#it next generation introductions

[ell-begins]

ok but literally no one is beating the mf 9-1-1 fandom when it comes to theorising 😭

the amount of theories within the fandom is genuinely insane (some of the theories themselves are absolutely mental too lol)

[splooosh]

“Generation Next”

Joe Madureira

Andy Kubert

[tracle0]

Next - here Previous - here

[no1ryomafan]

My brain has gone back and forth on between which anime if arma or new is my favorite. Cause even with all its issues Arma means a lot to me, it’s the reason I got into getter and helped me through one of the worst times of my life- But then new is objectively better written and it drives me nuts compared to arma it’s not talked about ENOUGH despite all the stuff you can poke at from it’s plot and I’m trying to pinpoint that reason since the general consensus is “no one hates new and it gets a lot of fanart in the Japanese community yet it’s never deeply acknowledged so it feels unpopular”

So my standpoint is “do I keep investing into the popular iteration despite its issues or do I invested into the less flawed unpopular iteration when it comes to introducing getter to new people?” cause man as much as I’m a critical person of media I still can forgive some messy writing if I have a good time with it and can clearly tell the staff had fun making it, which is definitely armas case. (Though they absolutely had fun with new too)

[cloudbends]

I must say (to absolutely no one), the latest pokemon episode was really, really good.

[sodascherrycola]

Lucky Patrick Curtis (Teen: 1975-1981)

DOB: November 11th 1962 Age: 62 years old Hometown: McAlester, Oklahoma Nicknames: Luck, Luke S/O: Nicole Alderman Kids: Sarah, Vincent, and Xavier Best Friend(s): Dennis Morrison and John Delve Aesthetic: Lucky was a pretty wild child. He had his father’s energy and optimism that Sarah loved so. His parents were extremely young when he was born, 14 years old, and it was difficult to grow up along side them. Lucky would tag along with his mama when she went to school (something she dreaded) and eventually to work once she graduated. Sodapop didn’t want her to drop out like he had, wanted to see her make something of herself. Sarah Jane did not want to stay, stating that if he was dropping out to support the family, so could she. She didn’t drop out. Lucky was the only child for 4 years and when his little sister Magnolia was born, it was safe to say he was in love. He followed her and their mother around daily, wanted to help in anyway he could. Lucky was a good, kind hearted boy all away around. When he was in high school, he became the popular guy. Luck was always going to parties and getting wasted on the weekend with the boys. It stressed his mother out to no degree, but he always knew how to charm his way out of trouble. When he was 16 he got his now wife pregnant. His parents chewed him out, expecting him to learn from their “mistake”. When his little girl, Sarah, was born he turned his life around. He was beginning to get good grades, got back into the graces with his teachers and coaches. He became a big New York lawyer later on, total 80s wall street yuppie.

Magnolia Anne Curtis (Teen: 1979-1985)

DOB: February 19th 1966 Age: 58 years old Hometown: McAlester, Oklahoma Nicknames: Mag, Maggie S/O: Alec Vaughn Kids: Anneliese and George Best Friend(s): Carrie Workington, Louisa May, and Sofia Palome Aesthetic: Magnolia was always seen as super mature for her age. It may be due to her young parents, or her father’s enlistment, or her older brother’s advice instilled. No one knows where it came from, definitely not her parents. She was very smart and even skipped a couple grades. It was her father’s job to help with homework while her mother cooked dinner. A lot of nights crying at the table, not from her though. Magnolia used to distance herself from her family. She was very independent and never wanted help from her parents. It didn’t help that she resented her parents from being so young. The kids in her grade would whisper about her, that she was weird, a shotgun baby. She despised her parents. Sarah Jane constantly tried to talk to her baby about this, but it was difficult to get anything out of Maggie. Stubborn as a nail she was. Soda began taking his girl out for daddy daughter dinners, which consisted of strawberry ice cream and McDonald's burgers. His wife wasn’t even upset of these outings, praying that it would work. Magnolia eventually opened up on one of those daddy daughter dates. Maggie cried, Soda cried, and even Sarah did when she got the re-telling at bedtime. It worked though, and Maggie grew closer to her parents and siblings. She even still goes out with her daddy for dinners every Thursday.

Forrest David Curtis (Teen: 1982-1988)

DOB: February 9th 1969 Age: 55 years old Hometown: McAlester, Oklahoma Nicknames: Woody S/O: Natalie Berryman Kids: Oliver and Aurora Best Friend(s): Isaac Brooks Aesthetic: Forrest was a very easy baby. He rarely cried and was easily as good if his older brother was there in the room with him. He was obsessed with Lucky, thought he hung the moon. When he was in high school, he became friends with Isaac Brooks, and became involved in some not good things. He started smoking with him after school and whenever he could. His father once caught him and asked for a hit, but told him that he wouldn’t tell his mother. Woody thought that his dad would lose his mind over the recreational drug use, being a veteran and all that, but no. Sodapop told him that he used to smoke this stuff in the war, to “relax”. It became a regular thing for the two. Going out every couple of nights to smoke on the porch or in a random parking lot (do not smoke and drive!) and simply just talk about everything and anything. This was their bonding experience. He won two tickets to a pearl jam concert when he was seventeen and the first person he asked was his dad. They went and came back reeking of the drug and Sarah Jane had grounded them both, how she grounded her own husband, no one knows. Woody and Sodapop were each others best friends.

Romeo Preston Curtis (Teen: 1985-1991)

DOB: December 31st 1972 Age: 52 years old Hometown: McAlester, Oklahoma Nicknames: Ro, Rome, Romey S/O: Rachel Carter Kids: Cassandra and Dylan Best Friend(s): Joseph Matthews and Aaron Curtis Aesthetic: Romeo was extremely quiet. He barely spoke, in fact didn’t speak one word until he was two years old. His first word was “no lux” when his older brother, Lucky, was tickling him to no ends. Romey was as shy as they come, Soda found him so hard to understand his young son, being certainly eccentric and outgoing himself. He loved his birthday, he got extra presents (as much as his parents could afford) and he got to be cocky to his siblings. He was his mother’s favourite, adoring her quiet Christmas present. He reminded her so much if Sodapop, not exactly with his personality, but his attitude and looks. He was very handsome and very polite and respectful to others, something Sarah Jane admired in both her boys. One Thanksgiving, Soda’s family came over and as the women were cooking dinner and gossiping, the boys were playing tackle football in the yard. Rome watched from the kitchen window with his mother until his Aunt Katherine encouraged him to join the brother’s outside. Romeo learned how to play football with his dads and uncles and quickly became involved with the sport on school teams. His family went to every game until he decided to change over to lacrosse instead. He excelled at lacrosse much more than he ever did football. He was very popular with the girls, but he didn’t notice it. He was overall a very polite and athletic kid.

Charity Dove Curtis (Teen: 1987-1993)

DOB: July 7th 1974 Age: 50 years old Hometown: McAlester, Oklahoma Nicknames: Char, Love, Lovie S/O: Damien Sinclair Kids: Ashley, Eric, and Loren Best Friend(s): James Winston Aesthetic: Charity was the IT girl in school. She was very proud of who she was the minute she was born. It didn’t help her ego that her daddy worshipped the ground she walked on, gave her everything imaginable. She was a cheerful and loving young girl, wearing the best dresses her mother could make with old scrap fabric. Charity Curtis was the best dressed girl in all of McAlester and everyone knew it. She loved performing in local beauty contests and was a debutante when she was 15. Her southern accent increased her charm, many people admiring this toddler with the heaviest accent in all off the south. Sometimes she talked too fast and it was hard to understand what exactly she was saying, all her words mumbled together. Her special talent was and will always be her cheerleading. She was captain of her cheerleading squad in high school (just like Sarah Jane mind you) and was her team’s fly girl. She later went on to win many more championships and beauty competitions, earning her the spot of Miss Southern, Miss U.S.A, AND Miss Universe respectively. Her parents couldn’t be more proud of their gorgeous sweet daughter. When she met Damien, it was love at first sight. Her daddy was sceptical of him, but when was he not? He just wanted to protect his little girl from the harm of the outside world, and that included boys. The two actually grew to like each other, but Soda would never admit to that.

