Players:
Summary: Daisuke meets Mason and Kisha in the Library, and ends up helping them work out their differences.
Date: Wednesday, December 1, 2010. 10:33am
Log Title: Setting it Straight
Rating: PG
Xavier Mansion - Library
Like most Libraries, this one has that respected quite hush about it. A desk to check out books sits next to the door, next to the desk sits a statue of an Orangutan with a sign saying Return your books or else. Row upon row of books goes up and down the room. In the middle of all the shelves are two computers for looking up titles and a group of tables for students to sit and study. Along the back wall are windows with padded window seating for students to read in quiet.
For some the library is a place of learning and peace, but for Kisha it's something else entirely. It's a place to steal books with a scanner and (if she thinks she can get away with it) play music in such a way that the subwoofer vibrations risk somehow shaking the laptop through very molecules of the table itself. Today her books of choice are neuroscience, biology and other brain chemistry related topics and her music selection is a bemusing mix of Radiohead and some kind of Russian rap / techno fusion with a lot of explosions mixed in.
It's a brave new world for Mason. The Library. After skipping class on Friday, he has extra homework as a penalty. It means he's going to actually have to study, something he's not accustomed to. He doesn't even carry in a book bag, just the couple of pages with the assignment on them. But he suddenly feels better as he hears music playing. "Sweet, I can go with this," he says aloud. "None of this boring quiet stuff." His eyes scan the room until he sees Kisha. "That's fantastic," he says. "I was afraid this place was going to be all quiet and lame." He doesn't seem to have much of a library voice himself.
Kisha eyes Mason as if he was a rat sneaking into the pantry. "I see that my evaluation of you is so far within a two percent margin of error," she notes blandly, tapping a few keys and shifting the music to Radiohead's 'Creep'. "Technically we're not meant to make a lot of noise, but as I assumed I was by myself…" She shrugs and resumes scanning. "You seem lightly equipped for library study."
Mason has been looking for a clever way to approach Kisha. It hasn't escaped his attention that she doesn't seem to care for him, and the current actions only reinforce it. He walks over toward Kisha as the mellow intro to Creep plays. "I'm glad you're here," he starts, "I've been meaning to talk to you." His generally cool demeanor seems moused, as if he had gotten pulled over by a cop for driving on a sidewalk. "I can't help but notice that you seem to really…dislike me." He sits without asking permission, putting the document on the table and folding his hands in front of him.
Walking into the library with a few books in an arm is Daisuke. He's dressed in a pair of fashionably torn and faded jeans with a black sleeveless shirt under an open blue button down shirt with a tie loosely around his neck. As soon as he hears the music, Daisuke sighs as he does like the library to be quite. "When did the Library turn into a rock party?"
As Mason joins her at the table Kisha's burn scarred arms continue idly scanning pages with effortless sweeping motions. "I'll have to cancel the skywriter I hired then," she says cheerfully. "I find you vapid and vain, filling the air with a cloud of pointless platitudes in an embarrassing attempt to make people like you. I can go on if you'd like? Maybe whip up a little power point presentation." As Daisuke walks in she sighs. "I can turn it off if you'd like? Or I could change the playlist to just about anything worth listening to."
The blond pop star fidgets with the top button on his own bright red button down. He unbuttons the highest button, revealing more of the black t-shirt underneath, and then buttons it again, as if he needed something to do with his hands. He doesn't know what vapid means, but he gets the picture. "You just met me," he comments. "I'm just tryin' to fit in." He glances over as he hears Daisuke's voice, and the showman's face returns. "Hey there," he says with a smile, not intending to continue his discussion with Kisha at the moment. He stands back to his feet. "I'm Mason," he introduces himself, holding a hand out to the student clearly more prepared to study than himself.
