author's note: before you guys get into this, may i suggest listening to isn't she lovely by stevie wonder (spotify link is included in the story!) as this song implies how sylus thinks of [your name] ! this is my first fanfic ever since... i was getting busier with my degree somewhere between 2022 or 2023. but now that i am free, i am slowly coming back to tumblr and write <3. as always.. so not proof-read. but please give Tones of Love well, tons of love!
word count: 2,441 words
theme: fluff, just sweet ol' fluff. romance. comedy/crack
The man has always loved the energy of fan meetings—from the nervous excitement in the air, the shine and twinkle in the eyes of his fans, to the lovely words of encouragement and support that blesses his ears and heart. These moments reminded him of the path he chose, and why; to bring the characters to live, to connect with the ones who work hard behind the scenes and of course, to inspire lingering emotions long after the credits roll. Sylus slipped into his charming persona with ease, welcoming the fans with a warm grin. He read iconic lines from his roles, answered questions about his process, and reenacted fan-favorite scenes, much to the delight of the crowd.
Adjusting the cat ears headband given to him by manager, Sylus scanned through the crowd of 40 lucky attendees. His ash silver locks caught under the soft stage lights, his gaze landed on the first row. There... there she was, sitting quietly with her hair tied up in a bun, and in matching cat ears headband. The love of his life. The one person who knew not just Sylus, one, if not, Linkon's most loved voice actor, but Sylus the man who whispered sweet nothings during the nighttime and laughed at his siblings, Luke and Kieran's pun jokes.
The room vibrated with a gentle buzz of anticipation as over 40 lucky fans filled the small, well-lit hall. It felt like an intimate space—designed to feel less of a staged event but akin to a reunion, friends of old. Posters of Sylus’ photoshoots, along the characters he played, from his role as Jacaerys Spellman, a famed painter with the ability to sew memories into each pigment, to his most recent one, James Kinsley III, a widower left to rule a state after the death of his wife, hung neatly on the walls.
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“Hey, you guys,” he greeted, his voice warm and rich, exactly like his characters he portrayed.
“Woah, you guys, you all look amazing. Are you ready to spend a long afternoon together?"
The crowd cheered, and Sylus chuckled, setting his microphone down, giving his audience 2 thumbs up. Soon, the meet and greet session began. Sylus made sure to give each fan his full attention, accepting gifts, signing posters, and gave every person his undivided attention, listening with much intent to their stories of how his performances have brought them much comfort, emotionally and mentally.
One fan, a university student with a notebook full of sketches, hesitantly slid their notebook towards him, a water painting displayed for him to look at.
"I know you get loads of these, but I— uhm, drew your character from Abyssal Mark... I believe that this is one of my best piece."
Examining the artwork, his eyes lit up. "Are you kidding me? This is amazing. Look at this— hey! Manager, look, look at the details of this. You've something going on here, you know?"
The student’s face turned a deep shade of red, silently thanking him, with looks of admiration planted upon Sylus from fans waiting for their turn, for his genuine expression for his own fans. Another 4 minutes passed by and a fan presented him with a keychain featuring one of his most memorable quotes: "There's no love is purer than mine." He turned it over in his hand, a soft grin plastered on his face.
"That line... man. I remember when the director told me to say that line. Think of the happiest memory you could ever think of, and say that line with much love in your heart, she said."
He paused, his thumb grazed across the quote once more. "Did it in one take and it's probably the best line I've ever recorded. Thank you for this— it's going on my bag."
The line kept moving and as it was about to end, there she was, right in front of Sylus. "Well, well, well, if it isn't my biggest fan," he teased softly, the tone of his voice professional yet carrying that familiar warmth enough for her to melt under.
“Hmm... I don't really know, Sylus,” [your name] replied, her voice light.
“It seems like I've lots of competition here today, heh."
He smirked, leaning in a little closer. "But there's only one of you, sweetie,” he whispered.