Prayer Thomas Curtis (Teen: 1990-1996)

DOB: May 18th 1977 Age: 47 years old Hometown: McAlester, Oklahoma Nicknames: Pray, PT S/O: Sophie Anderson Kids: Ryan, Ethan, and Brady Best Friend(s): Brandon Winston and Shawn Curtis Aesthetic: Prayer was a very helpful kid. He always offered to help his mother win any housework that needed to be done. Prayer was his parents go to babysitter per his own request. He love his little siblings and cousins and decided that if his parents or aunt needs a little help, why couldn’t he? Prayer would also walk his dad’s lunch to the garage on his way to school if his father forgot to pick it up before leaving for work. Sometimes Sodapop would let his son stay a little longer to talk to customers and encourage him to actually engage with the work itself. Prayer loved PB&J’s, he would eat it for every meal every day if his mother would allow him. When he was a teenager his mom told him that he was old enough to do his own chores like his older siblings and one of his chores was packing his own lunches. Every lunch was a PB&J. Every. Single. One. Maybe a side of lays and a soda. He ate terribly growing up but still stayed very fit, probably from all the running around he did, clearly from all the sugar that was in his sandwiches each day.

Cola Robert Curtis (Teen: 1993-1999)

DOB: January 23rd 1980 Age: 44 years old Hometown: McAlester, Oklahoma Nicknames: Cole, Coley S/O: Amelia Boone Kids: Benson, Louis, and Elijah Best Friend(s): Kyle Randle Aesthetic: Cola hated his name. He knew that his family was known for their ridiculous names, but he thought he had the absolute worst of them all. Cola. How stupid is that he thought. He refused to be called Cola outside of his house (or even in it for that matter) only Cole was allowed. Cole was embarrassed by his name, his family, and his money. They weren’t exactly poor, but they weren’t rich by any means. He was very preppy and popular in high school, being on the football team and being an honour’s roll student throughout his academic career. Cole tried his damn best to separate himself from the rest of his family. His mother understood where he was coming from to an extent, in a way that his optimistic father could never. She knew how he could feel embarrassed by their finances and names. She knew she named her children uncommon and unique names, it was done on purpose, for her husband’s sake. She knew that when her and Soda got married, they were so in love she couldn’t tell that they were poor. Not until she ran into some old soc friends and they buried her alive with her new status in the world. Cole never truly recovered from the embarrassment and bullying he went through in his childhood, still tried to block out his past and family to the rest of the world.

Angel Love Curtis (Teen: 1993-1999)

DOB: January 23rd 1980 Age: 44 years old Hometown: McAlester, Oklahoma Nicknames: Ange, Angie, Lovie S/O: Paul Mercante Kids: Daniela, Isabel, Ellie, and Rosalie Best Friend(s): Francesca Bough Aesthetic: Angel was a beautiful girl and she knew it. Much like her older sister, Charity, she was told often times told how gorgeous she truly was. Angie started modelling in 1992 when she was 12 years old. By the time she was 17 years old, she was booking jobs with Tommy Hilfiger, Guess, and Michael Kors. She had met Paul Mercante in kindergarten and he was her first boyfriend if you will. She started having play dates with him and best believe Soda and Steve had a field day trying to figure out this 5 year old boy. He took her to their first school dance in middle school and he ended up dancing with Rachel Burnes and Angel had come home sobbing. Her twin brother, Cole, was ready to punch a kid out. It was actually Sodapop who had been the one to talk the boy down while his wife was upstairs with his other daughters calming his youngest daughter. They got back together in 11th grade and ended up getting married when she was 22 years old. Angel, at her best, was modelling for Givenchy, Dior, Dolce & Gabbana, and was even the spokesperson for Chanel. She got so famous and so excited that she had bought her parents a house when she was 25 years old.

Valentine Waylon Curtis (Teen: 1996-2002)

DOB: February 14th 1983 Age: 41 years old Hometown: McAlester, Oklahoma Nicknames: Val, Valey S/O: Aimee Bowen Kids: Camren, Aidan, Alyssa, and Hailee Best Friend(s): Ethan Cade and Matthew Winston Aesthetic: Valentine , being the second youngest, was very funny. He learned that he was never going to be as smart as Cola or Lucky and that he was never going to be as handsome as Prayer or Romeo. He decided to be the funny one. He knew how to make people laugh, had an interesting way of making conversation and storytelling. He could talk for hours and hours on end. He was always very cheerful this one. Val hated seeing anyone upset, it hurt him deep down to find a person crying especially his own family. Valentine was very good with his younger brother Blessing. Blessing was a whey baby, crying every 5 minutes, and it bothered his mama, which in turn bothered him. Val would run to his room, pick out the most ridiculous outfit and prance around in front of his baby brother's playpen until he would giggle. Growing up, he was always compared to his Uncle Two, people reminding him that he was funny and handsome, a new word used to describe him. As he entered middle school, he noticed that he might actually be attractive. Val didn't realise his beauty. He believed that he was the most homely looking out of all his brothers, but his mama always noted his relationship to his father, THE Sodapop Curtis. Girls then started to flock to him, but because of his inner insecurities, he never knew how to talk to them. He could make all the jokes he wanted, make a fool of himself, they would eventually turn the other way because they thought him weird. Val turned to his father for advice, which didn't work due to the massive age gap. There was one last option if Valentine would ever want a wife in the future…Prayer Curtis himself. He was embarrassed to ask for help, but Prayer was actually pretty chill about it. After the advice he received from his older brother, he started seeing Aimee Bowen and the rest was history.

Blessing River Curtis (Teen: 1998-2004)

DOB: August 20th 1985 Age: 39 years old Hometown: McAlester, Oklahoma Nicknames: Bless, B, Riv S/O: Casey Moss Kids: Connor and Bailey Best Friend(s): Erick Bishop, Kevin Parrish, and Clayton Ibarra Aesthetic: Blessing was exactly what his name says. His parents were told, due to their age, that they couldn't have children anymore. The two were okay with this, thinking they were done 4 children ago anyway. Sarah Jane, the woman she is, believed that God has a plan for everyone, and that all of her children are miracles in their own right. When she fell pregnant for the 9th time in 1984, she knew this was a sign from God. It was a tough and terrible pregnancy for the whole family involved. In fact, Katherine Curtis ended up making her way down to McAlester to help her younger sister-in-law through the journey of it all. When her son was born, she had already had his named picked out from the beginning, whether he be a boy or a girl. Blessing was her baby's name. This name, he hated. When he was in grade school, his name was brought up in many bullies conversations and teasings. Blessing was a girl's name and a weird one at that. Blessing became very isolated with everyone. He started going by River because River Phoenix made it cool somewhat. As he got older he was just used to being called Riv or River. That was until Casey Moss came up to him in history class and said "Blessing Curtis, right?". He almost had a heart attack. This when he got comfortable being referred to as Blessing. Yes, people still made fun of him, but it didn't matter anymore. Casey Moss knew his name. Sarah was ecstatic when she met the girl that made her come out of his shell. She was planning their wedding before the two even admitted their love for each other. Blessing was very athletic, finding himself juggling Football, Baseball, AND lacrosse all at once one school year. He got scouted in 2002, and he got a full ride scholarship to Colombia University on Football.

