maskormenacelogs | Catchall for July

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Catchall for July

WHO: Charles Xavier, Charles!clone and You!
WHERE: A bit of everywhere.
WHEN: July
WHAT: Meetings, powers training, random encounters, clone-a-rama.
WARNINGS: TBA, Charles clone is likely to use telepathy without IC consent. Here is my telepathy permission post if you want to opt out of that.

MEET CHARLES

a. home, still at Nonah
Charles lives in Nonah, in individual housing with Erik, Jean and Wanda. It's a two story building but with no stairs at the front and no thresholds that would make it hard to navigate with a wheelchair. If he has invited you into his home, he'll be waiting with a pot of tea and a tin of cookies. But if you're a chance visitor, he will welcome you just as warmly.

He's gathering his bearings finally and actually made a home for himself in the bedroom that used to be his, claimed some space around the house by piles of books often forgotten onto the tables and good scotch in a reachable cupboard in the kitchen. He's no longer red as a lobster what was going on after the beach episode of Swear-ins and Erik finally convinced him to have a haircut. Gone is the mullet and back is the 60's floppy hair-do. You might even catch him wearing a t-shirt, maybe with an X-men logo on it or a silly slogan, he got a few of those from Fanport.

Let's have a cup of tea or a game of chess, or just good conversation.

b. powers training at the danger room / Maria-Francis Foundation
The Maria-Francis Foundation building resides in ~~Nonah~~ De Chima. In the basement there is a wide space that Erik has been working with all month to get up and running as a powers training centre. The building is modern and tall, and Charles has taken a habit of waiting the people he's made appointments with at the front lobby.

He's excited to get the actual training started, get those hours in and grind some practice into people who have contacted him.

If you're not here for powers training, you can find him in the office, going through the Foundation's paperwork. You're damn right he's snooping on his own business. What of it?

c. interview, wherever seems convenient
Perhaps you're meeting him in a cafe or a park, he'll even agree to go the beach if that's convenient for you. What he's interested in is learning about what you have to say after all. Charles is very curious about what has aspired in this world before his time and how to put the details together into a cohesive picture in his mind.

He's quick to greet you with a smile and a warm handshake. Please, sit down. Would you like a cup of tea or coffee first? Do you mind if he makes some quick notes while you're discussing?

d. wildcard
Would you like something else? Perhaps run into him in the library or find him feeding pigeons one fine morning in the park? Maybe he was supposed to come to you? Are you having a dinner out? Are you one of the people he keeps an eye on and something is going awfully wrong? He would find a way to contact you. Throw me a bone, I'll run with it.

MEET THE CLONE

e. random encounter
Charles, the clone, looks and sounds exactly like the original but he doesn't have the stylish wheelchair with big X-symbols on the wheels. A big giveaway? Maybe not. His flippant attitude is probably the big neon sign that you weren't expecting. Wherever you meet - cafe, library, school, even the Foundation building - he's going to greet you with a sunny smile and a warm handshake, introduce himself if necessary and especially if you're a pretty brunette, he will flirt playfully while falling short with playing the caring and concerned game that Charles excels at.

He's going to be a little bit impatient, unlikely to avoid using his gifts even if you ask him to and multitasking to the max. Good luck catching all of his attention at any given time. But he's new to his powers, and easily overwhelmed.

f. for those he's interacted with before
As time goes by, he will start targeting Charles' friends and family. He'll find them at their work places or stage a random meeting elsewhere. Once or twice he'll even wander into the house in Nonah. You might find him at the kitchen having a cup of tea and leafing a genetics book, or perhaps wandering around, looking at pictures and fingering everything with curiosity. Or rolling into your workplace with a sunny smile and a suggestion to grab an early lunch.

g. wildcard
Something else you had in your mind? I'm an open book, come at me, bruh!

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You should always wear protection, not just for the sake of not getting your girlfriend pregnant. But with boys also. [ Charles stressed this point, looking at Brendan firmly. ] It'll also protect you from diseases. Please, make sure you will wear protection. And if you find it hard to get them, let me know and I'll help you.

[ He squeezed Brendan around his shoulders and laughed warmly at the comment about them being romantic. ] That's awful and you shouldn't even joke about it. Or those old men who have flirted with you. [ A surge of protective irritation inside him that Charles pushed down. ] I know it's hard to trust someone you've just met but take a chance with me. I will be here and I'm not going to get tired of you. I've once abandoned people in life and that lead to deaths. I won't be doing that same mistake again.

