open Anthro Slice of Life Redux

[Denim&Venöm 22,101]

((OOC HERE: https://mlpforums.com/topic/154955-anthro-slice-of-life-redux-open/))

 

 

The bustling metropolis of Salt Lick City, home to Luna University, greets the dawning of a bright, sunny summer's day with the hectic hustle and bustle typical of a cosmopolitan Equestrian city. Ponies and non-ponies alike busily travel the wide, well maintained avenues as they go about their business. On the southern end of the city, the campus of Luna University slowly comes to life, as the nocturnal students and staff turn in and the diurnal populace comes to life.

Luna University, in homage to its namesake princess, has implemented numerous design features to assist with night-loving creatures of all kinds. Each building on campus is named after a constellation in the starry night sky, and features rooftop lights in the shape of their namesake constellations to allow nocturnal students (like batponies) to navigate easily. Underground dorms provide a cool, darkened habitation, while solar-cell powered LED sidewalks illuminate the various footpaths between buildings.

Luna U is not just for the nocturnals, though. Great care has gone into making it a welcoming place for all kinds of citizens to learn and grow, developing into the entrepreneurs, leaders, artisans, and educators of the future.

One building over, the first year dorms were just beginning to show signs of life. Located close enough to the the student-run on campus coffee shop Deja Brew, that even the sleepiest, groggiest students can stumble over for a quick morning perk, the dormitory building is where all new students reside for their first two years of academic study. There is a lake behind the dormitory building, which separates the new student dorms from the older, alcohol-permitted Student Duplex housing- and conveniently enough, the Campus Security office sits nearby, as well.

A luxurious grassy quad lies in the middle of the grounds, surrounded by the various buildings, labs, and lecture halls of Luna U. Restaurant Row, a thin, paved road along the edge of the quad, lets food trucks and other vendors of edible delights ply their ware to the perpetually starving student body, while six nondescript steel outbuildings serve as the access points to the underground facilities- including nocturnal dorms, chemistry labs, the music hall, and much of the Physics department's fascinating and astoundingly complicated research labs.

Luna U, in keeping with the vision of its namesake princess, is an inclusive and diverse institution, and as such does not require not expect payment from its students. The costs of operation for the university are covered by a complex system of grants, taxes, donations, and a series of financial products so onerous that nopony ever really bothers trying too hard to figure out how exactly they wil pay for their own education, and is therefore unburdened by financial stresses on top of everything else.

Welcome to Salt Lick City, and beautiful Luna University!

 

And somewhere at the LUNA U radio station, a heavy metal track had just finished up playing.

 

 

"-And that my good friends was the song Witches Mark, originally by Crystal Viper, covered by local campus headbangers WitchBlade, who happen to be fronted by, yours truly, Miko-sama!"
Said an enthusiastic, yet slightly raspy voiced vixen on the other end of the mic. "You all want to stop hearing it in the rotation? Buy the freakin EPs! We've got 3 of them! Birthright Vol. I,II and III! That way I can play something else of relevance! And no, Rhiana & Kanye West are not relevant. Now, you might be saying, music is subjective. Nah ah! The skill involved, both studio and live, The song structure, the lyrics and the story told, all make for a very definitive superior brand of music. Heavy freakin metal! Let's see some of those trendy pop idols & straight up thuggin rappers try to play the pentatonic scale in a minor key, while signing! Without autotune! Or backing tracks! That, is objectively better music. And I'll fight anyone who disagrees! Give me objective proof why your music is better! Let's hash it out!

Later, however. Cause it's 6 in the morning! You know what that means! 4 hours of paid programming! Ha, wish I was still playing the good stuff now don't you? I've got's to get my mandatory 3-6 hours. No, that's not me getting the same amount of you bunch cause you're up studying/partying. I've got the DEC₂ gene. Science! Meaning I need less sleep! Which allows me to keep my job and do more for you, the defenders fo the faith! This is Miko signing off for 66.6 The chamber! We'll load another round tonight at midnight! You can visit us on the web @ www.Miko-samaSucks.com, or find us on myspace, angelfire, geocities & deviant art. For all of us here @ the Luna U station, I'm Miko-sama, and we'll see you all tonight ...inside the chamber!

I've gotta sleep I've got class at noon..." she muttered.

