Phoenix Zhang
It's Totally Legitimate!
Phoenix blinked at Graci as she spoke.
⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅
Date: 22/05/25 | Time: After class | Outfit: ✕ | CC: #english, mandarin
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The girl was obviously lying. Phoenix could tell by the way she paused in between sentences trying to make it seem like she had thought it was a tutoring session as well. The bag she had was probably filled with faux supplies incase she was questioned perhaps. Phoenix couldn't be sure.
Mentioning that she was almost positive that it wasn't brainwashing or at least hoping it wasn't Graci admitted to lying. She was sure that it wasn't an actual tutor session. Phoenix let out a scoff with a slight roll of her eyes before turning back to Colin. She'd have a chat with Graci later. She didn't appreciate people she considered friends lying to her.
Before Phoenix could open her mouth to speak again she heard the door to the Ballroom open. She turned to see another girl walk in. Another first year she was sure. Made sense as the flyer had said this was for first years. Her blonde hair was tied back the streaks popping out against the paleness of it. Along with the color of her eyes. A deep green almost the color of bright emerald were stark against her pale skin.
The girl let out a snort. The air around her was thick with the way she held her head high with confidence. Phoenix was sure she was most likely here for trouble. She turned her head away her nose turned up in disinterest.
Phoenix listened as the girl spoke. She mentioned different classes before adding a sly inquiry of studying something else. Phoenix rolled her eyes once more. This'll be the last time I trust a flyer with misspellings.
Yet again Phoenix turned from the girl her attention caught by the cat that had hopped onto the table from wherever it perched before. It's eyes as bright blue as the boy's was green. Two pairs of eyes scanned the few first years in front of them.
Her eyes snapped to the boy when he let out a laugh and rolled his eyes. The way he spoke was different than Phoenix was used to. She assumed he was making a joke of her initial question of the...lesson...if it could even be called that, being a brainwashing session and saying it was common sense. Whatever that was supposed to mean.
She watched as the boy pulled out his wand.
Getting slightly distracted as three more students came in. One of them stood with dark hair. A bright blue streak stood out to her. The next was another blonde along with a girl with light brown hair.
Her attention was brought back to the boy as he tapped his wand against the wall and whispered something she couldn't quite hear. The scribble of chalk rung out through the room even without there being any.
She watched intently as a list of names began to appear on the wall. It was the houses. Slytherin at the top and and Gryffindor at the bottom. Slytherin, the biggest, was obviously the boy's house. Why else would it be at the top and big.
Phoenix scowled seeing her own house at the bottom and in the smallest writing barely legible. She believed that the houses should be equal but clearly this was his opinion and she constantly spoke of 'To each his own'. Her eyes flicked from the words on the wall to the boy still clearly upset as she crossed her arms.
She watched as the boy nodded his head. He dragged his hand down the wall. "Scourgify!" he spoke and the words disappeared in a cloud of dust.
He stood on his chair before lowering his body to a crouch. He pulled a parchment from his satchel. There were multiple red x marks next to neat line of words. For a second Phoenix thought he was showing them a failed homework and she almost snorted. She squinted her eyes to get a better look realizing it was not a failed assignment and instead a list of rules. School rules she supposed. Definitely not his first time.
She listened as he mentioned Hogsmeade tapping his fingers against the paper.
Shaking her head as she heard everyone around her repeat the seventh rule out loud. She refused to do the same. She wasn't a rule breaker. She wasn't a perfect goody two shoes but rule breaking wasn't on her to-do list either.
She listened as he spoke the rule out loud mentioning 'Ravenclowns'. This boy really had no care about other houses except his own. The boy smirked and she scoffed.
Phoenix watched as the cat sat on the list of rules. No wonder this is his cat. They both are the same.
She looked at the boy as he mentioned bending rather than breaking the school rules. There's no such thing as bending the rules. It's still breaking
He slid something from his bag. Looked like a stencil for something. He turned it around and Phoenix could make out two words 'HOGWARTS' and 'HOGSMEADE'. He smirked before saying that the object was in fact a fake permission slip. Well rather the stencil to make one.
Phoenix rolled her eyes. He was serious about this. And judging by the faces of interest around her so were the others. He went through the simple directions of making it. Exactly as even someone with no braincells would think to make one. Just trace the letters with ink. Sign your name and....your parents. Parent's name. She didn't know her father's signature that well. Her mother's she had seen plenty of times but the thought of forging her mother's signature didn't sit the best with Phoenix. She had never done it nor even thought of ever doing it.
She looked at her hands contemplating her life choices at this moment. Her head snapped up hearing her last name called out. Her mind registered his last sentence. Testing her patience was he. A lionette or kitten? She clicked her tongue in irritation. "Tch, I'll show you what a lionette really is."
