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Jun. 29th, 2003 10:19 pm![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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xp_logsSat Night, following on Lorna's post about her mom. Alison and Lorna talk then debate then plot. Just another day in the life.
Alison: *Alison wanders over to hug her roomie, just because*
Lorna: *Lorna tries very hard to be stoic and strong*
Alison: *Alison snorts and hugs just that little bit tighter*
Lorna: *shrugs* I should have expected it.
Alison: Expecting something doesn't mean we don't want it to be something else... *faintly bitter smile*
Lorna: What we want doesn't change what is. And we shouldn't let it blind us.
Alison: Can't help the wanting, hon. It's what makes us human. Sometimes it helps us, and sometimes it hurts us. S'how things are.
Lorna: Yes. *sighs* Just wish it had an off switch.
Alison: I hear you on that one. *hugs a bit more, then takes out the chocolate fudge, separates a piece in two carefully, and offers half to her*
Lorna: *takes it but doesn't eat it* Mom got a new job. *doesn't appear to be trying to change the topic*
Alison: *nods quietly, and nibbles at the piece of chocolate she has* What kind of job?
Lorna: At the library. She got fired. *breaks her fudge into smaller pieces and takes a small bite of one* Mrs. Grant next door called her boss. About me.
Alison: *sighs and shakes her head* Wasn't your fault, Lorna. *knowing it won't be believed*
Lorna: *raises an eyebrow but doesn't otherwise acknowledge that particular absurdity* David Grant took me to prom.
Alison: *mmms quietly, listening*
Lorna: I've known the Grants all my life. *she chafes at one wrist thoughtfully* In all that time they never knew that I wasn't like them. We were careful.
Alison: *smiles sadly at that, but can't really say anything, having hidden her own powers from everyone including her parents up until not long ago* It's easier for people to be afraid, sometimes...
Lorna: I can't blame them. I can't blame my dad either. They have good reason to be afraid.
Alison: *mms quietly, then studies the piece of fudge intently as she speaks* Then again, someone decided to shoot me in the back with a gun... wouldn't matter if they were a mutant or not. And I'd be just as dead.
Lorna: You would be. But Logan wouldn't. How can they know that you or I are vulnerable just like them? *shakes head* Fear is easy but it's also logical. *her lips curve into a bitter smile* Aren't you ever frightened by what we can do?
Alison: *calmly* Always. Doesn't mean I'll let it rule me. *pauses* At least I try not to let it rule me. *sighs tiredly* I may joke about being a walking light bulb Lorna, but I'm a lot more than that. *shrugs* Doesn't make me any less human, as far as I'm concerned.
Lorna: *shrugs back at her* I'm just saying, it's understandable. Though I disagree, we clearly aren't human.
Alison: *shakes head and smiles softly - quote* 'If you cut me, do I not bleed?' I consider myself just as human as anyone else, Lorna. I just see myself as being able to do something more. Like that special talent kids sometimes have...
Lorna: *chews on her thumbnail thoughtfully before answering* We're mutants. Sapiens Superior. No longer human. Not that we're not persons and not that we don't have every right to a normal life but the fact is we aren't human.
Alison: *curls up in chair* We'll have to agree to disagree, hon. I don't believe in that Sapiens Superior thing, to be honest. *sighs and finally, shrugs before going on calmly, with no censure in her voice* It's an easy mindset to fall into maybe - but it just doesn't work for me.
Lorna: *frowns* I don't know. I think the thought that we are them is more comforting. It would be a hell of a lot easier to say "no, wait, we are you." But we're freaks of nature. And nature's real children reject us.
Alison: *shakes head* Oh no, they don't. My father doesn't talk to me because I didn't go into Law, Lorna. He couldn't care less that I'm a mutant or not. My mother's only objection to finding out about it was because it ruined my career. It was all the same to her otherwise. I still have some friends in the industry who treat me just as they used to before they found out. *pauses, letting that sink in* And mutants discriminate against each other just as easily as they do non-mutants. Or vice versa... They used to say black people weren't human... remember?
Lorna: This is different. This isn't just skin color or birthplace. This is a whole new thing. This is something inside of us that the Professor can sense and it's not something like the rest of the world. We're people *she pauses to emphasize that* but we aren't human. I'm not saying we should be treated like animals for it, I'm not saying we're better for it. Just that it's the truth.