*click*

Edited November 9, 2016 by Denim&Venom

[DwhitetheGamer 867]

@@captainborgue, 

 

Copper breathed a breath of fresh air, as he made his way to the main campus of Luna University.  He was excited about getting the opportunity to come into this place and having fun, but he knew the pressure of working in a university, especially one as big as this.

 

He jogged over to the main campus and into a classroom, where he took a seat and waited for the class to begin.

[Kronos the Revenant 1,973]

Kronos was wandering around, toting his three-pronged instrument on his back and his pet blob named Blob on his shoulder. He noticed the crowd going into the university. Curious, he took a look at the university that everyone was converging into. It read Luna University.

 

Luna University? he thought, Well, if there's people going in, then there must be a potentially large crowd there.

 

"You think we should go in, buddy?" Kronos asked while looking over his shoulder only to find that Blob wasn't there, "Blob? Blob, where'd you go, buddy?"

 

He saw Blob scuttling his way into the campus.

 

Uh oh, he thought, I'd better try and get him before someone accidentally sucks him up or he goes over a sewer grate or something. 

 

After that thought, he chased Blob into the campus.

[captainborgue 343]

Dr. Hannibal Kerrigan sat behind the lectern in a still mostly empty lecture hall, awaiting the arrival of the rest of her Psych 101 students. This was the first course of their first semester for nearly all of them, and as Bey of the Psych department, Kerrigan had specifically chosen this session to teach for a reason- while most students were here to fulfill general requirements, there would inevitably be those starry-eyed few who had big dreams of somehow magically solving all the problems of the world, and had no idea the level of work that would be required of anypony who wanted to pursue a career in the field.

 

Kerrigan was here to snap them out of it- and separate the wheat from the chaff, as it were.

 

She took a sip of her coffee- black with six sugars- and let the biting bitterness and cloying sweetness compete for dominance over her taste buds. The sugar rapidly crystallized, scoring an early victory, before the implacable sharpness of bitter roast bean juice powered through. It was a sensation she rather enjoyed, not to mention the warmth was something her reptilian physiology appreciated.

 

The bell rang halfway through her coffee, and a cursory glance told her not all the students registered were present. She waited another five minutes- it was the first lecture, and there was a certain level of leniency she would exercise here in light of the fact that the students could not possibly have known better. A few more straggled in during that interval, with sheepish looks and muttered apologies. Kerrigan gazed around, making a point to lock eyes with each student at least once.

 

"Welcome to Psychology 101: Introduction to Psychology. I am Dr. Hannibal Kerrigan, Bey of the Psychology department here at Luna University. Any of you seeking to pursue Psychology as your chosen field will be seeing me rather often. I'm certain many of you are anxious, or excited, or some combination of the two. This is a new experience for the majority of you. That being said, I'm going to start by explaining a few of the social mores that are expected of you. Primarily- you are all, legally speaking, adults. And I intend to treat you as such. Autonomy and self suffiency are skills that translate to all aspects of your life from this moment forward, so it is in your best interest to learn them well.

 

I am not going to indulge any of the typical 'get to know each other' nonsense that you will encounter in your other courses. You will have plenty of time to socialize with each other outside of this room, and that makes doing so while within it entirely frivolous. Your syllabus for this course was emailed to you, along with the reading list, and links to find the material online. Those of you who purchased textbooks will find them useful, but not- strictly speaking- necessary.

 

That being said, I am not going to take attendance, nor assign seats, nor give homework," Kerrigan said, pausing for the inevitable hum of conversation that always followed such an announcement. "Instead, there will be weekly exams going over the material covered. All exams are open book, as I fail to see the usefulness of taking notes if one is not permitted to use them. In addition, participation in class is a major component of your grade. Those of you with social anxiety will have to learn to cope with it, as I do not allow my students to coast along via rote memorization of the readings. Eating during class, or drinking for that matter, are irrelevant to me. Cell phones and other screen distractions, however, are not permitted. You cannot possibly participate if you are on your phone.

 

That being said, let us begin. Psychology is the study of emotion, cognition, and its effect on behavior- specifically the causal relationship between thought and emotion, and the resultant behavior one expresses as a result. In this class we will be covering the basic forms of behavioral conditioning, the five essential 'goals' of psychological study, and the methodology used to document and achieve those goals. We will begin with an example that I am sure you have all heard about- Classical Conditioning.

