ArchivedLogs:Ready... Fight!

Ready... Fight!
Dramatis Personae Marinov, Dakota
In Absentia	2017-02-20 "Git Gud."
Location <XS> Rec Room - FL2
School this may be, but life for Xavier's students certainly isn't all studying. Outside classes, this is a popular spot to find students in their downtime. An enormous tribute to slacking off, this room is a wealth of fun and relaxation. Comfortable armchairs, couches, and beanbags offer plentiful seating scattered throughout the room, and the cushioned windowseats by the high windows offer a cozy nook to curl up and look out on the grounds. The room is often filled with the noises of gaming -- whether it comes from the big-screen television (tall racks of DVDs beside it, if nothing can be found on the multitude of cable channels), tricked out with consoles from retro to the latest releases, or the less electronic clatter and thump of the pool table, air hockey, or foosball. For those a little more subdued in their gaming, the cabinets hold stacks and stacks of board and card games, ranging as classic as chess and go to as esoteric as Dixit, Catan, and Gloom. More days than not, there's some variety of snacks to be found on a table beside the gaming cabinet -- quite often in the form of fresh-baked desserts. It's later in the afternoon, just after classes have ended, and Marinov has headed to the rec room instead of back to their dorm room to study for upcoming exams. The felinoid teen is currently playing Street Fighter V, eyes focused intently on the screen as they seem to be practicing doing some online play. In general, they seem to do pretty well. However, when their opponent catched them in an unexpected combo and deplete the health bar they shout at the TV, "Motherfucker!!!" As the countdown screen starts, Marinov just looks off to the side, with ears folded back and tail flicking irritably. A paper airplane clumsily wobbles in the air towards Marionv, missing them and crashes by their side a foot away. From where she is stationed in a window seat, Dakota squints towards the landing site with a nearly inaudible grumble. If one were to inspect the folded aircraft, they might discover a message written on the inside. "Git Gud." By the time it would be read, however, the short girl appears to be very much not at fault, clearly reading a very engrossing book. Marinov lets the countdown keep going on the screen. They grab the paper airplane that lands next to them and, seeing that there is writing on it, opens it up to squint at it. They move the message closer and further, as they are not wearing their reading glasses, until properly seeing the words. They sniff at the page once and then crumple it up in their hand. "How about go fuck yourself!" they say indignantly, adjusting the tie that is tucked underneath their shimmery forest green vest. Some of the students in the rec room glance towards Marinov at their outburst, a few giving them concerned looks, before going back to their own activities. Dakota, on the other hand, appears rather uneasy as she grips her book a little too hard, eyes scanning the same line repeatedly in an attempt to actually start reading again. After about two minutes, she seems to give up on the facade and closes her book with a bookmark inside. Walking over to the disgruntled teen, she simply states, "Online play sucks. It's stupid. I can never win." Marinov has spent this pause from Dakota flexing their claws into the balled up former airplane, which will never be in a shape to fly again after the shredding and punctures that it suffers through. The youth's slitted eyes turn over towards Dakota, tail lashing against the couch with a soft thud each time. "Yeah? I /can/ win," they say, still a bit of growl in their voice, adding heatedly, "So maybe I'm not the one who should 'git gud', yeah?" Though it is apparent she is caught off guard by Marinov's mystery-solving skills, Dakota offers a shrug. "Then stop shouting about it. You don't win games by -shouting- at them." There's a slight edge to her voice most likely in response to the one in the other teen's. "Either way, online play's no fun. You don't get to show off to anyone. You're the only one who can celebrate your victories. And you don't get to share the fun when your friend beats you. It's dumb. It sucks." "Spasibo for the advice," says Marinov, more than a bit sarcastically, "I yelled 'cause I was frustrated, sometimes shit can be really frustrating, 'cause I saw exactly how I fucked up." The teen gestures with a jerk of the thumb towards the TV. "And online play's the only way to get better, unless you got friends who are both available and on your level." Dakota folds her arms and narrows her eyes at the other teen. "Why are you trying to get better? So you can frustrate people on the other end of the game? Sounds stupid. Are your friends better than you?" The girl continues to stand awkwardly before adding, "Games are supposed to be fun, not frustrating. That would ruin the point of them. You're supposed to have fun. Getting your ass kicked by a stranger isn't fun." "I don't think you understand fighting games at all," grumbles Marinov, "It's the same as combat sports in real life. Sometimes you lose, and it is fucking frustrating, but you work to get better. Seeing yourself getting better, that's the reward. Not... rubbing anyone's face in it, yeah?" They huff softly and shut off the console from the controller. "No, I just don't understand playing multi-player games alone. Or with online strangers. They're assholes. Especially if there's voice chat. And school and life are already frustrating. Games should be unfrustrating." Apparently done with standing, Dakota approaches the couch and seats herself down next to the felinoid teen. "I think it's more rewarding to get better with friends. That way more than just you gets better." A pause, a hesitation, as the girl narrows looks forwards and narrows her eyes. "I saw you at the dance. You looked like you were having fun. Looked like you like dancing." "Yeah, it's