Phoenix stepped forward taking the stencil from the boy's hands. She snatched a piece of parchment laying the stencil on it. She began tracing the letters with the ink before signing her own name along with her mother's. She had managed to do it from memory perfectly which shocked her. She placed the quill back in the ink before sliding the paper, or rather her 'permission slip' from under the stencil and casting a glance at Colin.
Phoenix stepped back to where she stood to make space for anyone else who also needed to forge a slip.─────
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| 𝑰𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑾𝒊𝒕𝒉: @Colin McCoire | 𝑴𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈: @Graci Laren, @Kai Draxon, @Avis Marlong, @Pamela Graham, @Amelia Randensmith |
⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅
It's Totally Legitimate!
Nova had been walking past the Library from her Common Room, planning to go down to the Courtyard and possibly relax a bit. Until she saw a sign. Free tutoring sessions. It said, and she leaned closer, curiosity taking over. It was a bit late, but she figured, why not? It couldn't hurt to get a bit of help. She wasn't ashamed to ask, and so she began her trek down to the ballroom.
She walked through and onto the moving staircases, narrowly avoiding getting stuck before she arrived. She could already hear multiple voices inside, muffled by the walls. I'm not late, am I? she wondered, pressing her ear gently against the large doors.
She couldn't possibly be late! Well, she could, but there was no time listed! She decided to stop thinking for now and slowly opened the doors. They creaked. Loudly, as if to announce her presence. Like she needed it. Most of the heads turned to look at her, and she gave a small, sheepish wave.
The first thing she noticed was the cat. A black one, with a smug expression that made it look like it was a king. Her hands twitched, wanting to reach out and stroke it, but she held back. Not the best idea to enter a room and immediately go for the non-human being inside.
"Hello? I heard there was tutoring going on here?" She asked, her tone a bit timid as she looked around again. The first thing she noticed was Phoenix, tracing something on a piece of parchment. Nova shifted her gaze, not wanting to interact with her, and noticed a boy crouching on the ground next to the cat.
He had pale blond hair that looked almost white, and he was holding a wand as Phoenix put the quill down and straightened with a flourish that screamed 'I'm doing this of my own free will!' Nova snickered, wondering if that really was the case or if she was just trying to prove a point.
She stepped forward, walking towards the rest of the group with a small smile. "I hope I'm not late. How far have you gotten for the tutoring?" She asked, glancing around and realizing there was no Professor around. Suspicious.
Thoughts - Italic ~ Nova's Speech - #a88400 ~ Everyone else's speech - #7B3F00
NOTES@Colin McCoireWORD COUNT: 375/200 words
It's Totally Legitimate!
Recently being appointed as the new Prefect of Gryffindor, the title quickly got to the young lionesses head. Perplexed as to how she'd gotten such a position amidst the terror she had ensued upon others, truly was remarkable and a testament to her hard work, most notably, with her academic performance. Yet, her lack of care for the title was astounding, barely caring to spend time in the designated areas or enforcing rules upon others, given she had gotten away unscathed with her own rule breaks. Though, unfortunately for the students, Meiyu's rise to the position would only leave them worried that their plans would not come into fruit, given her sharp senses and keen eye to all mischief.
Upon passing, she had heard vague whispers on what to anyone with common sense, sounded like a blatant scam. Alleging free tutoring sessions, amidst the exam season which began to quickly approach and loom over many heads, first years being unscathed to the terror that disguised itself as the end of year exams. Yet, as Meiyu continued to brisk freely amongst the corridors, the relentless chatter on this fraudulent activity and only perked her ears further, encouraging her to follow her peers as they moved to the ballroom. Cautiously lingering by, she watched as students entered, one by one, until eventually they stopped.
Briskly moving to the door, she lightly nudged it open, leaving the door slightly ajar to hear, fortunately, the victims of the scam were barely quiet as they discussed their plans of motion — which alleged to sneaking into Hogsmeade, a task she had successfully completed herself, given the right precautions she had taken along with her lap dog, Edwin. Growing bored of the horrid plans in motion to corrupt her fellow peers, Meiyu instinctively rolled her eyes the longer she stood beside the door; with a singular motion, she pushed the door wide open, revealing her presence, a displeased expression plastered on her usual stoic face as she moved into the ballroom, her eyes narrowing as she fixated on a silver haired boy, one she had seen at the Slytherin Broom Racing match, who's chants were enough to warrant a migraine.
"What do YOU think you're doing?" She questioned, pointing an accusatory finger at the boy, appearance shaggy like a mutt. Pausing momentarily, she moved her gaze to her fellow first year peers, too innocent for their own good for falling for what appeared to be the most obvious scam in history, clearly the boy lacked brains to orchestrate a better scheme. "Don't you have OWLs next year? And you're worried about corrupting kids?" Meiyu scowled as her gaze returned back to the twig like man-child, clearly lacking adequate priorities given his awful contribution to broom race she had the misfortune of watching. "Makes sense, given your obsession with acting like a dog during official matches."
