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Current Location:Cumbria, UK
Subject:Coote, Ritchie
Time:10:48 pm
Current Mood:accomplished
Games: All's Well That Ends Well

RICHARD Jackson Coote














FULL NAME -- Richard Jackson Coote

NICKNAME -- Ritchie

GENDER -- Male

BIRTHDAY/AGE -- June 23rd 1984, 26

BLOOD STATUS -- Muggleborn

SEXUAL ORIENTATION -- Bi-curious. He doesn't like blokes enough to make him bisexual, but he's done 'stuff' (his words) with guys in the past.

APPEARANCE -- Ritchie was one of those boys who never seemed to go through the puppy fat stage, despite the fact he looks seriously young for his age. His naturally blonde hair is always artfully styled, and he was always the vainest member of the team by far. He shrugs off such accusations, however - it works for him, so why be annoyed? Combining said fashionable hairdo with his blonde eyes and innocent looking face - though he has one hell of a cheeky grin - means he makes hearts flutter among young girls everywhere (and amongst a fair few of the older ones, too. Ritchie absolutely loves this).

WAND -- Walnut, 10.5 inches, unicorn tail hair core

CURRENT RESIDENCE -- With his wife, Rose Zeller, in one of the larger properties in Diagon's Circle.

OCCUPATION -- Currently one of the presenters of the WWN's "Manspeaking" programme, as well as writing an editorial column based on the show for the Sunday Prophet. Contrary to the opinion of some, he writes this himself. During the Quidditch season, he acts as a part-time referee as a way of staying in touch with the game he loves.

FORMER HOUSE/YEARS -- Gryffindor, 1995-2002

SCHOOL ACTIVITIES -- Beater on the Gryffindor Quidditch team from his second year (the 1996-7 season), becoming captain at the start of his fourth year, following the graduation of Ginny Weasley that summer.

PETS, IF ANY -- None of his own. He thinks animals are all right, but he's secretly a bit OCD when it comes to cleaning up after them.
personality
DETERMINED Ritchie had his goals all the way through Hogwarts, and focused everything on achieving his goal - a starting place on a professional Quidditch team after leaving school. His academics slid as a result, but he didn't really care - Muggleborn he might be, but he fell in love with the sport instantly. His wife often jokes about being a Quidditch widow, even after Ritchie's early retirement from the game.
FIERCE He isn't a former Falcon for nothing. He might have looked a little bit on the short and weedy side, bit Ritchie was nothing if not fierce when he played, and got down and dirty along with the best of them.
OPINIONATED Like the most vocal of Gryffindors, when Ritchie has a strong opinion on something, he will NOT back down from it and will argue it for as long as is humanly possible. He isn't shy about voicing his opinion either, which is handy, given his second career.
BITTER Don't get him started on the subject of the end of his playing career. Seriously. Still capable of a good rant on the matter, he's been timed at an hour and forty minutes - and that's just the current record.
OLD-FASHIONED This works both ways. In slightly negative connotations, Ritchie might use less flattering terms such as 'birds', but having been brought up by a single mother and having four sisters, he has a healthy respect for women and will still stand up when one enters the room. If you're looking for a bloke who will kiss hands and pull chairs out for you, Ritchie is your guy.
LIKES -- Southern weather, Muggle beer, the Falmouth Falcons, sex, junk food.
DISLIKES -- Cold weather, Firewhisky, the Holyhead Harpies (seven women working in cahoots against him? No thank you), rabid feminists, salad.
GOALS -- Although he secretly wishes to get back into the game somehow, another part of him realises that this is an unrealistic ambition. Therefore, he simply wants to make as much money as he can through as little effort as possible. Doesn't everybody?
FEARS -- That Rose will think he's a total loser for being unable to get back into Quidditch, and leave him.
WHAT THEY ARE BEST AT -- Sticking to his principles. He's a total Gryffindor when it comes to that.
WHAT THEY ARE WORST AT -- Just bloody letting it go.
YOUR CHARACTER'S MOTTO, OR A QUOTE THAT YOU FEEL REPRESENTS THEM WELL --
“Integrity is telling myself the truth. And honesty is telling the truth to other people.” - Spencer Johnson

Most people's first impressions of Richie are based on his celebrity persona - a bold, forthright and yes, rather handsome young man from Essex with the personality of an Essex boy to boot. Ritchie himself says that this is entirely accurate, although he wouldn't describe this as an 'admission' - because, in his words, "what's wrong with it?"

