maskormenace | Video + text

[ It's been roughly two months. Charles has a bit of a holiday stubble going on. Just a few week's worth, though. His hair is getting longer again. Someone tell him to get a haircut before 70's is happening again. He is seated at his desk at work and addresses the network with a smile that could be called relaxed. There's a time for everything, isn't there? ]

It's been a while since the last time, hasn't it? I hope that you've all been well. For those of you who don't know, I am professor Charles Xavier.

I have two matters I'd like to address, both very close to my heart.

Firstly, I'd like to offer guidance and help with your gifts, be they new ones or old and familiar. If you are hesitant in tackling them alone or just need someone to talk with, don't hesitate to contact me. I have plenty of experience in mentoring gifted individuals from the past decades.

Secondly, as I've alluded to quite a number of you already, we're getting closer to relaunching the Maria-Francis Foundation. The past few months have been busy in the pursuit of funding and connections. The foundation is a charity organisation and in the future we'll be funding and helping various imPort charity projects. You can leave your application for a project in a link that I'll provide at the end of this post.

We're also looking to hire some staff. Specifically a receptionist, legal help and coordinators. Please, direct questions about the positions to me or to Erik Lehnsherr. You can apply at a link, which I leave at the end of the post.

[ He reaches for the camera to shut it off and and continues with writing: ]

Below are the links I promised.

Project Applications
Job Applications

Sincerely,
Professor Charles Xavier

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[A lot of what he has said got her attention, but she is curious on one point. Her voice is light but curious.]

If I may ask, have you been here mentoring gifted individuals for decades, or do you come from somewhere that the kind of talents found here are normal?

Oh, gosh, no. I come from a place where this sort of abilities are also happening, definitely not the norm but they happen. Not in the same numbers perhaps that they happen to the imPorts but enough so that I've been running a school for gifted children for a couple of decades now.

So you do have experience with different powers, both there and here. Would it bother you if I asked you your thoughts on the subject?

Yes, that is correct. And none at all. Please do.

Alright. I know a lot of people here appeared here with a power they never had before, but... What about a person who has a connection to a power. They have had this power all their lives, but in coming to this place it has changed. Have you ran into anyone who has had that kind of experience?

It happened to me. In various miniature ways. It was quite bizarre to be honest. Almost as if the porter didn't want to give me too much power, but also to shave off a little bit of the flavour of it.

[She takes a moment, before adding a privacy filter to this. Just in case.]

My issue is something like that, in a way, and I am interested if it is possible to regain some of that lost ability. I've lost some connections, but... I've gained a few things that I have never done before. That no one back home has done before. Like the porter disconnected me from the Force but gave me a couple of completely different powers.

The Porter definitely isn't consistent about our powers. I've heard of instances where some individuals who have been here for quite a while have gained additional powers upon being ported in, then lost them later on, only to be replaced with something else. It seems to be an evolving thing.

In my case it's simply a reduction. A reduction that I'm rather glad to be having if I'm completely honest. But the Porter took away some of my range with my power. And then it shaved away almost half of it in let's say technique.

In particular, I am a telepath. I used to be able to reach the whole world with my power. Now it's much more manageable. But I also were able to sense emotions back at home. Here, it's just thoughts.

That's incredible, and a bit frightening that something could change a person like so. And it reduced your powers just like that? Reduced, not locked away? Though, as you said, you're glad about it, so I suppose that doesn't matter.

Being able to reach the whole world sounds... very powerful though, so I could see why it might be preferable to diminish that. That must have been very taxing for you.

But... being taken from something you know down to something much smaller, do you ever feel disconnected or lost?

In my particular case it might be a relief but it does seem quite arbitrary, doesn't it?I can understand why anything with even a hint of consciousness would want to reduce my powers from what they were. But why the additional ones? And why take them away after a while?

In my case it could also be explained by perhaps being out of reach of the source of the power that made mine grow so out of proportion. But it doesn't explain other instances that I've come across.

And yes, I would never want to reach the whole world again. [ He gives a wary chuckle. ]

I don't feel... loss, not really. But perhaps a little bit of disconnection. To the part that allowed me to feel what others were feeling. Of course I can imagine but it isn't quite the same.

It's just not there. The Porter seems to have quite a control over us when we're brought in and even after.

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