Daisuke puts the few books he's carrying down on the table and nods to Mason, taking his hand. "I'm Daisuke Sakuragi, but most people just call me Dai." It's easier that way and he prefers the nickname. "Hey Kisha, how are you doing today?" He asks her since the last time they talked was quite a while back. "Sorry, I just have a student I have to tutor later so I'm trying to get ready. Where I don't usually mind loud music I was just hoping for more…Library time."
Kisha taps a few keys and turns her computer so the screen is facing Mason. "Yes but unlike some people it appears I /do/ study," she notes, showing him his own wikipedia page. "I'm remarkably well now that all the brain scans have come out… I'd love to say clean but I'll settle for weird in a stable way. Of course I've got to go back every few months in case of complications and changing parts of my power training schedule has put me back a little. But those are just minor irritations."
Mason nods, "Good to meet you, Dai," he says. "I can't say I've been a good study," he agrees, but then turns around to realize that Kisha was referring to his wiki page. It of course has very little about his life before stardom, but mentions his parents' divorce, absent father that he doesn't see, and who he was taught various instruments by.
It doesn't appear to bother him, he's grown accustomed to people knowing about his life before he's met them. Of course, at the bottom of the page there are notes about people creating internet campaigns to mock him, just like any other celebrity. "Yeah," he says. "But you know, I'm not famous here. I'm just another mutant." A fact that the public doesn't know about. "Don't worry," he says to Dai, assuming that Kisha was showing it for his benefit. "I'm not stuck on myself or anything, I promise."
Daisuke blinks at the wiki page Kisha pulls up and then blinks at Mason. "That's you?" Captain Obvious! "You're like some kid musican guy? Sorry, I just don't listen to much American music even though I was born over here." He says as he reads over the wiki page and looks at Mason again. "Well, don't worry, I'm not just another mutant here, I'm famous." He jokes, not to rag on Mason but more because the joke is there. He really doesn't care. "Brain Scans? Everything okay Kisha?"
"Now, yes. It seems the disagreement I apparently head with the demon undid a really rather interesting energy anomaly I had acquired," Kisha explains with a rare burst of genuine good cheer. "I've been trying to brush up on my exotic physics and biology to try and understand it, but no luck just yet. One of the medical staff said I might have done something to myself when I first blew myself up with my science fair project." She pokes a few glyphs on the bottom of the screen and brings up some before and after scan results which mean practically nothing to anyone without a degree or two, herself included. "See. Exciting huh? As for your fame Mason, that's of no concern to me except in how it and your career factors into patterns in human behavior. Especially the bit about lying to the public at large about your 'status'. It shows a marked lack of respect for your own genetics."
"Yeah, that's me," he says. "I just like making music. It was my mom's idea for me to be famous. It's okay. A little annoying though when the record company keeps dumbing down my tunes to the lowest common denominator." He offers a shrug. "I am not lying to the public. I'm just not telling them. You ever hear of Alison Blaire?" he asks, bringing up Dazzler: Former pop star. "Besides, I think I should be entitled to some things that the whole world doesn't have to know about me." Things that would jeopardize his career among them.
He sits down on the table and pretends that he can study the brain scan. "So, you met a demon? Like a real demon?" he asks. "With the pitchfork and everything? What're your powers anyway?" He still hasn't been able to quite figure that out. "To make yourself super smart or something?"
"You're Mom's idea for you to be famous, but what about you? What did you want?" Daisuke asks as he dealt enough with his father telling him what to do when he was younger. "Actually Alison Blaire was teaching here for a short while but she left to go do..something. I didn't really get a chance to ever talk to her but my friend Eddie fanned out a bit over her." He then sits down and nods to Kisha. "From what I've heard, I'm glad I didn't get messed up in that. And actually…I've met a real demon before. She looked….completely normal."
"Ahh. Weak willed? My sympathies," Kisha says, not giving the impression that she actually has any. "If they keep changing your music it means your releases themselves are lies. You should /never/ let other people shackle your creativity. That's been the bane of my time at this school, staff confiscating my creations or outright banning my ideas. What harm is a little radioactive material going to do compared with some of the students!" She scowls. "I may have met a demon, I was definitely in it's realm, but I have no memories of the event. As I said there have been neurological complications."