 

All psychological treatment is hinged upon the alteration of problematic behaviors via adjusting the emotional responses and cognitive processes that precede and initiate those behaviors. As none of us are mind readers, we must begin at the behavior in question before hypothesizing about the thoughts that lead to it. This model is known as Behaviorism, a method of Psychology that operates by the premise that all behaviors are either innate reflexes encoded into our genetics, or learned responses to stimuli. Classical conditioning pairs a strong stimuli with a neutral one, initiating a learning process whereby both stimuli are associated with each other, and behavior present in response to one of them becomes present in response to the other. Ivan Pavlov, for example, used a strong stimulus of food, paired with a neutral stimulus of ringing a bell. The result was that, after pairing the stimuli, the subjects of his research- dogs in this case- learned to associate the bell with food, and would respond to the bell by salivating in anticipation of meal, whether or not that meal ever materialized.

 

Who can give me an example of classical conditioning that they have seen or been part of?" Kerrigan asked. She already had an example in mind, though the number of students who came in after the bell suggested that the conditioning had not been effective for quite a few of them.

Edited July 31, 2016 by captainborgue

[Denim&Venöm 22,101]

Miko reclined in her swivel chair, bending backwards over it as she stretched out. "Hopefully we get more callers this time around. And get more EPs & samplers both locally and from the labels. I hate having to constantly replay stuff. End up like mainstream radio. Only playing top 40 stuff. All day. Every day. Till my ears bleed..." she yawned as she propped her paws up on the antiquated looking DJ mix board. which caused the chair to rollout form under her and her to fall over. 

 

*Thud!*

 

"Meant to do that!" 

Edited November 9, 2016 by Denim&Venom

[redaxted 1,765]

@@captainborgue Ocean sat in silence, listening intently to what Kerrigan was saying. She very nearly breathed a small sigh of relief when everyone was told that they wouldn't have to go into introducing themselves to everyone - but the shy smile adorning her face soon faded when she heard that actively participating in the classes went towards their grades.

'Of course...' she thought to herself. 'Just when I was hoping this wouldn't be quite like high school all over again...'

Redirecting her focus back to Kerrigan, Ocean sunk down in her seat slightly when the class was asked a question. She could think of several answers, but... She decided to try and be the least noticeable student in the room, just in case. Thinking of unnoticeable individuals... Ocean hadn't seen her best friend, Savannah, yet today.

Edited July 31, 2016 by Wolves

[Unicorncob 5,779]

Inside one of the dorm rooms, the millisecond the shrill beep of an alarm clock sounded at six AM sharp, a hand silenced it with a hard press. The rest of the body shot out of the bed after it.

 

Tyra Shatterhoof was nothing short of excited. The earth pony girl had moved to Salt Lick City from her home of Trotstheim, a village in the coldest corners of the Frozen North, as part of the University's foreign integration program. She had no idea what in Equestria that meant, aside from she was going to meet new ponies in a new land and learn new things!

 

Most young adults would be nervous of the concept, but she had been nothing but elated since she first heard the news. She loved meeting new faces and going to new places!

 

Once her wild ginger bedhead had been tamed into a pair of braids, she grabbed a t-shirt and jean-shorts from the pile of clothes in the corner. One thing she had to get used to was the change of attire, since mainlanders tended to wear different clothes than the leather tunics and cloaks she was fond of back home. Though, the black t-shirt with the intense dragon graphic covering both sides caught her eye the moment she got to a clothes store in the city.

 

She didn't care that the shirt was rather big and loose on her, given her shorter stature than other girls her age.

 

Plus, it was a hot summer, and with her blue coat being thicker to combat freezing cold, she'd have to wear lighter outfits.

 

However, she outright refused to go anywhere without her trademark article of attire - a small, dome-shaped steel helmet, with a pair of small white wings on the sides. It was a gift from her father as a filly, so she refused to go anywhere without it.

 

Throwing the knapsack over her shoulder, she practically darted out of the room, nearly bumping into the groggy, shuffling students as she sprinted down the hallway and out into the courtyard. A large grin crossed her face and her green eyes glimmered as she thought of the Creative Writing class she had signed up for. She imagined all of the amazing stories about powerful warriors and colossal monsters she could put onto paper all day.

 

She just couldn't wait to get started!

[captainborgue 343]

Kimi Matozi slowly stumbled into consciousness, after a succession of alarms on her phone went off every few minutes. A cup of strong coffee helped, though Kimi had a habit of adding enough milk and cream that calling it 'coffee' was a bit of an exaggeration, it was more like a coffee flavored shake. Still, it was sweet and comforting, and whether via placebo or caffeine, it helped her wake up.

