[Charles is sitting at a desk in his room, dressed in one of his usual dark blue sweater/lighter blue colored shirts combos, and over all looks very put together, even though he's sort of been chewing over making this post and how he wants to say all of this for a while before actually turning on the video feed.]

My counterpart during the breach worked for the secret facility in Bargewell, trying to rehabilitate mutants and aliens who could learn to cope with and control their abilities and pass for human among a normal population. [Which isn't a secret to some, but will be news to others.] He honestly wanted to help them, and thought the facility was a safer place to adjust, away from people who might think to cause them harm for being different.

Because- [And it's silly, to have to hesitate before saying this, because he's certainly not hiding what he is or what he's capable of.] He was a mutant, too. And he lived his whole life terrified of who he was and what he was capable of, and what might happen if anyone ever found out about what he could do. He spent his whole life being afraid because he thought there was something wrong with him for not being "normal".

[He pauses, considering what to say next, because he can't help but think of Raven, and how he basically made her feel the same way because she was different, because she couldn't be herself without exposing what she really was, and it just wasn't safe to be parading around yelling "mutant and proud!" from the rooftops.

But he could have been more supportive. He could have told her she was always beautiful, no matter what color her skin was, and he's still not entirely sure he's ever going to have a chance to make up for that. Or ever see her again.]

I know I've had it easier than a lot of people with supernatural abilities. I've always had to hide what I'm capable of, but it's not like I have something physical to hide that marks me as different from everyone else, and so I've never felt like there was anything wrong with me, or been told that there might be or was.

But I have known people who have heard that said, and, worse, actually believe that's true after being told it for so long. And it isn't. There is nothing wrong with us for being different. We shouldn't have to be afraid, or ashamed, and we shouldn't have to hide. [Erik's words taste almost bitter in his mouth, and he has to take a breath before he continues.]

Obviously, we do, and me saying this here isn't going to change that, for those of us who come from worlds where that's the norm for people like us. But we aren't there now, and there's no reason to hide or be afraid, because there are people here who understand what you're going through now and what you've already been through before coming here. You're not alone.

We're no better or worse than people without abilities just because we can do things they can't. We're all just people. We're flawed, and we make poor decisions, but that has nothing to do with being able to read minds, or change our appearance, or use magic. It's time for us to accept what we are, and that's people, not monsters or supermen.

( Notes for Alex, Jean and Doyle )

( 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 )