The lingering reminder that things can be dangerous here is one that Mason doesn't seem to want to dwell on. So he turns the topic back to Daisuke's comment. "I like it," he says. "It's nice to have people think you're cool, y'know?" he says, trying to parry Kisha's stab as he answers Dai's question. "Just the jumping in front of traffic to try to meet me is a little weird. I get to write the music, they just don't like how complicated the songs are, so they make me release simpler versions on albums. I still get to play them how I like when it's live. It'd be really cool to meet Alison Blaire, I have a million questions I'd want to ask her." He offers a quizzical look to Kisha's comment about radioactivity, though. "Did you say radioactive material?" he clarifies. "Where would you even get that?"
Daisuke shakes his head to Mason's comment. "Not really, not many people ever thought I was cool." He was never overly concerned with impressing as he was hiding from them. "I think I have to agree with the school about radioactive material. Especially the type of radiation I mean Gamma Rays are what turned The Hulk into The Hulk. I don't think I'd like to see any Hulks running around here."
Kisha allows herself a brief moment to consider all the fun things she could try with Gamma Rays. "A girl can dream," she mutters before turning back to matters at hand "If you don't exercise creative control now you'll never be taken seriously by anyone. You'd be amazed by all the things you can buy online, especially if you're involved in the 'grey' software scene."
"Oh man, the Hulk is beast!" Mason responds to Daisuke. "You have no idea. I saw a youtube of him pick up a house! It was all crumbling and he just heaves it at a semi. By far the coolest thing ever. I think I'm going to have to support Kisha's plea for gamma rays. Just try to find a way so that you don't have to turn into a raging monster to be that strong."
Daisuke lets out a sigh and rubs his temples and shakes his head. "Yes but you don't think about who lives in that house and the damage done to it or anything in regards to if anyone was in the Semi. You do know that most Semi-Truck drivers make their living off of the truck, what if he destroyed someone's living? I don't know, I have a bit of power but I try to watch what I do with it. Being responsible with your powers and all that."
"I didn't actually want a source of Gamma Radiation," Kisha admits, waving her hand dismissively. "I wanted to build a micro version of a CANDU reactor to power my computer. Far more reliable than the battery set up I have right now and I could use the excess power for other projects. I might even have been able to get my networking technology to a marketable stage! Maybe even stable enough to replace modern wifi technology." And best of all she could then access all the data being sent using it, espionage for the win.
"Yeah," Mason responds with a sheepish shrug, "I mean, that sucks, and all. At least it was on video for insurance. Hey, what are your powers, anyway?" He listens to Kisha explain what she wanted, and gives a rather blank stare. "I have no idea what you just said, Kisha," he tells her. "But it sounded impressive. See, Kisha, there's what we can work on. We're teammates, you can help me understand all that cool stuff and I can help you express yourself so that other people can share your passions." He takes the opportunity to express how they can really be friends and get along!
Daisuke shakes his head. "I'm not sure what a CANDU reactor is or anything either Mason. I mean, I study a lot, I did really well in school when I was a student but some of what she does is beyond me." He doesn't mention though that he could have probably been Valedictorian at his old school. "My powers, I control sonics. I have a super powered scream I guess you can say and I can detect weaknesses and I have some sort of super powered metabolism that keeps me from ever getting sick."
"While I appreciate you've moved from inane compliments to veiled insults I should point out that I don't need any help in that regard. The idea of involving people in my work who aren't willing to bring themselves up to speed is distasteful to say the least," Kisha offers in what passes for her style of politeness. "It's a Canadian-invented, pressurized heavy water reactor. CANada Deuterium Uranium, CANDU. Obvious really. Daisuke if it makes you feel any better my history and English test results are mediocre at best. I do tech very well because it's how I'm wired from my genetics up."
