thisavrou | video; You'd rather miss him while you're still alive

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video; You'd rather miss him while you're still alive

(OOC: Locked to X-Cast, including Wanda but not Rogue)

[ Erik is uncomfortable with this situation, to put it lightly. Not only does the responsibility he now finds himself with weigh heavily upon him, but the act of putting himself in the spotlight and making some kind of public address, more or less, is also difficult. But he has to deal with it. So he retreats into the persona he generally uses when he has to do these kinds of things. Albeit without the cape and helmet, at least. ]

Mutant brothers and sisters. We find ourselves in an unexpected situation with the recent departure of Logan, Jean, and Charles. I know that you are most likely feeling uncertain about what this means for those of us who are still here. I find myself wondering the same thing.

I am here for you, with whatever guidance I may be able to offer. I do not have the experience with this sort of role that Charles and Logan had. I will do my best, for whatever that may be worth to you.

As for the majority of your education, my associate Miss Clara Oswald will be handling that. If you seek assistance on mastering your powers, I will do what I can. I will warn you: my methods are a bit harsher than Charles' tend to be.

And finally, I would ask you all to extend whatever kindness you can to Rogue. She is in a difficult and lonely position right now. You know she is from a point in time that is some years in the future for the rest of us. [ He pauses, as what he has to say is not only emotionally difficult but also the tenses involved are complicated. ] Apparently, I attacked her and very nearly killed her.

I don't have an explanation for why this happened to her. I can't imagine why I would do such a thing, but I saw her memories and I know she is telling the truth. She will need your friendship and consideration now more than ever.

If you have any questions or concerns, please bring them to me.

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[He just gets the longest and blankest stare ever. ]

She's dead in my present. Most of you are.

[Maybe even him, who knows. She knows all of their future and has been a good little girl not telling anyone.]

Do you want to know why you would do a bad thing to her? I can tell you.

[ No he absolutely does not want to hear this. The thought makes him nauseous. But he has to know. ]

If you have some knowledge of the incident, I would welcome the information.

[ With any luck this will actually be helpful and not just a ten year old raking him over the coals for things he hasn't actually done yet, and may never do. ]

You try to kill many people. Because they are not mutants. Or because they are and will not do what you want. There is a reason my father told me to not talk to you.

[He's what regular people probably would call crazy or evil. Laura can genuinely get behind some of his pro mutant ideas. Particularly ones that end with mutants not being used as weapons or locked away in cages.]

[ Erik suppresses a sigh. ]

I was hoping more for specifics regarding her personal experience. It's alright if you don't have them, I can't imagine such things are widely publicized.

I was made in 2017. You are old. And not as important as you think you are.

[Meaning: not every bad thing he does is documented for all of mankind to know about. ]

But maybe there isn't a reason you did that to her. Maybe you just did it because you could. Why does there have to be a reason?

None of us are as important as we'd like to think.

[ Of course he does not live to 2017. The fact that he apparently survives to 2005 is still something he has trouble believing. ]

I never do anything without a reason. I certainly do not attack our own without a very good cause.

[ Like Shaw. Or Raven, in Paris. ]

But men can just be bad without any reason.

[If they can't be, then that means the men that made her could get out of answering to what they did because they felt their actions were justified. ]

Some can, yes. Generally, people look for reasons to justify the terrible things they want to do and usually manage to find them.

[ He is beginning to feel the conversation shifting away from his personal point of existential crisis, but allows the girl to work toward whatever knot she's trying to unravel. ]

[She can't really get to the point of working anything out, and looks confused. That makes her feel stupid, which quickly leads to anger. And unfortunately right now, her anger is either expressed through violence or tears. Her breathing starts to quicken as tears come to her eyes, and she angrily wipes at them with the back of her hands.]

My father told me how you could use your power to hurt me. Could you justify that?

[ She starts to cry and something twists in Erik's chest. ]

No. [ He says quietly, his voice thick. ] And I don't want that to change.

[She nods, still crying and wiping at her eyes. At this point, she doesn't even know why she's crying. She's just emotional all the time.]

I want my daddy back.

