Scene #17722: Second Annual Xavier's Talent Show

Owner	Pose
Jubilation Lee	It's time. The brightly colored flyers that have plagued the campus for the past few weeks have been lead you here. The Recreation Room has once again been turned inside out for some nonsense. Tonight, it's the Second Annual Talent Show For Gifted Youngsters. Guests are requested to kindly ignore that multiple years have passed since the first one. The setup is very familiar. The furniture has been spread out to form a semi-circle around a theater-in-the-round stage for the performances. A microphone is duck-taped to the top of a broomstick supported by a couple of weights swiped from the workout room. A table has been reserved for the judges, complete with three very large plastic cups from BURGER JOINT. A shrill, annoying sound can be heard out in the hall. It's getting louder and louder and louder until.... the door bursts open and Jubilation Lee comes in pushing a Dip N Dots machine. She puts it near the other snacks and drinks and gives its metal top a loud smack. Big smile! It's time. "Okay, okay. Don't push! There's room for everyone!" she shouts, trying to create some fake excitement. Jubes blinks. "Deja vu....!"
Monet St. Croix	It's time to start the fires, it's time to light the lights. It's time to get things started on the Xavier show tonight. Monet is here to watch those that have the gumption to perform.. And in her mind to for the most part fail horribly and be forever judged as a result. In other words she's here to indulge in her penchant for mockery for those that earn her amusement. That's how she usually is after all. She's standing near the back of the room, leaning against the wall as she watches Jubilee go to get things fired up. Is it true enthusiasm for things? Only the Norikos can tell
Kitty Pryde	As Jubilee comes into the room, she's suddenly lit up by a bright spotlight. "And there's the star of the show!" Kitty Pryde's voice can be heard saying from behind the unpleasantly bright but not blinding beam of light. She points it down and then back over towards the stage area, then flicks that one off and moves on to test the next light. Looks like someone volunteered to be on the AV squad tonight. Another light comes on, not quite pointing at the right spot. "Down a bit," Kitty says. The light goes down, but too far. "Back up a little." The light beam lifts again, centered on the stage. "Perfect, lock it down!" she says. A few moments later Lockheed flaps over to land on her shoulder, the light up nearer to the ceiling correctly oriented now.
Noriko Ashida	Noriko is here, has been here, helping with the setup just like the first time around. The blue-haired woman has been moving fast enough (mostly) to avoid questions from the younger attendees who have shown up and already started digging into the snacks. As soon as the Dip n' Dots trolley busts through the door, Noriko suddenly appears to the naked eye like a lightning fast lemur that has spotted something. She meets Jubes where it gets setup. "I got it..." she murmurs to the vampire and immediately starts serving them up to the line that quickly forms.
Tabitha Smith	Tabitha had signed up to perform. Or at least the name that was used was Jerome Smith. Whom is with the blonde out in the hall, getting things prepped under the cover of a sheet with the handle of a pallet jack trolley peeking out. Clearly the blonde dressed like she's in rock concert mode has a plan. The Donkey just chills with a pair of sunglasses on his nose. Pretty rad looking but does Tabitha's opinion as his mama count. Moms have a bias after all.
Scott Summers	Scott is not a 'talent' sort of person. He's not a 'show' person, either, but dutifuly showing up to events instigated and overseen by the DORL is something very much in his wheel-house. He's not exactly rushing or pushing to get a seat, but rather doing the teacher-ly thing of making sure some of the younger students take their seats and aren't entirely disruptive. He stands to the side of all the seats, his back against the wall. He's gone with a v-neck sweater over a button-down shirt, chinos, etc. Full responsible adult attire. As a couple of students start a playful shoving match, he snaps his fingers at them and points: "Knock it off."
Rogue	Rogue had to be fetched from the pool. Having spent the whole day outside, lounging in the sun, and enjoying the warm pool water, the Southern Belle is wearing a baggy sleevless shirt, with some jeans shorts, and flip flops. Settling in to being back inside, and summoned for 'jury duty' here at the contest, the Mutant with the two-toned hair seems to be in pure relaxation mode. Aviator sunglasses pushed up in to her white hairline, Rogue leans back in her chair, having already acquired a cup of dippin dots, and a little plastic spoon, she raises up a spoonful of them to drop them in her mouth. She tips her head back, slowly pouring the little icy dots in to her mouth, before she takes a moment to enjoy them, crossing her legs, and jamming the spoon back in the cup. "Ya'll better have your skills honed. Cause I'm judgin' tough t'night!" She announces to the room.
Allen-James	Allen-James is in the rec room, chewing on his lip, and waiting for things to kick off. He looks uncharacteristically nervous, with his new hoodie on, and tugged up over his head, as he shifts in his seat. He looks up, as the lady with the Dip'n'dots machine arrives... straight from the mall, it looks like. He chuckles slightly as Kitty lights up the room with the spotlight, and watches to see who else is going to be performing.
Piotr Rasputin	The operator of the suboptimal flank of lighting is prodigal X-Man Piotr Rasputin, for whom half the battle is squeezing past the array of fixtures and furnitures to get where he's been instructed he needs to be. This isn't precisely his area of expertise-- but it's not exactly a professional exhibition, is it? So the light hits the right spot, the switch is locked on, and the colossal Russian nods in proud satisfaction, surveying the stage as Jubilee begins. A smile and a wave, polite but with unforced warmth, greet many familiar faces as they fill in, and Piotr retraces his steps-- carefully-- to the girl with the dragon. "She knows we have boom stands and dampening panels, yes?" It's Russian-tinged, some would say heavily; but English is in his head thanks to Charles Xavier's prodigious psi-talent, and Colossus does not stumble for the words. The free weight and broomstick are part of the charm, Piotr; part of the //TALENT//. Jeez.
Jean Grey	Jean, of course, sits imperiously at the judging table with her luxurious BURGER JOINT bribe- er, organizer-supplied complimentary beverages. Because this is a school, it is definitely the case that they are just full of soda, and have not been adulterated with any sort of alcoholic additives. WINK WINK. She also appears to have spent the day outside, because if it's a nice day, why waste it? It looks like she's thrown a t-shirt and shorts on over a bathing suit, and that her hair might still be damp. Definitely the apperance of professionalism, here! "What kind of crop you think we're gonna see this year?" she wonders over at Rogue, before turning an appraising eye sweeps the room and the equally VERY IMPRESSIVE setup. Oh, oh, there's Scott. "Scott! Come and sit with ussssss," she calls over from the table. "You can be Simon!" Yes it is definitely going to be that kind of night, folks! Better strap in.
Patty Sloan	Patty wasn't going to perform. She wasn't going to do anything that might embarrass her. After all the last thing she wanted was to lose what self esteem she had developed in her time here. But then she got an idea. A way to show off her only real talent without being too crazy. She spent her week preparing a trio of costumes. It would be absolute torture for her with the amount of heat she'd be under wearing all three at once but the show must go on. As she waits with the other participants, She humbly stands back wearing a cloak over the 3 outfits. She smiles to the others present. "How is everyone? I hope you are doing okay. I am just a little nervous." She whispers and waits to see who is up and when.