And I don't want to. You let me see you as you are and that is a privilege that I mean to honour. I think you should aim to find something that you want out of this life, something you want to do, something that interests you. But don't let it stress you right now. It'll come. First, let's just put some stability back in your life.

We can see about your moods later, too. I would rather not see you experience this kind of downfall again. And I can do something about it. But it's the last resort. Let's see what we can accomplish by discussion and simple, good life, shall we?

You are important to me, do you understand that? I want to hear about the books you like to read and what you think about them and the bad ones. [ Charles responded that smile with a bigger one of his own, reaching over to brush a bit of hair away from Brendan's forehead. ] You're not a burden. Never think of that. But if you want to help with cooking, you're more than welcome to do that. I'm actually a terrible cook. Erik is trying his best to teach me. Perhaps you can help me with that.

I have a healing factor here and no luck getting someone to make out with me more than once. Unless immaculate conception is a thing here, we're golden on that front. [It's a bit late now, Charles. He appreciates the thought but so far he can't get a second date in this world, thinking about theoretical sex seems farfetched to him.

He shrugs, quirking an eyebrow.] You can't tell me not to make a joke you just found funny. Besides, I know how to turn down guys. Except for the one who was a literal drug lord, then I just pretended to be oblivious to him hitting on me. [Brendan is a mouthy, sarcastic and often verbally obnoxious person, but even he'd had enough common sense not to mouth off to San Clemente's most powerful criminal. He was very aware that he had played with fire in that particular case.] I tried killing myself here. You could abandon me without worrying about death, I can't seem to overload my own system here just yet. It's tricky.

...I used to want to be an English teacher. I don't think I could face doing that now. I don't even know if I can deal with school. The things that interested me are hard to take, these days. All I ever wanted was for people I cared about to be okay and now I'm here, with new people who care about me, and I can't act protective about you when you're literally psychic. The only thing I did so far that was legitimately enjoyable and didn't end in disaster was helping a friend of mine here study Shakespeare.

My mom has the same mood swings. It's why she's a ferocious, fucking terrifying lawyer, especially when she's emotionally into a case. Then she falls apart. She tried not to let me see it, but I did. Is that sort of thing hereditary? I never took Biology in high school, I could be wrong, here.

[He blinks away tears.] I. I guess I just don't understand why I'm important to you. I don't get it. But I've been cooking for myself since I was seven, I can help. It's not that hard to learn. And I wouldn't say I enjoy it, but it clears my head, sometimes. Just like getting lost in books does, it just... helps, somehow.

Even with a healing factor, you might carry a disease from a person to another. Please, use protection.

[ Charles snorts softly. ] Fine, you caught me. I might have a little bit of a sarcastic sense of humour. But I'm relieved to hear you don't find it hard to turn down people if you're not feeling it.

You obviously enjoy helping others. That doesn't mean necessarily that you're living for someone else. Helping is a career choice. Teachers especially need quite a bit of that desire to be successful in their work.

I need protection like anyone else, too. I might come off as a man with the whole package tightly together, but I do have my moments of weakness. Where do you work currently? I'm about to change jobs. I'm taking over the Maria-Francis Foundation again, and I'm trying to launch a few programs within it. Perhaps you'd like to help me.

But first, I would like to recommend you that I help you find a psychologist. Not for therapy, if you don't want that, but so that they can prescribe you some medication. There is a name for this condition that you have and while it's not something you can be cured from, it's one that you can learn to live with. It is very hereditary like most conditions of that sort are. Medication is important, though, it'll keep you grounded.

[ Charles pauses before he finishes, taking a moment tilt his head back and look at the ceiling, then at Brendan's profile, watching him blink back tears. ]

I care about you. Which is why it hurts me to hear you talk about suicide and hurting yourself. You are a wonderful young man and I hope to learn to know you a lot better in the future.

I love how you're under the impression I'm not only going to get laid at some point, but that more than one person might be involved. I have burned all those bridges so thoroughly that a one night stand is probably out of my league at this point.

Do I strike you as somebody who has issues telling other people to fuck off? If anything, I need more of a filter, not less. [Brendan has insults down to an art form in some cases. Nobody ever wondered where they stood with him. Given how much lying and bullshit went on at his school, he prided himself on being honest to a fault.

He raises an eyebrow.] Well, yeah, I'd like t' help, but - what could I even do? I don't have amazing powers and I'm not professor-level smart.

I - wait, what? [For a moment, he actually looks his age, frightened and hopeful all at once.] There's a word for this? Besides just 'crazy', I mean? I kinda... I always kinda thought it was just my mom an' I who were messed up like that. There's other people, with this? [He's afraid of what will happen if it doesn't work, but against all past experience, he's hopeful some kind of medicine might actually help, somehow.]

