leoward

[leoward]

JOSH VARGAS.

A SMILE BREAKS OUT AT THE SIGHT OF THE BEER. josh had truly had no issues with this man previously—after all, he hadn’t yet met him—but any chance of some tension evaporates away as he reaches for the bottle.   “ i like your style, leo. ”   it’s clear they’re pretty opposite from the way he describes himself, without a cool accent or high intelligence to have been able to ever go back to college. but it seems like his type doesn’t exactly align with josh’s either, so there’s no real feel of a threat… not that josh would’ve been scared, anyway.   “ but hey, nice to meet you. and welcome to the villa, if i hadn’t said that earlier. ”   when leo and nana came in, it was a flurry of introductions and handshakes. josh doesn’t even remember what was said between them.

“ my deal, ”   he echoes in a laugh, stealing a swig of the beer.   “ well, i’m unofficially with naomi right now, i think. officially with andrea, but that’s only because naomi was chosen before we could pair up, but we’re still seeing where things go together, naomi and i. i work as a personal trainer in vancouver, so if you’re a gym buff at all, i’m sure we’ll share the space. ”   another sip of beer.   “ if you want someone smart, you should check out layla. and charlotte. they both strike me as the type–not that all the women aren’t smart, but y’know. layla’s a teacher. ”   though do you really need intelligence to be a kindergarten teacher ? 

        leo's grin widens when josh dons on his own smile. then, his head tips down a touch as he considers josh’s response. “naomi, huh?” he nods, bottom lip curling as he thinks of naomi’s hot and cold charisma and long-lashed, dark hazel eyes. then he thinks of josh’s reputation — not exactly a warm, compliant one. not that that’s inherently a bad thing. “could be a lightning in a bottle situation,” he notes. or an absolute shitfest, depending on some potentially granular decisions. “is she usually the type of girl you go for? and does it usually end well with girls like her?”

        ears perk up at layla’s name. his name and hers, as well as his and nana’s, have been put together quite often since that first survey he filled out. contrary to popular belief, his type isn’t boiled down to book-smart erudites. but an earthy, striking girl who cares about learning? “that she is,” he agrees, tipping back his beer to drink from it, “if my judgment’s right —” a 50/50 chance, honestly, “— she’s... my usual type.” he smiles wryly. “though i’m not going to lie, the other way ‘round’s more of a gamble. but i don’t think she hates me just yet!”

[leoward]

OPEN / CLOSED— for @typeonpaper. LOCATION & TIME — lounge area, 3pm.

        in his quest for a cold blackberry gin sling, leo way overshot his gin to everything else ratio, leading to a too-strong drink and him fishing for another glass. when he’s finally finished with his concoction, he stares down at the two drinks, knowing he’d be overdoing it by trying to chug both before the second gets too warm. so, he looks around at the surrounding sparse crowd before catching sight of mimi. hey, when opportunity strikes, right?

        leo walks over to where she’s sitting, hands full with vibrant drinks dotted with fresh blackberries. “mimi!” his chin juts up once in greeting while he beams, “y’like gin, yeah?”

[leoward]

OPEN / CLOSED— for @bluemmings​. LOCATION & TIME — kitchen, 12pm.

        this afternoon, leo’s an uncommon sight: an islander with water in hand. he’s got an even rarer motivation — not touching alcohol for the better part of the current day, all in order to ice out his hangover and ready himself for the rest of today’s activities. he survived the morning, but while he can avoid the cameras’ attention, he’s got to lean back against the kitchen counter, elbows resting backwards on the counter surface, chin tipped up, and eyes closed. leo’s head swivels down to acknowledge marcus’s entrance, after which he regains his composure and brings the water bottle to his lips.

        “last night’s a bit fuzzy. i didn’t bring shame to my family name, did i?”

[leoward]

OPEN / CLOSED— for @heatwayve​. LOCATION & TIME — terrace, 2pm.

        naomi seems hard to impress while possessing the capacity for blazing ruthlessness. hence leo's intrigue and oh-so-slight intimidation, though he’s anything but a sucker himself. so, when he catches sight of her coincidentally seated at his target destination at the terrace, he puts on an easy grin with a chilly ale in hand.

