893/No Wrecks in the Rec Room

No Wrecks in the Rec Room
Date of Scene:	31 March 2020
Location:	Rec Room
Synopsis:	Julian and Gabby chat, and become friends. Whodathunk?
Cast of Characters:	Julian Keller, Gabby Kinney

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Julian Keller has posed:
Julian Keller is lounging on one of the sofas in the rec room, earbuds in and flicking through his phone idly. He went hom a little early from the roller rink yesterday, citing a headache, although part of it was just his distaste for seeing everyone else be happy and buddy buddy. He'd never really made any close friends despite being here for a couple of years and he always felt a bit alienated.

Of course, being a prickly bastard probably hadn't helped him making friends.

He's wearing a long-sleeved designer shirt and slacks, along with a pair of bright orange custom Adidas. The music in his headphones is of the deafening sort.

Gabby Kinney has posed:
A soft weight settles on Julian's chest. It barely weighs anything but it's certainly noticable. Soft. Slightly warm. And all of twelve inches of chubby orange and blue stuffed plushie monster which stares at him with a jagged toothy grin and yellow eyes.

Gabby leans against the back of the couch resting her head on her folded arms after having put the 'My Pet Monster' plush on him, watching him with a grin to see his reaction. Her own attire? Well, she wasn't exactly a fashionista, though it looks as if she might have at least gone clothes shopping recently. Black leggings and a slightly oversized fuzzy sweater in an ombre from yellow to pink was worn. Someone clearly had felt they ought to give the poor gal some fashion tips.

Julian Keller has posed:
Julian Keller blinks for a moment and stares at the thing, "What the hell?" he mutters, pulling his earbuds out and then turning to see Gabby standing there. He starts to say something biting and then swallows it quickly, pushing up to sit up on the sofa.

"So, this is the prize you got from the machine, huh?' he asks. "I think it may have been there since before either of us were born. But it's cute," he says. He's not really sure it's cute, but it's close enough and at least it wasn't a boring teddy bear or some crap-ass beanie baby.

"I like your sweater," he says.

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Gabby Kinney doesn't seem to notice the near curt response. Or maybe she does and chooses to ignore it in favor of laughing a little. "Yeah. I figured at least I'd go for something that looked unique. I mean there was this rubber alien autopsy doll thing too but that was just not anatomically correct at all. It didn't even have a proper y-incision on the chest." A little cluck of her tongue is given.

"Thanks! Betsy helped me pick out a few things. I'm not sure it's my style yet, but it's warm and colorful so I've got that going at least." Since he'd moved on the sofa she plants her hands on it to vault over the back with a quick tuck of her feet to end up beneath her as she lands sitting in the newly opened spot. "You feeling better?"

Julian Keller has posed:
Julian Keller nods, "Always go with something special and different rather than the same old shit," he says. "And yeah, no alien autopsy. That sounds more like something for Doug," he says.

He watches her vault with a raised eyebrow, "You know you could've just sat down?" he teases. "And the same is true of your clothes - first and foremost, pick what you like and then you can make it better from there. But there's no point in being on trend if you hate what you're wearing," he says.

"And yes, I think so," he says. "Thank you for asking." Nobody else did, after all.

Gabby Kinney has posed:
"Yeah but that's boring. And I'm pretty bored a lot," Gabby points out about sitting normally. Ffft. Still grinning she tips her head at him a little giving a look at his own clothes with a nod. "That's true. It's nice to get to pick what I want at this point at least. Not the same old gear all the time."

"Looks like you've got your style picked out pretty well. And no problem," she adds giving his arm a light, friendly jab with her fist. "S'what friends are for, yeah? Checking on each other."

Julian Keller has posed:
Julian Keller looks at the doll for a long moment, his fingers stroking over the strange contours of its face, "I haven't had a lot of friends," he admits. A little self-pitying perhaps, but not dishonest. He regards the girl with a curious intensity.

"Why do you want to be my friend? I recall being rather cruel to you once upon a time. And your sister thinks I should probably have my face ripped off," he points out.

Gabby Kinney has posed:
That earns a little chuckle. Though she was usually cheery and over the top, she actually seems a bit more relaxed at the moment. Not outright serious. Just maybe more normal. Shrugging she points out, "Have you *met* my family? They're all kinda grumps. It's not anything I'm not used to. And Laura's just overprotective. Bellona would have just threatened to shoot you in the kneecaps."