Turning on her heel, Meiyu crossed her arms and glared at the array of students, a few she'd noticed in class, others within her own dormitory. "You all should know better than to listen to him, of all people." She spat, displeased with the bust she thought she had entered. Had it been another occurrence, she'd have abused her power to grace them all with detention next weekend, foiling any plans. Yet, given the innocent looks plastered on most faces, Meiyu knew not a single soul could equate to anything she had done during her time within the castle, so, she left, stomping heavily upon departure, feeling a mixture of bitterness and sourness at the time she had wasted lurking, awaiting for a bust.
NOTE: You've all been caught by Meiyu, but SURPRISE, she does not care, so, you're free to continue.
It's Totally Legitimate!
F I N N E G A NxC O N N O R
omnes magni homines primum fuerunt pueri
gryffindor, third-year
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It hadn't been hard to spot her.
First-year Gryffindor? Check.
Grating voice? Check.
Absolutely tiny? Check.
And finally: a more corrosive attitude than nitric acid? Well, that remained to be seen, but @Meiyu Xiang was not a face that Finnegan would soon forget. First and foremost because she looked quite innocent and delicate from afar, something he'd learned was a terrible lie. Xiang was vicious, truly vicious and also the only person who had set him on fire.
That was ages ago though. Water under the bridge, really. He was willing to forgive and forget if she would but cooperate with him today.
He regarded the girl with a strange mixture of caution, disdain, but admiration also. The same kind of admiration he held for the elusive @Remedy Norden. She too was a powerful and forceful presence who at the very least, he couldn't help but respect.
Meiyu Xiang had more guts than the last shipment of first-year Gryffindors combined. She was a girl set on traveling along the FAFO chart at an accelerating pace, and the day was drawing nearer that she would get to the Find Out part of her journey. Maybe today would be the day, maybe tomorrow. Whatever case, given the amount of Fucking Around she had invested in, it was destined to be quite the show when she finally Found Out.
Finnegan had been listening in from the corridor, just outside the classroom that McCoire had hijacked for his latest scam. The upside of Xiang's high-pitched voice was that he had been able to hear everything she had said quite clearly, but the real shock to the system had been when he found himself agreeing with her.
Indeed, whosoever had made the mistake of stepping into the classroom really should know better than to listen to Colin McCoire of all people. If the smell and the dirty feet weren't big enough red flags, then surely his insistence on boasting about all the girls he had kissed (in his imagination) were, right? Never mind the big boomer vibes from his excessive use of exclamation marks on the sign at the door. That alone should have repelled any first-year with a pulse, but...
...apparently not.
Apparently a sizeable chunk of first-years didn't die from cringe at being called danger-noodles. (Yes, he'd heard that too, though he wished he hadn't). Were these just amazingly tolerant eleven-year-olds or was he getting old? At least Colin had stopped yelling CLAAIIIIIIRRR at the top of his lungs all the time, now only if he could stop the howling too...
Ah, there she is...
Meiyu Xiang. Pristine as always and a fantastic actress. Really, the way she managed to look composed while stomping off angrily was quite impressive.
He whistled sharply between his teeth to get her attention before she could disappear completely.
“Lovely speech, Xiang.”
There was a non zero chance she would whirl around and try to murder him on the spot, in which case he'd attempt a quick Protego, but on the off-chance that she afforded him a second or two to resume talking, he'd say:
“Nice and short.” His eyes fell briefly on her prefect badge and he wondered whose corpse she'd taken that from. “I agree, they should know better. But, they evidently don't, so,” he continued in a slow, almost drawling voice. “It falls to us to rescue our housemates from McCoire. They might get fleas otherwise and spread them all through Gryffindor tower.” If he had gauged her right, the mere thought of disgusting fleas crawling and itching and biting all over her too perfect skin would make her retch. “Or worse yet, Saliva Transmitted Infections. As you said yourself, he's like a dog. And bad dogs need to be put down.”
“But, in case your sense of honor is lacking, just imagine the look on @Galahad Browne's face when he learns that his beloved prefect chose to flagrantly ignore her duties. You'd have to return that shiny badge, I reckon, and all the... privileges it comes with. Wouldn't that be a shame?”
“I think Mr. McCoire is long overdue for a detention, wouldn't you agree? Now then, ladies go first...” He said as he gestured gentlemanly toward the classroom door.
In vino veritas, in aqua sanitas.22/05/2025 Ballroom
Pressuring @Meiyu Xiang to give the known lout and vagabond @Colin McCoire a detention. @Graci Laren, @Phoenix Zhang, @Kai Draxon you are (potentially) being forcefully rescued. Thank me later.
"He's a dweeby chocolate bar lip smacking nerd" - Evelynn Decipio
It's Totally Legitimate!
