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[practcritus]

edelwxiss·:

Effie didn’t have a class to teach until 11 am so she decided to just walk through campus, taking in everything. New school year, old and fresh students running around trying to find their classes, the sounds of the city surrounding them…everything was great. She absolutely loved being here on campus and she loved the energy of it all. Getting to teach was probably the best thing to ever happen to her and she wouldn’t trade it for a second, which is why the first day was always her favorite. Everything was so encapsulating and that’s probably why she wasn’t paying attention when someone slammed right into her.  “Oh! No it’s okay, hon. Really.” Effie said and looked down at her shirt. Her favorite first day shirt all covered in coffee but it wasn’t a big difference from her clay caked shirts either. “It’s really okay. Are you okay? You seem like you’re in a rush? Are you lost?”

avani was mortified. not only had she spilled coffee on someone in her rush to get to class, but she’d spilled coffee on a member of staff. although she didn’t immediately recognise the woman, the telltale lanyard and the severe lack of doorstop-thick textbooks (not to mention the lack of panic on her own face) would have given her away. avani wasn’t good with people in the first place. she was doubly not good with figures of authority, and triple not good when... well, she was kinda hot.

“not lost,” she squeaked, pulling herself up and disposing of the remnants of her cup. she really needed to get a reusable one at some point. ethical, green, all that shit. yeah, she needed to do that. later. “overslept. first class. i, are you sure you’re okay?” at least it hadn’t been a boiling hot drink, she supposed, otherwise she’d have scarred a member of staff. was that a kickable offence? could she be expelled?

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aineoloch·:

@practcritus· - gabe

Finn had come a long way from the person he used to be and that led him to honestly being more sociable and trying to have as many friends as he could. One of those friends was Gabe. They were the most unlikely pair and they became friends in the most unlikely way but they were there and it was too late to go back now. He was meeting him in the cafeteria today and he honestly loved these little lunches they had, especially since they had the semester break apart. “Gabriel!” He yelled out the minute he saw him and sat down. “Lad, it’s been forever! How was yer break?”

gabe had not come a long way from the person he used to be. if anything, he’d become more antisocial as the years had gone by, and for good reason too. people just couldn’t be trusted. yet, somehow, a rather irritating irishman had gotten under his skin at some point, had adopted him like some stray puppy and now gabe couldn’t get rid of the little fucker. he cringed as he heard the oh so familiar voice call out his name, raising a fist to punch the utter shit in the arm as he sat down. “thought i told you not to fucking call me gabriel,” he hissed, but further antagonism seemed lacking. truth be told, gabe had long given up on trying to push this particular glutton for punishment away. it was too much work. “break was shit. work was shit.” he finally looked up at finn, eyebrow raised in exasperation. “get your story over with so i can go back to pretending to ignore you.”

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allyxuwannado·:

“Wow, Gabriel. If you talk to your cousin that way I can’t imagine how you talk to anyone else.” Izzie said mockingly, coming to sit next to him. She stole the cigarette out of his hands, lit it up and took a drag before handing it back. She had been watching him in amusement, trying to light that damn lighter before deciding to come over. “I just saw you and thought that you could use some familial bonding time but if I was wrong, please feel free to correct me and I’ll willingly leave.” Izzie said with a small smile, nudging him a little. “But seriously, what’s got you in such a sour mood?”

it took a moment or two for gabe to realise that it wasn’t, in fact, some random stranger, but his cousin laughing at him from a distance, and he felt a faint sense of shame for his reaction. izzie was one of the few people in his life that he gave a flying fuck about, but she was used to his temper tantrums and he just rolled his eyes as she stole his cigarette from him. “you want one of your own?” he asked as he took it back, taking a long, satisfying drag from it and exhaling slowly. he replied to her question as he dug around for the packet in one pocket. “late shift plus ruth having nightmares, and no one round this fucking campus knows how to keep their goddamn mouth shut,” gabe grumbled, finally finding the packet to offer to izzie. “not gonna tell you to beat it, but at least keep your voice down if you’re gonna stick around.” to anyone else, it would probably sound gruff, rude, but there was an edge of fondness to his tone that was reserved only for those closest to him.

