#dominic sessa

[domsessasource]

dominic sessa photographed by conrad khalil dupree

[ganymede-princess]

A Hazy Shade of Winter (Pt. 2)

PART 1

ship: Angus Tully x fem!OC

warnings: Discussions of loss and grief, descriptions of dissociation.

summary: Carol gears up for her first night at Barton.

word count: 1767

a/n: Thanks so much for all the love on part one! I hope you enjoy this one. More to come soon.

written by @ganymede-princess

Carol’s fingers felt thick and unruly as she dug through her suitcase, scattering her belongings over one of the spare beds that she had designated as the closet. She fumbled with her hairbrush for a moment, the smooth plastic slipped through her fingers and scuttled across the floor. With a rush of loathing, she dove at it and threw it against the wall where it thumped weakly and fell onto the blankets. Underwhelmed by the result and full up with a bone deep weariness, she stooped over the bed and rested her weight on her open palms, trembling at the elbows. As she caught sight of herself in the hand mirror that laid at the bottom of her case, a stray tear slapped against the surface of her glasses, casting a wobbling splotch across her vision. Perhaps that was how the old man saw through his bad eye. Something must have gone wrong in the womb, she thought; some pressure that misshaped it. Maybe it was the same pressure that popped the connection in her brain that would have allowed her hands to work in tandem with her eyes.

She took off her glasses and set them aside, laying back on the prison mattress with her hand mirror above her. She watched herself with vision slightly blurred without her glasses, but still in focus. The face staring back was familiar, but she felt no ownership of it. Half hidden under the shag haircut she chose on her last out-day to Portland, streaked with tears, flushed at the extremities, hollow brown eyes glaring in defiance to the brokenness inside. It was the way she should look, but it wasn’t her. It was too pretty and too human. These days she was a fractionation, barely managing to act like a fully formed person in front of those boys. Grief clouded around her like moths, eating up her brain like a forgotten overcoat and tying the loose strings around the back of her tongue to stifle her speech. Jason had made her feel something like her old self for a few precious minutes, then Angus paid her the favour of shoving that part of her back into the box. Perhaps she should thank him. After all, she was closest to Elias this way.

A soft knock at the door interrupted her thoughts. She pushed herself up and took a shivering breath, and spoke in a voice that grated in her throat.

“I-it’s open.”

In waddled Mr Hunham, his unfocussed eyes clouded with pity. He adjusted his bowtie, then let his hands rest awkwardly by his round body, like a little brown penguin.

“Hello, Carol.” His smile was stilted, and overly toothy.

“Hi, um… Mr Hunham.”

“Please.” He hesitantly stepped toward her. “We’re in private. Just call me Paul.”

“Oh.” She paused. “U-uncle Paul?”

His eyes widened, and for a moment Carol thought he must be horrified at the suggestion, but soon he clasped his hands in front of him and smiled more genuinely than before.

“Sure. Uncle Paul.”

He just stood there for a long, awkward moment.

“Can-” She cleared her throat, willing the warble in her voice to still. “Can I help you?” She bit the inside of her cheek as punishment for stumbling on her words.

“Ah. Well, I was just seeing how you’re holding up.”

“I’m fine.” Her hand moved against her will to wipe a stray tear that tickled her cheek.

“You’re crying!” He hurried over, already wild as a bull. “If one of those reprobates said something to-”

“No!” She said, though her ribs still stung as though Angus had punched her right in the spleen. “No, nothing like that. I-I’m just… thinking about… Eli.”

“Ah.” Tentatively, he lowered himself onto the end of the bed. “I can’t imagine what you must be going through-”

“Please.” She put her hand up to absolve him, not sure if she would handle hearing any more sorries. “You don’t need to say anything.”

“Oh.”

They sat in silence for a while. Carol contemplated apologising, though she was not sure for what, so she stayed silent.

“I can’t imagine what you must be going through,” He repeated, eyeing her dubiously. “But I may know someone who can. After dinner tonight- if you want to, that is- I’d like to introduce you to Mary, our head of catering. She lost her son.”

