xavier_institute_ooc | (no subject)

[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.

I'd pay the price myself, I don't care!

And they're not humans. They're mutants.

[Keep it straight!]

They can put people on the terrorist watch list just for saying what they feel and things like that. There are people on those lists who didn't actually do things, you know. They just have a different opinion. And somehow that's okay, but making a list of people who can control minds and kill us all isn't?

[Having been raised by domestic terrorists has given Eren a slightly different viewpoint than your average person.]

But—yeah, why should people have to live near mutants if they don't want to, if they're afraid for their families?

Well, "humanity" generally refers more to the rights and capabilities of the individual, but I suppose we don't have those, do we?

[He raises his eyebrows a bit.] And speaking as a former tool of a fascist government who may or may not qualify for being on a terrorist alert list just for existing, mutanthood disregarded? No, I don't particularily think it's alright that people are put on lists like that for flimsy reasons for the sake of other people's paranoia.

[He is hardly naive enough to assume being 15 will mean he won't be considered a potential threat.]

Ah, and do you think that will mean that people will quietly decide to move when mutants move in next door? Or that they will shout insults after them in the street, break their windows in the dead of night, tell their children not to associate with theirs, start keeping more guns around the house, hmm? After all, why should they have to move when it's the mutant freaks who are the problem?

Humans and mutants are different.

I'd be put on the list too, and I still think it's a good idea. People should know that I'm a threat. I want them to!

This isn't about what you think people are going to do. It's about making a list to inform the populace of potential dangers! I'd think mutants would want to know about someone really bad, too.

This is America, and if people want to buy more guns, then they can. They're only protecting themselves. They have the right to live how they want.

[Luvander doesn't say "Just because you think you have nothing to lose by being on the list doesn't mean it's the same for everyone else, you self-important little tit", because he is far too used to people with Eren's kind of temperament. But it's close.]

Rest assured that if I hadn't already been perfectly aware of what country I was in before this conversation, I would have no doubt about it now. [He rolls his eyes.] But you're absolutely right in that it's not about what I think will happen; it's about what will happen, and is already happening, even in America.

Because when you say people have the right to live how they want, you actually mean that non-mutants do, right? Meanwhile, mutants are already being driven from neighborhoods, lose their jobs, lose their insurance and get harassed on a daily basis, and it will only get worse when you people paint a great big target on each and every mutant's back.

[Eren would just say that he would gladly die for humanity. Because he would. He has something to lose, too! It's not like he wants to die!]

Then maybe you should act like you know, and not keep talking like this is some other country.

[Yeah, so there. AMERICA!!!]

There are laws protecting mutants, and this is probably the best country for them to live in, so why do they keep complaining? Ordinary people are losing their lives, and mutants are taking their jobs, and the more mutants there are, the more danger humans are in. That's why they have to take measures now to protect themselves!

[But that is just a bit too rich, and Luvander has no qualms about laughing right in Eren's face.]

Oh, I see! Just because mutants are not hunted like animals like they were in my home country, and because some attempts are actually made to protect us from harassment, that means we should not be upset when we're driven from our homes and livelihoods by humans? You see, I am aware of which country I'm in because like any good soldier, I educated myself concerning the political situation when I came here.

[Fanatically so, while attempting to block out the memory of Yesfir screaming which echoed in every silence.]

I would love to hear the figures on mutants "taking" jobs from ordinary humans - I assume simply by actually being allowed to work as opposed to being sacked? And you seem to forget that humans kill mutants too. So how about we make another registry of people who belongs to FoH or have similar leanings while we're at it, shall we?

(no subject)

...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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