xavier_institute_logs | Looking to the future... [OPEN]

Looking to the future... [OPEN]

WHO: Everyone
WHAT: Two things, first the President's Address, and then 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: The presidential address happened on Monday, the news events are more current
WARNING(S): mentions of school violence in one of the news posts, and as always, if a thread goes into warning label territory, either throw it in the subject line or take it to a separate log.

[On a small, raised stage set up in the White House gardens, there’s a polished wood podium with the presidential seal on the front. President Kelly, with more gray in his hair than he had as a senator, approaches it, adjusting his glasses and viewing the assembled members of the press in thoughtful silence for a moment before he speaks.]

My fellow Americans.

We stand once again at a crossroads, faced with choices of great importance. At home and abroad, we have been faced new challenges with the rise of the mutant population - challenges in our military, in our courtrooms, in our society, in our homes and our families. We are in a perilous place, and our unity as Americans under question. It is crucial, at this juncture, to take a firm stance on these matters, and position ourselves towards the future.

The Mutant Registration Act… is not what our path forward should look like.

[There’s murmuring among the press, indistinct, but fairly shocked in tone. He holds up his hand for quiet.]

Five years ago, I stood in support of Project Wideawake, an initiative which purported to improve our nation’s security. Instead, as a direct result, many Americans were robbed of their dignity, of the due process to which each of us has a right. Innocent lives were put in danger, and some lost, because we allowed ourselves to be blinded by power and fear. We are a nation founded in the promise of freedom, and in creating second-class citizens, we betrayed that promise... I cannot in good conscience support such measures again, and if this bill passes, it is my intention to veto it immediately.

Looking to the future, we must focus on developing inclusive solutions for these real issues, ones which affect all Americans and all people in our world today -- solutions will which protect our society, without sacrificing the freedom or dignity of any of its members. Together, we can create a better America, one that is safe for all its citizens.

Thank you, and good night.

"... shocked the entertainment world today by coming out at a live show in Los Angeles that she was, in fact, mutant. Dazzler, real name Alison Blaire, used the opportunity in front of thousands of fans and millions watching at as the show was broadcast live on HBO, to finally 'come out of the closet', as she said. She demonstrated her powers by performing a cover of the classic pop tune "Born this Way", with slightly altered lyrics, and a custom light show produced by her mutant powers. Dazzler later told the press 'The era where we all have to hide who we are is ending. Mutants don't have to be afraid anymore' She said that it was President Kelly's words than inspired her to finally have the courage to come out..."

"... controversial radio host Hunter Hellquist reported a record breaking amount of call-in traffic for his radio program. 'The country fed up with a goverment that is refusing to stand by its people. President Kelly betrayed us with his aims to veto the Mutant Registration Act and my listeners had a lot to say about it', Hellquist quoted towards the end of his broadcast that day..."

"... a huge success in Central Park with massive turnout. Sublime told the press that he was honored that so many people have taken up his banner. He was further honored that President Kelly has moved away from the Mutant Registration Act and has said he would gladly speak before congress to propose alternative solutions to mutant related legal issues..."

"... new details of the bombing in London reveal that the explosive was most likely constructed using mutant abilities. The casing for the bomb, in particular, was made from what investigators claimed was 'extremely dense bone matter'. One of the proposed suspects, The Vanisher, is still at large and has not been located by investigating authorities..."

"... shot and killed by police after holding up a school assembly at gunpoint and resisting arrest. The young man, claiming to be joining a group called the 'U-Men' had only moments ago killed and mutilated another student, a closeted mutant. Before police became involved, he also claimed he was going to use parts of the other student's body to gain his mutant powers. We warn our viewers that the following gruesome footage is very graphic, and that they should take discretion... "

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

It was hard, too. One of them almost killed me and kept rambling about ice statues...

[That is not helping, Jack. He grimaces.]

What are the rest like, then? The... not psychotic ones.

[Okay, he's getting that Jack genuinely has no clue, and he seems... willing to listen? So Feliks backs down just a little, settling into the corner of the couch.]

Well... What are straight people like? The not psychotic ones.

...I don't know.

[His gaze lowers slowly.]

I only knew one before I came here.

...Wow. Um, okay, then.

So I guess I'm gonna educate you, then!

[WOW what a great TA! He grabs a notepad and pen, and turns them into a little handheld chalkboard and chalk, because he doesn't want to waste paper on this.]

Ok. So gays and lesbians are basically just like everybody else, except we fall in love with or wanna get with people the same sex as us. Bisexuals are like that, except they're cool with either one. Pansexuals are kinda like bisexuals, except they're more like "no seriously, whatever, who even cares about gender?" Trans people are just... people, except their sex and gender don't match up the way they do for other people.

[Who else is there...? Actually, this list is getting long.]

Okay, you know what? We're actually all just people. Like, some of us are nice and some are assholes and some are just kinda boring. Some like girls, some like guys, and like, most of us don't murder anybody.

[He listens intently to all of this, and well... it's a lot to handle, but at the very least he's completely willing to ditch the "gays are evil burn them" mentality his fake memories hold. That seems rude.

At the very end he tips his head and scrunches his nose.]

...I might be gay.