“Oh.” She pinched her forearm, avoiding his line of sight as guilt chewed her up. “Sorry. I-I thought you were going to say… I don’t know, um-”

“I know what you meant.” Paul said gently.

“Hm.” She wiped at her face and finally met his cross-eyed gaze, darting her eyes between each of his before settling on the one that focussed on her. “Losing a child must be the hardest thing in the world.”

“I would imagine so.” He sighed. Hesitantly, he reached out to her and let his hand rest on her shoulder. “I’m glad you’re here, Carol. It’s been a long time since I’ve had the opportunity to entertain a guest, let alone family. Now, I know the circumstances are not ideal, and that we said we’d be staying in Boston, but-” He let out a frustrated huff. “I’ve been unfairly targeted by my pompous asshat of a superior, so we’ll just have to play the hand we’ve been dealt.”

“I don’t mind.” She said, minding it very much. “I’m not sure now is the right time for Boston.”

“I understand.” He gave her shoulder a squeeze and stood up to leave.

“Uncle Paul?”

“Yes, dear?”

“Thank you, for-”

Paul bolted upright like a meerkat as a loud thud came from the boys’ rooms, followed by the squeaking and shuffling of rubber soles on linoleum and the unmistakable grunting of two teenage boys locked in battle. He cast a wide eyed glance at her, stuttered an apology and dashed away. Carol sighed, gathering her strength and her glasses, and followed. She kept her distance as she approached, holding her arms around her waist in the old familiar protective stance.

“They weren’t fighting!” She heard Alex exclaim unconvincingly.

Peering past the younger boys she caught sight of Angus, his back pressed to the wall like a caged animal. He met her eyes with a look of such wild desperation that it knocked her off kilter with an overwhelming wave of sympathy, untempered even by her disdain for him. Then, she saw Teddy, standing with feet apart and arms raised from his sides as if poised to pounce back into the scrap. It made her skin crawl to see such malice written bold across his face, and felt validated in her immediate suspicion of him. There had been a strange glint in his eye when he rushed to shake her hand that afternoon, like sunlight on black ice. Jason stood between them, sleeves rolled up to the elbows and hair ruffled. The eye contact between them was brief; his eyes darted between her and her uncle, she raised a questioning eyebrow, he shrugged almost imperceptibly, and then it was over.

“I see.” Her uncle deadpanned. “And who started it, the ‘not fighting?’ Mm? Mr Tully? Perhaps you could shed some light on the subject?”

Carol stepped forward, intrigued. The boys stayed quiet, as she expected. All teenagers adhered to an unspoken code: don’t fink. Fink and you’re dead. Angus and Teddy’s eyes met in a silent challenge. Teddy jutted his jaw and glared like a petulant child.

“Mr Kountze? Mr Smith? Mr Ollerman? Mr Park? Alright then, we’ll do it like the Roman Legions.” Carol picked up a tinge of delight in her uncle’s voice. “Absent a confession, one man’s sin is every man’s suffering. For every minute the truth is withheld, you will all receive a detention.”

“I thought all the Nazis were hiding in Argentina.” Angus muttered. A barely contained laugh threatened to spill from Carol’s mouth, to her horror and confusion.

“Stifle it, Tully!” Mr Hunham checked his watch. “Now, in the first of said detentions, you will…” He paused as if thinking on his feet. “...clean the library. Top to bottom. Scraping the underside of the desks, which are caked with snot and gum, and all manner of unspeakable proteins.” Jason met her eyes, pleading silently ‘do something!’ “Ahh, on your hands and knees, down in the dust.” She felt a protest bubbling up in her chest. “Breathing in the dead skin of generations of students, and dessicated cockroaches-”

“Mr Hunham!”

“It was Kountze!” Little Alex blurted out, drowning her own exclamation. As he pointed desperately at Teddy, she caught Angus throwing him a look that landed somewhere between pity and disgust.

