2013-02-09 Modern Lounge Warfare

Kurt is perched on the couch, tucked up, his own controller in hand, watching as the game goes blank. He, too, removes his headset. "I think I learned new words there.. which is impressive. That is the first part of a language you learn. How to be offensive." Kurt and Bobby are in for the night, on the gaming system having just finished a multiplayer game. "I think I will have to start brushing up again."

Another day, another pile of work done, another pile of work left to do. Having somewhere to come 'home' to every night does have its advantages, though it also means a lot of time spent on the road. Domino's starting to understand how this Institute operates, though. Mainly, she brought her own booze. What better place to kick back and enjoy it than the lounge? Three people shouldn't be a crowd. She steps in, finds somewhere to flop down, and well and truly makes herself at home by lounging like a boss. "Evenin.'"

"Not that my mouth was squeaky clean when I was that young but man...kids should not be cursing that much without a real good reason," Bobby remarks with a little chuckle. "Your English is pretty good to me. There's a momentary tensing when Domino walks it but Bobby lets it go quickly. "Yo."

Kurt puts his remote down, a touch on the disappointed side that the evening of games has ended in such a way. Still, he shrugs. "It must be the freedom, then. I know that when my adopted mother was away, we were.." Here, he grins and searches for the polite word, "...unruly." When the cat's away? "Okay, we were little devils. How could I resist?"

Domino's entrance gains his attention, and brows rise- "Welkommen.." he begins. "Should I have something sent up for you?" He's teasing, of course.. but there's something in that //flop//.

"Oh, just the usual," Dom mock-sighs with a slight grin to Kurt. The reaction from Bobby, though... The cap on her bottle of the evening gets twisted open with a few tiny snaps of material breaking free, the merc inclining her head in his direction. "Everything alright, Frosty? Don't take our last conversation too personally, don't mean to undercut you any." Off to a great start with fitting in around this place, she is.

The joke from Kurt gets Bobby laughing, reaching over to give him a friendly punch to the shoulder. "Dude, if anyone understands being unable to resist a joke it's me," he says. When Domino speaks, Bobby shrugs. "Thinks are fine," he says, relaxing a little more.

"Right. Fries und nachos. You know.. I am beginning to like nachoes, though I'm not sure the cheese really is cheese. It tastes.." Like plastic. "Like .. cheese food. Something you'd feed to cheese to make it grow up into proper, aged cheese." Kurt shrugs, but doesn't seem particularly inclined to go anywhere.

Kurt grins at Bobby, and raises his remote again, "Again?" He lowers it, however, as he looks between the two.. Bobby and Domino. "Is there something? Should I leave the room?"

For a moment Dom does nothing more than sit there and watch Bobby, as though trying to read his very thoughts at that moment. It passes with a slight nod, holding her bottle up in a mock salute. "Cheers." And with it, the troubles of the world shall be washed away...

..Only to nearly come up through her nose when Kurt talks about cheese growing up to become cheese. From where she sits, Dom suddenly leans forward in near silence, covering her mouth with the back of a hand. Hold, pause, cough exactly once. She responds to Kurt first by passing a dismissive wave of a hand. "Nah, it's ..nothing." Ow, nose, owwie... "Minor turbulence with adding someone new to the ranks."

Bobby laughs as well when Kurt mentions cheese feeding. "Dude!" he laughs, head thrown back for a moment. "If I didn't know better, I'd say you were tryin' to steal my gimmick," he says, scooping up his controller. "I'm good to go. This time we mute the headsets though," he says. The icy mutant lets Domino answer the question, just nodding to it.

"That's never happened before, having a difficulty when new members come in," Kurt offers dryly before the grin appears. Reaching baack, bending in such a way that shouldn't be possible for a human (but is for a mutant), he grabs hold of a tissue box and brings it forward in silent offer. As he does, the remote in hand is transferred to his tail, which wraps about it, ready to play should Bobby put the game back on.

"Was?" Kurt reaches for a headset. "You make ice jokes, not cheese jokes. Besides, I was serious. The cheese isn't, so it must serve some purpose to the greater good?" He nods at the suggestion to mute the headset. "Domino.." He pauses a moment as a thought occurs to him and puts the remote down briefly, pulling the headset up, but not putting it on. "May I ask you a personal question?"