But the school year was almost over, and Avis was unsure if tomorrow would ever come. But then again, she had made it this far without friends and hadn't even noticed. She was fine. She didn't need friends, and if she did, well, she could always do that...tomorrow.
More stars were on her paper, and perhaps a few of those twisty things every school kid knows how to make, none know what they are called, and her gaze was drawn back to the main event. The howler kid was now explaining just how to forge a document. His teachers must love him.
We know we're not supposed to break school rules, but no one ever said anything about not bending them just a wee bit!
Avis snickered aloud, holding her hand up to her face to hide her amusement. She was all for breaking of the rules, but she was pretty sure that they expressly forbid Hogsmeade.
She watched the surprise on her peers facing as some finally registered why they were there. Some stepped up to the table and gladly created a slip, while others looked around bewildered, the goody-two shoes that might only succumb after some intense peer pressure.
She returned to her paper only to hear him @Finnegan Connor.
It was truly a miracle that he was not on incendioed right now. Or shot against the wall. Or suffering from a very bad cold. Avis' mind whirled as she thought through all the spells she now knew.
And he would have been on the floor, or on incendioed, or both, if it weren't for the large amounts of people in the room. She could always set him on fire as he left. Revenge was a dish best served cold. Or whatever that saying was. Avis really had absolute no idea, but now seemed like a good time for it.
She slipped her marked hand under the table and continued doodling on top of her already-drawn stars, pretending as if he was definetly not in the room.
"I think Mr. McCoire is long overdue for a detention, wouldn't you agree? Now then, ladies go first..."
Avis didn't really care whether or not "Mr. McCoire" got detention, but if the prefect got involved that sounded like it was going to become a whole big this
and those tended to end in detention for everyone. That was not what Avis wanted. If she got detention, she was going to earn the detention with her own mischeviousness, certainly not someone elses. Plus, anything Finn said, she would love to just do the very opposite.
She shook her head, turning her attention to Meiyu. Finn did not exist, unless he was on fire or on the ground. Especially if she got detention for this. Far be it from her to try to save her classmates hides, she was going to earn this. "Detention for what?" She tilted her head, challenging the words spoken by the air near the doorway, and flicking her fingers toward the whomever was using the stencil at the moment, willing them to hide it. "We're learning how to draw" She held up her page of eleven-year-old doodles, and shrugged. "I'm not very good at it." She grinned her most innocent grin, and her fingers dances across her leg, fidgetting.
Interacting: @Meiyu Xiang, @Finnegan Connor
Mentioning: @Colin McCoire
Avis Marlong | ”She won't cry or beg for help...she'll isolate from the world and fight her own demons so that nobody can throw it in her face later.” |
"The odds of hitting your target increase dramatically when you aim at it." Benji Marecos |
It's Totally Legitimate!
OOC Note: I know you've likely already got your fake permission slip, but feel free to use this RP to describe how your character obtained it!
"Tch, I'll show you what a lionette really is," the first year Gryffindor said defiantly. Colin let out a quiet laugh. About time! he thought. She she stepped forward, grabbed a piece of parchment and the stencil. It just took a little encouragement, Colin reckoned, but these first years were finally getting it! Honestly, you'd think they were a bunch of Muggles! And it wasn't like the stencil was even inherently magical. Just venerable and ancient. A piece of card stock that had well served generations of young Hogwarts students in their pursuit of Hogsmeade excellence!
"Right! No mere kitten here!" He looked into Phoenix's eyes, as if gauging some inner quality. "We'll see if ye're brave enough to use it lass!"
As she finished up, another kid walked in to the ballroom. It was amazing how easy it was to attract curious danger noodles with a simple little announcement! She stepped up to the table and asked about the tutoring. Colin smirked. "Of course ye're not too late, lassie! We're learning all about Hogsmeade and how awesomé it is! I mean, honestly! The Hogs Head! Dervish and Banges! Zonkos! It's such a wonderful place! Aaaaand ..." --- Colin looked around to make sure no spies were around --- "more importantly, we're learning all about how to actually get into Hogsmeade!"
Just a fraction of a second after Colin spoke, he heard the door open again! His eyes quickly flicked over to check out the new arrival. His eyes narrowed. An air of --- authority --- wafted in with this one and Colin made sure to tidy up the parchments on the table, slipping the stencil under the super long list of school rules!
"What do YOU think you're doing?" the girl accused. Aw crap, Colin thought, his heart skipping a beat! His keen eyes caught the glint of a shiny and proudly worn Prefect's badge! "Don't you have OWLs next year? And you're worried about corrupting kids? Makes sense, given your obsession with acting like a dog during official matches." Xiang. Prefect Xiang. Colin would rather have faced Koko and Ruby together. Or even Pei... This one gave Colin bad vibes --- she smelled off. Her overly cute style of dress reminded him of a certain historical figure. He knew, by instinct almost, as well as by family memory, that this kind Prefect would require very special handling indeed!
