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lalacliffthorne · 9 months

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💜 starshine pt. IV 💜

Rhysand x Reader

part I part II part III part IV part V part VI

summary: a promise is fulfilled.

notes: back to our regularly scheduled program of fluff deluxe - with maybe a teeny-tiny sprinkle of angst. come on, I can´t just make it that easy.

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Crossing the street, I pushed my bag higher up my shoulder, a cool but soft breeze brushing through my hair as I closed my eyes for a second. Something warm vibrated under my ribs, something that seemed to stem from the city itself I was wandering through, and when I opened my eyes again, my heart rose in a vibrant flutter when I caught a glimpse at the sun sinking towards the mountains, its warm golden light submerging the buildings and gardens into an otherworldly glow.

Velaris. The City of Starlight.

The Court of Dreams.

When Rhys had first told me about it, all those years ago, I had almost not believed him. It had sounded - far too good to be true. But now, as I made my way through the narrow streets, laughter and voices winding through the air from restaurants and bars, families passing me, I suddenly understood the light that appeared in his eyes whenever he talked about the city.

It was beautiful.

The buildings were big and winding, with towers and bay windows and balconies, the cobblestone streets between ranging from wide and leading to big square to narrow, connected alleys. There were wisterias winding around the houses, in full bloom just like the trees, their petals being sweeped through the air by the soft breeze, lacing the air with a sweet scent.

A few children were chasing a whirlwind of blossoms, giggling, and I could feel something in my chest swell. My eyes flared golden for a moment, and the petals rose in a rush, moving through the air like water flowing and sweeping around the children, their laughter growing as petals brushed over their cheeks like gentle tickles. I smiled brightly and exhaled a soft laugh before turning back ahead, my breath hitching as I slipped out of the street and found the river in front of me. Bridges with intricate carvings arched over the water that reflected the light of the first golden lanterns and the sky, a few stars already visible, twinkling in the pale blue that spanned all the way to the surrounding mountains.

It had taken me longer than expected to fulfill my promise. After taking care of those still Under the Mountain and the faeries there, I had brought those captured home. By then, many faeries had started leaving the places they´d sought shelter at. But the chaos that had become the courts had not spared their homes. Many of the wild woods, the meadows and riverlands had been destroyed or had withered without the fairie´s care.

And so I had spent almost two months making my way from Spring up all the way to the North, rebuilding the fairie´s homes a lot easier with the assistance of my magic. It had mended something in my chest, cracks that had formed there over the past fifty years, cracks caused by the harm that had been caused to those I felt I was made to protect. And not a day had gone by where I hadn´t felt the gentle rake of claws down the walls of my mind, like the male they belonged was trying to assure himself I was still there.

I knew Rhys was probably up to his ears in work, things that had piled up over the last fifty years; mending his own court back together. But still. I knew him. Knew how wonderfully, awfully self-sacrificing he was, and how he had the admirable and not at all healthy tendency to always put everyone else first.

The stubborn male hadn´t sought me out once. And it had made something rise and ache in my chest, more with every passing week, until over the last few, I had rushed, moved as quickly as possible, barely halting to accept the faerie´s titters of thanks.

It felt like something pulled me north, something that became stronger the closer I got.

☆

The sun was touching the snow-covered mountain peaks when I finally found the adress Rhys had left me. It was located at the end of a long street, a bit off the city center, sheltered by blooming trees and hedges, just like the other properties. Carefully opening the gate covered in sweet smelling vines, I felt my heart skip softly against my ribs.

Before me rose a big house made from sandstone, with huge windows, carved details and a domed roof, blossoming plants climbing the walls. There were bushes in bloom planted in front, and as I slowly made my way towards the steps at the side of the house, leading to big oak doors, I caught a glimpse at the garden beyond.

My breath hitched, and I slowed until I stood still.

Flowers bloomed, wild and free, and faeries whizzed through the high grass, giggling and chasing each other over a pond with floating lilies, reflecting the mountains lining the horizon and the sky above, beginning to turn pink.

Something rose in my chest, swelling and thrumming as a soft, slightly shaking laugh built in my throat, and I quickly wiped a hand over my nose. Staring at the garden for another second, my heart fluttering wildly against my ribs, I blinked before looking up the houses façade. Turning, I started to climb the steps to the door where I hesitated for a second before I raised my hand to knock gently.

After waiting for a minute and knocking again, I felt my brows furrow, and my heart skipped softly when Rhys´ voice echoed through my memories.

Don´t worry. The wards will let you in any time, day or night.

I could still hear the cheeky smile in his voice, and something rose in my chest.

Raising my hand again, I paused for a moment before carefully placing it onto the wood of the door.

My heart skipped when I felt a shift under my fingers, a soft breeze brushed through my hair and brought with it the small of chilled nights and wild flowers, and my lips rose into an incredulous smile when the door opened with a creak.

Carefully stepping over the threshold, I felt something begin to flutter gently against my ribs as I slowly made my way past the staircase leading up and felt my lips open softly.

My gaze flickered over the whole of downstairs, open and flooded by the golden light of the sinking sun coming from the big windows that opened like doors into the garden. There were shelves filled with books to the front, comfortable looking couches and soft carpets, and a big oak table over in the open kitchen with an array of chairs. The air smelled warm, of blooming flowers and a trace of Rhys that lingered, like he´d been here some time in the past few days.

Something rose in my chest, quick and fluttering wildly as I carefully let my fingers graze over the back of an armchair, breathing in the scent of the flowers on the dining table – and then the air shifted behind me, and I quickly looked over my shoulder, my heart rising in my chest and breath stilling.

Rhys had appeared next to the stairs, looking a little out of breath, his hair windswept like he had rushed as his wide eyes flickered up the stairs. My own gaze quickly darted over him, and something tightened harshly in my chest as I practically drank him in, because Gods, I had missed him, way more than I had realised, and seeing him again Under the Mountain had not changed that; in fact, it seemed to have made it worse, because as my gaze dragged over the familiar width of his shoulders, his inky black hair and that stupidly beautiful face, something in my chest began to ache.

Rhys´ eyes darted away from the stairs as he turned quickly, and then his body went completely still when his gaze found mine.

Something swelled under my ribs, rising as it pulsed warmth, and I swallowed and sent him a smile, soft and just a little cheeky. “Hello.”

Rhys stared at me like I had knocked one of the books from the shelves behind me over his head. His violet eyes were wide, his throat working as he swallowed lightly, and suddenly, the ache in my chest grew unbearable.

Dropping my bag, I darted towards him, and Rhys stepped forward, catching me as I crashed into him. His familiar scent washed over me like a tidal wave as his arms tightened around my waist, lifting me slightly until only my toes touched the floor as he pressed me into his chest, and I dug my fingers into the back of his shoulders, my arms wound tight around his neck as I buried my face in his shirt. His scent filled my nose, the warmth of his skin causing my own to heat, and something rose under my ribs, fluttering into my throat when I could feel the light shudder going through Rhys´ body. His arms tightened around me like I wasn´t already pulled flush into his body, then he dropped his head to bury his nose at my shoulder, a slightly shaking breath leaving him.

“You´re here,”, he mumbled, his deep voice hoarse, and I slid my arms down from his neck to wind them tightly around his middle, curling into his chest because it felt like the only way to still get closer.

“Promised, right?”, I mumbled into his shirt, my own voice sounding a bit weak, and Rhys slid his arms up from my waist to wrap them around my shoulders, dragging me further into his body as he dropped his nose into my hair.

My heart clenched when I felt a tightness form in my chest, one that wasn´t mine but belonged to the male in front of me, who felt tired, and worn, and a little heavy, but like him, and the feeling in my chest swelled.

Breathing out, I felt my shoulders sink. Winding my arms tighter around Rhys and nuzzling my face into his chest, I mumbled: “I hope not everyone can walk in here like that, because then we´d really have to talk about your security measures.”

Rhys huffed into my hair, his lips moving up against my forehead when he mumbled back: “What do you take me for, an idiot?”

I felt my own lips rise, and Rhys seemed to realise it too, because he added a grumbled: “You know what, don´t answer that.”

I smiled widely, and I could feel Rhys´ back muscles move under my hands, slowly relaxing as he wrapped me up tighter in his arms.

“You´re not an idiot,”, I mumbled softly, pressing my nose into his shirt, and my heart skipped when I could feel Rhys begin to smile brightly into my hair.

“I´ve been telling you that for more than a century, darling.”

His voice sent a soft tingle down my spine, low and rumbling warmly, and I grumbled: “I take it back.”

“Nuh-uh,”, Rhys murmured, and I could feel his smile widening.

Closing my eyes, I carefully sent a wave of warmth his way, to lessen a bit of that heaviness clinging to him, and Rhys´ grip shifted as his shoulders sagged.

We would have probably kept standing there for another while, because tiredness suddenly washed over me, the exhaustion of the past two months finally catching up with me, and Rhys didn´t seem like he was planning on letting go either, grip softening as he held me, body unwavering even when I slowly let my whole weight sink against him, burying deeper into his chest. But then something shifted at the back of my mind, soft and curious, and I hesitated before pulling back.

“Rhys?”

The male looked down at me, violet eyes tracking over my face, and I slowly slipped out of his grip a little, feeling my brows furrow gently as I stared up at him.

“Who´s house is this?”

Rhys´ hands on my hips flexed a little, almost like nerves as he slowly slid them off. Then he blinked and smiled, soft and lopsided and almost a little sheepish as he dipped his head to the side.

“Yours.”

I blinked. My arms slipped from his waist as I stared up at him, feeling my lips open, and suddenly, the ache in my chest was back, only it was different now, pressing onto my lungs and causing my breath to hitch.

“What?”

One corner of Rhys´ lips curved, his eyes moving over my face as he shrugged lightly. “I always hoped you´d come here one day. And I didn´t want you to feel like you´re just visiting.” He blinked, and it almost looked like he was hesitating for a second before he mumbled, voice a little hoarse: “I wanted you to have a home here.”

Staring up at him, I felt the ache rise. Looking over my shoulder, my eyes brushed over the beautiful living room, the garden visible through the big doors –

Something thrummed harshly against my ribs, and turning around, I sniffled and moved forward, slipping my arms around Rhys´ neck and hugging him so forcefully, he huffed a little in surprise.

“Thank you,”, I whispered, my heart rising as my bottom lip trembled a little and a tear ran over my cheek as I quickly squeezed my eyes shut.

Rhys breathed out and wrapped his arms around me, dropping his chin onto my shoulder, and his deep voice rumbled through my body when he mumbled back, sounding a little raspy: “Purely selfish reasons.”

Giggling softly, I pressed my nose against his shoulder, then I pulled back to stare up at him, breathing a soft snort.

"Only you casually buy someone a house."

Rhys grinned. "One of my many talents." Raising his hand, he gently brushed his thumb over my cheek, wiping away a tear as he stared at me, one corner of his lips curving. Then he blinked.

“Come on.” Leaning down, he picked up my bag before straightening and sending me a slow grin that caused his cheeks to crease and my heart to do a backflip. “You´re staying with me tonight.”

“And where would that be?” Feeling my lips curve, I turned around to follow Rhys towards the windows leading onto the terrace.

Rhys pushed open the doors, and something skipped lightly against my chest when he threw a look over his shoulder, his violet eyes twinkling lightly when he raised a brow. “The House of Wind.”

The soft air brushed over my skin when I stepped onto the terrace, breathing in the scent of blooming trees as I slowly took the two steps leading down onto the grass. Then Rhys turned around, and my breath hitched when the air behind him rippled, shimmering as his wings melted out of the darkness. I had seen them before, but they still made something tumble softly in my stomach, the way they opened in a stretch, flared wide for a moment before relaxing and folding lightly against his back. Then I blinked.

“Oh, hell no.”

“No other way.” Rhys shrugged, eyes twinkling.

“I am not flying with you.” I glared at him.

“Darling, the only way to the House of Wind is by air travel.” Rhys´ lips curved in amusement when he raised a brow. “Unless you´ve learned how to grow wings, you´ll have to fly with me.”