As a family member, he is the centre of attention, being the only boy in a family with eight kids in total. He revels in that as he revels in the attention he gets for his career. Despite having the occasional on-air rant about growing up surrounded by women, he loves his sisters dearly and would hex the living daylights out of any man stupid enough to hurt one of them (or woman, in the case of his eldest stepsister).

As a friend, he's the one that would stay up all night with you to help you finish an assignment, feeding you with caffeine and encouraging you to skip one of your more boring classes the next day to finish. It's no wonder he didn't make Prefect, really...

As a boyfriend, he's one of those that would act hard to get as though he didn't care - though now he's married, he would be completely lost without "the missus" who is a stronger woman than she looks. He's the sort of man who needs a woman like her to keep him propped up through his spells of bitterness and weakness.


















First House: Gryffindors born under the sign of Cancer will root for the home team until their throats are raw. They are deeply loyal to their House (and also to any friends outside of their House, although these may take a back seat to Gryffindor loyalties). Make a friend with a Gryffindor Cancer, and you've made a friend for life. Cancer is a sentimental, yet high achieving sign that dreams often, and dreams big; this combined with the Gryffindor romantic streak creates a quixotic, almost anachronistically chivalrous temperament.










Secondary House: Potions, potions, and more potions. Any Slytherin born under a water sign will excel at potions, and the Cancer Slytherin is no exception. The leadership ability and the lofty dreams of Cancer will also be emphasized; as will loyalty (directed for the most part to one's House). Slytherins born under the sign of Cancer will be more hard-shelled and less sentimental than other Cancers, but don't be fooled by their bossy, efficient exteriors. On the inside they are soft and needy, and they learn from a young age to hide this well. Slytherins born under water signs have another thing in common with each other: keen insight into what makes other people tick. These Slytherins are good at manipulating other people's emotions, and good as well at quickly learning the hidden stories behind the otherwise inexplicable actions of acquaintances. They never forget a cut or a kindness, so it is best to stay on their good side unless you want an obsessive, vindictive enemy.
appearance
Portrayed By: Tim Paine
Nationality: British (English)
Ethnicity: Caucasian
Height: 5'10
Build: Skinny
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Blond
relationships
MOTHER -- Carrie-Ann Smithson (née Jones, formerly Coote), 46. A muggle woman who worked as a cleaning lady after leaving school at 15 and became a team-manager of an agency about 15 years later. She retired, leaving her second husband to the running of the business, when Richie left school.

FATHER -- Nicholas Frederick Coote, 47. A muggle footballer who played in the minor leagues and achieved moderate success, though he left the family while Ritchie was still in primary school. He is now the part-owner of a hotel in Brighton and may or may not be engaged to 'some bird he met in the hotel bar'.

SIBLINGS? Oh boy. Where do we start?
Nicola Janine Coote, 27, formerly of Slytherin. Although the eldest of the siblings by less than a year - Ritchie arrived in May 1984, just ten months after Nicola's birth in July 1983, a childhood illness meant that Nicola did not start primary school with her peers. Her parents held her back to start the following year, at Ritchie's side. Being siblings in the same year group meant that many mistook them for twins, something Nicola and Ritchie both went to great lengths to correct. They have never been quite sure as to why Nicola's Hogwarts letter did not arrive until her brother's did, as their eleventh birthdays were different, but just put it down to one of those quirks of magic. Ironically, given that Ritchie is close to his sister, it is due in part to their relationship that Ritchie is so bitter towards his father, believing the ten month gap between him and Nicola means he was an unwanted accident. Nicola is now one of the Weekend managers at the WWN, taking the 8pm-8am shift.