"Pfft!" Colin raised his wand to the ballroom wall again and tapped it. "Scripto," he muttered. The sound of chalk skritching across the wall could be heard. "For your information, I've already done my studying for the day, Prefect Xiang! That's why I thought I'd help out some of your fellow first years! See?" Colin nodded towards the chalk as it skittered across the wall. The list of School Rules was writing itself out on the wall! "I thought it would be a grand idea to review school rules," Colin said earnestly. "You never know when one of the Professors might ask about, oh say, sneaking into Hogsmeade, because that is clearly against the rules, right class?"
Colin gave the Prefect a totally winning and innocent smile!
He tried his very best not to fling a gout of water or an incendio duo after the little git. For he realised that this girl that now held the power of a Prefect was the same who had actually set him on fire during the ball! Her baggy muggle trousers and diminutive size made her look like an innocent ickly danger noodle --- but Colin knew better. He narrowed his eyes as she turned away from the study group. His smile turned into a snarl.
He realised that the other first years had no idea what he was. He shook his head like a dog. "Reset, Colin," he whispered. Quietly, he said: "Well. Now that that bit of Umbridgeosity has graced us with her presence and left in a huff, I think we can conclude our lesson for the day!" He heard another voice out in the corridor as Xiang made her overly dramatic exit. A boy's voice. One well known to him. "ConnER," he said under his breath. Colin sniffed derisively. He shoved his parchments and stuff back into his satchel. He made sure to carefully tuck away the stencil.
He gave a knowing wink to all the first years who had participated. In a slightly raised voice, sure to carry out into the corridor where Prefect Dolores Xiang was sure to still be lurking around with that lackey of hers, Finn Connor: "Excellent work today, everyone! You know all the Rules and how not to actually break them!"
Once that was done, he heard one of the kids actually challenge the Prefect. Colin groaned. Marlong! Of course, it would have to be the Ravenclaw! "Detention for what? We're learning how to draw." Not horrible, in the end. Hadn't he himself drawn a very nice picture with all the school rules when Prefect Salwis had given him a totally unjustifiable detention a couple years back? He rolled his eyes. Could have been much worse!
Colin cleared the chalk off the wall and headed for the door. Something had to be done about Finn Connor. There they were in the corridor just outside the ballroom. He wasn't sure if Prefect Xiang was listening to his babble or not, but Finn was clearly trying to get Colin into trouble. He narrowed his eyes as Greebo nudged his legs.
"What are you on about, ConnER?" he called from the archway. "Are you actually trying to get one of your own Prefects into trouble? Ye're such a schemer, Finn! It might have escaped yer notice, but Prefect Xiang came in, discovered that we were studying the School Rules and determined that studying the school rules is not actually against any school rule! And here you are threatening a Prefect with your Head of House. Oo, are you sure that's how you want to play this, Finn?" Colin asked in the sincerest manner he could.
OOC Note: @Phoenix Zhang | @Avis Marlong | @Nova Astron: thank you guys for participating! Looks like we successfully evaded a detention! Colin's leaving the ballroom to deal with @Finnegan Connor as he tries to get Prefect @Meiyu Xiang into trouble!
Keep your mind in hell; and don't despair.
Cursa McCoire
Rigel McCoire
It's Totally Legitimate!
If dealing with one imbecile disguised as a male mutt was infuriating enough, stumbling upon another man would be enough set the young girl off. Of course the second reincarnation of Macbeth, Finnegan, decided to chime in on her duties following her spectacular exit. An exit of grace, given she had not issued detention, most notably to the scheming howling creature spewing poison to her peers — who clearly had a hive mind and refused to think for themselves. Naturally, Meiyu would have assumed that Finn's disappearance from the common room had been a blessing written by God himself. Unfortunately, his return had meant that not only had he unfortunately survived whatever mental illness he had, but he was still here and not dead, much to her demise.
As he began his monologue she cared little for, her expression remained unfaltering, almost glaring at the boy who stood merely few inches taller than her; following the small growth spurt she'd finally been graced with. "Gosh, with how much vermin you spew, you'd think you belong in the dungeons with the rats that rummage the castle." She huffed, instinctively rolling her eyes at the metaphors of the dog within the ballroom, clearly lacking some form of self realisation as to Meiyu, Finn too, was also a dog. "Did honour not exist when you were thrashing around like you had rabies in the common room? Or did your trip to St. Mungos make you forget that you are also unliked?" Meiyu piqued, raising her brow at the boy and taking a moment to observe the creature who stood before her; unattractive, annoying, a waste of space.
Fortunately, despite her distaste following the lack of evidence she had found upon stumbling into the ballroom, the sudden crowd forming around her had grown, to her displeasure. Not one person would have served sufficient enough to serve as her own lap dog, unfortunately the actual dog with an odd stench appeared, along with a familiar face who was insistent they were doing nothing wrong.
