#and the techno parade would pass my window once a year
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ludling · 2 years ago
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grailacademy · 5 years ago
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Welcome to Grail Academy - Chapter Twenty-eight: Season of the Witch
“There’s going to be hell to pay, I can guarantee you that much.” Esmerelda reapplied her lipstick in the reflection of Bernard’s sunglasses, who strained his neck down to meet her level. Nico looked up at the intimidating monument that stood as a symbol of political power in Calicem, city hall, as his leader fixed her makeup. “Okay, I know I’m Mister Bad Idea, but...this seems like a REALLY bad idea,” He looked back to his teammates, anxious, “Are you sure you can pull this off, babe?”
Esmerelda flipped her hair and spun around, giving Bernard the signal that he no longer had to hunch down and act as a human mirror for her. “Darling, would I have worn my Ruby Red lipstick instead of my Cherry Blossom lipstick if I didn’t believe we could do this?” Nico looked past her to his partner for an answer, but Bernard only shrugged. “I guess not
” Nico cringed to himself as the words escaped his mouth, and adjusted the sunglasses on his own face. Esmerelda swiftly popped the collar of her trench coat, snapped her fingers, and the boys followed her as they hiked up the marble stairs that led to city hall.
There was plenty of hustle and bustle going on in the lobby, interns rushing to grab coffee for disrespectful supervisors, tired businessmen quietly arguing with each other about various political endeavours, unamused security guards standing watch near the front desk, where one was currently trying his luck at flirting with the receptionist. She giggled as the security guard spouted some terrible pick-up line, until a clawed hand slammed down on the desk’s counter. Esmerelda tapped her manicured fingers against the counter impatiently, with Bernard and Nico standing stoic with their arms crossed behind her. “Am I interrupting?” she quipped, and the security guard quickly backed away towards his coworkers. She stared daggers at him until he bumped into the back of the wall, at which point she turned back to address the receptionist. “I’m sorry, ma’am. How can I help you?”
“We’re here for the birthday party. We’re the dancers, yes? You’ve been told?” Suddenly, Esmerelda articulated through a foreign accent, keeping her scowl a permanent expression. “Birthday
? I’m sorry, I don’t have anything like that on the schedule.” The receptionist nervously flipped through a binder as she stuttered her apology.
“What!? Do you know who we are? We are the Toe Tappers! We are booked years in advance!” She roared and spun around to look at her teammates, who both shook their heads in disappointment. Bernard repeated Esmerelda’s exclamation at the woman behind the desk, “Years.”
“I-I truly am sorry, ma’am, but I don’t have you on the visitor list! What are your names?”
Esmerelda pointed a finger at each of the boys, and herself, shouting, “Gunther, Gustav, and Greta! I cannot believe this. The governor calls us all the way from Atlas and he does not even bother to put us on the list. This is unforgivable!” Nico and Bernard chimed in together, “Unforgivable.”
She snapped her fingers, and Nico hefted a boombox onto his shoulder. “You will be punished for this. You will experience the full power of the Toe Tappers rage!” With the press of a button, the boombox started to loudly play techno dance music, and the trio began to vogue with such intensity and aggression that the other people in the lobby actually began to back away, for fear of getting caught in the crossfire of body movements. Frantically, the receptionist dialed a number on the front desk scroll, and stammered a plea for help. “P-please, they’re dancing at me! It’s terrible dancing, but it’s very scary!” Whoever was on the other line chortled hysterically and hung up, and the woman stood up. Laughing nervously, she waved the dancers toward the elevator. “M-my apologies, I must have made a mistake. Yes, here you are,” she tapped a finger on the visitor list, where none of their fake aliases were written, “the Toe Tappers! Go right ahead, the governor’s office is on the fourth floor.” The three of them stopped their angry dancing abruptly, and the music paused. Esmerelda flipped her hair and huffed at the woman, before snapping her fingers again and strutting to the elevator with Bernard and Nico following behind. “Hmph, I should think to make a complaint about the reception service in this place!” She called out as her heels clicked against the stone floors. The three of them filed into the elevator, and once the doors closed, they all let out a collective sigh of relief.