The more you learn, the more you'll know I'm not wonderful. As we just covered, I'm crazy. I was a creepy, overbearing boyfriend. I think I used to be good, maybe, or at least better, but I've never been wonderful. At best, I'm just some guy.

[ Charles gives a small chuckle. ] Well, never say never. I do think you will find someone who will be very happy to share safe, protected sex with you. [ Was there a little bit of a more weight on safe and protected? Why yes, there might have just been. ]

Also, helping doesn't require professor-level smartness, my dear boy. Most of the time it just requires desire to help and ability to take advice and learn new things. I would be happy to have you help me at the Foundation if you would be so inclined.

[ He pauses, taking in a breath. ] If you would be willing, I'd like you to talk with a psychologist about getting a real diagnose. I have an inclination what might be ailing you. And perhaps your mother as well. But it would be really helpful to get a professional opinion on it. And if it is what I expect it to be, there is medication for it. [ Charles has been brushing up on this knowledge because he knew he would be having this conversation with Brendan. It seems that neural psychology has taken leaps and bounds in the few decades that he's missing. ] I would be more comfortable recommending something if you would get a second opinion from a specialist. But as I said, it's not a cure, it's something that will help you control this.

Because I do believe that you are a wonderful young man. And there is something wrong mostly with your brain chemistry. Let me help you with that. I can be of great assistance with finding the right dosage and right medication. My powers are fantastic with that. And when you feel better, I do hope your sense of self-worth will start to heal as well.

At this point a second date is being ambitious. Don't count your eggs before they hatch, old man. [Brendan's self-worth and his dating history are unfortunately closed linked.]

I don't know what I could do at the Foundation that you couldn't get somebody better for. But I'm up for it, I guess. Might as well try.

[Brendan swallows, feeling his throat go dry. The idea is both comforting and terrifying.] Okay. Okay, I - I can do that. Just, don't tell anyone? I've got enough self-induced disasters in my life, I don't need people knowing I'm crazy, too. You ever gonna tell me what you suspect might be the problem? 'Cause I kinda want to read up on it and know if it's treatable or if I'm completely fucked.

Pretty sure my self-worth is fine... which sounds sarcastic but if I pulled myself together enough to come here today, that's me giving more of a shit about myself than I have in a long, long time.

[ Brendan's self-depreciating humour makes Charles laugh once more but he reaches over to squeeze his arm gently. ] I'll remind you of this conversation when your dating life tips to the positive scale, my friend.

And we can talk about work situation later, I'm still in the process of figuring out everything, but there's definitely tasks that I will need help from various people and I'll come collect your promise then.

[ He sobers up a little when the talk turns to psychic evaluation, though, smile softening into a serious one. ] I will tell you after you've seen someone. You are bright, a little too bright to be completely genuine with someone if you feel that you gain something from lying. I'm not trying to call you a liar, but it's a human condition, eagerness to brush something under the rug and focus on other things if they believe that it's beneficial for them. It'll be better for you if you just go with an open mind and we'll talk about it after the fact.

There is no such thing as completely fucked, though.

[ And because of what he says last, Charles pulls him into another tight hug. ] I'm glad to know you care about yourself at least some. I hope to see that grow into actual love eventually. You're doing well, Brendan. We'll get you out of this rut, trust me. There might be some regressive steps along the way but if you don't trust yourself, trust me when I say that we're going to pull through this.

[Brendan rolls his eyes. The idea his dating life might turn around and he might end up in a happy relationship? That's just not a thing he can see happening. At least not yet - he has to pull himself together, first.]

Oh, I lie like I breathe. But this is the one case where honesty would help me. There's nothing to gain by lying in this one particular instance. Others, yeah. My parents are both lawyers, they instilled the idea in me early on that sometimes lying is more than alright. With this, though, if anything I'll be overly honest. Which will probably lead to even more rambling. Pity the sap that has to listen to me and do a diagnosis, that shit will take forever and a day.

[He sighs as if the hug is obnoxious, but really, it's not, it's endearing, and he hugs back despite his own jaded view on physical contact.] I don't trust myself. I know myself too well for that. But I trust you, even if you're sappy and a little too optimistic. And I promise I'll try and remember not to hate myself, as much as I can. I can't snap my fingers and get fixed but I can try my best not to be a mess. [And he will, as much as he can. He doesn't want to disappoint Charles.]

