ArchivedLogs:Music Room Meet Up

Music Room Meet Up
Dramatis Personae Cassy, Marinov
In Absentia	2018-06-15 Cassy and Marinov hang out in the music room
Location <XS> Music Room - FL2
Wide and spacious, seating in this soundproofed room comes largely on the sweep of gentle risers that afford the teacher an easy view of all the budding performers, and add another dimension to the acoustics of the room. Instruments of all types are carefully stored around the room, and a grand piano, immaculately upkept, takes the position of prize near the back. In a nod to the eclectic studies of the students, digital mixing equipment and turntables rub shoulders with the classical instruments. Music stands sit in front of most of the seats, and the only windows look out out over the side of the school grounds. Of all the rooms in Xaviers the music room is the closest thing there is to a quiet room. At least it would be quiet if Cassy couldn't hear the humming of the electrical wires in the wall. But still it's a lot better than anywhere else in the mansion thanks to the soundproofing in the walls. So when she wants a little quiet time this is her number one hangout spot. As a bonus the soundproofing on the walls means Cassy can cut loose a little every now and again with her powers. Today she's wrapped herself up in a blanket and is sprawled on the piano chair while singing the whole of Bohemian Rhapsody. Different voice parts, instruments and all. When Marinov opens the door to the music room, their ears fold back for a moment while acclimating to the unexpected sounds coming from the room. They glance around before their eyes settle on Cassy and, while they try to be quiet so not to interrupt, even their quiet footfalls would likely be just as audible to Cassy as anyone's, particularly due to the loose fabric of their kind of flowy looking off-white top. Without looking up Cassy waves a hand in greeting. "Hey Marinov," she says without actually stopping singing. An extra voice just added into the mix of noise. Her own outfit is pretty simple, a denim skirt and a t-shirt with an anime design on plus some black tights and sneakers. "It isn't time for a make-up class or a private lesson is it?" Marinov raises a hand towards Cassy and shakes their head, "Oh, no... I don't have private lessons or anything. Was just gonna... I dunno, honestly. Make some noise. Try and play something on the piano, even though with stubby fingers like mine I'm never gonna be a prodigy or anything." They flex their fingers a bit and shrug indifferently. "Or sing like nobody's listening, 'cause it's soundproofed and all. I don't mean to interrupt either." "I should probably stop using the piano stool as a bed then!" Cassy replies, forcing a grin. "You're not interrupting or anything, I just wanted to get away from all the noise for a bit." The singing cuts out, although the melody keeps going. "My controls got a /ton/ better since I started here. But a lot of the time even when people might think they're alone I can still kinda hear." She sits up and stretches. "I used to /love/ music, but now it's... a bit too... easy? I just think and bam. It sounds exactly like I imagine." Marinov glances around. "Yeah, I can hear that. That's... really impressive, but I guess it's just kinda easy for you at this point. I got real good hearing, but it's not like I hear everything, so I can imagine that it's sorta nice to get away from it all." They shake their head a bit, "I suppose that composing stuff would probably be easier but still like... creative shit at least, so it'd get the brain juices flowing. I dunno." Cassy makes to snap her fingers and instead the noise kind of comes out from her entire body. "Huh. Uhm. I guess I can't snap my fingers either," she muses. "That's pretty.. weird.. I guess I absorb the sound?" She shrugs and hops up, scooping up the blanket and moving over to the sit nearby on the floor. "That's an idea, composing I mean, I never really took the time to learn before. I took a lot of dance classes before the mutant thing, sometimes we'd sing for them, but I can't remember ever writing anything musical." Marinov attempts to snap their fingers as well in imitation of Cassy, and given their furry palms it is a rather dull sound. "I can't do it either, really." They shrug and start over to sit down on the piano bench that Cassy just vacated. "Yeah. When I first got into sewing, I'd pretty much reproduce other people's designs, or do my best, and eventually that got easier. So I started designing stuff. I guess if you learn how to compose, you're at an advantage. You don't gotta consider what would be physically possible for instruments to make. You could get like, experimental and weird." Tucking her legs under the blanket Cassy frowns. "I guess I could do /some/ unusual musical things," she decides. "But there