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Summary: Connor and Robyn open up a bit to each other, Robyn fills Connor in on what happened before he came to the school.
Date: April 22, 2010
Log Title Knowing Someone Is A Friend
Rating: PG-13
Xavier Mansion - Art Room
The Art Room has pictures of classic artists and small sculptures of famous pieces of art around the room. Any art supply you need may be found in this room, a large variety of paints, charcoals, markers, pencils, clays, canvases, easels, paper, and much more are accessible for the students. A large kelm is in one of the far corners of the room as well. On one side of the art room are a few sewing machines with a large variety of fabrics and sewing supplies for the students as well.
The art room is empty expect for one person, Robyn and there's some quiet music playing in there. It's not overly loud but sounds of some technoish style music play, EMB or Electro-industrial for those that know the style. Robyn is intent on working on his sculpture, which looks almost done. He's just putting the final details on the Venus Fly Trap, that's climbing out of the pot on big leaf feet and reaching out a leaf hand to grab a running person that's there on the base. The Venus Fly Trap's head looks pretty much like a real one, flatish with cilia forming long thin teeth. There's even a hand sticking out of the mouth and too large, flatish eyes, rest on top of his monster creation inspired by Audrey II.
Connor enters the art room with a small paper bag in hands, having spent most of the early afternoon trying to hunt you down. The open and close of the art room door announces his presence softly, before he stops, taking in the music with a soft smile. While most people have seen him listening to different styled metal music… this kind of thing makes him pause and enjoy for a few moments. Approaching from behind, he waits until your hands are away from the sculpture before speaking, "Hey Robyn. I should have just come here right away…" Moving close by and flopping in a seat as he holds up a package, "Got you something."
Robyn looks up at Connor and smiles. "Hey Connor, yeah, 60% of the time you can find me here all the time." He jokes as he gets some water to wash off his hands. "I've almost got this done and I was just kind of in the zone." He says as he is still looking at a bit at his work before looking up. "You got me something? You didn't have to Connor, I'm feeling a lot better than I was yesterday." And he looks like he's in a decent enough mood. It's just always awkward to be receiving a gift when it isn't your birthday or christmas.
Connor opens the bag and takes out two blank CDs… or at least they look blank until you see both have something scrawled on them, "I was mentioning to my friend Dylan back home… You'd like him… nice guy. He's been sweet on me for years, but to be honest… he knows better than to try. Anyways.." He presses them to you, "I told him about bad movie night, and he file-shared these over to me. Two of the worst movies he's ever seen. One is one we watched together called Death Trance. Which has… if you can believe it… Steven Seagal's half-japanese son in it… and another one I couldn't even sit through called Tokyo Gore Police." With a grin he sets them close by you, "I figured… fresh fodder from one diseased mind to another."
Robyn takes the CDs and looks at them, with a grin. "This is awesome Connor, oh man, Tokyo Gore Police? Is it just a gore fest of a bad movie?" Robyn likes macabe but not necessarily gore. He'll do a sculpture of a monster eating a person but he won't like do a sculpture of some cut open and intestines falling out of them. "I didn't even know Steven Seagal had a half Japanese son." He does catch the 'sweet on me' part of it, but Robyn doesn't comment on that, it's not his place. "I don't think any of my friends back home in Brooklyn really 'got' me with my imagination."
Connor catches his own words, and then looks at Robyn for a moment, and says softly, "Okay… first off… before you take my comment about Dylan out of context… I really don't know what I prefer. I've been too much of a loner most of my life. Moving in and out of other groups because I didn't have a place to fit in. Dylan… well… he's liked me since elementary. As a friend… maybe more. But… he knows that the topic's always been uncomfortable for me. I think it's why I snapped at Lucas too. I… I really just don't know about who or what I'd like." Shrugging a bit, and sliding back to the previous topic, "Tokyo Gore police is a really sick movie… but the reason I brought it is because of some of the latex modelling they do in it. Admittedly disgusting, but I think you'd appreciate it more for the complexity it brings around. It's an old-school movie… only a couple scenes I recall used any modern computer effects."
"That's fine Connor, it's not place to know, or care, about who you like. It's not about what you like, it's about who you are that matters. It's your personality that matters to me." Robyn says with a smile. "I knew for a while but I didn't come out until I met Jordan. It wasn't anyones business but now, I really don't care. And yeah, I have my theories about Lucas but they're just that, theories. I just know Rashmi's gonna suffer a heart break some day." Robyn says with a shrug before smiling. "And about the movies, I'm definately up for checking them out. I'll let you know what I think, unless you wanna check 'em out together. I was a loner at my old school too so no worries."
Connor rests his elbow on the table and then half his face in his hand, "To be honest? And I know this totally ruins the whole image I've been projecting… these are okay, but I'm kind of a sucker for romantic comedies. For some reason, in almost all of them… the male leads always seem uncomfortably out of place. You know? It's like all of them are sort of 'This is a movie for women, what are YOU doing here?'…" Affecting something of a 'sista' voice in saying it before he chuckles, "So it hits a tone with me. Plus I'm a sucker for a happy ending… life isn't like that, so it's a nice break from the real thing."