Alison: *shakes head* Opinion. Perspective. But there's no truth here, Lorna. *gently* There's beliefs. And choices. And a quirk of fate, obviously. *smiles wryly* And many many shades of grey... but no ultimate truth.
Lorna: *can't help the quick eyeroll* Yes yes, science has never proved anything and reality is what we perceive it. *crumbles another piece of fudge* I know. But I also know that we deserve normalcy and until we define what normal is for us, we can't get it. Until we do, we should take precautions against being too inhuman because we have to play by their rules.
Alison: Normal is being able to walk down a street without someone throwing something at me. Normal is being able to go out without using an image inducer, and not wondering if someone will take exception to my very existence. *takes a deep breath* Normal is not wondering in what kind of world my children will grow up. *pauses at that, but then continues* And that's a question that's faced generations of us. There's always been a 'them or us', I'll concede. And it's always been about humanity being afraid of itself - religion, skin color, sexual preferences, abilities... *trails off, understanding somehow that this is a point Lorna somehow won't be able to let go of, for whatever reasons she has - that Lorna needs this somehow*
Lorna: *pulls her legs up to her chest and rests her chin on her knees suddenly looking very young* Then why do we keep making it harder? I know I wasn't here for the attack but...*shakes her head once sharply* they know what goes on here. How is it not making it worse? We're asking to be hated by advertising what we are.
Alison: *sighs and shakes her head slightly, then gets up to sit next to Lorna, wrapping an arm around her shoulder* No sweetie... when I came out - I was asking to be accepted for who I am. All of me. Not just the fact that I can do something most people can't...
Lorna: *tilts her head and gives Alison a sidelong glance* That's asking a lot. *clearly doesn't mean to be cruel*
Alison: *smiles faintly* The end of segregation. Gay marriages being legal today. *tilts head* I'm not saying it might even happen in my lifetime, Lorna. But if we don't start asking, and hoping for now... then it might never happen.
Lorna: But they don't have to accommodate to us, Ali. Why do we have the right to ask for anything? *stares at her hands* We're the interlopers here.
Alison: Are we, really? Or are we just the newest difference humanity has to deal with, and learn to accept? There's always something new, something to be afraid of - history clearly shows that. Change is inevitable. It just doesn't make it easier to deal with.
Lorna: *lifts her head off her knees and looks at Alison* That's arrogance.
Alison: *tilts head, and thinks that over, then asks, gently* And thinking of ourselves as a new species, as the next evolution of man, would be what?
Lorna: *laughs in spite of herself* Well, yes. However, I never claimed that. I said we weren't human, not that we're the stage of humanity. I think it's more likely that we're an fluke.
Alison: *grins wryly* Sapiens Superior may need to be reformulated then. *chuckles* And we've gone beyond this being a fluky, I'd say...
Lorna: *wrinkles her nose at Alison* I didn't pick the name. I still think mutant is pretty well accurate. A gene level mistake.
Alison: *nods* Like I said before... I'm a mutant. But I'm a lot of others things too. And most of all, I'm a human being like anyone else. And I don't define myself by the parts that make me up, but rather by the sum of my parts...
Lorna: Being a mutant means we aren't like everyone else. Which is why we have to work just that much harder to fit in.
Alison: *calmly* Mutants were hardly ever the only humans to be discriminated against, Lorna. Or to be still discriminated against today. And if it weren't that - it'd just be something else. There's always someone to point the finger at difference. Or to find a reason to hate. *offers another bit of fudge*
Lorna: *takes it and adds it to the small pile of fudge pieces in front on her. eats one* So we should just take our turn with good grace? *raises an eyebrow*
Alison: Oh, I don't know about good grace. *chuckles* But I'm liking Marie-Ange's idea, really. *letting the subject matter divert a bit, she continues* You should ask her about it - it wasn't easy for me to look at when she first brought it up a few weeks ago... but it's worth a shot, really. There's not just one way to do anything, after all.
Lorna: *blinks* You think the X-men should do a Calvin Klein photo spread?
Alison: *snorts in laughter, nearly choking on a bit of fudge* Damn girl! Imagine the fan mail! *giggles madly*
Lorna: *grins* Fanmail, hell. Think of the merchandising.