"Man, I wish I got sonic powers. I can move around earth, which is cool I guess, but doesn't really help me with singing." Which is all he cares about. "You're really lucky." It's clear that Kisha's cold shoulder is starting to get on Mason's nerves a little when he answers her, "I wasn't trying to insult you, Kisha. Jeez, I just want to be your friend. We're all mutants here, and I never did anything to you. Quit judging me based off my Wikipedia page. I'm a real person, okay? I get enough shallow rejection from stupid blog posts." Okay, maybe that last was an insult.
Daisuke shakes his head. "Sonics doesn't help with singing, I can't sing. And anytime I speak too loudly, I use my powers. Think about trying to hit a loud note, you'd blast your fans with sonics." He then nods to Kisha. "That's actually interesting. And English and History I'm pretty good with. They're not that hard, just remembering dates and grammar even though the grammar is completely different from Japanese." Which was the language he was raised on. "Though I am horrid at cooking." He says saying what he's bad at with a chuckle.
"I can do both subjects. I simply don't find them interesting," Kisha explains with a smile. "History has already occurred, anything I need to know about it I can look up whenever I need to and English is pointless. Language is fluid and only has value for actual communication." She glances at Mason and laughs. "I disliked you from the way you acted during our initial meeting. The Wikipedia page has had nothing to do with my opinion, which I might add is unlikely to change because of your unwanted attempts to force friendship upon me."
Daisuke shakes his head. "Yes and no, they're both useful in their own ways. The only problem is history teaching is very focused based on location. Also…if you learn about the X-Men's history and Avenger's history and such. We do have powers and I know I've run into Mr. Sinister in the past. Learning the history about that type of stuff can help you in the long run." He then looks over at Mason and tilts his head. "How did you act during your initial meeting?"
"I guess high notes like that could be a problem," Mason admits. "Never mind, I'm not jealous anymore." After being asked about how he behaved, he answers quickly, his tone a little raised from frustration. "I was just nice to her," Mason answers, playing with the spare button at the base of his shirt. "I wasn't rude, or disrespectful, and complimented her because she seemed smart, so naturally I must be some shallow loser. I didn't ask you to be my best friend," he contests, indicating to Kisha with his an open hand. "I just don't like getting judged when I haven't even done anything to you. I've never been mean or nasty to you, and you just treat me like some sort of rat that crawled out of a garbage can."
"Unwanted and shameless flirting with strangers isn't something I approve of," Kisha states firmly. "And if by saying I was smart you mean where you said something along the lines of people underestimate me because of my looks and then are shocked when they discover my IQ… Wow. Of course what was I thinking? That could /never/ be taken as a degrading comment."
Daisuke tries not to chuckle, just what Kisha's saying is kind of funny. He doesn't really have much of a comment on it, to him it says it all. "Maybe you guys should start over and act like the first meeting never happened? Sometimes the first impressions aren't really the right ones." Whose he to know what's good though, Dai doesn' know much about social skills.
Mason turns a little red when Kisha recites the compliment back to him, and gets a little quiet, realizing how it must've come across. "Sorry," he says, dropping his gaze and staring at the buttons on his shirt. "I didn't mean it like that. I guess it came out wrong." He casts a glance back to Daisuke, feeling awkward that someone he just met is also in the conversation. "I wasn't trying to be degrading. I meant it to say there was more to you than meets the eye. I guess I should've passed that through a few more filters before it came out." It all makes much more sense to him now. The blond teen idol turns his gaze back to make eye contact with Kisha. "I'm sorry," he repeats soberly. "Do you think Dai's right? Can we start over and forget that happened?"
Kisha eyes Mason, then shrugs. "I'd say I never forget things but this would be technically inaccurate as I've already clocked up two large voids in my memory," she says blandly. "I may stretch to a second chance. But that's only because I'm feeling especially pleased that I've got a clean bill of health." Aside from the repeated suggestions she might like to have counseling. But they don't count. "Just don't be shocked if I still don't get on with you. It would hardly be an uncommon occurrence."
