driftfleet | [snuggle up real close everyone]

[He's really not one to ask about boundaries; Kurt's are generally based mostly on those of the people around him. A few things are off-limits, like the patch of red fur on his face, but otherwise he's more than happy to soak up whatever physical affection he's offered. It's just that, between growing up locked away and then spending the rest of his life in a war, he never really learned how to ask for it.]

Worship an omnipotent hypocrite. [His laughter subsides, in part because he's realized she's honestly confused.] They.. most of my experiences with them have been brief and hostile. [That's one way of putting 'they tried to sacrifice me as a child.'] They're a sect of a larger Abrahamic religion that worships an omnipotent god and the son he fathered, who was really a part of his soul. I think. The evil figure was supposed to look like an angel, but as the religion grew to absorb aspects from pagan religions, that changed. Their evil figure became something that looked like me, but red and with horns. That's why sometimes I call myself Satan in blue fur.

[Wrath leans against Kurt a little as he talks, just listening and trying to make sense of the ideas. God isn't anything that's really ever figured into her world; if she ever had a religion or was raised that way, it's gone now. The idea of the spiritual realm is in a big box of things that are above her paygrade, are things she doesn't need to concern herself with. So it all sounds very strange, that people could be so taken with these ideas that they would hurt Kurt. She can read between the lines there.]

I... Don't really understand that, but I don't think religion makes sense to me? But...

[Huh.]

General Ravani told me once that she was named after a devil? Hob. And the previous commander. Nick.

And I guess the sins are a religious thing? That's how the seven platoons were named. I'm Wrath.

[She's not sure what the point is, but it feels like something worth noting. Maybe Kurt will know what to make of it.]

Edited 2016-05-26 03:36 (UTC)

[Kurt wraps an arm around her shoulders, keeping the touch light for the sake of her back. He improvises by gently squeezing the bicep his hand's curled around.]

Doesn't to me either, especially with the world I came from. People who can look around at that world and still believe in a benevolent being in the sky.. [He's going to be polite and cut himself off now. Wrath should be very glad his temper has mellowed with age, or he'd be ranting for the next ten minutes.]

Hmm. Ja, Old Hob and Old Nick were names for the devil. Old Nick was a saint, too.. [When she mentions the sin and the naming traditions of the platoons, Kurt nods.] I'd wondered, when you introduced yourself. You're right, too; Wrath, Lust, Gluttony.. Acedia? Wait, no I think that was an older one. [He shrugs with his free shoulder.] My knowledge is contained to what I could use to taunt priests, and I grew out of that years ago. Mostly.

[That's... really nice. The arm around the shoulders. She wishes people would do that more often, but she knows she has problems being clingy, and it's dumb. So she's grateful that Kurt's indulging her.]

Maybe that's why it's not a thing on my planet. Like after the war and the bioweapon plague... yeah. People just party a lot. [Makes sense to her.]

Wrath, Envy, Avarice, Lust, Gluttony, Pride, and Sloth. [She could recite them in her sleep.] Envy was my partner. Octavian. Combat partner. Not the other kind.

[Kurt taunting priests. Gosh. She laughs and pokes him lightly.] That's not nice. Then again, if people aren't nice to you, fuck 'em.

[Meanwhile he's absently tracing the line of her upper arm with his fingers, or at least a section of it over and again. The urge to take her to lay down is strong; not to seduce her, though he would exactly protest, but the stronger desire right now is just to hold her, touch her skin and feel her touching his fur.]

Religion didn't much make it through the first war in mine, either. Erik, my team's leader, still celebrated some of the holidays, but for him it was cultural. He was from a religion whose people had been the target of a genocide, earlier in the century. I think he stopped believing then, but it was important his son knew his heritage.

[He listens, humming a soft acknowledgement when she explains her relationship to Envy.] Platoons named after sins and generals named after the devil. I suppose I can't talk; my code-name was Nightcrawler and when I formed a team I named it after a bullet.

[He chuckles, twitching away from the poke and then moving right back where he was.] I wasn't nice. I'm still not, I'm just nice to you.

[That makes her shiver in a very pleasant way. North never even really touched her like that. He hadn't been all that cuddly.]