Maybe not, [ Charles says with a quicksilver smile that is there and gone, replaced with a more serene expression. ] Would you trust me to find a psychologist for you to meet?

[ Charles is delighted to see Brendan at least try, which brings a sunny smile to his lips and he rubs the boy's arm gently before pulling away to hopefully not embarrass him completely. ] I will say this is the best news today. And again, if it gets hard, just give me a ring, I'm here and you can always reach out to me.

...yeah, [he says, after a pause and a thoughtful sigh. He's already anticipating this biting him in the ass later, but he's been so low these last few days he just doesn't have it in him to be all that afraid of things going wrong.] I trust you enough to have you pick out a shrink for me. And enough to text whenever the next urge to pick up shattered glass pieces and run them over my skin until it looks crisscrossed like a Jackson Pollock experiment with too much red hits. [If that example seems oddly specific, it's because he's had that exact thought more than once.]

[ Charles winces at the mental image he has from that description and the feedback he gets from Brendan's mind as well. Part of him wants to wipe those urges right out of the young man's mind but that would be awful of him. So he just sighs and reaches over to grab Brendan's hand for a moment, squeezing it gently. ]

I'm glad.

Now, how about we get some actual food in you? Would you feel like doing something else than talking for a while? Have you ever played chess? [ He feels like there's a need for some normalcy in Brendan's life. Things that don't hurt him or anyone around him. ]

[In all fairness to Brendan, cutting seemed to give him mother clarity. He'd never done it, but as far back as he can remember, she always picked up little pieces of shattered glass from the side of the road, feeling the edges with her fingers, sometimes making little lines in the center of her palms before pocketing them. They'd never talked about it. Brendan wasn't sure he wanted to; it kept her depression less heavy and furthermore, if he said something now, he'd have to ask himself why he never stopped her as a kid. He always knew it wasn't normal, but he just sort of kept quiet about it. And now it's been unaddressed for so long he always side-eyes glass as if that's a purpose it just inherently has, as normal as breathing.

He needs help, but he's at least gotten to the point he realizes that kind of talk is cringe-worthy, and he looks at Charles sheepishly.] Sorry. Poor choice of words, there.

Food sounds good. Never played chess, so you should be able to beat me seven ways from Sunday. I kick ass at poker and blackjack and that's about it, honestly.

[Brendan's not sure what normalcy is. But this is nice. This, he could get used to, he thinks.]

[ Charles pauses to look Brendan right in the eyes, calm and steady. ] Never feel like there's something you can't talk to me about because it might hurt me. It'll hurt me more not to know those things. But yes, it hurts me when you want to hurt yourself. It's not about normal - what is normal? - but empathy and affection.

[ Then he reaches up to ruffle the boy's hair and then rolls away with his chair, waving Brendan to follow him into the kitchen. ] I'll explain you the rules while we'll get some food. I think there's some leftovers from yesterday's meal if you're interested. Erik is a fantastic cook.

And don't underestimate yourself. Chess is about strategy. If you'd have been playing for a long while, as I have, you'd know which tactics to employ and it'd be unfortunately very predictable.

I'm not the one in my family who does that kind of thing, don't worry. [No, he's the one who gets into drawn out fights and gets beaten up and drinks rubbing alcohol, because those are things that he knows how to hide the aftermath of. Even after years of knowing what his mother was doing, he's not sure he could hide the results of injuring himself that way. And he's not about to be one of those people everyone knows is broken, not like that. People may think of him as a punk or a loser, but that's still a step up from being one of the 'crazy' kids.

He did pick up some pieces of glass as he walked over here, but he hasn't done anything with them. It was just sheer force of habit.

He sighs at having his hair ruffled.] If I straightened my hair, you wouldn't be able to keep doing that. But that shit takes the better part of an hour and I don't have the energy for it. And I never say no to leftovers. Leftovers are a core food group, along with ramen and cereal. [At least, those are core food groups in his life.]

You can read my mind. You have no excuse to lose, ever.

[ There's some chicken on a rice and vegetable bed in the fridge and Charles pulls out the containers, pointing at a cabinet at the other side of the room. ] Could you get us some plates from there? Thank you. Set up on the dining table. You can find utensils from the drawers.

[ He pops up the whole container into the microwave. It has roughly two proportions. ]

I hope you're eating something more than just ramen and cereal. [ He glances at Brendan with a small head shake. He really needs to invite him over for a dinner more often. ]

Of course I'm not going to read your mind when we'll play. That would be cheating. What do you even think about me? [ He laughs easily, then rolls to the dining table as he waits for the food to heat up. He brings up a mental image of a chessboard on the table, pieces set on their respective sides. ] The first row of both sides is called pawns, they are like foot soldiers. Here you have the rook, knight, bishop, king and queen. The idea is to go for the king and of course respectively, protect the king.