Robyn chuckles as Connor says that. "I think that's why I can't get into them, they're just not creative enough for me. I'm a sucker for imagadry but at the same time the story has to be decent. And it's not just like shiny Transformers special effects, it's kind of why I like Tim Burton, the imagadry. Coraline was cool like that, even anything Jim Henson did. They had this wild imagination that you could get sucked into. But I will agree about the happy ending. I'd rather have a movie make me feel good then wanna go slit my wrists. I know I look emo and you've seen me be kind of down recently, I'm really not like that."
Connor laughs a bit, "Robyn… goth kids tend to be the most upbeat and perky people I know… something about it makes them all so positive about things." Winking at you once more, "I know about story… I can't handle a retarded story… even if I like the comedic elements. One of my favorites is America's Sweethearts. John Cusak and Catherine Zeta-Jones playing a pair of strung-out actors who are a couple but are on the ends of their relationship, while still trying to work. It's also got Julia Roberts, and a hilarious Hank Azaria in it. It's a fun movie because everything is completly screwed up from the get-go, and just continues off on a course where it seems absurd, but you keep watching and you say 'No… I can see that happening.'."
"I don't think I ever saw it, or have heard of it." Robyn admits as he's just not into that sort of thing. "My Mom wasn't even the type to be huge on chick flicks. Well some but she never made my Dad and I watch them. My parents…well, My Dad's a musican and my Mom's an illustrator for childrens books. My parents weren't really much like normal parents, they're awesome."
Connor nods once in agreement, "My dad's an aeronautical engineer, and my mom can't decide what she wants to do… except make sure we had someone at home for us." Shrugging a bit, "My uncle was kinda cool. He's not really my uncle… he's a friend of my father's from when he worked overseas before meeting my mom. Dude's former russian military, works as a security consultant and sends money back home for his wife and daughter. But he's always treated me like a son."
"Former Russian Military? That must be kind of intense." Robyn says to Connor as he doesn't really have much family including aunts and uncles. "I don't have any aunts or uncles since my parents were both only children. I have one grandmother though? And I'm an only child, my parents really couldn't afford to adopt more than one kid, which might be why I have a twin brother that was seperated at birth from me. I really don't know the details on that but it was weird as hell meeting someone who looks exactly like you."
"Yeah… I met Richard. He thinks he's an alien… but given how weird things are here anyways, he's about par for the course." Connor replies before lifting up, leaning back, and stretching out, "And it must have been a trip. I mean… you two are nothing alike… but at the same time a little bit." Giving you a bit more of an easy smile, "I hope I'm not making you uncomfortable… I just…" Looking down at himself a moment, he pauses, and then continues on, "I don't know how to do this kind of thing… how do you know when someone's really a friend… and when you're just acquantances. How can you tell? I mean… I guess I can't tell where I stand with people. Call is a social failing on my part. I never seemed to get it."
"Yeah, I know he thinks he's an alien, Dr. McCoy even has the results that says we're twins but Richard's not interested in them. I just…I need to get to know him better. He is my brother. Find out what common ground we have." Robyn says as he looks again at his sculpture and starts adding little finishing touches here and there. It's pretty much done. "You're not making me uncomfortable at all. And how do you tell…I don't know. I guess the best way is when the shit hits the fan here and those who hold you up when you have a mental break down and those that you make sure you're there for when they having a tough time? I don't know, that's a really hard question, you just kinda…know. And if it means anything, I think we're on the fast track to being friends."
Connor nods once, his eyes closed again in thought, before he stands up and moves around the statue, "The way that Richard kept talking about his origins, he was acting like it was the Superman story… sent by an alien race to earth to live because their planet was dying… or some variation on the same theme. It's a silly social trick I learned a while ago. Use the first conversation as fodder, do some research online, and come back to it with ammunition to engage and interest the other party." Smirking a bit as he takes in the details, "I haven't done that with anyone here… well… I tried once… but it failed miserably… it might work with Richard. Start talking to him about life as an alien. It could be his coping mechanism for something else that happened."
"That's what I was told." That Richard saying he's an alien is his coping mechanism. "Maybe I just don't know much about aliens outside of X-Files style stuff. And even then I was too young to really remember a lot of it except that my Dad loved that show." Robyn says as he turns the sclupture slowly to look at it. "I think it's time for baking, what do you think Connor?" He asks as he always welcomes any comments good or bad. "Who did it fail miserably with?"
Connor chuckles once more, "I think it says 'Feed me Seymour!'" Crowing it out a bit, before settling, "It's cool… looks ready to go to me… and it was Jonothon. I had a talk with him because of what happened with James in the library, and my grabbing and teleporting him… because of what he heard while we were mid-port… I wanted to apologize, but then a whole lot of stuff just came out. I tried to shift away from it, even shift some of the blame… well… he read me like an open book. Never felt so embarrassed before."
"Jono's good like that. He just knows people somehow, maybe it's his powers, maybe it's just him. I dunno but Jono's a good friend, he's been there for me way too many times." Robyn admits as he walks over to check on the kelm and place it delicately inside. "And yeah, I'll admit it was my homage to Audrey II, just, more looking like the actual plant then a Super Mario Brother's Venus Fly Trap." He turns on the Kelm and walks over to Connor. "Eventually, when you know someone's a real friend, they'll be like Jono where they can just tell what's going by looking at you."