At forst, Domino eyes Kurt in utter silence with the offer. She's still the first to concede, swiping a tissue from the box without a word. Yeah, so the furry blue guy got her that time. He can have his moment. Man, feel the burn, alright...

With you both gearing up for another game she pulls herself out of the chair in order to wander closer, free entertainment is tough to beat. That, and watching Kurt get his tail handed to him by some fourteen year old in California seems like it could be fun all on its own. What she's not expecting is to get pinned with the idle workings of a curious mind. Personal questions are generally -not- the sort of thing that she likes, but it's Kurt. She's got an answer ready to go just for situations like this. "You can ask, but I reserve the right to not answer."

"I make jokes about everything. Ice, cheese, Scott's frilly silk undies," Bobby lists with an amused tone. He leaves his headset around his neck as he reaches over to turn the console back on and start the game back up. When Kurt asks that question, Bobby's eyebrows shoot up. He stays quiet though, curious as to what's going on.

"Even I do not mock Scott's frilly silk undies," Kurt manages to deadpan. He //is// the drama coach, after all. A position that suits him quite well, given his prediliction towards showmanship. "But I will give you back cheese."

Watching Domino change her position, coming in closer, the fuzzy blue elf shifts a little to make room, silent offering for her to come closer. "It may seem an odd question.. but what is your given name?" He knows so little about her.

"Oh come on, everyone mocks Scott's ..frilly..what?" Domino starts in, just as quickly trailing off with a blank stare cast between the two of you. Ahem. "Or not-cheese, as the case may be."

She's just starting to take the offered seat, then almost immediately regrets committing to moving closer when -that- question is asked. The way it's worded, though? It could be answered in two different ways. One is something she doesn't wish to share. The other wouldn't give these two anything to work with. Instead, she goes with a third option, which also happens to be a total cop-out. "'Dom' works just fine," she says before taking another drink. Straight from the bottle. Total class, right here.

C'mon, girl. You -had- to have known this would happen sooner or later.

"You should. We have monthly meetings to come up with new ways to joke about it," Bobby continues the joke. He then reaches over to give Kurt a friendly clap on the shoulder. "Aww, what a pal," he laughs. He goes quiet again when Domino comes closer, wondering what Kurt is up to. The question that gets asked just makes Bobby smirk and shake his head. The answer gets him srhugging. "That is like the least personal personal question he could have asked."

"If it did, I wouldn't have asked," Kurt offers quietly. Turning yellow eyes to the albino, he studies her for a long moment before he shifts on the couch; the offer of a spot near is still open. He just wants to be able to look at her more fully now. "We have many secrets, und we hold many in trust for our friends, leibchen. At one point, there must be a point of no return, ja?"

Kurt glances towards Bobby, a smile offered for his mutant brother. "It is true. I could have asked.. quite a few things. Some, however, I know the answer to.. und I won't tell you how." Taking his tail, he pokes Bobby in the side with it. "It is for you to find out und me to know."

Well, Dom claims the offered seat, though she's looking guarded now. What you both say is true, naturally. Not all that personal, and generally not that big of a deal to any normal person. "At some point," she agrees, though now the matter is stuck in her head.

Give these guys -something- here, Domino...

"Names can be one of two things. They can be disposable, or they can be anchors. I don't tend to handle sitting still for long." Yeah, that's..her best Earth-shattering response to it all. As easy as can be she tries to push the matter aside, now looking over to Bobby. "What time does this meeting start?"

Bobby makes a little noise when poked, reaching down to try to lightly grab the tail and give it a chill. Nothing extreme, just like getting hit with a little ice water. "Like what? If she's pale all over?" he teases. Bobby really does like hanging out and goofing around with Kurt like this. The explanation from Domino gets Bobby tilting his head to the side. "They can also be embarrassing," he can't help but make a little joke. "Like if your name is Agatha," he chuckles. "Sorry but you missed this month's meeting. I'll send you an e-vite to the next one though."

"Ja, they can be one or the other, but they can also be that line that is thrown, the expression of desire to be known for who you are. A name carries many things. A history, for better or for worse. But it is a sad thing, und something not to be taken lightly if it is simply something to be discarded. If it is, how can you truly know who you are?" At least she's taken the seat beside him, and isn't deciding to take her toys and go elsewhere. Kurt is thankful for that, at the very least. "I have many friends who have moved on, not able to remain in place. But, they have names. Memories. Should you move on, don't you want anyone to remember you?"

