“ i know a bit about that, yeah. ” sure, he has experience with being in a relationship with someone ‘perfect’ and navigating expectations, but stifled isn’t exactly the word he’d use for it. it’s something that would probably affect him more now than it did back then. “ don’t think it’s shallow, just sounds like you weren’t into him anymore. which, fair enough. shit happens. but you missed out on one big opportunity. a divorce party, they’re fucking fun. ”

            takes   in   deep   breath   .   "   it   was   ...   i   don't   know   .   "   shoulders   shrug   slightly   .   femme   had   never   been   asked   why   ,   and   never   really   thought   about   an   answer   ,   either   .   "   i   felt   stifled   .   you   know   how   everyone   around   you   says   something   is   perfect   ?   the   perfect   relationship   with   the   perfect   man   ?   it   all   became   too   much   .   maybe   it   sounds   shallow   of   me   ,   but   saying   no   to   the   proposal   made   more   sense   than   going   through   with   an   engagement    and   marrying   someone   because   it's   expected   .   "

the towel around his neck slides off to whip behind him, slapping one of his team members on their leg. with a nod and a telling glance, they leave to give robbie a moment with zehra, walking past with claps to the shoulder and pats on the back. " you enjoyed the show, then. " a champion, a winner, the feeling of triumph only grows at the sight of her and it's reflected in the way he matches her smile. " i enjoyed yours too. " it motivated him to perform at his best, though he'd always known he was going to win. " but if i'd known you were the prize, i'd have ended him a lot sooner. " @sou1tied

𝒄𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒘 / 𝒛𝒆𝒉𝒓𝒂 + 𝒓𝒐𝒃𝒃𝒊𝒆 !

former miss universe's presence had been requested as a ring girl to tonight's match , to which she fainly obliged. not as glamorous as her typical events , but any opportunity to promote her brand would surely be seized. the night had concluded and the brunette finds herself picking at various fruits sat atop plastic table backstage , when a round of applause erupts amongst the others around her. body turns on heel to catch sight of him , corners of lips curving into a mischievous smile. " nice job out there , killer. " ( @robbickent. )

lowers his sunglasses down to peer down at her phone. after a fleeting moment of consideration, he shakes his head. " fuck no. you're gonna make me ugly. "

         "this ... might be a weird question."   approaches the other,  phone in hand.   "but ... can i use your face as a character?" / @nepofmstarters

" it's not my fault you're insecure in your 'relationship'. " fingers make quotation marks just for the hell of it. the claim is based solely on her most recent reaction. she could just be sensitive. " and i believe you can find yours too, " he replies sarcastically.

“ aww, well isn't that sweet, ” he says drily, not a single part of him touched by her words, which had nothing to do with how unconvincing they were. “ but you don't really believe that … ” soulmates, people belonging to one another, they were all concepts. not real reasons. “ 'cause if you did, you wouldn't look so fuckin' sad. ”

AARON TAYLOR-JOHNSON for Esquire (August 2023)

“ only if you admit you did that in front of me on purpose. ” he counters with the same motive. where her gaze lands on his with ice cold sharpness, he matches it with the intensity of the fire that’d kept their relationship alive. “ so, what, you getting back together with that fuckin’ loser or what? ”

"  everything  suits  me  .  "  she  wasn't  acknowledging  any  truth  in  his  comment  ,  dark  eyes  glaring  and  cold  ,  a  smug  smile  on  her  lips  .  her  words  could  shoot  to  kill  when  she  vouched  not  to  care  .  "  you  can  admit  that  you're  stalking  me  like  some  unhinged  scorned  lover  ,  "  she  offers  ,  words  meant  to  irritate  rather  than  anything  else  .

if she doesn't laugh then he will, for the both of them. a deep and hoarse sound scratching his throat as it leaves him, a result from all the cigarettes he'd been smoking. " guns at the met gala, that's how i know you're crazy. " he places his phone down on the table as he leans back into his seat. " but i back it. and when all the cucks start trying to take you from me, i can fight 'em. it's a win win. "

