biologically. Science is fucking awesome

@skillroy: @holdymoly That is really amazing. It's given a whole new meaning to the breeders thing.

[shannonkilroy]

i know that time is meaningless because we're both heading towards the same inevitable oblivion, blah blah blah, but if you think i'm going to pass up a chance to spoil you, you're totally wrong.

happy birthday, darling! quite frankly, i've been excitedly scavenging the city in search of proper gifts for you for awhile now, so here's hoping these are to your liking. naturally, i had to get you the 'i miss the old kanye' shirt, because that's the motto of your life. i also found a copy of monet's letters hidden very deep at the bookshop, so now you can read your beloved in his own words! and i got you a new sketchpad that looks quite official, so you can always show me your drawings after a long day out. oh, and a silly piece i did of you and minilla when he was a wee one, because we needed a father and son portrait around here.

there was a part two to this gift (*frank ocean voice* i got twooooo versions!) which involved whipped cream and my naked bod, but we're en route to chicago so... well, i'll spoil you at the hotel later.

most of all, i just want you to know that i love, love, love you, shannon cherubini. thank you for giving me this strange little home meant just for us; i didn't think it was possible to wake up in the morning still craving you so ardently, but here we are. your kisses save me me every time. i can't wait to grow old and watch you become the old man you were always meant to be.

always yours,

little orchid emily.

[emily-simon]

“I think we could charm the security guards, so long as we make a solid agreement not to touch the artwork - - truthfully, I don’t think the guard in St. Petersburg will ever forgive us, but c’mon, wasn’t touching a Monet worth it?” Emily nudged his shoulder with a knowing grin, gleefully reminiscing on their first getaway together. “Yeah? That’d be really nice, actually. You’d be quirky Professor Cherubini, changing lives one paintbrush at a time… who the fuck knows that I’ll be doing. Maybe I’m bound to be a coffee shop girl who paints on the side forever, if I don’t end up doing fingerpainting with preschoolers for a living… wait, actually, that’s not too bad. God, being mature doesn’t sound awful for once, what’s happening?” Emily playfully poked out her tongue at him, feeling a rush of giddiness at the potentials they had laid out before them. A soft laugh escaped her at his story, pressing her hands to her lips as she recalled the episode and Shannon’s own tangent vividly, “Wait, you were Mr. P down in Florida? Oh my god, I thought you were a myth! I can’t believe that I’ve been dating the infamous P-Man all along — there were legends about you.” It always gave Emily a little joy to tease Shannon a little, ‘til she realized that karma was a little minx. “God, watch, that’s gonna happen when I start teaching now - as if I’m not embarrassing enough!” Wanting to make a point of her own, she tugged at Shannon’s free hand and guided them towards the roller rink, immediately searching for the shoe rentals. “I could say the same for you. We need a safe word for if you feel like your old bones are gonna give out, okay? I can’t have a broken Shannon on my hands, I’d spend ages putting you back together.”

[shannonkilroy]

“Fuck St. Petersburg. I couldn’t be asses to drag myself back there for anything. Fuck Florida in general. The south too. I saw on the new the other day some guy in Texas..TEXAS mind you, walked into his garage and found a ten foot alligator..or was it crocodile..sitting there. He nearly stepped on it. So again, fuck the south. I want to stay in the upper states and preferably in cities where nothing too big can eat me. If I fall and break my neck and like a fucking cat eats my face or something, then that’s on me,” Shannon’s shut his mouth the minute he realized his little tangent had been completely irrelevant, choosing to take a break with another sip of his beer happily. “I kind of want to teach elementary art at some point too. I bet I’d completely smash it at macaroni necklaces. I’d be covered in glitter all the the time though..which isn’t too far of a stretch from how I am now thanks to all your crazy smelling lotions,” he teased, giving his arms a once over just in case there any real evidence of that right now. He smirked at her joke, giving his eyes a playful roll before sighing, “Yes, that was me. My personal favorite was the P-ster,” he boasted, unable to hide his grin as it slipped further across his lips. He let her drag him along, just happy he was able to snag his beer in time, taking a few sloppy drinks as she tugged, frowning at the way it dribbled down his shirt. Oh well --- perfect excuse to allow himself to look like a fool on them skates.