Pulling his tail up, it waves in the air. Cold! Cold! and it's all he can do not to place it on Domino. Tucking it down and behind him, he shivers briefly. It's like cold feet.. "Like she could beat you hands down in the Danger Room.." is given with a grin.

Here sits good company and plenty of good humor, even if she's being all Grouchy McGroucherson over here. Bobby earns himself an amused look once again, also nodding once more at him. "Okay, make that three things. No, it's not Agatha." Dom then nods once about the e-vite, "Appreciate it."

That still doesn't stop her from rolling her eyes at Kurt, however. "Don't go playing the sentimental card on me, Blue. Look, if you -really- want a name then I'll give you one." She waits, just for a moment, before that smirk begins to return. "It's Domino." And really, isn't that enough? It would be enough for her!

No, nothing's ever quite that easy around this place. Sooner or later she's going to have to give up the ghost on this one. With all of the telepaths around here, she may even wind up giving the real one!

Bobby snorts. "Please. No way she could. I could whoop the two of you at once," he says, leaning back. He gives Domino a smirk. "Sure it's not," just teasing still. He shakes his head at the continued conversation, amused by it. "Maybe you should have just asked her to the dance. Might have gotten a better response, bro," he jokes to Kurt.

Kurt gives Domino a long look before he exhales in a sigh; this is his more serious side. "One day, you will wish to stop hiding." He shakes his head and offers something of a disappointed smile. "Und when you do, I will be here. But know, 'Domino' will never be enough for me." Thing is, he doesn't want the telepaths to tell him. No.. that would be cheating.

Leaning to reach the remote again, Kurt's ready to put the headset on, muting the main server's population in favour for playing with his teammate and friend. "Okay.. prepare to be beaten.. again." And this time, not by some 30 year old who is living in his mother's basement! Taking his newly warmed tail, he pokes his friend in the side again, and his expression turns theatrically rueful. "I think you are right."

"Yeah, I don't know, Kurt. This guy?" she says while motioning toward Bobby once more. "Ice cold. Bet he'd give me a real run for the money." The comment is reinforced with a grin, also summing up her response to the 'sure it's not' bit. Bobby called it, and she's not going to do anything to correct it.

The grin is also a good defense mechanism against Kurt's obvious disappointment. "Right, when I'm ready to spill the beans I'll come right back to this couch and look for ya." Heck, Blue already got let down a whole lot easier than most of the people which ask her that question. "Until then, let's see you two put some hurt on these kids." She'll try not to nitpick about the gear and weapon details too much.

"You know, Kurt," Bobby looks thoughtful for a moment. "Sometimes...people don't have given names. I met a couple people who had nothing...or only a codename," he remarks. He starts up the game again, grinning as things begin. "Game on."

"Even I was given a name, Bobby." And Laura. The test-tube experiment. Still, now Kurt has to make that decision. Does he accept it and move on? It lingers, however, tearing at him now, eating away. "Ja.. you will," and he's not going to hold his breath. Perhaps after a night's sleep, he'll feel a little more optimistic once again, but this has been a difficult few months, and he's still looking for that bit of hope.

"Game on.." Kurt repeats, though now, it's a little obvious that his attention isn't truly on the game. Mistakes are made, and catastrophic explosions happen on screen with the fuzzy elf cursing.. repeating what he'd heard the children saying earlier.

"And codenames can just be names, too," she says in agreement to Bobby's observation.

Whether it's screwing up due to being distracted or simply not being as 'pro' as the opposition, Domino's enjoying watching the match. It's complete with the usual commentary of 'Ooo' and 'Ouch' and a few more thought-provoking ones, such as 'I think half of your face just ended up on that wall' and 'Oh come on, they stopped issuing that gun -decades- ago.'

The trick to keeping thoughts from festering like that? Push them away. So far away that they'll never crawl out of the darkness that surrounds them. It's worked for her for most of her life. Hopefully it won't backfire. Really, what could possibly go wrong?

"You were but like I said...not everyone has," Bobby points out. He puts his attention fully into the game, continuing to use it to try to not think about things bothering or stressing him. Domino's comment about the gun gets a quick comment. "We've got the classic weapons pack enabled. There's all sorts of stuff that isn't up to date around for bonus stuff."

As Kurt plays now, he tries to ignore the extra comments. //Not helping, Bobby!// Sure, he knows his friend is trying to be helpful, to sooth ruffled.. blue fur, but now it's gotten attached to his brain that he's not going to dismiss it so easily.

