xavier_institute_ooc | (no subject)

It's funny, isn't it, how you say human abilities are different, and then instantly bring up weapons of mass destructions, darling. Those are human inventions, are they not? I think you are severely underestimating the amount of damage an ordinary human being can do, which is a bit of a slur on humanity, don't you think?

[Luvander laughs pleasantly, fishing out a hatpin from the elaborate creation balancing elegantly on his head. He uses it to scratch a shallow bleeding line across the back of his hand, which instantly heals. His voice lacks a little bit of its mocking lightness when he speaks next.]

This is all I do. I heal. But I have killed a lot of ordinary humans, and used my mutation to do so. And do you know who made me do that? Here's a hint: It wasn't mutants.

That's not even what I said. I never said humans didn't kill people. Of course they do. I didn't even say it was always wrong to kill people. Sometimes you have to fight to protect yourself and your family! I know about wars and everything. Everyone can't just have weapons of mass destruction, you know. The government keeps an eye on it, and if people are stockpiling weapons, they get arrested. Why should mutants get a special break?

[Eren narrows his eyes suspiciously at this display of power usage, unimpressed. He is a very stubborn young man.]

You just proved my point. You were used as a weapon. Even a mutant who can heal people can kill them with their power. They're monsters.

[And that is the point where Luvander's eyes narrow, his posture shifting. This isn't funny anymore. His voice is flatter, the flamboyant mimicry gone.]

Allow me to exposit at you for a moment. You see, about twenty years ago, the government in my country passed a law which I am sure you will approve of: They declared that all mutants needed to be registered. They used pretty much the same sort of enlightened fear-mongering propaganda which you're spouting right now, and fear is indeed what made people agree to it.

[It's strange, the way talking about it like this almost makes it seem... not personal.]

And then, once we were all registered, the soldiers came. Twenty-six of us were lucky; we were useful. Our parents were persuaded to give us up, as it were. The rest... oh, it must have been over a thousand at least? Murdered, forced to flee the country or hide in basements, the same old sordid story. And any time one would surface later... well, guess who were sent to kill them. [His face is pulled into a tight snarl for a moment, before he forces himself to relax.] That is the problem with your little dream, you see. You want us registered for the safety of humans. But that means there is nothing that protects us from them. And if you think human beings aren't just as capable of being monstrous, I would suggest picking up a history book.

Edited 2014-11-03 20:28 (UTC)

[Eren continues to be relentlessly just as humorless and angry as before.]

This isn't your country. This is the United States of America, and things are different here.

[So there! Luvander, obviously, will find Eren no match for him in debating. But Eren will not stop arguing, even when he is hopelessly outclassed!]

Well, ten years ago, mutants attacked my town, and there wasn't anyone who could save all those people from dying! They were killed like they were nothing, because they were humans, and so they weren't good enough. Because mutants are the new evolution right? The superior species? So why not wipe out the people who are weaker? And there's nothing in place to protect us from mutants like that!

Don't be stupid, I already said I know humans do bad things. That has nothing to do with mutants being more powerful.

[He rolls his eyes with a small sigh, shaking his head.]

Ah, of course, people are just better in America than in our hopelessly backward East European country. I'm deeply sorry, my mistake. I mean, don't get me wrong, sweetheart, so far I am finding spending time in a democracy a very nurturing experience. But when you are saying this while standing in a school that was demolished by government-sanctioned robots not five years ago, while the terrified children hid in the basement? That does sound just a little bit hollow.

[Luvander is sparing with both hatred and anger alike, and he genuinely feels sorry for the other boy, but that doesn't mean he needs to stay silent.]

I am sorry to say that you seem unable to grasp the idea of a minority. There are a lot more ordinary humans than there are mutants, you see, and generally speaking, humans are the ones in charge of most countries. Against that, super powers only get you so far. If some rat bastard holds a gun to your mother's head, they get you nowhere at all.

I'm not saying America's perfect. There are lots of things I disagree with the government about.

[Like how they interfere with the business of groups like the Friends of Humanity! Calling them terrorists!]

But since this is America, I'm allowed to disagree with them.

Uh, the president and vice president got assassinated, in case you forgot! And this place is obviously a training ground for mutants. But that doesn't matter, because I didn't say anything about attacking mutants with robots!

[It might have seemed difficult for Eren to get more angry, but he does.]

And what if someone crushed my mother like an insect because she was just a worthless human? Where does that get me?

[Apparently, Luvander struck a nerve.]

That's the way things are now, but they're going to change, because there are more and more of them every year! They have more power, and they need to be stopped! Now, while they're still a minority!

[Luvander isn't getting into a trauma battle, especially not with someone so deeply messed up by, he suspects, people who aren't that unlike the man who used to own him. He sighs.]