[emily-simon]

“I wouldn’t mind spending some time in New York, even if you’d have to drag me out of the museums every single day —- you probably couldn’t, because you’d get swept up the moment you saw a Monet, and next thing you know, the security is telling us that no, we can’t sleep on the steps,” Emily giggled, mostly because there was far too much truth in the anecdote - though most of their best moments had been in museums, after all. “We’ve got to disappear in Europe for awhile and chase each other ‘round the Louvre… I think you’d fit quite nicely in London, too.” Emily had plenty of silly dreams of traveling, but with Shannon, they became strikingly real. The impossible seemed tangible. “Do you know that at any given moment, I’m probably thinking about Jeb Bush pitifully saying ‘please clap’? It’s constantly in my head, I can’t wait until the first day of classes so I can use it. I think there are certain states that we’re just not cut out for, and the frighteningly conservative ones are definitely top of the list.” Shannon’s answer softened her eyes and her smile, and while her heart thudded warmly, she kept her playfulness in tact. “So, I suppose we’re just entangled for good, then, are we? That might come in handy when we’re knocking our asses down,” she hummed, glancing over at the harbor’s roller rink where an elderly couple held hands and glided through the wave of teenagers. “I mean, pfft, look at those show offs. Absolute nerds.”

[shannonkilroy]

“I’m sure we’d spend most of our off time at the museums and galleries. Probably end up on a few ‘banned’ lists because of it or maybe have the security knowing us by name after the sixth trip. But New York’s possibilities are endless, which is what I love about it. It’s your own damn fault if you’re bored in a city like that. I’d imagine there’s tons of art schools dotting the Burroughs too. Or youth art programs that need quirky teachers that can handle students that are bit rough around the edges. I could be the next Michelle Pfeiffer. Teach some Dangerous Minds of my own,” Shannon mused with a soft grin, his head falling to lazily rest against his fist as he kept his wistful gaze directed at her. “I’ve never seen that but just the thought of someone running for President of the United fucking States having to ask people to clap makes me cringe, my god. You know the first time I taught, I totally had a Ted Mosby moment where I went to write ‘Professor Cherubini’ on the board but got self-conscious about spelling it wrong so I just ended up writing ‘P. Cherubini’. I got called Mr. P for like a week.” Hearing her trying to drag some people, Shannon let his wander to where she was looking, a look of terror crossing his features, “Please don’t break a hip.”

[emily-simon]

“Where do you think we’ll go next, then?” Emily knew that Philadelphia had its charms, but it felt like more like a beginning than anything else, a starting point for their careers and lives and a place they could pinpoint their milestones. “Maybe we could properly make our way around the west coast to give San Francisco a go one day - - I’d probably disappear in all those colors, but you’d stand out quite well.” She flashed him a very tiny, very hopeful smile that he had any sort of interest in pursuing that sort of life together - - - escaping all over the country, maybe the world, in search of a proper home. “Hey, the old people were quite amusing down there, don’t you think? Florida wasn’t horrible, but… well, if I had the choice between making a sandwich and saving Key West from absolute mayhem, I’d probably use extra smooth peanut butter.” A pressing thought flitted through her head, making the girl briefly pause and ask, “What would you have done if I didn’t come, though?” A sly smirk pulled at her pink lips as she guided him towards the nearest drink stand, gleefully ordering two more beers. “No, no, if we’re going to embarrass ourselves, we’re going to do it together. Them’s the rules! Ah, well, I think Rebecca just needed a better sense of adventure. And I think you need to drink up, because I fully intend to roller skate my sappy ass with you at twilight.”