[It's the softest, most out of the blue admission.]

I don't want to be alone.

[And maybe that right there is the root of her issue with men justifying hurting people. If he can justify hurting Rogue, then she knows she shouldn't spend time with him. But if he can train her and help her miss her family a little less...]

[ The pain in Erik's chest becomes sharper. Nobody will ever take me away.

He won't promise that. Or anything else. ]

You aren't alone, Laura. Peter, Kurt, Rogue, Wanda, Pietro. [ A pause. ] Me. We're all here. And maybe others will come, too. We are all brothers and sisters. None of us are alone.

[What's the easiest way to play off any feelings? Make jokes, of course.]

Sounds like future you had caused a lot of trouble.

[Also, the one pro to having the mop he calls hair now: being able to hide both his eyes a little better.] At this rate, it'll be 'harsh' or nothing. If people are still interested in classes, I'm sure they'll take anything besides the lack of them.

Edited 2018-01-22 07:22 (UTC)

As I did in the past, and am doing now. It's not that much of a surprise, is it?

[ It is, though. The thought of hurting a young mutant. Of killing her. It pains him. ]

For what its worth, the goal is to prepare you for a fight where the enemy will not be pulling their punches.

When you think about the fact it's a fellow mutant, it could be rather surprising, actually.

[He's been told before that Erik had been more than a little reckless, even during a time that he'll never see, but perhaps, things really can change and that's what Kurt holds out hope for.]

Many of us have already been in situations like that. [The scar where he'd almost been run through by a slaver is plenty of proof.]

[ There is a pause. ]

That part is not surprising. Sebastian Shaw was a mutant, and I murdered him.

[Kurt's eyebrows raise, though that's the only real hint at his surprise.]

Why?

[ Even now, twenty years after he had completed the mission he had decided upon forty years ago, has time dimmed his rage?

No. And his tone is unmistakable. ]

Because he killed my mother.

[This time, his bewilderment is blatant. Those iridescent eyes flicker orange during the sudden burst of conflicting emotions that come forth at this revelation: a mutant killed his mother?

Well, the guy deserved it. He killed Erik's mother.
Okay, yes, but why?

The cobalt-skinned boy bites his tongue because there's no way he can ask that, right?] I'm sorry, Erik.

Thank you, Kurt.

[ This conversation wandered rather far afield. ]

Unfortunately, I don't believe Rogue did anything similar. I do not know why I attack her.

[ Does a tense exist to be appropriate in order to discuss events that are in one's future but somebody else's past, and may not happen at all except for the fact that they already did?

Fucking time travel. ]

[Something that happens quite often when Kurt is involved.]

The only way to find out would be asking, but ...

[That's not something he recommends, considering how he can imagine how her and Erik's conversation had gone after she learned his identity as Magneto.] Maybe I can find out?

[ Erik sighs and shakes his head. ]

I don't know how useful that information would be, to be perfectly honest. But I am quite certain that getting it from her would upset her even more. If she offers it unprompted, I would like to know. But don't ask her to talk about things like that. Not for my sake.

If I learn anything, I'll let you know, but it would be for her. She's more than likely in a state where she will want to talk to someone. [That isn't Erik, at least.]

And should she tell me that she'd prefer you not to know, then I'll honor her wishes.

Even if she doesn't think she is, she probably should. And good, you should respect her wishes.

I'll be able to convince her. I like to think I've got charisma and sometimes, I can fake my way through.

The important thing is to make sure she knows she's not alone. We will find a way through this. She's our mutant sister and we will not abandon her.

Edited 2018-02-07 10:06 (UTC)

No, we won't, and I will make sure she knows. We'll all have to work together if we want to get through.

We do. But we can find a way to do it that she can tolerate. There's no reason to make this any worse for each other than it already is.

[ Damn you, Charles. ]

Fair point, and — if I'm being honest — should Rogue decide she doesn't want to work with us, I'm not going to force her.

She's her own person and can make whatever decisions she wants.

Forcing her to do anything would be counter-productive, agreed.

Then we let her decide and go from there. I'm sure we'll be fine either way.

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