[Charles is back, and while he doesn't look any different - he doesn't look older, he's got the same hair cut and navy blue sweaters - there's still something different. He seems... happier, more enthusiastic than he's been in a long time before Erik graduated.]

Well, I'm glad to see the ship hasn't burned down in my absence. [And if he sounds mildly surprised about that, can you really blame him?

Anyway, moving on.]

I'm very happy to report that things are moving along quite smoothly at home. Erik says hello, [Or some variation on that to some of you, let's be serious graduation didn't suddenly turn him into a super fluffy fun guy who particularly cares about 90% of you.] Although he remains fairly adamant that he's absolutely not coming back in this lifetime, if at all possible.

[Which kind of begs the question of what the hell is he doing back here, but that's for him to know and you guys to find out at some point maybe.

And with all that said and done, he sobers a little, although he's still looking pretty upbeat and generally pleased.]

I've spend two years on this ship, and in that time, I've had too many people tell me some variation of "you can't change your future", or that I was wasting my time putting my faith in someone who's too incompetent to ever do anything right, and I understand where all of that stemmed from. It's incredibly easy to lose hope here, especially in regards to both those things, and if anyone tries to tell you you're weak for doing so, they're wrong.

But it does work, and you can change your future. This place has done everything it could to drag me and the people I love under, but we've still managed to overcome it, and you can, too.

[And he means that, seriously. He's got the proof to back it up now, too.]

For any new arrivals, I'm Doctor- or I suppose it's really Professor Charles Xavier, now. I'm a warden, I'm a telepath, [Mutant and proud, right?] and I'm one of the wardens in charge of the garden, if anyone's interested in lending a hand. I'm also available as a counselor for anyone - warden or inmate - who feels they need someone to talk to.

( Spam for Jonah )

[Charles is considerably less composed than Erik was when he clicks on his comm and addresses the Barge. He's happy, but he's spent so long waiting for this to happen, has spent so long here being put through literal hell, listening to people tell him time and time again that it was hopeless for them, that they weren't going to be any different and while he'd never really believed them, it's still good to know that those people had been wrong, that there are going to be challenges in the future but they'll be able to face it together, he won't have to be alone, and he can't stay on this ship for a second longer. Not right now.

So he's smiling, desperate relief radiating off him in waves. His face is still flushed, his eyes a little red, but he absolutely doesn't care less that it looks like he's been crying because this is what he's been waiting for for two very long years.]

I have to go. [And again it hits him that he can go home, that they're going to fix this and he lets out an almost disbelieving laugh.] There's a very urgent matter I need to attend to back home, and it can't wait any longer.

[And there's a part of him that's terrified they'll go back and this will all have turned out to be some kind of cosmic joke, but sounds more excited than anything else, to go back and hope this plays out the right way this time, that they're finally getting their second chance.]

I can't- [Some of the excitement fades, and he takes a breath before continuing.] Knowing the Admiral, I can't promise I'll be back, obviously, but I'll try. I intend to come back.

In the mean time, try not to get into too much trouble.

( Notes for Alana, Alex, Jean, Anya, Morgana and Zane )

[It might surprise some people to see that Charles has some mud on his shirt, which is clearly the result of having some of it thrown at him, versus from falling on his face. His daemon, Hypatia, isn't in frame, but she's obviously not far and is currently in much the same state.

He looks... well, irritated probably isn't the right word for it. Exasperated might be better.]

I understand that everyone's very fond of their war games, but I think we'd all appreciate it if you kept any mud slinging activities safely away from noncombatants.

[And then a wry smile spreads across his face.]

That goes double for any adults playing along.

[YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE.]

[Spam]

[Charles and Hypatia have always been a little bit unusual amongst the academic crowd from Jordan College. They're friendly and active and eager to get out and do research and get involved with people of all walks of life, instead of being content to just stick to the stuffy, closed off world of some of the other scholars. So while they can both certainly be found on the college grounds and in the library, it's just as likely to catch him out on the streets of Oxford doing research.

His particular area of interest has always been understanding and raising awareness and tolerance towards other cultures and ethnic groups, so he's just as likely to be at a society party exchanging stories with explorers and business men as wandering the markets, browsing the wares and talking to street children.

But his most common haunt - as long as they're in town, anyway - is visiting with his best friend Erik and his family, either just by wandering Oxford with him or dropping by the family longboat for dinner, as he's done ever since he was a teenager. He's by no means been adopted as Gyptian, or anything close to that, but he's been working to improve relations and general attitudes towards them amongst the non Gyptian population, and so anyone with a particular interest in that would likely at least know his name.