“I can’t believe that worked, merde
” Bernard mumbled and pulled his sunglasses off. Esmerelda chuckled, “I was the head of the drama club at my elementary school. You’re looking at the lead actress in our class’s production of Othello~” She gave a small wink to them, and both Bernard and Nico gave her applause for her acting. 
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Later that night, the wheels of the train squealed across the tracks as orange sparks shot out from between the metal, slowing the cars to a stop at the station. Ivan and Beau hugged before fist-bumping, standing at the platform. “Where are you going for the break?” Ivan asked, zipping up his winter coat. Beau turned around to look at Vert, who was trying (without success) to get comfortable on a bench where he was trapped by a jetlagged tourist snoring against his shoulder. “Me and Vert are gonna visit his brothers for the holidays! It’s about time he introduced his girlfriend to his family.”
Beau smiled when she saw Iris approaching them, her giant suitcase rolling on its metallic wheels as she dragged it along. Along with this, she had a duffle bag hanging off her shoulder, a backpack, a second suitcase under her arm, and a guitar case strapped on top. She did her best to carry all her luggage, but it only took a small crack between tiles for her to tumble over and become buried in a pile of baggage. She thrusted her arm upwards and climbed out of the prison of suitcases, and explained, “I have to meet my family back home for the town festival. We always perform in the parade, and they would kill me if I missed it.” Ivan and Beau helped Iris stack her luggage on a trolley, and Ivan sat down on the stack like a throne. “I’m staying in Calicem, I got suspended again so I have to clean all the graffiti off the bathroom stalls at school. It’ll probably take me the rest of the semester.” He pouted, and Iris gave him a supportive pat on the back.
The train conductor shouted from a small window, announcing the departure of the train, and Vert wiggled his way off the bench and headed to one of the cars. “Well, that’s our ride” Beau said, looking between her friends. Vert motioned for his girlfriend to hurry onto the train car, and she trotted into his arms, where they both waved goodbye as the train pulled out of the station. Soon it was Iris’s turn to say goodbye, then waves of other classmates. It was almost midnight when Ivan waved goodbye to team SAND as they jumped onto the back of the last train car, calling out “See you next semester!”
The station was empty. Ivan was dreading the long, cold walk back to campus, and he dreaded the janitorial duties professor Kismet had in store for him even more. He sighed and stuffed his hands into his pockets, trudging through the snow back home. That is, until a low rumbling sound resonated through the empty streets of the city. It got louder and louder, Ivan could feel it growling in his chest. Then, a bright light, sweeping over the street like a tidal wave. It passed over and overwhelmed his eyes and ears, and then all he could see was white.
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Beau slept quietly with her head against the window of the train, resting as the skyscrapers and office buildings rushed by. Vert threw his parka over her lap to keep her arm, and smiled. He couldn’t hear the rumbling over the vibrations of the train, the rickety wheels bouncing on the tracks. The bright light that shone like a beacon didn’t stir Beau from her slumber, but it was the only warning that Vert identified before everything went white.
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Iris flipped to a clean page in her notebook, and began to write down notes to an in-progress song. She chewed on the eraser of her pencil as she thought of lyrics, stuck on trying to find a word that rhymes with catacomb. The sudden growing light blinded her, making her drop the pencil from her mouth to try and shield her eyes.
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Team BIVI awoke in their dorm room, tucked under the blankets of their beds, wearing their pajamas from the night before. They all yawned and looked at each other, confused. “...Huh. Weird.” Ivan stated, then shrugged and rolled over to go back to sleep.
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If you never spoke to him, Buck would look like just another ne’er-do-well. Just another ghost roaming the city, just another reminder to be grateful for what you have. He trudged through the streets of Calicem with nothing but old black jeans, a stolen brown corduroy coat, a dirty white shirt, and a backpack carrying his essentials. A stack of thick envelopes held together by a rubber band, a hunting knife gifted to him by his father, a journal marked up with a collection of theses and failed chemistry experiments, a rusted thermus housing the spare change that constituted as his life savings, all bounced around in the pack dangling off his shoulder. He was often seen scribbling away in his notebooks, with his knees pulled close to his chest as a makeshift desk to write upon. That is, when he wasn’t pedaling furiously on his bike to breach hills and potholes in the road as he made deliveries. He kept himself as well-hidden at night as he did the names of his father’s business associates. He understood the dangers of being an errand boy for the local kingpin, the secrets he’d have to keep, and he’d learned to survive. During the day: on street corners, in parks. At night: under bridges, in alleys. Just another ne’er-do-well. Nobody would suspect a thing.
