app for lastvoyages

[wedonot]

DON'T MAKE ME CHOOSE
between you and what we're fighting for.
User Name/Nick: Gwen :|
User DW: betterdeadthanred
AIM/IM: girlwonder004 @ AIM
E-mail: isthereair@gmail.com
Other Characters: Dick, Trip, Heero, McCoy, Flynn

Character Name: Charles Xavier
Series: X-Men: First Class
Age: 30
From When?: Post movie. He will be coming to the Barge with a deal to cure his paralysis, but I plan on playing out an arc of him realizing he should be doing something more altruistic for another person/society/everything, and thus showing he's growing up from the prideful dick to the more zen mentor guy who really does like himself for who he is instead of thinking there's something that needs changing.

Inmate/Warden: Warden. Charles - while being kind of a prideful ass at times - does really mean well, and is working to build a better tomorrow for mutants and humans. Working with an inmate will likely make him take on a mentor role, similar to how he acted with the younger mutants, and will be a work in progress.
Item: A rook from the chess set he and Erik play with.

Abilities/Powers: Charles is a certified genius, having graduated from high school at sixteen, earning Ph.D.s in Genetics, Biophysics and Psychology. He is also an Omega level mutant. His particular mutation is telepathy, and while the full extent of his abilities are not explored in the film, he is shown to be a generally extremely powerful telepath, who can read minds, implant suggestions (telling people to sleep, for example), alter memories (either deleting them entirely or just blurring them, as Moira has flashes of what happened after he makes sure she won't be able to tell people about them) and control people for periods of time. While in the mind of another person, he can feel their pain and see and hear what they are going through. He can also pull up repressed memories, produce psionic blasts, and will be able to shield his own mind from other telepaths with time and practice. His range is limited, but can be boosted with Cerebro like equipment, and can be blocked by certain materials, which for the Barge won't mean much unless Erik comes in with his helmet.

As he's still relatively young, he's not as skilled or disciplined as his comic book counterpart or the Patrick Stewart version of his character, but he is going to grow to be, and with contact with other telepaths on the Barge, he might start making strides towards becoming that.

While he won't have any power restriction on the Barge, I will be putting up a permissions post for the ability, be sure to double check with people before having him do anything to their character, and will ask first ICly before looking into someone's mind, unless it's been agreed upon before hand that he'll be using his powers.

Personality: Professor X and Magneto, in their various incarnations, have been compared to Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. While Erik has written off humanity basically entirely and cannot forgive them for their attitudes towards mutants, Charles has a much more peaceful approach. While he doesn't have an entirely unrealistic image of how things are going to progress, in that he knows that nothing is going to happen over night and prejudice is never truly going to go away - such utopias don't and will never really exist - he does have a much more optimistic view of the future. He really does believe that some day, humans and mutants will be able to live together peacefully. He looks for the best in people, and is an intrinsically good person himself, honestly trying to work for what is best for everyone.

That said, he is not exactly the serene, wise leader of the X-Men he will eventually grow up to be. He's still a young guy, and while he's picked up some maturity in recent weeks, he is still a work in progress. He's a shameless flirt, still a little immature, and sometimes comes off as having a much more naive world view than Erik, but this has started taking some more mature direction in the wake of their involvement in the Cuban Missile Crisis. It is clear that the incident and his experience with Erik, the CIA and Shaw have made him grow up a little. While he's still got a very (or at least, comparatively) positive outlook about the future of human and mutant kind, he is more worldly and aware of the dangers presented in people knowing about mutants, different ideas in how to approach the issue of how to fit humans and mutants together into a functional society, and now has to ask himself questions on what to do moving forward, both for himself, and for other mutants. These issues have placed more weight and responsibility on him than he has had before, as he isn’t relying on the government or working with Erik, Raven or Moira to make decisions. Basically everything is on him, and this has meant some growing up is necessary.

He still thinks mutants should hide from the main population, choosing to erase Moira's memories to protect his students and the other mutants who will someday come to live at the mansion, and remains a little leery of Raven embracing her unusual appearance because to him, this means she will not be able to have a normal life. He does, however, respect her decision to leave with Erik, instead of intervening and telling her to stay with him, and does not try to stop Erik from leaving at all, realizing that his friend has a different vision of the future, and knowing this will put them at odds again in the future. He doesn’t want this to happen, but knows it’s going to, and honestly, it kills him a little. He’d like to think that someday, Erik will come to realize his ideas are going to hurt things more than help, and they’ll be able to work together again someday. He doesn’t actually blame or resent Erik for what happened to him, and is more frustrated about the loss of his legs, versus the actual how he was paralyzed. He does not think of Erik as his enemy, and will always try to look for the good in him, because that’s just how he works. He is, at his core, a very hopeful person.

Charles comes from a very privileged background, and can come off as an arrogant asshole. He does mean well, but he does have the attitude of I'm incredibly smart and therefore must know all the answers to things, despite being young and not having a ton of world experience yet. He's also lucky in that his mutation is something that's easy to hide, so he doesn't quite understand where someone like Raven is coming from, in that he's never experienced what it's like to know there's something really physically, noticeably different that you either can’t quite hide or just looks abnormal if you choose to reveal it to anyone. He is slowly starting to understand this, but hasn’t quite gotten there yet, and sometimes says stuff that comes off as him being very holier than thou or what he wants, versus what the person in question does. Again, he is extremely smart, knows this, and thinks he knows exactly what to do all the time. He hasn’t really had a reality check on this, and comes off as a little sanctimonious when he starts going on about his opinions.