[freestfact]

* freest factory

freest   factory   emerged   onto   the   entertainment   scene   in   1999,   founded   in   seoul   with   the   dreams   of   the   ex-idol   and   businessman,   kim   jungsu.   he   believed   in   the   power   of   discovering   and   guiding   new   talents   and   established   freest   factory   with   one   simple   goal   in   mind:   to   help   ordinary   people   become   artists.   since   its   humble   beginnings,   freest   factory   has   been   all   about   finding,   teaching,   and   nurturing   talented   individuals   who   dream   of   singing,   dancing,   acting,   or   even   walking   down   the   runaway.   over   time,   freest   factory   has   become   well-known   for   its   top-notch   talent   training,   helping   many   hopeful   artists   chase   their   dreams   and   find   success.

NAME freest factory 프리스트 팩토리

FOUNDED june 14, 1999

FOUNDER kim jungsu, ex-ceo

DIVISIONS academy, labels, talents, japan

HEADQUARTERS mapo-gu, seoul

WEBSITE www.freestfactory.com

* 001. freest academy

since   its   creation   in   1999, freest   academy   includes   the   laboratorium ( the lab ),   a   talent   development   agency.   in   2005 was   founded nolmae   institute,   a   performing   arts   school,   following   the   success   of   the   lab. both   the   lab   and   nolmae   share   the   common   objective   of   preparing   aspiring   artists   for   debut   opportunities   and   successful   careers   in   the   entertainment   industry.   they   work   hand   in   hand   to   identify,   nurture,   and   promote   talent,   making   sure   that   graduates   of   the   school   and   talent   developed   by   the   agency   have   the   best   possible   opportunities   for   success   in   their   chosen   fields.  before   the   creation   of   freest   factory's   very   first   label,   trainees   were   usually   sent   to   other   companies.   seeing   the   significant   success   achieved   by   many   of   them,   freest   factory   made   the   decision   to   debut   its   own   first   group   —   a   pre-debut   project   group   from   the   lab,   which   had   already   gained   considerable   popularity.

* 002. freest labels 

after   years   of   success   in   talent   development,   freest   factory   recognized   the   need   to   expand   its   operations   to   include   artist   management   services.   founded   in   2009   following   the   debut   of   their   first   group,   rs&co   ( rising   stars   and   company ), later rebranded as five due to the consistent formation of groups with five members,   oversees   the   management   and   career   development   of   artists   who   have   undergone   rigorous   training   at   freest   academy.  initially,   five   collaborated   with   external   music   production   labels   to   produce   music   for   their   debut   group.   this   arrangement   allowed   the   company   to   focus   on   artist   management   and   promotion   while   leaving   the   expertise   of   established   music   production   labels   for   quality   music   production.   however,   as   the   debut   group   gained   more   traction   and   success,   freest   factory   realized   the   importance   of   having   in-house   music   production   capabilities   to   maintain   creative   control   over   the   production   process. 

in   2020,   kim   taekun,   a   member   of   five’s   laellion,   launched   his   own   label   groovinn   under freest labels to   focus   on   various   music   genres,   centered   around   creativity   and   self-production.

* 003. freest talents

freest   factory,   already   successful   in   many   ways,   launched   freest   talents   in   2014,   a   division   dedicated   to   managing   aspects   beyond   their   music   businesses.   stepping   into   television   and   content   production,   they   established   eseoul   to   produce   shows,   including   reality   programs,   variety   shows,   talent   competitions,   and   other   formats,   featuring   talents   from   freest   house   and   other   entities.   these   shows   serve   as   platforms   for   artists   to   showcase   their   skills,   personalities,   and   potential,   while   also   providing   exposure   and   publicity.   in   2017,   freest   talents   solidified   its   presence   in   the   industry   by   stepping   into   drama   production.  

alongside   eseoul,   freest   talents   introduced   studio   831   in   2016,   focusing   on   managing   actors   and   dancers.   most   of   the   performers   come   from   freest   academy   and   the   studio   uses   its   connections   in   the   industry   to   help   their   performers   find   gigs,   auditions,   and   other   professional   opportunities.

finally,  prestige,   established   in   2022,   is   a   specialized   subsidiary   of   freest   talents.   it   operates   as   a   fashion   management   agency,   primarily   representing   a   diverse   array   of   fashion   models.   the   agency   has   gained   recognition   for   its   notable   collaborations   with   prestigious   luxury   brands   and   magazines   in   south   korea   and   abroad.   prestige   is   currently   in   the   process   of   developing   its   own   fashion   brand.

* 004. freest japan

in   2020,   as   freest   factory   has   always   prioritized   the   asian   market,   they   announced   a   new   division,   freest   japan.   initially   seen   as   a   local   version   of   the   laboratorium,   freest   japan   quickly   became   a   key   platform   for   discovering   japanese   talents.   serving   as   a   training   center,   it   provides aspiring   japanese   artists   the   help   and   resources   they   needed   to   improve   their   skills   and   pursue   careers   in   the   spotlight.   after   completing   their   training,   the   top   graduates   have   the   opportunity   to   join   freest japan's   unlimited   members   boy   or   girl   groups. 

[eyeoftheaxolotl]

"this was so obvious to me" wasn't for me. "this game is so easy who would even enjoy this" i did and i found it challenging actually. "nobody would ever fall for this" i did.

when you talk about a video game through the lens of your own experience, you are speaking as a player with your own capabilities and preferences. remember that

[riverofrainbows]

I've been watching "Tasting history with Max Miller" and it's a really interesting source of information, and utterly fascinating. And most of the time he has a very thoughtful and kind approach; he takes great effort to pronounce non english words, he brings up racism, colonialism and misogyny and the fact that history is about real people. But then he sometimes has these massive blind spots, where he uses ableist insults in what really isn't funny 'jokes', he sort of glorifies historical figures doing awful things (like the one guy who conquered india and pakistan and apparently lead to the downfall of local cuisine and culture from how he presented it), he is low key obsessed with war and military of the civil war in the us and world war 1, he apparently doesn't see the glaring red flags in "he restored order in this american gold rush town and expelled the low lifes with a heavy hand, a real hard manly man" (paraphrased, I'm not gonna look it up now) and keeps promoting diet culture and fat shaming (which he has apparently internalised a lot of), and for some inscrutable reason portrayed people in new york completely depleting and destroying the ecosystems of oysters in the area within mere years as a funny quirky thing. Like how does he not notice?

[softeningthesound]

rant from a tired humanities major

Why has art and language and culture lost so much value over time? Millionaires and billionaires aren’t even paying artists anymore to decorate buildings, to create things that will last centuries and be admired for years and years. Everything is temporary and cheap and there’s little appreciation for details, for work that has value and deserves to be paid accordingly for. Then there’s the issue of incredibly rich people existing in the first place; we can’t have a second Renaissance with rich people and princes and republics paying artists for their work if we want a more equitable share of resources. Cities don’t want to pay for art, and when they do, it’s a little laughable (see the five million dollar metal ring in downtown Montreal). Architecture is incredibly lacking; we’re not creating beautiful neighbourhoods anymore, nothing is remarkable, suburbia is ugly, the Old Port only looks pretty because it’s Old. We don’t make anything like humanity used to. Capitalism was supposed to innovate but everything looks the same. Humanities and arts majors are laughed at for going into fields that aren’t considered successful or profitable, but that’s just because of the lack of value we inject into them, when art and history and art history used to be prestigious areas of study. How empty would life be without art and the humanities? Contentedness of the soul, as opposed to health of the body, is constantly looked past and set aside.