Rachel Rebecca Coote, 25, formerly of Ravenclaw. Rachel's arrival in June 1985 continued the tradition of births close together within the Coote family. Much to his father's (hidden) chagrin, Rachel also turned out to be a witch, making it into Ravenclaw just narrowly, it being a close call between Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff. She graduated in 2003, a year after her siblings, and is now one of the Ministry of Magic's barristers in training. Given her sweet and gentle nature, this is probably the least likely career choice anyone in the family has ever made, and as such, Rachel is known as "the clever one" of the family.

Nadine Julia Coote and Jessica Catherine Coote, both 23, formerly of Hufflepuff. Identical twins born in 1987, the girls have the odd distinction of having separate birthdays in separate months. Nadine was born at a minute before midnight on July 31st, and Jessica a minute after midnight on August 1st. They stuck together like glue all the way through school, playing as many twin-related pranks as they could. Post-Hogwarts was the first time they had ever been separated when they chose different careers - Nadine is a design trainee at Twilfitt and Tatting's, where she works in the shop for a few shifts a week, and Jessica is the Morning Welcome Witch at St Mungo's.

SPOUSE? Rose Zeller, a Hufflepuff from his year at Hogwarts.

OTHERS OF IMPORTANCE? His best friend - Jimmy Peakes - a dorm-mate and fellow beater on the Gryffindor Quidditch team. They met on the train on their first day and have been best friends ever since.

His stepfather and stepsisters. His mother remarried in 2002, not long after Ritchie's graduation from Hogwarts. He gave his mother away, his grandparents having died when he was still small. He gets on much better with his stepfather then he ever did with his biological father, and John Smithson took on the role of "Father of the Groom" at Ritchie's own wedding. He is exactly ten years older than his wife, and despite the fact that they hadn't married until after Ritchie had completed his Hogwarts education, Ritchie considered the man his stepfather from when John began dating his mother back in 1995. The main reason Ritchie respects John so much is that he didn't flake and run away on finding out that the Coote children had magical abilities, as their real father had done. John has three daughters from his first marriage - Cassie, Elizabeth and Cora, aged 28, 24 and 20 respectively. Ritchie isn't as close with them as his natural sisters, but he thinks they're decent enough. He's grateful for this - the girls moved in with the Cootes after their father moved in with Carrie-Ann, and living with seven girls would have been a nightmare if they weren't nicer people!























history
Richard Jackson Coote was born in May 1984 to Carrie-Ann and Nicholas Coote in the town of Braintree, Essex. Having arrived as something of a surprise some ten months after the birth of their first child, Nicola, Ritchie always felt that he was the accident, the afterthought. He never took this out on his mother, however, choosing to direct this feeling at his father when he eventually left the family home.

Carrie-Ann and Nicholas never had a particularly easy life. When they met, Carrie-Ann was a 17 year old hospital cleaning lady and Nicholas was a young, minor league football player on a Youth Training Scheme. He was visiting his sick grandmother and got lost, ending up in the ward where Carrie-Ann was mopping the floor. He never did get to see his grandmother that day, showing a lack of responsibility that re-appeared several times over the years. The young couple dated without any talk of the future until Carrie-Ann became pregnant with Nicola a year later. They wed when the little girl was four months old, and announced her second pregnancy at the wedding reception - a shock from which certain family members never recovered.

The pressure of having subsequent children at such a young age - when the twins were born, Mr and Mrs Coote were still only 24 and 23 respectively - became too great and most of the children's early memories consisted of their parents fighting. They eventually split in 1993, not long after Ritchie's 9th birthday. Upon reflection, Ritchie thinks it's a miracle that they even lasted this long. The Cootes saw their father maybe once or twice a year after that, following his "buggering off to Brighton", which in their eyes was enough. He was never a particularly good father, and did not attend Ritchie's wedding. The girls have always said that they will be glad to change their names when they one day get married as they don't want to be reminded of Nicholas more often than they have to be.