And then, of course, he checks in on his cousins Nathan and Alex occasionally. Never mind that Nathan is actually older than him and probably doesn't need looking after.

Most of the time, anyway.]

[Since the event ended, Charles has more or less been holed up in his room sleeping it off, and still sounds pretty drained when he actually starts talking, voice not quite droning, but definitely more tired and worn out - almost disappointed, really - than enthusiastic.]

An old Grandfather said to his grandson, who came to him with anger at a friend who had done him an injustice, "Let me tell you a story.

I too, at times, have felt a great hate for those that have taken so much, with no sorrow for what they do.

But hate wears you down, and does not hurt your enemy. It is like taking poison and wishing your enemy would die. I have struggled with these feelings many times." He continued, "It is as if there are two wolves inside me. One is good and does no harm. He lives in harmony with all around him, and does not take offense when no offense was intended. He will only fight when it is right to do so, and in the right way.

But the other wolf, ah! He is full of anger. The littlest thing will set him into a fit of temper. He fights everyone, all the time, for no reason. He cannot think because his anger and hate are so great. It is helpless anger,for his anger will change nothing.

Sometimes, it is hard to live with these two wolves inside me, for both of them try to dominate my spirit."

The boy looked intently into his Grandfather's eyes and asked, "Which one wins, Grandfather?"

The Grandfather smiled and quietly said, "The one I feed."

[There's a short pause, and he continues, now almost sounding distracted.] It's an old Cherokee fable. For those of you who aren't from Earth, or are unfamiliar with this particular subject, the Cherokee are a Native American people who have historically settled in the south eastern parts of North America.

[There's another short pause, like he's considering maybe saying something else, but the feed clicks off without any further elaboration after a few seconds.]

[Private to Merlin & Arthur]

I don't know if you've been told, [Or care. :V] but Morgana's vanished.

[Private to Alex]

[This he actually manages to sound more or less like himself for, because he really is happy for Alex.]

I hear some congratulations are in order.

( Backdated note to the Admiral )

[Public]

Thank you all for the gifts. Nice that we actually had a more or less quiet month, rather than being dumped in another Overlook Hotel-style port. [Which is being said dryly, but seriously. This is the first nice port they've had in months, mistletoe is pretty low on the totem pole in terms of horrible things that could have happened this month.

He almost looks like he's considering switching off the feed and leaving it at that, but reconsiders.] I had a discussion with Agent Carter while we were in port about how the city had changed over the years, particularly after the Blitz. For those of you unfamiliar with Earth history, from September of 1940 to May of 1941, Germany launched a series of strategic bombing raids against the United Kingdom, targeting ports, industrial centers and other civilian targets, killing around forty thousand civilians in the process. The goal was to demoralize the British populace, because at the time, Britain was one of the few powers standing against Nazi Germany.

Obviously, it didn't work, and Germany and the other Axis powers would lose the war four years later. After the attacks ended, people were left to pick up the pieces left behind and restart their lives. [Which he hadn't really been around for. By the time he'd seen London again, everything had been more or less tidied up.]

Rebuilding wasn't simply people trying to bury the bad memories or pretend none of it ever happened. Like any traumatic situation, what you get out of it depends largely on how you're willing to move forward. You can become bitter and jaded, or you can make peace with the memories without forgetting what happened and try to move forward and prove you're stronger for surviving. It all depends on how you choose to look at it.

That certainly doesn't mean it's easy, but it is possible.

( Notes for Erik, Tony, Pepper and Arkady + a Spam for Jean )

[Charles sounds somewhere between conversational and tired as he starts his story. He doesn't often share much like this with the network, but he's had a lot of time to think about it and just wants to put it on record somewhere, where other people can hear it.]

When I was at Harvard for my undergraduate degree, one of my first classes - just one of those requirements for freshmen to make sure we're well rounded individuals when we leave and all that - was a discussion of ethics and morality. The professor - I can't remember his name - started his first lecture by telling us he wasn't going to sugarcoat the material we covered or try to glamorize any of it, because we would be talking about war and crime and various other ethical dilemmas and sparing us the gory details would be missing the point. [Which was more or less what he'd told Tony, a few days ago, when he'd shown him Erik's memories, to get him to really realize what an arrogant ass he was being and why it was unacceptable. He still feels badly about it, like he'd forced something on Tony and betrayed Erik's trust, but he did still think it had been necessary.]

And he continued by saying there is nothing else quite like war. So much of our history [And he doesn't specify "human history", because he might not technically be one, but separating himself from that group and divorcing himself from human history is sort of missing the point of what he's trying to say, here.] has been spent at war, or devising new methods to maim and kill soldiers and civilians alike, or trying to negotiate to prevent conflict. So much money and effort and emotion and cost goes into it. There really is nothing else like it.