[pureimaginefic]

Introduction

Welcome one and all to what I once described as an active sitcom happening in my head, live studio audience included! This is your official handy dandy guide to the Jr. BSB Literary Universe. All the characters, storylines, and everything in between is right here to help you navigate your way through. Is there anything you’re particularly curious about? Why is this character the way they are? Why this story go this way? How did I come up with certain stories or create certain characters? All your questions will be answered.

[deathanddogs]

Translation:

Jehan: "Revolution without the guillotine", how I've longed to hear that phrase!

Jehan: Had you been there for the French Revolution, the great poet André Chénier would not have been decapitated

Jehan: I wished to convey that splendor, so I wrote a poem.

Jehan: It is called "The Poppy: Blooming in the Snow"

Grantaire: You are all like the sons of the French Revolution

Grantaire: The rights of the people, the Republic, democracy, civilization, progress, religion, revolution

Grantaire: What's the point of such things?

Grantaire: There are other things to learn: The best coffee is to be had at the Cafe Lemblin, a wonderful chicken dish to be had at Mother Sauget's

Grantaire: Good lasses at the Ermitage on the Boulevard du Maine, that sort of thing.

Courfeyrac: Then why did you follow me?

Grantaire: ...ah... I don't know either

Grantaire: ....... hello~

Grantaire: My apologies for the mess

Grantaire: Forgive me, I am Grantaire

Grantaire, in whom writhed doubt, loved to watch faith soar in Enjolras.

He had need of Enjolras.

That chaste, healthy, firm, upright, hard, candid nature charmed him, without his being clearly aware of it,

and without the idea of explaining it to himself having occurred to him.

[charliemwrites]

Hybrid AU with Ragdoll!Reader and Siberian-mix!Konig

Reader is a rescued cat hybrid that Laswell's sister in law has been taking care of for the last 3 months. When she meets this little ragdoll kitty, so bright and friendly and curious, she immediately thinks of the 141. Hybrids have a lot uses in the government. Sometimes combative, sometimes therapeutic. The 141 could use a companion animal, given the close call Soap recently had and the general trauma the whole squad has.

With the kitty's permission and cooperation, they assess her as a possible therapy placement. She tests so well and so high that Laswell (again, with consent) immediately starts paperwork to place her with the 141 before even bringing it up to Price.

He's a bit skeptical at first. Even without being a combat hybrid, their jobs are high stress, very dangerous, and not very stable. But Laswell convinces him to at least meet Ragdoll.

They do introductions at the sister-in-law's house, where the kitty will be most comfortable. Ragdoll takes one sniff of him and starts purring like a little engine. He's visibly surprised, and Laswell can barely hold back her grin as the kitty climbs into his lap. They spend the rest of the afternoon discussing arrangements while his new hybrid naps because obviously he can't say no now.

Price becomes her primary handler. They move her to his barrack and give her a week to settle in, but she's not a skittish thing by any means. Wants to follow him everywhere, curls up in his bed, meows sadly at the door when he leaves her alone. It becomes clear very quickly that the usual introduction manuals are too slow for her.

Kitty meets Kyle next. Again, instant purrs. She presses her cheek into his palms, then wriggles her way closer to brush up against his cheek. Lets out a little "mrrp!" when he stutters out a pleasantly surprised, "hello there." She nibbles at the brim of his hat and grins when he gently redirects her, chirping at this fun new friend.

Two for two, Price and Kyle decide to introduce her to Simon and Johnny. They let her explore the common room first, get comfortable, and then call the other two in. Kitty watches from behind Price as Simon and Johnny enter.

Johnny is a dog hybrid with Simon as his primary handler. Price has faith that his sergeant will behave well with the new kitty, but he's not sure of what her reaction will be. Johnny's obviously, visibly excited, tail wagging, but Simon gets him to sit and wait while she makes the first move.

It takes absolutely no time at all for her to pad out from behind Price and approach. Simon goes first, offering a hand. But she barely even sniffs him before cuddling up to him, pawing curiously at his mask. He lets her, clicking his tongue when she dislodges it a bit, but then he gently nudges her towards Johnny.

His ears are perked forwards, tail still swishing. Kitty's ears are twitching, eyes big and curious. But her tail is up and curved curiously, not even a little fluffed. She gets in real close to his face, sniffs, then bumps her forehead against his chin. Which is when he loses patience and licks a big stripe up her cheek. She mews indignantly, ears going airplane mode, but thankfully doesn't swat at him.

It literally couldn't go better. She's a perfect fit.

Over the next few months she settles in with them happily, an absolute dream of a hybrid. Not very verbal, at least through human speech, but perfectly communicative and incredibly friendly.

She chirps whenever one of the 141 enters a room, has a different tone for each of them. Purrs if one of them so much as looks at her, all slow blinks and little smiles. Chitters when she sees them running outside through the windows.

Even grooming is relatively easy. She lets them brush out her floofy tail without much fuss, only trying to retreat if they catch a tangle. Readily gives up her hands to trim her claws. Even opens her mouth for them to brush off her fangs after raw meals.

She curls up with Simon on bad days, warm and purring, breathing little puffs of air against his collarbone. Lounges with Kyle after hard missions, nuzzling against him while he pets her soft ears. She spends hours upon hours in Price's office, curled up on his lap while he does paperwork or talks over the phone, kneading biscuits into his stomach.

Her friendship with Johnny is maybe the most surprising. They play wrestle just about every night, rolling around on the rough carpets in the common room and nipping at each others ears. She'll pounce on him, little teeth flashing, but almost always get bodied by his larger stature. The others will let them play until one of them - usually Johnny - gets too excited and makes the other yelp. At that point, Price or Simon will usually scoop one of the hybrids up and tsk at them for getting rough.

She's the 141's precious kitty, sweet and friendly and outgoing. The whole base knows her, though she's never far from one of her boys. And they know what it means if Ragdoll doesn't like someone.

It's rare, which is why it raises neon red flags. The first time is a new recruit that reaches to pet her without introducing himself first. She twists around on him, but usually even that would be recoverable. Except when he keeps trying to touch her, she gets a whiff of him and hisses, scrambling away.

The guy doesn't last long.

It happens again a few weeks later with a nurse meant to be giving her checkup. She gets low to the table, tail poofing up, and growls low in her throat. When the nurse rolls her eyes and tells Price to just hold his hybrid still so they can get things over with, he knows instantly that his little ragdoll was right to react that way.

With that in mind, it's no surprise that no one trusts Philip Graves when he visits their base and she takes an instant dislike to him. He introduces himself correctly, but she still hard reverses away from him, nose scrunched up. Ears back, tail fluffing up, she slips behind Price and glares from around his arm.

Problem is, Graves is used to dog hybrids. He's great with them. Kitties... not so much, even with a manual. Ends his week at the base with a couple of proper bite marks and an itchy scratch on his hand.

Given her reaction, Simon and Johnny aren't too shocked when he betrays them in Las Almas.

When a team from KorTac is scheduled for a joint assignment, the 141 is bracing for a similar reaction. Especially because they have their own cat hybrid - some big mixed breed.

Kyle even suggests keeping Ragdoll inside for initial introductions on the tarmac, but they all know that's not actually viable. Their kitty wouldn't talk to them for the rest of the day if they left her out like that.

So Price double checks that her little bell-collar is on and brings her out to meet the KorTac team.

Their cat hybrid is even bigger than expected - no wonder he's a combat placement despite being a domestic breed. He keeps his face hidden behind a big black hood with cutouts for his ears, fluffy tail slightly tangled-looking.

Price hasn't even finished introductions with the KorTac team when she makes a rolling little chur noise, bright and curious. The bigger hybrid zeros in on her instantly, ears flicking. She pads out from behind the captain and slips away before he can catch her. Any calls for her to come back are fully ignored.