Back home, [he admits as he gets the plates and sets up the dining table,] Ramen and cereal were emergency foods. In case my parents forgot to leave me money to buy food, I bought the off-brand cheap stuff to stash in my room so I'd have something. Ever made chicken noodle soup with ramen and chicken nuggets from McDonald's? That was my my first attempt at 'cooking' back when I was seven.

I think if you had a sense of humor you'd at least pretend to read people's minds more often to get a reaction out of them, but I've got a twisted sense of humor. [He shrugs, listening to the familiar buzz of the microwave as Charles talks. Chess was never something he'd seriously considered he'd ever play, but it doesn't sound overly complicated yet.] With you so far. How do the moves in the game work?

[ The idea of leaving a child home alone at the age of seven and forgetting to leave even food money made Charles frown and something like a familiar sting appeared behind his eyes. He wasn't going to start bawling right now but it definitely made him feel awful about the human race.

He cleared his throat and rubbed a hand over his face briefly. ] I do hope you try to eat a with a little bit more variety now, [ he said and offered Brendan a smile, a little frazzled around the corners as it was. ]

No, I see the humour in it. And believe me, I do tease people I know I can trust. But most people have a very visceral reaction to telepathy. It's not only suspicion that I face on daily basis but hostility and aggression as well. So, I try not to encourage that kind of behaviour.

[ He moved the pawn of the black side forward, first one step, then two. ] The pawns can move forward, straight forward, either one step or two. Except when they're engaging another piece to take the piece out, then they move diagonally like this. [ He pulled forward a white piece, and then made the black one claim the space. ] The rooks move either straight forward, backward, or straight sideways. The bishops are similar, except that they move diagonally as much as you want. The knights either go sideways two and one forward, or they go two forward and one sideways. Like this.

[Oh, it had started a little earlier. He'd been left alone when he was five, but it used to be only for a few hours, or he'd just wake up to find his parents were gone at night. Sometimes his father was gone and his mother was curled up in bed crying and he didn't want to bother her. Sometimes his mother took him shopping and showed him how it worked and taught him how to count money and he felt loved and smart and grown up. But when he was seven was the first time they'd forgotten to leave him money at all and been gone four days straight. And Brendan had been afraid they weren't going to come back, so he made himself a lot of makeshift soup and put some of it in the fridge to make sure he'd have something for later and sat down in front of the TV to distract himself. Then detective movies had come on, and now... well, now Brendan is a detective and he was just as likely not to show up at his own house if his friend Brian had space on the couch or a case got complicated.]

I do. And given your reaction to the little mental images my words give ya, I really doubt you're gonna want to rummage through my head. It'd cost you more than you'd gain. If you ever do prod around in there you'd have to have come up with a pretty good reason to put yourself through that. I trust your judgment.

[Brendan paid rapt attention, refraining from comment, food temporarily forgotten as he watched. He was good at memorizing rules. He usually only had one chance to pick up on information in his line of work, after all.] I think I understand so far...

Don't you worry about me. I see and hear disturbing things all the time. People have very little filter in their minds after all.

[ Charles points out the two middle pieces on the board. ] These are the king and queen. The king is the one piece you need to protect, it'll end the game. It moves one step to any direction you want. It is the weakest piece on the board. The queen moves to any direction you want as much as you want. It is the strongest piece. Your goal is to threaten the opponents king.

That doesn't mean I don't retroactively feel bad about anything you've seen or heard from my head. Sorry. I know it's not a pretty place most of the time. There's good memories in there, I promise, just... they feel distant, some days.

[Brendan takes in the rules with a tilt of his head, asking what, to him, is the obvious question, having read a lot of older literature and therefore picking up on what strikes him as an oddity.] Given this game was created centuries ago and people were misogynistic as hell back then, why is the queen strong and the king weak?

It's going to be fine, Brendan. [ Charles reaches for him again and squeezes his hand, firmly but gently. There's a promise somewhere there. He's not going to be running away because something is tough. ]

The earliest versions of chess did not have a queen at all. They had only male pieces. The game developed along the years and becoming more popular in Christianised Europe, the queen replaced something that was like the king's right hand man. However, she still didn't have power like she does these days. It's been a process through ages. And still, the king is the most important piece, the game can continue without the queen but not without the king.

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Catchall for July

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