“Bravo, Mr Ollerman. Bravo!” Mr Hunham exclaimed sardonically, eyes shimmering with malignant joy. “As it stands, you've all had two hearty meals today, so I’m sure going without supper won’t hurt Mr Kountze too badly. We’ll be meeting in the dining hall in one hour, where you-” He waggled his finger at Teddy. “Will sit aside and watch us. I suggest you all take this time as an opportunity to study, and, uh, gentlemen? Break it up.”

With that, he waddled out past Park and Ollerman, raising his eyebrows as he caught sight of Carol waiting for him.

“Ah. You caught that, I assume?” She said nothing, just nodded and fell in step beside him. “I’m sensing some disapproval?”

“Well.” She bit her lip, unsure of how bold she should be. But then again, this Christmas couldn’t get any worse, right? “As a history teacher, I’m sure you’re familiar with the Geneva Convention.”

“Yes, I am.” Paul chuckled. “And I know what you’re getting at, too.”

“Well, personally, I’d rather not be subjected to any war crimes over my Christmas break. Plus, I’d rather not be in the position to agree with Angus Tully on something.”

“You’re off to a rocky start with him?”

“You could say that.”

“He’s a bright kid, in spite of his determination to act out and destroy his own potential.”

“I believe you.” She contemplated his words for a moment. “Maybe, and don’t take this the wrong way, if you, say… cut them some slack, the morale would be higher and everyone would get along a whole lot better. It’s Christmas.”

“Trust me, Carol, the last thing those boys need is leniency. They already think they can get away with murder, and I’d hate to see what comes after that. If you’re ever in the sorry position of a teacher, you’ll understand what I mean.”

“I suppose so.” She sighed, feeling thoroughly deflated. “See you at dinner.”

[babybluebex]

after next thursday (so in like 7 days) i will be done with classes, and then i’ve got 2 weeks before i move and start my new job. so i will have 2 weeks to do fuck all except write, and i INTEND to write venus. i swear to god i will write this if it kills me.

[sessalover]

omg falling in love w/ costar!dom on the set of a romcom 🤭

😏😏😏

falling in love

pairing: dominic sessa x reader

genre: fluff

——————

“cut!” alexander payne yelled. the set of his new movie was bustling; reprising paul giamatti and dominic sessa, this film focused on the rocky relationship between a comic slacker dad and his feisty daughter coming into adulthood. you, playing the daughter, “okay y/n that was amazing. dominic, i want you to give a little bit more longing, okay? you’ve been in love with this girl since childhood, okay?! i want you to show it.”

dominic chuckled, nodding, “yep, okay.”

you blushed slightly, trying to remain professional. just one more scene and the day would be done, and you could runaway from any feelings of real love and longing you have for the man standing opposite you. i mean really, you’d done romantic films before, you’d been an actor for years! so what was so different about this one?!

the answer was dominic. as he stood across from you now, making notes on his script, he had an air of both coolness and awkwardness; how? you had no idea, but you loved every second of it.

just one more scene. but that scene just happened to be the culmination of dominic’s character’s feelings towards yours’.

“do you know what i mean?”

you shook your head to clear your thoughts, glancing up to see dominic looking at you with an expectant look on his face, “huh? oh sorry. i wasn’t listening.”

dominic laughed, “don’t worry about it. i was just talking about the lines. i think— i mean you did it great, but just so i can bounce off it i think you might need to have a little less feeling? don’t take that as criticism though, you’re amazing. i mean- at acting, that is!”

“yeah,” you laughed nervously, nodding, “i understand. of course.”

a little less feeling, y/n.

“are you coming out after by the way?” dominic asked, kicking his feet, his hands in his pockets as he looked up at you.

“hmm?”

“after the shoot. me, paul and alexander are going for drinks, i was wondering if you wanted to come.”

“oh!” you exclaimed, thinking back to your ‘just one more scene’ thought. but getting closer to paul giamatti and alexander payne?!, “yeah, okay! sounds good!”

“nice,” dominic nodded, a small smile on his face.

“you guys ready?” alexander asked, eyebrows raised expectantly as you and dom nodded, handing your scripts off to someone, “okay, and- scene!”

—

“right! who wants another drink?” paul asked, “my round.”