The words words hung between the two of them like a secret, hidden in plain sight. As he signed her copy of an artbook belonging to a game called Love and Deepspace, in which served as one of the main characters, he added a quick note at the bottom: Dinner’s on me tonight. Same place as always, sweetie?
[Your name] exchanged one last fleeting smile before stepping aside, blending seamlessly back into the crowd. Once Sylus went through with the individual meet and greet, he moved onto the next event, which was the Q&A session. During the Q&A session, Sylus leaned forward with a grin as a fan asked about his university days.
“Hmm.. university life was definitely a hectic point in my life, but don’t get me wrong, I loved it. Every single second,” he said.
“I majored in theater, with a minor of… Ancient Chinese Mythology, so I was constantly juggling rehearsals, assignments, and late night study sessions. I think because of the routine where I have to be at my best, it really shaped me.”
Another fan asked, eagerly, about his love for voice acting and what made him pursue this particular path of performing arts, to which he responded with a spark in his eyes.
“I believe that it’s the freedom to become anyone, theater allowed me to do that as well, but there is something about telling stories, voicing characters with just your vocals alone, without having to show your face that much, it gives both me and the audience a chance to use their imagination to. There’s a certain magic to it.” And when asked if he’d take on another live action role, Sylus chuckled, with a playful shake of his head.
“I’m not and never ruling it out! I loved my experiences in front of the screen, and the perks of taking props home for decor, but for now, I am happy bringing characters to life from behind the mic! Never say, never, though!” Sylus’ answers were met with laughters, oohs, ahhs and applause, the sincerity of how he consider each questiona lighting up the room.
Moving on, his manager hands him a stack of fan letters, adorned in ribbons, stickers and colourful envelopes, Sylus placing it on his lap. Picking one at random, he smiled and began reading.
“Dear Sylus,
Your voice has been nothing but a delight to my ears. I’ve been a fan from your first role to your most current one and every time I hear it, it feels like I am reuniting with an old friend. Well, except for your villainous role, where fear made friends with my spine. But it goes to show just how much effort you put into your lines. Thank you, for the ones you inspired and for everything you do.”
The audience let out a collective “aww”, and he chuckled, placing the letter down carefully. Another letter described a fan’s struggles, and how his role as a dragon, feared and hated by the people yet never once he lost his spirit inspired them to keep on moving with life and that even though their current situation feels hard to go through, they should never give up. Sylus’ expression softened as he said,
“Well, thank you for sharing that with me. It means the entire world to know I’ve done a small part in your journey in life. It feels surreal whenever I’ve people come up to me and say how much my work and to some extent, myself, impacted them. It’s.. wow.” The room went silent, with the occasional sniffles and soft “aww” as Sylus continued to read his fan letters, his voice laced of love, gratitude and adoration for his fans.
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As soon as the reading event was done, Sylus spent 10 minutes backstage to change his outfit and took some time to stretch. As he returned, he stood on the small stage set up at the front of the room, with a mike in his hand and a smile on his face.
"Alright, guys." he began, holding a script, that was read one too many times, in the other.
"You guys know this one animated series I am doing, right? And there's this one argument scene from Radiant Bonds?"
The crowd cheered for Sylus as he cleared his throat and stepped into character, his tone shifting effortlessly to match the vulnerability of his character dialogue rolled off of his tongue, and the fans hung onto every word. But... every now and then, Sylus couldn't help but lose focus. Something feels, a tad bit off.
Taking a deep, deep breath, the young man of red eyes and ash silver hair smiled and said "I apologize, you guys. I don't think this dialogue can be delivered... with me alone. It wouldn't be the same without my partner in crime. Rafayel! Get in here!"
The room erupted with cheers and gasps. Fans whooped as Rafayel, his co-star and longtime friend, took steps to the centre of the stage, bowing to the audience before giving Sylus a hug, earning the duo a round of applause.
"You're lucky I like you, Sylus. Hearing just how real that scene was in the recording booth, I swear, I thought of an early retirement right after." he joked, the audience laughing at his words.
