* STAYIN' / 𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐕𝐄 !

open starter ; @gallagherstart·

THE WATER DRIPS into the glass, melting the coarse cube on its way, softening the verdigris as hazel eyes stay trained on the liquid rising. “ it’s a little unconventional at nine in the morning, but you’re welcome to one if you like, ” georgina offers to the person lingering in the shared kitchen of the common room. a small smile is present on red lips as she tilts her head up to look at them, an intrigued quirk to her brow as she inquires, “ you do know what this is, right ? ”

open starter; @gallagherstart·

– “ALRIGHT, THEN,” irene folds her arms over her chest. she signed up to help stop terrorism; NOT to babysit, but it seems that the two activities come together. you could say that it’s been a long time since she’s looked after children – so, she eyes the trashed hallway with contempt. she knows students are angry, but this isn’t the best way to get answers by any means. trash cans have been knocked over, it’s entirely a mess. “ any idea what happened here ? ” 

          ‘  RIGHT !?   i  feel  like  we  all  know  each  other  ,   but  haven’t  bonded  with  each  other  .   besides  bugging  each  other’s  office  like  me  .  ’    she  chuckles  .   rosamie  is  kinda  known   (  and  loved  )   by  all  .    ‘  me  too  .   i  wanted  to  drink  SO BAD  .   but  i  bet  they  wouldn’t  have  been  able  to  keep  up  with  us  ,  ’   the  brunette  adds  in  with  a  wink  .  

         it was a rhetorical more than anything, the question about his drinking preferences. the blonde doesn’t know much about drinks other than she goes for top shelf liquor and truly all red wine tastes the same, but she buys what she’s told is best in taste. so it is complete LUCK when a grenache blend stands out in the few bottles she’s brought from her own collection at home. a lick of her lips and a cork pop later, charly’s helping herself to a seat beside samuel in his bed and handing over her bottle. “cocktails are too much WORK, so you’ll have to make do.”

Cora took a moment to eyes him up and down, her cool blue gaze taking in everything about the man in front of her. “And here I was thinking that you did for for the love of teaching and all the perks that came with it, such as summers off,” she replied, her rare sarcasm dripping through her accent. As rare as it was, she did now how to crack a joke every now and then. “Of course I find being back at Gallagher enjoyable” She could do well without the murders though. “And I’m sure being here is far more pleasant than if you were to be back at your own alma mater.”

             eyes  flash  up  to  him  ,   smiling  in  those  doe  eyes  just  as  well  :   she  loved  people  she  could  get  on  with  so  well  .     ‘  well  ,   we’re  friends  now  ,   samuel !  i  can’t  offer  to  party  up  with  students  -  but  maybe  we  can  get  together  to  do  something  with  the  other alum ?  a  night  out  could  be  fun !  ’    she  grins  ,   leans  her  chin  against  the  palms  of  her  hands  .    ‘  boring  .   what  happened  to  depth ?  thank  god  jake  has  me  AND  gallagher  .   brawls  are  so  1960′s  greasers  .  ’  

         wild   accusations   were   discussed   but   delilah   was   doing   BETTER   and   it   felt   like   it   was   in   her   best   interest   to   drop   it   .   there   was   a   slight   GUILT   that   followed   it   ,   but   it   wasn’t   guilt   that   led   charly   to   samuel   again   and   again   .   she   wasn’t   one   to   feel   KINSHIP   or   anything   of   the   sort   but   maybe   being   in   close   proximities   with   him   had   made   her   soft   .   she’s   speaking   to   him   in   their   room   now   and   she   doesn’t   even   look   up   from   her   phone   when   she   asks   it   ,   just   continues   to   scroll   and   asks   nonchalantly   ,    “   i   don’t   know   how   i   don’t   know   this   ,   but   what   is   your   drink   of   choice   ?   ”

starter for @garreaus​

          a few years ago…

          finn and sam arrived at the rather, extravagant manor for the party they invited themselves into. their names were jacques and benjamin aubert for the night and they were supposed to take back a painting that was stolen from a local art museum ( like young, married, french couples do ).  their target was a married man named clifford haynes who was notorious for cheating on his wife ( poor claudia doesn’t know a thing ) and is now, apparently, secretly moonlighting as an art thief. after looking at the man’s type… finn can see why sam asked him for help. the man was into younger, submissive and handsome men and finn fit like glove ( he was by no means submissive, but he sure can act like one ).

