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005 ℱrozen ℱractals ❄ Audio

[Never before she would have thought that there would be other people with powers or magic, sure, there were the trolls but... They were that, trolls, not exactly humans. Back in her world she truly believed herself to be alone in that regard, until she arrived here and discovered that what was extraordinary for her was pretty mundane for others.

Still she wonders if there won't be other worlds were magic and powers are rare. Or where those who are blessed with them ever fear those powers.]

I know that many of the people who have been brought here have extraordinary powers, some from birth, others gained through different means. But I was wondering, in how many of our worlds are those powers "rare"? Something that most people don't posses, that people don 't really expect to see in others or even that are feared because they could be dangerous. Though I suppose that in any world extraordinary powers or magic would be considered dangerous depending on who wields them.

It's obvious than in this world magic exists, not just in general but in some of the particular islands we have come across. But despite that it seems that having powers is something rare here if we have to judge by the way the Navy reacted to us when they learned that on top of being strangers brought by Davy Jones some of us have powers or magic.

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They ain' rare in my world. [In fact, the more Xavier uses Cerebro and the more the study their own world, the more obvious it's becoming that mutants aren't rare at all. They just know how to hide.] But we ain' considered "normal."

Plenty of people see us as dangerous. Got plenty who won't sell t' us.

They tried t' ban us from public schools, too, but that's overturned for now.

So on top of seeing you as dangerous they aim to ostracize you... Are your powers dangerous for real or is it just the unknown what they fear?

Both.

Though we try not t' use our powers. They don' have the same hesitation 'bout comin' after us.

So you try to not harm them, but even so they still come after you. Do people in your world also give chase through mobs with torches and forks?

[It's a bit of an exaggeration, she wasn't chased by a mob, though it wouldn't have made much of a difference for her.]

What do you think about your powers?

Well, I've never met another werewolf besides my Mom. Never met any other supernatural-type creatures, either. Just me and a few billion humans, as far as I know.

Werewolves are generally viewed as homicidal monsters in most fiction, so people are naturally going to be scared.

Edited 2014-08-30 20:20 (UTC)

My world?

[Rogue swallows hard. The last question doesn't yet register.]

People prefer baseball bats.

[She's not surprised, really, but... She's disappointed. Even if she expected it even before she talked with this girl, part of her hoped that kind of thing wouldn't happen anywhere else. She doesn't wish it for anyone, even if they supposedly deserve it, there should be other ways.]

I'm afraid I don't know what "baseball" is but... I can imagine the picture.

[She falls silent for a moment, feeling stupid for it as she was the one who brought it up, but still... Something about knowing how anyone can hear this puts her off. So she silently works to lock the rest of what could be said. It's silly and pointless, she knows it, but she's just not comfortable with the feeling of standing on a stage and talking while everyone listens. It's not about them being strangers or not, it's about the openness of it all.]

It was lances and swords for me. At least I think that's what they were carrying, I didn't really stop to check as you can imagine.

We get cornered sometimes.

[The baseball bat was only once, yes, but... Well. She'd been thrown to the ground. They'd all been threatened too many times.]

A baseball bat... It's a piece of wood about as long as your arm, about four inches thick or so.

They don' like sharin' their school with us. So they're tryin' t' scare us out. Our... guardian... tells us not t' use our powers. 'Specially not 'gainst people who don' have 'em.

Wolves in general have a poor history regarding fiction, and even outside of it. But those stories of fiction are wrong, aren't they?

Are you a werewolf since birth?

So... It's like a club?

[It's kind of what she imagined, indeed.]

They couldn't ban you from it so they try to "convince" you to not go there. May I ask how they know? That you have powers, I mean, were they revealed somehow or do people in your world just know it?

My parents told me to not use my powers as well, after I lost control over them once. Conceal, don't feel, don't let it show, don't let them know. Is your guardian like that as well?

We... got outed. Ended up in a fight, got taped. Everybody saw.

[But being told to hide... In a way...]

We... hide. From the world. Or tried to. But that's why we've got the Institute.

Professor Xavier... He teaches us. How t' use our powers. How t' control 'em.

We just weren' s'posed t' show ourselves b'fore we were ready. So we could face 'em on our terms. Calm an' reasonable. Jus'... didn' work out that way.

Yeah, they are. Most wolves would avoid humans if given a choice. They're not out to hunt down people.

I am.