“No.” Crossing my arms in front of my chest, I shook my head. “Not happening.”

Rhys casually slipped his hands into his pockets, eyes bright when he tipped his head to the side.

“You know, that sounds a little like you don´t trust me –“

“That´s low.” I glowered at him, and he breathed a chuckle, something skipping against my ribs at the way his eyes crinkled when he grinned at me.

“Just telling you what it looks like, sweetheart.”

I grumbled.

The most annoying thing was – I did trust him. And he knew it. What he didn´t know was that I had trusted him for so long, and still, it scared me just how much.

Rhys seemed to see how he cut through my resistance, because he smiled, that godsdamned beautiful smile, and raised his brows.

Glowering at him for another second, I huffed. “Still don´t see why I can´t stay down here.”

Rhys chuckled and stepped towards me, carefully slipping my bag over my head and sending me a smile as he tightened the strap across my chest until it was sitting securely on my back, his eyes twinkling like the stars.

“Because I am far too selfish to let you stay anywhere I am not.”

Something got stuck in my throat as I looked up at him, and he sent me a wink that had me pull myself out of my stupor, deadpanning at him. Rhys laughed, and the sound sent a shiver down my spine, my body fighting to angle towards him.

“Alright, starshine.” He grinned down at me, eyes glittering with mischief. “Hop on.”

I snorted.

“Wha-“ Interrupting myself with a soft squeal, I held onto to Rhys when he picked me up. My legs locked around his waist like reflex, hands clinging to his shoulders, and my eyes widened a little.

“What are you –“

Rhys´ laugh made his chest vibrate, his arm under my thighs hoisting me up slightly to adjust his grip, and my heart skipped so high, I knew he´d caught it when he grinned at me. We were on eye level for once, noses almost brushing and his body impossibly close, and I had to keep myself from holding my breath.

“Really?” My voice was a little higher than usual, but huffy, and Rhys´ eyes twinkled.

“Hold tight.”

“You are enjoying this far too much.” I glowered at him, and Rhys´ lips curved upwards as his eyes dragged over my face.

“You have no idea.”

My breath hitched when I stared at him and the spark in his eyes.

My voice sounded a little shaky but moderately threatening when I mumbled: “If you drop me –“

Rhys smiled brightly. “Don´t worry, darling. I rarely drop anyone.”

I flicked his ear, and the grin I got in return made my heart stagger.

Rhys chuckled and raised his brows. “I´m insulted you think I wouldn´t try to catch you.”

My breath hitched, my mouth opening. “Try to catch me; you –“

Rhys´ wings opened as he took a step backwards, and with one strong beat, he launched into the air, leaving my stomach and my squeal down on the ground when we shot into the sky.

Wind whipped my hair as I squeezed my eyes shut tightly on instinct. My fingers dug into Rhys´ shoulders, my legs locked so tight around his waist it could not have been comfortable, but he just held me steadily as his wings carried us higher and higher. I didn´t dare look, instead hastily turning my head to bury my face in the crook of his neck, and I could feel Rhysand´s chuckle rumble deep in his chest, the arm slipped around my waist tightening.

“You know, if you look down to your left right now –“ The teasing tilt of his deep voice right at my ear made me dig my nails into his shoulders, his warm laugh causing my stomach to dip for an entirely different reason than the way he leaned to the right as he dove into an elegant curve, wings stretched wide as they took us higher and higher with powerful movements.

When, after what felt like an eternity, Rhys´ feet finally touched solid ground, my muscles had cramped into place. I refused to raise my head from where my nose was pressed into Rhysand´s neck, keeping my eyes shut tightly. Just in case.

It definitely did not have anything to do with the fact his scent had filled my lungs or how warm he was, warm and solid and feeling oh-so-right.

Rhys chuckled lightly, his grip loosening until only his right arm was resting under my thighs, supporting my weight effortlessly, and I could feel air graze my skin as his wings disappeared into the shadows. Then his warm breath brushed over my ear, causing my heart to miss a beat when his nose gently nudged my temple.

“You can open your eyes now, starshine.”

Ignoring the teasing tilt in his voice, I furrowed my brows, eyes still squeezed shut.

“Are you sure?” My lips brushed over Rhys´ neck with my sceptic grumble, and it almost felt like he shivered a little under the touch. He just huffed in amusement, and I cracked open an eye, peaking over his shoulder.

My heart stilled, and my breath hitched as my lips opened softly.

Slowly, I raised my head.

Terraces stretched away from the mountain and the façade of a palace carved out of the very stone, shimmering in the moonlight. Blooming trees and gardens flanked the stone balustrades, lanterns and fires dipping everything in a golden light. And far, far in the vale below us, the Sidra glittered in the moonlight, and around it, Velaris stretched into the distance, a maze of cobblestone streets, blooming trees and sandstone buildings, lit in a warm golden light that reflected in the river while mountains rose in the distance, guarding the city from all around as they rose high into the night sky. A night sky filled with more stars than I had seen in my whole life. Glittering, twinkling in galaxies stretching to the horizon, hues of lilac and pink gleaming in the pitch black darkness.

It was so beautiful, it caused my chest to ache.

I hadn´t realised my throat had closed up until I swallowed harshly, something skipping violently against my ribs when I whispered: “Oh.”

Rhys shifted, and I turned my head, my heart getting stuck in my throat when I found his eyes already on my face. There was a light in them, like they were reflecting the galaxies above as they pierced into mine, one corner of his lips curved upwards just enough for a crease to appear in his cheek and my breath to falter.

Suddenly, I realised I was still clinging to him, bodies still pressed together, so close that our noses were almost touching. Yet he didn´t make any move to let go.

Lightly swallowing again, anything to fight the sudden urge to lean forward, I unlocked my legs from around his waist, and Rhys loosened his grip enough to carefully place me on the ground. When my feet hit the stone floor, my knees almost buckled, and Rhys caught me by the waist, his eyes dancing with amusement when he leaned down his head a little, grinning at me.

“Am I making you weak?”

I had enough sense to hit his biceps instead of just gaping at him.

Rhys chuckled and straightened. “Come on.” His hand slipped to the small of my back, and his chest bumped into my shoulder as he began to gently push me towards a pair of big doors leading into the House of Wind. “I´ll show you your room.”

Following Rhys through the halls, I felt my heart skip lightly. It felt a little strange, like the mountain was humming softly, not quite a presence like the one of the male next to me, but still –

“You´ll stay right down the hall from me.” Rhys threw me a look, his eyes twinkling. “In case you get lonely.”

I huffed, trying to ignore the strange tingle down my spine, and Rhys chuckled, creases forming in his cheeks.

“Where is everyone?” I slipped my bag onto my shoulder.

“Az and Cass are staying in the city right now. You'll meet them and Mor tomorrow.”

I sent him a cheeky grin. “Still scared they´re going to steal me away?”

Rhys slowed as we reached a door, and his eyes moved over my face, then he blinked, one corner of his lips rising softly. “More than ever.”

Looking up at him, I felt my brows furrow gently, something turning a little in my chest, but then he pushed open the door, and as I stepped over the threshold, my eyes got caught on the ceiling and the star constellations depicted in golden paint on inky black, and my breath hitched.

“Oh.”

☆

I woke up from the mountain trembling.

It was far past midnight. The sky was deep black, the stars twinkling, and I had fallen asleep with a soft skip in my chest, the bed in the guest room soft like a cloud, my eyes on the constellations painted onto the ceiling. But now, my breath was heaving, a pressure on my chest that wasn´t coming from me, like a weight pressing me down, and my eyes widened as horror took over me.

Rhys.

Scrambling to my feet, I almost stumbled when the tremble of the mountain stopped, the windowpanes no longer clinking. My heart skipped into my throat, and I slid over towards the door, ripping it open – and barely catching the tall figure tumbling through it.

“What –“ My eyes widened as my heart tightenend harshly, and I nearly lost my breath at the wave of emotions crashing over me as warm, sweaty skin pressed against mine. Then Rhys´ soft, broken voice sounded next to my ear.

“I´m sorry.”

My throat closed, pulled tighter and tighter as I felt his fingers digging into my waist and the way his chest heaved with his shuddering breaths, and pulling back, I slipped my hands up to cup the sides of his face, staring at him and feeling something press onto my chest at the sight of dried teartracks on his cheeks and his eyes, iris blown and utterly terrified.

Trying to swallow, I whispered, my voice cracking slightly: “Come on.”

Pushing the door open with my shoulder, I slipped under his arm and wrapped my own around his waist, and something closed around my heart like an iron fist when I felt Rhys lean heavily against me, his nose brushing over my hair as I started to guide him towards the bed. He sank onto the mattress, and I slipped between his legs, my hands carefully cupping his face as I tracked his heart rate, off and racing, felt a slight tremble run through his body. Then his hands slid around my waist and pulled me forward, and something pulsed harshly, painfully in my chest when Rhys wrapped his arms around me and buried his face in my shirt. I could feel something wet seep through the fabric and barely fought back the burn in my eyes, a heavy weight on my throat when I slid my arms over Rhys´ shoulders and buried my nose in his soft hair.

Rhys held onto me until I felt his heartbeat calm a little. Then his grip around my waist tightened, and he pulled back, arms slow to slide away from me, hands coming to rest at the back of my thighs.

“I´m sorry for waking you up,”, he mumbled, and his rough voice caused something to break a little in my chest. "It´s why the others are staying in the city, but - I couldn´t stand the thought of you being here but not with me."

My breath hitched, heart skipping high.

Slowly sitting down on the mattress, I pulled my legs up. Something skipped harshly against my ribs as I watched Rhys, his hunched frame, so unlike him, head dropped, hair dishevelled as he ran his hands over his face.

“What happened?”, I whispered, barely audible and a little uneven.

Rhys turned his head, and something skipped hard against my ribs when his eyes found mine, pained and raw. Then he mumbled, hollow and hoarse: “She killed you.”

My heart beat once before stilling.

“I always dream about it. Her killing you.” Rhys blinked, staring into nothingness. Then he turned, slowly pulling myself up until he was sitting fully on the mattress, back against the headboard. There were dark circles under his eyes, skin sallow. I hadn´t even fully realised he wasn´t wearing a shirt until I saw the scar on his collarbone that I knew hadn´t been there. Before.

Rhys swallowed, staring at my knee. Then he mumbled: “Even though I´m back here, I feel like some part of me is still trapped down there.” A muscle in his jaw shifted, pain flashing through his eyes. “With her. I can still feel her, whenever I close my eyes. When I sleep, I dream about – what she did. It makes me –“ His face twisted into something that made my breath still. Then he blinked and raised his eyes, and they found mine, tired and a little broken when he mumbled: “I never wanted you to have to witness that. What she did, what she made me do – wasn´t just for her pleasure.” His voice crumbled a little when he mumbled: “It was just another way of torture.”

My fingers trembled, but I kept staring at him, feeling my breath shake. My eyes were burning, and there was a pressure on my chest, a weight that made my body ache as I couldn´t tear my eyes away from him, the male in front of me who had always been sure and charming and overly confident boarding on annoyingly arrogant and who now looked tired and a little empty, like something deep inside him had been shattered.

All because of her.

I didn´t realise I had started to shake, my whole body so tense, my fingers dug into my knees until Rhysand´s soft, slightly cautios voice made me tear away my eyes from the scar on his collarbone.

“Starshine?”

My eyes darted up to meet his, and Rhys looked at me with his head tipped to the side.

“You´re glowing.”

I blinked before hastily drawing away my eyes, swallowing against the pressure in my throat as I found a golden light pulsing around me.

Quickly, I furrowed my brows, drawing back the magic, even though it still raged soundlessly in my chest, then I raised my head again, and my heart tightened when I met Rhys´ eyes that were already on my face.

Trying to fight the ache in my chest, I whispered, my voice hoarse: “I should have ripped her to shreds.”

Rhys breathed a laugh, and something tumbled in my chest at the way his eyes crinkled slightly, some of the familiar curve of his lips returning onto his face when he looked up at me. That slightly broken look was still there, and even though he was smiling softly, I could feel his pain.