better to get better with friends, sure, but like I said... you gotta be hanging out in the right circles to be getting better that way. But... I guess I've been busy this semester too, so not like I'd be good for anyone to have as their fighting game partner either," says Marinov. They bring their feet up to sit cross-legged on the couch. "Yeah, I danced. Took swing for long enough, so it would be sort've a waste not to. Saw you there too. You had a date." Dakota blushes, still staring forwards, at Marinov's comment. However, she addresses the other topic before moving onto the next. "Hadn't seen people dance like that before. It looked difficult." The short girl leans forward and places her arms atop her legs. "Yeah. I don't know," she replies, fidgeting for a moment before crossing her legs like the felinoid teen, hands grabbing the soles of her shoes. "He's really nice and I like him. I don't know if we're dating. How does that work?" "Yeah, it's difficult... I don't really ever know what to do with my tail when dancing, though. Nobody teaches that so it probably looks weird," says Marinov, offering a bit of a shrug, seeming to be mostly calmed down by this time. "Well, if you want to be dating him, then just let him know. And if you don't, then let him know that. And same goes for him. I dunno. I'm not really good at the whole dating thing myself, so..." They give a helpless shrug. "I dunno. I thought you looked pretty rad. The tail doesn't help with balance or anything? Is it really that easy? Sometimes he seems too nice. I asked him to the dance. I wasn't going to, because I can lose control when I like someone. Control of my powers. But I wanted to go." Dakota pulls at her feet and rocks back. "I should ask him." "Yea, I mean, my tail helps with balancing and stuff. It does stuff, just... dancing is a bit about how you look, yeah? And I have no idea how it does," says Marinov, crossing their arms. They raise a brow slightly at Dakota and say, "Yeah. I mean, if you want to ask him, go ahead. But I guess just. Figure out a way to keep your powers from harming anyone if they go off or something?" "Yeah..." Dakota agrees, sounding a tad lost in thought. She's quiet for a long moment before sighing and looking at Marinov again. Before saying anything, however, she releases her feet and slumps against the couch and closes her eyes. "I'm from Massachusetts. Where are you from?" "I lived in Seattle growing up. I really liked Seattle, but NYC is alright too," says Marinov, "Moved here after growing a tail. It's been about a year and a half since I've started going to school here." They shake their head, "Actually, sorta feels like longer than that." Dakota cracks an eye open to watch Marinov as they speak, listening quietly. "That's where they have that space needle, right? Did you ever read that book? 'Wheedle on the Needle' or something. My mom used to read it to me." Her eye closes again and she lets out a small sigh. "I don't know if I like it here, really. I miss my room at home. And there's so many people around all the time. But at least Massachusetts isn't as far away as Seattle. I've been here four months and it feels like an eternity." "Yeah, home, where they have the space needle, yeah... is real far away for me. I've sometimes gone back for a bit, but I usually spend all my holidays at the school," says Marinov, legs still crossed. The tap their fingers against their toes and say, "I think it's hard not to miss home, or the way things used to be, but... I dunno. Gotta press on." Although Dakota's eyes remain closed, she does appear to be listening. Her head drops and her chin tucks. "Can we be friends?" she asks before opening her eyes to stare at her lap. "Ms. Kemsit and Nic say I should make friends. I'm sorry. About the airplane. I was trying to be funny. It didn't really work." "Can we be friends?" repeats Marinov with a bit of a squint, "I guess. I mean... I dunno. So long as you don't give me too much shit, I guess? I'm not really sure why you'd want to be friends with me, though." They give another shrug and turn back towards the blank-screened TV. Dakota looks up and narrows her eyes at Marinov in turn. "I don't know. I just see you around a lot. And I've heard you like the forest. I haven't been there yet when it's actually had leaves. And I'm supposed to make friends. It's dumb. But they're right. Having friends feels better," she concludes with a shrug. Her gaze follows the other teen's, flicking to the television. "'sides, you can kick my ass at that game. If you want. Never played it before." "Yeah, I like the forest, 'cause it's a good place to go running and climbing and stuff... and it doesn't smell as much like the town?" They shake their head and let go of the cross-legged position. "Well, it'd probably be better to show you the ropes than kick your ass at it." There's a small grin on Dakota's face as she responds. "I like running too. Don't think I can climb, though. I'm also on the swim team." She gives a slight shrug and follows suit, uncrossing her legs. With an amused expression, she entwines her fingers and cracks her knuckles. "Let's get started, then." Marinov nods and says, "Well, climbing is... something I'm good at, 'cause of the whole..." They gesture towards themselves awkwardly, waving a hand over their face and other clawed hand. "... situation." They pick up the controller and start up the console again. Picking up one of the other controllers, Dakota eyes Marinov as they indicate themselves. "Yeah, I could see that. But that's not a situation - that's just your body. I'm happy to hear it comes with a few perks. My powers make hugging difficult." As the console turns on and the menu opens on the screen, the short teenager inclines her head towards the television with a smile. "You ready to show me how this is done?" "Well, your body is still a situation," says Marinov, shrugging lightly, "But yeah. It's my body." They look towards the television, ears turning towards the TV. "Ready."