the rise and fall

all i ever wanted was the world. willa holmes. twenty-five. ex-tennis pro.

[ofalchemyy]

shrugging lamely, he took a sip from the glass. "i don't usually do espresso in my coffee, but i guess we're gonna find out!" austin hummed as he drank some of the martini, enjoying the flavor and leaning his elbows on the bar. "come here often?" it was a joke. and one of his favorites.

[willa-holmes]

Willa scrunched her nose. "Yeah, you might not be sleeping anytime soon," she warned. "Probably too often," she admitted, taking a sip of her drink. "You?"

[stella--ashford]

She flashed her a charming smile, "I'm an actress, born for the stage!"

[willa-holmes]

"Oh, no way," Willa mused. "What have you been in?"

[stella--ashford]

She nodded, "That's fair. What do you do?" She took in the girls appearance and tried to figure it out for herself but couldn't come up with anything. She was curious to say the least.

[willa-holmes]

"I'm a tennis coach," she told her. "What about you, what do you do?"

[theprophccy]

"I would love one," she told the other girl as she looked over with a smile on her face. "Thank you." Adriana had a terrible habit of ordering the same drink, a cosmopolitan, every time she went out but moments like this reminded her that there were so many other choices out there. "Are espresso martinis your go-to or did you feel like switching it up today?"

[willa-holmes]

Willa smiled, pushing the drink closer to the girl at the bar. "Yeah, pretty much. I have them at least a couple of times a week. Only when I go out, though, because I can't make them myself. I'll have a white wine, otherwise," Willa told her, "what about you? What's your go-to?"

[stella--ashford]

"So nice to meet you." She put the drink down and nodded, "I get that, I think my tolerance has gone up I feel like I can drink everyone under the table these days." She looked around, "Are you here alone? Are you okay?" Realizing that she too was here drinking alone.

[willa-holmes]

"Oh, yeah, I'm fine," Willa assured. "I was meeting with a potential client," she explained. "When they left, I decided to get a drink before I go home."

[oftatteredwings]

"Absolutely nothing. Aside from the fact it's alcohol, " said Ben his brows raising a little as he reached out for the glass of juice beside him, there was a faint smile on his features as he spoke.

[willa-holmes]

Willa put the pieces together, and decided to drop the topic of vodka and martinis. "There you are getting your vitamins in, now I feel bad about myself."

[oftatteredwings]

Ben looked up from his phone, eyes shifting away from the dating app ( if you could even call it that ) and to the woman beside him. "If that was an espresso alone, sure..." he answered lightly. "But better not." A hand reached out and pushed the glass back towards her. "I'm sure someone else will help you out."

[willa-holmes]

"What's wrong with Vodka?" Willa asked out of curiosity, sliding the extra drink to her other side.

[stella--ashford]

Stella laughed. "I will never say no to a free drink. Lucky day for me!" She reached her hand out, "I'm Stella, it's nice to meet you, also thank you for the drink." She raised the drink in thanks and took a sip.

[willa-holmes]

Willa smiled at Stella's enthusiasm, shaking her hand. "I'm Willa," she told her, before shaking her head. "Don't thank me, thank the bartenders. They're really good drinks, too," she said. "I would've had both, but that wouldn't have been good for my head tomorrow."

[rxshingpxlse-deactivated2025042]

August looked over at the woman as she had offered him an espresso martini. "I've actually never had one of these before." He mentioned to her. "I don't even know if it tastes good. What does it taste like?" He asked her. "I was gonna ask if it's good, but like clearly you enjoy them cause you ordered one."

[willa-holmes]

"I'm a little biased, because they're my favourite cocktail," Willa admitted, turning to face him properly. "It's great if you like coffee, it's made of a shot of espresso and Kahlua."

[ofalchemyy]

austin looked up from the menu and tilted his head slightly. "depends," he said, already reaching for the offered glass and pulling it towards him. there was a seat between them, so he got up and plopped into the one right next to willa instead as he turned the glass around in his hand. "is there a lot of caffeine in this? i gotta be up early for my run."