Before I could stop myself, I dove forward, tackling him in a hug so forceful, it knocked the wind out of him; his arms catching me in reflex the only thing preventing me from slipping right off the other side of his lap.

I could feel Rhys freeze for nothing more than a second. Then a slow breath left him. His shoulders sagged and his arms circled around me, pulling me into his chest so tightly, I lost my breath, his grip almost squashing my ribs, and something stilled in my chest when he turned his head to bury his face in the crook of my neck.

I tried to swallow against the weight in my chest, pressing my nose against his shoulder and closing my eyes tightly.

“I wish I could take it away.” My voice was nothing more than a whisper, but I knew Rhys had heard me, because he shook his head without pulling back, his face still pressed into my neck, and something fluttered against my throat when he mumbled, voice so rough, it vibrated over my skin: “You´ve already done much more than I could ever give back.”

“Rhys –“

“You saved me.” Even though his deep voice was steady, it sounded raspy, and a little breathless when he added in a soft murmur: “You have been saving me since the day I met you.”

My heart did one small skip. Then it stilled.

Staring at the wall, I tried to fight the pressure in my throat as something warm rolled over my cheek, and I fisted my hands, quickly burying my nose at his shoulder and squeezing my eyes shut tightly.

There was an ache in my chest I couldn´t explain.

Rhys propped his chin onto my shoulder, his hand gently running over my back, and I sniffled and huffed, my voice grumbly and a little shaky when I mumbled: “Shouldn´t I be comforting you?”

Rhys breathed a chuckle, and the sound filled something in my chest I hadn´t realised had been empty.

“I think it´s fine if we comfort each other.” I could hear the way his lips had curved and breathed out, threading my fingers through the hair at the back of his head as I pressed my nose against his shoulder.

A low hum left Rhys that had his chest vibrating and something jump in my stomach, and when I pulled back lightly, his eyes had closed as he leaned back into my touch. There was something so unguarded about this face, hurt and tension and restlessness still visible in the way his brows were crunched a little, but the shadows of Under the Mountain seemed to fade slowly as a light rumble built in his chest, voice rough when he mumbled: “I think I need headscratches.”

My heart skipped, and I felt my lips curve into a slow, soft but cheeky smile.

“Are my ears deceiving me or is the mighty High Lord of the Night Court actually asking me for headscratches…“

Rhys´ grip around my waist tightened when he huffed and cracked open an eye, but one corner of his lips quirked when he glared at me.

“Yes, so think about your answer, because the High Lord is going to remember if you decide to deny them to him.”

I breathed a laugh, grinning widely at him.

“One, you´re not my High Lord, in case you forgot about it, that isn't really a thing for me, which leads me to two; are you trying to use your title on me, because you know I am not exactly impressed by something like that –“

“Well, you could be impressed by other things -“ The rest of his words went under in a deep, soft chuckle when I lightly tugged at his hair, just enough to make a grin spread over Rhys´ face.

Feeling my heart skip, I loosened my grip, and Rhys´ eyes rolled back a little when my nails raked gently over his scalp. Something twitched in my stomach at the way he groaned softly, head tipping back into my touch, the movement exposing the curve of his throat. I swallowed softly, watching as little by little, my fingers massaged away the tension clinging to the male in front of me. His shoulders slowly slumped, hands around my waist relaxing before gently pulling me closer in what felt like subconcious, and I was suddenly glad his eyes had fluttered shut, attention clearly somewhere else, because I couldn´t keep myself from holding my breath.

Stupidly pretty.

When I finally slid my fingers out of his hair, Rhys looked close to falling asleep on the spot. His eyes were drooping as he fought to open them fully, gaze seeming a little dazed as he blinked a few times, and I felt my lips curve when I gently poked my finger into his chest.

“Happy?”

Rhys´s eyes found mine, and something skipped high into my throat when they pierced into mine, tired and warm and still twinkling softly. Then one corner of his lips rose a little. “Profoundly.”

Staring at him, I felt something surge in my chest, warm and rising, and my lips curved cheekily as I raised my brows, whispering a little roughly: “Good.”

For a moment, we just stared at each other, and I knew that I should have broken eye contact, should have looked away, because the way my heart was beating against my ribs, firm and steady, was strange and scary - but I didn´t. Not when Rhys was watching me like that, tired, lips curved up far enough for his cheek to crease.

I blinked, then I tipped my head to the side a little, mumbling softly to not disturb the quiet: “Are you going to try and get some sleep?”

Rhys stared at me, something behind that tired sparkle in his eyes when he mumbled back, voice almost a little rough: “Are you going to get me back if she finds me again?”

My heart slipped into my throat, and I barely suppressed the urge to swallow, instead sending him a soft, crooked smile, mumbling quietly: “I´ll fight her over and over again if I have to.”

Rhys stared at me, and blinking, I carefully slipped off his lap, tugging up the blanket and sliding under it. Rhys followed, heavily turning onto his side, and I let my head sink into my pillow, my eyes tracking over his face. Then, before I could stop myself, I slid closer, and I almost thought I could feel Rhys´ breath hitch when I wrapped my arm around his waist and buried into his chest.

“I hope for your sake you don´t snore,”, I grumbled softly into his warm skin, and something that felt a little like a shudder went through Rhys´ body, then his arms slipped around my shoulder and squeezed, pulling me into his chest until even the last bit of me was pressed into his body. My heart got stuck in my throat when I felt him bury his nose in my hair, then Rhys mumbled, his voice almost a little hoarse: “Why, would you kick me?”

My heart skipped gently, and I felt my lips curve into a slow, cheeky smile as I whispered back: "Don´t think I´ll spare you, High Lord."

I could feel Rhys´ lips rise, then he breathed out softly, and slowly, very slowly, his heartbeat calmed, only occasionally hitching gently. Exhaling lightly, I closed my eyes and felt something pulse gently in my chest.

"Night,", I mumbled softly, and Rhys´ hand slipped up, fingers tangling into my hair, his thumb gently brushing over the back of my neck and causing a tingle to run over my skin when he mumbled back: "Good Night, starshine."

@starswholistenanddreamsanswered @stayinglow-exploringworlds @tcris2020 @lizziesfirstwife @brandywineeeee @t0uch-starved-h0e @sharknutz @valencia-rou @twsssmlmaa

#rhysand #rhys #rhysand x reader #rhysand imagine #rhysand x female!reader #rhysand/reader #rhys x reader #rhys imagine #rhys/reader #acotar x reader #acowar #acotar #acomaf #starshine #lalacliffthorne

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brightgoat · 2 months

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And the non humanoid stands will be fun to figure out how to make them work here... From the crimson court fanart you made Oasis work basically like it still has Secco inside it but like, hermit purple, bastet, love deluxe, aerosmith, how is that gonna work

I have art of most of those coming up, and you can literally see them in the art i've posted if you look close, except for Bastet who since I'm not really drawing, I will tell you that I imagine her as.... just a... huge electric powerpoint that moves across surfaces....

i had the idea that she can create a cat-like silhouette with electricity from the powerpoint but thats going waaay into fanon

She's a huge powerpoint with the holes making up the face haha

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ghoststyles · 10 months

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Fairway to Heaven - Part 1

Hi!! I’m so excited to post my first-ever Harry fic! I’ve been on 1D Tumblr since the very beginning, logged off for 5 years and now I’m back 💀 So I’ve had a lot of ideas over the years that have just lived in my head. GOLFRRY + MUSTACHRRY are my weaknesses, so this is my twist on a golf/bev cart girl + agegap fic 🤩

I’d love to hear your thoughts. I have most of the story written, so I should be able to have a consistent posting schedule. Not sure the total # of parts quite yet. I’m also happy to write additional blurbs if y’all like Harry and Briar as much as I do 🥹🐥🦊

Here is a mood board I put together. Feel free to picture Briar however you please. The mood board is just to set the vibez!

Without further ado...Enjoy!

Word count: 4.5K

Contains mature themes. Read at your own discretion. Agegaps, cursing.

Read Part 2 | Read Part 3 | Read Part 4

By the time she gets to her designated cart, she’s already fifteen minutes late; but her iced coffee is the perfect color, and her hair didn’t give her too much trouble this morning. She smiles to herself, a win is a win.

Briar Barlowe quickly dumps a bucket of ice in her cart’s side cooler as the bar back begins filling the bin with the usual suspects: Bud Light, Michelob Ultra, Fireball, Tito’s, Casamigos, Ginger ale, and, of course, grape juice. She makes sure to keep her lavender cups stocked and plenty of fun straws to make everything more fun. She even decorates her tip jars to say funny jokes.

Since starting at Wynnewood Country Club, Briar has gained a bit of notoriety among the players as the girl with a bright smile and a heavy pour. This job is exactly what she needs to fill the gap between graduating college and beginning her business degree in the fall. Good money, stress-free responsibilities, and time spent in the sunshine.

Her Uncle, Patrick Barlowe, is the golf pro at Wynnewood; a local legend who was just shy of making the PGA Tour himself. He spends his days teaching lessons, running the pro shop and serving on the Board of Directors for the club. If you’re in with Patrick, you’re in with everyone.

When he heard her worries of not finding a summer job after graduation, it was a no brainer to offer her a position as a beverage cart girl. They both gaze out over the course from a table under the gazebo on the top deck of club’s restaurant.

“That job sounds a little sexist, Uncle Patrick,” Briar sneers. All she can picture is driving around in a little dress and a visor like Malibu Barbie, answering the male members’ every beck and call.

The club is gorgeous; first built in 1914, and the architecture reflects it. It has two golf courses, 4 tennis courts, a pool, and deluxe spa. The member fees skyrocket each year, upping the amenities and overall snootiness of the members.

“The money is good and the members are pretty harmless. From the way you’ve swindled me into throwing teddy bear tea parties, I think you’ll do just fine on the sales aspect.”

“Fine. When do I start?”

Patrick leans back in his seat, “I’ll call Dominic in the morning.”

With that, they finish their drinks and appetizers just as the sun sets.

Walking out to her car, she sees a black Range Rover pull under the carport. The boys at the valet stand are already bickering over who gets to drive this one.

Based on the surrounding town, the level of pretentiousness at the club never surprises Briar. The yearly member fee for the club can cover 2 years’ worth of her business school tuition alone. She shakes her head and jumps into her hand-me down Jeep to head back to her apartment, paying no mind to the man entering the front door of the club.

Her shift this morning started out in the frigid cold, forcing her to change outfits later in the day as the sun came out. She’s sporting her black athletic skort and a racerback tank top. She opts to leave her hair down and sport her black and white Nike trailblazers to keep the look casual.

With a few weeks’ worth of shifts under her belt, she’s learned the ways of the club and fallen into a good rhythm. On any given weekend day, she has to head to the clubhouse to restock twice before 12PM. Today is not one of those days.

As temperature warms up, the course begins to fill up. In the last hour of her shift, she’s left with only a few beers and a few shots worth of Tito’s. Her tip jar is a little emptier than usual, but the pun on her sign got a few chuckles. She sets up shop on the 17th hole and snaps a few photos of the sunset.

“I shot one under today. One under a tree, one under a bush, and one under the water.”

Briar jumps at the voice behind her. Is that an Irish accent? She leans to peer over the side of her cart. She sees a man, older than her, donning a light blue polo with dark blue pants and a white hat, reading the joke on her jar.

“Clever, isn’t it?” She smiles kindly at him.

“Hilarious. It’s like ya been watching my game today,” he laughs. He moves closer to where she’s standing.

“Can I get you anything? I’ll be honest, I’m mostly wiped out.”

He peers down at the contents of the cooler. “I’ll take that last Mich Ultra. Do you have any Casamigos left? My mate is a little picky.”

“No Casamigos,” she says with a slight frown. “I’ll try to keep my drinking to a minimum next time and save you some.”

He lets out a loud laugh and squeezes his eyes shut. “Alright, just this then. He’ll have to deal with it.”

“I can offer you some Peanut M&M’s for your troubles,” she says, pulling out her iPad to ring in the order. “Do you have an account with the club, or do you want to pay cash?”