Sitting back down in his original seat, Connor takes a breath and looks up at you, frowning slightly but only in thought and not displeasure before then nodding and asking, "So… can you fill me in on the stuff I've heard around the school about demons… or the Sinister guy? All I seem to hear is… people talking about the aftermath, but not what really happened."
Robyn stops at the question and just kind of sinks down in a chair, his body language stiffening up. "Do I wanna talk about it, no, but you deserve to know." His voice gets quiet and he just starts talking, almost automatically and his eyes just stare in front of him, obviously a topic he'd rather not discuss. "The demon thing…I guess there's a place called Limbo and it tried to take over New York City. They got our guys, like mutants and other super powered people, on their side through trickery, deals or some others it just happened to. Jordan, Lucas, James, Nathaniel, Mr. Parker-Mayfair where some of them that were turned. Good people becoming demons and just doing the worst things you can imagine. Rashmi wanted Lucas back, she thought she could save him, so we went after Lucas. I thought if we could save Lucas, even though I /hated/ him at the time, we could save Jordan. It was bad, really bad Connor. Lucas..demon Lucas killed people. I lost something important that night. It just got worse, I had a mental break down during it. I tried to run away but Jono convinced me to come back. Jordan, Lucas, James and the others had to live with the horrors that they did. A girl, Coyote, even died. Eventually things got better, the good guys win like they usually do, right? I don't really know how. Then weeks past, things got better than this guy, this evil Genius guy, Mr. Sinister, kidnapped a few people, Jordan, Jono, Skyler, Daisuke and Brian. All except Jordan had a past with him, Jordan was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. They came back, all altered and brainwashed by this Sinister guy. Did horrible things, James was already still recovering from the demon thing when his mind got messed with, really bad." Robyn doesn't say by who. "Jordan…well…" He pauses taking a few deep breaths before starting that part again. "Jono was back by the time, to himself, and no longer Sinister's lacky. The other four were, they attacked the school. Chloe lost a hand, Rashmi was almost killed, Scott and Hank were both badly injured. Jordan…it wasn't him when he did it but he said some horrible things and phased some small wooden rods inside me. I still have the scars from it. But when he did that, I was able to stab him with one of my psiblades and snap him out of it. Skyler….he copied Jono and promplty exploded like Jono does, when Skyler reformed, Sinister's hold was broken. I don't know what happened to Daisuke or Brian, they broke up into two groups. It's been hard Connor, dealing with it. It's so much stress and worry you feel like you're going to break. I felt usless and I honestly though I wouldn't see my friends again. So it's like you sit here, wondering what the next horror is gonna bring. Whose gonna end up dead?" By the time he finishes, his eyes are still staring at the same spot and he's kind of hunched in on himself as if he's very tense.
Absorbing is all takes some time for him… listening… nodding… pondering. The previous knowledge about both Lucas and James making him wince a bit, and turn his head away. But eventually Connor does bring himself back up… and he stands up, moving around, and puts his hands on your shoulders, "Wow… no wonder everyone around here is so bitter… and why I feel like such an outsider. I can't have known everything you've gone through… or done. I…" And he stops finally, "I guess I must be a reminder that the world outside just keeps going. Here's all this bad stuff… now… look new classmen. The only thing I can think of to say in response to it all? Carpe Diem."
Robyn shakes his head. "No Connor, it's not like that, it's not that you're an outsider or a reminder that the world goes on, well not to me. It's just…you're new here and stuff like that, you have to lean on each other and it builds bonds stronger than just regular friendship. You just walked in on a group of people who have seen eachother at their best and worst and been there to make sure they don't hit absolute rock bottom is all. It kind of sucks for you, knowing what is to be expected out of this place cause as much as their is horror, there has been good. Maybe there is a happy ending waiting for us."
Connor pats your shoulders gently, and then smiles once, but there's a tenseness there, "You know… instead of bad movie night… we should sit everyone down together and watch Rent. There's just…" he stops after a moment and then says, "There's just so many parables to what you just talked about in that… something that would touch everyone here. Give them something to help reflect on."
Robyn looks over at Connor and smiles at him. "Connor, just cause we've been through shit doesn't mean there isn't a place for you here, there is. Just like there are people here you'll make amazing friends with and see that that is one of the best things about this place. Trust me. You can't let this stop you, I gotta keep doing what I love, which is sculpting other wise, I might as well just give up and I can't." Robyn says with a smile as he stands up and pats Connor on the shoulder. It's weird, he'll willingly take a hug from someone but he's more awkward at giving them himself. "I don't know if it would touch people but…it's our life. And we can do Rent and a bad movie? I'm kind of looking forward to the laugh, but I gotta get going. I have class….fifteen minutes ago." He says with a sheepish chuckle like it's not a huge deal.
Connor smirks a bit as he nods, "Get going then… and again… thanks. I think if I was to gauge some level of friendship, I'd have to say you and I are friends. If for nothing else… we at least love some of the same stuff."