        “naomi, we haven’t spoken much, right?” he sits down next to her, leaving some space in between for her potential comfort. “we’re not avoiding each other, are we?”

[leoward]

OPEN / CLOSED— for @zexhyr​. LOCATION & TIME — walking to... the kitchen? & 10:00am.

        “Nana!” Leo bounds forward, catching up to Nana’s stride with his characteristic happy-go-lucky grin. As he slows down, he reaches out, an insulated thermos full of sweet iced tea in hand. Tea he’s brewed himself, in fact — a stereotypically British activity that he thought to capitalize on to butter up to Nana’s cultural sensibilities, if she cares about that sort of thing. Make up for his admittedly clumsy confidence that she mostly had eyes for him. But he could make that true enough with some effort, right?

        “Brewed it m’self! Also, you like French toast?” He lightly nudges Nana with his shoulder, smiling sweetly at her, “I’m really good at breakfast.”

[leoward]

CHARLOTTE LIU.

“second place, huh? you and nana make a really great team.” charlotte’s grin was practically Cheshire, not so subtly looking for a confirmation or denial of the two bombshells’ chemistry together after the challenge. she picked at some almonds she pulled out of the cupboard, leaning against the counter comfortably. “who else you think you got chemistry with? are you pullin’ anyone for a chat today?” 

with @leoward​ !

        leo grins back, thoroughly appreciating charlotte’s praise and thinking her info plying, if that’s what it really was, was positively cheeky. “it definitely makes me think that... there must be something to us, you know? though i’ve probably made myself look a bit of an arse by assuming i was her top pick.” he laughs. it’s probably what’s on some viewers’ minds, as well as charlotte’s, so he might as well dissipate his embarrassment with a bit of public humility, “here’s to hopin’ she’s the forgiving type, though.” he takes a swig of his iced tea.

        but while he’s here, on the other side of this counter, he’s not sure it’d be appropriate to revolve their convo around nana. so, after charlotte leans against the counter, he shrugs, attempting to look nonchalant. “i think we’re chattin’ right now, aren’t we?” he leans on the counter, mirroring her pose and making intent eye contact for a second while sustaining his smile. then he looks away, still leaning, to drink his tea again. he doesn’t want to come off too intense. “i heard you’re a nurse. d’you like saving lives?”

[leoward]

JOSH VARGAS.

“ SO WHAT’S YOUR DEAL, MAN ? ”   josh asks unkindly, legs draped in front of him on the pool chair. so far he doesn’t know much about the new fella, other than using deduction skills to assume he’s only into girls—purely because leo hasn’t made any effort to try to pull josh for a chat. only now during some down time does he even get a chance to speak with him, though josh makes sure to seem way more interested in the drink in his hand.   “ where you from, what are you looking for, what’s your type ?   all that jazz. ”     @leoward​

        josh’s rough voice cuts through leo’s focus, shifting it from his phone screen to the other islander. in response, leo stows away his device, which was housing his latest read. he’s a natural bookworm, true to his profession, but he’s been on camera long enough to know he’d look like a real twat to flaunt his reading list with a physical copy.

        his characteristically jaunty grin betrays a slight, internal hesitation at conversing with josh, especially since josh’s “greeting” initially sounded like an accusation. as much as he prides himself on his own social prowess, there was a cold gruffness to the other man that's led leo to — let’s not say avoid — but not prioritize an interaction with josh. but hey. if he could win josh over, he could be fantastic company.

        “m’deal? well... i’m from london, received a master’s in english about a year ago, and... i’m looking for a smart, curious girl that won’t put up with my shit, you know? by the way—” leo pulls a beer from over the bar counter, pops the top off, and hands it to the josh, a gesture of goodwill and friendship to pair with his own brew, “—leo. nice to officially meet you. so, what’s your deal?” he fixes his eyes on josh, very genuinely curious about the answer.