“The account is under Niall Horan,” he says, putting a $20 bill in the jar. “Thanks for the M&M’s, darlin’.”

“I’m Briar. It was nice meeting you, Niall. Thank you!” She beams. He smiles and starts heading back to the path toward the clubhouse.

After cleaning her cart and counting her money, Briar finishes the day drinking a mojito at the bar, while Cam, her new friend at the club, is working her bar shift.

“How was it out there today, babe?” Cam asks.

“Slow at first, but it definitely picked up. I couldn’t even head back for a restock. Luckily, the members I got at the very end weren’t picky.”

“Oh! Did you see Niall?” she asks as she puts glassware in the dishwasher.

“Yeah,” Briar furrows her brows. “How did you know?”

“I used to serve him on the front course all the time. Now that I’m too old and wretched to work out on the course, he’ll visit me in here sometimes. He mentioned playing the back course with a friend today.”

Briar is always assigned to the back course. There are only minor differences in difficulty, but she finds the back course to be a little more calm and serious. They’re also a little more generous with their tips. She’s not sure if her assignment has something to do with her uncle’s knowledge of the club’s inner workings.

“He is really nice, and generous. I didn’t get to meet the friend, though. Did you?”

“Yes, he was a little more reserved. But Niall is a riot, so he makes anyone look calm. I didn’t catch his name.”

Briar hums and stirs her mojito around as she stifles a yawn. “Well, I’ve been here since 7:30 this morning, so I am ready to goooo,” she drags out her last word. She waves bye to Cam and begins the trek to the employee parking lot.

As she’s walking, she gazes up to the upper deck of the restaurant where she can just barely make out Niall standing by the railing. He’s talking animatedly and waving his beer bottle around.

A bit off to the right, peering down at her, is a tall, striking man with dark features wearing a white button down and a sport coat. The top two buttons are undone just enough to see his collarbones.

The club has a strict dress code for the restaurant. Briar often does a double take when she sees members out of their golf clothes. She wonders if he’s even allowed to show that much skin.

Shrugging it off, she continues toward her car, but not without looking back at the man. He’s still looking at her, curiously, taking a sip of his drink and turning away not long after she looks up.

She can’t help but get this strange feeling, almost as if the hairs on the back of her neck are standing straight up.

As the summer starts to heat up, so do her shifts at the course. By the end of them, Briar’s hair is sticking out sideways and her make up is smeared down her face. She bought a miniature fan that clips right to the visor of her cart to keep her cool throughout the day.

It’s just past 8:30 in the morning on Tuesday when she hears a familiar voice on the 8th hole. She squints and sees Niall, along with the dark haired man from the other night. There are a few guys she doesn’t recognize standing with them.

She maneuvers her cart through the winding path, closer to where the men are.

“There’s the beer angel!” Niall shouts. She smiles and shakes her head. He comes jogging over. “I hope you’re fully stocked this morning.”

“Yep, I am! I even have a few breakfast sandwiches, if you’re interested.”

His eyes light up as she pulls out a bacon, egg and cheese on an everything bagel from the warming drawer. Chef Lambo, the executive chef of the club, made them especially for Briar’s customers.

“Yesss. I’ll take one of those, a Mich Ultra, two Transfusions, and — H! What do you want?” He yells, partially turning to face his friend in the distance.

She faintly hears, “Casamigos!”

“And a Casamigos on the rocks, with a lime,” he finishes. It takes her only a few minutes to make the cocktails.

“Do you want these on your account?” Briar asks Niall.

He takes a huge bite of the bagel and mumbles, “No, you can put it all on my mate’s. Last name is Styles.”

Styles, or, “H” as Niall called him. The mystery man’s Last name is Styles. And, he’s a member here.

“Got it. Well, good luck today.”

“Thanks, we’ll need it. We’re trying to close a work deal with the two guys we’re playing with. Hey, don’t be afraid to swing by us multiple times. We can use all the schmoozing we can get,” he smiles.

“I think I can do that. Let me know if you need help, I’m told I’m very persuasive,” she smiles as she takes the emergency brake off of her cart. He throws another $20 in her jar and then waves, nearly dropping all of the items in his hands.

Niall returns to his group, handing out their drinks. Briar continues to watch before pulling away. H steps out from behind Niall, slightly lifting his cup — his lavender cup — towards her, as a thank you. His facial expression is stoic, watching her carefully.

She smiles to herself and drives off. The rest of the shift goes by in a blur. She swings by Niall and H’s group a few times. Each time, Niall greets her to grab more drinks and snacks.

Is that on purpose? If the drinks are on H’s account, why isn’t he coming over? She’d like to get a closer look at him. She chews on the inside of her lip and continues on with her closing duties. She loves the morning shift; in early, out early.

After parking her cart in the garage, she can see her uncle in the pro shop, glasses on the tip of his nose, peering down at something. She lightly knocks on the door and pushes it open.

“Hey, Briar bear,” he says, looking up at her. “How was your day?”

Briar sighs at her childhood nickname, plopping down on the couch by the practice putting green. Members can test out clubs before purchasing them in the pro shop, making it an optimal spot to hang out and mess around with all of the clubs.

“It was good, I just have to get used to waking up this early again. And I already know you’re going to say, ‘welcome to the real world, kid’, so just stop there,” she says sassily.

Patrick chuckles and focuses back on with his paperwork. They’re quiet for a few moments.

“What’re working on, anyway?” she asks, craning her neck to see what he’s doing.

“Just some budget sheets, and making a list of members who haven’t had a lesson from their amazing in-house golf pro,” he says, punching numbers into his phone calculator.

“They get a free lesson from you?”

“Yes, when they join. But now, to keep up member retention, we’re going to offer sessions to members who have been here for 5 years or more,” he scratches his temple. “Most of ‘em don’t need it, but I feel they always leave with a new drill to practice and some sage advice from yours truly.”

“That’s cool,” she replies absently.

“Wanna help?” Patrick asks her. She nods silently and takes a seat beside him. She sees a list of last names, first initial and an “X” next to their name if they’ve taken a lesson.

She notices an X next to “Horan, N.” but not “Styles, H”. Interesting.

Briar continues to audit the two lists, until she hears her uncle clear his throat.

“Hey, are you going to hang here for a bit? I need to run back into the main clubhouse for a few minutes.”

Patrick runs the pro shop solo during the day, until a high school or college kid can come in in the afternoon.

“Yeah, I’ll hang here. What do I do if someone needs something?”

“Then you can entertain them with your dazzling personality until I get back,” he teases, sticking his tongue out. “Alright, I’ll be back.”

“‘kay,” she says, walking back to her original spot on the sofa, laying her head back on the edge.

Her eyes are shut, only for a minute, until a brilliant idea pops in her head. She rises off the sofa and saunters over to the computer her uncle was just working on.

The employee portal is logged in under Patrick’s account. Briar doesn’t know much about it, aside from using it to clock in and clock out. It’s still on the member screen, an area she’s 100% sure she doesn’t have access to.

She peruses the site until she finds a “Member Look-Up” tab. Briar’s intrusive thoughts win.

She slowly punches in S-T-Y-L-E-S and waits for the results to populate. 2 results found.

She clicks on the first profile. An account pulls up for a Paul Styles, and a photo of a white-haired man pops up.

Well, that’s certainly not him, Briar thinks to herself. She exits out and clicks on the next account. No profile photo opens, but the name is at the top. She bites her thumbnail in anticipation of what she’ll see.

Harry Styles. H. Niall’s mysterious friend. The tequila lover.

She starts to scroll down the page. The profile is more bare than the other man’s, but she can see the basic things about him. He’s 41, joined the club 8 years ago. He lives in another pretentious town only a few miles away.

Then, she sees a “Member Activity” tab. Out of curiosity, she clicks on it. Her eyes widen, seeing every transaction he’s ever made on his account. His “dues” each year. Holy shit.

His purchases seem pretty standard for members of Wynnewood. Mostly rounds of Casamigos on the rocks (shocking) and dinners ranging from $100-$400, with a few bills over $1,000.

He joined 8 years ago, but his transactions have only begun to pick up in the last month or so. Before, his visits were sporadic at best.

Briar can’t even fathom having that sort of money to throw away. She started working at age 14 and never stopped. The only reason she gets a taste of country club life is because of her uncle.

She closes out the portal, not wanting to risk Patrick walking in while she’s snooping around. She returns to her spot on the sofa and begins playing 1010! on her phone.

She exhales and tosses her phone to the side. As she sits up, Patrick reenters the pro shop.

“Thanks, Bri. Heading home soon?”

“Yeah, I gotta get back home for Gus,” she smiles, thinking about her dog. Her baby.

“Alright, I’ll catch you later. Say hello to my buddy for me. And give him a butt scratch — Tell him it’s from Uncle Patty.”

“Will do. See ya.”

When she’s showered and comfy at home, with Gus, her Bernese Mountain Dog, snuggled at her side, she finally feels relaxed.

She’s worked nearly every day since she started. But, those are the sacrifices of a summer job.

She turns on Selling Sunset on Netflix to drown out the silence of her apartment. Already bored of this season, she pulls out her phone.

One last round of stalking, then she’ll let it go. She opens Instagram and begins typing in Harry’s name in the search bar. Nothing. Hm.

She tries Niall, immediately getting a hit. She clicks on his account to find it public, full of funny and happy photos. He’s clearly from Ireland, but has lived in the United States for some time. She wonders if he went to school here, or if he just got a job here.

She scrolls down to a group photo — on the golf course, of course — of Niall, Harry, and a few other guys. They look a lot younger here. She can see the photo is from 7 years ago. Harry’s stoic face is a stark contrast to Niall’s infectious smile. She clicks on the photo to see if Harry’s profile is tagged. Nothing.

Defeated, she moves onto LinkedIn. She tries Harry’s name again. Within 10 seconds of the search engine results popping up on the screen, her eyes land on exactly what she’s looking for. He has a profile. Her heart starts beating a little faster.

Really, Briar? All this for a guy you’ve barely caught a glimpse of? She clicks on the profile and sees the most gorgeous man at the top. He looked good from afar, but this is totally different.

Sticking out to her is his chiseled jaw, pouty lips, and beautiful (green?) eyes. His hair is longer in this photo than what she’s seen him with the past 2 times at the club, but she figures this page is old.

She scrolls down to the employment history. He works for a hedge fund. No wonder he has that kind of cash laying around. He’s been at the same company for a number of years, and received his bachelor’s degree from Georgetown and his MBA from the University of Pennsylvania. Smart dude.

She notes his MBA graduation year is 2006. She laughs, knowing she was probably still playing on a playground that year.

She exits out of the page, proud of her findings. She decides to text Cam about Niall’s friend.

B: Hey! So I totally stalked Niall online. His friend’s name is Harry! 😆

C: So funny, how’d u do it? 😂

B: Instagram for Niall, and earlier, I used Wynnewood’s portal to look up Harry. I just went on his LinkedIn, too. Now, I know all about his work and schooling, lol.

C: Your account is private, right? 😳

C: It notifies people if you’ve looked at their profile unless you’re private…

B: What?! I didn’t know that…WTF do I do?

Briar’s stomach drops. He’s probably already gotten the notification by now. She’s mortified. She logs back on to LinkedIn and deactivates her account. Reddit says those are her best chances of counteracting the notification.

She decides to go to bed, but ends up tossing and turning until 3 AM, knowing her alarm is set for 6:30. She stares at the ceiling, pleading for Harry not to show up at the club tomorrow.

The morning comes around, and after mustering enough courage to get up and make herself presentable, she rolls into work, ready to jump on her cart and be lazy. The universe (or Uncle Patrick, probably!) has a different plan.

Since it’s a holiday weekend, Briar is working inside for a change. She feels a little out of her element. She’s worked in restaurants in the past, but it’s always a little stressful when you have know idea where anything is, or how to use the register.

Taking a moment to survey the large banquet room, she doesn’t see Niall or Harry. She begins to relax. Until, 30 minutes later, she sees both of them enter and begin talking to the hostess.

