astonishing_xmods: (Default)
The Xavier Institute Mod Journal ([personal profile] astonishing_xmods) wrote in [community profile] xavier_institute_logs2015-01-10 03:23 pm

The Brink of War [OPEN]

WHO: Everyone
WHAT: The news of the world, brought right to your school!
WHERE: On any television, radio, or computer screen (assuming they're on a news site)
WHEN: All week
WARNING(S): if a thread goes into warning label territory, either throw it in the subject line or take it to a separate log.



"... the hashtag has inspired several high profile mutants in the entertainment world, particularly mutant pop star Dazzler, to put up personal accounts of the discriminations they've faced growing up as mutants. However, the Mutant Liberation Front, or at least hackers claiming to be them, have seemingly hijacked the movement on several social media sites, using the hashtag while "doxxing", defined as "sharing the private personal information of an individual or group, anyone that has publicly spoken out against mutants. The internet has become a battleground like any city street..."


"... special diplomat Haller faced many questions arriving back in the United States today. She has stated she had no comments on Genosha's threat of war against the US. President Kelly's diplomatic relations with Genosha have largely been criticized as failures, and many in congress and in the public in general seem to be in favor of preparing for the inevitable..."


"... Reverend William Stryker, uncle to the late Donovan Zane, has lead a vigil lasting several days now on the steps of Congress and refuses to be moved until Mutant Registration has been passed. Public support is turning overwhelmingly in favor of registration as the nation mourns the young man, Donovan Zane, whose life was taken in the midst of a violent protest..."


"... with the coldest temperatures on record. Volunteers are urging everyone in District X to be extra careful as the season progresses, to regularly visit the shelters and soup kitchens, and to not try to brave the winter storms alone. They have also put out a mass call to anyone willing to help out, with food, blankets, and/or warm clothing..."


"... a nation on the brink of war. President Kelly addressed the nation saying that 2019 will not be a repeat of historical mistakes or tragedies. He says he refuses to believe the spirit of the American people are so willing to give in to bigotry and surrender to what is perceived as an inevitable war with Genosha. It can be stopped, he urged. He said we all have to look at ourselves and find the courage to do the right thing and love our fellow person, no matter what the circumstances. President Kelly continues to believe in his vision of hope for humans and mutants..."



[[ ooc: Students and teachers are free to start their own threads in this log in response to one or more of these news clips, or even to things related but not specifically posted here. ]]
koukai_kirai: (*You are my sweetest downfall)

OPEN

[personal profile] koukai_kirai 2015-01-12 03:14 am (UTC)(link)
[It's always been Hijikata's habit, when he's done with his other work for the day, to set up camp in his usual classroom and map out the day's news for himself on the whiteboards, drawing patterns and connections, making as much sense of it all as he can.]

[Today is no different. He goes to his classroom, he takes out his markers, he begins writing in Japanese...]

[And somewhere in the middle of it, he runs out of energy. Leaving the kanji he was on half-written, he sets down the marker and takes a step back from the board, feeling dwarfed by the enormity of the words and their weighty implications.]

[War isn't an inevitability. But the conditions are there, and belief in inevitability can be a self-fulfilling sort of thing, and for all that he can see, he can't see a way out of it. When he gets down to it, his mind isn't built for amicable resolutions. He has a logic that's good for winning, at any costs.]

[But that isn't Xavier's way. And after so long here, war isn't something Hijikata can accept, either.]

[If it came to that, what would they do? He can't abandon his place here -- the students he mentors, the community he serves, the leader he looks up to with all his heart. But Souji is still so damaged from the last glimpse of war the school endured. He can't control himself, and Hijikata can't in good conscience keep him in a war zone -- any more than he can leave his side in good conscience.]

[He feels trapped, and all he can do is look at the words on the whiteboard like a cornered animal looking for a way out.]
bluishgreymatter: (Default)

[personal profile] bluishgreymatter 2015-01-12 10:13 pm (UTC)(link)
"O war! Thou son of hell,
Whom angry heavens do make their minister,
Throw in the frozen bosoms of our part
Hot coals of vengeance! Let no soldier fly.
He that is truly dedicate to war
Hath no self-love, nor he that loves himself,
Hath not essentially but by circumstance
The name of valour..."