Over time, Meiyu grew to oddly adore Avis, given their first interaction with each other at the start of year. Yet, overtime, the girl had transformed into something peculiar enough the lioness couldn't pinpoint. Her failure to succeed in their duel gave her the edge over the girl, even though she did target the girl, who actively dodged like the unequipped Ravenclaw she was. "Do you think I'd fall for that?" She scowled back at Avis, refusing to falter at the horrid insinuation that people would gather to draw as though they had succumb to a time-reverse spell, forcing them to cosplay 5 year-olds. "One look at your hair is enough to tell me you don't have a singular artistic bone in your body, besides, do you really have nothing better to do than fall for such an obvious scheme? You're asking to get caught and that surely isn't thrilling." Meiyu added once more, ignoring both Finn's presence and the urge to set him aflame once more.
In no time at all, the situation only grew infuriating once the broom-racer arrived, eager to play coy and bicker with Finn as though they were lovers. Such conversations she cared little for, huffing notably to herself as he attempted to suck up to her, earning a scowl his way in response. Engaging in this much conversation grew tiring for the usually reserved girl, her head beginning to pang with all the voices, how she wished they'd brawl it out already, that would spice the afternoon up, or better yet, she'd jump in. The mere thought had forced her lips to slightly curve up in that creepy smile she had developed; given her lack of typical expression, it surely was odd should anyone notice. But, as she weighed out the situation, she could take them all. She'd dealt with Finn before, Avis was a master dodger and the mutt? What would he do? Bark?
"Why don't you fight it out? Winner will be spared from my wrath for the day."
TDLR: Not falling for the propaganda, encouraging a battle between the two trolls.
It's Totally Legitimate!
F I N N E G A NxC O N N O R
omnes magni homines primum fuerunt pueri
gryffindor, third-year
─────────✫
He looked to Xiang, then to McCoire, then back to Xiang, and a slight frown began to deepen on his face.
It was quite difficult to decide who was worse. Exhibit A: a very short girl on a very high horse. Exhibit B, staying with the theme of animals: a lecherous mutt devoid of fashion sense, and that was just their looks! One whiff of their wretched little souls would make you wish you'd sniffed a basket of rotten eggs instead. In the end, though, in this particular moment at this particular time, he judged Colin the lesser of the two evils. Incompetence was part of that equation, and so was cowardice. He could have said many nasty things about Ms Xiang, but she was not a coward. When last Colin had challenged him to a duel, the wolf had turned out to be a chicken. Lots of hot, stale air, that one.
Ms Xiang, in contrast, had exceeded expectations, and he'd have been lying if he said he wasn't a little bit proud of her. Proud in the same way a deeply annoyed older sibling can't help but smirk slightly at their younger counterpart. However, it had to be said that McCoire had Xiang beat when it came to pure volume with his needlessly loud whooping and his mating calls for Claire. Admittedly, he hadn't heard the tell-tale CLAAAAIIIIIREEEEE!!! in a long while. What had happened to her? Had she choked on McCoire's tongue? Given Colin's enthusiasm for kissing anything with a pulse, he imagined that snogging the girl he seemed to have some genuine affection for would be like a pair of leeches fighting over a piece of meat. Imagine dying and the last thing you see is him...
"Or did your trip to St. Mungo’s make you forget that you are also unliked?"
His thoughts took a sharp turn at that. Whatever shred of respect he had for Xiang's sheer gall was fast being replaced by disdain. How rich, to talk about honour only to deliver a blow below the belt like that. Yet Xiang wasn't without grace. She had magnanimously afforded him some time to steam while she spewed vitriol at Avis Marlong.
"I'm not very good at it."
“Better than him,” Finnegan deadpanned while he vaguely motioned toward Colin.
Marlong was squarely in neutral territory, not someone he enjoyed being around due to their past experiences, but she was light years removed from McCoire and Xiang. He had half a mind to make some kind of reassuring comment, something along the lines of: don't worry, Marlong, it's that time of the month for Xiang. But he mercifully stopped himself from delivering that zinger. Not only was he utterly clueless about what his insinuation actually entailed, he was sharp enough to know that it would most likely rally Marlong against him, and he already had his hands full with just McCoire and Xiang.
"Oo, are you sure that's how you want to play this, Finn?"
God, he hated that. Not just the voice or the tone with which it was delivered, but the fact that Colin Fucking McCoire had just made a good point. No, he was not at all sure that this was how he wanted to "play it", not at all. But hell would have to freeze over before he'd ever let Colin in on that little secret.
Jarvis, what are my options here? Finnegan thought.