“another beer please,” dominic smiled, “y/n, do you want another?”

you nodded, “yes, same again, thank you.”

alexander winked at dominic knowingly, “i’ll come and help you, paul.”

at that, the two men left the two of you with a small shared smile.

“how do you like the bar?” dom asked, looking around the room.

it was dark, with a small table lamp on each table. the four of you were sat in the corner of the bar, you and dom next to each other.

“yeah, it’s nice,” you smiled, “have you been here before?”

“yeah,” dominic nodded, “alexander and paul like it here so we come here quite a bit.”

you smiled, “it’s nice, the connection you have with them.”

“yeah. i mean they were so nice to me first time around, when i really knew nothing, so,” dominic shrugged, “how are you finding it?”

“it’s great!” you said, “i love this movie.”

“it’s great, right?” dom smiled, suddenly sincere, “i’m glad we can work on it together.”

your heart started to pound, suddenly overtly aware of how close your bodies were to each other; dominic’s arm resting on the booth behind you, his legs manspreading just enough so your thighs were grazing each others.

you nodded, swallowing heavily, “yeah. me too.”

unbeknownst to you, dominic’s own heart was pounding out his chest too.

‘don’t be chicken’, ‘just ask her out’, alexander and paul’s words rang out in his head. easy for them to say; hindsight’s a blessed thing in life. but this was it for him, one move and he either received shared feeling, or, had to endure embarrassment for months on end, and then a few more months after that when the film finally comes out. fuck it.

“would you be interested in—”

his nervous words were cut off by your lips, meeting his in the most desperate kiss he’d ever had.

“i’m so sorry,” you gasped, pulling away, “i–i’m going o-out— i’m just gonna–”

you stood up, rushing out the front of the bar before dominic could stop you. he suddenly stood up too, beginning to follow after you when alexander caught his arm.

“what happened?!”

“she kissed me,” dominic laughed, “…and then ran off.”

he got a swift push from paul, “go then!”

dominic rushed out the front of the bar, looking around frantically before locating you pushed up against the wall, taking a drag from a cigarette.

how could you do that?! you agonised; he was probably just going to ask you a regular, ordinary question, as co-workers do, but your delusional thinking had you making moves, and for what?!

“y/n,” dominic sighed.

you cringed, “dom, i’m so—”

he shut you up by pressing his lips to yours. when he pulled away you both were breathing heavily, a shocked look on your faces.

“i was gonna ask if you wanted to get dinner with me some time.”

“like a date?” you swallowed.

dominic smiled, “yeah. is that okay?”

you laughed, answering by pulling him back in and giving him another kiss.

“come on, paul just got us another round,” dominic smiled, taking your hand as you took one last drag from your cigarette before throwing it down.

you walked back inside, hand in hand, your cheeks remaining a flushed pink colour. dominic led you back to the table.

“sorry,” he smiled at the two men, letting you get into the booth first before following, not ever dropping your hand.

paul and alexander both looked at the two of you with raised eyebrows.

“hmm?”

alexander laughed, motioning round his lips, “think your lipstick got a little smudged. yours too, y/n.”

[freshmoviequotes]

The Holdovers (2023)

[swannsways]

favorite Angus Tully's quotes, The Holdovers (2023) dir. Alexander Payne

[365filmsbyauroranocte]

The Holdovers (Alexander Payne, 2023)

[sesiondemadrugada]

The Holdovers (Alexander Payne, 2023).

[lightningcrashes]

DOMINIC SESSA as ANGUS TULLY THE HOLDOVERS (2023) | Dir. Alexander Payne

[rodrickheffeley]

Timothee chalamet for the working class

[domsessasource]

dominic has apparently seen challengers (2024)! (source)

[lovevanpalmer]

[shattereddteacup]

The Holdovers (2023)

Dir. Alexander Payne

Language: English

[sessalover]

I love imagining going to an award show with Dominic and both of you guys are up for awards (in my head I imagine being a filmmaker but feel free to change it) and both of you guys win and at the after party you guys are dubbed the new power couple in film.

need this to happen in my life actually,, anyway hope you enjoy🫡

power couple

pairing: dominic sessa x reader

genre: fluff

——————

“and the golden globe for best actor in a motion picture drama goes to,” bradley cooper paused as he presented the award, “dominic sessa, congratulations man.”

dominic’s eyes widened, the two of you jumping up from your seats as he embraced you. you placed a kiss on his lips, holding his hands and telling him how proud you were before shoving him in the direction of the stage.

