(A)cademia / closed

[rose petals.]

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Ｐａｉｇｅ Ｙｏｕｎｇ．
➳ｔｈｅ ｄａｎｃｅｒ．

■ mentions: xxx ■
■ tags: our friends at the bar ■

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Paige watched Lilly scoot closer to her, and started inquiring about the new girl's hair. Paige found it really interesting, she had never dyed her hair, but it seemed interesting. When Lilly asked about their classes, it kind of caught Paige off guard. "Uh, dance." She said, not entirely realizing she was part of the conversation till then. When another person showed up, Paige started to fidget, there was suddenly quite a crowd forming.

Oliver seemed nice enough, and he wasn't crowded with people, so the dancer turned back to him. His accent was a tad troubling to understand it made his voice sound nice. "Uh is there any bourbon? Could you put cola in it?" Realizing she was sounding demanding Paige blushed slightly. "Ah sorry, you don't have to. You're not a bartender or anything... Also- that was a weird drink too... it's what my mother always gets.." Paige couldn't help but blush, Oliver had been really nice to her this whole time and here she was making a huge fool of herself.

[_seo_]

XXX

X█║ ʙᴇɴᴊᴀᴍɪɴ ᴅʀᴀᴋᴇ ║█X
male || nineteen || the historian || tags(mentions); klaus, isla, & oli

indentBen grinned, his eyes darting to Klaus as he spoke, though his attention was on all those around him. He listened quietly as the others said the majors, "Well, I'm a history major but more specifically ancient weaponry. Even got some old swords and a dagger in my room, if you would want to see." As the alcohol settled in, his bright smile fell and was replaced by a pout, "But no t-touching or... or picking up, unless you're picking me up! That's okay!" A small laugh fell from his lips and his eyes teared up from the laughing.

indentThis is why Benjamin Drake rarely drank.

indentHe was already a flirt and "tameably" chaotic when he was sober, but just a small amount of alcohol, and it was intensified which led to embarrassing moments even for someone as shameless as he was. If he weren't tipsy, though admittedly he was just a little bit past tipsy, he wouldn't have offered to let them see his weapons, not just anyone could see his most precious belongings. His eyes finally left Klaus as they darted to his glass, it was far stronger than he had anticipated. His pout only became more prominent as he picked up the glass and glared at it, "How dare it be so bitter!" Benjamin stared at the glass in anger, trying to intimidate the drink but ended up just looking like a grumpy puppy.

indentBenji put the glass down on the bar, all of the previous poise he displayed earlier was gone and all that remained was an overgrown drunk flirty human equivalent to a golden retriever puppy. He watched a drop of water slid down the glass and frowned, "Oh no... I made it sad."

[skydust]

✧ K ʟ ᴀ ᴜ s xH ᴀ ᴡ ᴛ ʜ ᴏ ʀ ɴ ᴇ
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✧ cis male ✧ 20 ✧ the scientist ✧ tags: Isla, Benji (everyone at the bar)

Klaus took another sip of his drink, definitely feeling the effect of it hitting him hard. His family never let him have a drink when he was younger, specifically making sure he stayed as healthy as possible. The thing about that was, he had plenty of drinks without their knowledge. Especially when he used to hang around a certain crowd that didn’t really care if his family was against it. So Klaus was very much used to the bitter taste on his tongue and the sting in his throat. His heart was doing flips in his body, and he could feel his head clouding over with everything negative he was trying to keep pushed down. All his anxieties seemed to flow to the surface, the only distraction was the arrival of a newcomer joining the rest of the first years. He turned his head slowly, his body movements pretty limited as he tried not to break down on the spot. She was wearing olive overalls and a maroon shirt underneath. Her hair was ginger, sitting on top of her head in a pile of curls. "Welcome to the party," he said, raising his glass to her bitterly and then taking another drink. She was quite chipper, the difference between them like the sun and the moon. She announced her major as botany. Which made sense now that he took another look at her outfit. Not that he was judging, he didn't have a green thumb for the life of him. Every house plant he had ever owned had died. He'd rather stick to non perishable items like his chemistry textbook.
Everyone else went around saying their major. Lilly was here for digital art, Effie here for photography (as shown by the camera constantly around her neck), Oliver for literature psychology, Paige for dance, and Benji for History. Klaus plopped his arms on the table, resting his head on them as the world blurred a bit. His dark blue eyes flickered over to Benji as he explained the details about his major. Another musical laugh escaped his lips as Benji obviously flirted with him, the young man obviously feeling the effects of alcohol like the rest of them (except Isla of course). Klaus watched as Benji made a face at how bitter the alcohol was. Watching him frown as he made the glass 'sad'. Klaus pulled his head back up, finding the effort a lot harder than he anticipated before he gestured at the drink. "It's not sad. It's condensation. It happens when warm air collides with a cold surface," he slurred, a scientific fact escaping his mouth as he tried to get his bearings.
Klaus finished his drink, then plopped his head back done on his arms. This time hiding his face from sight. He let out a sigh, obviously intoxicated. "My friends all die. I can't make anymore friends. Please don't want to be my friend," he mumbled into his sleeve, rambling on about nothing. Klaus (when he had too much alcohol), grew quite sad and bitter. Often ranting about facts that he would normally never share with anyone. His anxiety always seemed to bubble to the surface, so a little nudge from a drink seemed to make it all come pouring out. Nobody probably even heard what he said, but he let out another dramatic sigh. A part of his brain was screaming at him, but the other half just wanted to go to sleep.

