life's so fun !

this is where stza would idly played with the hole in his jeans, with the fringes and frays. but these pants didn't have any. it was a date- it was supposed to be nice. "done." there's a brief pause. one that might have been a small jump, but the jokes could have been more of the truth. "i'm always down for gross fried food. especially a burger. but what do you think of that being the precursor for the michelin star thing?"

THERE'S A SHIFT IN THE atmosphere that birdie knows better than to comment on. things have always been easy with stza, the one person who seems able to keep up with how fast her mind spins. now he might've outdone her though. a beat passes before she finds her voice. « oh, i didn't ... i mean, you don't have to ... » she's not often rendered speechless, but this is the day of surprises, apparently. « is this like a pity - thing ? you know, i am capable of scoring myself a date. » and really, it's the only explanation that seems to make any sense to her. stza has only ever viewed her as a friend — she assumes anyway.

he listens to everything she says, a truth that brooks quickly decides against pointing out as instead he settles for offering a smile in her direction. it's more than josh, he knows that much — it's embarrassing how often he's corrected the other male on how dean takes her coffee, her favourite snack, what she'll want to do on a date his roommate's not thought to plan until the hour before. he can't point it out because he shouldn't know it. “ not the great dean saab, a secret fan of the fearless era. ” he teases, leaning back in his chair to pull his gaze reluctantly from her and out to the view. “ i should introduce you to my people, reckon we could get a good duet going. ” though it's far easier not to, intertwining dean with as little of his life as possible when he's well aware how easily she flitters in and out of it in the interest of a relationship that has nothing to do with him. his gaze can't help but tug back to her little performance, the smile on his lips painfully sincere as brooks makes a mental note to check out the song late. “ oh no, i'm just trying to asses if i'm gonna need a better pair of headphones. ” he jokes, features softening slightly as the topic turns to a faint discomfort he's far more familiar with. “ the noise cancelling on these is alright but — might be that or setting up a bed out here. ” not that he hasn't fallen asleep on the plastic picnic chairs before, though his neck's never quite forgiven him for it. he could always make a quick escape out to his parent's cabin, though avoiding the couple long term isn't an option. even if it were, brooks isn't really sure he wants to. “ alright. ” he hums instead. “ looks like dean's provisions are back on the shopping list, i'm not having you finishing all the milk and bread. ”

SHE FEELS AT HOME HERE, in a way she's never had anywhere else, even in the arms of josh. for a girl that has only ever learned how to run it stirs something awake in her that she's not willing to confront. she fears she may never be ready for it. « that's ammunition, you know. i'm trusting you with my deepest, darkest secrets, » she grins, leaning back in her seat. there's goosebumps growing on her skin as she wraps the shirt she stole from josh tighter around her frame, arms crossed in front of her chest. there's a spark in her eyes as she turns her head to gaze at brooks. « hey now, don't start shit you can't finish. i will take you up on that offer. what are we singing ? » it's never going to happen, she knows that — knows that before they ever get close to making plans, his roommate will break up with her again and weeks will pass before she returns and has to start from square one. it always feels like brooks is on the verge of unlocking something within her. it's just always a little too late. her gaze drops at his next comment, an embarrassed hue coloring her cheeks. « sorry. i'll make sure you don't need to make other arrangements in the future, okay ? don't want you freezing out here. » even when the time they spend out here is precious to her. « if it helps i'll bring my own milk and bread. could even try to convince josh to camp out at my place every now and then, » she attempts as a peace offering, but she knows that even if josh were to say yes that would entail their dates being far less frequent. it's fucked up, but it's true: her relationship feels like an empty shell without brooks.