Alison: *grins* I am. I think Calvin Klein would die a happy man. *Winks*
Lorna: *speculatively* You're right, this does have possibilities. Think we could get the male types to do a calendar? Warren could be February, just give him a little bow and arrows
Alison: *laughs cheerfully, and leans back to consider* I could ask Piotr to draw that one out... *eyes twinkle in mischief*
Lorna: *nods in approval* And Jamie and Skippy could be June for Gemini.
Alison: Grr Argh for October. Hallowe'en. With the claws. *starts giggling*
Lorna: *giggles* And Sam for September. Harvest time, you know.
Alison: *grins widely and a bit uncontrollably for a moment, and nods* Well yes, I was thinking that. Bobby for December. Of course. *sobers up a bit* John for July... heat of summer. I rather think he'd be amused by all this, actually...
Lorna: *nods* Okay so February, June, July, Sept, October, December. That's half. What about January?
Alison: *starts laughing non stop* Oh my! Lorna! The Professor! For September! *laughs more* Think about it!
Lorna: *stares outright for a moment then cracks up and starts laughing*
What follows is much more plotting. Full calendar lists will go up later.
Alison: *Alison wanders over to hug her roomie, just because*
Lorna: *Lorna tries very hard to be stoic and strong*
Alison: *Alison snorts and hugs just that little bit tighter*
Lorna: *shrugs* I should have expected it.
Alison: Expecting something doesn't mean we don't want it to be something else... *faintly bitter smile*
Lorna: What we want doesn't change what is. And we shouldn't let it blind us.
Alison: Can't help the wanting, hon. It's what makes us human. Sometimes it helps us, and sometimes it hurts us. S'how things are.
Lorna: Yes. *sighs* Just wish it had an off switch.
Alison: I hear you on that one. *hugs a bit more, then takes out the chocolate fudge, separates a piece in two carefully, and offers half to her*
Lorna: *takes it but doesn't eat it* Mom got a new job. *doesn't appear to be trying to change the topic*
Alison: *nods quietly, and nibbles at the piece of chocolate she has* What kind of job?
Lorna: At the library. She got fired. *breaks her fudge into smaller pieces and takes a small bite of one* Mrs. Grant next door called her boss. About me.
Alison: *sighs and shakes her head* Wasn't your fault, Lorna. *knowing it won't be believed*
Lorna: *raises an eyebrow but doesn't otherwise acknowledge that particular absurdity* David Grant took me to prom.
Alison: *mmms quietly, listening*
Lorna: I've known the Grants all my life. *she chafes at one wrist thoughtfully* In all that time they never knew that I wasn't like them. We were careful.
Alison: *smiles sadly at that, but can't really say anything, having hidden her own powers from everyone including her parents up until not long ago* It's easier for people to be afraid, sometimes...
Lorna: I can't blame them. I can't blame my dad either. They have good reason to be afraid.
Alison: *mms quietly, then studies the piece of fudge intently as she speaks* Then again, someone decided to shoot me in the back with a gun... wouldn't matter if they were a mutant or not. And I'd be just as dead.
Lorna: You would be. But Logan wouldn't. How can they know that you or I are vulnerable just like them? *shakes head* Fear is easy but it's also logical. *her lips curve into a bitter smile* Aren't you ever frightened by what we can do?
Alison: *calmly* Always. Doesn't mean I'll let it rule me. *pauses* At least I try not to let it rule me. *sighs tiredly* I may joke about being a walking light bulb Lorna, but I'm a lot more than that. *shrugs* Doesn't make me any less human, as far as I'm concerned.
Lorna: *shrugs back at her* I'm just saying, it's understandable. Though I disagree, we clearly aren't human.
Alison: *shakes head and smiles softly - quote* 'If you cut me, do I not bleed?' I consider myself just as human as anyone else, Lorna. I just see myself as being able to do something more. Like that special talent kids sometimes have...
Lorna: *chews on her thumbnail thoughtfully before answering* We're mutants. Sapiens Superior. No longer human. Not that we're not persons and not that we don't have every right to a normal life but the fact is we aren't human.