Daisuke is trying to hide the fact that he's thinking - holy crap it worked! He does smile as he opens one of his text books and starts going through it. "They talk about first impressions and all that but honestly I think a lot of them are baloney. Most the time we get the wrong impression of people. The first time I met my best friend, I ran away from him cause I got scared."
Mason's smile returns to his face. "Thanks," he says. "I'll try not to be an insensitive jerk again." His face turns toward Daisuke. "You ran away from him?" he inquires. "Who's your best friend?" He can relate to running away from someone because he's scared, but not often on the first meeting of a future best friend.
Kisha eyes Daisuke suspiciously for a moment, then resumes scanning pages. "I'm not sure I can agree on that point, generally I find instincts are the result of the subconscious processing available data faster than the rest of your brain. But that may just be because I've spent a long while with my distorted powers making me build things with no rational logic behind them and it's biased my judgments. Speaking of which I should probably sort my projects based on how likely they are to disagree with fundamental physics."
Daisuke shakes his head at Kisha. "You can't think of making friends and meeting people in things like 'data' and brain processing power." He doesn't exactly know how to put what he wants to say though. "Mine..well I have two Eddie and Skyler. I met them both here but Eddie's off at college now so I don't see him as often. He's actually the adopted son of Mr. Parker-Mayfair and Dr. Parker-Mayfair."
Mason doesn't join in the critique of how Kisha phrases things. He's just dodged a bullet, and he'll not squander the pride he has left. "Cool," he answers to both of the other mutants statements. He stands back up from the table, and takes a few steps back. "Well," it's good to meet you Dai, and you again Kisha," he offers. "I gotta figure out how to do this stupid assignment, so I better get working on it."
"Try bring the assignments, a pencil and some paper next time," Kisha suggests nodding at what little Mason brought into the library. "You might find it helps more than trying to remember the text from every book you need." She grins at Daisuke. "I disagree. Everything is basically math. Social interactions are routed in biology which is in turn chemistry and so on. It's just very very complex data."
"Nice meeting you Mason, if you need any help, let me know. I tutor the kids that need it here." Daisuke offers as the famous student exits the Library. "Well it all goes off of science yes but you can't apply a basic conversation in science turns otherwise you just seem distant from everyone and it'd be akin to talking with a robot."
Kisha taps at her computer, changing to playlist to something a little more mellow than the experimental Russian stuff. "That's discrimination against SI's and there are probably enough walking around New York that you could offend someone that way," she points out. Suddenly interested in politeness now that tech is involved. "Besides I already seem distant from everyone. Because I am. People will never come before my work and it's better not to let them try than it is to cause undue upset."
Daisuke shakes his head. "I'm not discriminating against anyone. Robots are programmed and thing along logic and use what the know about interactions to determine a best course of action. And yes, emotions and thoughts are all based on nervous systems and thoughts are off of the consciousness which are different but what make us function. Two things that are very much taken into consideration in a conversation. The average person doesn't think about all options they can take in a conversation and goes with the quickest route, thus human error. When you put too much logic into it, it becomes impersonal."
"But you're implying that a machine is unable to feel emotions," Kisha says, frowning. "And by saying talking to someone who is distant is like talking to a robot you're saying robots would all be distant in communication. It's well within the realms of science for a machine to communicate as naturally as any organically born individual…." She pauses. "Sorry but I think I might care more about the rights of machines than of people. Probably because in general they matter far more to me. Goes with the messed up wiring I'm packing I'm afraid."
"Well they might be able to feel artificial emotions but one small tweek of a program all those experiences, emotions and personality can change." Daisuke says standing up. "Well I have to get going, sorry to offend you but it's just my view point as that is yours. Take care Kisha." He says as he gathers his stuff and heads out of the Library leaving her to her robot rights.