Jubilation Lee	Jubilee finishes up her little routine of greeting people at the door once the bulk of the crowd manages to squeeze through the door. "Nori, Nori, you don't have to work, you know," she mutters, resting a room-temperature hand gently where the speedster's gauntlets end and her skin begins. "Didn't get a lot of performers signed up this time. You're pretty talented, you know..." Jubilee grins at the speedster, dropping that hint in place as she makes her way towards the stage again. She comes to a halt near the pair of students that Scott scolded, now awkwardly standing there /not/ shoving each other. "Hey, there's Dip N Dots this year..." she whispers, tilting her head in the direction of the machine she rented. With that settled, Jubilee gives Scott a little salute as she passes. "Thank you for keeping the peace, sheriff," she says with a fangy smile as she makes her way towards the stage and the blinding light provided by the makeshift A/V team. Jubilee holds her hand up to shield her eyes from the blinding light now focused on the stage. "Wow, okay. Okay. Like, maybe turn it down just a little. Thanks, Piotr!" she says. After flashing a smile in that general direction -- it's mostly temporary black spots in her vision right now -- Jubilation steps off the stage and hides behind one of the large armchairs. She deepens her voice. "LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, MUTANTS OF ALL AGES.... Please welcome to the stage... Someone who needs no introduction but she's getting one anyway.... The ONE....the ONLY.... Jubilation Lee!" Jubilee pops up from behind the chair and makes her way to the stage, finding her spot in Piotr's light. She's holding her trusty ukulele in one hand. She taptaptaps the microphone taped to the end of the broom stick. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" she says, waving her hand in the air to settle down the crowd whether they're cheering or not. "Welcome to the SECOND ANNUAL TALENT SHOW FOR GIFTED YOUNGSTERS Presented By Jubilation Lee! I'm your mistress of ceremonies... Ew, that sounds weird...I'm your... Hostess with the Mostess... .... ... Jubilation Lee!" She almost shouts into the microphone before strumming a little doot-doo-doo on her ukulele. "Before we begin, I'd like to thank our illustrious panel of judges. In our first chair... Coming to us from aaaaaallll the way from .... the other side of the mansion... You've dazzled her with your poetry... Now you'll have to dazzle her with your talents... Give it up for.... ROGUE!" Once the applause for Rogue finishes up, Jubilation returns her mouth to that critical area near the microphone. "OKAY! And our SECOND judge.... Because letting her be a judge was once again a requirement to use the Recreation Room for this... Give it up for our super cool headmistress.... JEAN GREY!!!!" Once there's another lul in the applause, Jubilee continues her spiel. "OH! I almost forgot. I was looking over the Res Life budget and... because we lose it for next year if we don't use it all this year... Let's have a round of applause for the DIP N DOTS MACHINE!" Jubilation gestures towards it. "Okay, okay, as is our tradition... As a show of peace and good will for ALL of our contestants... Noriko...." Anyone who was at the last talent show knows what Jubilee is about to say... "...Release the doves."
Monet St. Croix	Monet St. Croix would look up and over at Jubilee for just a few moments with a 'have you gone mad' expression on her face that's likely missed in the applause before it turns back to a rare display of sincere amusement. The shift of expression is genuine, for those that actually know how to read her. And as the call goes out to applaud for the teaching staff, Monet goes to join it. And for once her clapping is open rather than polite. Apparenlty even here she's taken it upon herself to try and join in the festivities. If only for the inevitable catastrophe.
Scott Summers	Scott gives both Rogue and Jean an unreadable look from his place by the wall, concealed by the thick ruby quartz lenses he wears at all times. The two kids no longer shoving each other whisper excitedly about Dots that Dip and set about somehow shoving each other in the direction of the machine. It seems for a moment he's going to stay where he is, until he finally does the awkward 'excuse me, excuse me' sideways dance through the audience to take a seat near the two judges but respectfully apart. "I'm just watching." And being the sober adult.
Kitty Pryde	Kitty moves over beside Piotr, glancing at the light he's adjusted and then looking to the big Russian to give him a wink. "Have to stay on top of Lockheed," she whispers to Piotr to not disrupt the show. "He'll just sneak off and gorge himself on cheesy poofs and leave the Fleebs unlighted," she says. Which gets a look of disdain from the tiny dragon before he tosses his head as if preening. As Jubilee comes out, Kitty cheers softly and then falls silent as the MC begins. She looks around the room, flashing AJ a reassuring grin, and then seeking out other students to bolster any nerves they might be showing. Patty gets a thumbs up from Kitty and a grin.
Allen-James	Allen-James claps along in time to the introduction of the judges, chuckling at Jubilee's bombastic act. He smiles back at Kitty, and sneaks over to her, and leans to whisper softly in her ear, "When I come up on stage, could you kill the spotlight?" he requests of her, as he waits for the festivities to begin. "I have... well.. I'll be making my own lights."
Tabitha Smith	Jerome might be about as ready as he'll get. Funnily enough it might be Tabby that's a little nervous. That might be a little odd considering she tends to lack a normal sense of fear the way she runs head first into combat situations. So till there's a call for her name. Tabby is happy just idling about just inside where she can watch the start of the show and Jubilee getting her MC on along with a ukulele solo. The blonde throwing DIO horns the Duchess' way.
Noriko Ashida	"Banana," the kid in front of her says even as they are stepping up. "There's only one flavor," Noriko manages to spit out quickly while Jubes is warming up the crowd. "What? Well, what's that?" "Pink." "That's not a flavor-" "You're getting it." Noriko cuts the kid off by shoving a little cup of dots at him and then darts to release the doves, only to dart right back. One can't leave children alone with Dip n' Dots in bulk. It'd be criminal negligence.
Rogue	Rogue leans over toward Jean, smiling softly. "I dunno, but I'm judgin' way harsher this time for anyone who isn't a student. Hank dazzled last time, but givin' the gold to a teacher seems a bit unfair..." Dippin dot spoon back in dippin dot cup. Dippin dot spoon, up to mouth. Rogue looks back when Poetry is mentioned, then her eyes dart around to the smattering of applause she receives, naturally causing her to lift her chin up, and bask in the adoration from those willing to further boost her ego with. A mouthful of dippin dots prevents her from speaking, but that might be a good thing. Rogue offers a wave of her right hand, and a wiggle of her foot crossed over her opposite leg, flip flop swaying against the heel of her bare foot. When Scott joins them, sitting on the other side of Jean, Rogue smiles over at him. "Lookin' good t'day, Sugah." She quietly whispers to the bespectacled Mutant Man.
Piotr Rasputin	"They are no good for you." Piotr soothes the dragon. And definitely did not sneak any jerky in simply to sneak to Lockheed. His sneak skill is not high. AJ does give him a DISTRACTION however. The large Russian's applause is sincere and even borderline enthusiastic-- he proves supportive with or without vodka. There's just the slightest wince of multifaceted empathy at the declaration of /indoor doves/, though. Then a wary eye is set to the ceiling...
Bishop	A constant rotation between the Danger Room, the training room, back to the Danger Room, back to the training room, has been occupying Bishop over the past few days. Recent events have had the normally dour future-man even -more- dour then usual his stoic stern expression set into an introspective perpetual frown if seen prowling the halls of the institute. So, not unlike Rogue, he had to be practically fetched. Summoned forth from whatever regime he'd been forcing upon himself in order to take his mind off of the innumerable issues currently plauging it. So, naturally, he's late to the party. He lumbers in, just as Jubilee finishes her introduction of the judges and then quietly takes a place near the back wall of the room while folding his arms to look over the affairs under way. His expression is muted but slowly relaxing as he takes in everyone present but he says nothing and just watches.
Patty Sloan	Patty gives a nervous wave to Kitty as she tries to calm herself. She's got a CD ready to be played to go along with what she is doing. Still she is cloaked and covered from head to toe minus her face. She is all in black right now and the heat from it all is sweltering. The girl smiles as she prepares herself. "I am as ready as I'm going to get." She looks to AJ and smiles at him. "You ready too?" She asks nervously. Sure she is just going to be having fun with costumes but at least one of them is a little revealing and it makes her nervous. "I am really excited. Maybe I should go raid the Dippin dots machine before we get too far in. The cold would help." She pulls out a bottle of water and chugs it. "This is a lot of clothes." She whispers.
Jean Grey	Students clapping for the Headmistress? Well, they better! Because she'll know if they don't... When Scott comes to join them, Jean turns to him with a big, beaming smile, even as he insists he's not getting in on the tomfoolery. "That's fiiiiiine. We're just having fun, anyway. It's as school talent show." She lowers her voice, albeit only slightly. "It's not like we're gonna actually be mean. We gotta tell them they all did a good job regardless!" Did she spill the secret already? Is this all made up? Do the points even matter?! Except, apparently Rogue has committed to treating the whole thing super seriously. Jean turns back to her as she commits to this higher standard of judge-ery. "Well... that's true. He did put on a really good act. But he was also up against a some other teachers, too. Bobby and his ice sculptures..." Which, for reasons we won't get into but which definitely include alcohol, briefly risked the destruction of the school by an enraged Jean. The 'doves' start falling, and Jean looks up. "Oooh." And here, she does Jubilee a solid. Some of them DON'T just crash unceremoniously to the ground. Some of them 'fly' around, making slow circles before settling in various locations.