Alison: *curls up in chair* We'll have to agree to disagree, hon. I don't believe in that Sapiens Superior thing, to be honest. *sighs and finally, shrugs before going on calmly, with no censure in her voice* It's an easy mindset to fall into maybe - but it just doesn't work for me.
Lorna: *frowns* I don't know. I think the thought that we are them is more comforting. It would be a hell of a lot easier to say "no, wait, we are you." But we're freaks of nature. And nature's real children reject us.
Alison: *shakes head* Oh no, they don't. My father doesn't talk to me because I didn't go into Law, Lorna. He couldn't care less that I'm a mutant or not. My mother's only objection to finding out about it was because it ruined my career. It was all the same to her otherwise. I still have some friends in the industry who treat me just as they used to before they found out. *pauses, letting that sink in* And mutants discriminate against each other just as easily as they do non-mutants. Or vice versa... They used to say black people weren't human... remember?
Lorna: This is different. This isn't just skin color or birthplace. This is a whole new thing. This is something inside of us that the Professor can sense and it's not something like the rest of the world. We're people *she pauses to emphasize that* but we aren't human. I'm not saying we should be treated like animals for it, I'm not saying we're better for it. Just that it's the truth.
Alison: *shakes head* Opinion. Perspective. But there's no truth here, Lorna. *gently* There's beliefs. And choices. And a quirk of fate, obviously. *smiles wryly* And many many shades of grey... but no ultimate truth.
Lorna: *can't help the quick eyeroll* Yes yes, science has never proved anything and reality is what we perceive it. *crumbles another piece of fudge* I know. But I also know that we deserve normalcy and until we define what normal is for us, we can't get it. Until we do, we should take precautions against being too inhuman because we have to play by their rules.
Alison: Normal is being able to walk down a street without someone throwing something at me. Normal is being able to go out without using an image inducer, and not wondering if someone will take exception to my very existence. *takes a deep breath* Normal is not wondering in what kind of world my children will grow up. *pauses at that, but then continues* And that's a question that's faced generations of us. There's always been a 'them or us', I'll concede. And it's always been about humanity being afraid of itself - religion, skin color, sexual preferences, abilities... *trails off, understanding somehow that this is a point Lorna somehow won't be able to let go of, for whatever reasons she has - that Lorna needs this somehow*
Lorna: *pulls her legs up to her chest and rests her chin on her knees suddenly looking very young* Then why do we keep making it harder? I know I wasn't here for the attack but...*shakes her head once sharply* they know what goes on here. How is it not making it worse? We're asking to be hated by advertising what we are.
Alison: *sighs and shakes her head slightly, then gets up to sit next to Lorna, wrapping an arm around her shoulder* No sweetie... when I came out - I was asking to be accepted for who I am. All of me. Not just the fact that I can do something most people can't...
Lorna: *tilts her head and gives Alison a sidelong glance* That's asking a lot. *clearly doesn't mean to be cruel*
Alison: *smiles faintly* The end of segregation. Gay marriages being legal today. *tilts head* I'm not saying it might even happen in my lifetime, Lorna. But if we don't start asking, and hoping for now... then it might never happen.
Lorna: But they don't have to accommodate to us, Ali. Why do we have the right to ask for anything? *stares at her hands* We're the interlopers here.
Alison: Are we, really? Or are we just the newest difference humanity has to deal with, and learn to accept? There's always something new, something to be afraid of - history clearly shows that. Change is inevitable. It just doesn't make it easier to deal with.
Lorna: *lifts her head off her knees and looks at Alison* That's arrogance.
Alison: *tilts head, and thinks that over, then asks, gently* And thinking of ourselves as a new species, as the next evolution of man, would be what?
Lorna: *laughs in spite of herself* Well, yes. However, I never claimed that. I said we weren't human, not that we're the stage of humanity. I think it's more likely that we're an fluke.
Alison: *grins wryly* Sapiens Superior may need to be reformulated then. *chuckles* And we've gone beyond this being a fluky, I'd say...
Lorna: *wrinkles her nose at Alison* I didn't pick the name. I still think mutant is pretty well accurate. A gene level mistake.
Alison: *nods* Like I said before... I'm a mutant. But I'm a lot of others things too. And most of all, I'm a human being like anyone else. And I don't define myself by the parts that make me up, but rather by the sum of my parts...