... It is in times like these we realize how truly small we are in the great scheme of things.
koukai_kirai: (For the things that he's using)

[personal profile] koukai_kirai 2015-01-13 06:16 am (UTC)(link)
[He's not sure why Hank stopped there. "O, let the vile world end" sounds like a pretty reasonable continuation to him, but perhaps his melancholy is getting the better of him.]

And what do we do then?

[Because for once, he feels completely at a loss. You can build shelters, but when a disaster strikes, there isn't much telling what good they'll do. That's what it feels like to him -- powerful, unstoppable, and senseless, something that can't be averted, only endured, and only if you're lucky.]

[Is that the best he can do for the people he wants to protect?]
bluishgreymatter: (contemplative)

[personal profile] bluishgreymatter 2015-01-13 06:25 am (UTC)(link)
We do as we always do, old friend... [Hank sighed.]

We knew this would be difficult. None of us are obligated to stay. But I like to think I know you... And I know you will remain with us until what end may come, be it bitter or merry...
koukai_kirai: (Singing the same old song)

[personal profile] koukai_kirai 2015-01-13 06:44 am (UTC)(link)
[Of course that was the answer. The same as it ever was... It was just harder, some days, to have faith that it would be enough.]

It's not me that I'm concerned over.
bluishgreymatter: (consideration)

[personal profile] bluishgreymatter 2015-01-13 06:59 am (UTC)(link)
I gathered.

... Kannushi's hometown is very isolated, I've noticed. Several mutants manage to live there in relative peace, even those with physical mutations. Ms. Ran Yakumo and her child, Chen, if you recall them, live there. If worse came to worse... I'm sure Souji could live there until things cool down.
koukai_kirai: (Eat plastic surgery)

[personal profile] koukai_kirai 2015-01-13 05:43 pm (UTC)(link)
I remember them.

[He leans against the edge of his desk, trying to collect himself more thoroughly.]

...If I sent him away without me, I don't know that he wouldn't just come back.

[For all that he doesn't remember, Souji has proven just about as stubbornly attached to him since showing up again.]
bluishgreymatter: (neutral)

[personal profile] bluishgreymatter 2015-01-13 09:52 pm (UTC)(link)
Chain him to a bedpost? -Perhaps not the best bit of humor for the situation...-

Ultimately, I suppose there's nothing that can truly stop it. You and he are linked destinies, as the saying goes. And if it came to a fight, he would walk through hell itself to stand at your side. Truly you both seem like relics from that samurai age, in that sense. It's admirable, really.
koukai_kirai: (Find one song - a song about love)

[personal profile] koukai_kirai 2015-01-15 10:51 am (UTC)(link)
And risk ruining a perfectly good bed? [Dry humor is the least incriminating way he can think of tan answer that suggestion.]

You can romanticize it all you like, but that doesn't excuse it if I put him at risk for my own decisions.
bluishgreymatter: (quoting)

[personal profile] bluishgreymatter 2015-01-17 12:17 am (UTC)(link)
If you asked him... I'm certain he wouldn't consider it a risk at all.
koukai_kirai: (I just detest a man afraid)

[personal profile] koukai_kirai 2015-01-18 06:07 am (UTC)(link)
He's reckless like that.

[Pot, kettle, black.]
bluishgreymatter: (hypothesis)

[personal profile] bluishgreymatter 2015-01-18 06:18 pm (UTC)(link)
Sounds familiar. -No seriously.-
koukai_kirai: (Wanna try wanna try wanna try)

[personal profile] koukai_kirai 2015-01-20 08:24 am (UTC)(link)
[He gives him a Look for a moment, then sighs and looks away.]

There's too much he doesn't remember. He shouldn't be put in the position of having to make a choice like that.
bluishgreymatter: (whatever)

[personal profile] bluishgreymatter 2015-01-20 10:45 pm (UTC)(link)
I think he's made it quite clear that he has chosen to embrace the emotional associations he has with you, regardless of the lack of recalled memory. And knowing him, there's no hell that will take him away from this chosen path.