Powers are rare in my homeland, but rather than reviled they are respected. Those who possess them are born to be exceptional; they become our greatest lords, generals and officials.

Uh, taped?

[Another term she doesn't really recognize, at least not in a way that would make sense of what the girl just said. Someone taped them while they were fighting and everyone saw it?]

They know that you have powers because someone taped you? What if they taped someone who didn't have powers?

[She's honestly confused here, and her confusion only grows as the girl talks about her professor.]

Wait... You mean that you weren't taught to control your powers so you could hide them and live among normal people without them ever knowing? But to... Be ready to show the world that you have them?

Oh... Really? That's... Not something I would have expected to hear. Aren't people afraid of what those with powers could do to them?

You must have been a handful, transforming into a werewolf as a baby.

[Just a light tease.]

Do you ever wish you were born human?

[She mentioned lances and swords. So... Okay. How to figure this out.]

Y'know how you can talk t' these journals? Or write? An' everyone can see 'em?

Tapin' is like that. 'Cept with images. Like a... movin' paintin' that actually happened. It's... tech I ain' good at explainin'.

But it can show anythin'. Long as it happened. An' someone could tape that.

But... But the Institute? I can tell ya 'bout that easier. If y' want.

Luckily, I didn't do that until I was well past that stage. Unfortunately, Mom didn't quite inform me of everything that came with my heritage, so it kind of hit me by surprise. I freaked out pretty hard, the first time.

I can't honestly say that. For all the hardships in my life, I'd still choose to be what I am. I'm very proud of my bloodline.

How strange! During battle, perhaps, but otherwise... no. Our talents may be extraordinary, but they are perfectly natural. Furthermore, abuse of power in any form is simply not tolerated.

Like a moving painting... So when that person "taped" you on the fight, it means that... They created something like a moving painting of it. A moving painting of the fight, kind of. So everyone could see it and they all saw you using your powers, so it was just as if they had all been present there?

[She speaks slowly, clearly confused and trying her best to understand it. It's still a bit unclear how taping works, but she can now get a slight idea of it, and now she can understand a bit better how being taped was bad and lead to the revelation of their powers. The idea of someone going around and tapping people on the shoulder and making the world freak out was... Quite weird.]

I would like to hear about this "Institute", if you don't mind. Ah, my name's Elsa, by the way.

Oh, so werewolves are like humans until they reach a certain age? Did she not tell you of your heritage because of your age?

[Because he was too young to understand it or something?]

Well, that's good. I suppose you aren't afraid of yourself either? Of losing control of yourself or anything like that?

Basically.

[Spyke could explain it a lot better. He actually understood that. Now, she knew how to use the tech, but explaining it... No.]

Xavier Institute for Gifted Youngsters.

It's... kinda a school but more a boardin' house. For mutants.

People with powers.

Professor Xavier finds 'em an' he offers 'em a place. They don' have t' come, but they can.

He's got powers, too, an' a staff that does. So, they teach us t' use 'em. To control 'em. So we could pass. B'fore we got outed. He also trains us t' fight. 'Cause there are bad guys with powers, too. An' we have t' protect 'em -- the normal people.

[She hates them. It creeps into her voice. The anger, the bitterness. She's nearly died against the Brotherhood and Acolytes and Sentinels. She's fought them. For people who hate her.]

Even when they hate us. We're tryin' t' protect 'em.

I see... But wait, how can the abuse of power not be tolerated? I mean, how does your world enforce that if powers are rare?

[A place that serves both to hide from the world and learn how to use one's powers. A place to prepare them and make them ready for a world that isn't ready for them. Where they are trained to fight to protect the world from those who are truly evil and would abuse of their powers and give people a reason to fear them even more.

The idea is... Quite shocking to say the least and Elsa is silent for a good while.]

It must be difficult, both for you all and for your guardian. Especially for him. Though I have to say that he has got a delicious sense of irony, assuming he's the one who named the Institute.

[Gifted Youngsters indeed.]

I wonder why people with powers are called... Did you say mutants? It's definitively not a word I'm familiar with in anyway. But more than that, would you mind if I ask you why do you do it?

Why do you fight to protect the people who hate you? Can't you just train to use your powers but not fight for them?

[She noticed the anger and bitterness in her voice... And she can't blame her for it.]

[Why is hard. Why takes time to think about. So. Until then?]

Because we're born with powers. It's... In our DNA. In our blood. We have powers because of something called a mutation in our genetics.