[shannonkilroy]

“Don’t know. We both liked New York a lot, didn’t we? And we talked about Paris before. But I’d love to see San Francisco and see the Pacific. We’ve seen enough of the Atlantic for now, haven’t we? Practically lived on it at one point too. Or was that the gulf of Mexico?” Shannon questioned himself, not exactly the best with geography or bodies of water. In fact, most things nature related tended to right over his head --- a total city-boy through and through. “Florida wasn’t horrible because we stuck to the very tiny demographic that doesn’t hunt alligators for a living and knows that ‘Italy’ isn’t pronounced ‘It-land’. Plus isn’t Jeb Bush still in charge down there? There’s no hope for that state so let’s just cross that off the list completely. Along with Texas and Arizona and any other state that’s 80% desert,” Shannon mused, a soft grin still permanently planted on his lips, as was usually the case around Emily, not even batting an eye at talk about their future. The question did stir his thoughts towards it however, wondering briefly if he would’ve lasted so long in Philly or even Florida if it weren’t for her. And if that was the case --- would he last too long elsewhere without her? “I don’t think I would’ve left either. Despite how badly you want to see me tripping over myself on the roller rink. Guess I should just be thankful I’m with a girl now who doesn’t mind a bit of blood.”

[xeptum]

[shannonkilroy]

Shannon always felt a sunset before he noticed it. The break in heat and the sudden coolness of the breeze against his humid skin stirring an awareness in him that broke his concentration momentarily from his company and the condensation of his glass against his palm to look up at the fading heat of the day. It probably didn’t help that he’d been wearing sunglasses since they first arrived, now facing the internal battle of when to remove them and how appropriate was it to wear them past twilight and risk going from edgy and cool to an asshole. “I was thinking the same thing,” he lied, not about to reveal his true thoughts about sunglasses to the girl as he turned his focus back onto her, returning that same grin, “Thanks for letting that really weird boy who lived under a bride drag you down here.”

[emily-simon]

Emily studied his face for a moment, before the saccharine grin melted into a far more playful one, “No, you weren’t. I’m the one who says and thinks sappy romantic things all the time, you just spend your time trying not to gag.” It was a fairly honest assessment of their relationship - Emily felt things in abundance and embarrassed herself by showing it… aside from the harrowing sadness she’d felt lately, that was tucked away. Their day out to the local festival helped brightened her spirits, though, and with the disappearing sun came the lights that hung in the trees, given a rather whimsical feeling to the whole scene. Figuring that she had bothered Shannon with enough sappy talk, she surveyed the scene and took a step backwards. “Now, how many more drinks do I have to put in you before you agree to go roller skating with me? If it’s any incentive, there is a high risk of watching me fall flat on my ass a lot.”

[shannonkilroy]

“Okay, I wasn’t in that exact moment. But I have grown quite fond of the city. Especially after spending the summer here. I can forgive the heat and humidity if only for the fact that we’re so close to the ocean and saturated in art all over the place. I swear, this place reminds me more of Chicago than any other place. Except instead of the ocean we’ve got Lake Michigan..which is just as good,” he joked of course, flashing the girl a tiny little grin before sliding his sunglasses up to rest atop his head among the mass of curls, grateful to have them keeping his hair out of his face. “I don’t spend my time gagging. If I minded the sap, do you really think I would’ve dragged you along with me all the way up the coast? I would’ve been quick to leave you and your flowery way with words back down in Florida with the old people and Cubans --- both of which probably would’ve appreciated anything you had to say.” Letting his fingers curls around his glass more, he pouted down at his nearly still half full beer trying not to let on to how much he actually did want to see Emily in a pair of roller skates. Something about a girl in skates just did it for him, “I’d say maybe two and a half? I’ll certainly stand on the sidelines and watch but I haven’t skated since I was like thirteen and disinvited in the middle of Rebecca’s birthday party because I accidentally tripped her and caused her to split her lip open.”