Ryann Bailey as Persephone Lancaster in Seeking Persephone ✧ — 2026

             the   movie   is   such   a   sweet   and   understated   form   of   comfort   that   lily   could   feel   their   whole   body   relaxing   against   caleb’s.   it   still   felt   slightly   wrong   to   want   something   ,   but   lily   kept   reminding   themself   that   their   wants   were   valid   and   real.   even   though   their   grandparents   had   spent   the   better   part   of   their   ,   and   their   siblings   ,   lives   trying   to   diminish   them   until   they   all   were   pale   copies   of   themselves.    “you   picked   the   movie   ,”    lily   chastised   him   gently   ,   urging   him   to   keep   his   eyes   on   the   tv   screen.    “and   i   know   quotes   from   it. ‘where   is   your   grandpa   right   now   ?   in   the   trunk   of   our   car’.   see ?”    their   breath   hitched   slightly   when   they   felt   caleb’s   hand   gently   intertwine   with   their   own   ,   and   without   hesitation   they   returned   the   favour.   the   ice   cream   was   no   doubt   melting   in   lily’s   hands   ,   but   they   couldn’t   bring   themself   to   move.   not   now   that   they   were   in   this   delicate   limbo   in   between   worlds   where   the   slightest   action   could   change   everything. 

SMILE GROWS LARGER ON his face at their words, tilting his head back to attempt to focus on the screen. but he put on this very movie for the sake of not having to watch it, when his time with lily always feels so limited. he'll be back on the road again as soon as his foot has healed, and he'll be out there for god knows how long. he loves playing, but sometimes he wonders if this is what he'd been intended for or if he's just a wrong puzzle piece forcing himself to fit. here he fits though, like a glove. « you're learning. i'm proud, » he chuckles quietly, tilting his head slightly so it rests atop of theirs. he's allowed to, and yet his gaze moves downwards as if he can gauge their reaction from here. « is this ... are you okay ? » he checks in, is still trying to unlearn that he has to, all the time.

more important to be married? is that what she thought? they were a mess. an awful combination. someone who needed to be able to free at a moment's notice and one who latched on with full intensity. "it wasn't. not like that." how did she put it that the new partner was there for her when she needed it? in a way that wasn't scathing anymore. all of the anger had left and now it was full on sadness. that simple. no anger, just sadness. "it wasn't," june repeated herself. "but, to me, you left. you left me. i was alone. i felt alone. i spiraled. for weeks. she pulled me out of this, but was also there for me through it all." it wasn't love. not like her and tinsley had. not even close. it was more like friendship with added benefits. "sure, you were coming back but i didn't know when. i knew nothing."

JUNE DESERVES HAPPINESS, but tinsley looks around now, lets her gaze lingers on her ex, and it's not happiness she sees. it makes her irrationally angry, the thought of having given up on what they had for something that wasn't even worth it. tinsley could've made june happy. tinsley would've, if given the time. and now, all she can do is listen, desperately listening for that joy that's simultaneously supposed to be there, and that can't be there. because it means what june has with her new girlfriend is real. tinsley doesn't know if that would make this better or worse. « then you got what you wanted, didn't you ? » she mutters. « you got your person. congrats, june. i hope you two will be very happy together. »

“let’s go to your place. haven’t been in ages anyway and you’ve got a pool, right?” she flashes a grin, already plotting something a little chaotic for the rest of the day. “we can order food, and you can give me all the details about this wedding. who is this guy, and how weird is his family?” laughing, she loops her arm through his, their steps falling into sync. “also… i have to ask...why me?” her free hand lifts, gesturing vaguely as she searches for the right words. she doesn’t want to sound insecure or pitiful, but it lingers there anyway. royce could have anyone. she’s sure most guys in his position would show up with some victoria’s secret model they picked out of a catalog. “…you sure you want to drag me along and not, i don’t know… someone you actually like?” she can feel the heat creeping into her cheeks, the faint sting of it. “i mean, i’m amazing company, so i get it but i was just wondering.”

when the question comes, royce can't act like it doesn't surprise him. he gazes over at zuri quizzically, head tilting to one side. « i actually like you, » he protests, but it sounds so much like a confession he's not ready to air yet so he clears his throat. « you're my best friend. i can't think of anyone else i'd have as much fun with as you. besides, all those stuffy athletes ? boring as shit. i would've gone alone if you said no. »