Jubilation Lee	Jubilation grins as Noriko tosses a handful of white tissue paper -- the doves -- into the air. Jubes makes a vague motion with her free hand and a cluster of brightly colored -- pinks, baby blue, and yellow mostly -- miniature explosions engulf the pretend, tissue-paper doves. After a hundred or so snaps, crackles, pops, and whistles, most of the tissue paper doves are no more. "Aww, too bad, doves..." Jubilee mopes into the microphone. "But....." She immediately perks up -- such a showwoman -- and plays a cheerful little tune on her ukulele. Jubilee jerks her arm towards a few of the lucky paper doves that were able to escape thanks to Jean. "Let's hear it for the ones that got away!" Jubilation cheers into the microphone! She strums a few more cheery chords. Wait for applause to die down. Wait for applause to die. Okay. "Alright! So! Tonight, our big winner will be getting the single greatest prize in the history of incentivized competition.... That's right! A $50 gift certificate to BURGER JOINT!" Jubilation suddenly stops, turns, and poses for a camera that's not there so she can deliver the copy. "Burger Joint: Beef Here (tm)," she announces before gesturing to the prominent BURGER JOINT cups at the judge's table. "Alright, alright, lets get this show on the road before PETA gets on my butt about those doves..." Jubilee says, grinning a little at the crowd. The joke didn't land. It didn't land three years ago when she told it the first time and it didn't land now. Move on, Jubes, move on! 5t"OKAY! Lets bring out our first act! I've got absolutely no idea what we're in for, folks... so..." Jubilee announces. She turns towards the judge's table -- and Jean specifically -- and whines a little. "...I have absolutely no idea what we're in for," she repeats, but to Jean -- her boss -- specifically. "Everyone! Put your hands together fooooorrrrrrrrrrrr....." "JEROME SMITH!" Jubes announces, reading it straight from the signup sheet. Jubilee can be heard muttering 'oh for crying out loud...' as she walks off the stage, now realizing what's about to happen. 'I thought it smelled kinda like a donkey...'
Monet St. Croix	What was that location just mentioned? Oh, the one that the local teenagers were sentenced to work at by the local judge for community service. Or their parents. Whichever it was. And were paid working felon level rates. Monet glances over at the ones up on stage, moving to cease in her applause as the calamities would hopefully start soon. Monet goes quiet, so as to not openly start disrupting the performances.. At least for those that were right up there at the moment. There was an etiquette to heckling after all that was appropriate for her to restrain herself and adhere to.
Tabitha Smith	It takes some work. But Tabitha did have an act set up and sort of ready to go. So when it's her time she wheels her gear out out and waits the go ahead from MC DUCHESS! When it does, the crowd gets to see Tabitha dressed in rock and roll leathers, red tube top, black pants, spiky vest, collar, belt and wrist cuffs in similar colours. Wedge heeled motorcycle boots making her look taller. Her hair left down but styled more Farrah-ish with it's feathering framing her dark toned but lightly applied makeup covered features. The real act appears though to be who is sitting behind the drum kit. Jerome Badonk Smith. The X-Donk! Dark shades sitting on his face looking all cool, a pair of drum stick held, and maybe chewed up in his mouth. The burro is ready to rock. And after a countdown from Tabitha. "THREE... TWO... ONE...!" the drum solo begins. How, when Tabby has her hands free to apparently cheer on her donkey? It's not quite a dance, just hip wiggling and shoulder rolling and air drumming with pointed index fingers. She's creating bombs, low yield, muffled enough that they get drowned out by the impact of drums, cymbals, and even a cowbell. And somehow it works. It probably helps that when you have a power than involves psionically creating and controlling explosions. One develops a fantastic set of timing. and if you watch enough you tube clips over and over again, you can learn to replicate that timing. Jerome, ever the show donkey just sits there on his butt like a puppy, chewing on those drumsticks like they were carrots. Coolest donkey ever!
Kitty Pryde	Kitty Pryde gives Allen-James a thumbs up at the request, and she leans over to energetically whisper to him, "Break a leg!" She'll make sure the lighting is taken care of for him when it is AJ's turn. She turns back towards Piotr, only to note that Lockheed semes to be chewing on something. Kitty puts her hands on her hips as she eyes the big Russian with a flat stare. Before the expression gives over to a grin and a shake of her head. And she puts out her hand for a piece of the jerky too. Kitty turns to watch Tabitha's performance. The lighting for Tabby? Flawless. P&K have the whole lighting gig down pat.
Scott Summers	Scott's lip visibly twitches at the donkey being inside the Mansion. He's not the custodian by any stretch, but something about having a domesticated equine within the walls strikes him as irresponsible. Nevertheless, there's cheering and clapping so he does the right thing and raises his hands to clap. "Beef here," he murmurs quietly, perhaps only audible by Jean and Rogue, "Slogans really are getting more and more simplistic."
Allen-James	Allen-James smiles to Kitty, and nodnods before slipping back to the waiting area, in time for Patty to ask him about being ready. "Of course I'm ready. Who wouldn't be ready?" He says, forcing a little smile, as he watches Tabitha's act. He cheers for Jerome, laughing and clapping along with the 'drum solo', honestly impressed. He bites his lip... is he taking this too seriously? Maybe he shouldn't have made an entire act for it? He shoves the thoughts out of his head. This is a competition, he's allowed to be serious, right? Though... maybe not too serious. He bites his lip, and considers things, as he watches the show.
Bishop	Arms folded still, Bishop makes his way around the perimeter of the room quietly, moving with a little more practiced ease then Piotr but still having to squeeze past this and occasionally bumping into that. Eventually, his large frame looms behind Patty and AJ and he leans over curiously, "You're both participating?" There's a pause and the large man slowly allows the first hint of a smile to reach his features as he nods in approval. "..I look forward to you taking the prizes home" As he speaks, Jubilee continues on with the proceedings and announces the first contestant takes the stage. He rears back slightly, arms unfolding now and hands resting against his hips as Tabitha gets down to business. though he recoils at first when the bombs begi appearing. Her absolute control over them causes him to relax once again and he shakes his head while smirking slightly and then leaning back down to loom over AJ and Patty, rumbling to them: . "Good luck."
Rogue	Rogue glances over to Jean and Scott, just showing them both a grin before her eyes return down to her dippin dots, and the few spoonfuls that remain inside the cup. She listens to Jubilee's antics on stage, ever amused by one of her oldest friends here at the school. She does cheer softly for Jubes' joke, knowing full well that the DORL is rehashing old material, to try and refine it like any good stage comedian should. When the transition takes place, Rogue watches the donkey make his stage debut, garnering a snicker from the Belle. With spoon going back to mouth, Rogue quietly observes. She raises her eyebrows at the display, and the show that the donkey and his mistress put on for the crowd, nodding her head gently to what she sees. She leans over to whisper something to Jean, before she looks back and offers a round of applause after resting the cup and spoon down between her thighs. "Very impressive, Tabitha, and Jerome!" Rogue calls out when it comes to an end. "Honestly, I couldn't be more glad we rescued him from that scary place. I'm liking what I see here, an' think ya'll need to get this show on the road. I'd ask if you put it on Youtube yet, but I know ya definitely have." She says, grinning. "Thumbs up from me, but I'm keeping scores to myself until the end!"
Patty Sloan	"Me! I'm totally nervous!" Patty blushes and looks down. Then the rumbling of the big man, Bishop is heard. She turns to face him and smiles. "I am. I'm nervous but I think I can handle this. I am not usually the type to be in the spotlight." She grins. Though I think I am going to have fun with this. It is going to involve opera..." She smiles as she makes a quick gesture, making some air blow toward her face and hopefully cool her down a bit. She gets another bottle of water and takes a long sip. "I'm wearing like four outfits right now. Its super hot." She quietly takes a seat and cools down. "I should have made these clothes out of a lighter fabric." She winces a little and downs the rest of her water.