[leoward]

𝐀 𝐁𝐎𝐌𝐁𝐒𝐇𝐄𝐋𝐋 𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐒 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐕𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐀  . . .  📚😜

.  .  . dark summer grass. lightning bugs in their slow flashing. the night above you was more in you than your breath, the stars always shifting in your chest.

MUSINGS  .  .  .  VISAGE  . . .  HEADCANONS  . . .  SELF-PARAS  .  .  .  extended map.

LEONARDO “LEO” ALFRED WARD  ( cis male, he/him, kedar williams-stirling )  is 27 and a GRADUATE STUDENT from LONDON, ENGLAND. they are known as THE SCHOLAR because they are BRIGHT, but if things kick off, they can be a bit RESTLESS. they’re HETEROSEXUAL and describe their type as equally as intellectually curious and willing to wear their legs out… exploring the city ;) from their time in the villa, they’re hoping to find MONEY.  ( book bag weighed like seven bricks, thermos perpetually filled with earl grey, & an expensive desk in disarray )

+ bright, perceptive, energetic, friendly, charismatic. - restless, self-conscious, big-headed, fickle, competitive.

—  written by morgan, 23, she/her, pst .  .  .  cis bi korean woman.

prologue.

mother was an internationally popular supermodel and father was a fairly well-known television actor.

both were notoriously good-looking, though her mother more so esp due to her occupation and geographical range of fame.

relationship was highly publicized for a while until the start of their marriage when they put an iron-clad lock on their family’s privacy.

CHAPTER I.

eyes were on the family again when leo entered the picture, particularly when he didn’t shy away from social media when he went off to secondary school.

intelligent, high-achieving, boisterous, socially accommodating, good-looking, well-off, athletic, able to thrive off of inherited fame, and willing to feed curious viewers glimpses into his seemingly perfect life... he was a shoe-in for being a quasi-influencer.

he also had a habit of ghosting social media before making sudden comebacks, though this display of untouchability seemed to fuel people’s curiosity.

in reality, as much as he liked the attention, he wasn’t able to not tie his self-worth into every bit of it he got -- which wasn’t great since he knew the foundation for that attention was due to his parents’ work... leading him to become obsessive then repulsed at the attention. rinse and repeat.

to make up for it, although he was naturally curious enough to pursue all this endeavors, he tried much harder, going above and beyond to prove he was capable of being both extraordinary and self-made.

a futile attempt since he’ll never be able to change the circumstances of his birth. he knows this.

CHAPTER II.

went to cambridge and majored in literature and history.

rejected shallow monetary opportunities, feeling a little wounded that in the end, people would just see him as a to-be celebrity more than a well-accomplished individual beyond his parents’ legacy.

when approaching academia, was met with derision or passionate mentorship, depending on the professor/fellow student and their skepticism (and where that skepticism stemmed from).

nonetheless, academia provided a challenging solace.

however, he didn’t feel an acute sense of satisfaction until he overcame challenges in his master’s program too.

these challenges included the expected bigotry in academia, sussing out those who wanted to help because they believed in him vs. those who wanted to ride his coattails, and finally producing work only because he was dedicated to his work and not because of any sullying motivation to “prove” anything, whether that’s to anyone else or himself. even privatized his social media and paid little thought to it while he focused on his studies.

CHAPTER III.

however, his goals thwarted his parents’ expectations and hopes, which mainly included law school. by pursuing corporate law, he’d have a guaranteed path towards wealth so that he could continue living the life he’s used to.

he refused to give up his path towards a doctorate, leading to them cut off funding for his education.

though he does have grant-winning prowess, he unfortunately feels uneasy about adapting to a non-cushy life while embarking on an incredibly challenge that’ll take him nearly a decade to complete.

epilogue.

so, he signed up to be on love island.

even unprivated his instagram the month before airing and posted a few beach photos to earn a few brownie points from the public. just as he planned, he made some headlines.

the idea of defining his adult public image as a piece of arse makes him cringe a little. and truthfully, he’s afraid he might like the attention too much. it could really mess with his head.

but nonetheless, he’s got to pad up his finances if he wants to live his life the way he wants. he’s just got to meet everyone else’s expectations for a little longer, one last time.

[leoward]

[leoward]

[leoward]