Lorna: Being a mutant means we aren't like everyone else. Which is why we have to work just that much harder to fit in.
Alison: *calmly* Mutants were hardly ever the only humans to be discriminated against, Lorna. Or to be still discriminated against today. And if it weren't that - it'd just be something else. There's always someone to point the finger at difference. Or to find a reason to hate. *offers another bit of fudge*
Lorna: *takes it and adds it to the small pile of fudge pieces in front on her. eats one* So we should just take our turn with good grace? *raises an eyebrow*
Alison: Oh, I don't know about good grace. *chuckles* But I'm liking Marie-Ange's idea, really. *letting the subject matter divert a bit, she continues* You should ask her about it - it wasn't easy for me to look at when she first brought it up a few weeks ago... but it's worth a shot, really. There's not just one way to do anything, after all.
Lorna: *blinks* You think the X-men should do a Calvin Klein photo spread?
Alison: *snorts in laughter, nearly choking on a bit of fudge* Damn girl! Imagine the fan mail! *giggles madly*
Lorna: *grins* Fanmail, hell. Think of the merchandising.
Alison: *grins* I am. I think Calvin Klein would die a happy man. *Winks*
Lorna: *speculatively* You're right, this does have possibilities. Think we could get the male types to do a calendar? Warren could be February, just give him a little bow and arrows
Alison: *laughs cheerfully, and leans back to consider* I could ask Piotr to draw that one out... *eyes twinkle in mischief*
Lorna: *nods in approval* And Jamie and Skippy could be June for Gemini.
Alison: Grr Argh for October. Hallowe'en. With the claws. *starts giggling*
Lorna: *giggles* And Sam for September. Harvest time, you know.
Alison: *grins widely and a bit uncontrollably for a moment, and nods* Well yes, I was thinking that. Bobby for December. Of course. *sobers up a bit* John for July... heat of summer. I rather think he'd be amused by all this, actually...
Lorna: *nods* Okay so February, June, July, Sept, October, December. That's half. What about January?
Alison: *starts laughing non stop* Oh my! Lorna! The Professor! For September! *laughs more* Think about it!
Lorna: *stares outright for a moment then cracks up and starts laughing*
What follows is much more plotting. Full calendar lists will go up later.
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no subject
Date: 2003-06-29 11:38 pm (UTC)Although, ha ha, farmer tan, I win again.
no subject
Date: 2003-06-29 11:44 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-06-29 11:53 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-06-29 11:54 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-06-29 11:57 pm (UTC)This "special edition" thing isn't good for anybody's welfare but yours. :)
no subject
Date: 2003-06-30 12:18 am (UTC)I'm a mutant therefore my welfare counts under our mission statement. Besides, it's for a good cause!
Some underwear models wear shirts!
Date: 2003-06-30 03:59 am (UTC)You know, Jamie, _some_ underwear models wear shirts. You could be the guy who models the t-shirts and boxer briefs on the underwear package!
no subject
Date: 2003-06-30 05:51 am (UTC)Sides, instant tan effect if I care to, here. ;)
no subject
Date: 2003-06-30 08:25 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-06-30 08:30 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-06-30 11:25 am (UTC)...I misread that as "Chocolate Frogs"...ahaha!
And. Sam needs to be July! With the flag!
Re: Some underwear models wear shirts!
Date: 2003-06-30 12:40 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-06-30 12:40 pm (UTC)Re:
Date: 2003-06-30 01:58 pm (UTC)Now now, I'd never do that... ;)
no subject
Date: 2003-06-30 02:09 pm (UTC)Re:
Date: 2003-06-30 02:13 pm (UTC)I'll have you know young man, that I am perfectly in control of such things. Your eyebrows would only be singed off if I meant for them to be singed off. So there.
;)
no subject
Date: 2003-06-30 02:20 pm (UTC)Re:
Date: 2003-06-30 02:29 pm (UTC)I have no idea what you're getting at.
*nods solemnly*
no subject
Date: 2003-06-30 02:37 pm (UTC)Re:
Date: 2003-06-30 02:47 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-06-30 02:50 pm (UTC)Re:
Date: 2003-06-30 02:55 pm (UTC)*barely*