Don’t worry about the future.

[mansionstaff]

Who: EV ERY ONE
What: Graduation. Prom.
When: The evening of May 31st.
Where: The Stadium.
Warnings: WHO KNOWS

It's a beautiful spring evening at Smash Academy, the barest hints of summer just beginning to touch the stadium floor, which had been rearranged into a platform overlooking neat rows of chairs meant to seat the gathered crowd of faculty and students. Towards the other end of the complex was the arrangement for the prom that was to follow. Food and drink, chairs and tables, each with a floral centerpiece, and, of course, a dance floor.



Before everyone could get their party on, however, there was the main event of the evening. From his place at the podium, Master Hand watched students and staff alike find their way into the stadium. With the recent shadow bug invasion, there seemed to be tensions in need of dispelling. If the Headmaster knew one thing, however, it was that some silly antics were not going to ruin this esteemed event. Not tonight. Not if he could help it.

-------

HEY DUDES! Here's how stuff is going to work. We kick off the log with GRADUATION. This part of the log will be divided into separate threads. I'll post them all at once, so feel free to hop around, mingle, post whenever, wherever.

HOWEVER, once the PROM starts, it will be up to you guys to post your own threads. Please check out last year's log if you'd like an idea of how this works. Everything after the thread titled "DISMISSAL" (I will post that in a bit, so don't post prom threads until I have that up!) will be considered prom, though don't let that stop you from continuing to post in the graduation section.

Please label all your threads appropriately! (Examples: "SHENANIGANS AT THE FOOD TABLE", "DANCE-OFF", "THE PUNCH IS SPIKED", "BOTHER X" In general, a location + what is going on in the thread is the way to go. Obviously, more than one thread can take place at the same location. 

Linking back and forth when and if you thread hop is very much appreciated. If things start to look a bit laggy, we'll bump to the next page. Most importantly, TAG YOUR DUDES, HAVE FUN, and let a mod know about any problems or concerns you might have!

Comments

Joel was told to chaperone so chaperone he shall.

[golonghorns]

There was gun fire.

Why was there gun fire?

What crazy bastard had bought a loaded gun to prom?

This crazy bastard. This crazy, paranoid, constantly armed bastard.

His revolver had been hidden under his suit jacket in back of his pants the whole night. Now, he was unloading rounds at the creature's hilariously small head. Hopefully it would go down quickly. His other plan was to get to his dorm and pull out some big guns. Because frankly, this thing was bigger than any Bloater he'd ever seen and his revolver didn't seem to be doing much of anything...

[galleom]

WOW RUDE

That got the giant robot-tank's attention, though all it really seemed to do was make it angry. How'd you like some STOMPING AND FIST-SMASHING, HUH

HUH?!

[golonghorns]

"Ohhhhh shit!"

Joel squeezed out a couple more rounds and remembered with dismay how long this thing took to reload. And then realized with even more dismay that his pockets were out of additional ammo.

As a huge purple fist made short work of scenery mere inches from his position, he would have given pretty much anything for his backpack full of premade Molotov cocktails and nail bombs and the El Diablo. None of that might do anything to this huge... whatever it was. But at least he'd go out fighting. One stomp or slap from this thing and his back was as good as broken.

Well, at least it's attention is off the kids while he's tryin' to pound on me. he thought as he aimed his last bullet right at the thing's face.

BLAM!

[galleom]

The bullet's aim proved true and nailed Galleom right in the eye, the giant reeling backwards as its hand slammed into the place where the projectile hit. Temporarily distracted, it staggered before swinging a fist wildly.

[golonghorns]

Perfect. Just the distraction he needed.

Joel sprinted faster than he would have believed possible for a man nearing his fifties. He'd go to his room, come back equipped, and do this thing right.

To be continued, grape ape mach II.

[trustycrowbar]

Yeah, what crazy paranoid bastard brings a loaded gun to prom?

Wait, where were the other shots coming from?