All Scarlet could think about as he and his team packed their things and loaded them into the back of a truck, was the fact that Buck had a head start on packing. Because his room was already empty. His journals already taped shut inside an unmarked cardboard box, his photos already mailed to his father under an anonymous address, his clothes already folded neatly at the bottom of Scarlet’s duffel bag, a hidden momento of times long passed.
Yorick steadied his breathing, in through the nose, out through the mouth. He stood in the center of the factory floor, now empty and hollow. There was a line of unmarked trucks waiting just outside the perimeter of the factory’s fence, vibrating from the unified low rumble of their engines as the drivers stared at the building in anticipation. Scarlet watched with the rest of the workers as the factory suddenly ignited in fire, blue flames spitting from the top of the smokestacks and shattering the windows in an explosion of glass and rubble. Sable, who stood behind her faithful militia near another truck with Hari in the driver’s seat, threw a cloak over her shoulders and lifted the hood up. Only moments later, Yorick emerged from the brush of the surrounding field and wiggled through a hole in the fence, giving the crowd a thumbs up. Sable bellowed, “Let’s move out, while there’s still daylight.” She stepped into the truck and, one by one, each vehicle vacated the premises in a line, followed by the last truck with RYSQ riding inside. “I have to admit,” Rettah commented, sliding her hand onto Yorick’s thigh, which made him shiver with excitement, “you do make cleanups a lot faster.” She giggled, and Yorick laughed shyly along with her, as Scarlet watched the burning facility crumble and grow farther and farther away in the distance. He resisted rolling his eyes at the not-so-subtle flirting, instead tuning them out and focusing on the passing trees. Buck would have liked this.
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toomanysurveys9 · 8 years ago
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Are you currently learning from anyone how to play any instruments? i am not.
Are you one of those people who always tend to think critically in issues? i would say i am most of the time.
Do you know anyone who is overly flirty with people? Girl or a boy? i know people that flirted too much with people that weren’t their significant other, of both genders.
When was the last time you had any kind of pork? What kind was it? uhh. week and a half ago when i had pork fried rice.
Are you someone who normally eats a full breakfast every single morning? i have to have cereal at least usually, or i get super sick. one of the many joys of pregnancy.
Do you believe vampires are real? Not the stereotypical Twilight kind. not like in books and movies, no. but there are people that have a thing for drinking blood...
Is there anyone out there who can give you butterflies in your stomach? jake does still sometimes.
Are you someone who has to hide the things you like around friends? not generally, no..
Have you ever been to a porn website? Were you addicted to it afterword? i have, but not by choice. and no. it’s definitely not something i’m into.
What is the most disgusting thing you think the opposite sex can do? not shower or take care of themselves. be sexist and gross towards people.. same things that can be disgusting about females.
Would you rather be able to teleport or freeze time? Which one seems best? teleport. that would be pretty neat.. to be able to go anywhere..
Have you seen the movie Twister? Did the tornadoes look real to you? i have a long time ago. i didn’t pay that much attention to how real they looked though.
Have you actually been through a devastating natural disaster before? i have not.
Did your mom ever fix your eggs and bacon into a smiley face as a kid? not that i remember?
What fast food place, in your opinion, has the best french fries? probably mcdonald’s, at least when they’re fresh.
Do you believe one day aliens might take over the planet Earth? i don’t know. probably not..
Are you someone who always looks for sales when you go shopping somewhere? i never go shopping, but i guess i would if i did. lol.
Are you constantly re-arranging your bedroom? Or do you not like change? i don’t rearrange it often, but i need to before wyatt is born so i can get the playpen in there for him to sleep in for the first week or two at least.
Who would you consider the best teen actor or actress out there now? i don’t know. i don’t pay that much attention.
When did you last cuddle up next to someone and watch a movie? i honestly don’t remember.
Where would people most likely find you out on the weekends? usually at home.
Do you like the school you attend or is it just pretty bland to you? no longer in school.
Do you remember when they used to actually throw candy out at parades? they still do around here.