are probably limits. Because it's hard to imagine really unique sounds. Because I haven't heard them, if that makes any sort of sense. I suppose trial and error would let me get there in the end." She fidgets with some of the plastic bangles on her arm. "Make an experimental show with music, dance and magic tricks. Go on tour. Once mutants are a bit more widely accepted anyway." She grins. "So how're you? Having a good summer and stuff?" "Oh, yeah, that makes sense... I guess I can't really imagine what a sound that's unlike any sound I ever imagined is like..." says Marinov, scratching behind their ear with one eye squinted shot for a moment. "Yeah, it's been a pretty good summer. Been enjoying the warmer weather. You might not think so 'cause of the fur coat and all, but I really like the hot weather. Lots more fun things to do when it's warm." Cassy hrms. "I guess that makes sense? Aren't most big cats from hot places? Except for.. are snow tigers a thing?" She prods at a chair leg, then drums her fingers silently against it. "And you probably don't have to worry about sunburn either right. I was supposed to swing by home but my Dads got a new Vegas show and is super busy. So plans got cancelled, like I may as well stay here rather than just being back home by myself all the time. At least I'm back on track with all my classes." "I dunno if most big cats are from hot places... there's like, snow leopards and tigers exist in places that there's snow I think, but most with like, rosettes like mine are from hot places yeah," says Marinov, holding up their arm to take a look at said pattern. "I don't really sunburn, no. Got that jungle cat power." They shake their head and look down at the keys of the piano. "Yeah, my parents have been pretty busy lately too, taking care of my elderly grandma and they moved 'cause of my mom's promotion. Most of my friends these days are here so it's fine by me... there's usually a few people around school to keep company." This last is said a bit more encouragingly. "Oh yeah everyone here is pretty cool," Cassy admits with a sigh. "I just loved going to hang out with my Dad while he was preparing for the show, yah know? I'd almost convinced his stage team to let me join in for a knife throwing act. Took me /years/ of asking. They said they couldn't because of an insurance thing but I'm pretty sure that was just a way of saying they were too afraid of my mom finding out. Especially after the one time I tried fire breathing when I was eight..." Marinov laughs. "Holy shit, how did that fire breathing work out for you? Sounds like you've got some pretty wild stories. Were you gonna be like, throwing knives or tied up to a spinning wheel for that part of the show?" They glance back over their shoulder, "I'd be worried about something going wrong. I don't mind dangerous shit, but usually I don't gotta trust other people not to screw up." Cassy grins. "Oh I never quite made it to the fire breathing bit," she confesses. "But I did kinda drink just enough of the fluid they spit out to land myself in the hospital overnight. I was sooooooooooo sick." She waves her hand. "I'd probably have to start out on the wheel before they'd teach me. It's better to start at the bottom and work your way up, stops people giving you shit just because your Dad is the main event." "Yeah, drinking lighting fluid or whatever, that sounds pretty bad for the stomach. Geez," says Marinov, nodding along to Cassy's story. "Being on a wheel having knives thrown at you seems like an extreme trust exercise. Forget trust falls, that's the way to do it. Is it pretty dangerous? seems dangerous. How are there not accidents?" "I think long term it does most damage to your throat. Ideally you swallow as little as possible but I was way too young to be trying it," Cassy replies, slipping all the brightly coloured plastic bangles off her arms and sorting them into two piles. "If there's a trick to it they haven't told me yet. It's all very secretive... and I don't think they really want people trying it at home. I've done a few of the locked box tricks before though. The ones they invite audience members to participate in. They're usually pretty safe, just trap doors and secret passages." "Trap doors and secret passages? Be careful, or I'll extract your magical secrets and become a fucking wizard," says Marinov, tone mock-serious. "I guess they must use, like, audience plants or something so that they know how to use all the secret workaround stuff and aren't going to shout it out like the muggles might. That seems like an easy job, being a convincing audience member." They start to play something, very simple, on the piano. Cassy shakes her head. "Not always, sometimes there are legal non-disclosure agreements written into the show tickets. It really depends a lot on the show. Besides it's not like