Suffering is a terribly subjective term. It implies such pain and distress as to be debilitating. I wouldn't say I now suffer from my blood any more than you suffer from your paraplegia. It simply is, and we carry on.
Though as I child, I can say I suffered. That was only natural.
Not precisely. I did have a bad time once everyone woke up from it, because for a telepath, having a lot of minds projecting instant panic and upset feelings is on the overwhelming side. Acreage was also loud given they were scared of the Cube. So I had a headache most of the time we were there. It's terribly annoying.
I see the issue. I've grappled enough with the so-called stormkissed bonds that have cropped up since that meteor passed. I don't envy what you have to contend with on a wider scale.
I've dealt with it over the span of my life, but I lived in quieter areas to lower my chances of it becoming overwhelming. That isn't possible here. I refer to my abilities as gifts, as do most mutants, but we know that sometimes they are curses too. Do you ever feel that way with your abilities?
Certainly. For all the complications they've caused me, I imagine I'd be quite dead by now without them. And if I weren't dead, I would be afforded much less power with which to influence my world. They've granted me unique opportunities I can't complain about.
But I can see why not all would have tempered views on the matter. Persecuted as your mutants were, I imagine many felt they couldn't express their abilities in fulfilling ways.
Many of them couldn't. Some mutations were visibly obvious, which meant they sometimes could not go out in public without getting stared at or treated poorly. My own sister Raven was naturally blue with scales and gold eyes. As a shapeshifter, she could hide herself, but she was often angry at the world that she had to hide.
I did have the privilege of an invisible mutation. Even my adopted son Scott who is here has to see through a specific visor because beams come out of his eyes uncontrollably otherwise.
I used to encourage her to hide. I didn't understand what it felt like for her. It just seemed easier to live in a human form. It is one of the reasons we became estranged.
I have various adopted children, as you do. My adopted daughter Ororo was recently sent away. Scott and Logan are the ones still here. There are a few others who was raised at my mansion, but they were closer to others than me.
Technically, this was an older version of me who raised them, but we've all maintained our relationship dynamics here.
Some of them are pupils and staff, not all of them are family. Ororo and Scott I raised from their formative young teen years, so I was more than a professor to them.
Yes, it does. I worry about what it all means when people come and go, and where they go to. It is optimistic to imagine they return home, which is what I would choose to hope for, but perhaps not realistic as we don't know what any of this is.
As you say. There are more variables here than we can hope to understand.
If it's any consolation, I believe it's remarkable enough that you and your loved ones have come to gather all at once in this world, in this place. Probability can't account for the statistical unlikelihood of it happening, and yet it did.
There's a semblance of order to how we are brought here, even if we can't fully comprehend it. It follows that there's a semblance of order to how we leave this world as well. Whether we're returned to our rightful places or not, there is reason to hope that you and your family will be reunited.
If the opportunity presents itself and I can return, I plan on it. While there are good things about this world, our friendship being one of them, my place really is back home. It's important that I have the school available for mutants and build our community.
But I have accepted that it may not happen too. There are people here who have lived their entire lives here. It would be foolish to think I would be the exception.
A measured approach. Indeed, the best we can do in life is grasp the opportunities within our reach. Considering your work thus far, I'd say you've done as well for yourself as you have for others.
By the way. On that train ride, we were able to converse directly due to your telepathy. Must you be quite close for it?
[ Minds are like a familiar voice or face to him. When he knows someone, he can find them easily. It's not that he's touched her mind without her knowing it until now, but he automatically connects to someone he knows. It doesn't take him long to follow pathways, searching for her until he finds his way.
It's a few minutes later when she might hear a polite 'knock' in her head before his voice comes in. It won't be loud, it'll sound as if he's sitting right next to her.]
[ How polite of him. She's experienced this before, so she doesn't have to feel too surprised, but the proximity of his voice does prompt an instinctive glance around on her end. ]
Hello. It's possible I'll be able to hear you if you project your thoughts of my name very loudly, so if you're ever in any trouble, please know you can try that.
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Though as I child, I can say I suffered. That was only natural.
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[ His suffering does exist, albeit one he just lives with, as she says.]
How are you since the train? It wasn't easy for many people.
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I must say, you do like to worry. Allow me to ask if you are still experiencing hardships from the train ordeal.
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Not precisely. I did have a bad time once everyone woke up from it, because for a telepath, having a lot of minds projecting instant panic and upset feelings is on the overwhelming side. Acreage was also loud given they were scared of the Cube. So I had a headache most of the time we were there. It's terribly annoying.
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But I can see why not all would have tempered views on the matter. Persecuted as your mutants were, I imagine many felt they couldn't express their abilities in fulfilling ways.
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I did have the privilege of an invisible mutation. Even my adopted son Scott who is here has to see through a specific visor because beams come out of his eyes uncontrollably otherwise.
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You mentioned Scott before, but I wasn't aware he was your adopted son. Is he your only?
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I have various adopted children, as you do. My adopted daughter Ororo was recently sent away. Scott and Logan are the ones still here. There are a few others who was raised at my mansion, but they were closer to others than me.
Technically, this was an older version of me who raised them, but we've all maintained our relationship dynamics here.
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I'm sorry to hear about your daughter, Ororo. Is her departure something that brings you anxiety?
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Yes, it does. I worry about what it all means when people come and go, and where they go to. It is optimistic to imagine they return home, which is what I would choose to hope for, but perhaps not realistic as we don't know what any of this is.
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If it's any consolation, I believe it's remarkable enough that you and your loved ones have come to gather all at once in this world, in this place. Probability can't account for the statistical unlikelihood of it happening, and yet it did.
There's a semblance of order to how we are brought here, even if we can't fully comprehend it. It follows that there's a semblance of order to how we leave this world as well. Whether we're returned to our rightful places or not, there is reason to hope that you and your family will be reunited.
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But I have accepted that it may not happen too. There are people here who have lived their entire lives here. It would be foolish to think I would be the exception.
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By the way. On that train ride, we were able to converse directly due to your telepathy. Must you be quite close for it?
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No, not really. Not within the main city. Would you like to change to that, or are you just curious?
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As practical as it may be to type in abbreviations and shorthand as some do on their phones, I can't quite bring myself to adopt their ways.
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[ Minds are like a familiar voice or face to him. When he knows someone, he can find them easily. It's not that he's touched her mind without her knowing it until now, but he automatically connects to someone he knows. It doesn't take him long to follow pathways, searching for her until he finds his way.
It's a few minutes later when she might hear a polite 'knock' in her head before his voice comes in. It won't be loud, it'll sound as if he's sitting right next to her.]
Hello there.
whispers hello... and a wrap maybe
Hello, Charles. Thank you for humoring me.
oh yes, haha wrap