wedonot | SEVENTEEN ✖ VOICE

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SEVENTEEN ✖ VOICE

[Warden Filtered + The Admiral]

[Charles honestly feels like he should have addressed this months ago. But Erik got paired and he was maybe hoping Parker would get what the problem was, here, and give him the benefit of the doubt and just give him stuff back, but that obviously didn't happen and, yeah. He's waited too long, and now he feels guilty he didn't do it earlier.

He hasn't talked a lot with people about who Erik is to him - because really he doesn't talk much about himself at all and the whole best friend/arch nemesis thing is still new and decidedly unpleasant for various reasons - and he isn't really planning on going into detail now but. This couldn't wait.]

I understand that this isn't the sort of thing wardens have much control over unless they're actually assigned to an inmate, but I'd still like to petition the Admiral to give Erik Lensherr his powers back, at their full ability, as soon as possible.

[And he is very well aware why in light of his most recent post that might get some raised eyebrows, but.] I know most of you are aware by now that we're mutants. Humans, in our world, have started to evolve to develop unique gifts. We're not entirely sure how or why - it's my field of research, and there's been some discussion that it's the result of entering the atomic age - but the fact is, we were born with these abilities. We've learned to control them and use them responsibility, and we've had to hide what we really are from most people in fear of how people would react to knowing people like us exist. When other humans do become aware of what we're capable of, they've often responded with fear, or taunting, or with plans to turn us into little more than a sideshow, or creatures to be experimented on. We've spent a lifetime trying to hide who we are and learning control to protect ourselves and others, and control or abuse of power really isn't an issue at this point in our lives.

Erik has a much darker view of mankind than I do, and it comes from a lifetime of witnessing the darkest parts of humanity. Coming here, and being told that he's a prisoner, and being denied a fundamental part of his being, repeatedly, despite already having control and showing that he isn't an inmate to be concerned about is just making things worse, and I'm concerned that without getting his abilities restored, we're all running a larger risk of damaging his ability to make any progress at all here, which is something I can't watch happen. [He might have accidentally paralyzed him and kind of gone off the deep end a little, but Erik is still his best friend/hetero life partner. :c] This isn't just some parlor trick or a luxury he can learn to live without. It's a part of him, as much as much as any other sense or facet of a personality is.

Anyone who has an ability or biological make up that differs from the human "norm" understands how violating it feels to have it stripped while in a port. But at least we have the guarantee that in a few days, we'll be back to normal. Erik - and other inmates like him - don't have that luxury, and after everything we've been through I, personally, can't endorse. Not after this long. Not when he's done nothing to prove he can't be trusted with it, and not after what we've all been subjected to already. Being stripped of your abilities is [And he kind of hesitates before using the word, because he is still decidedly Not Okay with his paralysis and talking about it with other people. He ends up spitting it out almost like he's aware of how potentially ironic his choice in words were, almost self depreciatingly funny.] crippling, and I can't imagine being in the position of the inmates on board who've been denied full access to things that help define them.

[And yes, maybe it's a little selfish that he's only asking for Erik and not for everyone but. It's Erik. And it's easier to start small and he's still kind of a selfish person.]

I'm obviously telling the wardens as a whole, but I'm addressing this to you as well, Admiral. Assuming you're listening. If you actually care about the well being of those under your care, you'll take this under serious consideration. We don't know how long it will take for him to get reassigned, and I'm not letting him wait for another six months just because he doesn't have a specific warden working with him.

[Added Later: Private to Tony]

Now that we've all had some time to cool off, would you mind telling me exactly what was going on with you and Erik? [He feels like he's got a decent enough read on you to know that's not really 100% normal day to day behavior and just what the hell was that, bro.]

[Added Later: Private to Steve]

I am so terribly sorry for what was said, earlier.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Hey. Can we talk?

Of course. What's the matter?

It's my inmate. You know Wanda, right?

Yes. What happened?

Do you know about her, uh... history, with Erik?

Yes. [This can't be going anywhere good. :|] She's Erik's daughter, and from an alternate universe to ours. Why?

Yeah, that doesn't even begin to cover it.

Erik getting his powers back is kind of like the end of the world for her. Which, if you know her, is kind of like the end of the world for everyone else.

Why?

Like I said, history. It's her prerogative if she wants to give you details. But she's still learning to control her powers, and this is basically the most upsetting thing you could possibly have said within her earshot.