Please don’t go to my section, she thinks. She watches the girl gathers 4 menus and turns to lead the men further into the room. Briar’s worry grows more with each step the hostess takes toward her section. Fuck.

She seats them down at a 4 person table right in the middle of Briar’s section, assuming the two men from yesterday will be joining them.

She takes a few deep breaths before grabbing a water jug and two stemmed water glasses. She casually approaches the table, lightly placing the water glasses down and filling them.

Niall looks up briefly with a smile before exclaiming, “There she is! I requested you to be our server after I saw you at the coffee machine over there.”

Briar smiles before turning her attention to Harry, who hasn’t glanced up from his menu. She looks back at Niall.

“Awesome! This is going to be great,” she lies through her teeth.

While this exchange is happening, she can feel Cam’s eyes burning through the back of her head. Cam is the service bartender of the day, so she has time to people watch and laugh at Briar’s bad luck.

“Are we waiting for any more guests to join us?” Briar asks.

Niall clears his throat and says, “Yes, those two blokes from yesterday. Harry here is going to close the deal with them today.”

Harry glances up at her with a shy smile. She reciprocates, unsure if he’s aware of her cyberstalking from last night.

“Wow, well, I’ll make sure my service is extra good, then. Can I throw in some drinks while you wait?”

“I’ll have an Old Fashioned. Harry?” Niall turns to his friend.

“Casamigos on the rocks for me, please. With a lime. Thank you.”

“You got it,” she says with a tight-lipped smile. Of course that’s the very first thing he ever says to her. And he’s BRITISH?

Cam laughs as the ticket prints at the bar.

“Oh, shut up,” Briar grumbles.

The other men finally arrive, and the meal goes by at a snail’s pace. When the group is finally ready to order, Briar is already mentally checked out. Briar goes to take Harry’s order.

“What can I get for you?”

“I’ll have the chicken, please,” he says simply.

“And how would you like that cooked?” Briar asks, furiously scribbling on her note pad.

Harry’s face contorts to a perplexed look, almost as if he was about to laugh.

“Um…cooked…all the way through?” He stifles a chuckle.

Niall bursts out laughing, cluing Briar in. She realizes the others ordered porterhouse steaks, so, out of habit, she asked how they’d like them prepared.

Her eyes go wide, “Right, well, I’ll go put these in. Thanks!” She shuffles away at lightning speed.

Harry stares at her from across the room, smirking when they make eye contact. She wants to bury her head in the sand trap on the golf course.

When the meal is done, the men shake hands, and Niall and Harry look relieved. They ask for another round of drinks for the two of them and the check. Niall heads toward the restroom while Harry pays. She tries to bolt as soon as the check is dropped, but she hears Harry clear his throat.

She turns to face him.

“We’re about to go play a quick round of 9-holes to celebrate. Are you our beer angel today, or are you stuck in here?” Harry says, as he opens his wallet.

Briar feels her heart begin to race. She’s sure her face is beet red. The word angel rolls off his tongue so easily.

“Um, no, I’m um, stuck in here for the rest of the day. I’ll be back on Sunday, though,” she says quietly.

“Shame, I was starting to think you were bringing me all of my luck. I’ve been crushing these guys in our last few rounds,” he smiles, swirling the remnants of his drink around.

She bites the inside of her lip, unsure if she should still be holding eye contact. He hands her the checkbook, full of cash. She smiles, unable to speak.

“Oh, and Briar— I’m an open book. If you wanted to know more about me, you could’ve just asked,” he says with a sickeningly sweet smile.

That’s the moment Niall returns to the table, and presumably the only reason she doesn’t drop to the floor in fetal position.

“Thanks, Briar. Lunch was great. We’ll see you next time,” Niall says sweetly.

“Thanks!” she squeaks, scurrying to the back, where she nearly mows down Cam.

“Woah! What’re you doing?” Cam squeals.

“He KNOWS!” Briar wails.

“Who? Who knows — OH!” Cam shrieks. “What did he say to you?”

“He said, ‘Briar, I’m an open book. If you wanted to know more about me, you could’ve just asked.’”

Cam’s mouth drops open. “Did he say it with his sexy accent and sultry voice?”

“Shut up!”

“Fine. Well, what did he tip you?” she asks, reaching for the book in Briar’s hand.

She opens it, finding enough cash to cover the $450 tab, and an extra $300 as a tip.

“Damn! Who has that much cash at one time?” Cam laughs.

Briar flips to the back of the book, only to find a note on a small piece of paper:

I’m an Aquarius, in case you were wondering. : - )

She stares blankly at the note. When did he have time to do this? Was he going to slip this note to her regardless? A million thoughts run through her head, until she hears Cam.

“What a creepy-ass old person smiley face,” she says, shaking her head.

Briar thinks it’s the cutest thing in the world.

Finally, her shift ends and she can escape the club, just for a day. As she heads towards the women’s locker room, she’s rummaging through her bag, attempting to fish out her street clothes so she can change as quickly as possible.

As she stalks closer to the locker room, she collides head-first into a firm, wet object. She feels strong hands grasp her hips to steady her.

“What the fuck?” she says, moving the hair out of her eyes, only to be met with a strong tattooed torso, partially covered by towel tied loosely around the person’s waist.

Her next words die in her throat as she looks up.

Harry.

Harry, who just left the steam room.

He smirks down at her, gently letting go of her waist. Suddenly, she feels hot, as if she were just in there with him. Briar’s fight or flight kicked-in, causing her to spin on her heels and flee in the opposite direction.

He senses she’d run, so he gently grabs her wrist, locking her in place. She peers up at him like a deer in headlights. His other hand is firmly planted on his hip to hold up his towel, in fear of giving the whole club a show.

He tilts her chin up so she’s making direct eye contact. Her stomach drops, sending a wave of nausea through her body. She studies his face; long eye lashes, slight stubble and two dimples that form as he smirks down at her softly.

“I told you, I’m not shy.”

He releases her chin and saunters back to the mens’ locker room.

#ghoststyles #fairway to heaven #Harry styles smut #harry styles fanfic #harry styles fanfiction #golfrry #dom!harry #daddy!h

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ask-a-w · 6 months

Text

Watched Nick Apostolides play Separate Ways and wrote down stuff that caught my attention.

Guests on the stream: Craig (Wesker’s VA) & Andre (Luis’ VA). Andre joins for a short while mid-way through the stream.

- Nick was there when he watched Andre film the cutscene of Luis doing the flamenco. Apparently Andre nailed it in one take.

- Nick says Andre spent months researching the Spanish culture. (Andre talks a little bit more about it later.)

- Craig went to Vancouver three times in 2022 to film RE4R & SW. The main game & DLC were shot together. He couldn’t say he went to Vancouver more than once or else he would give away that there were extra content like SW & Mercenaries.

- Nick was not aware how Ada got infected.

- Craig played RE5 co-op years ago and is trying to play it solo but acknowledged it’s not that fun to play solo.

- Craig’s download for SW took 7 minutes and he was very amused by that.

- Craig can only talk about games that have come out so don’t ask him if there’s gonna be a remake for CV or RE5.

- Craig was not aware who or what he was auditioning for and only knew he was playing Wesker when he was flown to the studio. He asked them if he should play Wesker like previous incarnations or like what he did in his audition. They told him to play Wesker like his audition.

- Craig said when he filmed for RE: Outbreak 20 years ago, the actors only saw stick figures on the screen but now, as you stand in front of the mocap cameras, you can see your entire character model on the screen rightaway and he’s quite impressed how far technology has advanced.

- Craig said he did mocap for Outbreak for 6 months. He did not book a part in Outbreak initially but Alyson Court (Claire’s original VA) actually brought him to work on the game.

- Craig filmed all his scenes together with Lily and only saw Nick 3 times during filming since Wesker & Leon don’t have any scenes together.

- Craig has been a fan of RE for a long time. He played RE1 with his acting classmates and they were happy for him when he booked a part in Outbreak.

- Craig says he has never gotten a copy of any game he has worked on as the people he works with don’t work in game distribution. He only managed to get a copy of the RE4R deluxe edition thanks to an ex-girlfriend who works in game distribution.

- Craig & Nick know both Wesker & Leon are very beloved characters in the franchise and have given it their all for their portrayals.

- Both of them squeed when Wesker says “complete local saturation” and Craig has been waiting for a whole year wondering how fans would react to that line.

- Nick had no idea what would happen in SW since he didn’t get the script for it.

- Craig also had no idea Wesker would be in Mercenaries but put two and two together when he recorded lines for Merc.

- Scenes are filmed out of order. Craig didn’t know if he was filming for the main game or SW. He had to wait till the main game came out to see what scenes were shown in RE4R. Nick also has no idea if he filmed anything for SW.

- While the VAs have their own general idea on how to play their character as they walk into the studio, how they express their lines are based on a combination of what’s requested by Capcom’s Japanese team, how the translator translates Capcom’s requests, and Steve Kniebihly’s (cinematics director) direction.

- Someone asked Craig if he thought when Wesker was a child, would he shine a magnifying glass on ants. Craig said probably yeah and maybe pulling the wings of flies too. (Side note: The Ashford twins did that in Code Veronica)

- Craig was a musician first before he got into acting. In high school, everyone was into music and he made some music with his friends. His then-girlfriend asked him to audition in a school musical and he loved the acting expect of it. He then auditioned in plays before he went to acting school for college.

- Craig applied to both music & acting programmes for college. He always wanted to be a performer.

- Andre joins halfway through the stream. He enjoyed filming the opening flamenco scene even though it took a while to get the steps right. He doesn’t think he can do the dance any more since it’s been a while.

- Andre mimed the reaction to being pulled by a rope in chapter 1. He didn’t have confidence to pull it off and the team also agreed. He doesn’t have stunt training anyway.

- Craig on the other hand, recounted when he was filming being grabbed by a monster for RE Outbreak. He had a rope on his head while filming for that and he didn’t get stunt pay. But things were different years ago.

- Andre said the team took safety really seriously and even for simple things like pretending to fall over, Steve Kniebihly would tell the VAs not to do it and let the stunt team do it instead.

- When Craig auditioned for Wesker, the description was “Villain in a video game”. That was it. All the audition scripts were fake so actors who don’t book the part won’t leak that the game is being made.

- Andre lived & breathed Castellan Spanish culture for months while he filmed RE4R and it drove his family a little crazy. He even spoke with a Castellan Spanish accent for a while too. His family is of Mexican descent and Mexican Spanish pronunciation is different from European/Castellan Spanish.

- Nick was friends with Paul Haddad (OG RE2 Leon VA) before he passed away. He also took some voice lessons from Paul Mercier (OG RE4 Leon VA).

- Craig has not spoken to any previous Wesker VAs. He is long time friends with Alyson and she was his director on one project he worked in before. He has met OG Brad Vicker’s VA before.

- Andre has only met Neil Newbon (RE8 Heisenberg & RE3R Nikolai) in person.

- Craig enjoys playing bad guys since it’s fun to do something he can’t do in real life.

- Nick had to lower his voice for RE4R Leon since Leon in 2004 is a bit “sick of the same shit happening repeatedly” instead of being a newbie cop surprised at everything.

- Craig’s favourite scene to film was the Wesker & Ada confrontation at the beginning of the Island. He had to do the Wesker smirk at the end a few times as the team had to ensure it looked right on the Wesker model.

- Craig has a Guinness World Record for playing in the longest concert which lasted for 19 days, around 437 hours. He was in the planning committee for it and he played 5 times during the concert. To qualify for the record, there were a lot of rules. For example: at least 10 people in the audience had to be awake at all times, each song had to last at least 2 mins, and there can only be a maximum 30 seconds pause between each song.

- Nick got electrocuted in science class when he touched a capacitor with his bare hands. He mentioned that it really freaking hurt and it was almost impossible to let go. He had to force himself to open his hands.

- During the recording of the injury effort sounds for when Leon got electrocuted, Nick clenched his fists and shook them while grunting through gritted teeth.

- For Wesker’s injury effort sounds during Mercenaries mode, the team had to tell Craig to dial back as Wesker responds to injuries in a calmer manner.

