Opening Day [OPEN]

[astonishing_xmods]

WHO: EVERYONE
WHAT: Mingle/Figure out Room Assignments/Meet old friends again
WHERE: The whole campus.
WHEN: September 1st, 2018
WARNING(S): None. If anything goes into warning territory, please create a new log for it.




For all of the newcomers, welcome to Professor Xavier’s Institute of Higher Learning! For all of our returning students and staff, welcome back! Once Professor Xavier’s welcome speech wraps up, it’s time for everyone to get themselves situated in their dorms and, more importantly, get to know your fellow mutants! Even if you’re not sharing rooms, you’ll still be sharing the same campus with each other, so don’t be afraid to get used to all of those new faces! Or even catch up on old ones! You have options; don’t be afraid to use them.

[[ ooc: This is the general mingling post for all of our characters to get settled into their rooms, get to know each other, reminisce with old friends, all that jazz. The log will be split into multiple locations. ]]

Comments

[knighterrantofthedragon]

"Morlocks..." He's briefly puzzled, but nods after only a second or two, smiling a bit wryly. He's heard pretty mixed reports about the Morlocks, although he suspects as in most cases many of them were just unfortunate people who couldn't keep out of trouble. "Ah, yes, yes... ...something of an unfortunate allusion, but I suppose if it's a name with which they're comfortable..."

He shakes his head.

"What, then, do you... do, so to speak?"

He grinned somewhat sheepishly, amused at his own unaccustomed awkwardness, since it's kind of an odd question in his own ears, still.

[kamiizumi]

"Teleportation...but so far, only when I'm not trying."

He sounds a little bashful; Leo's not used to be being bad at something, and it's been a long time since he's been such an absolute beginner at anything he was seriously trying to learn to do. All of the important lessons of his training are things he's been working on for so long that they're second nature by now, and even the newer tricks and techniques Splinter's taught him have been things he has a foundation built to apply them to.

This, though, feels more like if he'd just been handed his swords on the first day of training and told to go at it.

[knighterrantofthedragon]

Alric smiles reassuringly, sympathetic but optimistic, and nods understandingly.

"I suppose it only manifested recently, then. I had the mixed blessing that mine began to appear from quite a young age."

He doesn't go into that any more--he expects Leo can perfectly well figure out for himself the balance between more time to learn and being a little kid with a lot more abilities than self-control.

He does, however, demonstrate: holding his hand out--away from the limbs and trunk of the tree--it's wreathed briefly in a crackling, arcing violet light that quickly coalesces with a flash into a humming, shimmering sphere about the size of a ping-pong ball, hovering in the palm of his hand.

"...fortunately, it was quite weak at first, but suffice to say, as a child, I was something of a handful. .......and a fire hazard."

At any rate, it's obviously not too much of a sore point, if he can poke fun at himself about it, so odds are nothing all that terrible happened.

[kamiizumi]

"The teleportation only manifested in the last month. Being a giant green turtle, on the other hand, I've been stuck with for as long as I can remember."

He doesn't sound terribly sore about that much himself, though; he had plenty of time to get over the hump of teenage "why this" angst already, and anyway, his life's thrown him plenty of other things to spend his brooding time on. Living in the sewers might not be anyone's idea of a great life, but it was with a family that loved him and who he loved more than anything, and for Leo, that's enough.

[knighterrantofthedragon]

Alric smiles to himself, listening and observing, and nods--and the shimmering ball of light quickly dissipates, leaving behind the sharp scent of ozone.

"Mm. ...I imagine that might have been even more... problematic if it had happened recently. That is, if it was something new to which you'd have to adapt. I apologize if I'm prying, but... there are, or at least were... other mutants in your family?"

He obviously hesitates at 'mutants' as though looking for a more polite word, but as far as I'm aware, other than going into ridiculously-sounding ultra-PC words no one actually uses or clinical/scientific terminology, that's all there is in the setting.

[kamiizumi]

"Yeah, that'd be...complicated." He shakes his head. In a sense, he's glad he's had as long as he has to get used to it. His life might have been weird enough (by most definitions) that adjusting to going to school (even one as strange as the Institute) is going to be kind of bizarre, but he's never known anything but being green and making allowances to avoid walking down the street like a normal person. At least he doesn't have to learn how to do that now.

"My father and my brothers are also mutants, yes. None of us would be able to pass for human."

[knighterrantofthedragon]

Alric's visibly a little surprised at that, and his smile faint but sympathetic.

"...mm. I can only imagine it must be difficult. Dealing with the rest of society, that is, cruel and insular as it can be."

He pauses a moment and though considering saying something, growing rather pensive--then smiles more broadly and shakes his head, although a trace of what might be a not-so-cheerful train of thought seems to linger.

"...well. I'm glad, at least, that you were able to learn from and with your family. A sense of normalcy within one's family and friends, at least, is a precious thing."