[Aniki]

𝕆𝕝𝕚𝕧𝕖𝕣 𝕄𝕒𝕔𝔽𝕙𝕚𝕠𝕟𝕘𝕙𝕒𝕚𝕟
[location: the student lounge] [mentions: klaus, benji, & paige] [tags: the whole group]

Oliver could see the confusion on Paige's face after he asked what she would prefer to drink. It didn't surprise him that she didn't understand. He knew that he had a thick accent plus Scottish slang was unique in its own way. When she asked for coke and bourbon he gave her a smile. She started to stammer over asking him not wanting him to feel like he was working the bar or not. Considering that he was the one behind it he didn't mind it.

"Guid choice. simple but still yummy. An' dornt ye fash yerse abit askin'. Ah dornt min' at aw." He went about making it. Pouring more coke than bourbon. She didn't seem much of a drinker and he didn't want to force it upon her. Not usually one to have a girl blush AT him Oliver stopped for a moment before continuing. It was a whole new experience for the lad. He pushed the finished drink over to her. "Lit me ken if Ah got th' ratio wrang. Wasnae sure hoo ye drenk it."

The guy who introduced himself as Benji put his drink down on the bar and made a comment about how the glass was sad. Oliver couldn't help himself. He tossed his head back and laughed. It took him a moment to pull himself together not wanting to continue being rude, but it was hard not to."Lecht weight," he mumbled under his breath hoping no one could hear him. Part of him wanted to fill the glass up again but knew it would be a bad idea. "'At will be mair than enaw fur ye. Its time fur some water." Oliver filled his glass with some cold water and handed it over to him.

He was about to ask Klaus if he wanted more when he saw the guy plop his head in his arm. He went over to see if he was okay and heard the words he mumbled. That made him pause. Oliver blinked twice trying to understand what he just heard. Part of him really wanted to ask what he was talking about, but everyone was entitled to their own secrets. He knocked softly on the wood next to Klaus. "Ah hink it is time fur ye tae heed back tae yer room. Yoo've hud enaw."

Oliver looked down at his own empty glass and the half full bottle. He shrugged and poured himself another glass. Looks like he would have to find a new bottle to stash in his room. He might just finish this one to get Klaus's haunting words out of his head.

[LivingLethal]

𝚒𝚜𝚕𝚊 𝚒𝚛𝚟𝚒𝚗𝚐

the botanist // location: dartford institute bar // tags: klaus, lilly, effie // mentions: everyone at the bar

A melancholy welcome slipped from the science major's lips, granting her greeting to the bar party. Isla took it kindly, offering a grateful smile back at the man. As the other students continued offering forward their majors, the girl who'd invited her to the gathering earlier skipped to Isla's side and promptly engulfed her in an embrace. Isla stammered an abrupt, "Ah!" but the surprise was short-lived; she quickly settled into the gracious hug, squeezing gently.

Beginning to speak, the other girl released her hug: “Botany?” Lilly questioned, concern beginning to etch upon her face after the word. “Isn’t that... like isn’t that the scary operation they did on people back in the sixties?”

Isla's face splits into a wide grin, letting out a few hearty giggles to the girl's inquiry. She was going to softly correct her, but before she got the chance to do so, a bright, bubbly girl spoke her name from behind. Isla turned, seeing the girl who'd introduced herself as Effie earlier—the only name she had learned so far.