          along with the slur of fashionable guests, the duo enter the mansion. they’re holding hands with their fingers interlocked as finn scans the area, looking for their target in the guise of looking for people to brag about his riches to. his eyes land on a distinct blue tux. ah, there he is. finn grabs two champagne flutes from the waiter who passed by, handing the other to sam. his eyes lock intimately with his fake husband’s as he clinks their glasses. after taking a drink he leans in closer to sam’s ear as if he’s whispering something to him.    “ i found our guy. the man in the blue tux on your eight, right? “    he smiles playfully, now no longer leaning into sam.

               an   impressed   whistle   passes   between   samuel’s   lips   as   he   gazes   around   the   grand   foryer—as   if   he   hasn’t   memorized   the   blueprints   of   the   mansion—and   subtly   squeezes   his   partner’s   hand.   it’s   funny   how   certain   motifs   of   his   life   make   their   presence   known.   art   thieves   have   been   prevalent   throughout   his   whole   life;   from   the   group   of   infamous   bandits   in   the   70s   that   brought   his   parents   together   to   thieves   recruiting   HIM   to   steal   a   piece   of   art   from   an   incognizant   collector   (   as   if   he   didn’t   keep   the   art   for   himself   in   the   end   ).   

               this   time,   samuel   has   been   assigned   to   return   a   painting   to   its   rightful   owner.   targets   usually   are   NO   MATCH   for   his   swift   infiltration   expertise;   however,   a   painting   on   a   large   canvas   is   not   as   EFFORTLESS   to   extract   from   a   location   compared   to   downloaded   confidential   files   on   flash   drives   or   smaller   belongings.   it’s   not   like   samuel   couldn’t   do   this   on   his   own   —   it   will   be   much   easier   with   a   partner   who   can   distract   his   target,   so   why   not   invite   a   good   friend   to   help   out   ?   

she’s  fucking  tired .      it’s  like  this  list  sent  her  back  ten  years  and  she  hasn’t  changed  at  all .      like  she’s  still  the  grief - worn  twenty - something  year  old  girl  consumed  to  the  point  of  obsession  in  solving  her  mother’s  death .      no  number  of  facts  and  claims  from  her  father  that  it  was  ‘ just  an  accident ’  could  pull  her  from  her  spiraling  thoughts,   and  she’s  freaking  alice  down  the  cordova  rabbit  hole .      (  into  a  wonderland  that  would  eat  her  alive  if  she  let  it .  )      she  hates  that  this  is  the  legacy  her  uncle  left,   but  god,   does  it  does  help  paint  the  picture  that  her  mother  had  been  so  close  to  seeing .      alisa  just  can’t  decide  if  she’s  ready  to  see  it .

her  phone  blinks  23:31  when  her  restlessness  wins  out .      maybe  she  was  tired  of  being  on  her  own .      or  maybe  she  just  didn’t  want  to  drink  alone .      dealer’s  choice  on  that  one .      her  footsteps  bring  her  down  the  inexplicably  quiet  corridor  until  she  reaches  601,   knocking  twice .      when  the  door  swings  open,   alisa  raises  the  wine  bottle  in  her  hand  in  a  wave,   the  apparition  of  a  smile  flickering  across  her  features .      “   it  may  not  be  from  france,   but  it  comes  with  my  outstanding  company .      you  busy ?   ”

@garreaus·

                while   samuel   did   not   have   any   family   members   on   the   RUMORED   list   sent   out   to   the   students—he   SWEARS   he’s   the   first   and   LAST   garreau   to   ever   be   the   slightest   bit   of   associated   with   blackthrone—he   did   recognize   a   few   surnames   that   belong   to   his   mentees   and   fellow   mentors.   although,   he   had   been   enrolled   in   his   last   year   at   blackthorne   when   that   blip   of   brotherhood   activity   had   appeared   on   the   radar.  

Did he feel like it was one of his missions in life to counter her and irritate her? Even when he had been employed by her, Samuel had been able to find some way to debate with every order she had given him. Then she had been in a position to shut it down but unfortunately here at Gallagher they were on equal ground. “I find it to be a duty,” she answered as she snapped the folder shut. “We are here because we have a responsibility to prepare the next generation and I don’t take that responsibility lightly.”