That probably doesn't help.

Getting back to topic, she nods a single time. "Yeah, you were mean to me, but just for a minute. And usually in my experience people that are the angriest probably need a friend the most. I don't judge."

Julian Keller has posed:
Julian Keller manages a small smile, "Only briefly, but usually they have ended up wanting to kill me. I did take it a little personally, as one does,' he says. "In my experience, you have to put people on their heels. I prefer to do it verbally than with my power. In part because...my power tends to be a little messy," he says.

"I do judge. Often and early. But I may have judged you badly at first. So I...apologize," he says.

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Gabby Kinney chuckles quietly, "Hey at least you have powers! That's always fun," she points out with another warm grin. There's nothing else said about that for a moment before she offers her hand out toward him. "No hard feelings. Friends?"

There's a pause before she adds, "Of course this means I may text you totally random memes and kitty and puppy pictures on occasion just to warn." At least she was honest about it. The whole texting thing was new to her still and she was having SO much fun with it.

Julian Keller has posed:
Julian Keller laughs, "That's true. I do always appreciate having my powers. Unlike some of the sadsacks around here who desperately wish to be normal, as if that were anything worth pursuing,' he says. "I like being special. An dyes. Friends," he agrees.

"I will set my filters appropriately. Just know that if I'm set Do Not Disturb, I really mean it," he says.

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Gabby Kinney gives Julian a long, thoughtful stare at mention of being on Do Not Disturb. Her eyes narrow skeptically... then she sticks her tongue out at him with a prolonged, "Eeeeeew," that results in her laughing. Just a little tease at least. "Yeah, everyone here has such cool abilities. I'd be jealous if I weren't already cool," she adds with a solemn nod. At least she had no problems with self-confidence. "I mean I know it's not really a power, but not feeling pain is kind of awesome. Stub my toe? No problem!"

Julian Keller has posed:
Julian Keller gives a flat look, "I didn't mean for that. I meant that I might be sleeping or playing a game or in some other way not looking to be bothered, not that I..." he sighs, running a hand back through his dark hair.

"I don't know, being without pain does seem quite powerful, although I imagine there are downsides. You might not even know if you're being hit from behind," he says. "Your powers at least seem a bit intuitive. Physical. Instinctual. Mine take a bit more practice," he says. "Don't get me wrong, I'm very good at them, just sometimes I'm a little too powerful for my own good."

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Gabby Kinney reaches out to lightly punch Julian in the arm with no real force behind it. "I was teasing you goof," she points out with a grin. "Though that is good to know too. Everyone needs some time to do their own thing."

There's a long, slow nod as the talk of powers continues earning a small frown from her. "That's ah... Well. Everyone assumes I ended up just like Laura. The pain thing though, that's something they stuck in my head. Lab screwing around with us. Can't exactly turn it off so yeah... It is a liability at times. It's not just attacks though. Like, the other day outside," she recalls with a vague gesture at the door. "It was really cold and I wasn't wearing a jacket but I couldn't tell? I mean I knew it was cold. It just starts to blurr lines and become difficult to tell if it's a dangerous level or not. Got to be careful when cooking too so I don't get burnt."

Glancing back she offers a grin. "What are your powers anyway?" Either someone wasn't paying attention or she hadn't really been listening to the grapevine on who could do what.

Julian Keller has posed:
Julian Keller nods, "I mostly just dislike people and want them to leave me alone, but if you would like to frame it as self-care, I'm happy to use the excuse," he says with a hint of a smile.

"At least you heal quickly, right, if you do get hurt? My power is telekinesis. Moving things with my mind. Straightforward enough, but I got the brute force version. Some people can play pianos or knit sweaters with their TK. Mine is more the kind that can rip down walls and throw people."

Gabby Kinney has posed:
"See, now, that's cool," Gabby affirms with a solid nod. "I could think of a hundred things to do with that. Flip cars, see how high I could throw myself, things like that. I've seen how the others that have TK use it though." Another thoughtful nod. "Yeah, I get how being too strong might suck. Like you can't use it to open a jar of pickles without risking breaking the jar."