Jean Grey	Should Jubilee's exceptionally emphatic denial of all foreknowledge be of some concern to Jean? A portent of truly terrible things to come? Well, the first act seems to involve a donkey, so.... Still, Tabitha appears, all in costume, with the drum setup and the animal situated behind it. The fact that it hasn't eaten the drums is already impressive. Still, Jean looks at least a little surprised. "... Where did she get that thing again?" She'lowers' her voice again, in that aside to Rogue. "Did we all get drunk in Meixco and wake up full of regrets?" Xaviers does have some animals, and the space to care for them. It has horses! Possibly one less horse than it used to, admittedly, but it is still actually perfectly normal and accounted for. But the legend of the X-Donkey is the kind of thing that still lends itself to an air of forbidden lore. The origin of the drummer aside, Jean makes an effort to sit up from her otherwise boozy slouch, and when the rather explosively rhythmic performance comes to an end, reaches her hands together to clap excitedly. "Oh that was VERY good Tabitha. I love your outfit, and it's very impressive you trained him to do that!" Is she playing along, or is she too far gone to figure out the bit. "Bonus points if he doesn't poop on the way out." She looks back to Scott. See? She's helping!
Piotr Rasputin	Unspeakably glad there were no live birds released, the Russian's emotional pendulum swings decisively towards delight by the truth of the matter. Piotr surrenders the rest of the packet of beef jerky to Kitty without a verbal demand (it's FINE for the dragon SEE), despite having just-- with some crinkling-- shoved it back into the pocket of the dark denim which he wears. Piotr's gaze shifts pensively-- perhaps too pensively-- to the show, applauding at the appropriate intervals, reveling in the entertainment; and being all but visibly distracted by his own reverie amidst the noise and spectacle.
Jubilation Lee	"Woooooowwwwww," Jubilee cheers as she makes her way to the stage once the applause begins to die down. She strums a bit on her ukulele, picking a little diddy that matches nicely with Tabby and Jerome's act. She avoids the center, letting Jerome and Tabby have that until they finish making their way off the stage. She keeps her feet close together, body stiff-as-a-board, and watches the donkey carefully. Dogs don't like her anymore. Cats? Forget it. Donkeys are a wildcard, so it could go either way. "Lets give them /three/ rounds of applause! One for Tabby! And /TWO/ for Jerome -- one for his drumming and one for not pooping on the stage!" Jubilee cheers into the microphone, giving Jean a worried glance. Not my fault if he does. Not my fault if he does. "And I guess another one for Tabby for the same thing!" Jubilee adds, grinning a little at Tabitha from across the stage. She pantomimes clapping her hand against the neck of her ukulele. 'That was cool!' she mouths. "OKAY! Don't stop the clapping. Lets keep that going for our next contestant. He comes to us ALLLLLLLLL the way from the Boys Dorm -- floor 2 if I'm not mistaken -- he's taking time out of his busy schedule of alphabatizing his socks... Lets give it up for TROY FLEEB!" Jubilee plays herself off the stage with a few strums of her ukulele and leans against the back of a chair. She resists the urge to scowl at a Fleeb.
Rogue	Amidst the buzzing excitement in the recreation room, Troy Fleeb, the sophomore with the quirky ability to alter his physique's muscle tone, steps onto the stage with his guitar in hand. Troy adjusts the white sweater tied around his shoulders, and runs a hand through his thick mane of blonde locks, before softly clearing his throat. With a mischievous twinkle in his eye, he slips delicately into a rendition of a famous, classic tune. Troy's youthful voice surprisingly smooth and melodious, it already seems to be effecting some of the High School girls who've come to be quite fond of the first male member of the Fleeb family to grace the halls of Xavier's School. Troy's fingers gracefully pluck the strings of his guitar with a surprising amount of aptitude, and as the familiar song builds, the young man leans toward the microphone, before letting loose the lyrics. "Would you dance if I asked you to dance?" Troy croons, his voice carrying across the room, an emotional quiver tickling every word... As he strums the chords, he can't resist the urge to playfully adjust his physique, causing his muscles to swell and shrink in time with the music. The effect is both hilarious and endearing, earning him chuckles and giggles from several of the audience's female students, while many of the young boys instantly roll their eyes, release exhausted groans under their breath, or outright begin to laugh to the point a teacher might need to tell some of them to simmer down! "Would you tremble if I touched your lips?" he continues, his gaze sweeping over the crowd. Spotting a group of girls swooning in the front row, Troy winks playfully, causing them to giggle and blush. Emboldened by their reaction, he continues to sing, pouring his heart and soul into the performance, as he steps off stage, to approach his swooning classmates, and sing directly to them. Someone says 'Boo' in the background, coming from Hambone's direction, and his group of nare-do-wells near the pool table. As the song reaches its crescendo, Troy's voice rises to meet it, filling the room with passion and emotion. When it finally comes to an end, Troy offers a graceful bow to the audience before the stage, and a wink to his favorite fellow female students, before he heads off stage to join his waiting clique of closest friends, who all share in a round of high-fives. Before taking his seat, Troy removes his guitar from his shoulder strap, returns it to its case, and offers a pair of finger-guns toward the Judges, and a wink toward Jubilee's direction.
Tabitha Smith	When the hoofs free drum solo ends Tabby steps around to scritch her baby boy's ears and listen for the commentary. All smiles and grins aimed at the judges and and then the audience. Benefits of putting the drum kit on wheels. She can soon trundle it off and out of the way. So once everyone does finish their appraisals. Jean earning a twirl to show off the costume. Making it the second cutes ass in the act. She soon starts wheeling Jerome and the drums out. One hand on the handle of the trolley and the other throwing more DIO horns to everyone. He actually manages to not poop. Tabitha made sure he went before she brought him inside. There's a limit to housetraining some critters. And considering a lot of drummers. Jerome is way better behaved.
Scott Summers	"Always nice to see the Fleebs contributing," Scott says to Rogue and Jean, completely separate from the strange Fleebian Wars that seem to otherwise cause havoc throughout Westchester County. He applauds for Jerome and Tabitha, and keeps applauding for Troy. When the second act is done, he catches Jean's sideways glance and does his best to suppress the most barebones foundations of a smile before they emerge.
Bishop	"It's alright to be anxious but I'm confident you'll do fine." offers Bishop towards Patty after she answers him, "You never know? You may get inspired by the muse of performance and make it a regular thing.." As Tabitha's performance wraps up he looks back to it and nods his head in appreciation and then offers a set of heavy applause. This might not be his 'thing' per se but...he's down with supporting folk and bit by bit he continues to relax and lose the edge he had when first arriving. That is until the boo comes forth from the corner of the ne'er doers towards Fleeb as his performance continues on. Bishop gives them a dour look. His best practiced 'muted' X.S.E. look of disappointment and disapproval. Muted because the full force of it might cause some drop outs as they fled from the school. He shakes his head, not bothering to head that way and instead returns his attention to the stage as the performance reaches its conclusion.
Rogue	Rogue finishes off her cup of dippin dots, setting it aside on a nearby table. She reaches for one of the cans of soda that rests in a cooler chest not too far away, as Troy takes the stage. When she looks back, she's popping the can open just before the song had begun. A sip of the soda is taken, another thumbs up sent to Tabitha and Jerome, before the Belle falls silent to watch the young Fleeb give his performance. She tilts her head at the sight of the kid actually being really damn good at the guitar, and the vocals... even if the song is not exactly her style of music. The reaction that the performance garners from the various students draws Rogue's eyes too, before she looks back toward Troy, who whispers 'Let me be your Hero.' in to the mic before departing the stage. Rogue narrows her eyes at this, another sip of her soda taken before she looks over to Jean and to Scott past her shoulder, gauging their reaction to it. "We'll see, Troy!" Rogue calls out to him, as the kid rejoins the other 'cool dudes' in their section of the recreation room audience.
Jean Grey	"Oh gosh," exclaims Jean, and she reaches up to fan herself. Is this acting?! She looks back and forth, throughout the song, sometimes to Rogue, and sometimes over to Scott. "Is he graduating this year? That's such a shame..." Down girl! Off-stage, the admirer group not only includes his pack of brosephs, but a knot of girls. Obviously he has plenty of female admirers in the crowd, but one of these seems even more excited, running up to him and beaming a big smile and even leaping forward to throw her arms around his wasit. "Ohmygawd that was sooooo good. You're so talented. I bet you win for sure!" At first glance, the expectation might be that this is his girlfriend, ready for assassination by much of the rest of the audience... ...but at sobering SECOND glance, from their vague resemblance one might actually very much hope that is NOT the case. Then again, the family Fleeb is quite the unusual institution... Ahem. In any case, the other girls with the first seem too intimidated by Troy's gorgeousness to even approach, and look on with mild jealousy at the affection his younger sister gets to share with him. They'll all get their moment soon enough... Back at the judges table, Jean has managed to compose herself. "Well, I think we can all agree he has an amazing body... of musical knowledge. No, I mean, really, I didn't know he played. He- that was truly beautiful. Thank you Troy. Just great. Wow."
