Felipe De Matteo
December 15, 2019 11:18 PM
Hey, so . . . what the heck? [tag Jeremy] by Felipe De Matteo
Felipe had managed to avoid Jeremy for several days after the Feast but his roommate's expression played in his head over and over again. He could imagine the way the Mordue's lips would sneer about Jessica's blood status. Maybe that's not what they were talking about. Maybe he wasn't supposed to care anyway. It's not like he and Jessica were talking now. It's not like he was allowed to care. And Jeremy was the sort of person that he was supposed to be good to. He was supposed to talk to Jeremy. That's just what he did.He hated Jeremy for it. He hated him for being exactly who Felipe was meant to be, and also none of the things he was meant to be. He hated him because he could hate him and hating himself hadn't been successful so far.
But avoiding Jeremy couldn't go on forever, and a burning desire to do something, anything - to act - was overwhelming his energy. He couldn't focus in classes at this point, so he might as well confront the source of it. He knew his parents would want him to be nice, so he was going to try. But if he wasn't nice . . . well, at least it was to Jeremy.
Felipe was sitting on his bed a few hours before curfew, waiting for Jeremy to come back. He was alone for now, so he just had to hope that Martin didn't come in first. Although maybe it wouldn't be so bad. He just wanted to talk, right? So let's talk.
He looked up when Jeremy walked in, and he really tried to smile. He did. His face just wasn't cooperating. So he looked at his roommate with a blank expression. Deadpan. Empty.
"Hey, I was just wondering what your problem is and why you're being such an absolute neanderthal recently?" he asked stiffly.
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Felipe De Matteo
Hey, so . . . what the heck? [tag Jeremy]
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Jeremy Mordue
December 16, 2019 3:53 AM
What? by Jeremy Mordue
Jeremy had well and truly won against the Mudblood. She had stalked off in a huff, as if depriving him of her company was supposed to upset him. If she was too offended to ever want to speak to him again then that would be mostly a welcome result. He would quite happily go another round if needed. Plus, if it was that easy to get a reaction from her it was going to be fun. Hopefully, she would think twice before strutting in like she owned the place though, or just.... whatever. It didn't really matter what she did as much as what she was.He had felt rather satisfied going into the new term. For someone who had had no power for the last year, watching his own life be turned upside down, it wasn't hard to see why that little taste of control had been cathartic (except for Jeremy himself, who had about as much self-awareness and tendency to examine his feelings as a pencil). There was also every chance he'd have been just as nasty regardless. He had come in with the mindset that other blood statuses were inferior, after all.
After a decentish couple of days in class, however, he returned to find Felipe sitting on his bed and just... staring. And then came the accusation. He hadn't bothered to monitor whether Jessica had talked to Felipe because he didn't care. If the other boy ended up wanting to duel him over the reputation of someone who didn't have one, it just showed how weird and low Felipe was - as if his friend choices hadn't already demonstrated that. He had no idea what Felipe knew about the incident, so he merely shrugged his shoulders.
"Based on what?" he asked.
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Jeremy Mordue
What?
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Felipe De Matteo
December 16, 2019 11:52 AM
What's your problem? by Felipe De Matteo
OOC - I think you can tell, but just a heads up that any accusations Felipe makes aren't meant to be godmoddg, just his own perspective.IC -
Felipe blinked, surprised by the utter lack of response on the part of the prince of image. He wasn't even going to debate that he had been a neanderthal? Just wanted to know what Felipe had seen that made him think that? Well, at least that let him off the hook for being a bit rude; if Jeremy also thought he was being a neanderthal, that made that bit easier. Except it made his behavior worse; hurting people by being ignorant was one thing but being a jerk and knowing about it was an entirely different one.
"Based on your whole attitude," Felipe snapped, not quite ready to bring out the Jessica card just yet. Or ever. He tried to remind himself that this wasn't about Jessica anyway; this was about a jerk needing to be told he was a jerk so he'd knock it off. "You walk around like you own the place, or like you matter, and you're giving Crotalus a bad name. We don't all have to be like you to be here, and think goodness we're not."
He stood up and crossed his arms, leaning on his bedpost in the closest to a casual stance he could manage. "I wanted to know if you had a problem, or if you just think it's okay to act like that." He wasn't sure which one he hoped it was. On one hand, if he had a problem, that was better for sake of his awful personality, but it did mean that Felipe would then be on the hook for helping him with whatever the problem was. On the other hand, his behavior was worse if he didn't have a problem and he thought it was okay to act like that, but then maybe Felipe could hex his stupid smirk off his face.
Felipe didn't usually get angry, and certainly not violent angry. What was wrong with him? Everything was so irritating anymore.
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Felipe De Matteo
What's your problem?