IT'S GORDON, and he's drawn a pistol from under his own jacket from his position halfway across the room, firing and yelling something that sounds suspiciously like "Where's an rpg when you fucking need one?!"

Looks like you have a kindred spirit, ya paranoid bastard.

[golonghorns]

Paranoid bastards of the world unite!

Joel had been given precious time to run back to his dorm and pick up a few extras. No RPGs unfortunately. However, he did have extra clips and some guns that Gordon might find useful.

"What're you usin'?" he yelled from a table he'd overturned to give himself some cover. He'd put away his revolver for now and was pumping rounds out of a 9mm pistol, mostly to draw the creature's attention from other combatants.

[trustycrowbar]

"Nine-mil! I've got a revolver too, but the rest--"

SHIT, he leaps out of the way of a crushing blow by the big armored party crasher, and he adds a pot-shot before he stands again!

"--The rest is in the science building!"

[golonghorns]

Joel rustled around in his pocket and tossed Gordon a spare 9mm clip. Hopefully it was something compatible with Gordon's model.

"You want to go get geared up? I can cover you."

He shoved the pistol into his pocket and picked up El Diablo - a long pistol with a sight on it. It would drop any man with one shot and a bloater in two, so long as you hit it in the head.

[galleom]

Sorry to interrupt. It was time for Galleom to give a tremendous stomp that shook the ground in the general vicinity.

[golonghorns]

"Jesus..." Joel muttered, the thump knocking him to his knees none too gently. His legs certainly weren't getting any younger.

"Hey! Remember me?" he yelled, standing up to draw the big purple creature's attention from Gordon. He fired at it with the El Diablo, the most powerful gun in his current arsenal. What it could do to this thing he was unsure, but it could drop a bloater if you aimed right.

[trustycrowbar]

"You're not even armored!" He shouts back, but the look on Joel's face gives him all the reply he'd need. Gordon makes a split-second decision, and then stows the pistol.

"Thanks. I'll be back in five minutes!"

And he takes off in a full sprint, the kind that suggests he was used to hauling ass and had no intention to stop.

[golonghorns]

"I'll give you six!" Joel called out, clicking the safety off El Diablo and getting ready to make a ruckus.

[trustycrowbar]

[The suit seals. Electrodes plunge into his spine, seating with neural nodes and verifying his genome for power-up. Power courses around ceramic plates, and he jerks into a sprint.]

[Exactly five and a half minutes later, Joel's extended fight with Galleon now has an assist, in the form of a grenade-launcher of a sub-machine gun aimed at him by a grey gloved hand.]

Sorry it took so long. Damn medical system wouldn't shut up about the alcohol in my system.

[golonghorns]

"Sweet mother've..."

He'd expected Gordon to go grab some more hand guns and ammo. He wasn't sure what it was Gordon was wearing, but you just HAD to respect that kind of firepower.

"Nah, man. You're good. Was doin' fine."

He wasn't doing as fine as he'd like to be, but he was alive. That's all he'd ever needed before.

[trustycrowbar]

For those at home, the weird orange-and-grey suit Gordon is now sporting looks like a biohazard suit that's been upgraded by some kind of paranoid militant biologist with a fetish for powered armor.

With his and Joel's exchange as a preamble, Gordon launches the promised grenade with a meaty THOOMP and a remote explosion of sound and heat against Galleon's side. That ought to get the big bastard's attention, and indeed the metal colossus bears down to charge at him at full speed.

[golonghorns]

"Beautiful." Joel said as the explosion threw heat and light in their direction. He jammed some more ammo into El Diablo and ducked to the side, trying to stay out of the behemoth's path.

BLAM! BLAM!

....he was glad he'd upgraded the capacity of this puppy. It was a single shot when he'd found it. Then again, that had almost seemed like enough back then.

"I gotta get me one of those suits." he muttered. It looked more protective than a standard flak jacket, that was for sure.

[mohawk_tomahawk]

Yeah guys, we were packing it.

Meanwhile Connor was trying his best to hop on to the back of the thing and try to jam his tomahawk somewhere.