Is your Erik the same as the Erik here? The one here is super cool. He could like rp my skeleton out of my body if he wanted to, isn't that awesome? [Erik has obviously impressed her. She's not in the last intimidated, just excited to know yet another person with cool powers.] ... Wait I guess it can't be the same one, because Charles told me they can't have kids because they live in the dark ages.

Well like the naming tradition for us is really old? My mobile infantry division is the Ghost Wolves, and before we were planetary army it was a colonial marine division for like a couple centuries. Anyway... Nightcrawler is an awesome name! What kind of bullet did you name your team after?

[Pffff he's plenty nice. People just say stuff like that because they don't want others to know they're nice. It's hurfdurf.]

[Kurt pauses with a glance at her face to check that shiver was a good reaction. Seeing that it was (or at least nothing to contest the point) he continues, his tail sliding down to loop companionable around her waist.]

Very like the one I knew, but much younger. The Erik in my world had at least thirty years on this one. [And now he's just going to blink at her, ignoring the hard twist in his stomach because surely he's jumping to conclusions.] ..Was? Why would they be having children? Do you mean that they can't take in any, because that's not the impression Xavier gave me. Every conversation, he mentions his school.

Nightcrawler is a worm! My team started calling me that after a bait maneuver that I was always the one to pull off. [When he was younger than the other Kurt here.] Ghost Wolves is much better. I.. named it after bullets for a .44 Calibre that I'd carved Xs on. I thought I was being funny.

[Definitely likes that. He gets a quick smile, a little happy wiggle against him.]

Um. No? Like. Okay when I come from babies come out of uterine replicators because it's way safer and less gross than people who have uteruses being pregnant, right? But also that means homosexual couples can have kids too, which is so great, because they can combine the genetics in the lab before the babies go in the replicators! And I guess they don't have uterine replicators when they're from so it's all. Um. Just like body births? Which is like the fucking dark ages! It's awful. And Charles said also people don't approve so it's even worse, which I don't even understand. Like. Um. How could two or three or four or whatever people of whatever gender or non-gender being in love and having families be upsetting, it's not like it's anyone else's business as long as they're all consenting adults and take care of each other and any kids they might decide to have. Relationships are weird and awful enough that anyone who can actually make them work should be able to, right?

[She has opinions, and all of this seems very logical to her.]

...oh, that's cool, though. Nightcrawler sounds way neater than a worm, but it's a fun story.

Edited 2016-05-28 01:14 (UTC)

[That's a shame, because Kurt's hand begins to slow as she rambles. In the beginning it's mostly surprise that technology like that is used for good purposes; he'd heard rumors McCoy had rigged up something similar in his laboratory of horrors, to take the untrustworthy human equation out of things, both in terms of keeping the unborn alive and having easy access to tweak before their unfortunate birth. Too many of the machines the X-Men had taken from the ruins of Apocalypse's strongholds had been far beyond their ken, but there had been holding tubes that could have supported fetal development. Jean had confirmed having eggs harvested from her when she was held captive, but they'd taken samples of everything when she was being processed for the breeding pits. And if McCoy'd had that technology--if Sinister had that technology, as they suspected, why keep the pits at all? (He knows why.)

His hand stops entirely when she shifts onto the topic of relationships, his brain flat refusing to parse any of it. Not even refusing to believe Wrath's anything but mistaken (that will come), but his mind flat refusing the puzzle clicking together because he can't. Erik can't be someone he can't trust, even when he's not Kurt's Erik and he should know better. It can't make sense when he thinks about his own Erik, how he'd cradle the photographs of Charles Xavier like they were his infant son's fragile head. He'd named his son after Charles, teamed them after the man.

(Deep down, hidden beneath the surge of nameless fear and shock, is a tiny spark of relief mixed with regret, because he could have told Erik after all. He could have told his mentor how his mother knew Destiny, and not had to pretend not to know her face.)

Kurt swallows hard, because Wrath is still there and expecting an answer. It comes quietly, more strangled in his throat than he'd like.] We don't.. There's nothing like that in my world.

[Wrath eyes Kurt with alarm.]