And the simple truth is that's because war is easy. It's easy to lash out in anger against someone else before they strike against you, or to take something that doesn't belong to you because you want it, to use force to make other people see your point of view, whether that be religion or politics or ideals, because understanding your enemy is complicated. It's easier to force them to bend to your will rather than negotiating or trying to teach your enemy, whether you think you've been wronged and are rising up to overthrow an oppressor, or if you're the one crushing those weaker than you under your boot heel.

So war may be easier. But that doesn't mean peace isn't worth striving for, or that you're weak for trying to pursue it. At the end of the day, anything achieved by violent means will come into question and challenged. Tyrants are overthrown by people who quickly turn into despots themselves, violent political uprisings turn people against worthwhile causes and give the bigots justification to say "these people are a threat to my sense of security", which just leads to more oppression and injustice, therefore solving nothing. And if the oppressed do get a chance to stamp out their oppressors, they're often so full of rage about their past suffering that instead of trying to compromise and work together, they turn into oppressors themselves.

But teaching people, and learning to understand each other and put aside your differences to work for something else creates a more lasting impression. It can still be threatened, and it certainly isn't a quick solution, because there always will be bigots and would be warlords in the world, but it can be accomplished if people are willing to work for it. And working for that - a more lasting peace and deeper understanding, not some impermanent agreement based in fear and violence - is worth it.

[Private to Tony, backdated to the end of the flood]

I'm afraid I'm going to need my wheelchair back, Mr. Stark.

[Private to Morgana, present dated]

Are you alright?

[Private to Erik, present dated]

I'd like to speak with you, please. [He doesn't sound angry or disappointed or too depressed, really, he just wants to talk to you re: his encounter with Wanda during dat flood. :|]

[Public, present dated]

[Charles has holed himself up in his room with a couple books for a while, because man, that flood was intense and he needs a break from everyone. :| But he's had some time to wind down and feels like saying something, so, good afternoon, everyone.] I've always enjoyed watching people try to put science in perspective to things that are a bit easier for most people to wrap their mind around. It grounds it, and does make it a bit more approachable for those with only a casual interest in the subject.

Because while I could bore you all for hours with scientific jargon, it never hurts to have a few interesting factoids on hand to catch people's interest instead of just letting them drift off to sleep in the back of the classroom wishing they were still enjoying their lunch period.

For example, while there are differences in the total number of cells in a human body, the number should be around 100,000 billion, and if the entire DNA from all nuclei in the human body were to be arranged lengthwise, it would measure around 180,000 million kilometers. The DNA length would thus be a thousand times greater than the distance between the Earth and the Sun.

It's interesting to think about, that within each of us, there's something that - in theory, obviously - could stretch that far. [He's quiet for a moment, almost a little distracted or maybe considering switching off the feed before continuing.] If anyone has some interesting facts they'd be in the mood for sharing about their own world, I'd appreciate it. It doesn't have to be about science if there's something they'd rather discuss.

[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.

[Backdated to around the end of the Quirks Flood]

I would like to sincerely apologize for what my flood affected self said. I can honestly say I don't agree with a single one of his sentiments, and I'm sorry if I've offended anyone or made them uncomfortable. That attitude isn't going to change anything for the better. Not for any of us.

[Anddd that's all he wants to say on the matter right now because gd being Magneto for a weekend was kind of horrifying Erik what are you. :c]

[Present Dated Spam for Erik]

( Warnings: TL;DR, Dream sequence, violence and spoilers for XMFC. )

[ooc: Sorry this is so late, finals are taking more out of me than I thought they would. I'm going to try throwing up a legit Charles dream log tomorrow. <3]

[Private to the Admiral]

I'd like to request new living arrangements for my inmate, Felix Gaeta. Somewhere comfortable and familiar enough that it might actually feel like he has a safe place to be during his time here, but not somewhere he's lived before.

I'd appreciate confirmation of the change as soon as possible.

[Spam for Gaeta, following the events of this log.]

[Charles was quiet as they left the infirmary and headed towards the elevator, as stairs were kind of a no go, and it would be faster anyway. Once they had reached it, Charles pressed the button to summon the car and finally turned to Felix as they waited for it to arrive.

He hadn't wanted to directly address him until they were a decent distance away, because while it was highly unlikely that Sarah or Gaius would have been following them out, there was always a slim chance they might, and it seemed to him that Felix definitely needed some time and space to cool down before tackling the issue head on.]

What happened?