On the corner of his eye, he saw Gordon and Joel doing their thing and noticed their explosives. Awesome, this was awesome. They were hitting this thing on all cylinders, they had to be doing some number on this thing by now.

[trustycrowbar]

Gordon almost dashes out of the way of Galleon's tread-powered charge. Almost. The bulldozer-like nose throws him and he's bulldozed out of the way like a carbon-fiber ragdoll. A flash of red in his other hand an a heavy CLANGG and suddenly he has a hold of it by... a red crowbar, being dragged along.

"Maybe I didn't think this trough--!" He grunts on his way up.

[golonghorns]

....so, OK, those guys were officially screwy.

No, seriously. Jumping on it with an axe? Jamming a crowbar into it and getting dragged around?

He hastily holstered El Diablo and pulled out Shorty. He'd found this puppy in the sewers on the body of a man named Ish. It was a sawn off shotgun, but done right. Carefully modified by it's former owner, it had saved his ass on more than one occasion. He'd upgraded the mag to hold six, 20 gauge shells.

"Keep 'im busy, boys!" he called, sprinting forward. The closer he could get, the more damage the little sawn off could deal. And if he was fast enough - a pretty big If, if you asked him - he could let off a couple of blasts then be out of the way by the time it swung one of those Vee Dub Beetle sized fists down to try and give him a full body black eye.

[mohawk_tomahawk]

Connor was really focusing on where on the neck of this thing was some place to jam this into. He would happy if that slowed it down, happier if it could manage to take the head out of commission permanently.

This was a far different beast that any robot he'd seen, but he had to adapt or they could very well be turned into dead meat. If the thing tried to use its hands to grab him and throw him off, he would try to fend it off with his blades.

He heard Joel about keeping it busy, so that was what he would attempt to do too. Keeping grip of anything, Connor would start swinging his tomahawk on the center of his head.

He took a second as he was doing this though, and spoke quickly to Gordon.

"Gordon!" Connor yelled. "Find something to grip and keep its legs occupied!"

[trustycrowbar]

Seriously?

"Sure, I'll get right on that!" Gordon retorts, while awkwardly swinging by the crowbar implanted in its ass. Whether Connor understood the sarcasm was ultimately irrelevant, because before anything else can be said the giant robot leaps into the air and crashes down, nearly dislodging Gordon. The impact shakes loose a bunch of the prom decorations, draping the whole place in dislodged ropes, banners, ribbons and garlands.

"...!"

He grabs hold of the largest bundle of flowery entrails he can grasp, and wrenches free when Galleom turns. That sends him in a swinging arc around the robot, grasping for more flowerbling to tie him up with.

When the last strands give and Gordon tumbles onto the ground, he's covered in glitter, silk petals, and tissue paper. Galleon is now bound from the legs down in flowers, bows and ENCHANTMENT.

At least, that's what the banner around his legs says: ENCHANTMENT.

[golonghorns]

That was more than enough ENCHANTMENT to keep the thing still for a moment or two. At least, that's what Joel hoped.

He ran out from his cover, and let loose with the sawn off shotgun. This thing was armored so shooting just anywhere wasn't going to help. He aimed for exposed areas of purple flesh and wiring, and got off four of six shots before having to run for cover again.

How much damage had he done? It was anyone's guess.

[mohawk_tomahawk]

Connor didn't know, with the robot being distracted on all fronts, hopefully now they could do some damage.

Connor started now going for the exposed areas on the head and neck.

They had to be doing something now, they just had to be. Connor wasn't going to quit until they did and the thing was taken care of.

[trustycrowbar]

From his cozy vantage point on the ground, Gordon can see bits of metal from the big ape thing hitting the ground and promptly disintegrating into small fuzzy dots that look at him.

"Hogod--!" Gordon scrambles to his feet before the shadow bugs can latch onto his nice-and-electrified suit, and backpedals with a cover of machine-gun fire, to get out of the way of a large, stomping foot.