[kamiizumi]

"We've lived underground among the Morlocks for as long as I can remember, so..." Leo shrugs lightly. "I always knew we were down there for a reason, because we were different, but it was a long time before we started going topside. I know most people think that living like that is horrible, but I think it was better for us than having to be the only green kids in the neighborhood would've been."

He'd always had the understanding of why they lived the way they did, but he'd had no firsthand understanding of how bad it could be until he was older. It had been eye-opening, but it's also something he's deeply glad he didn't have to internalize while he was growing up, that he didn't have to hear on a daily basis - and especially that his brothers didn't have to.

[knighterrantofthedragon]

"...mm. I believe understand. You grew up without being confronted with your differences at every turn, among people with whom you needn't worry about being ostracized." He pauses and smiles a bit. "The location's somewhat less important than the company, I suppose, nn..?"

[kamiizumi]

"Exactly. With the right people...I don't think it matters so much where you are."

Though the right people, for him, are exactly the ones who aren't with him, here. That, more than anything else, is going to take some serious getting used to, despite the fact that after the last couple of crazy months, being around them again was as much of an adjustment as anything.

It's different here.

[knighterrantofthedragon]

Alric nods and smiles reassuringly.

"Well. For what it's worth, I'm wholly confident you'll find people here, as well, with whom you feel comfortable."

[kamiizumi]

"Better chance here than anywhere else, at least."

His tone is light - it's more of a joke than anything, and he doesn't sound bitter. Leo's usually pretty decent at optimism, after all...despite recent events.

[knighterrantofthedragon]

Alric chuckles lightly at that, relaxing against the trunk of the tree, balanced on his chosen branch.

"I'll take that as a compliment."

[kamiizumi]

"I can't think of many places where everyone's been so calm about a turtle jumping between the trees, so this place is already a few points up on the rest of the world."

[knighterrantofthedragon]

"Ah, haha, well, yes, good point. I confess, of the things I'd expected to see when I came here, arboreal turtles were certainly not on the list. ...but I am, after all, here to learn."

[kamiizumi]

"I think half of us are here to learn about what's weird, and half of us are here to learn about what's normal."

Leo? Very firmly in that second category. Turtle mutants leaping from roof to roof is old hat, but algebra homework, on the other hand...

[knighterrantofthedragon]

Alric chuckles at that.

"...well. I've found 'normalcy' to be a very subjective notion. Somewhat overrated, as well. But yes, I suppose I see what you mean."

[kamiizumi]

"I guess I can't really argue with that one, considering what I think of as normal."

[knighterrantofthedragon]

"Even so... you have a point. I have... obligations, at home, which demand of me some understanding of life as seen by most people; but my upbringing was... sheltered. It would be wise, I believe, that I should come to know better the experience of that which is 'normal'--in the sense of society at large. Of course, it's not quite the same here, in America, as in Kaitheny, but..."

[kamiizumi]

"It's not quite the same, but it doesn't really have to be, does it? If you learn to turn things around and consider what it's like for someone whose life is different, then I'd think being able to do that is more important than knowing every person's circumstances."

[knighterrantofthedragon]

Alric smiles a little at that.

"...mm. Yes, perhaps so... ah, I apologize for rambling on about myself so; what of yourself? Do you have a... mission, I suppose, in mind, by way of the Institute?"

[kamiizumi]

Mission is, in fact, a quite apropos way of phrasing it; Leo's used to thinking of most things that way, especially when his presence at the school in the first place was framed by Splinter in terms of go learn these things. Duty is an easy frame of reference to apply to most things in the world.

"It's...still about perspective, I guess. There's been some trouble brewing with the criminal underground in New York and some research on the x-gene. My family kind of stumbled into the middle of all of that, but somewhere in the middle of dealing with it, my father started thinking maybe we need more perspective about what's happening everywhere else, too. And since I need to learn how to control my power anyway...this seemed like a good place to learn. So I guess it's not so different from why you're here - getting perspective on what I haven't been in a good position to find out until now."

[knighterrantofthedragon]

"Ahh, I understand..."

He nods, and smiles to himself at Leo's observation that their reasons are similar.

"I do hope your family hasn't seen too much trouble... the situation sounds rather dreadful. If there's anything I can do to help, of course..."

He trails off, as the rest should be obvious.

[kamiizumi]

Alric, buddy, you have no idea.

But Leo's not the kind to go into his troubles with minor prompting - family business is, as far as he's concerned, mostly family business - and while their problems with Stockgen and some of the matters with the Foot Clan are more of a problem for mutantkind, just as much of what's happened with the Foot has been intensely personal.

"Thanks."

[knighterrantofthedragon]

Well, no, of course he doesn't, he's only even been in the country for days. Even so, he can imagine.

"Of course."

He shakes his head, smiling a little, seeming to mean it quite sincerely and literally: no question about it.