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Jeremy Mordue
December 19, 2019 2:48 AM
Right now, you are by Jeremy Mordue
Felipe had squat. That was clear from his pathetic, paper thin accusations. As if Jeremy wouldn’t have got it in the neck from Simon or Sylvia or Nathaniel if anyone thought poorly of him. Anyone who mattered, of course. Felipe seemed to be one of those strange Muggle loving sorts who felt everyone could benefit from a bit of fraternisation. And to think Jeremy had been… well, not ‘intimidated,’ he’d never been that… Nor ‘impressed.’ Just… well, when he’d started, he had… had just noticed that was all, that both his roommates were heirs and he wasn’t. It seemed like a silly thing to have worr- noticed now. Whatever Felipe was heir to, Jeremy would not have wanted it.“So you’re mad because I.. have good posture?” he asked raising his eyebrows, “A minute ago, you were accusing me of being some knuckle-dragger, so do make up your mind. You seem pretty good at making things up after all,” he pointed out. “I find it hard to believe that my cousins would stand for it if I was giving our house a bad name,” he stated, his voice faltering only slightly on the word ‘cousins.’ Mother was dead, and he had been adopted. That was a believable line and what they had gone with, so they were still his cousins, even if he lived with them now.
“So, I don’t believe anyone has a problem with me except you,” he accused, “And I wonder why that might be rearing its head all of a sudden?” he asked pointedly.
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Jeremy Mordue
Right now, you are
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Felipe De Matteo
December 19, 2019 7:24 PM
That must be just SOOO hard for you. by Felipe De Matteo
CW: Ableist slurs.Felipe laughed, a sharp short burst of humorless sound. "Do you need me to lay it out for you, Jeremy? I didn't think I needed to add 'moron' to the list of problems I have with you."
He hated how easy it was to be angry at this pompous, self-loving, idiotic jerk face. He hated that it was as natural for him as breathing. He hated that he thought he could probably apply as many of these things to himself as to his roommate.
Pushing himself to his feet so he wasn't looking up at the weasel, Felipe put his hands out innocently, his eyes wide. "To be perfectly clear, I think you are arrogant, rude, and stupid," he said sarcastically, as if he were talking to child. His voice turned into something more akin to a sneer as he continued. "I think the whole of Sonora is lucky you're in Crotalus because at least they don't have to deal with you. It's a shame for those of us who do though, really, because the old school racism is really getting tiring. I know you probably haven't looked away from a mirror enough to notice but you're not exactly a shining star of humanity yourself. Is that clear enough for you?"
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Felipe De Matteo
That must be just SOOO hard for you.
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Jeremy Mordue
December 20, 2019 5:49 PM
You're making it easier by Jeremy Mordue
"Crystal," Jeremy snarled, as Felipe laid into him and asked whether that was clear. "And funny that you think I'm an idiot and you're what... The prince of freaking diplomacy? You want to swan around playing ambassador and building bridges, or whatever the heck it is you think you're doing, but you don't know the basic idea of don't take a dump in your own doorstep?" he glared. Minding his Ps and Qs was a forced habit for Jeremy, and putting everything into the politest of terms wasn't something he was going to keep up for someone who was calling him names. "You want the gloves to come off, Felipe? Okay, they're off."What makes you think I give a goblin's toenail what you think of me? It's become abundantly clear that we have nothing in common. I was willing to just try to get by being civil to each other," he pointed out, really enjoying the fact that Felipe had sacrificed any claim to moral high ground by throwing the first slur, "but you want to trade insults? Fine, you're stuck up, you think you're some great humanitarian or whatever, but you're just a whimp and you are wholly freaking transparent. I wonder why it's now, of all times, that you seem determined to pick a fight with someone you have to live with. Anything to do with a temper tantruming redhead getting her panties in a twist? And you want to lay all that at my door for being a 'racist?' She referred to wands as weapons. She said the wizarding world has no culture. She has learned zero things about us in the time she's been here and shows no desire too. So, good luck if your new quest is defending her from everyone who she pisses off, or who she gets in a huff with because she seems like a high maintenance nightmare."
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Jeremy Mordue
You're making it easier
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Felipe De Matteo
December 20, 2019 8:12 PM
Glad to be of help to the needy. by Felipe De Matteo
Felipe almost grinned at Jeremy when he insulted him, because it was everything he already thought about himself. Felipe knew he was no stand-up example of the altruism that De Matteos stood for, and he knew he was judgmental. He already knew that, so it didn't hurt him. It wasn't even like hearing it confirmed out loud made it any worse, because he already knew it was true."Ah, I forgot that you all prefer to just act like you're better than everyone else and not actually confront it when someone's acting horribly. You're right, I should've just let you act like a jerk all the time. You wanted to be civil to me but not to anyone else? That's rich." It didn't seem totally healthy to want to laugh, but it was just so easy to be angry with Jeremy and it felt so good to lash out that he didn't care.
Except then it turned to a certain redhead and Felipe did not want to go there. This was not about Jessica. It wasn't. It wasn't.
He knew his face was getting red and he knew he was suddenly not feeling like laughing at all. He was feeling much worse. "Don't," Felipe said, his voice dropping dangerously. He knew 'panties in a twist' was just an idiom, but it was a disgusting one and Felipe did not appreciate Jeremy talking about Jessica's panties in any capacity, idiom or not. "Don't talk about her like that. Don't talk about her at all."
His chest was tight and he felt like he was going to snap. Except he had already snapped. What else was he to do?