 

"So many new faces," Kimi said, mostly to herself, as she walked across the quad. There were a few weird glances her way, but less so than last year. The university made a big deal about being diverse, but it was still a mostly pony school- and ponies were usually quite a bit shorter than she was. It took her an entire year to learn to duck going through the classroom doors.

 

Kimi narrowly missed a trio of obviously new students as she tilted her head back to drain the last of her coffee. "Sorry, sorr-" she began, before noticing something unusual. There was another new kid, which made sense. But she was wearing what looked like an old battle helmet, with some kind of decorative things on it. Kimi couldn't help but stare. She made a mental note to ask about it, if she ever saw that kid again, at any rate.

 

 

***

 

Nova groaned and reluctantly hit the silence button on her clock radio. Metal wasn't really her thing, but it was a very effective alarm clock. At least, for the intial waking up part. Nova had a habit of hitting snooze and zonking out again, which led inevitably to bolting upright and realizing she was going to be late to class. On the first day of class. For the first class of class.

 

"OHMYGOSHGOTTAGOBYE!!" she yelled, before snatching her bookbag, pulling on the first clothes she encountered, and bolting down the dormitory hall. The air around her seemed to distort as she ran past, and the more observant students may have smelled a tinge of ozone. This was a vast improvement over last year, when she had accidentally set the kitchen on fire while trying to make coffee. And it hadn't even been the coffeemaker that had started it. Nova's magic was similar to her mother's, in that she could affect atomic bonds. But while her mother had precise control in both breaking and forging atomic bonds, Nova had not yet mastered control, and all she could do was break them. Which, for all intents and purposes, meant she could blow up or ignite almost anything, usually without meaning to.

 

She dashed out onto the quad, dodging roving groups of still groggy students. It was remarkable just the variety of people that came here- she'd met a couple of batponies when she was moving in, but in daylight that was so, so much more. And not just ponies, either. Nova was distracted staring at what looked like a zebra girl- only much taller than any zebra Nova had ever seen, and with some kind of little horn things- and being so distracted, she collided headlong with another student.

 

"Sorry, sorry! Totally my fault, didn't see you there," Nova said, sheepishly- and that's when she saw the helmet. "Is... is that a Brodie? From the Great War?" Nova asked, hesitating a bit to try and recall the name. "It has the same shape as a Brodie, at any rate. OH! Sorry, I'm Nova. And you are?"

Edited August 2, 2016 by captainborgue

[Kronos the Revenant 1,973]

Kronos finally caught up with Blob inside of the university.

 

"Gotchya, you slippery squirt," Kronos said as he grabbed Blob, "Why do you keep doing that? Honestly, tell me."

 

Blob replied with a raspberry.

 

"Alright, wise guy, next time, I'm putting you on a towel so that you'll actually stay where I put you."

 

Blob replied with another raspberry.

 

"Yeah yeah, I get it."

 

Kronos was completely oblivious of the other people there who are looking at him weird because he was talking to his pet Blob that was speaking in a less than discernible language.

[Drago Ryder 641]

Blitz gave a low growl as he walked around the university campus. He didn't have classs until the afternoon, and thankfully he had taken most of the first year courses in high school. His earliest class wouldn't start until 9, so he had time to get something to eat and generally walk around. "Just don't draw attention to yourself and you'll do just fine." He thought to himself. The dragon saw a few oddities among the students, but didn't really judge. He then walked into a small cafe that seemed to be serving breakfast and sat down at one of the unoccupied tables.

 

In one of the larger dorm rooms, a snake slept peacefully, at least until her alarm went off at five in the morning. She quickly tapped the snooze button with her tail and sighed. After cleaning her scales, the snake put on a cream colored shirt with a brown jacket. She was going for an art major, so she wouldn't have to take some of the more rigorous classes. Most of her classes started in the afternoon, so she had plenty of free time. The snake then exited her room and headed outside.

[Denim&Venöm 22,101]

 

 

For all of us here @ the Luna U station, I'm Miko-sama, and we'll see you all tonight ...inside the chamber!   I've gotta sleep I've got class at noon..."