She's told me about her history with him. And what the version of him she's used to did to her. And me. [And he hates it, that apparently they're both monsters in her reality, in their future. He knew it wasn't the same world - there were too many differences - but it was still deeply troubling.]

I didn't say anything to her. I addressed it to the other wardens, because I knew it would upset her and other inmates, and while I respect what you're trying to do with Wanda and I don't want to impede her ability to graduate? Erik is getting worse without his powers, and keeping them from him is a mistake.

Okay, I can almost buy that, but it's a small ship. It's not like she wasn't going to find out about it.

Look, I'm not saying this is going to happen, but worst case scenario? We have two super-powered inmates trying to kill each other and good luck to anyone who gets caught in the middle. Which, as always, will almost certainly be me.

There has to be a better way to go about this that doesn't involve anyone trying to kill anyone else.

Erik isn't going to kill her or anyone else, unless she puts him in a position where there's no other option. He isn't the monster you people are making him out to be, and he isn't the man Wanda knows at all.

Wanda said she'd accepted that Erik and I aren't the men she knows. What is she having an issue with specifically?

I'm not making him out to be anything. I don't even know the guy. But Wanda seems to think she does, and if she feels threatened enough she's going to fight back. And right now? She feels pretty threatened. By both of you.

Honestly? PTSD, if I had to guess. We're dealing with a lot of emotion here, which means reality doesn't necessarily matter.

Well, I'm going to be frank with you, Ms. Brown, but I don't know what the best solution to this is. I understand that it's not fair of me to expect you - or anyone else - to understand the situation we're being faced with, but I can't allow him to turn into the person Wanda's told us about. And being here, without his powers, is not helping anything.

She has absolutely no reason to be afraid of either one of us, but if things continue and Erik continues to backslide, I'm afraid we run the risk of making her reality our future. And I can't allow that to happen when the solution's as simple as returning something to him that should never have been taken away in the first place. This doesn't just affect Erik, or me, or Wanda. It affects our whole world.

Edited 2012-06-14 02:12 (UTC)

Well then why don't you talk to her about it? I get the whole 'doing what's right' thing, but you're dealing with real people with real feelings here, and what happens to her affects her world too. It affects everyone here.

Just... keep him away from her. I don't care what you have to do. Have the Admiral put a literal restraining order on him. Wanda has earned the right to be left in peace.

I wanted to let the other wardens know what I was doing first, and once I had a more definitive answer, address other people's concerns. There was no reason to upset other inmates about something that was only a possibility, but apparently, someone else didn't share my forethought.

Keeping them away from each other won't be a problem as long as you keep her away from him. Erik has done nothing to Wanda, and what happened to her was not his fault.

Obviously. But you had to know you were never going to get the majority vote.

I'll do my best to keep her from either destroying things or going after him.

I wasn't asking for a vote. I was letting you all know what my intentions were, and what my reasoning was. I apologize if I was unclear. [Although from that slightly passive aggressive tone, he's not sorry at all and can't believe you people are being this thick. :V]

Right. And you wonder why Wanda's upset.

I understand perfectly well why Wanda's upset. But what you don't understand is the lives that are at stake here, including Wanda's. If she really is Erik's daughter, we have the chance to prevent what happened to her, or improve the lives of any other children or people Erik might influence in our future. He deserves a better future, and so do they, and keeping him like this is going to damage what hope we have of repairing things, potentially permanently.

That's what I'm trying to do, and I'm sorry you both can't see that. This isn't some selfish decision because I care about Erik, it's protecting my world from a future it doesn't deserve. All I want is a world where humans and mutants can live together, side by side, without fearing each other for what they are, and teaching Erik that humans really are just as bad as he's already seem them be? Is putting that at risk, and I can't sit idly by watching it happen.

I think you're trapping yourself in this one ultimatum because Wanda's right, because you do care about him more than you care about anyone else here. You care about him too much to spend any time thinking of other ways to help him. But you know what? I don't really care why you're doing it. I have much better things to do with my time than argue psychology with you.

So thanks so much for listening.

And thank you for completely missing my point.

Your point was dumb.

And P.S., Wanda says she never wants to see you again.

Yes, wanting to prevent genocide is dumb. I see.

That won't be a problem.

I think we're done here.

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wedonot - 2012-06-14 03:15 (UTC) - Expand

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SEVENTEEN ✖ VOICE

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