Due to some bizarre quirk of magic, he and Nicola both received their Hogwarts letters on the same day - Ritchie's 11th birthday. They presumed that this was because they would both be attending school in the same year, and as they were not twins it would be fairer if the letters waited for the younger of the two to turn 11, though this suspicion was never confirmed. As Muggleborns, both siblings were very shocked by the news, but once it had sunk in they couldn't have been more excited. It was a little odd for them to be separated by the Sorting Hat, however, and even more so to be greeted by Dolores Umbridge's very strange speech, but they got over it very quickly. As first years who did not know the previous regime, there were not hurt as badly by the changes. Their very first (and in Nicola's case, only) detention was enough to make them both behave for a while, and now they have grown up their matching scars (reading "I will not talk to my sister/brother in Defence class") are something of a badge of honour.

Having quickly fallen in love with Quidditch during his first year of school (he had been very jealous of Kirke and Sloper when they were picked to replace the Weasley twins that year), he made it onto the team in his second year, Harry Potter's first as captain. Despite being quite a skinny young thing (or 'weedy', as the older team members had called him), he aimed well and quickly began to develop this as his main selling point as a player. By the end of the year, Gryffindor's opponents (and indeed his team-mates, during practices) found it very difficult to dodge his bludgers without doing an inadvertent Sloth-Grip-Roll.

As a Muggleborn, his third year coincided with the re-emergence of Voldemort as a political force and so he was not able to return to school. The three eldest Coote siblings had to make a quick decision over the summer as to what to do to protect themselves and their family, and fled to their step-father's family holiday home in Tenerife, where he owned a bar. They did their best not to worry too much about what was happening at home and treated it as something of a gap year, enrolling in a Muggle high school in October 1997. Through a conversation overheard in the corner of the bar, they met a couple of wizards from Barcelona with business contacts in London, who were able to keep them up to date with news from wizarding Britain. Ritchie spent most of his time worrying about his friends he'd left behind, such as Jimmy, and did not do too well in his academics that year, aside from picking up a little Spanish.

The Catalan wizards brought word to them in May 1998 of a final battle that was being fought in the grounds of Hogwarts school. Ritchie would have gone back if he'd been able to, but of course, there was little time. The Cootes' new friends brought a wireless to their home and translated news as it came in through one of the Spanish networks. There was one hell of a party when the news came that Voldemort was dead, and the almost-14-year-old Ritchie woke up the next day with his very first hangover.

Juan and Miguel escorted the family back to Britain within a week, and the children were able to arrange the future of their education under the Ministry's new rules. None of the older siblings wanted to re-do their third year, opting instead to go straight to the fourth year and attempt to catch up with extra study over the holidays. This worked out most well for Rachel, a bright Ravenclaw, though for Ritchie it was touch and go for a while, as he had also been chosen as Quidditch captain that year. After a strict talking to from McGonagall at some point around Christmas, he agreed to pull his socks up and just about made it through to his fifth year and the OWLs that lay ahead.

He got decent grades in his exams, although not particularly great - but as Ritchie said, his mind was never particularly academic and he had always been more of a sporty type (something he gets from his father, as much as he would hate to say so). His greatest ambition was to join a professional team, which he did over the summer following his graduation from Hogwarts. He tried out for the Magpies, Kestrals and Bats before being successful with the Falcons. The team took a chance on the skinny kid with big potential, and Ritchie was so grateful that he worked extra hard from then on so as not to let them down - although this didn't mean that he didn't like a party, either.

He spent his first year on the subs' bench, taking any chance he got to show what he could do. Already he was beginning to attract attention from two sides - from the press, who were also beginning to notice his on-pitch talents, and from the fans, who were noticing his talents... um, his talents for things other than Quidditch. Ritchie readily admits to enjoying the female attention and having his fun with some groupies - what young, single man wouldn't? - though what he would never admit to is snogging (and in some cases, a little more than snogging) a few fit young blokes as well. On the quiet, you understand. He would never, ever date a bloke when there were so many hot girls on the Quidditch scene whom he could enjoy without being too controversial.