 

 

*click* Went a white furred hand over the alarm. The tall form of the member of the werewolf-esq species the Garou known as Mindie Fenris stretched. She'd cast off her blanket. If she had one. But being coated in fur made for a decent sleeping experience. She sat up as she laced her fingers and sent her arms up. 

 

'So begins the oddessy. Odin be by my side." She thought as she looked around. One of her roomates wasn't in. Makes sense, considering she was just on the radio. Her other room mate however, appeared to be hanging form the ceiling. 

 

"Ponies are weird." She thought as she rolled off the bed and to the restroom. Brushing her canines, showering, combing her silver shoulder length mane. She started back into her icy blue eyes, and the silver pupils within. "Am I gonna be the biggest, scariest thing on campus? Probably. Most of these horse folk have never seen a real wolf before."  She exited the bath as she dried off her grey & white coat. She pulled out the drawers under her bed that held her attire.

 

"Clothes being mandatory. Haven't the faculty considered that some of us may already have something that act's as a warm covering for our bodies. For their sake I hope it's cold in there. I don't need to suffer another case of hyperthermia and they don't need another class action lawsuit." She settled on the tight fitting HammerFall tee, a pair of knee high jeans and her Hammer pendant. . 

 

One massive bowl of cereal later and Mindie was out the door, perusing her schedule. "I have a little bit of time before my first class. If I gotten up earlier, I could've had my morning jog." The 7 footer overlooked the rest of the students. "No panicking yet. No screams of 'predator' by the freshmares."

 

@@captainborgue,@@Unicorncob,

 

Mindie's ear twitched at the sound of a crash.  She looked over to the commotion. "Huh. Now isn't that a way to start the day?" She walked over to the two tangled equines. "Is she wearing a helm in the fashion of Mjilnia Odinsteed?"  

 

"Excuse me, you two alright?" she asked. Hints of a Scandaneighvian accent in her words. 

[Unicorncob 5,779]

Kimi Nearly bowled over a trio of obviously new students as she tilted her head back to drain the last of her coffee. "Sorry, sorr-" she began, before noticing something unusual. There was another new kid, which made sense. But she was wearing what looked like an old battle helmet, with some kind of decorative things on it. Kimi couldn't help but stare. She made a mental note to ask about it, if she ever saw that kid again, at any rate.

 

One moment, Tyra was sprinting across the quad, excited to begin her year of learning. The next thing she knew, she was tangled up with another student. A much taller one at that.

 

Though, then again, almost all others her age were taller than her. Some even younger than her too.

 

"Oh, I am sorry!" She cried, her voice carrying a strong Norse accent. She adjusted the helmet on her head and held out a hand to help the taller student up. "I hope you are not hurt!"

 

 

Mindie's ear twitched at the sound of a crash.  She looked over to the commotion. "Huh. Now isn't that a way to start the day?" She walked over to the two tangled equines. "Is she wearing a helm in the fashion of Mjilnia Odinsteed?"  

 

"Excuse me, you two alright?" she asked. Hints of a Scandaneighvian accent in her words. 

 

She turned and saw as another tall student walked over. She grinned ear to ear and nodded, causing the wings on her helm to flap a bit. "Aye, I am well, thank you!"

 

She blinked, her grin disappearing to make room for wide-eyed realisation as she had noticed something. Specifically, this girl's voice. Her grin then returned with lightspeed as she bounced up to her.

 

"Ah, another from the North!" She squeaked, bouncing on her heels. "It is so exciting to be so far away from home, isn't it?!"

[Denim&Venöm 22,101]

 

 

"Ah, another from the North!" She squeaked, bouncing on her heels. "It is so exciting to be so far away from home, isn't it?!"

 

"It was at first. I have been here for a while though. I'm kind of missing it at this point." She noticed the wings on the little mares helm appear to flap.  "Nice helm. In the vein of Mjolnia Odinsteed the storm bringer." She offered her hand. "Mindy Fenris. Out of Horsinki." 

[Mentis Soliloquy 3,030]

Quill was one of the older students considering most came here straight from school, she didn't. Only reason she was here to get an offical degree? Results? Somthing in her actual profession for the sake of paperwork.

 

She already worked in her chosen career but was told 'you actually have to get something, at least on paper...'. So that's why she's here.

 

Quill didn't have classes till mid afternoon but she was here to talk to some staff about means to pass the course quicker. Most teachers were free in the mornings. She was in the cold morning air jacket, jeens, backpack as she walked to a faculty room.