You look like you're gonna throw up. Do I need to get you something? Did you eat something bad?

[Does not even occur to her that the contents of the conversation could have upset him. How could any of this be upsetting?]

[Kurt shakes his head, even uncertain as to how much a lie that is. He feels like throwing up in reaction to the flood of emotions; he won't, because he's an X-Man dammit (Erik named them after Charles.) He knew this Erik was different, hard to forget with the massive age difference between the two men, but this amount of difference rattles the trust Kurt wasn't aware he'd placed in the man. His silence on the relationship is understandable, the world he came from isn't that much different than Kurt's own (he thought), but if he could hide that then what else is he?

He shakes his head, remembering a moment after doing it that he repeats his gestures. Sloppy, stupid. His mother taught him better.] I'll be fine, Wrath. I will. We just.. we simply don't have that in my world. I suppose you've been taking a bed a caveman, darling. [The endearment slips out, and a muscle jumps in his jaw when it does. He follows it with a smile, a very bright one for someone who just looked like they got slapped by a plant of wood.]

[Everything about this situation feels wrong, suddenly. It's alarming. And that smile? Even more alarming. What is even happening? The desire to just blindly accept everything Kurt says wars briefly with her instincts. It's not a pretty fight. It's that strange, bright smile that seals the deal.]

Don't bullshit me, Kurt.

[Maybe she's wrong. Maybe this is just him being upset about replicators, though that makes little sense. But if she's wrong, she will apologize.]

[He calls her darling and then she reminds him of Linda. A heartbeat later and he realizes it isn't just Linda she reminds him of; he's always had a habit of drifting toward people who would call him on his crap. It's still unexpected enough to wipe the smile right from his face, Kurt shifting on his feet.

He's tempted to tell her that all Darkholmes do is bullshit, but he's never lied to her and the prospect of making her think he has is remarkably painful. So instead he offers a weak truth, his stomach turning.] I told you, my world is very different from yours. We don't have.. any of that.

[Long pause.]

Well yeah. I already know you don't have uterine replicators. Charles told me.

[Wait a fucking minute.]

Wait, are you saying your universe doesn't have homosexual couples?

[Are you even fucking serious, she has to be misunderstanding something.]

Edited 2016-05-31 12:28 (UTC)

My universe doesn't have anything any more, it's dead. [The admitting is too flat not to be hurting him, despite his expression being stone-faced.

It also isn't what she asked, and though he's well aware her back isn't what it should be Kurt maintains a healthy fear of what she could still do to him. Sighing heavily, he gestures with his tail.] What do you want me to tell you, Wrath? No, it didn't. Not if they were smart, or strong enough that it didn't matter what you were fucking so long as you made some effort to pass your genes on. That's what it all boiled down to, Apocalypse and Weapon Omega's rule; you survived if you were strong enough, if you passed that strength on to children. Hardly any room there to love someone you could create a child with, much less--

[He stops then, closing his mouth abruptly enough that his teeth click together.]

Edited (I thought of more. Stop me before I edit this five million times.) 2016-06-01 13:17 (UTC)

[No, this has just confused her even more. She sees that Kurt is upset. She would like him to stop being upset, but if she's not even sure why that's happening, it's hard to figure out how to fix it.

The best she can do for the moment is squeeze his hand because she's at least trying to understand what he's getting at.]

That sounds really awful. And I'm really sorry. [Another hand squeeze.]

But I don't understand what Charles and Erik here have to do with that. Your universe sucks. This is a much better place, even if it's not great.

[He squeezes her hand back both times, grateful for the tiny act of affection.]

Erik was married to my sister in my world. He--Alright, I'm surprised in the least that any version of him would chose a lover that would give me fits but.. [He pauses, pressing his lips together as he tries to make sense of his whirling thoughts. There's something tickling at the edge of them that he can't quite put together.] The first thing I think is, 'if something this big is different, then what else? How different are they both from the men they were in my world and can I trust them at all?'

But.. but then I think about how much that man meant to Erik, my Erik. After Xavier's death he lived to keep that dream alive. He named his son after him, named my team after him. And then I don't know what to think. [And that is about the same level of honesty that Kitty's gotten out of him since they came here. Maybe more so, because Wrath never knew him before.]