The obvious one was to huff and turn around, unimpressed, avoiding the brewing trouble before it could boil over. But that was as good as admitting defeat. Option B then: violence. Maybe Xiang would finally shut up if the back of her head hit that wall a few feet down the corridor. Not some lame, doveish Flipendo bullshit, nor that Ventus weaksauce Avery the Ferret had once tried to pull on him. No, a proper blast with proper force so some of her brain juices would come dripping out of her skull. It would be satisfying, but only for a moment. One of the innumerable turs in his immediate vicinity would inevitably go running to a Professor, while Finn would saunter to his dormitory to pack his things in preparation for suspension, if not expulsion. It really looked like option C was his only viable choice.
He rolled his shoulders back and pretend-yawned, as if nothing that had transpired interested him at all.
"Why don't you fight it out? Winner will be spared from my wrath for the day."
“That’d be a shame. You’re pretty hot when you get angry.”
Who was he calling lecherous again? Oh right, McCoire. He still existed too. “If Ms Xiang says it's alright, then I suppose it's alright.” That was about as far as he was willing to retreat.
“Anyway, Xiang, do you want to come with me to Harper’s wedding? All the terrible people will be there. You’d fit right in.”
What Xiang might take to be a lame insult was however complicated by the smirk that crept over Finnegan’s face. Not the all-too-pleased-with-himself kind, but the kind that friends might share at some obscure joke only they understood. It would be quite hard to tell, for Ms Xiang, if she was being insulted or if this was a very aggressive way of flirting, like Finnegan was trying to show Colin The Barbarian how it was done.
Veni, vidi, vici 23/05/2025 The Ballroom
Moving this thread on as agreed per owl.
@Colin McCoire @Avis Marlong @Meiyu Xiang
This episode of impromptu flirting is brought to you thanks to @Solomon Lear who suggested Meiyu would be the perfect date for Finn at the Harper wedding. Given that wedding's murderous energy, she might be on to something.
So please, Meiyu?
"He's a dweeby chocolate bar lip smacking nerd" - Evelynn Decipio
It's Totally Legitimate!
Ooh. McCoire was good. In the moment that the Meiyu had entered, he had managed to both whisk away any evidence of wrongdoing while creating an entire cover story full of mostly truth. They had been learning rules, and the best lies always centered around a bit of truth.
Not that Meiyu was going to fall for that for a minute. Good, but not good enough. No numbskull would believe that students were gathering in order to study the rules, except maybe the King of Numbskulls himself, who had finally decided to grace Hogwarts with his presence yet again, after apparently deciding the school was too good for him for months on end.
Avis followed the tension into the hallway, ensuring that her wand hand was always close enough to incendio while being as not-suspicious as possible.
"Do you think I'd fall for that?" Avis just shrugged and grinned. She had no comeback to that, as while she had been hoping the Meiyu would be another bubblehead, it unfortunatly wasn't meant to be. Apparently not everyone in the school was an idiot. "Apologies. When you interact with imbeciles, I tend to assume you are one." She pointedly did not look at the imbecile in question.
"One look at your hair is enough to tell me you don't have a singular artistic bone in your body, besides, do you really have nothing better to do than fall for such an obvious scheme? You're asking to get caught and that surely isn't thrilling." Avis visibly faltered for a second, before regaining her glare and crossing her arms. She had thought that her streak looked cool. Alaina and she had spent hours picking out the color, the shade, the place. Was it really that bad? "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't realize that you breaking into the party had been planned" Her words gushed over, syrupy sarcasm that left a bitter taste in her mouth.
Subconsciously, she tucked a large strand of her hair behind her ear, hiding her streak, though it bunched up behind her ear and made it stick out in a way that was almost certainly worse than it had been before.
"Why don't you fight it out? Winner will be spared from my wrath for the day."
That was an absolutely wonderful idea. Especially if it turned into a 2 v 1. Avis wanted to drop Finn, but she wasn't naive enough to assume she could do it on her own. She was going to need McCoire's help with this one.
And it all was going so well, the baking soda was being dumped so fully into the volcano, until it wasn't. Finn, the coward he was, decided to do a full one-eighty, practically apologizing to McCoire before falling over the prefect in the most aggressive form of flirting Avis had ever seen. It was true then that it was a fine line between love and hate.
Avis raised her eyebrows, and her gaze followed the question to the Meiyu. There was certainly a right answer to this question, and Avis was thoroughly hoping that answer was followed by some sort of violence to truly illustrate the point.
@Finnegan Connor, @Meiyu Xiang, @Colin McCoire
Not that Meiyu was going to fall for that for a minute. Good, but not good enough. No numbskull would believe that students were gathering in order to study the rules, except maybe the King of Numbskulls himself, who had finally decided to grace Hogwarts with his presence yet again, after apparently deciding the school was too good for him for months on end.
Avis followed the tension into the hallway, ensuring that her wand hand was always close enough to incendio while being as not-suspicious as possible.
"Do you think I'd fall for that?" Avis just shrugged and grinned. She had no comeback to that, as while she had been hoping the Meiyu would be another bubblehead, it unfortunatly wasn't meant to be. Apparently not everyone in the school was an idiot. "Apologies. When you interact with imbeciles, I tend to assume you are one." She pointedly did not look at the imbecile in question.