[Kronos the Revenant 1,973]

Being bored out of his mind, Kronos decided to sit down in the campus and started playing his instrument with Blob on the opened guitar case.

 

"Hehehe," Kronos chuckled at Blob, "Do you think that the campus security here will kick us out for playing music here? I mean, I'm more than willing to play here for free as long as tips will be offered."

 

Blob simply replied with purring.

 

"Yeah, you're probably right. Ah well, nothing's stopping me now."

 

With that said, he began playing some music on his three-pronged Guitassboard, which was his guitar, bass and keyboard hybrid instrument.

[captainborgue 343]

Nova slipped away from the small cluster of students as though nobody had seen her. Which was a nice change of pace, as she usually drew attention to herself. Luckily, the crowds were thinning, as most students had already gotten to their morning classes. Nova looked at her watch... and it dawned on her that she wasn't late at all- she was two hours early, as she had woken up thinking it was a different day of the week. Which meant her classes today didn't start for hours.

 

Nova sighed, resisting the urge to facepalm, and wandered the quad. There was some kind of music playing, so out of boredom she followed the sound of it. The source was as strange as the tune- an instrument Nova had never seen, being played by a guy with a pet... blob... thing.

 

"Never heard anything quite like that before. Who- or what- is your little friend there?" Nova asked, genuinely curious. "Oh, I'm Nova, by the way."

 

***

 

Kimi was able to slip away as the others were in the midst of conversation. While it was strange for her to see anypony actually taller than herself, there was stll the primary matter of actually getting to class to deal with. Luckily, Kimi made it a point to give herself plenty of time- and in this case, her actual class session was a ways off. She intended to stop by the Deja Brew for a morning pick me up.

 

Still, something else unusual caught her eye. A dragon- dragons ere still fairly rare to see this far in the interior of Equestria, and the only other dragon Kimi had ever met was the Bey of Psychology- and meeting her was not exactly a pleasant experience. Perhaps it was a racial tendency of dragons, or perhaps just a personal quirk of the Bey. Kimi mulled it over in her head for a moment, before deciding on an impromptu experiment- she would go introduce herself, and if this one was as brusque and fastidious, then it would lend credence to the idea that dragons in general were of a similar bent, as it were.

 

She followed it (it? him?) into one of the cafes that lined one side of the quad. It smelled like eggs and bacon inside, a not unpleasant scent, even though she did not care for bacon. Still, she was here for a reason, and there was no need to stand on ceremony now.

 

"Mind if I sit with you?" Kimi asked, pulling up a chair. "I'm just gonna come out and say it- don't often see dragons on campus. Not that I have room to talk- I've never met any other zuffalo. I'm Kimi Matozi. What's your name?"

[Kankuro 233]

@@captainborgue, @@Wolves,

A lone wolf wandered down the halls of a quiet campus. Even though he was late, he heard every single word his teacher had said due to to strength of his hearing, so he was at no loss.

Minutes before, Zeke had groggily slipped out of the comfort of his queen sized bed and he had moved towards the coffee maker. His nose had twitched in anticipation. He yawned when he looked at the alarm clock, and as he did he woke up fully. 

In minutes Zeke was rushing down the hall sipping coffee as he went, his teacher beginning to talking as he entered the hallway. He honed his strong ears in and heard everything, including the question.

Zeke entered the lecture hall quietly, taking one oft he only few seats next to a nervous looking snow leopard, raising his hand at the same time.

After being picked he spoke.

"Most of us would take a fire alarm as a sign of danger."

He smiled at his answer and opened his laptop, getting ready to take notes as he sipped on his coffee, and put his headphones made for wolves down next to the laptop.

Edited August 3, 2016 by Kankuro

[Unicorncob 5,779]

"It was at first. I have been here for a while though. I'm kind of missing it at this point." She noticed the wings on the little mares helm appear to flap.  "Nice helm. In the vein of Mjolnia Odinsteed the storm bringer." She offered her hand. "Mindy Fenris. Out of Horsinki." 

 

"Ahh, you also have read about the Storm Bringer!" Tyra chirped, bouncing on her heels some more as her excitement grew. "My papa got this for me in a battle he went to when I was a filly! I have never parted with it since!" She beamed, practically bursting with pride at the mention of her father.

