LOOK. UP IN THE SKY.

[mansionstaff]

Who: All of Smash.
What: Dorm log!
Where: Student and Teacher dorms, and quite possibly beyond campus.
When: March 13th - April 13th. The whole month.
Warnings: YOU KNOW YOURSELVES

We all know our characters experience downtime after classes and their busy schedules, and this is a good venue for those kinds of miscellaneous dorm-shenanigans to take place. Not only does it give your characters the easy chance to meet new people in a laid-back environment, but it's a good mechanism for strengthening CR. It's easy!

Feel free to begin in any way you please! Plan with (a) fellow player(s) if you'd like! Or, set up a thread and wait for characters to bite! Just add a thread with the room number (and date/time, if it matters) and the characters that reside there (just for reference!). You do not have to use one character's thread as a dual-purpose for both characters if you do not want to. Doesn't have to be a dorm room, either, if you have something else in mind.

This month sees the added addition of the fallen Egg Carrier--the debris still litter the lakeside.

Thank you to Angela for the original text! Here are the school's living arrangements, for reference.

---
BONUS EVENT TIME!!

March 16th
Are you Irish? No? TOO BAD, you are now. Many of the bars and clubs downtown are having green-flavored festivities. Sure, they're stated to be for those of legal age, but that's never stopped people before, right?

March 23rd - 25th
THE GREAT EXCITEBIKE MIGRATION. Better stay out of the streets or you might get run oveBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBbbbbbBBBbBbBBBBBb

April 1st
OH NO IT'S APRIL FOOL'S. Crazy Hand is out and about, slapping unsuspecting students and faculty with fish stickers. What? If you are unfortunate enough to fall victim to his pranking ways, you might find yourself saddled with a minor curse (hair color change, uncontrollable sneezing, anything you want, really) for as long as the sticker is on your person. The catch--try as you might, you can't remove it. Someone else will have to take it off for you, which might be a tall order if the sticker makes you say everything backwards.

Comments

Byrne is a cool guy - TD-17

[dothelokomotion]

March 16th - Byrne had no idea why everything was so green. It made no sense. He had his normal green cowl on, so fortunately he wouldn't likely be pinched, even though he had no idea that that was a thing that happened. But the rowdy atmosphere of a bar he tried to go to was already quite grating. So it's entirely possible you could see him alone brooding in the corner of a bar with a drink..

March 23rd - What the hell were these things. These were not trains. No, they were much louder and more obnoxious. Why would anyone drive them when Byrne felt like his eardrums could burst? He stayed the hell in his room for the most part, but at first he nearly got hit by a motorcycle several times, just for needing to buy some milk from the store. Wow.

April 1st - One of those pesky hands had taped a fish-shaped sticker to Byrne's person. While the encounter was annoying enough, he sighed and went about his way. The damn sticker, though, would not come off his chest as much as he tried, so he begrudgingly decided to walk to the gym with it on. He'd change it out later. What he didn't realize, though, was that his hair was a very, very bright orange. Almost eye-bleeding levels of bright orange.

Other - Byrne was a reclusive man who preferred to converse with very few people. As a result, he kept to himself most often. However, there were points when he was out and about. He often visited the gym to work out, or practiced sparring on the fighting grounds, outside or inside. He could always use a decent sparring partner, of course. He was often in his dorm, but would venture out for shopping and the like.

And maybe, just maybe, you might catch him attempting to figure out how to drive a car. These weird things replaced trains, it seemed, as transport. But if you see him standing suspiciously near a car that crashed into a dumpster, then he might be responsible. Maybe. Probably. Or he could be unlucky enough to crash into your car if it's late at night.

Other

[tempus_fixit]

[So Lucca was in the auto stop late at night, working on Epoch as usual. Hearing a crash just outside isn't exactly an odd thing around these parts, but but it was still worrisome. Someone might be hurt... She climbs down from the wing of her time machine and slips out the side door to investigate.]

[dothelokomotion]

[Damn it! Why was this car such a pain to drive? As far as Byrne understood, they were a more efficient means of travel than a train, so he simply assumed it would be just like working a train. The fact that there was no engine room, though, should have been enough of a clue that this was not at all like a train.

Unlike trains, cars did not go on a fixed track. Therefore when it came time for Byrne to steer, his movements were jerky and hesitant. Why did he do this again? This should have been easy. He was a smart and powerful man, so he should master this damned vehicle.

At least he was going slow when he hit the dumpster in the back of the auto shop. But he got out of the car and cursed his luck, ready to flee the scene, until he saw someone coming toward him.

Oh no...

What if it was one of his students? Oh god it was one of his students! The geeky one who actually seemed to do okay in the class. Oh no, this was embarrassing... And pathetic. Just really pathetic. Instead of reacting with fright and surprise, he dons his anger mask and speaks with audible irritability.]