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xscmebodyelse·:

at the beginning of the year it’s almost impossible to walk through campus without someone trying to get you to join their damn club. and laurie isn’t an extracurricular kind of person, even if it was something he’s interested in. board games? not even close to what he wants to do with his free time. so when he’s stopped by the other student, pushing a piece of paper towards him laurie frowns. his gaze shifts from the flyer up to the other male, eyes narrowing only slightly. “pass.” he replies bluntly, skipping the pleasantries in hopes of a shorter interaction. 

if harry was the sort to take immediate rejection to heart, he’d never have gotten as far as he had in life. that and he had a tendency to believe that everyone was just a friend waiting to happen, deep down. pleasing people was pretty much the only thing he considered himself good at, and this was a challenge, right here. harry withdrew the flyer from the other man’s immediate vicinity but grinned back at him anyway. “hey, no worries. don’t suppose you know anyone else who might be into it?” he asked, smoothing the flyer back onto the pile in his hand as he spoke.

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she was late she was late she was LATE. avani couldn’t believe it. it was the first day of class. it was the first fucking class and she was already running five minutes late, and the fact she was quoting mulan to herself in her head was a problem in and of itself. of course, between ensuring she didn’t drop her laptop or her bag, balancing her coffee, and trying to remember how the end of the dishonour quote went, she wasn’t paying much attention to where she was going. one step, two step- t h u m p.

“oh. oh, my-” fuck. that coffee had cost her eight bucks, and now it was little more than an unwanted accessory on some poor soul. “i am so sorry. i, that, are you- are you okay?”

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harry was determined that this year, the tabletop society was going to take off. they had a few regular players (fewer, now a few had graduated) and he’d taken over the reins of recruitment and organisation, which was why he was standing in the middle of the courtyard with a bunch of self-made flyers in his hands, still warm from printing. it wasn’t the most popular pastime, he knew, but he was certain he could turn on the charm and if he could just get a couple of new players, the year could run smoothly. two or three games running, people organised based on their circumstances... yeah. harry had this. he heard the footsteps before he saw the person and slapped on his friendliest smile. 

“hi there,” he greeted, turning, flyer held out for the person to take. 

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all gabe wanted was a quiet cigarette, but the campus wasn’t generally quiet at this time of day, and finding a corner to stand and smoke when every other person wanted to give you the evils for such a thing was next to impossible these days. he’d tried the whole vaping thing for about ten minutes, but it wasn’t the same to him - the feel of the cigarette between his fingers was half the comfort, as much as he hated it about himself. add to that his lighter wasn’t working, and gabe was starting to become pretty agitated. he could feel a pair of eyes on him and he scowled, not looking up as he tried his lighter again, to no avail. “you wanna take a fucking picture, or you wanna leave before i shove this down your throat?”

[practcritus]

Avani Shah - The Mouse

Gender: Female

Sexuality: Lesbian

Major: Computer Science

Age: 23

Year in School: Junior

“Marriage” Partner: The Thespian

Faceclaim: Naomi Scott

HISTORY

avani  was born and raised in new york, a bustling city far too big for the likes of her. even as a child, she was notoriously quiet, keeping mostly to herself and often engrossed in books, video games or anything that involved little interaction with other people. her parents were both estate agents and as such often busy with work, so avani was regularly left with her various cousins and other family members, until she was old enough to monitor her own activities. quite often her parents would work late into the night or come home and continue talking to their clients, so she got used to maintaining her more timid lifestyle, taking care of herself and generally staying out of their way. she never had many friends,  at least apart from those she made online, and she was okay with that. this was just how her world worked. the only time she made a real noise about something was for college - she knew where she wanted to go, and even then her parents didn’t really put up any kind of a fight for it. they merely agreed and off she went.

avani hoped that college would change her, but it hasn’t. she managed to snag a private room in her first year and was barely seen by anyone in her building, leading to a brief ghost story about a girl they weren’t certain was even there. it was only sheer chance that her next door neighbour caught her one night, finally putting an end to the ghost student. though she’s made very few friends in her time there, her next door neighbour has remained by her side since, and she really couldn’t ask for a better friend at all. only the next door neighbour has managed to get her to come out of her shell, and only in private; avani can be pretty loud when she’s comfortable, and it takes time to get her to that point.

she stumbled into coding when she was quite young, which lead to a variety of pastimes, including making some base level games and a little bit of hacking. she’s certainly no criminal mastermind, but it has led her to her current degree, with a hope to become involved in computer security in the future. she just wants to do something good with her life and remains hopeful that she can make a difference, even if she never quite makes it all the way out of her shell. she’s still in the closet to her parents and to most everyone; once again, only the next door neighbour knows her deepest, darkest secrets (namely, the fact she’s absolutely, utterly gay, and about her addiction to cherry cola).