          ‘  doesn’t  surprise  me  ,   some  of  you  boys  can  really  be  quite  nasty  .  ’    she  would  know  ,   rosamie  had  attracted  all  sorts  of  boys  (  and  girls  )  during  her  youth  -  but  the  blackthorne  ones  always  did  have  a  more  pretentious  air  about  them  .   rosamie  laughs  ,   head  tilting  back  as  she  does  so  ,   curls  bounding  just  so  .    ‘  my  best  friend  and  i  ,   alisa  -  who’s  here  with  us  now  !  -  ,   used  to  sneak  out  all  the  time  .   we’d  stay  on  campus  ,   of  course  ,   but  i  can  proudly  say  we  always  knew  where  to  find  the  party  .  ’    the  size  of  their  campus  had  multiple  perks  ,   it  seemed  .  

things had been tense at gallagher following recent events, and micah thought he’d been dealing with it well - or, at least, better than some. he did, however, have a naturally suspicious nature. so, after forty minutes, when he decided he could almost DEFINITELY hear whispering coming though the vents of the quiet classroom (or were the walls just super thin? it was hard to tell), he made the snap decision to investigate. 

he was standing unsteadily on a plastic chair, hovering on his tiptoes when he managed to pry the metal grate away from the opening. the cover sprung from the wall with surprising force, hitting micah’s brow first, and then bouncing from the chair and hitting the ground with a resounding crash. 

it clearly caused enough of a commotion to alert whoever was passing in the corridor, because the classroom door was opening almost quicker than micah could jump down from the chair, trying to look less guilty than he felt.  “oh, hi… nothing to see here–” he pressed his fingertips to his forehead, spotting a small amount of blood. “ah, CRAP.”  @gallagherstart​

She had only been gone for a minute, okay maybe three at most, to run to the bathroom. When Carmen had left the lab, it had been empty with only her and her robot arm for company, just as she liked it. But now upon return she saw that a curious someone had come in and was getting dangerously close to touching, and most likely ruining, her hard work. “¡Detener! Don’t touch that!” she exclaimed. “If you touch that I will kill you.” It was an empty threat, even with the screwdriver that she held in her hands, as while Carmen was capable of great things she wasn’t capable of killing anyone; well maybe if they touched her robot she would. 

@gallagherstart·

                    damien knew the other liked to stretch conversation , but at least it was a nice distraction.  the two were a nice , sharp contrast that damien didn’t seem to mind.  maybe the man was rubbing off on him , but he’d never admit it if he was honest.  he just wasn’t used to adults being — nice , his idea of adults was very distinct and samuel seemed to throw everything he knew outside the window.  no longer did the assassin need to be the brood , the unavailable , the introvert — samuel seemed to be the opposite and it opened his eyes to a different life.  fingers began to tap on the chair’s arm rests as the other seemed to be taking a little too long to speak.  he was slightly stunned that the other remembered , even when damien didn’t.  he even forgot it had happened , he didn’t tell many people – it wasn’t really important to him if he was being honest.  that last question has a smirk popping into his lips slightly , “ nothing much really.  i took a day off , at least that’s what it felt like.  spent it with my sister. “

       it’s  nice  that  she  still  has  the  ability  to  be  a  people  person  in  a  school  setting  ,   rosamie  knows  that  without  the  right  guidance ?  a  setting  like  gallagher  could  drive  someone  mad  .   it  seems  she’s  lucked  out  both  times  .     ‘  rumor  had  it  ,   when  i  went  to  gallagher  ,   you  boys  were  always  somehow  better  than  us  .   i  can  guarantee  you  that  at  least  90%  of  our  motivation  was  making  sure  that  if  we  ever  met  up  ,   we  could  hold  our  own  .  ’    she  knows  now  ,   of  course  ,   that  their  training  had  simply  been  different  .    ‘  makes  sense  .   i  suppose  we  should’ve  suspected  the  politics  of  the  school  was  as  dark  as  some  of  it’s  graduates  .  ’    she’s  met  some  in  her  time  .  

You’re no fun. It wasn’t the first time that Cora had been accused of such a thing and it wouldn’t be the last. But all her life she had found herself in a position where she had been held to a higher stander than most of her peers or colleagues, to be the leader and the example. It left little time for fun in her daily routine. “We’re not in this job for the fun of it,” she reminded him as she took the folder. Cora carefully flipped through it to make sure that he had actually given her the correct one and thankfully everything seemed in to be in order. 

                   samuel knew too much , both blackthorne instructors — those of his majors knew too much and at the same time nothing at all.  damien made it a point to steer clear but samuel kept calling in him.  it was annoying almost , a nuisance the way the man seemed to light up whenever he and mara entered his class.  he noticed how in tune they were and while any other student would have appreciated that damien found it tiresome.  he notices the way the other regards him , but he frankly doesn’t understand why.  most people tend to steer clear — they’re scared , or whatever.  he’s surprised he managed to befriend one of the kindest wp kids , but its not like he would admit that out loud.  “ if i’m not in trouble — “ he shifted in his seat as if preparing to leave.  “ then why am i here ? “ he paused.  “ and don’t say to bond — i won’t bond. “