[Which is a lot easier to admit to such a nice educational person than anyone else.]

Oh, so that's cool--

Wait, weren't you scared of The Gays, like, 3 seconds ago?

Yeah.

[He rubs the back of his neck awkwardly.]

I wasn't thinking of it as... liking men. I was thinking of it as.... uhhh...

[He grimaces.]

...What Cohen did to men.

Not sure if you mean besides having them murdered, but actually I kinda don't wanna know, 'cause this Cohen guy sounds like a major creep.

...Having them murdered wasn't the worst thing.

[He sighs and shakes his head.]

But I don't want to talk about him. Or the... man I used to love. [He almost starts shaking when he says that. That man is dead. He killed him. He killed him justly, because he would have died otherwise. And it hurts.]

[Well, that... definitely sounds bad enough that Feliks knows better than to push. He smiles, even though it's not at 100%.]

Sure, no big deal, then! The point is, if we hide it, it keeps seeming like something that needs hiding. But if we don't, we can stick together and support each other more, right?

Anyway, what do you wanna talk about?

[Something bothers him a little too much to let the subject go. He tugs on the neck of his sweater uncomfortably.]

What if they get too comfortable about us? What if they start... [His hands clench.] What if they start thinking it's fashionable to have powers? People like Sublime...

[God, thinking about Sublime fills him with loathing, the same kind of loathing he harbored for Fontaine.]

Maybe it's better to hide it than have people get hurt because it's normal.

[Feliks gets a pretty terrible feeling about Sublime, too. He doesn't for an instant buy into Jack's line of reasoning, though.]

As if.

Trying to live like it's a secret, having people find out and out you whether you like it or not? That kind of hurts people, too. Living without anyone who has the same experience or can back you up when things go bad, lying to everyone you love about it, feeling like if they find out it'll all be over, that hurts.

And shutting up and letting people believe it's a bad thing-- that gets people killed. They just keep thinking we're monsters, and if we're monsters, why not hunt us down, right?

[This is making him uncomfortable. He appreciates the thought, but none of this sits right with him. He shakes his head pointedly.]

Back where I'm from, mutants were normal. Because... Because someone found a way to make them, and said there wasn't a problem if we could all be mutant. And then... Then... [He looks... just plain terrified.] ...Everything went to hell. "Kill or be killed" sort of hell. I'd rather... I'd rather be quiet and get hurt than that.

Ok, back where you were from?

Nothing was normal, as far as I can tell.

And there's a difference between "let people who are born mutant be okay with themselves" and "force everyone to be mutates", God!

But isn't that what Sublime wants? To make mutants?

[His brow furrows.]

If people don't mind being mutants maybe it'll happen again here.

Look, don't get me wrong, that Sublime guy is sketchy to the max and I kinda almost don't wanna know what his deal is.

But running from who we are, and hating what we were born with? Not gonna help.

[This answer doesn't really please Jack, and it shows on his face.]

I've met a man like Sublime, and I hate him. He destroyed my city with his stupid plans to turn everyone mutant... [His fists clench. Brutally murdering Fontaine was not quite enough to satisfy how angry the man makes him.] ...I don't think mutants are safe. I'd rather it be... be bad to be a mutant.

[He's so uncomfortable and angry and trying so hard not to be open about it because his own feelings aren't Feliks's problem no matter how much he hates Sublime.]

[Feliks doesn't like your attitude, young man! It strikes him as self-defeating, and frankly kinda toxic.]

Yeah, I'm not really about shaming anyone for the way they're born. If we want a safe mutant community? We need an open one, so we can teach each other how to be safe. Mutants who don't have other mutants to talk to are the ones who end up, like, flipping out and blowing stuff up because they don't know how not to. Mutant-shaming doesn't actually fix anything, even if you do think we're not safe!

[Jack is many things, but mature is not one of them. Neither is open-minded, at least not by the standards of 2018. The longer Feliks talks, the more annoyed he gets until he's stuck just shaking his head and ignoring the words. Nope, no. Sounds too much like Rapture. Count him out.

He's neglecting to make any noise, which probably seems out of place.]

[Feliks does catch on to that, and it makes him uncomfortable, but like Hell is he about to back down on a point this important to him. He falls quiet, too, glaring up at the giant of a boy, and wow, why is it always awkward when he talks to enormous people?]

[He crosses his arms, hugs himself actually, and he shakes his head one last time before staring at the floor in annoyance.]

I don't trust you.

[For a fully grown man, he sure sounds like a child.]

Are you serious? What did I do?

[Guess who else doesn't always talk like he's a grown-ass man?]

You think this stuff is okay and it's not. [He frowns.] Unless you know it's not and you're just...

[He shudders. Yes, his brain is already preying on that idea. What if Feliks is in on it too? What if Feliks is fooling him like Atlas did? It's not like he knows how to tell. He's four years old.]

[Feliks smiles, a bit sharper than usual.]

Bitch, the way I am is isn't okay.

It's totally flawless. And if you have issues with it, that's just kinda tough.

Don't call me a bitch.

[That bothers him way more than anything else Feliks just said.]

You'd be just as happy with yourself if you weren't mutant. But less people would hate you. That's true, isn't it?

Looking to the future... [OPEN]

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