"  makes  sense  ,  "  responded  easily  ,  not  bothered  by  the  interaction  they  were  sharing  or  concerned  at  all  .  her  gaze  seems  to  flicker  gradually  to  the  picture  and  instead  of  extending  a  laugh  ,  she  just  nods  ,  "  yeah  …  i  mean  …  it  was  a  great  moment  but  they  didn't  get  my  best  angle  there  …  now  …  a  met  gala  shot  ,  that  would  have  got  my  guns  of  steel  in  and  then  the  world  would  know  …  i'm  sexy  as  hell  .  "

“ i know, i'm hilarious. ” a sarcastic, shit-eating grin. “ but a sad situation is a sad situation. ” do people at funerals stand up and ask for condolences? no, he didn’t think so. and robbie is the type to call it what it is. “ quite, but not very. or extremely. or completely. ”

"that's funny, i don't recall asking for any condolences," cameron responded almost immediately, a scowl quickly appearing across his face. to think that he thought he'd heard it all. "i am quite happy," he responded. he could've offered up more, but it wasn't any of robbie's business.

everything is true, not everything is true. ah, so she’s indecisive. the story is starting to make more sense. except: “ less than six hours is still a pretty long fuckin’ time. ” six hours to change her mind, six hours to realise she’d made a mistake. how humiliating, for him, for her to be that fucking sure. it’s why you always had to be the one to leave first. “ why did you say no? ”

            exhales   softly   as   she   realizes   she   talks   too   damn   much   ,   dropping   weight   back   against   chair   before   bringing   glass   to   glossed   petals   .   "   everything   that   came   out   in   the   tabloids   is   true   ...   mostly   .   not   everything   in   the   tabloids   is   true   .   "   there   is   truth   to   some   of   it   ,   and   femme   was   in   fact   proposed   to   at   a   lavish   party   that   ultimately   ended   the   moment   the   word   no   dared   to   leave   petals   .   "   i   left—   we   weren't...   we   weren't   even   living   together   anyway   so   leaving   wasn't   too   hard   .   it   takes   less   than   six   hours   to   pack   up   some   stuff   in   a   closet   and   a   few   drawers   .   "

hiro’s almost right. it was never praise but the opposite. but he’d happily let the assumption go by uncorrected. “ i’d say that makes you the kind of person that oughtta stick around. ” in a city where privacy is too much to ask for, where everyone knows everyone and feeds off of each other’s business, it’s a welcomed change. grabbing a new glass , he fills it with whiskey and slides it across towards the other. “ i’m jack. ” yes he googled after kady geary’s tears. “ and you are? ”

the  other’s  initial  statement  has  hiro  pause,  chocolate  hues  blinking  owlishly  in  bemusement  as  his  brain  pieces  together  what  he  could  possibly  be  wrong  on.  what  he’s  not  expecting  is  the  odd  bit  of  insightfulness  and  laughter  is  quick  to  bubble  out  past  his  lips,  an  abrupt  sound  in  the  otherwise  quiet  conversation.  hiro  grins  with  a  light  shake  of  his  head.  ❝  guess  if  you  hear  enough  praise  from  people  telling  you  you’re  something  then  it  can  lead  to  an  inflated  ego,  ❞  his  head  cocks  in  feigned  thought,  amusement  pulling  at  his  features  as  he  watches  the  man  across  from  him.  ❝  humble  too  apparently.  what  does  it  say  about  me  if  i  don’t  know  who  you  are  ??  ❞

“ a bit dramatic man, ” robbie muses. “ nothing’s worse than an amnesia plot. ” except maybe the shit he used to do for disney. but maybe he’s biased, his experience on set as a child clouding his judgement. he can’t look at a single photo from those days without feeling unsettled. “ i can think of a pretty simple way to get someone to feel your sincerity, ” he jokes, knowing that’s not what jaeha meant. sincerity is a pretty fucking funny word for it. “ you know what, i’d do it if it was with someone fuckin’ annoying and ruin it for both of us. ”

 ° |   🎧  ❛ ❛  ♫ 𝄈♫ 𝄈 Jaeha chuckled at the approval his answer granted him, though he was being sincere with his words. His heart was his own matter and no one could mess with it and whatever he chose for himself after all, Jaeha was a bit of hopless romantic on the inside. " It's worse than the soap operas my mother likes to watch. " The producer chuckled, because to him that was how it looked, ridiculous. " Not work at all." He said right away. " I don't like that sort of attention . . . plus, how will someone feel your sincerity after that ? " Perhaps no one cared about that, but Jaeha did. " And you ? "

“ … what? ” bemused, he narrows his gaze at her. slightly more irritable than usual from a lack of sleep and too much caffeine to get through the day, catching that look in her eyes makes him prickly, like a large uncouth petulant hedgehog. “ and what research might this be? ”

⋆˚✿ 𝐋𝐎𝐂𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍: anywhere.