[emily-simon]

( @shannonkilroy ) —– “I think I’ve just realized something very big,” Emily murmured as the sunset’s fading gold washed over their features, and the night sky’s impending coat of deep blue threatened at the edges of the universe — or that’s how she viewed it anyway. Laughter and chatter filtered through her ears, but a strange sense of serenity settled over her skin, with tanned arms that lightly brushed against Shannon’s slightly taller frame. “I really love Philadelphia,” she admitted, glancing over at him with a silly grin. “It took me awhile to really appreciate it, but I’m really, really happy that I’m here.” Of course, there was only one reason she was out here to begin with. “Thanks for letting that really weird girl with leaves in her hair follow you down here.”

[shannonkilroy]

Shannon always felt a sunset before he noticed it. The break in heat and the sudden coolness of the breeze against his humid skin stirring an awareness in him that broke his concentration momentarily from his company and the condensation of his glass against his palm to look up at the fading heat of the day. It probably didn’t help that he’d been wearing sunglasses since they first arrived, now facing the internal battle of when to remove them and how appropriate was it to wear them past twilight and risk going from edgy and cool to an asshole. “I was thinking the same thing,” he lied, not about to reveal his true thoughts about sunglasses to the girl as he turned his focus back onto her, returning that same grin, “Thanks for letting that really weird boy who lived under a bride drag you down here.”

[flyartproductions]

[the1975gifs]

[fckandrewdavies-deactivated2016]

Listening to him as he spoke, he nodded. “Yeah, been there done that. I was a teacher in a uni in London before I came here. And a lot of my students there would much rather sleep than actually learn the importance of creative writing” he said and sighed, shaking his head a little. “Yeah it’s healthier, that’s why I write” he said.

[shannonkilroy]

“So you’re from London? What brings you to Philly then? Especially to a school like Howell?” Shannon had always assumed most of the teachers that came to Howell were either young and looking for experience or older and looking for an easy job until retirement. “Do you write poetry?”

[shannonkilroy]

text → shannon & emily

Emily: I FORGOT WHAT SHE WAS IN ET!! omg she was so cute, let's add that movie to our list for nostalgia's sake. see it's worse growing up in a generation where i totally saw scary movie before i saw scream, i feel like i was truly robbed of the full experience

Emily: how about you don't make me swoon when i'm trying not to burn the bread

Emily: WHOA WHOA WHOA the guys are iffy, i'll give you that but anna karina??? are you kidding me??? so hot

Emily: nah your little snores are the only way i can fall asleep anymore actually

Shannon: I literally just watched it the other day. It took me a while to watch the whole thing as a kid because the beginning when ET is running away in the forest used to scare me. I'd always skip through that part. Scary Movie was a fucking masterpiece! They should've just stopped right there though.

Shannon: What did I do to deserve you barefoot in the kitchen? When did we get so domesticated?

Shannon: I was always more partial to Brigitte Bardot myself.

Shannon: Is that so? Then you're just gonna love my dad.

[shannonkilroy]

text → shannon & emily

Emily: we all know that drew barrymore's best role was casey becker in scream. "my boyfriend is big and plays football and he'll kick the shit out of you!!" So iconic

Emily: that's oddly romantic and grotesque, which encompasses us quite well. would you rather have my limbs or my lungs?

Emily: confession time, I don't even pay attention to the subtitles of French films anymore, I just like looking at the hot people

Emily: DONT BE PARANOID it's kind of cute. this mysterious art boy and..... he snores a lil in bed.

Shannon: PLEASE her best role to this day is still the piggy tailed girl in ET. Second is Poison Ivy. Third is definitely Scream though every time I think about that scene I think about the spoof with Carmen Electra and the silicone of her tit getting pulled out.

Shannon: I want your lungs so I can truly breath you in with every breath.

Shannon: I have a hard time believing this considering there are NO hot people in french films, darling.

Shannon: CURSE THESE NARROW NASAL PASSAGES!!

[jimneilson-deactivated20220522]

[ugh-matty]