"Thank you, Effie!" She beamed. An idea popped up in her head at that moment: "We ought to go out sometime so that I can show you where to find some of the rarer flora of the area! Or I could show you some of my personal collection that I brought along; I think someone as talented as you could make them look so pretty in a photograph!" Realizing her manners, she quickly added, "If you'd like, of course!"

[skydust]

✧ K ʟ ᴀ ᴜ s xH ᴀ ᴡ ᴛ ʜ ᴏ ʀ ɴ ᴇ
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✧ cis male ✧ 20 ✧ the scientist ✧ tags: Oliver, Lilly (everyone at the bar)

Klaus was incoherently grumbling to himself and it was probably time for him to go to bed. He had definitely had one too many drinks. Even laying his head down in between his arms didn't help the world from spinning all around him. He practically jumped out of his seat as he heard a knock on the wooden table beside him. Klaus slowly sat up, his head feeling like he was falling through a kaleidoscope. His dark brown hair was a mess from laying on the table, curls of it going in different directions. He peered over at Oliver, “I think you’ve had too much.” Each word came out rather slowly, almost like Klaus hadn’t slept in a million years. His eyelids felt heavy, and his body felt like jelly. It took everything in him to grip onto the wooden table for balance. His knuckles practically going white from the force. He felt another presence beside him, and gently tugging on his arm. They put his arm around their shoulder as they dragged him out of the chair. He stumbled, his height almost making the person fall over before he straightened as best as he could. He looked down at her realizing it was Lilly. She joked that he didn't seem to do well in groups and he barked out a bitter laugh.
"You think so? I think I'm doing just splendid," he said sarcastically, the alcohol in his system making him stumble. He tried to push her away, not really feeling like having anyone he didn't know touch him. She didn't really seem to care though, as the state he was in didn't really help in his pursuit to get away and it was a rather pathetic attempt. They made their way away from the bar, the light chatter of everyone slowly dying down as they made it through the door. He groaned, the room spinning as he tried to balance himself. The small part of his brain still coherent enough was yelling at him for being so stupid.
He froze when Lilly mentioned what he had mumbled to himself before. A little bit of him sobering up just a tad. He groaned again, hoping no one else heard anything. He didn't need to explain himself ever, and he wouldn't if they asked. He felt another wave of embarrassment wash over him. They went up the stairs, his face now a scowl as he leaned on her for support. He shook his head at her words, his heart beating faster. He always hated talking about things like these. It made him feel weak. It made him feel so much panic, sometimes he didn't even know what to do with it. He felt his eyes tear up a bit, and it just made him feel more bitterness inside. He shook his head at her words, his jaw clenching.
"I didn't lose anyone. I killed someone. They died because of me," he said. His throat growing tight as his voice struggling to get the last part out. As soon as the words came out of his mouth, he felt a mixture of two things. One of which was extreme regret for even telling her. The other was disgust at himself for everything he had done. Klaus realized that they finally made it to his door as Lilly unlocked it. He peered into his dorm room, not at all feeling like it was home to him yet. Before she plopped him on the bed, and instantly he felt the world come crashing down on him. His body felt heavy, and his eyelids force closed. He laid his head on his pillow, already knowing that tomorrow would be a day full of regret and horror at what he had done tonight. Not knowing that it would only get much more chaotic from this point out. Klaus fell asleep mumbling apologies to the life of his old friend that he had snuffed out.

[onion]

✿ effie jo / 18 / bisexual / the artist
location: room > lecture hall
tags: lilly, paige

