002. video.

[sorrycharles]

Good morning, Tranquility.

[ Erik is seated at his desk, eyes fixed flat upon the camera. ]

I’m conducting a poll.

[ The suit he’s wearing is dove grey and freshly pressed. The dress shirt beneath it is discolored about the collar, faded brown blotched behind the (flagrant) purple of his tie. He could stand to shave. He could stand to sleep for more than a few hours before addressing the entire network. ]

On a scale from one to ten, with one being the perpetuation of a meaningless existence at the mandate of an invisible hand for some unknown and likely terrible purpose, and ten being, [ he pauses to take a breath and to check down after his notes, ] ten being no harm done with a side of unlikely survival courtesy of a confusing -- but benevolent -- presence, [ he reads directly: ]

How would you rate the outcome of last month’s attempted mutiny?

[ A show of his teeth when he looks up can’t quite pass for a smile, fleeting and thin as it is. ]

Just curious.

Comments

( video )

[sleuthtastic]

[ Watch, Erik. She's gonna get you back for hanging up on her. A several month old grudge? That's nothing, son. ]

—did you just come back from Reno?

[mindtricks]

Why are you asking?

[ because the why is far more interesting than actually answering the question — and she isn't entirely certain how she'd rate it. not either extreme, most likely. ]

[ video ]

[sorrycharles]

[ There's a cinch of tension around Erik's eyes. Almost imperceptible. ]

I'm going to pencil you in as an eleven.

[ video ]

[sleuthtastic]

[ (Alright, Veronica. You've been here a few months, you've made some friends, you haven't pissed off anyone who is able to suck your soul out through your pinky toes. How about being turning on that Mars switcheroo?)

Her expression twists, just a little, before she says anything. Maybe a little quieter than usual: ]

Long week, huh?

[voice forever!]

[ryuuzaki]

[It's a bored young English guy.]

I think you need to check your numbers.

[That's a joke, although it's not intended to be a very funny one.]

[ private video / 0% encryption bc hes an idiot ]

[sorrycharles]

I’m curious, [ says Erik, who switches the conversation to private before he reaches to pull a banana into frame. He’s already working at the peel when he glances back at her. ] I said that.

You should pay better attention.

[ video anyways ]

[sorrycharles]

I'm open to suggestions.

[ryuuzaki]

It might be too early to discuss things in terms of an outcome. It's possible that what we've seen so far is only the preliminaries.

If that turns out to be the case... ten and one might turn out to be the same thing.

[ private video / 30% encryption bc shes not an idiot but not great at computers ]

[mindtricks]

[ he did say that, but she doubts it is the entirety of his motivation.

but let her rephrase: ]

Why the curiosity?

[chuffle]

I personally am going to say that I can't make that kind of decision yet, but I still stand by the idea that Nathan is an idiot who doesn't know what he's doing.

video;

[redhotsummers]

You seem two events behind, Erik.

That isn't normal for you.

[He snorts.]

Nice suit.

video.

[forgodssake]

[ The video is framed as such that Charles doesn't need to hold it up, peering into the lens for a good few seconds before he picks up whatever beverage necessitates a porcelain mug, steam still floating from the rim. He takes a moment to blow cooling air across the surface, then sips deliberate and measured.

All the while watching the camera.

Then sets it down. It is the most judgemental of tea sips ever. Made more so by the fact that this is the message in its entirety. ]

[private video forever]

[sorrycharles]

Knowledge is power. [ And bananas are bananas. He cleaves a massive hunk off the end with his teeth, then proceeds to chew at her for several seconds. ]

How long did it take you to stop vomiting?

[ video ]

[sorrycharles]

[ Humans.

Erik filters a breath slow through his nose. Steady.

He manages to lose most of the edge off his glare when he glances down and aside to reach for a pen, but there’s still an aloof vacancy about him when he looks back. ]

I’ve had longer.

[ oh no that’s what she said ]

[mindtricks]

Sometimes. [ that's acknowledgment, and then her features drop into neutrality as she watches him chew. ever the charmer, erik. ]

To stop vomiting, half an hour or so. To stop feeling sick much longer.

[video]

[sorrycharles]

[ Erik listens at a vacant remove, the way that people do when they're addressing a phone instead of a face. He is attentive, at least, a metal pen turned over idle between his hands. ]

I agree that it's too soon to discuss the outcome with any expectation of certainty. I'm more interested in how you feel about what happened personally.

[ He pauses a beat. ]

Wary, I take it.

[sorrycharles]

What specifically has led you to believe that Nathan is an idiot who doesn’t know what he’s doing?

[ Her words. ]

[video]

[sorrycharles]

Time flies when you’re a bitter disappointment as a friend and a father.

Would you like to rate me instead?

[ Erik clicks his pen at ready, flat affect offset by a lift at his brows. ]

One to ten.

[ video ]

[sorrycharles]

[ Erik is optimistic in keeping hold of his pen for the first half of this ritual, only to let it drift from his fingers around the time Charles sets his cup aside. The pen turns end over point in the air above his open palm, sluggish in its suspension. ]

My intentions are noble.

[ He looks earnest, if not especially passionate about his own innocence. ]

[sorrycharles]

Same. [ He swallows a smaller bite, already down to 2/3 banana, which he tips at her after a long beat of consideration. ]

You’re not getting out of this without answering the question.

video.

[forgodssake]

But your variables are biased and your data qualitative. That said, I hope to see a lovely graph at the end of it.

[ He folds his arms on desk surface, leaning in fractionally more. There is a trace of good humour in delivery and affect. ]

Eight.

[ video ]

[sorrycharles]

Ten, [ Erik dictates helpfully as he writes.

Professor Charles Xavier: 10 ]

video.

[forgodssake]

[ He almost laughs, a fleeting tension at the corner of his mouth. By the time he is hefting back up his tea, he's managed to resist. ]

On a scale of one to ten, one being abject boredom mingled with impotent frustration and ten standing for a false sense of superiority over the actions and good intentions of others, where do you rate the basis of your noble intentions?

[ Sip. ]

[ video ]

[sorrycharles]

Would you believe me if I told you I’m thinking of a number between one and five?

[ Both because it places his pride at risk and because the last time they played this game he wasn’t thinking of a number at all.

He watches Charles sip. ]

video.

[forgodssake]

Believe it if you said five.

[ Amiable. And then, firmer; ]

Eight. I don't think there was much courtesy involved at all, let alone benevolence. [ He considers his tea. Space tea. Sets it aside. ] Eight point five. What're you doing?