- Nick had a lot of fun filming the part where Saddler transforms into his final form.

- Nick mocapped the pilot flying Ada’s chopper.

- Nick was completely mind blown by the stinger at the end.

#crossbow down #resident evil #separate ways #ada wong #leon kennedy #albert wesker #luis serra

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reflectismo · 1 year

Text

“Lives on a farm, got plenty of charm, beep, beep.

He's got no cows but he's sure got a whole lotta sheep.

And brand new wife and a family,

And when he comes to town,

I wonder if he'll play with me.”

“As a person I can’t help but love ‘im [Paul], I really can’t. He’s very important to me.”

“At Ringo’s wedding, I happened to go to the toilet, and I met Ringo there, at the same time, just the two of us. He said there were two times in his life in which I had done him in. He said that he’d done himself in three times. I happened to be spitting something out, and by chance the spit fell on his jacket. I said there you go, now I’ve done you three times. We’re equal. I laughed it off. It was all affectionate. It wasn’t a row. It wasn’t slagging off. He just suddenly said it, and we moved on. But NOW, I keep thinking all the time, what are the two times that Ringo thinks I put him down…”

“Memories of an Apple Girl” by Francie Schwartz, Rolling Stone Magazine (November 1969) // Let It Be (1969) // Get Back (2021) // Paul McCartney postcard to Ringo Starr, the day after the Beatles’ rooftop concert (January 31, 1969) // Paul McCartney in Anthology // Affidavit from Ringo Starr read out in court during the 1971 hearings to end Beatles partnership // Early 1970 by Ringo Starr (1970) // Ringo interview from 1971 // Revised edition of The Beatles: The Authorized Biography by Hunter Davies (1982) // Abbey Road Deluxe box set book (2019)

#The Beatles #Ringo Starr #Paul McCartney #(I don’t know what this is)#(But I’m feeling lots of things about them today)#(The first passage particularly struck me)#(Yes yes Francie Schwartz)#(But I swear I’ve heard another iteration of this before – I just can’t find it in my files at the moment)#(Pringo can sometimes be heartbreaking)#(Actually this whole band can be heartbreaking)#(Y’all do not want me to do one of George and John. That one will definitely hurt)#(This is also formatted horribly but oh well I’m running low on energy)#(Alright I’m done.)

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cephalonserotonin · 26 days

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Devstream 178 Notes

Megan has cool pants! Rebb has a cool earring!

Dante Unbound

next week!

"We wanted to bring lore! Important for us for people who want some texture… with their food…?" lol

Hence, even though there's no quest with this update, lots of lore! Drusus and other leverian stuff

Dante prex:

They mentioned no sticky corners and someone in the audience cheered.

Styanax deluxe

Nipple talk

Gauss Prime's little goofy run is gonna be an emote! for plat! "This is only a microtransaction panel" - Rebb

Banshee, Loki, and Nekros voidshells!! And some Loki QOL: some buffs, customizable invisibility, and an augment!

Easter bunny ears have FUR (using tech for the companion rework) and are now PERMANENT! "Nobody could stop me," - Rebb (Geoff boos)

Protea prime! Including her gear!

And Velox prime, Okina prime, Rhoptron prime syandana (this is GORGEOUS), a bonus alt helmet that moves, and an ephemera (no asset for this yet)

Yareli deluxe!, the Kompressa deluxe

"If you haven't played Yareli, maybe depending on where you get your warframe news…" LMAO the subtlest shade. I've liked Yareli from the beginning and definitely thought the initial backlash to her kit was overblown, so

blah blah soulframe

New update between Dante and Tennocon featuring the Stalker: Jade Shadows

Jade, our 57th warframe

Cinematic quest update from the Stalker's point of view!

J is the second to last letter we need to cover the alphabet, we're just missing U Audience member: what about Umbra? Rebb: No, that's Excalibur Umbra. If your arsenal said Umbra Excalibur you might stand a chance in court.

Warframe 1999

Very much a Warframe update, but a different style of update. New lore, lots of content, a new Warframe chapter. The gorgeous Arthur is our poster boy.

It's not a single player Warframe spinoff, a "Warframe 2" (I confess I was among those theorizing this). Those nipples stay on.

and now, waking up from his nap… it's Ben Starr! "Arthur is a very mysterious character who I am bound by NDA to say… VERY little about!" He's SO cool. and REALLY sexy. He's relatable. He's gonna be a badass, he's got a samurai sword.

Excalibur is a frame. Arthur is a PROTO-FRAME.

Just as an aside, Ben is adorable and hilarious, very fun to watch.

Stuff about Conflict between humanity and the non-human.. "you don't perceive humanity without how it reacts to others."

a first look at Aoi, our proto-Mag, and I am GAY SCREECHING

Bike: the atomicycle

Q&A

Audience member in a (Uniqlo?) metal gear rising revengeance shirt that Rebb recognized and appreciated: when is my man Caliban getting buffed? A: If Pablo were here, he'd say ask me at TennoCon.

Q: any other warframes getting reworks? A: Inaros rework coming with Dante unbound. Loki rework not planned.

Q: What inspired proto-Mag's design? A: Liger did Arthur and Aoi. We had a very specific vision for those two protoframes: Arthur being the "man scout," and Aoi we wanted a nice contrast to Arthur.

Q: Two questions very well worded I didn't get them down in time because I was nodding along. About stat sticks / pseudo-exalteds and trading. A: Stat sticks: we've talked about it but no changes planned. Trading: we've talked about maybe adding riven filters but not much more than that.

Q from guy in Dante DMC trenchcoat: Drifters? Maybe new outfits? A: In Unbound we are bringing one more operator outfit to drifter.

Q: I've been playing Warframe for 10 years, and I'm legendary 4. Any additional benefits for high rank players? A: The social benefits of being a high-rank player are unexplored. In terms of more mechanical aspects… we're thinking more social benefits. congrats on being legendary 4!

Q: When's infested liches? A: Steve is that you

Q In the second metal gear shirt: warframe 1999... dark sector? A: A lot of what Warframe was built on was the scifi part of dark sector that was never meant to be. So it's poetically coming full circle, that 1999 is dark sector inspired. Q: is there a plan for the dark sector remaster? A: 1999 is the dark sector remaster.

Q: Is there going to be fashion protoframes? A: Actually, yes… And that's all I'll say on that.

Q from Leon Kennedy: is squad link coming back? A: RIP scarlet spear. Not coming back in the way you might think, but we're experimenting early days with something you might like. It's in an urn. Geoff: that's pretty dead. Rebb: Someone hasn't played Baldur's gate 3! It's not totally dead, but mostly dead.

Q: Has anyone at DE considered a TTRPG or even a war game? you could blow games workshop completely out of the water. I'd rather give money to you than them any day. A: We're all fans of that kind of content, we'd endorse fan content, but we don't have the time to pursue it. Q: Has anyone considered modular ("kit") frames? A: We have considered it, but it didn't seem shippable. Seemed scope-scary.

Q: Are you, Rebb, personally happy with the way movement works at this very moment? A: Are you asking pre- or post- sticky corners? Q: Post. Also is Soulframe taking from the movement in Warframe? Geoff: Soulfame is very much in the opposite direction of Warframe, movement-wise. Rebb: I always thought it'd be fun to explore wall running in Warframe. But other than that, I love it. I think it's the best movement system in the third person games space. Every other game I play I try and bullet jump and aim glide. Questioner agrees.

Soulframe question I used to catch up on my above notes

Q: If you could go on a date with a warframe, which one?… me, it's Grendel. Ben: what would you do on that date? Questioner: just eat :) Geoff: Excalibur? (Rebb: that's very Raphael-coded of you. Little Baldur's Gate reference for you) Mag: Probably Valkyr. Rebb: why choose? All of them >:) Ben: pick one for me. Rebb: Mirage. Ben: What would I do? Rebb: Circus act. You are the circus.

Q: What was your favourite part of developing 1999, and Ben, what was your favourite part of voicing Arthur? A: Some stuff we haven't announced yet. As with most characters I play, there's something lovable about him despite his rough exterior… rough but he's nice about it. He's gonna do something to you, but he's gonna kiss you afterward. Rebb: I think it's quite sacred to introduce protoframes like this. We're being quite sacred about it (it's not Mag and Excal, it's Aoi and Arthur). Ben: The ways in which you're exploring that dynamic is very cool, and very 90s.

Q: Rebb, what are the things that plague you? A: My plagues are supported by the development team. I'm not alone; whenever I have an ailment, I have someone that to help support me with it. Geoff: I've genuinely never seen someone care so much. He gets teary. \*audience cheers as REBB DESERVES\* Same asker: when is my girl Titania getting buffed? A: Controversial question, she's pretty strong. I could see Tribute receiving some QOL to be easier to use (some Tribute). But those dex pixia, they do kill.

Q in a Warframe sweater with a Warframe backpack!: Which NPC would you be most likely to be besties with? Ben: Fibonacci Rebb: We love you Neil! Ben: If you don't have a cranky fish as a friend, what are you doing. Megan: I love Ordis :) especially little trash can ordis Rebb: you better say Lotus, Geoff >:) Geoff: Lotus. Rebb: Hard not to love Little Duck. We'd be besties for sure, drinking in the back room.

Q: if Teshin can have his head crushed and come back, what about Veso? A: He died a hero, I'm sorry.

Q: When can we get points to Dante his brother? A: ??? audience member yells out "VIRGIL!" Rebb: \*laughs\* maybe the bike is Virgil (This is a devil may cry reference)

Q: clan to clan interaction? Haven't had that since solar rails? A: Ok so in the urn we have squad link.. \*laugh\* We are trying to do more clan events. They work for by the book tasks. There's opportunity there we haven't explored. No leaderboards. I'll try to do more.

Q: I'm curious how you develop characters as a Warframe team. I've noticed a lot of references to mythology. A: it's a library of devs that have passions. The team is just really diverse and loves really cool shit. The amount of inspiration we get to name things thematically, we have touched lore I didn't know existed. When it comes to Warframes, we're still looking at old Keith Thompson drawings… he's built different.

Q: I'm sorry to take you back in the morgue. Void keys. Will there be a return to the old void and endless missions? A: We're not in the morgue here, we're in ICU. Visiting hours are open. I loved the old voidkey system. We did a soft tease with Dagath keys, it had wins and losses… There were user experience problems. But it's not totally dead. The omnia fissures are kind of that vibe. You can bring any relic to an omnia fissure and just haul ass.

Q: Can we get a toggle for Protea's visor? A: The rigging artist working on it talked about it. Maybe. You're right, it would be nice.

Q: Fashion frame question. Have you considered a DE color palette, like, Megan's greatest hits? A: That sounds like a great idea :) We're doing it.

Q: Are we ever going to see new necramechs? A: I hate saying probably not. No new ones in 1999 at least. We're touching up the ones we have before we go to the morgue, and grab a skull, to make a a new one. Sorry

Q holding a Clem plushie: when more Clem??? A: We'll see. Clem holds a special place in our heart. He's not in the morgue, I promise.

Q: I've been coerced into asking a question on behalf of someone who's not here. He's made it clear if I don't get a satisfactory answer I won't see my family again. Are there any plans to look at spawn rates for loot and reactants? A: I'm gonna keep talking until you can get your family out safely, I'm filibustering. There's performance issues, we want to get safe on all platforms. The worst offenders we can probably fix. We can increase reactant drop rates. Loot rates is harder to solve.

Q: if you have Drifter selected, can you use drifter melee? A: We thought it was important to keep drifter melee in duviri, but… why not? We could try. Drifters can't mod though. It's not impossible, but it'd take some time.

Q: Warframe being predominantly PVE, has there been talk of collaboration among clans? A: I implied it with the other question, but a social benefit would be great. I'd love to see you make friends with other clans

Thanks to the DE team for your hard work <3 supporting us for 11 years!

visual assets are either my own stream screenshots or from DE's devstream overview

#warframe #devstream 178 #sera's devstream notes

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toastedkiwi · 1 year

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Chrenry

Summary: a collection of tweets.