She has learned zero things about us in the time she's been here. Us? Who was us? Was Felipe one of those people? Jessica was one of them.
His face was hot. The room seemed more red than usual. He didn't remember stepping towards Jeremy but then he was standing right in front of him. Arm's length away. Just close enough that--
He saw, rather than felt, his arm pull back and snap forward, his fist aimed at Jeremy's mouth.
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Felipe De Matteo
Glad to be of help to the needy.
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Jeremy Mordue
December 20, 2019 10:31 PM
Screw everything about you by Jeremy Mordue
"I'm civil to plenty of people," Jeremy glared. Merlin, if Felipe thought that Jeremy's behaviour so far constituted a lack of civility then boy, was he in for a shock. Jeremy spent his life putting in the effort to be as polite as he was expected to be to his equals, and if Felipe no longer wanted to count himself amongst those, then Jeremy was more than happy to pass on the effort required for him. It was also getting deeply frustrating arguing with someone who couldn't see reality. Felipe wanted to throw out that Jeremy was stupid or uncivil or any of the rest of it. Bull. Only in the world according to Felipe. Felipe and his club of people who didn't matter.It was deeply satisfying when his comments about Jessica hit right where they were meant to. So, Jeremy was forbidden from even speaking about her, was he? Nice to know how easily Felipe's buttons could be pushed. He was getting red and was clearly wound up. Jeremy smirked because it was just so satisfying to see Felipe floundering and uncomfortable in a situation that was purely of his own making.
"Like what? I didn't say anything nasty. Only what she said," he pointed out. He hadn't called her what she was, after all. "Can't handle that?" If that was the case, Felipe really wasn't going to like hearing what Jessica had said about Zara. He was opening his mouth to say as much when he found Felipe's fist ploughing into his face. He staggered back.
"What the hell?" he yelled, placing a hand to his mouth, although he could already feel the sticky wetness of blood on his lip. His mouth felt funny and, to his utter humiliation his eyes were watering, though he knew it was from pain and not because he was frigging crying or anything. His surprise lasted only a second though before it was replaced with white hot molten anger. Felipe wanted to snap and throw a temper tantrum, to say things that meant nothing to Jeremy - that was an irritation but every accusation had been so pathetic, so whatever. Like hell he was letting anyone get away with hitting him though. He dove for Felipe, fully intending to grab a fistful of clothing and give as good at he'd just got, and maybe then some.
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Jeremy Mordue
Screw everything about you
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Felipe De Matteo
December 21, 2019 12:03 AM
I really hate you a lot. by Felipe De Matteo
OOC - This post and the next one co-written with Jeremy's author.IC-
Felipe stared in shock for a moment. He had never hit someone. He didn’t hit people. That wasn’t appropriate. Shocked as he was, he couldn’t quite enjoy the look on Jeremy’s face. His anger returned, though, when Jeremy lunged for him. The blood on Jeremy’s face stood out stark red with him closer, but Felipe hardly noticed. He stumbled backward as Jeremy grabbed the front of his shirt, swearing in Spanish when he realized he was about to be punched back. His arms came up defensively, but mostly to grab the hand that was holding his shirt and pushing him backwards.
“Get off-!” Felipe began, returning to English, before a punch from Jeremy abruptly landed in his stomach, effectively cutting off that sentence as it knocked the wind out of him. Having found Felipe’s smug face unavailable, Jeremy was just aiming for whatever he could get at.
“What’s the matter?” Jeremy snarled, or at least words approximate to that through his fat lip, “Wanna give it out but can’t take it?”
Felipe scowled, no longer shocked. He did not appreciate being in pain, and he did not appreciate that Jeremy was still being a pompous jerk despite everything. “You punch like a girl,” he snapped, although Leonor could punch pretty hard; he was aiming for insulting, not accurate.
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Felipe De Matteo
I really hate you a lot.
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Jeremy Mordue
December 21, 2019 12:05 AM
The feeling is mutual by Jeremy Mordue
Bracing himself, Felipe launched forward, using momentum to help him slam his shoulder into Jeremy’s chest. Again, Jeremy was forced to stagger backwards, and added a painful spot where they had collided to his list of injuries. It wasn’t like he wasn’t used to taking a few hits though. Felipe hurt a lot less than a Bludger.“Been hit by them often enough to know, have you?” Jeremy retorted, rallying and recovering, because after all, he’d been taught to do just that, time and time again, and then taking another swing at Felipe’s face.
Felipe didn’t bother replying because replying required air and breathing was hard and it was more important to not get punched again than it was to say something snippy back. He also didn’t want to stoop to Jeremy’s level, although he understood that might be a bit late coming.
Prepared this time for Jeremy’s attack, Felipe jumped backwards, out of the way of Jeremy’s swinging fist and -- into his own trunk. He tripped backwards over it, landing on the other side with his legs up over the top. That was something that, at the best of times, lacked subtlety. It created something of a crash. And, between that and all the shouting, it was no surprise that, before Jeremy could retaliate, the door to their room flew open.
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Jeremy Mordue
The feeling is mutual
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