The way the elf plays video games now is more of a 'whole body experience'. He's perched on the couch, remote in hand, only to be twisted, and gyrated around. When the gun comes up, he rises from his seat, remote held cockily in hand, twisted sideways in the fashion of those 'ganstas'. "Yo.." Yo? From the German? Only to find that, yes.. half of his face is now splattered against the wall. In the respawn area, he actually ducks his head, the remote following so his character echoes the gesture.. "You will get it.."

That's one mystery solved. Dom narrows her eyes slightly, leaning closer toward the screen as though scanning the details in much further depth than a moment ago. "..Huh. Fair enough. Oh, watch out for that--!" Cringe. "That..yeah. Glad you kids don't take up arms in the Danger Room, the rest of us might not survive the experience," she jokes. Fun commentary aside, it's proving to be -far- more entertaining to kick back and watch Kurt doing his little tribal dance on the couch. "C'mon, Blue! Show 'em not to mess around with the Fuzz!"

Is this what happens when drama teachers get hold of multiplayer shooters, or is there something else going on here? Eh, either way!

"Danger Room Paintball is on my list of things to reward the kids with," Bobby remarks, laughing slightly as Kurt's character gets splattered. "It was gonna be a Nerf Fight but those commercials are just too dumb looking," he jokes. "No one ever uses Nerf guns like that. No one. Ever."

Kurt is off his game. There's no question of it. He not getting the shots in that would seem to be so easy, and in the last, as his character ducks around a door, a grenade is lobbed in, and goes off. Blood spatters on the screen, obscuring Bobby's character. He hangs his head, and slides back down onto the cushion, his tail trailing behind him. All the activity behind the remote is pure elf; he's got tons of energy and the need to keep moving. Work hard, practice hard, play hard. There's only a few things that he does that manages to slow him down. Drinking and sleeping.

"You know.. I haven't yet taken any students into the Danger Room." Kurt lets the remote drop from his hand, and pulls the headset down so it hangs around his neck. "I think it's because I have them on stage."

Danger. Room. Paintball. Why is it that Domino hadn't been getting along better with Bobby, before..? "I like your style. Does that room clean itself after you're done painting the inside of it?"

Hmm, no, something's definitely not right with Kurt now. Yet again it's questionable how she should handle things, if she should bother in the first place. A hand on the shoulder..? Are they at that stage of a friendship? Eugh, these things only lead to further complication. -Every time.- "Don't let it get to ya, Blue." One comment, multiple points covered. "Find your center. It's not because I'm watching, is it? Performance anxiety does affect all types." Tease.

Bobby laughs and pumps a fist as victory comes up for him. He nudges Kurt playfully. "Too bad we didn't put any stakes on this game. Would be collecting now," he teases. "You should take them down there once or twice. Let 'em perform on a big stage," he suggests. Domino's question gets a thoughtful little noise. "Most of the time. Depends on whether or not we use the real paints or fake ones," he says. "Might make Danger Room clean up a detention..." he trails off.

"If we had put stakes on it, I would not have lost," Kurt offers in defense. Time to bring the macho up. Particularly when confronted with the teasing accusation of performance anxiety! Straightening in his seat, he narrows yellow eyes in Bobby's direction. "Performing as snow in the Christmas 'Winter wonderland' play."

Kurt shakes his head in Domino's direction, the blue elf looking a little.. sulky. "I usually do better with an audience," and he offers a smile, though it's not a broad one. More.. distracted. Disentangling himself from wires and remotes, he slides off the couch, landing on his feet. "Particularly lovely ones that I am seeking to impress." He looks to the pair and exhales, his shoulders slumping a little. "But, I think it is time for me to turn in. Tomorrow is another day, ja?" He turns, then, and with a single step, it appears that he'll simply walk to the door, like.. 'normal people'.

Nope.


 * BAMF*

And Domino doesn't get detention, soooo... "Count me in," she announces with another slight raise of her bottle. "Might help sheer up the place, too. Like a frickin' clinic in there."

Kurt's sudden departure would be met with a few words of acknowledgement and a goodbye, but the Elf doesn't stick around long enough for her words to gather momentum. Alright, -now- she's starting to feel responsible for this. Maybe she should step out for now, herself. "Good hangin' with ya, Frosty. Give 'em hell."