What is your favorite childhood memory? Who did you share this with? any of the family vacations. singing. there’s a lot. most involved my family. some involved friends.
Are there any windows open in your house right now? Which ones, if so? no. it’s too cold outside.
Is it currently your favorite season? If not what is your favorite? no. i prefer all of them except winter.
Do you like soda pop? If so, which is your favorite and least favorite? i enjoy it occasionally. i guess my favorite is coca-cola lately, and my least favorite would be ginger ale and diet sodas.
Does it bother you when people burp around you or do you do it too? it doesn’t bother me, and i don’t do it often. i prefer people are polite about it though...
Do you have any siblings you’re embarrassed about being related to? of course not. they might be embarrassing at times, but so am i.
Which noises do you currently hear right now? Can you control those? erin talking and watching a movie.. rose’s television in her room.. my mom singing.. and no, not really. i don’t really want to either.
What is one thing you’ve never understood throughout your life? eh. life in general. how to cope with a bunch of it.
When you see an old person do you think ‘sweet’ or ‘creepy?’ i don’t usually think anything generally unless something happens to draw my attention to them, really..
What is it that makes old women want so many cats in their life? i’m assuming so they’re not as lonely.. that’s a huge reason a lot of people get any kind of pet..
What is one kind of music you’d do anything to not listen to in the car? opera.. techno.. stuff like that..
When was the last time you babysat, if ever? Did anything bad happen? like, half an hour ago. nothing bad happened.
How many times a day do you wash your face? Do you wash it really good? depends. maybe once. and if i do, i do wash it well.
Would you consider yourself to have a boring life or a really exciting one?
definitely more boring. i’m not working so i spend most of my time at home, in my room, in bed, unless my mom gets me out of the house or takes me to her house.
Do you ever talk to people you met online through webcam? Or is that weird? i don’t like webcams, so no.
Who was the last person you kissed and why did you kiss this person? jacob. because he’s my husband i can.
How many fish have you owned in your lifetime, so far? Did they all die? one. jake dropped the tank and it died. i also had a couple albino frogs that live in the water (forget what they’re called). tia (grandparents’ cat) knocked them off the counter and they died..
When do you think it’s the right age to pass away? i don’t think there is a “right” age exactly..
If you were to get drunk right now, how would you most likely act? if i weren’t pregnant and got drunk, i would be more silly and fun. i like to go on walks. but i wouldn’t get drunk while pregnant in a million years.
How many people have you kissed in your lifetime, so far? Who were they? romantically: one.
Are you going to post this on a social networking site after you take it? just tumblr.
Is there something people in general do that bothers you a lot? lie. cause drama. treat other people like shit. the list goes on.
Has anything supernatural ever happened to you? What were these events? no..
How many concerts have you seen so far in life? Were they good ones? quite a few, mostly at the fair. and i enjoyed most. ed sheeran was my favorite and he’s the only concert i’ve been to that wasn’t in a coffee shop or at the fair.
Do you like doing anything your friends wouldn’t expect you to do? i don’t know. not necessarily just because they think i wouldn’t, but it happens.
Can you sing very well or are you considerably tone deaf? i sing fairly well.
When did you last make a survey? How many people took it so far? i don’t ever make surveys.
Would you ever consider becoming a scientist? Why would you or why not? not likely. i’m not that into doing the research and whatnot..
Where is your favorite place to go when you’re feeling sad and alone? my room usually. which makes no sense because then i’m really alone.
Have you ever had to call poison control while you were babysitting? no. i’ve never needed to.
Do you ever look back on the past years and wish you could go back? sometimes, some parts, yes.
When is the next time you’ll talk to the cousin you’re closest to? i don’t know. i’m not close to any cousins anymore really.
Does it bother you when people constantly sign in on MSN? Or not so much? i don’t use it, but i don’t see why it’d bother anyone?
When was the last time you saw a bird? What kind of bird was this? i don’t know. probably today, but i only knew a few kinds of birds.
Have you ever seen someone getting beat up by lots of people at one time? i have not.
Are you really into vintage things? Have you ever been into that stuff? i like some vintage stuff..
When was the last time you bought new sheets for your bed? never. lol. i don’t think i’ve ever bought sheets.. parents always did..
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