He is a very social, sociable person, and enjoys talking to people and with them about basically anything, although especially about science and especially about genetics. He's also good at talking people through their issues and building them up, taking on a bit of a mentor role with the younger mutants and generally just a supportive voice of reason. He did not have a very good relationship with his parents (his father died when he was young, and his mother remarried a man Charles didn’t get along with, and was generally disinterested) and thus tries to reach out to other people to give them what he never had. Maybe not a father figure just yet, but a supportive voice that encourages them to push their limits and realize what they’re capable of, instead of ignoring them or telling them to hide their gifts and pretend they don’t exist.

Because that really is how he views mutation. It’s a gift, and a responsibility, and people need to be encouraged not to feel abnormal, but also to learn and know their limits, and how to use their abilities responsibly. This is what he advocates, and while he doesn’t write off people who don’t want to join them, he does really think this is the best option for everyone.

While not necessarily a traditionally brave person, in that he isn’t going to loudly stand up and fight for what is right in a big spectacle, he displays zero hesitation in protecting other people, human and mutant. He has a very strong set of morals he lives by, and really just wants to preserve life instead of watching people get themselves and others killed because of their anger. So, while not loudly declaring from balconies that he’s mutant and proud, he does the right thing under pressure, and strives to always do the thing that is best for everyone, even if that can appear misguided or naïve to the outside observer.

He tries to be respectful when using his powers, generally asking first before stepping into someone’s mind or reading their thoughts, and usually respecting this. He promised Raven he wouldn’t read her thoughts, and kept it until the events of the movie forced a wedge between them when she began to side with Erik and not Charles, something he kind of resented because they had been so close before Erik had shown up. The only time he does barge in without asking first is when he deems the person a threat to himself or to others, and otherwise respects others boundaries, and he will continue to do so on the Barge.

As a warden, he will try to take a similar role with his inmate that he took with his first group of students, really sitting down and trying to work through their issues by talking about them and coming up with ways to work constructively through them. He would work well with someone with issues with their powers, and will probably not really approve of total or excessive restriction of these, as they are part of a person’s being and therefore taking them away is not necessarily the right thing for them. He will advocate using powers responsibly and really emphasize control. While he won’t look down on inmates, and does really believe in the idea that people can turn their lives around, he probably will still come off as being a bit of a holier than thou douchebag.

Path to Redemption: N/A

History: Here is the wiki article for the film X-Men: First Class, and this is Charles's Marvel Movie Wikia entry, specifically focusing on XMFC. I will not be incorporating stuff from the original film trilogy because... it doesn't quite line up and there's not much specific to take at this point either.

Sample Journal Entry:
[Well, that was one fun aging flood, wasn't it, Barge? After spending the last few days looking like Patrick Stewart, Charles looks relatively relieved to be back in his normal body, even giving the camera sort of a nervously pleased grin for a moment.]

Well, that was a bit of an adventure, wasn't it? Who would have expected I'd be bald in twenty years?

[And he is definitely not thinking about running a hand through his hair and appreciating not feeling old anymore. What would give you that impression?]

These floods... I understand that they're a huge inconvenience, and often put us through things far more traumatic than realizing we're going to lose our hair and grow old some day, but they do teach us about things we might not have considered otherwise, don't they? Where else could we feel like what it's like to be birds, or experience some historical event we've only ever read about before? Maybe it's just a sign I haven't been here all that long, but I find the experience to be worth the occasional bump in the road.

Sample RP:
The Barge was certainly something. When he'd first arrived in his cabin, it was like nothing had changed at all. The offer from the "Admiral" just some bizarre dream, a fantasy about having some magic cure all to his paralysis, something he still wistfully considered sometimes, because while he was getting used to the wheelchair, he still did miss being able to just walk places himself. Part of him wondered if this was some kind of karma, for not understanding what it felt like to really be different, like Raven or Hank, and that part made him hesitate in accepting the offer. To be a warden. To take a pause in the process he'd started when he'd said he would help Moira and the CIA handle the fiasco with Shaw, so that he could help another person right their wrongs and become a better person.

It was probably irresponsible, to step away and take a breather instead of just jumping in and getting back to work.

But, why not. Time wouldn't pass at home, and redemption was certainly a noble cause. And despite everything that had happened over the last few months, he still did think it was entirely possible for someone to turn their life around.

And the scientific opportunities would be simply unmatched. "Floods"? Ports to various worlds, both similar and different to the one he had come from? Interacting with people from worlds like the ones they would visit, people with gifts, who came from society who accepted them? Aliens? People with technology beyond his 1962? The possibilities were endless, and he was already eager to see what exactly this place had to offer, in all its forms.

And at least it has an elevator, he thought, a little grimly, as he made his way out into the hallway, heading for the deck. He really didn't appreciate trying to find ways to navigate around places with stairs as the only means of access, and being stuck on one deck for the remainder of his stay here was not exactly ideal.

Special Notes: I would really prefer it if Xavier's powers are not dampened by the Barge, because being a mutant and having these abilities is so intrinsic to the whole X-Men canon and the identity of those with abilities, it just seems like it would be a point for people being prejudiced against people with abilities, as unlike characters like Superboy, his powers do not come from some source outside him or are a manifestation of his body's reaction to an outside force. Being a telepath is because of his genetics, not the sun, gods or drawing on some alternate dimension. As other telepaths on board don't have any restrictions - and if they do and I've just missed out, let me know - and I've said I'll be putting up a permissions meme and being very careful with using the abilities on board, I really don't think abuse of the powers will be an issue, whereas having a dampener put on them is kind of a kick in the teeth to the whole no one trusts mutants thing.