She trots right up to the Austrian and mrrps again, pausing mid-step, waiting for a response. The other hybrid doesn't respond - at least he doesn't seem to.

"Sorry, kitten, but he doesn't really do the cat noises," Declan tries to tell her. But he's also ignored, and no sooner has he spoken than she's getting into the other cat's space, continuously making little "brr" noises.

And then to everyone's shock, he's bending down to greet her in return, nuzzling her cheek and forehead through the hood. She starts to purr, pressing up close, tail swishing lazily. A noise erupts from him, deep and rough, rattling in his chest. Johnny jumps and snatches at her shirt, dragging her back to the safety of their team.

She mewls sadly, arms extended to reach for him.

"He's growling, Doll," Johnny corrects, arms curling around her middle. For the first time ever she starts to wriggle. "He's too big for you to mess with."

"I... wasn't growling," the Austrian pipes up. "I apologizes if I caused alarm."

Johnny shoots him an incredulous look.

"Then what was that?" Kyle asks, confused.

"I don't... often purr."

Price takes one look at their still-wiggly kitty and the Austrian leaning towards her, as if wanting to follow, and pinches the bridge of his nose.

"Shit."

[sodascherrycola]

Instagram Intros (Noel Gallagher's Kids)

Malcolm Flynn Gallagher (@colmgallagher)

DOB: September 2nd 1985 Age: 39 years old Hometown: Manchester, England Nicknames: Mal, Malc, Mac, and Colm S/O: Claire Durney Kids: Kayleigh and Riley Best Friend(s): Cristofer Hensley, Shelby Bennett, & August Webster Aesthetic: Malcolm grew up with a strong relationship with both his teenage parents and his grandmother, Peggy. He was often babysat by his nana while both her parents worked to afford housing and food for the three of them. He loved hanging out with his Uncle Liam and spent most of his time with him. Liam introduced him to football, and eventually became obsessed. His father ended up working doubles to make enough for Colm to join a local team. This is something that he would try to bond with his younger brother over, though James didn't seem as interested with this. Colm ended up playing football for 14 years, going to uni on a scholarship.

James Conrad Gallagher (@jamesconradgallg)

DOB: May 18th 1990 Age: 34 years old Hometown: London, England Nicknames: Jamie, Jay, JJ, Con, Connie S/O: Michelle Michaels Kids: None Best Friend(s): Kiersten Krause Aesthetic: James was a very shy child, always seeming to like being alone. He wasn't always this way, before being extremely talkative and expressive. When James was around 5 years old he was one of 4 James' in his kindergarten class, and a note was sent home to his parents explaining that he needed to have some sort of nicknames so the 4 don't get mixed up. He started getting referred to as his middle name, Conrad, or Connie for short. Kids were not kind to him afterwards and he got heavily made fun of for this. He became very quiet and introverted to a point that he wouldn't even speak to his parents. Noel slowly started to introduce him to the music industry, in hopes that it might be a good outlet for his young son. Luckily for him, James took to this and actually became a producer as he got older.

Molly Quinn Gallagher (@mollywally)

DOB: February 19th 1997 Age: 27 years old Hometown: Camden, England Nicknames: Molls, Wally S/O: Darren Maguire Kids: Sophia, Leon, and Elliot Best Friend(s): Teagan Hale, Jordyn Conley, and Caitlin Cunningham Aesthetic: Molly was always Noel's quiet favourite. He would never admit it, but she was. She knew it as well. The minute she flashed her big blue puppy dog eyes, she got whatever her heart desired from Noel. Mary was not a fool for this trick however and has had to have multiple talks to Noel about toughening up and being a bit more strict with her, but he can't help it. Molly looks just like her mother and Noel can't seem to see through it. She was a very expressive young girl, always doing some sort of art or sport. She took a liking to her mother's song-writing and has helped her on many occasions writing tunes for her father or other famous celebrities. Molly was named after her mother's maiden name, Quinn, being Mary's previous surname. This was because her mother and father had recently gotten married after finding out they were pregnant with their daughter. Mary was devastated to say the least, when she realised that Quinn wasn't going to be her last name, and that it was now Gallagher. Of course, it was her decision to change her name but it still upset her nonetheless. So Noel went to the nurse while Mary was feeding their wee one, and gave her the name. The rest was history.

Beckham Eoin Gallagher (@bekywitdagoodhair)

DOB: July 25th 2000 Age: 24 years old Hometown: Camden, England Nicknames: Beck, Bex, Becky S/O: Natalia Brooks Kids: None Best Friend(s): Justus Rush, Jayden Reyes, and Finley Holt Aesthetic: Where to even begin with THE Beckham Gallagher? For starters, he was born prematurely and scared the life out of his parents. He almost died, something about his lungs not breathing properly. Noel was trying to see what was wrong with his son but the nurses wouldn't let him even hold Beckham. He eventually decided to just pick him up, ignoring the words from the nurses, and held him against his bare chest like he had done with his other 3 children. Like a miracle, Beck started breathing normally, matching his breaths to his fathers. As he grew up he became more and more rambunctious, only ever having the energy of a mosh-pit at all times. The amount of times he's woken his parents up is too many to count on a hand, the amount of times he's gotten in trouble for not staying still in class is too many to count on a hand. Beckham never got any smack from his parents though, of course not, he's their miracle baby. Noel and Mary are just happy that their little boy has the lung capacity for all the gleeful screaming and running around he does all the time. When he was a teenager he stopped all the girl's hearts too. No one was every pined after more than Beckham Eoin Gallagher in his high school. So much so in fact, he had 3 dates to the prom because he was too nice to say no. He switched them out every little bit, and never got caught surprisingly. His future wife, Natalia, was the school's prom photographer and has photos of him with all 3 dates and will never fail to use it to her advantage.

Kieran Connor Gallagher (@kier_gallagher)

DOB: October 11th 2003 Age: 21 years old Hometown: London, England Nicknames: Kier S/O: Janey Moore Kids: None Best Friend(s): Jackson Hughes and Leah Olsen Aesthetic: Kieran was well mannered and polite. He had a strong relationship with his twin sister, Cecilia, and they were stuck together like glue. They had gotten split apart in year 2 at school, and it was such a mess Mary had to go in there and try to negotiate with the principal to put them back together. They had been in the same classes up until high school, this is when they wanted to be as far apart from each other as ever. Kieran ended up befriending Jackson Hughes, Mary didn't like him too much. He was kind of a bad influence on Kieran, introducing him to alcohol and drugs at the beginning of year 9. This is when Noel had to have a conversation with him, sit him down and have a proper talk about his behaviour. He was just acting out in ways Noel didn't think he would have to worry about with his youngest son. Kieran had always been an easy-going kid, so what was he going on about? He was struggling with school, a cocaine addiction, and his best friend Leah, had quietly chosen to be friends with Cecilia when the two decided to split ways. Kieran was diagnosed with depression when he was 15, after he had attempted to… Noel had held him so damn close that night, fearing that he almost lost his little boy. He had gotten better after his mother started him up at therapy, he started gaining his relationship back with Cecilia, and is all together better now.