Patty Sloan	"We've gotta follow THAT?!" She exclaims maybe a little too loud. "This is going to be really tough. I'm just going to do my best." She looks to Bishop and smiles a little more at ease. "Thank you Bishop. I am just really anxious over this. Thankfully I'm not singing. I'm not that great of a singer." She snickers. "Is there a CD player around here? I think I have one in my room but its too late to run there and back before I go on." She comments as she looks around. "Its just 3 songs. Opera actually." She blushes as she lets out a little bit of a clue of what she is planning. "Its gonna be good!" Quietly she accelerates the air making it feel like a fan blowing on her. "Yeah next time, lighter materials. That would be very beneficial."
Allen-James	So much music. Allen-James begins to question his life choices. Should he have just gone for violin? He's good at violin. But, no. It's too late to change the act. He's already got the bucket. And his Violin is so far away. He listens to Troy's song a bit more critically than most, thinking to himself more of missed timings, than of Troy's crooning voice, or handsome appearance. One would almost think that he isn't attracted to men or something. His eyes gleam with some of his old competitiveness as he hums along to the song, quietly enough that only Patty can probably hear him. He pats Patty on the back, and smiles, "I'm sure you'll do great. I'm looking forward to seeing your act." he says, trying hard to be supportive of his friend.
Jubilation Lee	Jubilation claps-claps-claps her hands as she perks up to retake the stage. A five dollar bill is slipped into Hambone's meaty palm as she passes him and his little gang of toadies. As Jubilee retakes the stage, her hand is tightly wrapped around the strings of her ukulele, ensuring that it doesn't make a sound. Any note from her instrument could risk making people think she's somehow approving of Fleeb's act. Jubilation stands there silently, frowning a little at all the commotion from the judge's table. "Hey, hey, settle down, judges, or I'll have to separate you," she warns, clearly riffing on things her teachers have said to her her many years of being a class disruptor. "Okay! Okay!" Jubilee shouts into the microphone. "Uh, give it up for Troy. C'mon, c'mon, we clap for everyone, okay, people? It's like Valentine's Day in second grade." She says this even though the crowd loved Troy's act, choosing to instead play pretend that they, in fact, hated it. FLEEB! "It doesn't really feel right on the next contestant to go on after a Fleeb sucked the air out of the room like that," Jubilee mutters to herself. Again, the crowd loved it. Jubilation frowns a little as she tries to figure out a solution for this. An idea pops into her head and she goes with it immediately. "Okay, we'll be right back after a word from our sponsor!" Jubilee announces into the microphone before dragging it off to the side of the stage. Jubilee rises up onto her tippy-toes and looks around the Recreation Room, trying to get eyes on Noriko. Can't find her. Huh. They didn't plan for a commercial break. They don't really even have a sponsor. "Eh, she'll figure it out..." Jubilee mutters to herself before bringing the microphone back to her mouth. Jubilation clears her throat and does her absolute best to deliver an improvised bit of nonsense but make it sound like a carefully reheased live-read commercial, as though this is a 1950s game show broadcast. She cups her hand over one of her ears like they do in all the re-runs from that era. "And now, a word from our friends at Burger Joint. Here at Burger Joint, we don't bother with frivolous notions of health or well-being. Our menu is a testament to the futility of existence, a culinary journey into the void. Worried about your cholesterol? Don't bother!" Jubilee begins. She's still hanging out at the edge of the stage, just trusting that a certain someone will get up there and somehow, SOMEHOW, know exactly how to handle this. "Our new Gut Bomb Burger is so greasy, you'll forget why you're even alive. It's not just a meal, it's a cardiovascular challenge! With layers of juicy beef, mountains of melted cheese, and enough mayo to sink a battleship, this bad boy is guaranteed to send your arteries into overdrive! And don't forget to wash it down with our signature beverage, the Mega Gulp Sludge! It's like drinking a milkshake, only thicker and more grey...."
Noriko Ashida	It might seem like it is planned, or even pre-ordained, given the near perfect timing Noriko has, but really, Noriko is in the middle of gorging on a tub of dots when the lighting change happens. She lifts her head and completely stops, eyes wide as she lights up with an idea. Just when it seems like Jubilation might be alone up there, Noriko suddenly appears with a burger...where did she get that? It's totally legit. It has a wrapper and everything. She clutches it between her two gauntlets as she trudges lifelessly and ever so slowly behind Jubilation while eating the burger. It takes the entire commercial for her to get from stage right to stage left. Then suddenly she 'vanishes' again.
Piotr Rasputin	Hey, those kids are good. It's a good song. Piotr is-- momentarily a bit uncomfortable. Pensive shifts to awkward shifts to hey, is it warm in here? But there's Bishop, stern and encouraging, and the colossal Russian can do -that-. And so he does. Off the displaced XSE agent's rear flank the towering Rasputin appears, flannel-clad arms crossed, to glower and nod manly support in turn as the students take turns doing their things... and it behooves at least a few of the ostensible staff to behave! The scandal!
Jubilation Lee	"Burger Time. Beef Here (tm)," is Jubilee's last remark. There's a cheery little strumming pattern from Jubilee's ukulele before she drags the microphone back to the center of the stage. It's a little jingle to signal that the unnecessary commerical break is over. "Okay, okay, welcome back, folks!" Jubilee announces while chuckling a little. She's back to the speaking pattern she used before the live read she made up on the spot, committing to the joke that she's playing at least three different people in this show. "Wow. I don't know about you guys, but I'd love to sink my teeth into one of those!" Jubes adds, lying through her fangs. "No you wouldn't!" Jubilation hisses suddenly in the direction of that heckler -- one of Hambone's minions -- before continuing on with the show. "Okay! It's time to bring up our next act. She comes to us from the great state of..." Jubilee begins. She drops the enthusiasm from her tone when pronouncing the state of... "....Pennsylvania. Jersey Shore, Pennsylvania, in fact! No, no, it's not J-Woww.... it's PATTY SLOAN!" Jubilation steps off the stage while playing a ukulele cover of the Jersey Shore theme song. Just a few bars while Patty gets up there.
Bishop	Indeed. The titanic towering ......uh...titans? Equal in height and within the same realm of physical mass and physique, (So long as Piotr doesn't get the urge to show Bishop up by going into omnium steel form...) the scowling duo cut a double whammy of intimidation and sterness and 'you better behaveness' towards the rabble rousers. Granted. Piotr's effort at it might be on the verge of cracking at any moment which just means Bishop has to pour more sterness on for the both of them. But enough is enough and he gives an approving nod towards Piotr. "I always knew you had it in you." Truly they should proably both be on stage themselves for quite the double act! Granted, attempting to drag them onto the stage might be the entertainment of the evening all by itself.
Patty Sloan	Patty steps on Stage. The spotlight finds her quickly courtesy of Piotr. She takes the CD to a CD Player and sticks it in but doesn't push play. Instead she speaks out. "So, my talent is somewhat unusual. I design costumes. I am going to show you three of which tonight. The music I chose for this shares a common theme. It is all from Opera and Operettas. Now I know what you are thinking. Why would I ever do that because Opera is boring. Well I'm going to prove you wrong in that it can be Lovely, It can be funny, and it can be sexy. So without further adieu." She hits play and turns with her back towards the audience. As the music starts... The Music of the Night From Phantom of the Opera. (( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=77umP7IRxD4 )) She quickly brings a mask to her face and begins acting like she is singing the song, moving to it, putting motion to the lyrics. She is dressed in a Tuxedo, Looking like the Phantom she is portraying. After a few minutes the song changes. As someday it should happen (List) From the Mikado. (( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NLV24qTnlg )) She quickly pulls off the Phantom garb off with a quick motion... it was velcroed together. Immediately a skirt drops. A girls skirt? No. SHe is wearing a Kimono done up in purple with silver lining. She begins acting out the song, This one is a funny song and she plays it up. She keeps going with it. Even at one point acting like she is kicking someone in the butt. The music changes again. This time the lyrics aren't in english. But the song itself is sexy. Very sexy. Habanera from Carmen. (( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJ_HHRJf0xg )). She rips off the kimono leaving her dressed in yet another costume. This one leaves little to the imagination. Its a Barmaid's outfit with a deep cut square neck showing off her bustline. An underbust corset wraps around her waist and the skirt comes down to her knees. She dances around to the tune, Being as sultry as she can. She even winks at the audience and as the song ends, she blows a kiss to the crowd and to the judges before giving a curtsy before making her way off stage.