I'm sorry about your mother. And believe me, I don't think those crazies are any more justified than the people who tore me out of my mother's arms. But the thing is... those people are criminals, do you see? They do not follow the law; that is rather a defining trait. They will do exactly the same thing that other criminals, to use your metaphor, do with gun laws. They will ignore them. They won't register.

[He gestures simply at Eren.] Instead, the people who suffer will be people like you. Those who never asked for the mutation to happen, those who don't want to hurt anyone, those who might even hate their own mutations. Because once they register, they will be considered the same as those criminals by some people. If a person like that came after you, someone who fears mutants so much that they see their very existence as a threat to themselves, their home, their family... do you really think they'd listen to you telling them that you're on their side? That you're different? You'd be just another filthy mutant, regardless of your intentions.

So really, you're a lot like the rest of us, I guess.

And changing the law would give people more protection against those criminals! That's like saying we shouldn't have gun laws because some people don't follow them, or laws against murder, because people commit murder! And that's just stupid!

[It looks like Eren's head is about to explode, the way the vein in his forehead is pulsing.]

Do you think I'm a hypocrite!? I should be locked up! If I'm a danger, I should be gotten rid of! I didn't want to come here at all, but they made me!

They'd be right, to think I'm a filthy mutant. That's what I am. I'm a threat to everyone!

No, my friend, it's not the same. Because gun registration laws actually do prevent crime regardless of criminals ignoring them. But this? This will give the mutant supremacists all the ammunition to sway more people to their side that they could possibly want. People who lose their jobs, see their family members harassed, get blamed for crimes simply because they could have done it with their power... they will lose faith in humanity, and they will start to hate and resent humans as much as you hate mutants. And instead of coming here, where mutants are trained to fight mutant criminals, they will go to those criminals. Not because they're evil monsters - honestly, I thought I used to be brainwashed - but because that's what human beings do when they have nowhere else to go.

[He tilts his head, his face softening somewhat.]

Just like you. You've got nowhere to go now, do you? You're not welcome anywhere. And so you cling to what you've always believed - I suppose because believing yourself not to be utterly monstrous would mean admitting the rest of us have some semblance of humanity, and doesn't that turn your world right around. I'm sorry, truly. It's a pretty awful situation to be in.

You're wrong, and I'm not your friend!

[All the darlings and sweethearts he ignored, because they didn't bother him, but apparently "friend" was taking it too far! Only friends get to call him friend, and this mutant isn't one!]

Knowing which mutants are really dangerous would be an important step for protecting humans, the people who don't have any defenses against that kind of power! There are already so many mutants like that, mutants who want to wipe humans out for no reason other than that they're humans. There's never any excuse for mutants who act like that! I don't care what happened to them!

And it doesn't matter what happens to me! What I care about is protecting humanity. No matter what, I wouldn't want to hurt humans, and I am a danger to them.

[He does turn into an uncontrollable giant.]

[Luvander nods, as if he considers such a warning fair enough. After all, he would punch the first bastard to call him comrade who hadn't earned that right, so it makes sense to him.]

And the humans who want to wipe out mutants just because they're mutants? I know you don't seem to share such views - not quite, anyway - but thinking there are no people like that is naive, and assuming that they are not much greater in numbers than mutant criminals is just absurd, mathematically speaking.

[He lifts his hands, watching them raptly.] The solution you're suggesting has been used before. I'm not saying it wouldn't work in some ways, but the price is too high. And it treats mutants as nothing more than problems, which is fairly ridiculous. We are potential. We can fight the mutant criminals which humans cannot. We can do fairly miraculous things, if I say so myself. I have saved lives as many times as I have killed, you know. The latter doesn't excuse the former, but now I no longer have to kill... maybe I can even the score a bit more.

I know people like that...

[He hesitates just short of thinking all mutants should be killed. That's what he's been told, but they have children and families...He can't rationalize killing children. Killing harmful mutants, though, that's another matter! He can't quite bring himself to go that far, even if he is a member of the Friends of Humanity. Or was.]

They're just trying to defend themselves. There might be more of them, but each dangerous mutant can do more damage. There are mutants who can destroy cities!

I don't think the price is too high. I'm willing to pay it.

[But he hesitates, because Luvander has at last said something that strikes a chord with him. Of course, that chord was murder.]

Someone should get rid of those mutants.

People sometimes do atrocious things when they're only trying to protect themselves. I have killed innocent people because I knew that if I didn't, my family and my comrades were in direct danger. I don't believe for a moment that this makes anything I did right. If I did, I'd be no better than, say, the people who think they must exterminate humans to protect themselves. Who kill humans out of the same kind of fear.

[Is he calling Eren a big fat hypocrite? Juuuust a little bit. But he does so with a small, not very confrontational smile.]