GILMORE GIRLS 4.14 | The Incredible Sinking Lorelais

heat wins. he says all the right words that causes them to detonate somewhere low in her spine. one heartbeat she’s frozen in indecision, the next she’s moving, satin dress whisper-tight around her thighs as she closes the inch of static between them. fingertips curl into his shirt, yank just hard enough to jolt a breath from his lungs; then her mouth crashes into his. tequila, regret, relief, all colliding in the dark sugar taste of him. teeth catch on his bottom lip; her exhale shudders into the space they’re trying to occupy together. something hot leaks from the corner of her eye—gravity drags the tear along her cheekbone and she doesn’t wipe it away; lets him feel the slip of it against his skin, proof of everything words keep failing to hold. when she finally, barely — pulls back, lips swollen, breath a prayer, voice husk against his mouth. "you haven't lost me." she whispers, the word trembling on another suspended tear, forehead resting against his. this was the all or nothing moments, her mother always told her about. "there's only you for me."

SHE CRASHES INTO HIM and in the heated desperation of being close and yet not close enough jonas feels like he can finally breathe again. it's supposed to be this way — he's supposed to feel this burning and he only ever can when it's her. a relieved chuckle escapes his lips when her words begin to sink in and center him, hands resting on her waist where they've so often found refuge before. the world could crumble around them and it would change nothing. he would still only have eyes for her. « god, i love you, » he breathes against her lips, a promise he intends to keep for life. « i'll prove it. every day, if you'll let me. » and there's urgency to insist they leave this place, that they go home to someplace that can house them both for as long as they live, but jonas has followed this recipe before and never made it to the finish line. this time he will go slow. « i'll be better. i'll be good. »

people have stopped asking . enough people around him have either come to know him as the thirsty man he is , or has been aorund long enough to know the story . there's less concern when he finds solace at the bottle of a pint glass or serenity in a shot . so her question takes him off guard a little bit , and he blinks a few times at her . " nothin' today . maybe i'm just a thirtsty guy , lor . you know , camel of the house . " his shoulders lift with a shrug , it's barely a bandaid of an answer .

SHE'S SPENT MORE YEARS out of this town than in it. there are times she regrets leaving, and there are times she regrets ever coming back. this feels like a bit of both. a small town talks, but loretta rarely listens. a byrne knows better than to tune in to the rumor mill. « you must think i was born yesterday, » she hums, sliding him a glass of water for good measure. he can hold his liquor — doesn't mean it's good for him. « why don't you humor me for a sec, stranger ? a burden shared and all that. »

it's head versus heart every time . even before the eternity marius had given him , kieran led with his heart . it had pulled him away from his family , his siblings , and pulled him direction into marius' arms time and time again . his head and every red flag he can only stare at every time he passes them , never stand a chance . the memory of the hurt he's left with in the wake of each time marius leaves him , the loneliness that settles and rots his insides in the other's absense , it's all moot whenever marius calls him home . he can pretend and front that he's putting his foot down , but with marius whispering to him and holding him again , he's crumbling already . eyes flutter shut and he's so damn close , kieran's entirey body pulls into marius . he knows it's a lie , he can feel the sharp and jagged edges of his words that only show themselves when marius is untruthful , but he can't find it in himself to care . to break apart this moment . he melts into him , his arms wrapping around marius . " please don't break my heart again . " it's not meant to be said aloud , he doesn't want to beg this man for anything again . lips find marius' and it's like coming home .

HUMANITY HAD BEEN SCARCE in him long before he turned into what he is now. marius has always been different, has always held emotions at an arm's length and used connections as nooses meant to control rather than bonds to be maintained. and still, in his own wicked way, he cares for kieran in a way that up until him has been unimaginable. he'd been ready to roam the earth alone for centuries until realizing he doesn't need to — he can be adored so fully for all of his existence that half of it would be enough. in a way, marius is also wearing a noose. kieran is just much too kind to kick the stool from underneath him. « i won't, » he insists, a grin working its way to his lips at the knowledge that he's won, again. « and you won't break mine, right ? it does belong to you, you know. don't forget it. it's always you. » until it isn't. but right now, lips finding each other like a homecoming, marius can't imagine being anywhere else.