What do you want?

[tempus_fixit]

Oh hey, it's her locomotive engineering teacher! He's always grumpy, so his angry front doesn't phase her much.

"Is everything okay? I heard a crash!"

She glances at the distorted dumpster and the car that apparently tried to mate with it.

"...There's no question where it came from, either! Whoa... was that your car?" The last is spoken with some sympathy. "You're not hurt or anything, are you?"

[dothelokomotion]

This is so demeaning. He's supposed to teach his students how to drive, not crash a car in front of them. This is basically the opposite of teaching.

"The school's car," he clarified in a gruff but quiet manner. The quiet tone is due to embarrassment. Congratulations, Lucca, you get to witness a rare moment in history. The anger is there but it seems to come in and out and alternate between genuine shame. He can't even look at her.

"I'm fine," he added.

Other - It's about time

[magicdancer]

Sometimes, Shantae wanted to dance on a stage. Unfortunately, recitals were not a common occurrence at Smash, like... at all. So she made do, programming a dancing stage into the stadium computer for her enjoyment.

And one day, when Byrne arrived for his practice, he found, instead of a training arena, a dance hall, and on stage, a gorgeous belly dancing half-genie, performing for a digital audience.

Yessssssss let's get it on

[dothelokomotion]

Byrne had his life's goals set in his mind, and he had methods of slowly inching towards those goals. Training and keeping his strength up was one important factor, for strength was power. He didn't have the power he truly desired, so he had to hang on to whatever he had. Every little bit helped.

This was why he went to the training area in the stadium. He had sort of figured out how to customize it to his liking, selecting different terrains and obstacles from a few basic sets. If the stadium wasn't empty, he figured he'd scoff at whomever was there and either they'd leave or he'd leave and train in the gym or outside. But this time was different.

Upon entering, he indeed was met with the image of a beautiful, curvaceous woman doing a seductive belly-dance. Instant boner Byrne was no stranger to women, but there was a time and place for them. Going to bars and brothels? Good place for pretty women. Preparing to train for the day and instead being met with an image from an exotic dance house? Not a good place.

Being completely caught off-guard, though, Byrne simply stared. Her dancing was amazing, highlighting the perfect hourglass of her figure, and her hair was long and soft, like a curtain. He should leave, but it seemed like his feet were glued to the ground.

/plays Marvin Gaye

[magicdancer]

Shantae was lost to the rhythm, feeling her body move and her hips sway instinctively to the upbeat music she'd chosen for her routine. She practiced steps that had won rave reviews at the dance parlor in Scuttle Town, determined not to let her skills stagnate again. And with a simulated audience, she was free to concentrate on staying in the zone.

At least until she realized someone was there, and staring at her. A non-simulated person, at least. Realizing she wasn't alone, she slowly stopped, placing her hands on her hips. "I've got the stadium booked for another 15 minutes," she said simply.

[dothelokomotion]

Byrne often forgot to check reservations. Sometimes he would check, but at other times he just felt an urge to go to the stadium and use one of the settings it had. So if he had bothered to check today, perhaps he would have known that it was reserved by some person and he would have grumbled in annoyance - which was what he actually did right now upon hearing what the dancer had to say.

She didn't look as enticing without the sensual dance moves to show off her body. Now she just seemed like a typical nagging woman.

"I was watching you dance," he said irritably as he folded his arms.

[magicdancer]

Get used to that, Byrne.

"I was trying to practice in private," she explained. "But you can stay and watch if you promise not to cat call, okay?" she offered. He didn't seem problematic at first. Give him time. Besides, she was used to performing for crowds. If he wanted to stay and watch, she could handle it if he was respectful.

[dothelokomotion]

If she was trying to practice in private, then why did she have the holographic audience around her? Clearly she liked to think she was being watched and admired, or so Byrne concluded. So she was a liar or trying to play hard-to-get, or something that seemed annoying, which caused Byrne to actually slightly roll his eyes.

But at least for her, Byrne wasn't one to cat-call. He just liked to stare unnervingly. "Fine," he agreed, summarizing all of that in a single word. And he continued to stare unnervingly with his arms folded.

[magicdancer]

"All right then!" she answered, making a gesture to get the music started again. She got back into position on stage, took a breath, and got back to her dance. Byrne could stare as unnervingly as he wanted. When Shantae was in the zone, little else mattered to her, hips and arms swaying, stepping and shimmying along to the up beat music. She lost herself in her art, feeling the joy of her dance.

[dothelokomotion]

There was a large part of Byrne's mind that said he shouldn't be wasting his time watching some silly dance. But every time he tried to walk away or look away, he found his bright yellow eyes completely fixed upon this dancer's form. Like a siren, she had completely transfixed him with these moves.

