13598/8-Bit Theatre

8-Bit Theatre
Date of Scene:	18 December 2022
Location:	Radical Arcade
Synopsis:	Monet and Cypher have a snark off about challenges. Doug wins.
Cast of Characters:	Monet St. Croix, Douglas Ramsey

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Monet St. Croix has posed:
It's the weekend, and so the arcade is open later than it is on school nights. There's a fading group that's pulling away over from some of the fighting games. Capcom vs SNK among others. The Capcom side has gotten heated with someone playing Dan well enough to get in multiple super taunts and a flawless victory.
    Meanwhile, M is watching over at the Mortal Kombat cabinet, "I fail to see why multiple duplicates of Ms. Braddock are the sole representation.." Ahh, palette swap ninjas

Douglas Ramsey has posed:
Fighters are nice, but Doug once archly said that he only plays them when he finds a machine that still takes quarters - because the real pleasure of a Fighter is closing the place down on a single quarter. He stops, and says, "Oh... well. I mean, not to Dougsplain, but the reason for that is because all of the earlier Mortal Kombat fighters are Motion-Captures. So the same woman did the Motion-Captre for Mileena, Kitana, and Jade-" He takes a sip of a drink, which is doubtless one of those GHASTLY meal-replacers that are part of his Xavier-School provided metabolically perfect diet.

"Also hi, Monet. ...How are you?"

Monet St. Croix has posed:
Monet St. Croix would take a moment then to glance at Douglas, "Greetings, Mister Ramsey." The question was rhetorical, but he did give an answer that was a reasonable one she was not aware of. So she gives a low cant o fher head. "I hope that you have been well as of these last few months." She would fold her hands together. "And.." Did he -really- use 'Dougsplain' as a metaphor?

Douglas Ramsey has posed:
He did! It comes from a combination of being a smarty-pants and having a mutant power that involves communication. It gives you a tendency to elucidate even when that might not be wanted.

"I've been-" He rubs the back of his neck. "Taking care of myself. It's easy to forget to do that, you know?" He adds, "How's being a super mutant slash business magnate slash fashion model slash influencer going?"

Monet St. Croix has posed:
M's eyes do not narrow. They're quite capable of doing so as Douglas goes on, "You narrate as if you are blind and attempting to echo-locate with your own sound waves." Her tone is passive. Hard to tell if she's attempting to tease him or annoyed at the narration.

"And I find that given my vast superiority over all things that it goes acceptably well. Not that I require the approval of society as much as I feel the obligation to share myself with the masses."

Douglas Ramsey has posed:
"You wouldn't believe how often I hear that." Doug says. He seems to have stopped on his way over to the Donkey Kong, Jr. machine.

As M extolls her virtues, Doug raises his protein shake to his mouth and sips from the metal straw. His shirt says 'Visit Sunny Mexico' ... in Japanese. It's a very Doug joke. "Geuligo neomu gyeomsonhabnida." He says, in Korean, around the straw.

Monet St. Croix has posed:
Monet St. Croix would reply over in Mandarin, "Of course I am. And I like to think that I don't have to extol my own virtues when the world is more than happy to come and revere me with the awe that I require." now she's laying it on at least a little thick.

Apparently she does have some sense of sarcasm.

Douglas Ramsey has posed:
Doug pauses, momentarily. "I have to ask, Monet - is there ANYTHING you're bad at?" He looks around, and then he points to the Asteroids machine. "Can you get the high score on 'Asteroids'?"

Monet St. Croix has posed:
Monet St. Croix would glance over at Douglas, "The point is repetition and memorization. The patterns of such a game are somewhat easy to predict with experience. After that it is merely a test of stamina and duration of hand eye coordination before soreness takes over."

Douglas Ramsey has posed:
"Asteroids IS fairly primitive that way." Doug admits, "But positioning is also part of it. If you get out of position even if you track the patterns you can still lose." He steeples his fingers over his mouth. "Can you beat Altered Beast without using a single continue?" He points to that machine in turn.

Monet St. Croix has posed:
Monet St. Croix would shrug, "At that point it is over along the style of familairity. If one is fluent with the game and it's patterns and has the general knowledge of how to adapt, the largest issue would be in loss of dexterity." Ie, your hands hurting.

Douglas Ramsey has posed:
Doug quirks his mouth to the side. "What WOULD be a challenge for you then? Shopping for an ensemble in an off-the-rack clothing store?" He seems to be genuinely curious if he can find something that M would find difficult.

Monet St. Croix has posed:
Monet St. Croix would just furrow her brows, "Why would I be so desperate to lower myself to such a thing for a mere standard of competition? Simpler to walk around naked."

Douglas Ramsey has posed:
Doug takes another sip of his drink. While he's normally a well-behaved lad, sometimes a bit of mischief flares up in his soul. "So you're saying you *couldn't* do it?" He asks, his expression all blue-eyed innocence, "Or are you saying that you're chicken?"

Monet St. Croix has posed:
Monet St. Croix would just look over at Doug, "Why would I wish to demean and sully myself in such a way?" Apparently a girl does have some limits after all. she would deadpan after a moment. "McFly."

Douglas Ramsey has posed:
"Because there's a time-honored tradition among wayward mutant children of stupid dares and ridiculous challenges in order to make life more interesting." Doug mulls it over. "I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'm throwing down the gauntlet. But the best part is, if you DO it, then you get to challenge me. That's how the game is played."

Monet St. Croix has posed:
Monet St. Croix would shrug, "I can't be bothered. You're not important enough along the roster to make it worth challenging. I suggestyou give something along those lines to Ms. Smith. I'm sure that hse'll rise to the occasion with the same aplomb she does others."

Douglas Ramsey has posed:
Doug raises his eyebrows. "Gee. Thanks, Monet." He says. "I wouldn't challenge Boom-Boom with that because I know she'd kill it. I'd challenge Boom-Boom to have dinner at Per Se and not make a scene."

Monet St. Croix has posed:
Monet St. Croix would smirk, "So do you have any particular presumptions that she is capable of doing it? If you're going to challenge someone, make sure it's at something they can't succeed at."

Douglas Ramsey has posed:
"...That's the point of the challenge!" Doug says, as he finishes his protein shake and sets it aside. "It puts us outside of our comfort zones and forces us to... stretch, a little bit. Which, being someone who's good at everything, you'd think that'd be novel. Don't you ever get BORED, being so talented, Monet?"

Monet St. Croix has posed:
Monet St. Croix would shrug, "No, I do not. A woman of my talents and stature has no -need- to constantly reinforce her own self worth by appealing to the lowest common denominator when it comes to vanity."

Douglas Ramsey has posed:
Doug purses his lips. "I stand corrected." He says. "But, you know - if you ever get bored or feel the need to show me up or publically humiliate me, the challenge still stands. Just so you know."

Monet St. Croix has posed:
Monet St. Croix would shrug, "You need no assistance in that regards, Mister Ramsey. You're quite well gifted in that on your own. I couldn't stand to take the thrill of it away from you."

Douglas Ramsey has posed:
Doug then proceeds to beam at M. "True! But it's also well-established fact that I am *adorable*. So, you know, that makes up for it." He glances around, and then he adds, "Stay you, M. There really is nobody like you." He picks up his phone, and text something - a moment later, M's phone beeps - it's a link to Morningwood's "Best of Me" - 'Reminds me of you - Doug'