We don't need poetry, we just need to keep our story straight.

she had been listening. not necessarily to the words. those were easy enough to follow. it was everything else that caught her attention. the slight hesitation. the fidgeting. the way their attention seemed to drift for half a second before snapping back. little things she probably would've missed if she hadn't spent years sitting across from people and learning how to read what wasn't being said. brows pinched together slightly. studying them. and then — " oh. " the realization settled all at once. softening her features almost immediately. " oh, are you nervous ? " the question wasn't teasing or amused. if anything, it sounded a little surprised. like she'd just stumbled across something and couldn't help but let it fall off of her. " I've just never seen you like this before. " head tilted slightly to one side. hues remained fixed on them, trying to piece it together. a smile tugged gently at the corners of her mouth. " hey, it's okay. " the reassurance came before they even had the chance to argue. whether they admitted it or not wasn't really the important part. " regardless if you are or not — I know you're going to be amazing, okay ? " @silkchvffon ✦

SHE'S ALWAYS FRIGHTENED, which is why acting has also always come in handy for her. despite feigned confidence there is always that corner of her mind she can't break out of completely — always that tantalizing voice letting her know she's not good enough. she's twirling a strand of her hair obsessively around one finger as she speaks, words stumbling over each other as she draws up her plan for the audition tomorrow for the hundredth time, reciting the lines under her breath between every sentence. the fact that millie still puts up with her at all should earn them a medal. « nervous ? » she scoffs instantly, as if the mere idea of it is ridiculous when lucia's sweating just thinking about it. it feels like she has a real chance this time, and it's this high hope she's scared will come crashing and burning by the end of tomorrow. it helps knowing millie might be there to catch her though. a beat passes before lucia lets out a sigh and nods. « i'm shitting myself, » she admits, attempts a chuckle that dies out immediately. « this could be it, you know. i mean, it's coppola. i'm not getting a chance like this again. »

he'd imagined this moment a dozen different ways while while on the boat. none of them looked quite like this. arms crossed loosely over his chest as he studied the other for a moment. taking inventory. lingered there, searching for something he couldn't quite put a name to. maybe proof that they'd been miserable without him. maybe proof that they hadn't. he wasn't entirely sure which answer he even wanted. a faint smile tugged at one corner of his mouth. " so you're good then. " head nodded a few times, mostly to himself. as if he was trying to reassure himself before they could even answer. " yeah. okay. " the words came quieter. " good — good. " was that the only word he knew in this moment ? apparently. his gaze drifted away for a second, landing somewhere just over their shoulder before eventually finding its way back. two months. eight weeks. it didn’t normally feel as long as this stint did, his thoughts didn’t normally fixate toward people like this either. and now here they were. standing right in front of him. a breath let out through his nose. " you're happy ? " a small smirk pulled briefly at his mouth before fading again. " I just — " words stalled for a moment. " wanted to make sure you're alright since I couldn’t really check in while I was on the boat and all, you know ? “ @silkchvffon ✦

SHE'S USED TO THE long stretches of time without him. what she's not used to is not waiting. they'd called it quits for a reason, hoping that the freedom would prove liberating for both of them, but lola still misses him immensely and now she can no longer even look forward to his return — he's not returning for her. she's attempted to convince herself he'd wash away with time, but she still imagines his scent on her pillow, his hand around hers. it's been months and every day still aches like it was yesterday. standing in front of him now feels so unfamiliar and yet so known she's tempted to reach a hand out for him, to calm the nerves she can see so plainly written on his face, but it's not her place to do anymore. instead she folds her arms over her chest, imagining a warmth that's no longer here. « i'm good. happy, » she confirms, though it sounds unconvincing even to her own ears. « well, you don't need to do that anymore, remember ? that was kinda the whole point. » she needs him not to worry, not to think of her — it's the only way to justify what they have become. « you look well. was it ... was it a good trip ? »