"One look at your hair is enough to tell me you don't have a singular artistic bone in your body, besides, do you really have nothing better to do than fall for such an obvious scheme? You're asking to get caught and that surely isn't thrilling." Avis visibly faltered for a second, before regaining her glare and crossing her arms. She had thought that her streak looked cool. Alaina and she had spent hours picking out the color, the shade, the place. Was it really that bad? "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't realize that you breaking into the party had been planned" Her words gushed over, syrupy sarcasm that left a bitter taste in her mouth.
Subconsciously, she tucked a large strand of her hair behind her ear, hiding her streak, though it bunched up behind her ear and made it stick out in a way that was almost certainly worse than it had been before.
"Why don't you fight it out? Winner will be spared from my wrath for the day."
That was an absolutely wonderful idea. Especially if it turned into a 2 v 1. Avis wanted to drop Finn, but she wasn't naive enough to assume she could do it on her own. She was going to need McCoire's help with this one.
And it all was going so well, the baking soda was being dumped so fully into the volcano, until it wasn't. Finn, the coward he was, decided to do a full one-eighty, practically apologizing to McCoire before falling over the prefect in the most aggressive form of flirting Avis had ever seen. It was true then that it was a fine line between love and hate.
Avis raised her eyebrows, and her gaze followed the question to the Meiyu. There was certainly a right answer to this question, and Avis was thoroughly hoping that answer was followed by some sort of violence to truly illustrate the point.
@Finnegan Connor, @Meiyu Xiang, @Colin McCoire
Avis Marlong | ”She won't cry or beg for help...she'll isolate from the world and fight her own demons so that nobody can throw it in her face later.” |
"The odds of hitting your target increase dramatically when you aim at it." Benji Marecos |
It's Totally Legitimate!
Rising to such a position of power was something Meiyu could bask in glory with. She had immediately assumed that such power would enable those lower than her to fall to her feet, worshiping the ground she walked on in utter fear of her presence — though, she had managed such without a title. Avis, for once, had grown a backbone. The months which had now entwined with one another like a seamless transition into each season or moon phase, had caused a noticeable shift in the young girl; similarly, with Meiyu also. As the girl rebuked with the most shit response known to man, Meiyu merely diverted her gaze away from the girl. Previously doubting on the girl had made her weak to her, feeling sorry for the incident they had once found themselves in at the start of the year, ironically meeting once more on the piste and now, here. Frankly, she didn't care for the opinions of others, nor their opinions of her, fortunately, Avis had partially been spared from verbatim, her focus moving to the boys, eagerly awaiting a fist fight.
Immediately met with glances between the boys, the failure to pounce on one another had only served as a sheer waste of time. Without a doubt, she had quickly grown bored with the lack of stimulation in the current situation she had found herself in, rolling her eyes in dissatisfaction. Though, quickly, she was thrown off guard with the horrid flirtatious attempt by her childish housemate. If her sorting into the wretched house wasn't enough to prompt a self suicide, it was the sheer humiliation by being treated as a prey in the wild by Finnegan of all creatures. Besides, he was no sixth year snake whom her infatuations laid with, merely a pesky creature akin to a common household rat. Insulting at the very best.
Unfortunately for Meiyu, her typical stoic expression could not conceal the utter horror, her face morphing into a look of horror, disgust and irritation which would only grow by the minute. His question laced with a weak insult had partially piqued her intrigue, providing somehow a new idea to take root in her mind. "Couldn't find anyone else to take so you had to ask the girl who insulted you? Poor thing." Meiyu scoffed, scowling as she diverted her gaze onto Avis, who appeared more amused than desired at the entire ordeal.
Momentarily basking in silence to contemplate the invitation, she questioned what she could gain from it. It wasn't like she searched for social interactions nor did she bask in engaging with others, though, the wedding would likely take place during the summer, which would provide the young girl with an excuse to slip away for the night. Anything would serve fruitful compared to the terrors that portrayed itself as evenings of chess with her maternal family prior to their upcoming annual trip to Seoul, thus forcing the young girl to entertain the idea. "You know what, fine. I'll go, but no funny business." Meiyu commented, her tone dipping lower in defeat with an exhale following in defeat.
Finnegan was no prince charming, nor was the mutt loitering in the corridors influencing her peers — yet, the sheer opportunity window provided for a night of escapism would benefit her and that was all she cared for. A deal for a deal. Though, she'd never elaborate to the troll what he had bartered for. Growing bored with the conversation and lack of fists thrown, Meiyu turned on her heel to finally depart, craning her neck for the final time with her gaze fixated on Finnegan, "I trust you'll seek correspondence for any trivial details I should be aware of."
NOTE: Meiyu finally leaves.
@Finnegan Connor, Meiyu begrudgingly accepts.