The question of her healing though? She glances down with lips pursed together a long moment. "I'm a clone. Of a clone. Of a clone. You ever made a copy of a paper then copied that paper? How it gets all faded and wonky?"

Julian Keller has posed:
Julian Keller nods, "Oh yes, it's very useful. Flying, for the least of things, is great. Big fan of flying," he says. "But I have trouble holding back and sometimes if I get mad or upset, I...lose control and break things," he says. "And I have something of a bad temper to begin with."

He frowns, "I didn't know that," he says about her clone status. "I'm not sure how any of that works. You seem just like any other person to me."

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Gabby Kinney grins faintly. "Oh, a lot of us ended up different. Bellona ended up albino for instance. That's what happens when they try to tweak DNA though--No one really knows what the outcome is." Nodding solemnly she adds, "I'm one of ten. The tenth actually. It's just me and Bellona now since my other sisters died... but that's okay." She adds quickly.

"I mean, it's not okay they died, I just mean I'm okay. We got free, and we're here, and there's Laura and Logan now. Everyone's been great. I even enrolled in that Happy Harbor school. Which I'm not looking forward to but Laura thinks it'll be good for me to have something of a 'normal upbringing.'"

Julian Keller has posed:
Julian Keller frowns, "It doesn't sound okay. To be frank, that sounds like it could really fuck you up. I mean, I'm pretty fucked up and I didn't even have that much bad happen to me," he says. "My parents are just dicks."

"I'm sure she thinks so. Make up your own mind, though. Normal is overrated, in my opinion. We have nothing to be ashamed of. I know humans get afraid and worried when mutants are around, but, as my father says, shit happens."

Gabby Kinney has posed:
"Probably did. But I'm not going to let them dicate how they want me to react to things. They did that all my life," Gabby points out stubbornly. THAT part she definitely got from Logan and Laura even if she's using it in perhaps a healthier sort of way. "I'll give it a shot anyway. There's this Senior chatted with me my first day there. Kinda cute, I guess, and he shared his gum with me." A little roll of her shoulders is given.

Julian Keller has posed:
Julian Keller hmmmmmmmmphs, "So his gift to you to make friends was his own germs? Even I can do better than that," he says. "Because of my control issues, blending isn't so easy for me. I can do well but then some preppy asswipe decides to get in my face and I blow all the windows out of the classroom. I got expelled from St. Ignatius' Academy for that actually. On my third day," he says.

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Gabby Kinney crinkles her nose at the implication of that as well with a look of 'yuck' as her tongue sticks out. "Ew, no, from a pack of gum!" At least it gets her to laugh at the very thought of it. A slight change of humor in the topic of her past. "Yeah I can see how that'd get expensive after awhile. Not to mention dangerous with all the glass. Have you tried meditation? Logan says it's good for clearing the mind. I don't know if that's true, mine's pretty full of lots of stuff."

Julian Keller has posed:
Julian Keller snorts, "Meditation's mostly just nonsense New Age bullshit, but I am supposed to try it. I'm just not very good at it. It's incredibly boring. 'Focus on this point on the wall'. 'Clear your mind'. I get anger management and therapy on top of my usual school crap, which thankfully I"m close to graduating out of and I'll be free to do as I please."

Gabby Kinney has posed:
"Honestly I was always fond of the shooting range," Gabby remarks as if this weren't a weird thing for someone her age to be saying. "You put the hearing protection on muffles the world. Just focus on your target... then shoot it. Got to keep your breathing easy at the same time so you can control the aim. I mean, it's like meditation really when you think about it just you have a purpose for it. Less 'clear your mind' and more 'focus on this one thing' and then..." Her hands hold up doing a fingergun motion. "Blammo."

After a moment more she hops to her feet to stretch her arms over her head. "Well, I should probably go check on Bellona, and Laura, and maybe Logan. He's been holed up in his cabin way too long now. Someone has to make sure they don't forget the rest of the world exists. Maybe I can find something to snack on too," she adds with a distracted, hopeful sigh. "Glad you're almost done that though. If you want to try a shooting range sometime though I'd be happy to show you how to do things!"

Julian Keller has posed:
Julian Keller smiles, "I'll keep it in mind. I'm kind of my own gun, but it might help get some of the energy out," he says.

"I'll see you around. And thanks again for the...thing," he says, gesturing towards the monster now tucked up against his hip.