⋆˚✿ 𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐈𝐂𝐈𝐏𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐒: open. @nepofmstarters

ruby's eyes suddenly widened in horror at the sight of a multitude of cat hairs on the other's clothing. it looked like a bunch of black hairs, which could only mean one thing-- were those one of her beloved cats, pekoe's, hairs? how did that even happen while the two just barely brushed shoulders? a number of questions intruded her brain, but a bunch of word jumble came out of her mouth instead. "so, do you have cats? random question, but this is for research purposes." not random at all, but a smooth attempt at continuing the conversation.

“ yeah, hello? hi. there’s a giant mutant rat the size of a small human child on the corner of bond street off bowery. ” robbie stands in front of ricky, staring down at her blankly, pretending to talk to some kind of pest termination services on his phone that’s obviously out of battery. “ not dangerous but clinically unwell. ” prods the side of her arm with his foot. “ actually, scrap that. definitely a harm to society, she’ll need to be put down, for sure. ”

❝ Don't ask, ❞ Ricky stated, hearing footsteps on the sidewalk headed directly towards where she lay, flat of her back, staring up at the sky with a woe-is-me expression. ❝ It's been a... ❞ Day? Week? Month? Year? Where to begin. ❝ Life, ❞ she said after a momentary pause, heaving an overdramatic sigh, nothing in particular wrong, but she could name a hundred things. ❝ It has been a life. ❞

OPEN: @nepofmstarters

“ not you again. ” a knock on the door at 3am could mean anything, but why is it always khalil? he shouldn’t have moved. “ what the fuck do you want? and no, buy your own milk. ” @lilacrespite

“ eh, ” he offers with a single shrug, holding his phone up in front of her. it shows a photo of messi, capturing the celebratory moment of one of his many goals since coming to the us. “ i always date down, you know. makes me feel better about myself, fragile ego and that. but— ” he inches closer, phone now hovering next to her face, “ —you don’t photograph well, so can’t say it’s a fair assessment. ”

she  barely  flinches  ,  her  opinion  on  what  the  press  publishes  that  it  was  nothing  but  drama  .  they  could  have  said  anything  about  her  ,  she'd  already  been  through  hell  .  painting  on  a  disappointed  look  ,  doe  eyes  wide  and  her  mouth  opening  slightly  as  she  lets  out  a  clearly  fake  gasp  .  "  oh  my  goodness  .  that's  so  sad  .  how  do  you  feel  knowing  that  you're  settling  for  little  old  me  ?  "

“ you might enjoy getting shat on but luckily i’m into other things. ” nicholas is at least a decade too late if he’s trying to pass on the wisdom of finding peace amidst the bullshit. “ have i tried playing chess? ” read: are you fucking serious. “ yeah, i play chess after jerking off to my pokemon cards and praying to buddha for me to finally lose my virginity. ” basically what he imagines drew does in his spare time.

"there's plenty of dumb and pathetic shit in our faces, man," nicolaus mentioned, moving his queen to defend his rook and threaten the computer's pawn. "you ever just tried ignoring it? or...playing chess?" he said by way of continuing the conversation and answering the other's question that he was, indeed, playing chess.

“ aww, well isn't that sweet, ” he says drily, not a single part of him touched by her words, which had nothing to do with how unconvincing they were. “ but you don't really believe that … ” soulmates, people belonging to one another, they were all concepts. not real reasons. “ 'cause if you did, you wouldn't look so fuckin' sad. ”

choked  up  by  this  rather  shocking  news  ,  kady  could  hardly  believe  that  anyone  would  question  the  epic  romance  her  and  jack  clearly  had  .  she  sniffles  …  "  break  up  ?  "  it  feels  like  an  impossible  question  as  her  lip  wobbles  ,  "  we  can't  break  up  .  we're  meant  to  be  together  .  we're  soul  mates  ,  "  questionable  ,  certainly  not  true  …  even  she  had  to  convince  herself  of  that  one  .