I'm part of the magicians circle! So I only know tricks you can probably just look up on google. It's probably not super well paid though, when they do use a plant, probably like out of work actors who can't find TV work." "Is that a thing? The magician's circle?" says Marinov contemplatively, "I guess it must be, if people are going to learn the craft. Are you planning on someday joining that? Following in your dad's footsteps and becoming a big deal magic person? I don't think that spotlight life would be for me." "There's the Magic Circle but they're over in.. I wanna say Britian. Europe definately. There's also the Society of American Magicians and the Society of Young Magicians too. I'm kinda in the Young Magicians one, but not really. It's a bit like the Girl Scouts and you get a membership card and turn up to meetings," Cassy explains cheerfully, still sorting her jewelry out. "I was never very good at attending the meetings. They clashed with dance classes a lot of the time and... Well I lived in LA and when people at a club like that find out your Dad is famous they bother you about it. So.. not really my scene." "Ah, yeah, I wasn't ever part of any scouts or anything but I can imagine if you can't make the time you'd probably only be part of the organization in name only," says Marinov. They chuckle, "I wasn't really very much of a club person in general, and my parents aren't really famous for being good at anything but terrible russian dad jokes. But I'd imagine it would feel weird to get too much attention because of your parents." Cassy giggles. "Oh you'd think it'd be weird but I was at the sort of LA school where having a famous parent wasn't actually unusual. So it was only really a thing at the magic club. I don't think anyone I met at a dance class ever figured out my Dad was on TV... Someone at ballet /did/ freak out when they found out my Mom was defending this big name mobster though. That was a bit awkward, because even bad guys should get a fair trial right?" "Yeah, seems like being a defence lawyer's a pretty important sorta thing," says Marinov. They stop playing and turn on the stool to look back at Cassy. "If I were smart enough for that kind of thing, I'd probably be interested in it. But it sounds like a lot of reading, which... ehhh. I'm not so good at. But especially like, public defenders I think are really needed and get a bad rap. Pretty sure if I were ever on trial, the court've public opinion would rule pretty firmly against me regardless and I'd want someone in my corner." "Hypothetically, If you do need a high priced lawyer I can recommend a few," Cassy assures, having sorted her jewelry and now beginning the process of putting all the cheap plastic back on her arms. "I think you're right about the reading. My Mom has a whole office full of law books. And none of them even have magazines hidden inside, I totally looked one time." "Yeah, I don't think that being able to afford a high priced lawyer is gonna be something in my future," says Marinov flatly, "We'll see, though. For now I'll just avoid doing anything that's too bad." They make a cross gesture over their heart, "Only misdemeanors for me." They pause and sigh, "Well... no promises, some laws are total bullshit." Cassy grins. "Well, I bet some would take a case for nothing if there was good publicity to be had. When my Mom figured out I'd be going to the same school that Jackson the famous mutant terrorist teaches at she was /super/ excited. She gave me a bunch of business cards. Probably wants to do some high profile mutant crime cases to build her reputation, then eventually take over running the whole firm. Not that I'm recommending you do crimes, just reading the news it seems kinda easy to get charged for stuff when you're a mutant." Marinov laughs, "Nah, I take that as a recommendation to do crimes. That will surely go over well in court, telling them it was on my lawyer's kid's recommendation that I did those crimes." They shake their head, "But yeah, it's totally easy to get charged with stuff. I've had cops like... hassle me for all kinds of bullshit reasons, and I get fines for things that nobody should get fines for. Pretty much just existing like this." They wave a hand around their face. "Fuck 'em." "Ahh but I didn't even open my mouth!" Cassy counters, winking. "Maybe you imagined me saying it. I guess I'm pretty lucky in some ways, no-one will know I'm a mutant until I talk, but then again it's /so/ hard to get through life without talking. Even sign language would be hard for me to pick up 'coz if I make any sound at all I blur a bit." "Yeah, it's hard to learn if you don't have anyone to talk to anyways," says Marinov. "I was, uh, 'fortunate' that there were zombies outbreaking while I was learning. And most other people around here don't speak Russian." They shrug and