“thank you so much,” dominic spoke into the mic, “oh my god it’s bradley cooper!”

you laughed, he may as well be more excited about meeting his idol than winning his first golden globe. he continued to reel off his thanks: the crew, the cast, his agent, his family.

“and finally. i want to thank my life and soul and heart and body and mind,” he reeled on, laughing and placing his hand on his heart, “y/n. you support me every day and i could never do this without you.”

you wiped a couple of tears from your eyes, the camera focusing in on you as dominic blew a kiss before exiting the stage.

the next award was for best screenplay: your category. the two of you always knew you’d be one after the other, which meant win or lose, you’d have to do it without dom by your side. though you remained happy in the knowledge that at least he’d been rewarded for his talents.

“and the award for best screenplay goes to… y/n y/l/n!”

“oh my god,” you gasped, standing up and embracing your team. although you’d done the writing by yourself, it was an industry that required so many people on a project that you could never take the credit by yourself. or maybe you could.

going onto the stage, you hugged and thanked the presenter as you accepted the award and placed it down on the little table next to you.

“y/n!” a call came, as dominic rushed back onto the stage.

“dom!” you laughed, embracing him as he cheered for you, before leaving as quick as he’d arrived.

you continued laughing, overwhelmed with emotion as you approached the microphone, “sorry, he’s just a really big fan.”

with laughs from the mega-famous members of the audience, you continued your speech with a shaky breath.

“i want to thank the whole team, the creators of this film for trusting me with the script, the actors for bringing it to life, the producers for their money,” you laughed, “um, my family. my friends. everybody back home who consistently believed in me, and of course, as said already, so eloquently tonight; i want to thank the love of my life, dominic, for remaining by my side with steady support for everything i do. i love you more than life itself and i couldn’t do this without you, thank you.”

—

“you ready for the after party?” dominic whooped, flailing around your intertwined hands in a sort of dance from the back seat of your cab.

you laughed, “let go!”

dominic laughed, letting go of your hand but leaning over to look at your phone with you. he may not have his own social media, but he sure does love to look at yours.

“what they saying?” he hummed, stroking your arm gently.

dominic and y/n are so cute😭😭😭😭 crying i need him

idk if im more jealous of him or her she looks fucking amazing in that dress

dominic and y/n power couple🫡

golden globes are shaking at their power

“i think they’re pretty happy,” you laughed, showing him a couple of your favourites tweets.

the cab pulled up outside the after party venue, dom smiling at you before helping you out the car and into the building.

“dom!” michelle pfeiffer called the two of you over to her circle of uber-famous friends, making you flush. not dom though, to him they were just co-workers, taking this all in his stride.

“michelle,” he smiled, walking over, his hand staying intertwined with yours, “this is my girlfriend, y/n.”

“y/n, hi!” she exclaimed, pulling you into a polite cheek-kiss greeting as she introduced you to the rest of the circle, “so what do you do?”

you chuckled, “i’m a writer, actually!”

“she just won,” dom smiled proudly, nudging you.

“oh my god, what?! and so did you dom! wow,” michelle hummed, “a real power couple here, huh?”

dominic laughed, as you hid your face in his shoulder.

“we’re gonna go say hi to a few other people, it was lovely seeing you, michelle,” dom smiled, wishing everyone a goodbye as the two of you made your way over to the bar. dom ordered effortlessly, pressing a kiss to your head, “power couple, huh?”

you laughed, cheering your drinks together, “that’s what everyone’s saying!”

[archirenaux]

Dominic Sessa and Brady Hepner as Angus Tully and Teddy Kountze THE HOLDOVERS (2023), dir. Alexander Payne

[swannsways]

The Holdovers was a little movie that we made in Boston, about three people that came together to form a little family.