In the later days of his career - he enjoyed three seasons as a starting Beater following that year on the sidelines - he often reflected that it was a good thing that he'd enjoyed the game whilst he could... for it was during a game against bitter rivals the [[?]] in 2007 that it all came to a sudden, and rather sticky end. Having whacked one Bludger towards the [[?]] Seeker, the other ball - later adjudged to be faulty following a League investigation - veered from its course towards the Falmouth Keeper towards Ritchie in his position at the other side of the pitch. It happened too quickly for him too see it coming and was knocked off his broom at a height of 100ft - and were it not for the quick thinking of one of the other players, he would have gone crashing to an almost certain death. Said player managed to send an Impediment Jinx at him which slowed his fall slightly, just enough to assist one of his team-mates in catching him just before he hit the hard ground. As grateful as he is for still being alive, Ritchie has always felt awkward since in this person's presence as they are a reminder of the reason why he is unable to play Quidditch anymore - the hit taken by the bludger in addition to his leg being knocked against the ground as he was caught means that despite the best medical treatment money could buy, he was never as good as once he had been.

Up until the final year of his playing career, Ritchie had never had a serious girlfriend, preferring instead to sow his wild oats and enjoy the company of groupies while he was still young and unattached. However, at a post-game party in late 2006 he met Rose Zeller... or should we say, met her again. They had been in the same year at Hogwarts - she a Hufflepuff to his Gryffindor - but never really seen much of each other outside of classes. Now that they'd both grown up a bit, however, he wondered what on earth he'd been missing all these years... because she was gorgeous. He asked her out then and there (before any of those pesky team-mates of his could get to her), and married in the Autumn of 2010. He had been always worried that she would leave him once the realisation of his career predicament set in, but surprising everyone, she stayed at his bedside as she recovered and the couple began to properly fall in love - not that he would say anything as soppy to anyone ever, mind you. The newlyweds are currently subject to pregnancy rumours, and as a young "it" couple their everyday to-ing and fro-ing is subject to analytical detail in the gossip rags - though the publications who published pictures of his wedding and other significant events make sure that their stories are complimentary, not wishing to kill off the goose that lays the golden eggs.

Now that the Quidditch season is about to come to an end, Ritchie is beginning to focus more on his media work, such as his Manspeaking show on the WWN and related column in the Sunday Prophet. One of his more widely-talked-about points of view was his declaration that converting to your partner's religion was "a stupid basis for a marriage. My missus comes from a Jewish family, and I wasn't going to do the conversion lessons just to get hitched... If you genuinely believe in that stuff, fair enough, but I think if you're doing it just to shut up the future in-laws then you're being a proper hypocrite, really." Female listeners in particular were split between agreeing with him and appreciating 'hearing an honest point of view from a man, for once' and saying that he has 'no sense of the romance of it all'. He is generally known as the more sensible yet straight-talking man in the pair of hosts, although he is secretly a little weirded out by the network's latest wheeze - adding a gay man to the presenting team.
connections and plot
Existing Connections: Flint, Marcus - the former team-mate at the Falmouth Falcons. To Ritchie, Marcus was a sort of hero, and he will be more than a little bit gutted when the legendary Chaser has to retire.

Sought Connections: Peakes, Jimmy - his best friend. They'll have met on the train on their first day at Hogwarts and been BFFs ever since.
Zeller, Rose - his wife. They wed fairly recently in a showbiz, glossy-magazine ceremony and the current gossip-fodder is whether or not she's pregnant (something that it would be cool to have happen but is something to be negotiated with the player). She'd have some sort of career that keeps her in the public eye too, most likely, although this is again negotiable. :)
Boys! - Boys with whom Ritchie could have shared the odd kiss (or a little more) whilst he was exploring his bi-curious side before he settled down with Rose.
Girls! - Fangirls or not, with whom Ritchie could have enjoyed the fun of the single lifestyle to be had as a young, upcoming Quidditch player ;)
The heroes - the opposition player and the team-mate who saved Ritchie's life on the pitch on that fateful day in 2007.
samples
FIRST PERSON SAMPLE