 

She took the larger girl's hand in her own, which was minute in comparison. "Well met, Mindy Fenris of Horsinki! I am Tyra Shatterhoof, thirdborn to Jarl Ralof Shatterhoof of Trotstheim!"

[captainborgue 343]

@@captainborgue, @@Wolves,

 

A lone wolf wandered down the halls of a quiet campus. Even though he was late, he heard every single word his teacher had said due to to strength of his hearing, so he was at no loss.

 

Minutes before, Zeke had groggily slipped out of the comfort of his queen sized bed and he had moved towards the coffee maker. His nose had twitched in anticipation. He yawned when he looked at the alarm clock, and as he did he woke up fully. 

 

In minutes Zeke was rushing down the hall sipping coffee as he went, his teacher beginning to talking as he entered the hallway. He honed his strong ears in and heard everything, including the question.

 

Zeke entered the lecture hall quietly, taking one oft he only few seats next to a nervous looking snow leopard, raising his hand at the same time.

 

After being picked he spoke.

 

"Most of us would take a fire alarm as a sign of danger."

 

He smiled at his answer and opened his laptop, getting ready to take notes as he sipped on his coffee, and put his headphones made for wolves down next to the laptop.

 

Kerrigan suppressed a flare of indignance as the lupine student was late, though his volunteering to answer, and providing a reasonable answer to her question, made up for it. "Partially correct, Zeke. Were the fire alarms to go off this moment, you would all respond by exiting the building in an orderly fashion. However, since professors and administrators would enforce such a response, it is not- strictly speaking- classical conditioning. Still, I appreciate your response," Kerrigan said, as her eyes scanned the room.

 

She saw a great deal of anxiety looking back at her- these fresh faces were still so accustomed to the destructive social mores of high school, they had not yet realized their own voice. Kerrigan would have to encourage them to self sufficiency. Her eyes fell on a female snow leopard, with a facial expression that suggested she very much wanted to avoid attention. As a predator in a predominantly prey institution, she would draw disproportionate attention anyway, which Kerrigan considered a valuable life skill. Perhaps this girl- Kerrigan checked her student roster- this girl 'Ocean'- could use some... encouragement.

 

"Ocean, do you have another example?"

[Denim&Venöm 22,101]

@@Unicorncob,

 

Mindie nodded at the little pony's introduction. "Ah, the Shatterhoofs. If memory serves, your family were among the Neighwegian ranks my ancestors clashed with while serving under King Charles the XII of the Steedish Empire during the Great Northern War, especially at the last siege of Fredricksteed. Apologies for their behavior during that particular battle... we'll put up a more worthy challenge next time." She said with a slight smirk. 

 

 

Elsewhere, at the Luna U radio station.

 

"Dammit!" Miko yelled as she leaped from the third story window, landing on her skateboard. Rolling on the pavement at high speeds, she shuffled her books back into her tote bag. "They got my schedule wrong! I wanted evening classes!" She yelled as sped past a tall wolf talking to a small pony.

 

"HiMinieByeiIndie!" she yelled again as she sped past.

 

Mindie raised her hand in a half wave to acknowledge. 

 

 

@@captainborgue,

 

 

"Okay! So...I got...Psychology? Why the hell that's a requirement course is beyond me! " she skated into the proper building, rolling through the halls. Good thing skateboards & roller blades were made legal on campus. Her ears flicked as she heard the teacher begin her lecture, and talkign about how attendance was a big factor. "Well lucky me then!" 

 

Miko quickly opened the door and rolled into the lecture hall. "Hi, how you doin?" she said, rolling past a group of onlookers. She turned and slid into the nearest available isle seat, kicking her Suicidal Tendencies board on it's edge and leaning it on the table desk thing. "To answer that question, does building a Skinner box for the psych teacher's grand kid and rewarding her w/ popcorn every time we blared air horns on a cellphone count?" she said as she straitened her Meshuggah Tee and placed a tall can of Changeling energy on the table.

Edited August 4, 2016 by Denim&Venom

[captainborgue 343]

@@captainborgue,

 

 

"Okay! So...I got...Psychology? Why the hell that's a requirement course is beyond me! " she skated into the proper building, rolling through the halls. Good thing skateboards & roller blades were made legal on campus. Her ears flicked as she heard the teacher begin her lecture, and talkign about how attendance was a big factor. "Well lucky me then!" 