Allen-James	Allen-James claps enthusiastically for Patty as she makes her way off stage, "Yeah, Buffalo! Show em!" he calls out as she finishes her act. "You did great." he whispers as she comes down, even as he gathers up... A bucket.. A jug of water... and a towel?
Bishop	With Patty taking the stage, Bishop turns his attention back towards it and begins watching and then nodding his head in approval and distant encouragement. The acts have been musical up to this point and he'd never disparage musical talents but it's always great to see more varied skills and gifts on display and costume making certainly counts. After she finishes her explanation, he folds his arms and waits and when her performance begins and the quick costume changes begin, he blinks a few times and then nods once more, allowing a smile to crease across his broad features. When she finishes her performance and leaves the stage, he raises an eyebrow towards her and then nods a few times. "Impressive."
Rogue	As the stage shows transition again, and the Burger Joint advertisement rolls on, Rogue leans over to take Jean's drink from her hand. She sniffs at the beverage inside the cup, then testingly takes a sip from it. It takes only a second before the tantalizing sensation touches Rogue's tongue, and tells her mind the state of alcohol found there-in. Needless to say, Rogue shoots Jean a sharp look, and leans over to the Headmistress. "he's a Sophmore... Reign it in a bit!" She whispers loudly at the redhead beside her, before showing Scott a smirk past Jean's profile. The drink cup is handed back to Jean, along with a cupcake pilfered from the snack tray beside the judge's table. "put some food in your stomach." She tells Jean further as Patty's performance begins. Rogue settles back in her chair, her legs crossing once more, and her head tilting ever-so-slightly as Patty's interesting skillset, and ability to manipulate outfits plays out. By the time Patty's act proceeds to the bit with the more revealing outfit, Hambone-- and his gang-- chime up with various comments such as 'Now we're talking.' and 'I like where this one is going!' But they're quick to cut themselves off again, as they share with looks toward Bishop and Piotr... the two X-Men that are most visually intimidating here. As everyone begins to applaud, Rogue is of course doing just the same. She offers a two-fingers-in-mouth-whistle to show off her feelings on the show, before the claps die down enough for her to speak. "Very nicely done, Patty. Really." The Mississippi native judges. "Like, really. I'm impressed, Dawg. Your ability t'shift outta outfits like that, change tunes effortlessly, and just styles in-general... Very cool. Clearly had people on the edge of their seats too, Dawg. Keep it up, and you're gonna be a legendary force behind these sometimes annual competitions. We'll see you taking the winnin spot in a lot of'em too, I bet." She states, grinning toward the young woman. A glance is sent over to Jubilee, before Rogue quickly looks back. "Oh, and, I love the creativity, and imagination behind it all too, Dawg." Rogue folds her arms across her stomach, rumpling the fabric of her baggy dark green tanktop.
Noriko Ashida	Noriko is now back bonding with that tub of Dip 'N Dots when Patty gets up to introduce her talent. "Cool." Costumes. The speedster, sitting cross-legged, leans to watch from behind the Dip 'N Dots trolley, which she still guards/serves occasionally (though the rush seems over). When the sight of the kimono makes its debut via velcro, Noriko goes right back to demolishing the tub of dots in a blur. When she hears everyone starting to applaud, Noriko holds out one of her gauntlets away from her body and makes a rapid repeated snapping sound with licks of electricity jumping off the tips of her fingers.
Jean Grey	Somehow, the judge's table is STILL talking about Troy. "Oh he's not graduating? Phew. Thank goodness. I guess I just got confused with how mature he looks..." Rein it in is right! Although she DOES seem rather enthused by the offer of the cupcake, and grabs it for a cheek-puffing bite. At any rate, Next up is Patty. And her routine breaks the trend of many of them with its more visual focus. "Oh wowwww. Did you make all of these? Patty, oh, oh, that's just so good. Isn't she good? You know I used to model, so I know some designers and this is just... yeah, you have a real talent here. It's really good. Just so good. Delicious." Although her praise is effusive, it's not totally clear if she's still talking about the outfits by the end, or has gotten sidetracked by the cupcake. Following Patty, there are a handful of further acts. Most of these, to put it lightly, are not exactly towering displays of talent, although the kids certainly try their best! There's juggling. There's a recorder solo and a freestyle rap. There's a choreographed lightsaber duel (OK some of them are awesome.) And then there's Karen Fleeb and her little group. They come out in what appear to be overly suggestive Easter Bunny outfits. Or Playboy bunny outfits. It's hard to tell. Easter was definitely a month ago. But as Karen quickly explains: "It still counts until the Ascension of Jesus on May 9th!" Did you know the Fleebs were Mormons? The Fleebs are Mormons. What follows, then, is a rather overly suggestive dance routine that starts, relatively innocently, with "Peter Cottontail" and a bunch of 'hop hop hop' choreography, but then quickly segues into a TikTok dance trend compilation mash-up that has them twerking in more-or-less unison. They get to "Mr. Steal Your Girl" before Jean leaps up to interrupt an incoming lyric, signaling with a throat-slash to Duchess-Hostess. "OK GIRLS THAT WAS VERY GOOD! Wasn't that good?" She claps. "Let's give them a hand! Alright, Jubilee, do we have any more?"
Scott Summers	As the next act winds up, Scott holds out his hands and applauds nicely. He hasn't moved from his seat near Jean and Rogue, seated like a judge but decidedly 'not judging' the acts. They all get polite applause and encouragement. Also, he's somehow wearing a Burger Shot 'BEEF HERE' t-shirt now instead of his sweater and button down.
Jubilation Lee	Jubilation raises her eyebrows and smiles as the CD player is set down. She rises a little onto the balls of her feet in anticipation for the music to start but then... it doesn't. "Oh," she says to herself as Patty, instead, begins with spoken word. She can be seen nodding her head a little at the point about opera being boring. When the act starts, Jubilee nods her head a little. "Okay, it's a musical act," she tells herself so she can start thinking up what she'll say about it when it's time to get back on the stage. When the outfit and music changes, Jubilation looks up from the folded sign-up sheet and raises both eyebrows. "Or.... a comedy act..." she decides before looking down at her notes again. When she looks up, now seeing the bar maid outfit, she scowls. "...It's a magic act, isn't it?" Jubilee reaches out and gently lifts the jaw of one of the boys in the crowd, closing his mouth for him, while he has complicated thoughts about Barmaid Patty and the kiss she blew into the crowd. Jubilation retakes the stage and claps her hand against the neck of her ukulele and goes with the safest set of words to describe what she just saw. "That was something, wasn't it, folks!" she cheers into the microphone, choosing to completely sidestep the question of whether that was a music, dance, or magic act. And so, the talent show would continue its course. Jubilee would announce each act, say something vaguely funny but not as funny as she was at the first talent show, rinse, and repeat. The throat-slice gesture from Jean Grey stirs Jubilation into immediate action. Without a moment to lose, she begins to play the send-off music on her ukulele. It's a tune everyone has heard a million times thanks to YouTube: Keyboard Cat. She plays a few bars, giving the Fleebs the benefit of the doubt at first. When they don't take the hint, Jubilee walks back onto the stage, still playing the Keyboard Cat song, and reclaims the spotlight. "Okay, okay, okay," Jubilee says, lips pressed against the microphone for maximum feedback. "Go to the nurse's office. All of you. Go read a pamphlet." Once the Fleebs are off the stage completely, Jubilation strums the last bar on her ukulele and smiles out at the crowd. "OKAY! It's time for our FINAL act of the night. Our performer has requested that we bring the lights down for this one," Jubilee says, gesturing a little towards the spotlight operation at the back of the room. "Ladies and gentlemen... You've heard me announce a lot of names into this microphone tonight... And I've got just one more. It's really long, though. Like, maybe longer than all the others put together. Let's welcome to the stage....." "Allen-.....!" "James....!" Each section of the name is given a single strum of the ukulele. "...VINCENT...." "Ramses...." "Denholme...." "The....." "Fourth!!!!"