Basically we're born different. "Mutants" is the word used.

[She takes a deep breath. A long pause.

Then...]

Because Professor Xavier wants us t' prove t' them that they can trust us. That we're not the bad guys.

Don' always agree with 'im, but... I like the team, so I do what I have to for 'em.

I just couldn't change form, but everything else was there. I just didn't know other kids didn't talk to wolves, since we lived in isolation. I figured everyone did it. I also didn't know I could regenerate, until someone actually filled me full of bullets. Not a great way to discover a power, when you're five. As for why, I guess she didn't want to burden me with it.

Nah, that's all fiction stuff. I can't speak for werewolves who evolved in other worlds, but by all accounts we're okay. No one on this ship is in danger from us. Even if it were bad, we have guys like Luffy on board who could put me in my place.

The way of Heaven is balance -- so just as there are some of us who are capable of magic, there are others who can use willpower to shield against magic. No one is without near equal in strength, and one man is still at a disadvantage against superior numbers.

Isn't one in five-hundred-thousand people rare? My homeland is expansive, and those with powers are prominent figures. One tyrant faces opposition from a coalition of large armies with numerous exceptional people in positions of command. My countrymen have a deep sense of honour and responsibility.

Back home, people get super powers from Devil Fruits. It seems like there's lots of them, but each fruit is one-of-a-kind.

Ars Magus ain't that rare or anything... Tons of people can use it back where I come from. Obviously, some are gonna be stronger than others... and then some have ridiculously powerful weapons, like the Nox Nyctores. Now that's a rare thing.

[Or so they're supposed to be, but given the sheer number of their wielders he bumped into in Kagutsuchi, he's beginning to doubt it.]

... In general, you could say those who use 'em against the Library are considered "dangerous".

[The bit about DNA escapes her again, is it related to blood or something else? Either way the explanation serves again to clear the picture a bit more so she's satisfied.]

So... It's more that you fight for the sake of your team rather than for the people who hate you, isn't it?

Your guardian seems to be a man of big dreams.

Oh, I haven't thought for a second that anyone on the ship would be in danger from you. [If anything she would fear that they are in danger from her.] I'm sorry if it sounded like that.

I don't know if they're rare or not, but where I'm from, there's all sorts of magical abilities.

Big dreams, big ideals, an' I...

I ain' a good enough person t' live up t' 'em.

[She can admit that. Freely. She's accepted it, especially lately.]

But my team's good, an' I'm with them. So.

Oh... That really is nothing like what I could have ever imagined. I can see how it would work if your world really has such deep concepts of honour and responsibility. If it was in my world... I have the feeling no one would do anything unless a tyrant attacked them, until then people would probably just let him run things however he wanted.

[It was why no one had complained much about Arendelle closing the castle's gates. They found it strange and wondered about it, but since trade wasn't affected and the king and queen still attended to their obligations even outside their country while they were alive... No one cared that much.]

I remember hearing about that, the fruit also takes away their capacity to swim, doesn't it?

You don't know if they are rare? Do you know many people with magical abilities then?

The Library? Is that how government is called in your world?

[She doubts that it's just that people have that much care about books, though she could relate to not wanting books to be damaged.]

So, then... Ars Magus is like magic abilities? And Nox Nyctore is a type of weapon?

[Just making sure she got that right.]

So you're good enough of a person, after all. Even if you can't live up to those dreams and ideals, you still fight for your team. That's far more than what many men and women who presume of being "good" could say.

[Elsa being first on the list, though she wouldn't say that she's someone "good". She can't be so when she left her sister alone and locked her out for so long.]

Only 'cause I'm with them. But that's okay. I like 'em, an' they like me well enough, so we do what Xavier wants us to, y'know? An' it's the right thing t' do. Even if I don' always like doin' it.

... You could call 'em that, yeah.

[More like a self-proclaimed government, but since they're the biggest military organization, no one is crazy enough to openly oppose them... save for Sector Seven (who aren't much better anyway) and Ragna himself.]

It ain't as complicated as magic, though I guess people unfamiliar with it could mistake it for that. [Motochika did, and really, if someone writes off anything flashy and supernatural by their standards as "magic", they'd probably assume as much too.] Yeah, that's right. Causality weapons... real pain in the ass to deal with.

Yeah. The League attract all sorts of people, and lots of them have some kind of magical ability.

There's a man on fire, for starters.

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005 ℱrozen ℱractals ❄ Audio

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