And "get rid of" is s little bit harsh, is it not? A little bit martial law-esque, so to speak, a little bit more like warfare than justice - and there definitely is a difference there. They should be captured, detained, and put in front of a fair trial, isn't that so? You have such great faith in the government, so I'm assuming you would want to see the law run its course. Or am I wrong?

But it's different. It's not killing innocent people! That's terrible. I'm talking about killing murderers and monsters. I don't want to exterminate mutants. I mean, we could cure them! Or just send them away. Or something—!

[Wow no, don't call Eren a hypocrite, he hates hypocrites! He also hasn't thought this through very well, since he's not used to people having different opinions on the matter.]

It's not harsh! You can't let them stand trial! Then they'll have time to use their powers to escape. Who knows what they'll do? If you put a normal person in prison, they stay in there, but mutants can do all kinds of things to get out, or their mutant allies will come save them with their powers.

You have to kill them when you get the chance.

[That doesn't sound like a crazy thing for a 14 year old to say or anything.]

Ah, so let me see... You want all mutant criminals, regardless of their crime, killed? After all, a man who robs a bank with his mutant abilities is just as likely to escape prison as one who kills five nuns, three families and two dear little kittens, right? So clearly he deserves the same punishment, solely based on the fact that he's a mutant.

And the rest of us, who will have no choice but to be upstanding, law-abiding citizens, for fear that our very first infraction will be considered enough for a death sentence, ought to either be forcibly "cured" or shipped off to some other place where our mutations won't offend or frighten?

And you truly believe the innocent would have nothing to fear? [Luvander shakes his head, simply staring up at Eren in wonder.] My dear, trust me, I grew up having some pretty twisted things to my mind, and still I would have to take my hat off to whoever did this to yours.

Yeah... if they're dangerous.

[When you say it like that, Luvander, it sounds really bad! Eren hesitates again. Because you are making him feel upset with your words and your explanations!]

Not if they just shoplifted or something! Only serious crimes! Everyone should obey the law, anyway.

I'm not twisted! I'm right! And they didn't do anything to me. They helped me, and I'm not going to betray them now! We're trying to stop a war! And the extinction of humanity. We have to take drastic measures to protect ourselves.

Ah, and where do you draw the line? Who is dangerous? A mutant who embezzles a couple of millions without using their mutation at all, who just happens to be born with super strength? A mind reader using their knowledge for extortion? A teenager losing control of their fire powers and accidentally killing a friend?

If there is no longer any proper law, and who should live or die is decided on a case-by-case basis... I've lived in a society like that, and it was a fascist dictatorship, do you see? In the end, just being potentially dangerous will be enough, and people will start disappearing at night. And every time there is a crime, people will just look for the nearest mutant to blame, because it's much easier to let one take the blame, when they are guilty by definition and not entitled to trials. How handy! I'm sure it will save some money for the tax payers, yes?

[He shakes his head, but the look he gives Eren is actually full of sympathy.] Your arguments don't hold up, darling. But it doesn't matter, does it? You were told... oh, let's see... to only trust the people where you came from, to never listen to anyone from the outside because they would twist the truth to sway you. You were taught code words no one outside would understand. You were isolated from the rest of the world, taught to think of everyone you didn't know as a potential threat or spy. The longer you stayed, the more "secret" information about conspiracies and evil mutants they would allow you to know. How am I doing?

Hey, I'm not the government, I just support the MRA! I'm not the one who's going to be planning it. And there's ways to draw the line. They decide if other people are dangerous and put them on the do not fly list and things like that! So it shouldn't be any different for mutants!

It's not going to be like that! You're just making all that up, based on stuff that hasn't even happened.

[Wow, why would you talk about his adopted family like that! It's just not true!]

Don't make them sound like they're bad guys! They're not the bad guys, they want what's good for everybody! They took care of me! No one else did! And it's not secret information, it's just that people don't want to see the truth.

My dear, don't you think perhaps there is a rather significant difference between deciding who should be put on the no fly list and deciding who to execute on the spot as soon as they commit a crime? You are of course entitled to support what you want, but if your opinion is uninformed, people are entitled to question you, do you see?

And I'm not. I'm saying it's already happened before. A crime is committed? Let's look for the nearest black man, that saves trouble. Forcing so-called "cures" on gay people. Locking jews up in camps so they don't bother the general public. It has all been done before, the moment one group of people are not considered equal. You know, like it says in your constitution?

[He sighs, massaging his forehead.]

I'm not saying the people who told you all this are bad. Most of them are probably just frightened. But people do bad things for seemingly good reasons, trust me on that.