Patty Sloan	Patty gives a polite smile to Rogue and then to Jean. "Thank you! Yes I designed the costumes for the night. I worked on them this past week when I wasn't training." She smiles. "Thank you again." She happily moves back stage as Jubes introduces the fleebs. She looks at AJ. "Water. Definitely Water." She states as she drops all the clothing she was wearing. She is still wearing the barmaid outfit. "I might just wear this for the time being. I need to cool down and this is the coolest outfit I've got here."
Allen-James	Allen-James LAUGHS at the introduction of his name. He couldn't have done it better himself. "Please, please. Call me AJ!" he says with a smile. He takes the stage, hauling his bucket, water, and towel with him. The bucket, he sets down. The water jug he hefts, and then nods to the AVL crowd, and the light cuts out. For a moment, there?s complete darkness. Then there's light. An orange light, a dim glow, that shows off AJ's hands as he spins them in midair, painting the light into thin, glowing semi circles, sort of like two wine glasses. He does this again. And again. And again. Each of them slightly different in size, and hanging in midair... over the bucket. The more he makes, the more his plain, grey sweats are lit up, shown off, until his skinny form is lit from several angles. He is a ghostly presence in the darkness, all orange highlights, and dark shadows, face hidden in the shadows of the hood of his hoodie. He picks up his jug, and pours water into each of the cups, filling them each half way, splashing a little down into the bucket at times. With the boring maintenance accomplished, he cleared his throat, opened his mouth, and 'sang', by running a finger around the edge of a shield cup. The water 'sings' the note for him, low and tender. Then he opens his eyes, which glow the same bright orange as the shield cups, wisps of energy flowing out to light his face like flames. Glowing eyes, ethereal sounding water glass effect, and a serene face, AJ goes into his act, hands dancing over the bowls.... As he 'sings' the Diva?s Dance from Fifth Element. (( https://youtube.com/watch?v=XnTE2h0ZY74&ab_channel=ScreenThemes)) Obviously, he can't speak the words, but playing the cups lets him 'sing' the soulful part of the slow starting song steadily. It took him almost all week of practicing to get it right, especially when the beat drops, and he goes into the rapid fire staccato notes of the techno-operatic solo. The Slides from low to high notes are the hard part, requiring his hands to dance over each of the notes in a steady slide of sound that blends together like a chord as he works his way up. As the music gets faster and faster, the reason for the bucket becomes obvious, as sometimes, he hits the shields hard enough that the water sprays up in glowing orange explosions of light. Which is what he finishes with, hands hitting all the shields hard enough to make them repulse, and flash brightly, as they eject their water into the air... and down into the bucket in a carefully orchestrated cascade of orange. Then he gives a bow, like a scarecrow bowing, folding over himself. The glow in his eyes winks out, and he coughs, as the lights come back up. "I uh.. Sorry about the uh... Yeah. They?ll go in a few hours. Probably." he waves to the shields with a wan smile, as he grabs a towel, and tosses it down to sop up what missed the bucket when it was splashed out of the cups at the end.
Rogue	Throughout the act performed by Karen Fleeb, Rogue just watched with her mouth hanging open. She'd shot Jean a number of 'looks' before finally the Headmistress went and ended it. The walk off music got a soft 'whew' from the Belle, who uncrossed her legs, rubbed the top of her thighs with a bit of bleeding anxiety at where the Hell that act had been going. She took a big swig of her drink, and spoke out a few words of encouragement as the bunnies made their way toward the exit again. It goes without saying that even Troy's friends, and Hambone's group were both cheering for that particular act, while the lightsaber fights had gotten some applause, there were few that unified the boys quite like the Bunnies just had! Rogue had shook her head, and breathed a sigh of relief when Allen-James made his appearance on stage. She'd met him before, and seen he had musical talent, but what she was in store for surprised even her. "Jeeze." Rogue had quietly uttered during the show, simply sitting there in the low-light, observing the skill and talent on display. When it finished, she was happily clapping loudly with the others, another show born out of true crafted talent, and skill. "Very well done, AJ!" Rogue called out to him. "I mean, seriously, Dawg. I'm speechless for that. It's acts like that which make all'a what we do as Judges really... hard." Rogue states, glancing around to the others. "Seriously. I'm shocked by the talent I've seen here tonight. ya'll should be proud. Like, really. We, the audience, are the winners here t'night." She says with a cheesy smile. When she sits back down, Rogue leans over to Jean on her left side again. "Thank god the Professah wasn't here for that Bunny act..." Rogue says in a soft voice, now that she had Jean's attention again. But as she leans back in her chair, she suddenly realizes there's two new people sitting on her left. Charles and Xandra have appeared out of nowhere in the dark, during AJ's performance. Both of them applauding along with the remains of those still expressing their appreciation for the show. "Oh, hey!" Rogue says to the two Xaviers. "Gosh, how long have you been there?" She questions them. Xandra shoots Rogue a smile. "We just got back!" She states in a cheery voice. "I am really glad too!" Nervous laughter escapes Rogue's lips. "Glad... t'hear it."
Jubilation Lee	Jubilee sends a grin up at AJ for taking her nonsense in stride. She can be annoying, for sure, but it's all in the name of fun. While the new student takes over the stage with his unique blend of light, sound, and... is that water?... Jubilation makes her way over to Noriko's setup at the Dip N Dots machine. She watches the rest of the performance with her cheek resting on the speedster's shoulder, ukulele held tightly down at her waist. When it seems like the act is reaching its end, Jubilee leaves an obnoxiously pink imprint of her lips on Noriko's cheek and starts heading back towards the stage. She reaches the edge of the stage just in time to get soaked by one of the sprays of water from A-J's shields. Jubilation just stands there at the edge of the stage, shoulders tensed, dripping from head to toe. This was when she was going to invite the judges to make their final deliberations, thank them for their time, hype up the crowd and drive anticipation, fondly recall elements of the show, maybe even play a little thinking music for the judges on her ukulele. Instead, the soaking wet Jubilation just walks up to the microphone and mutters, "...Let me know when you have a winner," into it before stomping off the stage like a brat.
Jean Grey	"She told me it was Easter-themed..." Jean explains lamely to the visibly shell-shocked Rogue. Then she takes another drink, and shakes her cup afterward, as if possibly disappointed with a dwindling supply. "Kids these days and their phones!" Apparently, with her birthday the other day, Jean is now in full Boomer mode! Fortunately, they do get some release from the uncomfortable aftermath of that strange 'religious' performance with one that is altogether more unique. As AJ spends quite a bit of time setting up the whole thing, Jean watches with somewhat visible confusion. It might be hard to guess what he was doing even if she was sober, and she is definitely not. Once he starts up with the sounds, however, she slowly catches on, until the full glory reveals itself: "Woo! Leeloo Dallas Multipass!" Yeah, yeah, wrong scene. But right hair color. Close enough! And this would all be well and fine, a nice end to everything, all the prior horrors forgotten, until Jean hears that voice behind them. It says something about her state-of-drink that she didn't pick up on them. Especially with how chatty Xandra tends to be, mentally. Jean blinks. "No, what? Uh. I'll explain it to you later." Yep, now she's saying her half of the telepathic conversation out-loud. Blurrily, she turns back to Rogue, now that Jubilation has demanded their verdict. "So... obviously Troy, right?" Presuming she immediately gets a dirty look, she waves her cup defensively. "Fine, fine, uh... um. I'm gonna go with Patty. I liked her clooooothes." She waves a hand. "And check to make sure Jerome didn't poop or we have to take back Tabby's bonus points..." Now she takes her cup, pulls off the top and holds it up to her eye to peer in. "Boo. I'm out of b- soda," she complains, a little childishly, toward Rogue. That's it folks! Wrap her up!