Cecilia Bridget Gallagher (@ceciliagallagher)

DOB: October 11th 2003 Age: 21 years old Hometown: London, England Nicknames: Cece, Celia, Sicily S/O: Nathaniel Carson Kids: None Best Friend(s): Jamie York, Leyla Watts, and Leah Olsen Aesthetic: Cecilia was a simple kid, never wanted anything, never asking for anything, even though she knew her dad would give her anything her heart desires at the snap of her tiny little finger. She was very smart, excelling farther than her twin brother, which did put a bit of a strain on their relationship. The two were never not in the same classes and were constantly being compared to one another, mainly Kieran to Cecilia. She never understood why he was so angry, he was cool, had loads of friends, and people liked him. Why would he be so upset about not being like her. Cecilia just made him feel dumb. This was the cause of their fallout. She went off to be a proper student with their friend Leah. She ended up having a good social group and superior grades. She had many times offered to help tutor Kieran, but gave up when she could feel the glare he gave her from across the dinner table. Celia couldn't stand being so distanced from her built in best friend. When Kieran had nearly died, she stayed by his side the whole time in the hospital, not even leaving to go to school. The two eventually reconnected and became closer than ever. She became a journalist in The Sunday Times when she was 19 years old and is quite well-known in England.

Penelope Niamh Gallagher (@whos_pennygallagher)

DOB: September 10th 2010 Age: 14 years old Hometown: London, England Nicknames: Pen, Penny, Elle, Ellie S/O: No One Kids: None Best Friend(s): Malik Rhodes, Skyla Garrison, and Kole Cross Aesthetic: Penelope is the definition of youngest daughter. She's absolutely spoiled in every way, and she likes to get what she wants. She is in no way though, a brat about it. Penny, being the youngest and by a good amount of years, had a lot of her parents attention. Mary always dotes on her because it's her last baby and she just wants to cherish it as much as she can. Noel just can't say no to a little girl her wants a pretty pink dress and princess shoes. Yes, her parents were getting old, and yes, that sucked for her, but her siblings always stepped in when her parents couldn't. In fact, Penelope was the closest with her oldest sister Molly and older brother Beckham. They adored her. She was born to be a princess and every one knows it. She became really into fashion at a young age, and she is now her own little fashion icon. Gen Z took a liking to her unique outfits and she blew up on tiktok. She often got Noel to join in on her tiktoks too, which people loved! He was very gentle with her, he didn't mind being goofy if it meant Pen would giggle away. Everyone thought it was precious. Penelope is also known for tricking people into thinking Oasis was getting back together, showing her Uncle Liam and Aunt Sarah whenever she could in videos just to make her father mad. Mary did put an end to this if you were wondering.

[teaboot]

I do not have Boy Knowledge to trade, but can I ask for dinner party hosting tips???

Sure!

I grew up broke but the great-grandparents passed on all their old etiquette, so *fart noise* got a lot of old fashioned shit kickin around, this is what we'd do

PREP:

Clean the house in advance. And not just common areas- the whole place. Minimum the kitchen, living room, bathroom, entrance. Take out all the trash, no dirty dishes, scrub out the toilet. (This is less vital with super casual close friends and family.)

Have snacks ready before arrival. Ask in advance about any allergies and accommodate. Same for actual food.

Aim for business-casual clothing. Jeans are okay if they're well-fitted and clean, with no holes, but nothing acid-wash. Sleeveless shirts should be at least three fingers wide, typically women-only but fuck gender conformity I don't give a shit.

Put coffee or the kettle on a minute or two before you expect people to arrive. Coffee should be fresh and kettle should be boiled around the same time folks arrive.

Have a place for people to put their coats and shoes. An area rug works for shoes, ans if you don't have a coat rack or closet for jackets it's handy to have a bedroom cleaned out and a bed made so people can keep coats, scarves, bags, and purses somewhere.

In some cultures cooking doesn't start until guests arrive. The way I was raised, cooking starts much earlier, and things should be coming out of the oven after they've been there a few minutes and had time to chat.

Set the table before guests arrive: Typical setting when I was younger was matching placemats at every seat, plate next. Fork on the left, knife and then spoon on the right. Wine glass on the right, saucer on the right, cup on saucer for hot drinks. Cloth napkin under the spoon and knife on the right, unless rolled with a napkin ring, in which case it could be set at the top of the plate, on the plate, or on the right hand side. Salt, pepper, and a butter dish is to be set out- one of each for every four to six seats is a decent rule of thumb.

DURING:

Guests are expected to announce themselves by knocking or ringing the bell. When this happens, usually a younger member of the family is sent to answer the door and let them in. Hosts follow shortly after, and hugs and greetings take place. The host offers to take people's coats and bags, or otherwise indicates where they can be placed. Shoes come off and are left at the door.

Tour of the house. This doesn't happen every time, but a quick, "let me show you around" may happen if you expect to be there a full day or longer, or if someone needs to politely stall for time, or if the host is especially happy to have you there or to show you something. This usually skips bedrooms, but a nod will usually be given to indicate adult's rooms, and kid's rooms may be peeked at to show off or do introductions with small children.

Offering seats. Usually starts in the living room, where, "can I get you anything?" Is asked. Options usually include wine, beer, water, some kind of juice, coffee, or tea. Possibly ginger ale or cola, but not usually much in the way of sodas.

At this point, a tray of cookies, biscuits, crackers, or other small snacks might be set our to be shared. Here, it's polite to eat a little and join in on smalltalk.

Dinner. When food is ready to come out of the oven, someone in the host's home will announce that dinner is ready, and guests and hosts will relocate to the dinner table and pick seats. (If there is not enough room at the dinner table for everybody, children's plates will be set at a folding table elsewhere, or in the vacated living room area.)

Some hosts will have guests line up in the kitchen and serve their own food one at a time. The way I was taught, hosts bring food and serving utensils to the table and sit once everything is placed. Dishes are then passed in a circle from person to person as people fill their own plates. It is generally assumed that you will take your portion in such volume that everyone else can receive the same amount as you, or more.

Meal usually includes a meat-based dish, a starch like rice or potato, one to three vegetable dishes, and a bread like a bun or roll that may be buttered.

It is here preferred that you ask for something to be passed rather than reach over food. "Could you pass me the..." or "may I borrow the ..." are good ways to ask.

Elbows stay off the table. You may rest your forearms on the edge if you like, depending on how formal we're talking, but no elbows.

Napkin is spread out flat on your lap to catch anything that may drop or spill. Some people may choose to tuck I into their shirt collar to protect their suit or tie, but I've only really ever seen old folks do that, or people doing it to babies and small children.

It is polite to eat everything on your plate, especially if you served yourself. Once everyone has eaten their plate, seconds may be offered or mentioned. It's considered rude to go in for second servings if others haven't finished their firsts yet. This is a good place for conversation to pick up.

Once everyone is finished eating, a member of the hosts' house (usually a kid, sometimes a volunteer guest assisting) will clear the table, gathering empty plates and such from the guests and taking them to the kitchen to be cleaned. Drinks might be refilled now, and dessert forks or spoons might be brought in.

Dessert usually happens. While the meal itself is traditionally homemade, it is perfectly normal for dessert to be store-bought.

The serving of dessert is much less communal than dinner. The person dishing dessert will normally take a stack of plates and send a runner (again, usually a kid) to take stock of who wants dessert and carry theirs to them.

After dessert, dishes will again be gathered and removed, with the exception of cups. Coffee and tea is customary at this point, and alcohol will disappear. This is when conversation comes back in full swing- talking and unwinding is the goal here, and letting any liquor digest so drivers who may have had a sip will be safe to drive afterwards.

END:

Someone will sigh and take note of the time. This is different depending on the group, but a second round of hugs will be in order. Farewells will be made at the door. If there are plenty of leftovers, the host may insist the guest take some. Borrowed dishes and containers will ostensibly be returned at a casual future meeting, possibly as an excuse to meet up and chat over coffee.

It is polite of the guest to offer a hand with cleaning up. It is polite of the host to insist they not. If they are an acquaintance or someone to be impressed, the guest will not be allowed to help clean unless they make it clear that offense will be taken otherwise. If they're a close friend or family member, they may be accepted with some minimal pushback.