CONNECTIONS

the next door neighbour - the only person the mouse has really befriended since she got to river valley and, in her mind at least, her very best friend. the next door neighbour might not feel the same way, but they certainly know everything there is to know about the mouse, for better or worse. although they don’t spend every minute of the day together, they can often be found hanging out with each other in the mouse’s current dorm room or in the library. the next door neighbour provides the mouse with a sense of calm and ease she’s never experienced before.

the brazen - the mouse isn’t entirely sure why her cousin decided to turn up at her college, because they weren’t close as children, or as teenagers, and they’re certainly not close right now. she always found him to be too brash, too loud, too arrogant; the brazen has an overly inflated sense of ego and the mouse hopes that the marriage component of their education will teach him about how to think of others. the brazen finds the mouse timid, too willing to give up, and has always tried to push her to be her best, even if it has come across as simply being mean. he really just wants to see her live for once, but he’s also not going to give up his own college experience just for his cowardly little cousin. he’s got too much else to do here.  

the partner - the mouse isn’t sure what to make of the whole marriage arrangement course situation. on the one hand, it’s far too close to what her maternal auntie keeps hinting at (an arranged marriage, and no thank you, auntie, she’s good without that) but on the other hand, she’s a little bit intrigued. she’s never dated anyone, except for a brief flirtation online that fizzled out before it even really began, and she’s hoping that at least this will give her the skills to maybe one day bag a girl she could settle down with. but it means socialising with someone new, and that’s really not her idea of a good time. the cons definitely outweigh the pros, and she hasn’t left the best first impression on her partner, either.

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Henry “Harry” Baird - The Chameleon

Gender: Male

Sexuality: Asexual Panromantic

Major: Developmental Psychology

Age: 23

Year in School: Senior

“Marriage” Partner: “The Bookworm”

Faceclaim: Chance Perdomo

HISTORY

born in sheffield, england, harry’s parents moved him to the states when he was fourteen as his father was promoted to a senior role in his company. harry found the whole move rather disruptive, but eventually he settled down in their new home in philadelphia, his talents at blending in and adapting to what people expected of him coming in rather handy for making new friends and integrating himself into this new place. a part of him always longed for home, but he never saw himself moving back, even after college. he was going to find his place here, no matter what. at least, if he could figure it out.

harry was diagnosed as autistic the year before they moved to america, which honestly was something of a relief to him. it explained things about him that he’d known were considered weird (like his extreme sensitivity to light and a severe reaction to certain textures), and helped him understand himself a little more. that being said, only a very few people have been made privy to the information. he’s found people tend to look at him differently when they find out. it’s partly why he’s so good at blending in with people; although he has some trouble with tone and expression, harry has generally found himself good at mimicking other people’s expressions and attitudes, at figuring out how they want him to react to situations, and that has allowed him to become something of a social butterfly. he’s never had a solid group of friends, but rather found himself filtering in and out. he’s the type to be friends with everyone and he enjoys it that way - harry has always been something of a people pleaser.

harry is a senior studying developmental psychology because he wants to help other kids in the same position as he was; those with atypical symptoms (not to mention the criminal under-diagnosis of non-white kids). he also just generally enjoys learning how people work. he kind of hopes it will help him figure out who he is, as well. harry has picked up interests because his friends liked them, or to help him fit in, and sometimes he wonders if he’s just spent his whole life pretending to be this odd chameleon, or if he really likes anything he actually does. ultimately, he’s just trying to figure out what it really is that he wants from life, and he might have to sacrifice a few friendships to figure out what that is. the whole marriage training thing is uncomfortable for him; in one sense, it’s helpful because while he’s fantastic in groups and with friends, he has no real idea how to maintain a relationship. on the other hand, he just doesn’t have time for this.

harry has a mild obsession with video games and roleplaying, and is a game master in the college’s d&d club. it’s one of the things he tries not to talk about in larger groups because he knows it’s not seen as particularly cool or interesting, but if someone expresses an interest in either, he is off and that person will be roped into playing with him. this is exactly how he’s collected members for his current pathfinder group.

CONNECTIONS

“The Social Butterfly” - They’re casual friends, only talk when they need someone to talk to but it works. She’s social enough for the both of them and he likes to listen. He’s probably the only one that knows about what’s going on with her and she knows things about him that he has never told anyone and honestly it just works. It works so well but they just don’t see each other enough. Hopefully that can change soon.

“The Bookworm” - They dated for a little bit in high school but decided they were better off as friends. It was both of their first times having a relationship and they’ve both admitted that they didn’t really know what they were doing. Honestly, their friendship is stronger because of it but neither of them can really see them going back to the other.

“The Crimson” - One envies this friend’s ability to be able to conform to whatever situation is going on and is trying to learn from him. One envies the ability to know who he is, even if he doesn’t like it. They’re both trying to feed off each other and it ends in a happy marriage rather than a toxic relationship. Honestly it’s nice to take a breather and just sit back and have someone you can relax with.