get up from the bench, glancing about the room for anything else interesting to play with. "But yeah, talking's pretty important on the day to day." Cassy blinks a few times. "That sounds a lot like a definition of fortunate I wasn't aware of," she muses. "Although I guess a school full of superhumans would be safer than most boarding schools. I should probably try pick up a second language, I always wanted to learn Japanese but I guess Spanish would be more practically useful." "I just mean, if you're gonna learn other languages, the best time for it is when nobody is using English," says Marinov. "Not that it's, uh, actually fortunate that a horrible epidemic happened and people died and shit. And I dunno how much safer it was..." Their ears turn out as they look downwards in thought. "Yeah... Spanish is probably more practical. Dunno how often Japanese comes up, and it seems real tough to learn." "I think the hardest part for me would be not mixing up my phrasing of things. I watch a ton of anime and I'd probably subconciously try replicate things I watched. So if I try learn Japanese it'd be super hard not to just become the Queen of all Weebs," Cassy says, cringing at the very notion. "I'm already a little worried I might forget what my own voice sounds like, so the less encouragement I have to copy vocal sounds I've heard the better." "Oh, yeah, you'd probably sound super weeby," says Marinov with a bit of a teasing tone in their voice. They pause a moment and say, "You think you're at risk of forgetting your own voice? Do you not have, like, recordings or anything? Or is that not like... high fidelity enough? I guess I don't really understand how it works, prosti." "Oh well yeah I have home videos from when I was younger," Cassy points out. "But then I'll grow up and always sound like I'm twelve. Which would suck. I... don't know what I should sound like as I get older. So I guess I have to make it up as I go along. It's pretty dumb as far as worries go, like we could all get thrown in prison just for being mutants and then who'll care?" "Whoa, that got pretty dark, Cassy!" says Marinov. "I dunno, it's a fair thing to worry about I guess. I mean... I guess you get to control how you sound, which could be nice, 'cause then you could have the coolest voice possible, even if it might not have been the voice you would've grown into..." They shrug and look towards the window, "I dunno. I guess bodies sometimes have different ideas of what we should be like than we do." "Sorry all that court room talk earlier got me thinking. I love a little crime drama now and again but it's not great on the optimism!" Cassy admits with a sigh. Then, shifting her voice so she sounds more like a sultry jazz singer, she adds "It /is/ a little fun to change my voice. I can even replicate specific people but that's pretty hard. Especially if I am saying words I've never heard a person say before or if they have unusual tones. Like I bet you would be harder to copy because you have a slightly different mouth shape." "Yeah, I sound a little different from how I used to, and I gotta work on making some sounds now, 'cause my mouth and tongue are all different," admits Marinov, rubbing the bottom of their jaw thoughtfully. "Like, my lips aren't so good at bees and pees. If I don't pay attention, I sound just plain fucked up." They pause a couple of moments. "I'm sure people notice, but I try pretty hard to pronounce everything right." Cassy nods. "I bet normal people are worried if they bring it up you'll shoot them with eye lasers or something," she suggests, her voice shifting so it sounds more like an entire choir talking in unison. She winces, then shifts back to normal. "Gosh that was weird. I thought maybe I'd sound cooler with an echoing quality. But it's a little too off for a talking voice. Singing I bet it'd work just fine." At first, Marinov seems taken aback at the chorus of voices, but it doesn't take long before they start laughing. "Eye lasers?" they repeat, "I'd use 'em more but they don't go with the whole theme I got going on. It'd interfere with my aesthetic!" They raise their arms in an exaggerated shrug. "I think speaking in chorus like that would be a pretty startling way to talk to people, but definitely dramatic. But I should get going, let you get back to your quiet time, 'cause I need to get some running in." Cassy waves. "It was fun chatting," she assures. "I would have tried show you my /God/ voice. But I can't get the effect right without the volume being so loud it'd blow someones ears out. So it's a work in progress for now. Hope you enjoy your run!" "Oh, if you do a god voice, then I can say that actually god told me to do crimes. Let's workshop it," says Marinov, as they start towards the exit, "Yeah, it was good! Seeya!" They slip out, and close the door quietly behind them.