The host might start cleaning while the guest is still at the table. This is not intended as an insult.

It is polite to leave around the same time that children begin getting ready for best- usually around 8, 8:30, 9-9:30 on special occasions.

If the weather is especially terrible, or driving conditions are poor, the host might offer the guest a bed for the night. If this is done, it is best to fetch them clean sheets and blankets, a fresh towel, and whatever else they might need. They will be expected to stay no later than breakfast the following morning, unless further plans have been agreed upon. An especially prepared host might have a spare set of pajamas (close friends and family only, usually) and a new toothbrush ready for use.

I think that's everything? A lot of it is weird unspoken shit but yeah lol that's most of what I remember.

I'd love to hear what everyone else grew up with!! Share with me your food culturrrrrrre

[papercorgiworld]

Apologies and love confessions

The Slytherins guy’s are jealous because you have a date. When your date flops, they show up: to make up or make out, or both…

General story introduction and then you pick your favourite Slytherin. Or all of them, I won’t judge.

Theo, Blaise, Enzo, Draco and Mattheo.

Warning: a little bit of smut bc of Enzo and Mattheo ofc.

Not proofread, so if a sentence hurts your brain, my apologies. Let me know and safe an innocent reader.

After months of not writing, I present you… whatever this is.

You took one last look in the mirror and turned to your friends, Pansy and Hermione. “Acceptable?” You asked sheepishly. “More than acceptable.” Hermione smiled. “Hot.” Pansy bluntly stated.

It was a late Saturday afternoon as you made your way to the great hall to meet your date. A few days ago, Neal - a Ravenclaw one year older than you - had asked you out. You hadn’t talked much but all of your friends liked him and he wasn’t bad looking. As you almost reached the great hall you ran into the notorious Slytherin boys. When you spotted them you wanted to turn on your heels, but Enzo already called for you. “Y/n, you’re looking fine.” He slurred the last word a bit as he looked you up and down. Your cheeks went red as all the guys stared. “Ah, your date’s today, right?” Blaise asked nonchalantly. You nodded, getting a little nervous. “What was his name again? Dirk… Dean?” Draco asked with his usual voice filled with arrogance and annoyance. His eyebrows went up and down as he leaned against a wall with his arms crossed. “Neal. And I should be going.” You blurted. Theodore was slow to move aside and you passed him, his eyes never leaving you. As you walked away you could hear Mattheo snicker and your heart sank.

Up until recently you had gotten along with them just fine. You were Pansy’s friend and by association also theirs. Just like you were Ron and Harry’s friend because of your friendship with Hermoine. However, there was a difference. You always wanted to be liked by the Slytherin guys, or just by one. Unfortunately, ever since you mentioned you were going on a date they had collectively decided to ridicule your every move. Making you feel terribly insecure.

***

Your date flopped. Neal was a great guy. Accept for the fact that he was obviously still hung up on his ex-girlfriend. When you entered the Three Broomsticks and chose a table near a window, he told you his ex liked to sit by the window too. When you ordered drinks, Neal told you his ex didn’t like your choice of drink. When he mentioned her for a third time, you fell silent and gave him a tight lipped smile. Oh Merlin. This was the worst.

After a little over an hour you said your awkward goodbyes. You started to walk back to Hogwarts, dreading the idea of telling your friends about your date or worse all those other gossiping people finding out.

As you arrived at the courtyard the ones you wanted to avoid most were there. You tried to subtly speed walk past them. This time it was Mattheo who was first to speak. “Y/n! You’re back early.” You simply sighed and Mattheo smirked. “How long were you gone? Didn’t even last two hours.” Mattheo turned to Theodore who let out a short laugh. Pansy who sat next to Enzo shot up and started yelling. “Oi, shut it!” Your friend took your arm to guide you away from them, towards the castle. “Pay up, Blaisy-boy. Not even two hours, so I win.” You heard Riddle say and you shot one last look at them, seeing how Blaise grimaced and reached inside his pockets to pay up. You were nothing more than a joke to them.

Pansy held onto your arm while you walked towards your common room. Hermoine spotted you from afar and pushed Ron and Harry aside to get to you. “So how was i…” Hermoine’s question was cut of my Pansy aggressive signal to shut up. “So, should we hex him?” Hermoine suggested as she saw that your eyes were welling up with tears. “No, it’s not him. I mean it was a bad date. But, so what. No biggie. But those, those, those… twats! They, they are the worst!” You yell, attracting the attention of students nearby. Hermoine looks over to Pansy with a confused look. “Will hex all five of them.” Pansy said and Hermoine caught on, she knew exactly which five morons you were talking about.

You nodded and sighed. “I need a moment alone. I’m going up to the astronomy tower for some quiet time.” Your friends were understanding and you left.

Theodore

“This is my hang-out.” Theodore says, pulling you out of your train of thoughts. “This is the spot people go to when they’re sad. If this is your hang-out, then that says a lot about you.” Theo halts for a moment, feeling a little exposed by your analysis, but joins you nevertheless, his arms resting on the railing. You notice how he plays with a cigarette between his fingers. “I won’t light it. I know you don’t like it when I smoke.” You raise your eyebrows. “I also don’t like it when you ridicule me, but that’s never stopped you or your merrie band of delinquents from mocking me.” Now, it was his turn to raise an eyebrow.

He’s about to open his mouth and give you some lame excuse for his behavior, but you stare at him with unimpressed eyes. So, he closes his mouth and lets out a nervous laugh. He takes a step back from the railing and throws his hands up in surrender. “I’ll admit, I’ve not been on my best behavior the past week.” Now, he has your full attention. You wanna hear what he has to say. “But neither have you.” He points to you and you scoff, no longer wanting to listen. “Going on a date with… what’s his name again. Of course everyone’s laughing.” You let out a laugh of disbelief. “Unbelievable.” You sigh.

“How about you go out with me? No one will laugh.” When you didn’t immediately respond he tried to sell the idea a little. “I’ll tell Matt and the others to behave. No more mocking.” You tilt your head in amusement to his suggestion. This guy, unbelievable. “You can do that, tell them to behave?” Theo takes a step closer towards you, leaving no space between you two. “Uhu.” He absentmindedly breathes while his hand softly caresses your face, tucking a strand of hair behind your ear. “And will you behave?” You ask, subtly taunting him. “I’ll be good.” He says softly and licks his lip.

“I’ll think about it.” You say taking a step and putting some distance between you two. But Theo quickly reaches for your arm, pulling you back towards him. “Don’t play with me.” As soon as you look into his eyes, his lips are on yours. The kiss is filled with longing, his thumb brushing your cheek as he pulls you in. Theo pushes you against the railing, never breaking the kiss. Your hand finds their way to his messy hair. The more you tug on one another and push into each other, the sloppier the kiss gets. He squeezes your ass and as a reflex you gently buck your hips into him. “Fuck.” He growls. You smile at his reaction and seize the moment to push him away.

Walking past him, you never take your eyes off the confused man. “I’m looking forward to that date.”

Blaise

“I lost a bet because of you.” Blaise says with a loud voice while he’s still on the stairs almost at the top, but still out of sight. You turn towards the stairs waiting for him to arrive. “I mean really, not even two hours.” “No.” You cross your arms in annoyance. “I mean you're annoying sometimes, but-“ You shove his shoulder. “I was not annoying! I AM never annoying. I’m a blessing to be around.” He raises his eyebrows, but you ignore him and continue your rant. “You! You on the other hand are frankly unbelievably childish!” You poke his chest, being more than a little shocked at how muscular he is, but you push that thought aside. “Betting on my misery, have you no shame!”