Pairing: Henry Cavill x Popstar Evans!Reader

Warning: cheating, mentions of rape, assault. Sex.

@/evansaremylife guyyyys remember the mugshots? Hot af. Especially Chris’s. And you bet your asses he doesn’t feel in the slightest bit guilty.

@/jamieleemissjackson not her first song after 4 years being about her getting fucked right by Mr. Henry Cavill.

@/yn+henry do you guys not see how happy yn is with Henry? Like compare it to when she was with Harry! SHE WAS FUCKING MISERABLE. and now she’s being treated like a queen.

@/harry123hoe I can’t believe Harry screwed his director and had the FCKING audacity to try and see yn after she was raped and brutally assaulted. No wonder Chris threw hands without any hesitations.

@/bruhsephine I read the court transcripts from the trial and let me just say that yn and Henry are totally trauma bonded. Like he deadass saw her naked in a pool of her own blood. He didn’t know if she was alive.

@/nobodycares their relationship is sus. She was def cheating on Harry w/ henry.

@/henrycavills can confirm that Henry befriended Chris to get to yn.

@/yn4life omfg she’s finally selling the house she had with Harry? And bought a house with Henry which is rumored to be a few houses down from Chris’ Bostonian home?

@/dodgerismydog even though he cheated, that’s outta be rough for Harry to find out that she was pregnant with HIS baby only for her to lose it after something very traumatic to happen and then have another baby with another man that was friends with her brother meaning that they’d hangout probably often two years later.

@/yourmom damn she had a whole ass baby with her brother’s friend after being cheated on. I’m pretty sure hen was the guy she told Harry not to worry about. That’s some baller shit.

@/imabiggerdilfthanu I wonder if she mixes up the names like Henry and Harry are pretty similar. Plus both of them are British.

@/lmmaaaaoooo I can’t wait for this documentary. I hope she trashes Harry for doing her dirty and letting that lying witch speak.

@/chrisevans4lyfe she came out with an album that has 17 songs. The deluxe is rumored to have 24. Like honey has been waiting.

@/Henners she named her baby after her brother and the father of her child. That’s too cute 🥹

@/chrenrytgether4ever if Henry and Chris weren’t straight, they’d totally be together. At least we get to see Y/n with Henry in this reality.

@/anotherusername it’s nice to see that y/n finally popped off on miss Wilde after she mentioned her kid and caught her in a lie.

@/blahblahblah people are shocked that her and Henry are moving a lot faster than when she was with Harry. Well, harry wasn’t giving her what she wanted and Henry has been. Baby— checked. A ring- check. Stability- check. House— check. Wedding— happening soon.

#chris evans x sister!reader #henry cavill x popstar evans!reader #chris evans #henry cavill #henry cavill x female reader #henry cavill x girlfriend!reader #henry cavill x fiancé!reader #henry cavill x y/n #henry cavill x you

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starrixpedrum · 10 days

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Would vape ✅

Rainbow Dash would get addicted to nicotine and then have to have a friendship lesson about quitting that takes the full 25 fucking minute episode and then maybe even a part 2

Fluttershy would also get addicted because of RD but probably more casually. I think Discord would find out and then do like, his own entire friendship lesson about it. And no one even knows she’s addicted until it’s 12 months later and idk Rainbow Dash mentions it in passing to Twilight and she’s like what the fuck???? But she’s already quit it so it doesn’t even matter.

I think Rarity would have a chronic problem with vaping. Like multiple friendship lesson type deal. It’s just because they’re so colorful and cute. And eventually Twilight is like okay, no more of this shit. And has to petition to Celestia to get it banned. She loses the court case but Rarity is touched by how adamant she is so she stops. Sort of. Fiends like a motherfucker

Twilight would vape. Absolutely. Like she’s telling everyone not to and doing all this shit trying to keep them from doing it all the while she’s got like, a vuse. Literally no one knows except for Spike and she goes through like 1 box a week and there’s a massive pile of sticky waxy nasty ass pods hidden somewhere in her castle. She says it helps with her anxiety but it really just makes it 10x worse and then the end of the season rolls around and she’s saving Equestria from some foil of herself that got addicted to nicotine and went insane or some shit. So she has to stop then. But no one ever knows about it except Spike and her.

Would not vape ❌

Applejack would NOT FUCKING VAPE. In fact, she gets pissed at the very notion of it. If she catches even a WHIFF of watermelon kiwi apple sauce surprise (and u know this bitch has a really good sense of smell too) she will smack that shit right out of ur hoof then stomp on it. She’s always, ALWAYS on Apple Bloom’s ass about it and checking her school bag and shit. Maybe even goes to the school board to petition to have them crack down on it. She Does Not Fucking Mess Around.

Pinkie Pie would try to vape but it just wouldn’t work. I don’t know. Like she would do it but she just can’t get addicted no matter how hard she tries. So she starts manufacturing them and selling them to school children. This is never a friendship lesson btw. This is just something that happens. And then she gets the shit beat out of her when AJ finds an orange creamsicle super smoothie deluxe inside her little sister’s school bag. And maybe that’s a friendship lesson but it’s really more like a court case.

#my little pony #a take #mlp #twilight sparkle #rarity #apple jack #pinkie pie #rainbow dash #fluttershy #vape #vaping

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cialovesklopp · 8 months

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𝐀𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐀 𝐈𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐈 𝐒𝐔𝐄𝐒 𝐄𝐕𝐀𝐍 𝐇𝐄𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐎𝐍

𝒔𝒖𝒎𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒚 — in which amara is done with being nice and decides to sue her ex-boyfriend for defamation with the support of her friends and lover

𝒕𝒂𝒈𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒕 — @aechii @lorarri

masterlist

Hold onto your seats because it just got messy and we are expecting a lot! Just when we thought Amara Imani had closed the old chapter with ex-boyfriend Evan Henderson, she takes him to court for a captivating legal battle. So buckle up, dear readers because lawsuits always have include unexpected twists, emotions and ugly truths.

Yes, you heard right— pop queen and music star Amara Imani is not holding back and is suing her the millionaire heir for defamation. We all remember that particular interview Evan gave about the break up— well, it seems as if not only did it cost her a lot of money, but she is also blaming him for the fallout that led to the heartbreaking cancellation of her tour.And let's not forget the web of lies Evan spun, further adding salt to her wounds. Ouch!

And that lawsuit couldn’t have come at a worse time for Henderson. Still fresh from the heartache of his spilt with model Kaia Gerber, he had even confirmed that he had played with the idea of rekindling with ex Amara Imani — and just like that she serves him the manila folder. They do say, revenge, is best served icy cold.

And yet the pain runs even deeper for Henderson as he watches his former sweetheart enjoy the power of love. While Evan Henderson finds himself entangled in a web of failed relationships, with more break-ups than fingers on hands, Amara Imani is reeking and blooming of love. From adorable Instagram stories that drop a few hints about her mysterious new love interest to being spotted numerous times in the romantic streets of Paris, Amara has the world swooning.

But that's not all – get ready for even more music! Imani has teased fans with snippets of new music that is about to come, including two more songs for the deluxe version of Mon Amour. It seems that her new found inspiration is nurturing her well with motivation.

A world wide hunt is on to find out who Amara Imani’s new beau is, with fans dying to know who she declared her love to. The internet turned into detectives, trying to piece together the clues and whispers to uncover the identity of this lucky soul. After Imani posted a picture, where she quoted Taylor swift ‘karma is the guy on the screen, coming straight how to me’, we now find actor Timothée Chalamet (Imani was rumored once to have a fling with), singer Harry Styles (that already expressed his admiration for the black singer) and F1 driver Pierre Gasly (who Imani was seen partying with) as top contenders. We’re all for sure curious as we wait for the revelation of Imani herself.

But don’t worry dear readers, we will update you regularly with news and hope to soon find out who captured Amara Imani’s heart.

𝐈𝐍𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐑𝐀𝐌

𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐲𝐰𝐨𝐨𝐝-𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐛.𝐠𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐩

liked by evan.news and 2643 others

hollywood-celeb.gossip just after breaking up with evan henderson, kaia gerber was seen on several dates with newly single actor austin butler. seems like there’s a new star couple

view all 352 comments

username wasn’t it reported that evan was proposing?

username all the evan fans now jumping from the amara hate train to the kaia hate train

username i’m just glad that everyone understands now that amara was never the problem

username FR they were dragging her name when it’s clear that he’s the one with issues

username another fame gold digger after evan, look how fast she switched

username kaia was never a gold digger, she’s also a nepo baby

username i swear to god, no one can keep up anymore with the amount of girlfriends he changes

username i just wanna know why kaia even decided to break up with him

username we all know no one bought their mutual break up shit with the way kaia’s already dating austin butler

𝐚𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐚.𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐢

liked by liyah_clark, graceywood and 18.037.462 others

amara.imani gracey appreciation post because she’s better than yours (do not ask me what i was wearing in the last picture, idk myself)

the user turned her comments off on this post

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recurring-polynya · 3 months

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Izakaya Kamenoya, part 2

Last week, I did a post on the Izakaya Kamenoya, the favorite watering hole of the Gotei-13 middle management, and I promised you a follow-up with interior shots for everyone who, like me, immediately wanted to incorporate it into their fanfic.

So, here's the entrance!

It appears to have a big main room, with a bar on one side, and tables lined up in a row on the other.

Note: I am obsessed with the shihakushou-wearing bartender. Is the Seireitei a Kurt Vonnegut's Player Piano scenario, where you need to get a degree in soul-reaping just to tend bar? Is this an officer's bar, staffed by unseated people (which sort of defeats the point of separate bars where you can get get drunk and talk smack about your subordinates) Or is the bar a co-op of some sort, and this guy just pulled mixologist duty this week?

Ahem!

There are also private rooms! Kyouraku and Amagai get one in 172, and then they seem to have the same one when they come back with Ukitake in 179. I think it's kind funny that they don't have sword racks or something? Kyouraku's got his propped against the wall, and Amagai's are on the floor. I think Ukitake left his at home. More evidence that you are, in fact, allowed to carry your zanpakutou in the court as long as you don't draw it, in times without a wartime exemption.

Kira and Hisagi seem to have a very similar, if not the same room in episode 305, although theirs is plastered with ads. I wonder if this is like the "Kindle with Special Offers" where it's cheaper if you take the room with flyers and Kira and Hisagi are nothing if not broke.

The lady lieutenants get a private room for their zanpakutou spirit going-away party, as well. I can't really tell if their room is bigger, or if Amagai and Kyouraku just have a lot more space in theirs. I imagine they probably have a couple different sizes of private rooms at different cost levels.

Speaking of cost levels! Rukia and Renji appear to have an entirely different private room in Episode 355! It's got cool patterned paper in the fusuma (or maybe those are supposed to be paintings of mountains?) They've got a much fancier live-edge table. If you go by counting tatami, this room does seem to be a little bigger. The shouji has a solid panel at the bottom-- Wikipedia tells me that this is called a kōshi, and is to protect against the door getting wet or kicked, so I almost wonder if this opens to the outside. Does Izakaya Kamenoya have a garden? Outdoor drinking for the summer? Also, I think it's notable that most people tend to show up in their work clothes, but Rukia and Renji have clearly dressed up for their Private Room at the Chili's Date.

The question is: is this Kamenoya's Deluxe Room for People with Kuchiki Money, or did they upscale sometime in the 17-month timeskip? Does...does the Seireitei have gentrification?

Fortunately, Izakaya Kamenoya makes one more appearance in the my favorite fanfic, the end credits to Episode 366, proving that, thank goodness, it is still an affordable drinks location where you can go get ripped and sob about your boss.

#izakaya kamegoya #stay tuned for part 3: food and beverage options!#a thing i like about iba #is that he could be such a throwaway character #and he could have just been a Manly Man Tough Guy #but he is ALWAYS up for listening to your problems at the bar #well. kira's problems anyway #brb checking something on ao3 #oh damn nothing. pity.#btw i have a bar scene in my current wip and i DID go back in and specify that it is happening at kamenoya

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got-ticket-to-ride · 5 months

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Hey! How are you?