When did I say people would be executed on the spot! It's the opposite. It's going to keep people from getting killed. The MRA would be like the no fly list. It's not going to be like your country at all. I keep telling you this is America, and things are different here.

Yeah, you can disagree with me. Everyone else in this place does. That's fine, it doesn't mean I'll change my mind. I knew people were going to be mad about it, but I don't care. I'll say what I'm thinking, anyway.

And stop bringing up Jewish people and gay people, they have nothing to do with it. That really pisses me off. Mutants always do that. Trying to make us look bad or say we're Nazis. Like we're backwards and ignorant just because we live differently. Like two women getting married or something is anything like controlling people's minds and blowing up cities! The Constitution doesn't say anything about mutants, but it probably would have, if the founding fathers had known about that.

I don't hate any humans. I love humanity.

They have good reason to be frightened, after all the things that have happened. Everyone does.

I think you are misunderstanding me. I did not mean to imply that you are prejudiced against anyone but mutants; I merely suggested that removing the rights of one group of people is not much different. And when you tell me that you think mutants don't deserve fair trials, should be cured for their own good or taken somewhere else, I am not the one who makes you sound like a nazi, my dear. You are.

[The is downright pity in his voice now. After a moment or two, he fumbles in his pocket for a severely battered cell phone, taking a moment to flick through it before handing it to Eren. It shows a picture of a pale boy with dark hair and a tiny young woman with bright red hair, grinning at the camera together. Both are wearing pajamas, and the boy is clutching a stuffed toy with a hint of defiance in his posture.]

I told you before I've been trained to kill. That makes me a dangerous mutant in your eyes, correct? So are those two. That's Balfour and Anastasia. He's twelve and she's sixteen. [Luvander's words once more lose their easy flow, and his accent becomes heavier.] You say you don't want anyone to die except the dangerous ones. So... did these two deserve to die?

Okay, you're just exaggerating everything I said! I meant like, mutants who killed the president and could kill the people searching for them! They do that with terrorists all the time! Obviously other ones would get fair trials. And curing mutants would just be like, an injection. Like everyone gets, like vaccines and stuff. It wouldn't hurt them.

You people always compare people to Nazis like that's an actual argument, when it's not the same at all.

And I didn't say kids, either! Nobody said anything about killing any kids!

[Apparently showing Eren pictures of children seems to increase his anger, because he looks like he's about to explode with rage.]

I didn't say you should be killed, either!

No, you did not. But you act as if it'll be simple, deciding who is an evil mutant or not. But the truth is, I'm sure either I or one of my comrades have probably killed someone's mother one time or other, do you see? To the children left behind, why we did it probably doesn't matter, any more than I imagine you care at all about the circumstances that led to your own mother being killed. They don't owe us understanding; perhaps they are glad all of my comrades are probably dead, and I can't say I blame them. But that doesn't mean we were evil.

[He shrugs, his gaze flitting away momentarily.]

When you force every single mutant to get registered, you are more or less starting a witch hunt, don't you see? Because you can't tell if a mutant is evil just from looking, can you? So every mutant will be suspected by society whether they've done anything or not, and if you think that won't lead to discrimination, you're a little bit naive.

Nobody said anything about "evil". I said dangerous.

[Questions of good and evil are a bit too philosophical for Eren. He's more concerned with the practical fact of what happened. Sure, bad mutants should be dealt with, but that's to protect people, not because they're "evil".]

Sure I care about why my mother was killed! Why wouldn't I want to find out? Then I can find who did it!

[And kill them. Probably.]

No, I don't see. And yeah, you can judge how dangerous someone is based on their power and what they've already done. I didn't say it was going to be perfect, either! But there's always going to be a price to pay.

You know, talking about a "price to pay" does sound very noble, I admit, but what it really means is that people are perfectly content to let one group of people suffer for the sake of another. And why not, when mutants are supposedly "monsters", when the danger they pose is more important than their humanity?

[He waves a hand eloquently, trying to find way of clarifying the situation somewhat.]

You keep talking about how this is like making lists of potential terrorists, correct? But it's not, because it's not actually based on what an individual has done or not. If terrorist lists worked the same way, every Muslim man, woman and child would be put on them simply for being potentially part of the problem, and the passing of such a law would be an indicator to be wary of everyone on that list, do you see? And people would ask themselves if they could trust people like that to teach in schools, to work in hospitals, to live right next door to their own family. Thousands of innocents would suffer, simply because some people are too small-minded and lazy to come up with a real solution.

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...oh god send help. someone teach Luv to shut upppppp...

Luvander, don't make him get too angry, he's like the Hulk!

Regrettably, making people angry is his secondary mutation

eren's is being incredibly stubborn

TRUTH. It is a force to be reckoned with.

he will NEVER give up!

2 shounen 4 lyfe

sad but true

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