it was morning already? effie awoke to a loud knock and promptly got up. her phone was taken, as was her camera, all while she was in her nightgown. how embarrassing... putting herself together for the day, she threw on a beige knit sweater and a pair of dark jeans with her signature white flats. a few bracelets and a tattoo choker later she was ready to go.
once at the lecture hall, effie took a seat in the middle of the long tables that lined the room. she waited for the others, but said nothing. in her right back pocket was a slim, flip phone like mini camera, complete with mini film inside. it was a just in case sort of thing.
she looked around as the seats slowly filled- there was a hungover looking klaus, and an anxious looking benji... lilly sat next to effie, and effie shuffled her books closer together when she did. she didnt want to be in the way, especially when paige took her seat too.
then the presentation started. effie listened carefully to the instructors words, and as soon as he uncovered the first artifact, she winced. a vision came upon her, one of a late summer night by an old lake. the sky was dark but filled with stars, and effie was alone, floating upwards in the lake as she stared. she tried to move, but felt paralyzed in place in the water. a dim light showed itself in the distance and she brought her arm out to reach for it, but it disappeared instantly as she was brought back to her real surroundings.
she blinked and it was over. effie looked around, first to lilly, then to paige. they didnt seem confused as to where they were, or what was going on, so... what had just happened? she watched as one of the curious fairies fluttered its way to her table to greet her, the fairy curtsying on her top book before fluttering away. it was then that the instructor explained the meaning and purpose of these creatures.
but it was strange... nobody else seemed taken aback the way effie was. and even weirder, that vision, or... whatever it was... where was that lake? and what had she seen?
lost in thought, she heard a shriek come from one of the students in the front row who pointed at the screen. "huh?" effie muttered, squinting her eyes. she hadnt had time to put her contacts in that morning, but the symbol... it was strange. and the text read "we will take back what is ours" in an oddly thin font.
though itd been two hours since she had arrived at the lecture hall, effie felt as though she had only been there for five minutes. everything was going so fast- she had so many questions, so many. there was so much to take in... and with that, the powerpoint was turned off and the room fell dark, then the overhead lights came back on.
effie grabbed her books and held them tight to her chest. fairies, wisps, ghosts and magic... it wasnt exactly something new to her. she had had... experiences... as a child. but this was all real, right? feeling lightheaded, she turned to paige for a moment, about to say something, but then turned back. maybe she shouldnt mention the vision, or hallucination, or whatever that was that she had. for now, it would stay locked away in the back of her head.

[rose petals.]

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Ｐａｉｇｅ Ｙｏｕｎｇ．
➳ｔｈｅ ｄａｎｃｅｒ．

■ mentions: effie, lilly, oliver ■
■ tags: presentation ■

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Paige wasn't that hung over, as she only had one drink, but her head felt tight, as if a headache was tempting to break through. With a groan from being woken up, Paige rinsed off her face and added some quick light makeup. Throwing on a salmon sweater and jeans, Paige left her room with her hair tied up in a messy bun.

Sitting kind of by herself, she stayed near people who were more familiar. Effie, the girl with pink hair, seemed nice enough. Sitting near her, she also found Lilly sitting near them too. She didn't mind, it was good to have some friendly faces. Paige also found herself glancing around for Oliver, as he had been really nice at the bar last night. However her search was cut off by the presentation beginning.

For the most part, what Colin Partridge seemed to say was normal. Until he started talking about... supernatural beings? Assuming it must be a joke, the dancer stiffled a chuckle, except that this man was dead serious. Paige glanced around at the students near her, wondering if they were also as confused as she.

The man unveiled an artifact, spewing darkness that made Paige shiver. It made her feel strangely cold, even despite her fuzzy sweater. The next few things were even more shocking, especially when they got to meet a fairy, just like Paige always dreamed she would as a little girl. However, she had long given up on that dream years ago. Paige smiled as the fairy telepathically sent her an image of an empty dance studio, one of the things that brought her the most joy. She even could of sworn she could smell the smell of the rubber dance floor and could hear the sound of dance shoes hitting the ground.

The fairy had moved on though, and soon their attention was brought to other things. Suddenly, a symbol flashed across the screen, and it didn't seem to fit with the rest of the presentation. The staff seemed unnerved by it as well, thought Paige had no idea what it possibly could be. The girl was truly stunned by this information, but she couldn't help but be excited. There were so many possibilities that she had never dreamed of!

[Aniki]

𝕆𝕝𝕚𝕧𝕖𝕣 𝕄𝕒𝕔𝔽𝕙𝕚𝕠𝕟𝕘𝕙𝕒𝕚𝕟
[location: the student lounge] [mentions: the whole school] [tags:n/a]

Oliver stayed up at least an hour after everyone else went to bed. He was able to find another bottle of Blue Label that he happily took back to his dorm and placed it in his trunk at the foot of his bed. He passed out rather easily. He woke up to his alarm blaring at eight in the morning. Groaning he got up and did his daily stretching routine. He had a minor headache but nothing that a hot shower couldn't fix. He would joke along with his friends back home that he had the advantage when the group went out drinking because not only could he hold his own for the most part, but he rarely woke up with a hangover. He was out of the shower by eight-twenty and was dressed (a pair of dark blue jeans, a white tank top under a black button down, short sleeved shirt, and a pair of black tennis shoes). He went down to the group's common room to look for something small he could have for breakfast. Oliver wasn't much of a breakfast fan. He knew he had to eat, but the typical breakfast foods weren't something he enjoyed. He found a box of granola bars and took two. He then moved to one of the many couches to eat while he looked more around the room.