The two then launched themselves into a spirited reenactment of the scene, complete with exaggerated gestures and improvised lines that had the crowd in gasps and sighs. By the end the two voice actors broke character, laughing themselves to bits they couldn’t finish the last dialogues.
As the event is coming to its end, Sylus and Rafayel gathered everyone for a group photo. “Alright everyone, scrunch in! Raf! C’mere! I know you miss your bodyguard but come!” he teased.
Fans reluctantly started filing out, thanking Sylus and Rafayel for their time. Before each and everyone of them left, his team handed everyone with a gift box, a cap, two bracelets and a ticket to his upcoming movie airing in theaters next week, as well as Sylus personally paying for their ride. He addressed everyone one final time.
“Thank you for being here. Honestly, your support is what makes all of this worth it. I’ll see you guys at the next event—promise.” And with that, Sylus gave them all a wave and a now, and remained in that position till the doors closed.
The event wrapped up after nearly five hours, and once the venue cleared out, he helped his team to clear the space and before he took his leave, he thank everyone and informed the head of the team that dinner is on him, handing his manager his black card,
“You’ll meet me next week at work, it’s fine. You guys worked really hard.”
Once all was done, Sylus walked his way to through the building and slipped away through the back door, where his lover waited for him just out of sight.
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“Oh my god~ it’s Sylus, the greatest voice actor of all time!” she said, her voice warm with playfulness, Sylus grinned, brushing his digits through his tousled hair.
“Oh my god, if it isn’t the love of my live, [your name].”
A kiss was planted on her cheek, before he wrapped his arms around her in a lingering hug, just happy to finally have her next to him, [your name’s ] body warmth settling against his skin. As she pulled away from the hug, he gentle held her hand, guiding across the softly lit parking lot towards their car; the air was cool, the sun is slowly setting, carrying the faint smell of its rays, a grin never leaving her face as they both moved in sync.
Once she was seated in the passenger seat, [your name] waited for him to start up the car, and scrolled through her playlist, before connecting to the car’s system, letting Isn’t She Lovely by Stevie Wonder play with her voice joined the melody, soft and slightly off key. Sylus glanced at her a smile tugging at his lips as he gripped the wheel; the hum of the engine and her carefree singing blending in perfectly as he drove them towards the bistro. In that moment, everything felt right.
They walked hand in hand to the entrance of the bistro, and inside, they chose a tucked away spot where they wouldn’t be bothered by anyone. Sylus took a deep breath, patting his chest, finally allowing himself to relax, he, no longer a confident star, but just he, himself.
“You were incredible today,” she said, before popping a peanut into her mouth, giggling as she looked at him with unfiltered pride in her eyes.
“Flattery will get you everywhere, sweetie,” he responded, a chuckle leaving his lips after, reaching across the table to hold her hand.
“But since it comes from you, I’ll gladly take it.” Their conversation flowed effortlessly, as it always did. He did silly impressions of his own characters, including an imitation of a crow named Mephisto, earning delighted laughs that makes him feel happier than ever. As their cocktails and desserts came, [your name] and Sylus swapped bites, his grin widening, eyes softened each time he gazed at his lover’s face light up.
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The two love birds took their time after finishing dinner, and decided to take a stroll beneath the city lights, not really wanting to go home just yet, with her arm tucked into his, leaning close against Sylus under the crisp breeze of the night.
“It’s funny,” she murmured, her tone thoughtful.
“Seeing you up there, knowing how many people adore you. But what really warms my heart?” she paused, Sylus looking at her with his brow raised, emitting a soft “hm?”.
“It’s that, at the end of day, you’re my Sylus. Mine and mine alone.”
He stopped, in the midst of his tracks, cupping her face, lips pressed against her forehead for a gentle kiss. The world around them blurred, leaving only the two of them in a quiet, perfect moment. It was an ending as heartfelt as any of Sylus’ performance—a reminder that yes, while he might be a voice actor for countless stories, his favourite chapter will always be the one they star in.