“The Shambolic” - Best friends. Even though The Chameleon adapts to a lot of different circumstances and doesn’t really know who he is and the Shambolic is a mess and doesn’t know who he is, they’re both kind of just navigating this world together and it’s working. They don’t know what they would do without each other and you never see one without the other.

[practcritus]

Gabriel “Gabe” Howard - The Dirtbag

Gender: Male

Sexuality: Bisexual

Major: Law

Age: 24

Year in School: Sophomore

“Marriage” Partner: “The Siren”

Faceclaim: Jeremy Allen White

HISTORY

gabe (never, ever call him gabriel) is the eldest of six kids and essentially the parent of the other five. his mother left them shortly after giving birth to the youngest, and the subsequent meltdown from his father meant gabe didn’t have a whole lot of choice in the matter. it was keep an eye on the kids or let them suffer. their father’s depression at his wife leaving spiralled him into a circle of alcohol misuse, gambling debt and various other vices that generally left him incapable of looking after kids, but gabe never bitched about it. he wasn’t stupid, he just had to get on with it. his siblings meant the world to him, and it was always them against most everyone else (with the exception of his cousin). TW WARNING: ABUSE. their father was a violent man (one of the reasons their mother abandoned them) and gabe took the brunt of it, sometimes deliberately antagonising the man if it looked like he was going to go after one of his younger siblings. where he wasn’t violent, he was always verbally and emotionally abusive, and it was gabe’s need for his father to love him and not blame him for his mother’s departure that ultimately led to him becoming as closed off as he is today. END TW.

gabe has been working multiple jobs to supplement what little of his father’s income is left to support his siblings, and the idea of going to college was a bit of a pipe dream. he’s racked up a frankly disturbing amount of debt to go to college to study law (which he doesn’t really want to do, but it pays well and he can support his siblings better, right?), and he’s still working two part time jobs while he’s studying. his real passion is art; he’s always been good with paper, pens and pencils, and the time to sit and study an object. about the only time he’s really happy is when he’s sketching, and although he loves it and could probably make a career out of painting or illustration, he just isn’t confident enough in the money. he can’t risk it. he’s too scared to allow himself that, so his passion is one of his most closely guarded secrets.

deep down, he’s actually a really caring and nice guy, but getting under those defenses is extremely difficult. he’s learned to be distrustful of most people and takes any kind of betrayal or deceit very personally, so he’s generally enough of an asshole to keep everyone else at bay and he accepts the loneliness that comes with it. does he want to find love and settle down with someone and hang out? yeah, but he doesn’t have time, and he’s far too cynical to believe it’ll happen. he’s also extremely scared of becoming like his father. he’s been smoking since he was about eleven, but he’s very averse to gambling, alcohol and drugs (doesn’t judge others, but he’s scared that he’ll get addicted to them). he’s still quite antagonistic with the people he is close to; sarcasm and cynicism are just defaults to him, but if he cares, he’ll be there for you through whatever is needed. he would quite literally kill for them.

his mother was deeply religious but he is not (what kind of god would put their children through this shit?). he’s a pretty decent cook and lives at home still, because he can’t leave his siblings there alone. you’ll often find him in the on campus coffee shop or the library, because people leave him the fuck alone there.

CONNECTIONS

“The Clueless” - Maybe it’s just in The Clueless’ nature, but he’s also really good friends with The Dirtbag. It’s almost the same as The Black Sheep where The Clueless sees the best in him and wants him to succeed. Vice versa, even if The Dirtbag won’t admit it. As much as the Dirtbag pushes The Clueless away, he just keeps coming back so he’s kind of accepted it at this point.

“The Minx” - These two are cousins and despite both of their difficult lives, having each other in them was a constant good thing. They grew up right around the corner from each other so they were always spending time together and no matter what was going on in their lives, they knew they could turn to each other. When it came to college it wasn’t even a question on if they would go together.

“The Siren” - He thinks it’s a sick joke, getting paired with her. The two couldn’t be more opposite and he hates everything she stands for. He knows he’s gotta stick with it because he has to graduate because he has to take care of his family but after seeing her name next to his, he almost was ready to drop out but he’s not going to let her ruin something he’s worked really hard for.

“The Addict” - Despite not letting anyone in, these two are pretty good friends. Whenever he needs to smoke or let off some steam, he knows the other is there for him. And vice versa. It’s almost bad though because neither one of them call each other out on the things they’re doing wrong and they both just let the other divulge in their guilty pleasures without consequences.

[practcritus]

[practcritus]

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