But the Erik here isn't that Erik. [That's important. She gets the whole mutliverse thing.] Why does him having Charles as his boyfriend bother you? Charles is great.

[But she gets the whole trust thing, because it is... if you've had a tough time, it can carry over.] For what it's worth, I trust both of them. But maybe it's easier for me because everyone here is new to me. I don't have any like... baggage from my world, not like that.

It sounds like Charles was really important to Erik in your world. And... it's probably not even your business how important if Erik never told you. Love... it's not like good rare earths, right? It's not limited. Because you give a lot of love to someone doesn't mean you have less to give to other people. Not if you're a good person with a big heart.

[She squeezes his hand again.]

Because I don't know Xavier. I know his legacy, but this is the first version of the man I've met. [That's the easy part of what he's feeling, protectiveness over someone he shouldn't be this attached to. He and this Erik haven't spoken much, but each time has reinforced the resemblances between the two. He'll admit its a little ridiculous to worry about the most powerful man (in his world) having a broken heart, but that's what Kurt did. He protected Magneto--and failed, when the man needed him the most.

He hears the rest of Wrath's words without entirely processing them in the moment, right until she starts talking about love. His face lifts slightly to look her in the eyes. The point she's trying to make isn't really puncturing his stubbornness about Charles and Erik, because he's seen love turn toxic and poison the people involved. He was raised by his mother, after all; Raven's taste in men was horrible. But the point does nestle in right next to something Kitty'd said to him, when he finally let himself open up a little more. 'One love doesn't have to replace another.' Dammit, no, he doesn't have time to open that can of worms (yes he does. He has nothing but time now, and that terrifies him.)

Kurt sighs heavily, and lifts Wrath's hand to kiss her knuckles.] Will it hurt your back to look at me if I sit on the floor, or shall I just get myself a chair anyway? I think this might be a long conversation.

[Conversation is good. Conversation means people trying to understand each other. She considers the physical aspect though.]

If it's gonna be a long conversation, might be better to go back to one of our rooms so I can lay down.

[Stupid back. Stupid body. She feels bad about it, but he's being pragmatic and she owes it to him to do the same.]

[For his part, Kurt just nods and holds out his other hand for her. No one comes out of war without physical damage; he just got lucky that most of his was superficial. Benefit of being a teleporter with good reflexes.]

I can 'port us. Would you prefer your room or mine?

[Wrath takes his hand without hesitation. She trusts Kurt.. She'll never hesitate.]

You pick. Whichever will make you feel safer.

[His tail loops around her waist, another point of contact because it makes him feel steadier.]

Yours. Just in case you feel the need to toss me out on my ear. [With a brief grin he teleports them both, with all the brimstone and stomach-lurching that comes with ducking into another dimension (temporarily, too quickly for a human eye to see). When they reappear Kurt's watching her carefully. It's habit, when he teleports people who aren't members of his team.] Alright?

You planning on being that dumb? [She can't recall ever throwing anyone out of her room. She recalls some nasty arguments, and she recalls people walking away because she doesn't believe in accepting bullshit or being anything but frank about it, but she'd always prefer to fighting until it's done.]

Yeah, I'm fine. [But there's a touch of shakiness to her voice, because the instant of vertigo makes her remember the fall, and--no, this is not a thing that she has time for. She clenches one hand into a fist and closes her eyes for a moment. Solid. She's not falling.] Everything's green.

I've been accused of many things, but being a particularly intelligent man isn't one of them. [And when compared to the likes of Henry McCoy, he isn't. Kurt's a resourceful man with good genetics and a little bit of cleverness.]

You're being sick, that's better than a lot of people. [He still keeps his hands on hers as a steadying influence, because hearing the tremor in her words means they translate in his mind as 'No, but I will be.'] Well enough to sit down? It might help.

Re: Drawing

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Oh fuck

Dun dun dunnnnnnn (also I'm directly quoting AoA on the guns, idk how accurate it is)

oh god lemme make us some popcorn

extra butter on mine, please

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