[willa-holmes]

Looking up, Willa considered his question for a moment. "I suppose it depends on your tolerance," she answered. "What's a shot of espresso to you?"

[ayladxmir]

"Oh my god," Ayla said dramatically, as if she'd been literally dying of thirst. It must have been a sign from the universe to be able to have her first drink after having Lara. "I would love an espresso martini, it's been like, over a year since I've had one."

[willa-holmes]

Willa couldn't help but grin at the response, sliding the drink over further. "Please, take it." She said. "A year? I think I have at least five a week."

[willa-holmes]

for: @bfmstarters where: the loft

"Do you want an espresso martini?" Willa asked, sliding the drink to the person sat next to her at the bar. "The bartender gave me two by mistake."

[kaizsche]

DAISY EDGAR-JONES as MARIANNE SHERIDAN NORMAL PEOPLE (2020)

[verarhodes]

for // @bfmstarters where // coffee shop

Vera had been sitting at the table at least five minutes now, and that might not have seemed like a long time, but she was starting to wonder if their friend was showing up. When someone approached she looked up from her cup of coffee. “Ah there you are!” she nodded. “Sit sit!”

[willa-holmes]

"Sorry I'm late," Willa said as she rushed over, slipping out of her coat. "I don't have a good excuse, I slept through my alarm," she told her, taking a seat across from her. "Were you waiting long?"

[oftatteredwings]

for: @bfmstarters location: valentine's day 5k finish line at park slope

Elliot certainly wasn't the most energetic of people, nor was he a fan of Valentine's Day, so signing up for the run was a little out of the ordinary. When he'd put his name down, though, he had been living a different life and he figured it wouldn't actually hurt for him to work towards something that wasn't to do with his job. And he'd succeeded... sort of. Approaching a table laid out with hundreds of bottles of water, he took a moment to try and catch his breath before reaching out to grab a couple, reaching back to hand one over to the person behind him. "I'm regretting that sprint to the finish line..."

[willa-holmes]

It wasn't her best attempt at a 5K, but it certainly wasn't her worst — especially considering the pain in her left knee. After her injury, she was convinced she was never going to run like that again. Fortunately, she was wrong.

Making her way towards the water table, Willa took the bottle that was handed to her. As he spoke, she took a gulp, feeling a million times better already. "That's the best way to do it," she told him. "It is a killer, though."

[zakdemirel]

open starter / @bfmstarters

Zak ascended the stairs, it had been a long damn day and finally getting to head home. He couldn't wait to see his fiance and baby girl, and to hear about her day. As he approached the top of the stairs he saw broken glass, even worse he saw someone approaching.

"Wait! Stop! Please! There's glass! I don't want you to cut yourself!"

[willa-holmes]

Willa jumped back when he yelled, her hand over her heart from the slight shock. "Jesus Christ," she mumbled, taking a breath. "That was one hell of a heads up."

[willa-holmes]

spotted in the streets of brooklyn, it’s WILLA HOLMES. they have lived in the city for THREE MONTHS, working as a TENNIS COACH. the TWENTY-FIVE year old will probably be seen around PARK SLOPE a lot, seeing as that’s where they live. people say they can be a bit BLUNT and STUBBORN, but friends know them to be HONEST and LOYAL. you know for sure you’ve found them when you’ve come across DESIGNER SUNGLASSES, PRISTINE TENNIS SHOES, AND A HALF EMPTY WINE GLASS. @brooklynextras

BASIC

Full Name: Willa Meredith Holmes

Date of Birth: 25th March 1999

Place of Birth: Connecticut

Zodiac Sign: Aries

Pronouns: She/her

Living Arrangements: Park Slope, living alone

Occupation: Tennis Coach

Education Level: High school level

BACKGROUND

As a single child, Willa was the centre of her parents’ world. She was given everything she wanted and then some. As retired athletes, her parents thought it a brilliant idea to introduce her to that world, and at the age of five, Willa was introduced to tennis. Her whole life became it – the racket, the shoes, the outfits, it was all she knew. Fortunately for her mother and father, Willa was a natural at the sport, and it wasn’t long until she was competing in tournaments and making her way up the ranks. Everyday consisted of intense training and meetings with potential sponsors, and Willa didn’t know any different.