 

Miko quickly opened the door and rolled into the lecture hall. "Hi, how you doin?" she said, rolling past a group of onlookers. She turned and slid into the nearest available isle seat, kicking her Suicidal Tendencies board on it's edge and leaning it on the table desk thing. "To answer that question, does building a Skinner box for the psych teacher's grand kid and rewarding her w/ popcorn every time we blared air horns on a cellphone count?" she said as she straitened her Meshuggah Tee and placed a tall can of Changeling energy on the table.

"That could be considered several different forms of child abuse. But, technically, that would be operant conditioning. Classical conditioning is when a response occurs after a stimulus, operant conditioning occurs when a stimulus occurs after a behavior as a means of reinforcing it. Still, it is a very similar process, so I suppose partial credit for responding," Kerrigan said, unperturbed. "Now, for future reference, interrupting somepony or nonpony who is speaking or about to speak is not something I look favorably upon. It is still Ocena's turn to speak."

[redaxted 1,765]

Kerrigan suppressed a flare of indignance as the lupine student was late, though his volunteering to answer, and providing a reasonable answer to her question, made up for it. "Partially correct, Zeke. Were the fire alarms to go off this moment, you would all respond by exiting the building in an orderly fashion. However, since professors and administrators would enforce such a response, it is not- strictly speaking- classical conditioning. Still, I appreciate your response," Kerrigan said, as her eyes scanned the room.

 

She saw a great deal of anxiety looking back at her- these fresh faces were still so accustomed to the destructive social mores of high school, they had not yet realized their own voice. Kerrigan would have to encourage them to self sufficiency. Her eyes fell on a female snow leopard, with a facial expression that suggested she very much wanted to avoid attention. As a predator in a predominantly prey institution, she would draw disproportionate attention anyway, which Kerrigan considered a valuable life skill. Perhaps this girl- Kerrigan checked her student roster- this girl 'Ocean'- could use some... encouragement.

 

"Ocean, do you have another example?"

Ocean let a sigh of relief escape her when Zeke, who had turned up late, offered his answer. But she once again fell silent when she was asked for another example.

'This should be easy...' she thought to herself. 'When we see lightning... Based on past experiences we expect thunder next?'

"Um..." she began nervously, shaking it off. "When we spot lightning, we've learnt to associate it with thunder coming afterwards, and so we anticipate it?"

She hoped this example was alright, seeing as this form of conditioning was completely natural, unlike pairing the thought of a fire alarm with danger. Where was her best friend for some encouragement when she needed her? Savannah had promised to always be there to support her, as she got anxious at the slightest of things; but the wolf was nowhere to be found, presently.

[Unicorncob 5,779]

Mindie nodded at the little pony's introduction. "Ah, the Shatterhoofs. If memory serves, your family were among the Neighwegian ranks my ancestors clashed with while serving under King Charles the XII of the Steedish Empire during the Great Northern War, especially at the last siege of Fredricksteed. Apologies for their behavior during that particular battle... we'll put up a more worthy challenge next time." She said with a slight smirk. 

 

"Aye, my grandfather told me much about the Great Northern War!" Tyra chirped, grinning that she had already found someone to relate to and she hadn't even started class yet! "The Last Siege of Fredricksteed was always my favourite part!"

 

She smirked back at Mindie's comment. "We shall look forward to it, friend."

[Mentis Soliloquy 3,030]

Quill had seen to her issues. The teachers were quite helpful with her enquiries, she could work more and pass faster. But, she wasn't sure about that, she'd been a collage, uni? Same thing in her mind for coming up to a year now and she was really enjoying things here, her job was also still waiting for when she was done.

 

"Maybe I should be a collage student for a while, just do stuff like that?..." Looking around the park she was now in. "Live a little?"

 

@@Denim&Venom @@Unicorncob

 

She spoted an odd pair and walked over. "Hello, I'm being really random, I'm Quill and I'm jumping out my social shell."

[Drago Ryder 641]

@captainborgue

 

Blitz was surprised to say the least when Kimi spoke to him, though he didn't really show it."Considering the fact that you're already here, I don't see why not." He said, giving a light smile. If anything the dragon would indulge her curiosity. "As for my name, it's Blitz Ryu, but most just use my first name. It's a pleasure to meet you, Kimi.

 

Apep eventually found her way into Luna U's library and grabbed a fantasy novel before laying on her own coils and opened it up. She wasn't really that social around those she didn't know, but she could always lose herself in literature.