I've seen your song analysis before and I really like them. So I was wondering, what do you think of Goodbye on Abbey Road Deluxe version? Paul sings it with male pronouns, it kinda sounds about his and John's situation... What do you think??

Hello @johangeorghohman thank you for your message! How are you back? 🌻

Goodbye was a demo Paul made for Mary Hopkins in March 1 1969 explaining the use of male pronouns but it is pretty John coded (because that's where his headspace always is). I think people don't realize how much Paul chased John always. With their stageplay of a court where politics enfold like a Shakespearean tragedy.

My unprofessional analysis is in brackets. *Geo said*

Lyrics

Please don't wake me up too late

Tomorrow comes and I will not be late

Late today when it becomes tomorrow

(Determining the timing of his action, hesitating too long and it would be too late)

I will leave and go away (by this time maybe he equals his future nuptials with Linda as "going away")

Songs that linger on my lips

Excite me now and linger on my mind

Leave your flowers at my door

I leave them for

The one who waits behind

(The one who waits behind being himself whilst hinting a situation similar to a funeral "leave your flowers at my door")

My love, goodbye

Far away my lover sings, A lonely song and calls me to his side (despite being with Yoko, John continously wrote about Paul too in 1969, Dig A Pony, I want you, Because etc.)

Where the sound of lonely drums (the beating of the lonely heart)

Invites me on

I must be by his side

(In this part, while continuously repeating goodbye, goodbye (masking an intent). He is still quite convinced that "HE MUST BE BY HIS SIDE")

(P: You think I would ever let go despite "going away" (being married)... think again).

Thank you for this ask would love to hear your comments as well.

#Asks #John and Paul #Mclennon #Paul Mccartney #John Lennon #Lyrics #Goodbye #John hated him for getting married though - more pettiness ensued

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fadingreveries · 1 month

Text

The Royal Romance, Bk1 Ch1: Once Upon a Time (Pt. 3)

Click here for the TRR retelling series masterlist for more chapters! 🏰

Story Summary: In this novel-style retelling of TRR, beloved scenes with original commentary from the Choices stories including your favourite group of royals and friends will be expanded upon. Contains extended commentary and scenes from the original story, in-depth descriptions of bonus scenes, and premium choices and outfits.

Chapter Synopsis: Love awaits in the royal court of Cordonia as Riley competes for the Crown Prince! Will she accept his proposal, or will someone else win her heart?

Word Count: 1.8k

Disclaimer: All rights to original commentary, scenes, and characters from The Royal Romance series reserved to Choices and Pixelberry Studios. No copyright infringement intended.

~ ~ ~

On the other hand, Riley headed over to the table where the three guys sat, talking. She put on her best smile and set down a few menus in front of them.

“Hello, gentlemen. I’ll be taking care of you this evening,” Riley politely introduced herself, pulling out her pen and notebook to write down their orders.

Maxwell grinned at her, bouncing in his seat with excitement. “Waitress, steaks for the table.”

“How about some filet mignon, medium rare and prepared with a bearnaise sauce?” Tariq suggested, before pondering his choice for possibly something much more extravagant than he initially asked for.

Riley laughed. Clearly, this group had never been to a casual New York dive bar before. They were a breath of fresh air, compared to the drunk locals who also came in at the same time demanding pints of beer and sloppy Joes. “The closest thing we have to filet mignon is the deluxe burger.”

Tariq frowned in disappointment, hesitating to look over the menu to see if the unfortunate news was true. “Dare I ask for your wine list?”

Back in the restaurant, Liam noticed that Maxwell, Drake, and Tariq had found a table and were talking to a waitress. Her dark brown hair hung in waves almost like a waterfall down her back. She wore a cream-coloured work shirt, black leggings, and a red work apron around her waist.

“We’ve got an excellent vintage house red,” Riley slowly answered, having the feeling his frown would continue to turn downwards with her reply.

Tariq gasped as if he couldn’t believe the words that came out of Riley’s mouth. “House red?”

Riley shrugged her shoulders, smiling sheepishly at the three men at the table. “It also comes in white.”

Drake laughed at Tariq’s woeful reaction, turning to Riley. “We’ll be fine with a bottle of whiskey… and four deluxe burgers.”

Glancing at the three men at the table, Riley furrowed her eyebrows in curiosity. Who was the fourth person? “Four?”

In response, he nodded behind Riley and Liam took that as his cue. There, Riley turned to see the man walking towards the bachelor party and her eyes widened.

He had eyes as blue as the deep sea, a straight pointed nose, and a hint of a stubble on his face. He was dressed in a black blazer, white dress shirt, navy blue cravat, black dress pants, and black Oxford shoes. His copper blonde hair was neatly swept into a right-sided part and his thin lips were already working into a smile that radiated such genuinity and charm that Riley’s stomach immediately filled with butterflies.

Whoa. He’s really cute, Riley thought.

“Sorry I’m late,” Liam apologized with a shy laugh, making his way towards Riley. “Thank you for your patience, Miss…?”

Riley blinked before snapping herself out of her daze, mustering out a simple, “Uh, Riley.”

“My name is Liam. Charmed to make your acquaintance, Riley,” the handsome stranger flashed a dazzling white smile.

“Trust me, the pleasure’s all mine. It’s nice to meet you.” Riley shyly replied, her cheeks flushing. Liam had looked down, biting his lip with a smile as bashful as her own. “Now let me go put your order in. Be right back!”

Liam watched as Riley walked away towards the restaurant kitchen window. She tore away the paper where she had written the guys’ order in her notebook, sticking it on to a steel order wheel where other orders hung in preparation and letting kitchen staff know what their order was.

For some reason, he couldn’t help but observe in almost a trance-like state how Riley almost seemed to float across the room. She was handing out menus to new customers one moment before balancing dishes on her arms and gracefully setting down plates in front of other tables.

“And now that I definitely am down to get a face tattoo, that’s how we’ll end the night!” Drake exclaimed, noticing how Liam had hardly said a word during their conversation at the table.

Maxwell excitedly grabbed his friend’s shoulders. How exciting was it that Drake had finally come around to his wonderful idea! “Yeah, Drake! That’s the spirit!”

“What do you think, Liam?” Drake questioned, arching an eyebrow in curiosity in his direction.

With his eyes still fixated on Riley, an autopilot response slowly came out of Liam’s mouth. “Sounds great…”

“Okay, now we know he’s definitely not listening,” Drake stated, taking a swig from his whiskey. It wasn’t hard for Drake to know when something else had preoccupied Liam’s mind. Not when he had known his best friend for his entire life.

Maxwell pouted, letting out a disappointed sigh. “You were kidding about the tattoos, weren’t you?”

“Hush, Maxwell. Something’s going on with Liam. He’s distracted,” Drake informed him, keeping him in the loop of things.

Liam’s eyes widened, as he sat up straighter in his seat and cleared his throat. Why had his throat suddenly gone dry? “What? No. Of course not. Brotherhood. Bonding. Where were we?”

“You can tell us what’s wrong,” Drake offered to him, knowing that every once in a while Liam needed to confide in people he trusted. “Is it the rumblings in Lythikos? The water rights over the Royal Orchard? The controversy over the location of next year’s Art Festival?”

“The fact that Drake’s not going to get a tattoo with us?” Maxwell added. Maybe Liam could possibly change his mind? Drake was known for going along with things the second that Liam took an interest in them.

There was no use lying to his two closest confidants. If anything, perhaps they had some wise words for him to help deal with these newfound emotions. Liam took in a deep breath before quickly exhaling. “It’s… our waitress, Riley.”

“I knew it!” Maxwell triumphantly cried out, looking at him with a smug look. “Now it’s a bachelor party!”

Drake leaned back in his spot, thinking to himself for a few seconds before speaking up, “Huh.”

“What?” Liam asked, wanting to know what he was thinking.

“I’ve never seen you get this way about a girl before,” Drake commented. It was true; Liam had met so many ladies at court over the years as a prince, yet this was the only time he seemed genuinely interested in one before. Especially one who was across the ocean in America working in a New York dive bar.

Suddenly feeling embarrassed, Liam sat up straighter in his spot. He felt a warm blush across his cheeks and he was certain that he looked absolutely flustered. “I’m not any way. I’m just worried that we’ve imposed on her good nature.”

Finally catching on to what Drake meant, Maxwell commented, “Uh-huh.”

“Sure…” Drake added, as he and Maxwell exchanged knowing looks.

“I’m sure she wouldn’t mind being impositioned on further…” Maxwell noted, waggling his eyebrows in a playful manner. Hopefully they knew what he meant to say…

Maxwell could be clever, but this was unfortunately not one of those times. Drake sighed, running his hand down his face. “Maxwell…”

“Or you can just leave her a nice tip when we pay the check! You know a Beaumont never shorts a bill!” Maxwell briskly suggested, with a hint of nervous laughter. “Water bills, phone bills, car bills, dinner bills. We’ve never shorted any of those before! With all the money we have, of course. But even if we did, that wouldn’t be a bad thing…”

That was an uncharacteristically long answer for one simple suggestion. Drake eyed Maxwell suspiciously. “Of… course…”

Maxwell knew he had said too much. If Bertrand was there, he would reprimand him with words like, “Maxwell Percival Beaumont, why must you expose the true nature of House Beaumont’s finances in front of important company?” He could feel Bertrand’s glowering gaze at him all the way from Cordonia. Giving another uneasy chuckle, Maxwell fiddled with the collar of his shirt before taking a giant bite out of his burger. That should shut him up for now.

Drake leaned over to Liam, whispering with a concerned expression, “Is Maxwell acting weirder than usual, or is it just me?”

“It’s hard to tell what the baseline weird level is…” Liam admitted, though he did notice that Maxwell had been quite anxious whenever money was mentioned.

Drake stared at Liam hard for a moment. Of course Liam was still absentminded, his eyes following Riley across the room. Drake stated, “You really are distracted.”

“Perhaps…” Liam replied, only half listening to his friend. Riley giggled in front of a table of elderly women who had complimented her, making his heart warm at the sight of her smile.

Drake noticed the look in Liam’s eyes, before he advised him, “Okay, go. Talk to her.”

“I couldn’t,” Liam declined, shaking his head. There was absolutely no chance he could talk to her without making a complete fool of himself.

Moving on from his little comment about his house’s money, Maxwell asked, “What’s stopping you?”

“What’s stopping me?” Liam repeated, before instinctively saying, “The crown.”

“There’s going to be a revolution if you have one conversation with a waitress?” Drake responded, trying to put things into perspective for Liam. “Besides, none of that matters tonight. If only for one night, this is the moment when you get to be human.”

“Also, the tattoos…” Maxwell quietly suggested, taking a sip from his drink.

Drake groaned, as he lightly smacked his friend on the back of his head. “Maxwell! Anyway, it’s just a conversation. What harm could there be? It’s not like one little choice here is going to change the entire fate of Cordonian history.”

Feeling enlightened by their conversation, Liam answered with relief on his face, “You’re right.”

“I usually am,” Drake plainly responded, knowing for a fact that he was right. It was very rare for him not to be.

Liam breathed in, feeling a slight hint of nerves coursing through him. “I’ll… go talk to her.”

“Perfect. And then we’ll be on our way,” Drake responded, setting the plan in motion.

“It’s a plan,” Liam stated, before placing a gentle hand on Drake’s shoulder. “Thank you, my friend.”

Drake smiled, reciprocating with his own hand on Liam’s shoulder. “What are friends for?”

Liam nodded, grateful as always for Drake’s steady presence. Drake had been through the best and worst times that Liam had ever experienced in his life. He always knew what to say whenever he doubted himself and this time was no exception.

Liam stood up, feeling oddly nervous for an inconsequential interaction with an almost stranger. “I’ll be back. This’ll just take a moment…”

~ ~ ~

Click here for the TRR retelling series masterlist for more chapters! 🏰

Tag list: @kingliam2019 @princess-geek @karahalloway @twinkleallnight @tinkie1973 @tessa-liam

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