Numb to it all, there was some entertainment that came with her career. Childhood nemesis which turned into healthy competition and a familiar face at the events she attended. Willa had always found it hard to make connections with other people, but with him it was easy. There was banter, or was that flirting? Why was her face burning up at his light insults? He was the one consistency for her, and it wasn’t long before it turned into a friends-with-benefits situation. It only ever happened when they were at the same event, but that was enough to become another consistent thing in her life.

It never went further than that, however, and it came to an (almost) end when her parents set her up with another promising tennis player. Willa was familiar of his reputation, a spoilt and arrogant boy, but talented – she respected that. Their relationship never felt natural to Willa, but she went along with it for her parents, and the press they were receiving wasn’t bad either. A Pair To Be Reckoned With, the articles about them would say. It was only after seven months of dating that they became engaged after a disgustingly publicised event, coming off the back of him winning one of his tournaments. There were cameras everywhere, and Willa worried that all the flashes had blinded her permanently. Despite the fiancé and the distance that grew between them, Willa still found herself sneaking a look at a certain somebody, pining for that familiarity she hadn’t felt for so long.

Wedding planning started immediately, but Willa didn’t get involved too much. Her mother took over, and Willa was more than happy with that. The talk of invitations and colours went in one ear and out the other – she was too bust focusing on training for her upcoming tournaments. There was a lot of press for a new player quickly rising the ranks – she reminded Willa of herself when she was that age, just not quite as good yet. It was a few weeks into the season when their match against each other came up. Willa anticipated a difficult game, as her opponent was getting a lot more fierce on the court, but Willa was up for the challenge. The game was nothing short of intense, sweat dripping down Willa’s face, but she wasn’t going to go down without a fight. Instead, it was her leg that took her down, when it broke going after the ball.

Her career as a professional tennis player was over. That’s what the doctor’s said a few months after the accident. She tried getting back on the court, but it wasn’t the same, and it never would be. The world had been flipped upside down, and Willa began to spiral. Tennis was her whole life, it was all she knew. What made it worse was that she had to portray herself as a supportive fiancée, still attending tennis matches in the stands. It was her own version of hell.

When she felt at her lowest, the universe made her go lower when Willa, along with the rest of the world, found out her fiancé was cheating on her with the rising star, the last opponent she faced on the court. The paparazzi quickly published the photos, and she was a laughing stock. Not only that, she was furious. Once Willa had finished yelling at him, she could taste blood in her throat. Her parents were there, offering ways to fix this, and talking about damage control. It was then when Willa realised that her parents didn’t actually care about her, they cared more about her image and the amount of zeros on her pay cheques. That was her final straw. That night, Willa packed a bag, flushed her engagement ring down the toilet, and left. She left her fiancé, she left her parents, she left her life that she had grown so accustomed to. It was New York, the concrete jungle where dreams are made of, where she found herself. Everywhere New York was mentioned promised freedom, creativity, a place to belong, and Willa hoped those promises would be fulfilled, as she was absolutely clueless and what to do with her life now.

PERSONALITY

Positive Traits: Headstrong, determined, honest, adaptable

Negative Traits: Stubborn, pessimistic, blunt, impatient

HEADCANONS **more will be added

If she walks for long periods of time, she has a limp on her left leg due to her injury.

CONNECTIONS

Friends: Whilst Willa has only been in Brooklyn for three months, I’d love for her to have some friends (she’s still learning how to be a friend, never mind a good one)

Colleagues: Willa is a tennis coach/personal trainer at Iron Edge, so anyone who works there HAS to be her friend, as well as her colleague

Fling: Willa needs to distract herself from her train wreck of a life somehow!

The ex-fling: The one consistent in her life, and the closest Willa has felt to genuine love. Through tennis academies and competitions, there was a guy there through it all. They (trauma-)bonded and became friends, and then some. Whilst it ended due to her parents’ intervention, there are still lingering feelings there for him.