He wasn't sure who was more surprised when Lisa came into the student common room. She apparently was there to wake everyone up so they could all go to the introduction meeting for all the new students. Personally he would rather skip the whole thing, but Lisa told him that it was a mandatory thing. Groaning he stood up and tossed the wrappers into the trash as he watched Lisa make the rounds knocking on everyone's doors to wake them up. He couldn't help wonder who all was hung over after last night. He went up to his room to grab a notebook and pencil before making his way to the hall.

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Oliver had to admit that the lecture all was rather impressive. It shouldn't have surprised him considering just how old the school was along with the huge amount of money that the school had collected over the years. He saw the other students trickle in and gave them a nod and small smile depending on who it was. When Mr. Partridge took the stage Oliver sat up opening up his notebook and had his pencil ready to take notes.

He jotted down small notes as the presentation went on. The information that was being given wasn't a surprise to him thank to his father's journals. He couldn't help but chuckle softly when Mr. Partridge made note of being able to wipe the memories of those who left the school. Maybe it was because he had his father's notes that he found the whole thing amusing. They could wipe memories but forget to check student notes. The darkness trick was impressive he had to give him that. The fact that it was able to move as if it was alive made him curious. He almost reached up to touch it but it was called back into the book before he could. He made a mental note to try to find the book to see just how physical the shadows could be. The will o’ the wisp made him perk up. In all of the childhood stories he was told as a kid they played a major part. They were highly respected and the fact that there were some here at the Institute thrilled him. What he would give to be able to interact with them and study them!!! Oh he was getting excited for sure. While Mr. Partridge went on about them, Oliver took the time to make a quick sketch of it. The shape was so different than what he was told it looked like. Maybe there were different breeds? He would have to look into it.

The idea of ghosts wasn't very appealing to him. He wasn't completely sure why that was, but he just knew that he wasn't going to like to have to deal with them. When they got to the slides part of the talk he made sure to make a small sketch of each one and made note of what they were. When they came the symbol of a red octopus on a black background appear Oliver felt a shiver run over him. He knew that symbol. It was in the last journal that belonged to his father. Before he could put much thought into it the words: WE WILL TAKE BACK WHAT IS OURS bled onto the slide. That was when went crazy. The teachers were clearly surprised and unsure what to do; Mr. Partridge was doing his best not to show that he too was freaked out; students were screaming, and Oliver felt his body freeze up.

When he along with the others were forced out of the hall he could see the dazed and confused looks of everyone else. He snatched his phone out of Lisa's hand and raced toward the dorms. He had to check the last entry of his father's last journal. He KNEW that he had seen that symbol before. Clearly it was possessed by something and he was determined to figure out what.

[_seo_]

XXX

X█║ ʙᴇɴᴊᴀᴍɪɴ ᴅʀᴀᴋᴇ ║█X
male || nineteen || the historian || tags(mentions); open

indentTo be jolted awake semi-early in the morning after a night of drinking, well suffice to say it wasn't exactly pleasant. Benjamin ran a hand through his hair, staring blankly at the door. He quickly showered and styled his hair, making sure there wasn't a single hair out of place before finishing up getting dressed. His brows furrowed at the pounding in his head and the rush of what happened the night before played in his mind. Never ever drinking again. He took a pain killer and head out the door. Internally he was glaring at Lisa for having woken him up but followed the instructions giving to him. His focus was going in and out at the start of the presentation until he heard the word 'supernatural' came out of the speaker's mouth.

indentBenji straightened his back, his heart pounding in his chest as the speech continued. This was mind-boggling to him, it wasn't like he was a skeptic but he certainly hadn't believed in everything fell under the category of 'supernatural' either. Dartford was a prestigious university, they wouldn't be lying and the staff couldn't all be barmy, right? He sat back in awe as the man in the front introduced and explained a bunch of artifacts. His eyes nearly popped out of his head at the sight of a real fairy, feeling a wave of the fairy's emotions washing over him.

indentThe Eye is what catches his attention the most, it was magnificent despite the fact that it looked like a simple magnifying glass. The next few hours flew by and he could barely recall the awful way he had been woken up or the pain in his head. Then it seemed like everything turned into chaos. The symbol of a red octopus appeared on the slide and the words that joined it seemed to surprise the staff so, it was definitely not planned. Ben glanced at several of the staff at the presentation was wrapped with no explanation of what had just happened. He looked around the room trying to spot one of the group from last night to see what they about what had just happened.