Private to: Self
Oh. My. God. If that Ackerley woman starts on about Manspeaking again, I'm sending her Bubotuber pus in the post... does she ever shut up? Hasn't it occurred to her that on their programme they do the exact same thing about men as they accuse us of doing about women? It's a bit of harmless fun! If she doesn't like it, she doesn't have to listen to it. If you make it your job to go around finding things to be offended by, don't be so bloody shocked when, gasp, you find something you think is offensive! Naff off and concentrate on your own bloody programme!!!
End

Private to: Rose
I need a drink, love. I'm meeting Jimmy in The Scorpion for a pint after work - evening in tomorrow?
End

Private to: Marcus
You ever get that feeling where sometimes you just don't bloody understand women? Rose started blubbing the other day because she thought people were using the pregnancy rumours to try and say she was fat. Telling her she wasn't fat didn't seem to work. What the hell else do you say???
End

I am not in a position to confirm or deny whether the rumours of a charity calendar featuring present and former male Quidditch players is going to happen, as I know nothing about it. So I'd appreciate it if people stopped asking me about it as if I was the one behind it all! Ta.


THIRD PERSON SAMPLE

Ritchie rubbed his temple and sighed quietly to himself as the other host continued his rant. According to the clock in the corner of the studio, his colleague was now at five and a half minutes - on the subject of none other than Tiffany Ackerley - and he showed no signs of stopping yet. The producer, standing behand the glass wall that separated them from the office, looked increasingly panicked with every second.

When the other man paused for breath, he took the opportunity to jump in and cut the older bloke off in mid-stream.

"I see what you're saying, mate, and I do think that the lovely Mrs Ackerley was being a little bit unfair with some of her viewpoints about this programme - but she's one person, isn't she? I've always thought that if you're so insecure in your opinion to be that annoyed when someone disagrees with it, maybe your argument isn't strong enough in the first place. It's all about having an opinion and right to free speech. Tiffany Ackerley can slag off Manspeaking if she likes, and we reserve the right to slag off her show if we want to, which seems pretty fair to me. And as we're pretty stumped for time this evening due to an end of Quidditch season review coming up, let that be the end of it for now. I believe we have a caller on Floo line One - caller, you're on live on Manspeaking..."

As the guest, who sounded suspiciously like the brother of the man sitting opposite him, Ritchie winced and rubbed his temple with his index finger. This was going to be one of those weeks...
coding by looseapbs via rp_tutorials



HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY
Ordinary Wizarding Level Scores


Education Beginning: September 1, 1995
Name: Richard J. Coote
House: Gryffindor
Results Published: June 30, 2000

MEANING OF RATINGS:

PASS GRADES
O- Outstanding
E- Excellent
A- Acceptable

FAIL GRADES

P- Poor
D- Dreaful
T- Troll

Note to Families: These examinations are taken by an official board appointed by the British Ministry's Board of School Governors. These witches and wizards are experts in their fields. Student relationships with their professors or records in the respective classes in no way effect outcomes of this exam.

Course NameScore
Ancient RunesN/A
ArithmancyN/A
AstronomyA
Care of Magical CreaturesN/A
CharmsEE
Defense Against the Dark ArtsEE
DivinationA
HerbologyEE
History of MagicP
Muggle StudiesO
PotionsEE
TransfigurationA



HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY
Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Test Scores


Education Beginning: September 1, 1995
Name: Richard J. Coote
House: Gryffindor
Results Published: June 30, 2002

MEANING OF RATINGS:

PASS GRADES
O- Outstanding
E- Excellent
A- Acceptable

FAIL GRADES

P- Poor
D- Dreaful
T- Troll

Note to Families: These examinations are taken by an official board appointed by the British Ministry's Board of School Governors. These witches and wizards are experts in their fields. Student relationships with their professors or records in the respective classes in no way effect outcomes of this exam.

Course NameScore
Ancient RunesN/A
ArithmancyN/A
AstronomyN/A
Care of Magical CreaturesN/A
CharmsEE
Defense Against the Dark ArtsN/A
DivinationN/A
HerbologyA
History of MagicN/A
Muggle StudiesO
PotionsEE
TransfigurationN/A


Credit: [info]nimbuschick
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