" yes, absolutely. I understand your concerns. " the brunette balanced the phone between her shoulder and ear, one hand gripping a rolling clothing rack as she hurried through the hallway. customer service voice remained perfectly intact. smooth. pleasant. practiced. " I'll see what I can do on my end and get back to you shortly. " a beat, disconnection. " shit. " the curse left under her breath as she lowered the phone. frustration flashing across her features for exactly two seconds before she was moving again. orbs swept the hallway. locked. " you. yes, yes, you. come here. " she didn't wait for confirmation. didn't wait for permission, either. one hand immediately latched onto their arm while the other kept hold of the clothing rack. " emergency, okay ? " already dragging them along. " I need you to try these on right now. " explanation rattled off as she maneuvered both them and the rack toward a vacant dressing room. a shoulder shoved the door open. " and let's manifest the hell out of this working because otherwise we're going to have to get especially creative here... how do you feel about light nudity in like an artistic, we don't have another option kind of way ? " a pause as she thrusted some hangers in their direction. " okay, no never mind. don't need to answer that yet but maybe consider your thoughts as you change. "  @silkchvffon ✦

HE'S BEEN DOING HIS BEST to mirror his teammates and the way they move in the world outside of the court. embry still feels like the awkward kid in a one - bedroom apartment with limbs too long for him to work out how to use unless it was with a basketball in his hands — like someone somewhere made a mistake, put him in a jersey and on a payroll. he feels at home on court. it's off of it that has become a bigger issue than he'd anticipated. media training aside, embry has decided it's better he keeps his mouth shut as much as possible in order to not embarrass himself, but as he's shoved around by naina he attempts to put up a weak protest. would be a lot easier to do if he wasn't kind of scared of her though. « emergency ? » he echoes, hopelessly stumbling along, hand shooting out automatically to grab the hangers as they hit his chest. « what ? i'm not getting naked, miss varma, » he weakly intercepts, but he's nothing if not obedient, and it seems to be a matter of urgency. he gets into the dressing room and into the outfit she's presented him with, stepping out of the room awkwardly. « i'm missing a shirt. » not to mention the pants are too tight and he can't even buckle them. « kinda lukewarm about the nudity - idea now. »

brows pinched together in a reaction that vaguely resembled confusion. " what do you mean ? just quit. " the words flowed off him entirely genuine. not sarcastic. not teasing. genuine. because as far as he was concerned, the solution seemed painfully obvious. " you hate your boss anyways. " as if that settled that. like there wasn't possibly any other factor worth considering here. he shifted further back against the couch cushions, one leg tucked beneath himself as he continued studying the other. his band had exploded so fast that reality had stopped functioning properly months ago. tour buses. sold out shows. cities blurring together. enough money that he didn't really check his bank account anymore. so to him, at this point, the answer really was that simple. " if you're really that concerned about work — we can find you something on tour. " @silkchvffon ✦

INCREDULOUS GAZE IS RETURNED to arlo, one eyebrow raised. « quit and do what ? starve ? » atlas huffs, but it's hard to even feign annoyance when everything he feels around arlo these days is an immense sense of pride. he still remembers tagging along to band practices in a mouldy garage, handing out flyers to random people unfortunate enough to be in his vicinity whenever the band had scored a gig somewhere. it had felt fulfilling; like he was part of something bigger. it feels odd that this is all happening without him, even though it shouldn't — he's not part of the band, after all. instead he's stuck here, in this town, working its only clinic with coworkers all on the verge of becoming pensioners. he's not littered with other options though. his only talent is that pets seem to like him. « what on earth would i even do, arlo ? fetch items on your riders ? feed you grapes ? » there's a teasing lilt to his voice covering the bitterness that is surprising even to him. it's hard to leave, but much harder to be the one who stayed behind.

♡ greta onieogou via instagram ( vipersfilm )