Face it, old friend... you're stuck with him. Rather than lamenting that it may put him in harm's way, you should perhaps honor his agency and accept his choice. But that is, simply, my opinion...
koukai_kirai: (You run the company)

[personal profile] koukai_kirai 2015-01-21 03:51 pm (UTC)(link)
[The trouble, he thinks, with respecting Souji's agency, is that Souji can be so stubbornly insistent on... well, on following him. How is he supposed to honor Souji's choices when Souji's so dead set against doing what's best for him?]

[And besides that... Besides that, who is he of all people to receive that kind of loyalty? Who in their right mind would choose him over their own safety and everyone else in the world twice?]


...I'll give it thought.

I'm going to step out for a smoke.

[A blatant excuse if ever there was one, but perhaps the cold air would clear his head.]
icy_heavens: (Academy)

[personal profile] icy_heavens 2015-01-13 06:27 am (UTC)(link)
[Toushirou sadly has a similar mindset toward all this. Part of him would like to believe that war isn't inevitable, but is that just lingering childishness? He doesn't know. Years ago, when the Sentinels had gone live, Toushirou had accepted that he'd been in a war just by his very existence. That had been a response to a very present threat -- that isn't around anymore. He'd gotten distance from that. Even Sublime's attack, wakeup call that it had been, hadn't put him back to thinking war is a certainty.

[A possibily? Sure. It would be naive to think anything else. But inevitability is another thing entirely, and his thoughts are starting to drift in that direction.

[He reads over the text on the whiteboard quietly, thoughtfully.]
Really pushing for it, aren't they?
koukai_kirai: (He's gentle and wild)

[personal profile] koukai_kirai 2015-01-13 06:49 am (UTC)(link)
[He relaxes when Toshirou walks in, but there's something forced and calculated about it. The tension leaves his body and not his eyes.]

From both sides.

[And that is the issue. Mageneto's hawkish, extremist leanings have been a known factor for a long time, but the rise in homegrown mutant extremism and reactionary backlash are more complex than just one stubborn old leader, and the situation grows more and more dangerous the longer neither side believes in a peaceful resolution.]

It's not really in anyone's self-interest, but good luck convincing them of that.
icy_heavens: (Giving orders.  Listen for a change.)

[personal profile] icy_heavens 2015-01-13 07:41 am (UTC)(link)
[He can see there's something off with that relaxation. He doesn't buy it.]

Requires people listening to sense. Which doesn't happen as often as it should.
koukai_kirai: (I'll take what I want from your heart)

[personal profile] koukai_kirai 2015-01-13 05:50 pm (UTC)(link)
If there's one thing ten years of this job have taught me, maybe that ought to be it.

[But no, somehow, it isn't. Somehow, if he had to say what he's really learned here, it would be something altogether softer, more idealistic...]

[Something that feels all too fragile, right now.]

[But seeing Toshirou strengthens his resolve, in a way. These children, even the strong among them, are what he's fighting to protect. And they're the reason he has to do whatever part he can in keeping the situation from deteriorating.]
icy_heavens: (Distant)

[personal profile] icy_heavens 2015-01-14 07:42 am (UTC)(link)
What exactly can we do to stop this, anyway? [Sorry, Hijikata. He's asking the tough questions. Even back when he'd accepted the idea of getting dragged into a war, he hadn't wanted one.

[He's not the type to just automatically resign himself to things; he's just got no idea what the right course of action is here.]
koukai_kirai: (Seen him stand up to cry)

[personal profile] koukai_kirai 2015-01-18 06:11 am (UTC)(link)
[He knows about what can be done by society, by the government, by an awful lot of someones.]

[But what, on an individual level, can any of them do?]


Prepare for the worst, and push for better anyway.

[The second part is where Magneto fails -- and that's what's putting all of them at risk.]
icy_heavens: (Calm and rational)

[personal profile] icy_heavens 2015-01-21 07:04 am (UTC)(link)
[He nods solemnly, folds his arms over his chest.]

I suppose so.
koukai_kirai: (One song glory - one song before I go)

[personal profile] koukai_kirai 2015-01-21 04:04 pm (UTC)(link)
[What else is there that he can tell him, without lying or going far out of his own areas of expertise?]

...Battles like this are won and lost on public opinion. The best long-term strategy is to keep our minds turned towards what we can do to improve our reputation.

[Not his strong point, but he's aware of the merits of it. After all, it was really the PR about the innocent victims of the last attack that got the Sentinels put out of commission.]