"..My friend group just adopted you in without consulting me so obviously I'm a little confused and I feel like I should hate you but your personality is actually really nice and when I look at you you're really attractive and also I can't get you off my mind for some reason.. and it's really pissing me off."
Me? Starting another OxO? Who'd a thunk it? Pheasant Brook takes place in late 1920s/early '30s UK- specifically the English countryside. As the name suggests, boys in the top of their class (and income bracket) come in from all over the world to attend this school. Students follow the classical school format: a heavy focus on liberal arts and the humanities, as well as a focus on students learning how to think and make rational decisions for themselves.
Rules–
- Cursing is great. Feel free. Go hog wild. Say whatever the hell you want, this is the wild west here. If you cross a line, I'll let you know.
- Don't make your characters super mega-crazy wicked smart or OP. It's boring.
- I mean… I think it goes without saying, given the starter and the background, but this is going to be a gay relationship
(gasp!). I'm not budging on this.
- This could get dark, so just know that.
- In terms of response length.. the basic parameters are essentially this: no one-liners, but no gargantuan essay-length responses either. Please try to stay grammatically correct in descriptions or actions. This doesn't apply to dialogue.
- I reserve the right to say no, but so do you. If you're not comfortable, vocalize it. Don't just let the RP go dead.
Characters-
I'm going to be using a character I already had on hand, and will thus just be providing his link to the already filled out profile. If you have a character you want to use, use him. Otherwise, I don't have a basic template on hand. Let me know if you can't find or create one yourself. Characters must be male (or male-identifying).
(Yeah! I'm gonna get the link to my boy in here & maybe work out the beginning, but I might go to bed soon, it's pretty late here)
(Yeah I understand that, I’m at work anyways. I’ll respond when I can 🙂)
(He's great! I can already see some things that Claude would first notice!)
(I don't know whether to be scared or not haha)
(…Both. When do you want me to kick us off?)
(Also, what pronouns should I be using for Kalen?)
(He's okay with the he/him pronouns. He's not really one who is fussed. And uhm, yeah, would you be able to start it, since you have a better idea of how you want this to go?)
Wilhelm had clapped a hand around Kalen's shoulder, steering him into the common room.
"Alright, man. I'm gonna introduce you to Claude- he's the one everyone else says you gotta meet. I think you two'll kick it off pretty well, eh?"
He walked Kalen in, waving to the tall boy curled up in front of the fireplace.
"Ah, Dutch! Get up, old boy, I have someone for you to meet!" Wilhelm barked, letting go of Kalen and walking off. "I'll let you two talk."
(Should clarifiy– Wilhelm is another member of the friend group, you'll meet the others soon enough!)
Kalen gripped the cuff of his blazer sleeve as he was steered into the common room. He had only met the guy—Wilhelm, was it?—not too long ago, and now he was being forced to meet someone else?
The bloke in front of the fireplace didn't look like he wanted to be disturbed, at least that was what Kalen though. No doubt this Claude fellow was a nice person, but Kalen would be the judge of that.
He took a deep breath, waiting for Claude to approach him first.
Claude stood. He was tall, towering over Kalen. as he walked over, he tied his hair back and put his hands in his pockets, only pulling one out to offer a handshake to him.
"What's your name?" His tone was hard to decipher at this point, he hadn't said a lot. He sounded agitated.
Kalen's eyes widened upwards as Claude stood before him. He was a giant compared to himself!
The shorter boy wasn't oblivious to the other's body language, and something in the way he composed himself told Kalen that he wasn't at all happy with this encounter.
He calmly stretched out his own hand and shook Claude's. "Kalen, Kalen Riviera. Pleasure to meet you."
"Claude Van Buren." He looked Kalen up and down, inspecting every little detail about him.
"So. You've hit it off with Sallow, eh?" He was referring to Wilhelm, without thinking if Kalen even knew his last name or not. "He's a good man."
Sallow? Was Claude referring to Wilhelm? While under Claude's inspecting glare it was difficult to process his words.
What if he noticed the discoloration of Kalen's left eye? That wasn't exactly something he wanted to be judged on straight away—or at all for that matter.
"Uh.. Yeah, he is. Wilhelm I mean, yeah, he's nice." A slight rose bled up to Kalen's cheeks when he realised he had just whittered. Play it off, don't acknowledge it and nothing will be said. Hopefully.
"So.. you're going to be hanging around, huh? I guess you're new." Claude didn't mention the rambling, although he definitely noticed it. He didn't care if Kalen was new or not, he was new to him and that was enough.
"Just interested in why they didn't let me know first, but that's neither here nor there." Claude snorted, shaking his head.
Karen looked a little doubtful when Claude mentioned him 'hanging around'. "I wouldn't want to intrude on your group."
Though what confused Kalen was why were Claude's friends obligated to inform him of something as unnecessary as his arrival. He kept hsi mouth shut, it was most definitely not his place to question someone he had only just met.
"Alright, well. You've got two choices here, and I won't force you either way." Claude could feel his words crossing the line, although he definitely make an effort to stop himself. He was letting his tone grow more biting.
Claude was hurt by this, to be sure- he trusted his friends enough to tell him if somebody else would be hanging out with them more. The shock was distressing, to say the least. His friends were his rock- his family.
"I think I'll refrain from joining." Kalen replied, noting the harshness that was creeping into Claude's voice.
It wouldn't be fair on Claude if he were to just suddenly find a way into his friendship circle—especially since Claude didn't seem too pleased with the idea of it.