He spreads his arms in defense. “Well, that was Mattheo’s idea. No morals, that guy.” You raise an eyebrow in response. Just Mattheo. Think not. All of you, you’re a bunch of demon children. “You joined in.” You throw at him, like a lawyer making their case. “And lost.” Blaise says sheepishly. “Don’t be mad at me. I lost money, my day is already bad enough.” You turn on your heels, away from him. “Well what about my shitty day.”

“Ah, about that, your shitty day, I can make it better.” In a split second you’re facing him again, eyes shining with curiosity. “This better be good, Zabini.” He simply grinned. “There’s this guy, who’s been into you for months now. Incredibly hot. Sixpack and everything. Really into quidditch, a bit of a jock, but also really likes wizard chess and magic history. And has a soft side, secretly loves to watch muggle-movies. That’s some boyfriend material, uh?” You’ve been nodding along searching for the catch.

“What’s the catch, Zabini, no dude’s that good. Definitely not one that happens to have a thing for me.” He smiles as takes a step closer. “He would like to ask you out. So.. what do y’say?” You drop your head and shake no. “I’m not going out with him until you tell me what the catch is.” “Fineee, the catch is… he’s me.” You frown in confusion. “You, Blaise Zabini, want to go out with me?” A nervous and adorable smile appears on his face. “Yeah, and I would like it to last longer than two hours.” You give his shoulder a little push. “Depends, are you going to talk about your ex the entire time?” “What? That’s how Dirk ruined your date? What a git.” His name was Neal, but whatever. I got a new and better date.

Enzo

Enzo has his back against the railing. His eyes trace your face. “Didn’t go well did it?” Your eyes meet his and he sees your forehead wrinkle at his stupid question. “Well, look on the bright side. You’re back on the market.” You shift yourself so you’re leaning against the railing with your side and facing Enzo. “I was never off the market. I went on one date.” He also shifted so he’s facing you. “Yeah, you’re right. I was overreacting. I shouldn’t have worried so much.” You look confused at him, but he doesn’t immediately explain. “Why were you worried?”

“Well, uhm, you know, maybe you would’ve liked him.” He tried his best to sound casual, but you could tell he was a little nervous. You took a small step towards him. “Why would that be a bad thing?” He huffed like the answer was obvious. “Because it’s wrong to ask out a girl who's dating.” You frown. “You’ve lost me, Enzo, I don’t follow.”

“Wait, wait. This will clear it up.” He closes the space between you two and cups your cheek. What followed was the softest kiss ever. After a moment you both opened your eyes, but didn’t move away from each other. “See, I couldn’t have done that if you were dating Neal.” You nodded. “I follow.” You brushed your lips over his. A cheeky smile covered his face. “You know, if you’re interested… there are a lot of things we can do now that it’s just you and me.” “Care to give an example.”

“My pleasure.” Is all he says before his hands find their way to your hips lifting you up. Your legs tangle around him as he pushes you against a wall. The cold stone makes you arch into him. His mouth nips on the flesh of your neck. “You and I should go on a date.” Enzo breathes in between kisses. “You two need to find a room.” You're both startled by Neville’s sudden appearance. “Yeah, you’re probably right.” Enzo says, looking at you with lust. “Mine or yours?” You ask as you lick your bottom lip.

Draco

You sighed, letting the view and silence calm you. Suddenly you hear footsteps and when you look up Draco’s walking towards you with his usual flair. “What a tool, that Neal-guy. Taking you to the Three Broomsticks.” You roll your eyes and look away from him. “You should’ve known, a guy like him is no good.” Before he opens his mouth again you whip your head around towards him, eyes ready to kill. “He’s no good? Neal’s not the problem. You are! You’re no good, with you mocking and ridiculing. You’ve been acting like a total ass the last few days! So get lost, Malfoy!”

Draco remains quiet for a moment. The frown on his face grows as he realizes his jealousy might have taken the upper hand these past few days. Falling back in his normal composure, his hands reach for the cold railing as he comes to stand next to you. “I just didn’t think it was a good idea. You, going out with him. You need someone who buys you a dress and takes you to a fancy place.” When you look up at him in confusion, he continues staring in front of him. “I think you deserve better.” You huff, indulging his lame excuse for his behavior. “Know any guy like that?” You blurt out thinking back to your miserable date.

Draco inspects the rings on his fingers as he searches for the courage to say what he so badly wanted to say these last couple of days. “Me.” He says so quietly you almost didn’t hear, but you did and you look up at him with wide eyes. Where is this going? “I would like to take you somewhere fancy. Spoil you.” You let out a laugh and he immediately snaps at you. “No, need to laugh. A simple ‘no thanks’ would have sufficed.” You press your lips together and take a step towards him. The scowl on his face falls when your hand reaches for his tie, gently playing with it. “I think I’m going to take you up on that offer, Malfoy.” Your face inches towards him and his lips brush yours.

The kiss immediately becomes more passionate and his hand tangles in your hair holding you in place. His other hand snakes to the small of your back pulling you close. You whimper softly at the feeling of your bodies against one another. This gives him the perfect opportunity to deepen the kiss even more. You break apart to catch your breath, but you stay close. “You were jealous, weren’t you?” Draco scoffs. “Not. It’s simply a matter of principle. Classy women belong with classy men.” You roll your eyes. “Draco, kiss more, talk less.” He huffs in annoyance, but obliges.

Mattheo

“I told you so.” Mattheo’s voice sang as he approached you. You didn’t turn around, instead you just rolled your eyes. “That guy just wasn’t for you. Don’t be so upset about it.” You shook your head. What’s he even doing here? Shouldn’t he be laughing behind your back with friends? When you stayed quiet Mattheo got worried and his tone softened. “He didn’t hurt you or anything? ‘Caus I’ll deal with him. He’ll never bother you again.” Okay that’s it, Riddle. You angrily grab onto the railing you were leaning on before turning around fuming. “He didn’t hurt me. He was just boring. But you on the other hand, you hurt me with your constant mockery. So why don’t you punch yourself in the face and stop bothering me.” Mattheo looked away from you for a moment, making you think he actually felt bad. But when he looked back up, he was back to being his cocky self. “Can’t punch this pretty face.” He said, pointing at himself, grinning.

You turned away from him, hoping that he would leave. You couldn’t see it but his face fell again, really feeling bad about hurting you with his stupid jokes. “I just knew he wasn’t the guy for you.” No reaction from you. “Look, we can split my win from the bet with Blaise.” You let your head fall, looking at him from the corner of your eyes. The audacity. He came to stand next to you and also rested his arms on the railing. “I know, I can be an ass sometimes. So, just tell me, love, how do I make this right.” Your eyes meet his, you’re surprised by his gesture. “I guess it’s alright. I’m a forgiving soul.” He turns away from the view, towards you and lays a hand on the small of your back. “No, don’t be forgiving. I’ll do anything to make this right.”

He uses his body language to make it clear that he’s willing to do anything to make it up to you, shuffling closer, leaning into you and licking his lips suggestively. “Are you really trying to seduce me into forgiving you?” You ask not believing that that’s the best he can come up with. “Well no, love, I’m going to fuck you into forgiving me.” This man. Who does he think he is… well, the dark lord’ son, but still. Unbelievable. Mattheo falls to his knees, his hands moving from your back, sliding over your ass to your legs. He looks up at you with soft eyes before gently pushing your skirt up. This man… should be my future husband. Mattheo places soft kisses on your thight, slowly getting closer to your panties.

You close your eyes and let out a soft moan as he gently tugs down your panties. “If we get caught up here. I’m never going to forgive you.” He places a featherlight kiss between your legs and you instinctively reach for his curls. “Are you sure? Because I think I’m really excelling at apologizing, don’t you think so, love?” Damn you, Riddle. You’re good, and you know it.