Rogue	Rogue shares a few more words with Xandra, the young Shi'ar girl eagerly asking a few questions about the show taking place tonight, since she and her father have been in Boston for the past week. Rogue explained a bit, until Xandra asked about the two Bunny girls who were running down the hallway toward the nurse's office. That part didn't get an answer, as Rogue's attention was pulled toward the dripping Jubilee on stage, sulking her way off again. The Belle's green eyes shot over to Jean, who was making her declaration of a winner, and with a soft inhale, Rogue let her eyes dance around the room to all of the visible contestants she could still see within her field of vision. Troy got a look, followed by the lightsaber duelists... Tabi was gone, and the other acts were all hidden behind various other faces. Finally, Rogue glanced toward Patty, before showing a soft smile toward the stage. She stood up, setting her soda can aside, and nodded once following Jean's words. "I gotta go with AJ." Rogue announces, having a soft spot for him since finding out he was homeless, not unlikely she had been prior to coming here too. "I mean, everyone did great tonight. Like, really. I look forward t'watchin' this again on our Youtube channel, once it is edited up a bit..." She states, showing a grin. Her hand motions toward Allen-James. "But, AJ. You get my vote."
Jubilation Lee	Jubilation frowns at Jean's lack of dramatic flair and hops back up onto the stage. Though she may be soaking wet and, somehow, cold despite being dead and not having a functional thermoregulatory system, the show must go on! "Okay, I'm getting word from our judges now..." Jubilation lies into the microphone. Everyone obviously heard Jean declare Patty the winner. And that was obviously the answer the judges agreed upon. Jubilation licks her lips and readies herself to announce the winner into the microphone. "The winner of the Second Annual Talent Show For Gifted Youngsters and recipient of the $50 Burger Joint gift card....is......." 'I gotta go with AJ' Rogue's dissenting vote topples Jubilee's stage presence like a house of cards. She freezes up, unable to proceed and unsure how to handle this. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no! Somewhere, there's a bright yellow Post-It note with the words 'remember to find a third judge!!!' done in pink gel ink. Did she take those three exclamation marks seriously? Did she remember to find a third judge? No. Is Jubilee tongue-tied, frozen under that oppressive spotlight that draws all eyes in her direction? Big time. This is just like the first talent show when I forgot the prize money, Jubilee thinks. But that worked out, didn't it? Someone saved the day...
Noriko Ashida	Noriko notably slows down once Jubilation is in her orbit and just relaxes when the vampire rests her cold head on the speedster's shoulders. She carefully takes off her gauntlet so she can put her arm around Jubes comfortably until Jubes has to leave. The splish splash all over Jubilation just gets wide eyes from Nori. She stares, a little distracted before she realizes Jubes stomped off. During the deliberations, when everything gets tied up, Noriko's world goes SLOOOOOOOW. Suddenly she zips up to sit beside the other two judges, on the end, right where a certain someone usually sits in these shows, wearing a black three-quarter sleeve shirt. "Well we can't have this at all can we?" Nori keeps everyone hanging in suspense as she squints discerningly. "I guess we'll just have to have a winner...Patty looks like you've got what it takes to go all the way. AJ? Better aim next time." So the tie-breaking vote goes to Patty!
Allen-James	Allen-James didn't even realize Jubilee was there! He thought he'd set up far enough back, and then... then she snuck on stage. Oops. Ahhhh, well. That can't be all that bad, right? Right? "Sorry." He muttered as Jubilee stomped off. He gave Rogue a smile, and Patty a smile as well, even as Noriko declares him, HIM, Allen-James... Vincent... Ramses-Denholme.. The Fourth! HIM! A loser. Well. Maybe second place? He would normally be plotting ways to crush his competition by outperforming them at their own skills, but, he's grown a lot since he was last declared second place, and tries to bear it with more grace. Besides. He likes Patty, and doesn't particularly want to learn how to sew, OR do quickchange opera. He forces a smile on his face, "Congrats, Patty!" he says, clapping for her.
Patty Sloan	"Wait did I win or did you win?" Patty looks at AJ curiously. "I'm so confused. I vote we split the 50 dollars. You did amazing out there. Did something I couldn't do, that is for sure." She starts gathering her clothing up to carry back to her dorm. "At least the bunny girls didn't win. Goodness! I did my best to do tactfully sexy. They just did... No." They give her a dirty look. "Sorry. You tried to win with porn." She comments to them. Her attention goes to AJ, "Does that sound good to you though? That way we both win and we both get the prize. After all, I don't think I would be able to spend 50 bucks at the burger joint."
Allen-James	AJ laughs softly, and walks over to Patty, and smiles more genuinely at her. "Patty. Buffalo... You are terribly kind, and I'll of course go help you eat too much terrible burgers. But, you need to understand.. It's not about the money. It was never about Money. I just like to win." he winks at her, making it sort of a joke.. but not really. It's one of the ugly sides of him, one that didn't come up much for the last five years, but.. "It's ok though. You were great, and did great. And thank heaven it wasn't the bunnies." he laughs again, and pats her shoulder. "You won, fair and square. Take the Win."
Jubilation Lee	"Uh...." Jubilee tries to find her voice again. She looks across the stage at the judges table. In the first seat, Jean Grey, who voted for Patty to win. In the second seat, Rogue, who voted for AJ to win. And, in the third seat, the tie-breaker, NO ONE. "Well....uh..." The first seat. Jean. The second seat. Rogue. The third seat. No one. "So...like...Promise you won't be mad..." Jubilee tries to smooth things over with the crowd, getting ready to tell them about her screw up and that they all wasted their time by coming. The first seat. Jean. The second seat. Rogue. The third seat. No one. "So, like... normally, there's three judges, like...in case..." Jubilee continues shakily. In the first seat, Jean. Second seat, Rogue. Third seat.... Noriko. Jubilation's entire demeanor and body language reverts to the way it was at the start of all this. She owns that stage again. She's the coolest one in the room. The natural order has been restored by Noriko Ashida putting on one of those Simon Cowellesque three-quarter sleeve shirts and judging someone harshly. "The winner of the Second Annual Talent Show For Gifted Youngsters and reciepient of the $50 Burger Joint gift card is.... PATTY SLOAN FROM JERSEY SHORE, PENNSYLVANIA!" Jubilee shouts gleefully. She tilts her head towards Patty a couple of times, signalling two students to come out together, each holding one end of the gift card. It's a normal card and can be held in the palm of a hand, but they come out holding it like it's an oversized novelty check, happy to have their taste of the spotlight. "Jubilation out!" are the last two words said into the microphone before Jubilee drops it on the ground and makes her way off the stage. "It's because he splashed me, isn't it?" Jubes whispers to Noriko as she throws her cold, wet arms around her. She may be accusing Nori of being a corrupt talent show judge, but her tone is one of admiration and appreciation. My hero. "Shut up, Rogue," Jubilee mutters into Noriko's hair, not having the nerve to look up.
Rogue	The student body in attendance to the event all share in another round of applause for the winners being announced, and instantly people are getting up to their feet with different intentions in mind. Some move for the snacks, drinks and other food assortments, while others retreat toward the various exits back outside or to the rest of the school. Rogue is standing as well, turning to greet the Professor, and Xandra formally welcoming them back from their trip. She glances toward Jean, and Scott, showing them both a grin before her eyes dart to Jubilee and Noriko. "Good job, Dawgs. Better than the last one. Look forward to the next in 2030!" She states over the ruckus of chatter and movement filling up the busy recreation room this evening. A few moments after that, Rogue appears next to where Jean and Scott are. She draws in a breath, and leans over toward them both to quietly ask. "What would have happened if the third judge voted for someone completely different?" Her eyes darting from one of them to the other, a look of genuine confusion present upon her features. She shakes her head gently, and reaches for Jean's arm. "Come on, back to the pool. Night swimmin' an' more booze." She motions toward Scott. "You too."
Noriko Ashida	Noriko laughs at the 2030 reference and happily rejoins Jubilation after she exits the stage. "Of course," she admits unabashedly with a smirk. She laughs a little as she absorbs a bit of water from Jubes, her body always way higher in temp than the vampire's. The speedster tilts and dips her head a little in deference to Rogue's compliment, seeming not to wither as much under the spotlight. She's just smiling, now pulling her arms up around Jubes. "We should get you out of these clothes and warmed up." Not like Jubes can catch a cold. "Well, after we clean up. The judge drinks always do wonders," Nori observes over Jubilation's shoulder at the sloshy ones.