It had been an awfully long time since Byrne had last seen anything "exciting" in the department of erotic displays, so obviously a significant part of him had been deprived and longed for a sultry distraction.

Was she a good dancer? Who knows. Byrne wasn't up to date on the art of dance. All he knew was that she was taking care to show off every muscle and curve, like she was trying to be a damn tease. But at least he stayed for however long she danced, finding himself unable to leave. However, whenever she finished, there wasn't any epic applause or anything from him. Just a simple nod of acknowledgment.

[magicdancer]

When the music finally ended, and Shantae was ready to stop, she hopped off the stage, grabbing a towel and water bottle. It was like a workout in itself, given how much she had been practicing. Seeing as Byrne was the only non-simulated person there, she thought to ask him, "Well, how'd I do?"

[dothelokomotion]

Byrne wasn't sure how to answer her question. He could use it as a segue to invite her to the bedroom, or he could give an otherwise unenthusiastic response that he would give in any other situation.

His expression hardly changed and remained somewhat neutral, though there was a glint of wonder in his yellow eyes. Taking a couple steps forward, he simply said one word: "Beautiful."

[magicdancer]

His expression seemed so neutral that she didn't see anything immediately creepy about him. Well, at least no more than a guy wearing a scarf over his mouth constantly already was. "Glad to hear I'm not losing my touch then," she said, wiping off her forehead.

"Stadium's all yours," she informed him, turning to leave. Unless of course Byrne had other things he wanted to say...

[dothelokomotion]

As she turned, Byrne's eyes once more fell upon her figure. No, he had to say something.

"Your name?" he found himself asking. So he could mentally refer to her as something other than "that dancer lady."

[magicdancer]

It was a natural reaction to the sight of Shantae's ass, Byrne.

"Hm?" She turned back. "Oh, right. It's Shantae. And you're the train teacher, right?" she asked.

[dothelokomotion]

Well it wasn't his fault she had a nice ass, okay!

Byrne scoffed slightly at the response. So everyone knew him as "that train guy," did they? Well, she wasn't wrong, but it would have been preferable to be known for better feats. He didn't correct her or anything, and just nodded. "Byrne," he stated.

"I presume you teach dance then?" he inquired. Gee it feels so familiar to his past life

[magicdancer]

Well, until she knew anything else about him beyond the subject he taught Train Guy would do. But now that she knew his name...

"Nice to meet you, Byrne. I don't really teach dance, but I do host a dance club on campus."

[dothelokomotion]

Byrne had no interest in dancing, but if the dance club featured dancers at all like Shantae, then he might consider watching. Just as long as he wasn't forced to dance.

"What do you teach, then?" he asked. Or maybe she was a student. It really didn't matter, did it?

April 1st

[almost_a_mermaid]

Now you've gone and made her blind. Her eyes are bleeding.

Chiyo wasn't going to the gym, but she was in the area. As she walked by, that radiantly bright shade of orange caught her attention and... just. Wow. But wait...

Whoa. Was that her Locomotives Engineering teacher?

"B-Byrne?" Did he know? Was this a new style change? I mean, what else could it be? Hesitant and baffled, she approached him. "Sir?"

[dothelokomotion]

It wasn't often that people would approach him in such a hesitant way unless it was to demand mercy. But one of his students - one of the better students - approaching him like this out of the blue in the hallway? Well, Byrne didn't know what it was about.

So he looked down at her, completely perplexed. "...Yes?"

[lovesclearlakes]

"Um... I don't... wish to be rude, but...." she fidgeted and hoped he wouldn't be angry with her. Her eyes went from his to his hair with a look of uncertainty. "...Your hair? Are you aware that it's... neon... orange?"

There. She said it. And now she was thick with worry in case she offended him. In all honesty, she couldn't imagine a man of his stature would ever wear his hair in such a color, though she couldn't imagine how it changed colors either.

[dothelokomotion]

It was a bit annoying to have such a fidgety student like this. Just say whatever was the issue and be on with it, he almost said, until she finally mentioned his hair. Byrne did care about his hair; while he kept it in a tight ponytail most of the time, he liked it enough to keep it long and soft. If he didn't care, he would have simply cut it short.

So, the last thing he expected to hear was that his hair was bright neon orange. Of all the things - he might have expected her to say that his hair was hideous, it had a creature on it, it was on fire, something. But bright orange? How?

Without saying anything, Byrne took a lock of hair from the long bangs at his side and held it within his eyesight. He immediately squinted from how bright the color was. That certainly was not his hair color at all.

So he looked back at Chiyo with his eyes wide in horrified surprise. Then back at his hair. Then back at Chiyo. "...How?" was all he could manage to gasp.