I: PLAYER INFO
Name (or internet handle): Mara
Age: 22
Contact: fishicopter on AIM
Current characters in Road of 'Trode: Soon to be none.

II: CHARACTER INFO
Name: Charles Xavier
Dreamwidth Username: radars
Fandom: X-Men: First Class
Age/Appearance: Nearly thirty, slim, a soft look around his face, full lips. Where the canon Xavier would be pale, physically weaker, this one has just a hint of muscle (the sort that comes from use, not from the gym), skin tanned from the desert, a tougher look around his eyes.
Wiki Links: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Professor_X
http://cerebel-fics.livejournal.com/93560.html

Canon Point: at age 25, after Israel wins its war in the Middle East, before the Cerebro incident.
Personality: On the outside, Charles Xavier is an eccentric, intelligent, friendly and flirtatious young man, kind to a fault, generous, and trusting. He's always the first to extend the hand of friendship and trust. He believes in the goodness of people, and isn't afraid of being vocal about it. He likes a good time, enjoys flirting with lovely ladies, and shows off his intellectual ability and emotional insight almost every chance he gets.

That is … in canon.

This AU version of Charles has learned caution and has seen terrible violence. He certainly can turn on the charm and is still prone to trust, but he's quieter. He knows the value of secrecy. He uses telepathy only subtly, making absolutely sure that the other person won't know they're being read.

The most important single factor to note about Charles' development is that he is a telepath. In this universe, he has been a telepath for a very long time -- as long as he can remember. It didn't come upon him suddenly, and it didn't shatter his world. It has always been a part of him, and it is absolutely integral to his personality and outlook.

Charles is raw to the world around him. He is young, and he hasn't learned how to shield himself very well. As a result, he gets a constant din of telepathic input. The greater the population within a few miles of him, the greater the din he must endure. He feels others' emotions, sees their thoughts, understands them perhaps better than they do themselves. The effect that this has on a young, impressionable boy in a held-back, repressed society is devastating. Charles has grown up seeing sex, violence, revenge, pettiness, anger, jealousy written on the thoughts of everyone around him. But, by the same token: love, kindness, sympathy. He's always seen that there's more to the world than what people think, and the amount that he's seen makes him older than his years in experience. He'd like to think it's made him wise. He'd be wrong about this.

Charles is abandoned. Abused. He doesn't like to think of it this way -- in fact, he never hasthought of it this way. He adored his mother and father beyond belief when he was small -- hefelt their love for him and echoed it back wholeheartedly; after his father died, though, his mother grew distant. Regardless, Charles' adoration and his need for love never waned. She took a new suitor, Kurt Marko, with a son named Cain. Kurt was physically abusive to Charles. However, in England, in this time, physical discipline was common and accepted. Charles didn't have the context to recognize this as 'abuse'; all he knew was that Kurt was after his mother for her money, and that Kurt made him feel wrong. Hurt. Angry. Charles started to justify it to himself: if he could only drive Kurt away, then maybe his mother would love him again. Maybe he would have his voracious need for affection sated.

And so for the first time, little Charles acted against the wisdom he felt he had and struck out in a jealous rage. He twisted Kurt's mind and warped him and drove him away in a brutal telepathic attack that left him weak and sick for days.

Charles' mother had always known her son was strange. Fragile, smart, not normal. She couldn't have known for sure what he'd done, but she suspected strongly, and now she felt more alone than ever. Her son was an alien to her, her husband was gone, and her newer companion was gone. She turned to liquor, and Charles resorted to increasingly desperate attempts to get her attention. All of this failed.

Charles believes at heart that people are good, that they are worth it, that peace is possible and achievable and the right way. Frankly, Charles has lived his entire life hearing the surface thoughts of everyone around him -- every secret, every petty jealousy. Especially in the suppressed, quiet British culture of the 1940s, this must have been a shocking contradiction to the young boy. He only managed to survive by making his faith in humanity absolutely unshakeable, part of the core of his being.

Of course, Charles has been through not one but two wars, now. Both time he was on the winning side, and both times he a major cause of that victory. He's seen a lot of men killed. He's caused a lot of death. The first time, he believed he was right with the absolute unshakeability of youth, but the second time, he faced atrocities and slaughters on the part of his allies, and he couldn't take it. He sees no side as absolute good, anymore. Everyone is worth saving, yes, but governments and institutions lead necessarily towards violence to keep themselves in power, and Charles can't trust that. Rogue peacekeeping, therefore, is the only answer he's managed to come up with, and even that is a fragile stopgap, and his reasoning is fraught with internal psychological contradiction.

In short: Charles is brilliant and compassionate but extremely flawed. His view of the world is too black and white, a mottled idealist cynicism, balanced on a knifes edge and perfectly ready for someone to shove it one way or the other.

Reason for playing: Loki and Katniss aren't working out for me; I want to try something new. Charles is a character I've had a lot of success working into plotty games, and besides, he's one I kinda miss. I'm taking him from an earlier canon point so it's not a complete repeat of times I've had him before; this is a less broken, more soldierly Xavier, younger and fiercer, and I'm really looking forward to seeing how he works in the Ark.

III. ARK HISTORY
Name: Charles Xavier
Age/Appearance: Same.
History: Born and raised in the Capitol by his mother, Sharon Xavier, who was constantly and vaguely irritated by the disincentives of having children. His father, Brian Xavier, was distant, a worker in the Axis, a seldom-there figure in Charles' childhood. He died in an Axis accident involving radiation when Charles was 8.

Charles proved himself a very quick-witted child, and was identified as a telepath at the age of 7. He was given Capitol training, education on the morality and ethics of using telepathy, and grew up with a strong regimen of constant strengthening exercises. The Capitol treated him very carefully; they realized that he was one of the strongest telepaths in history, and that had so many possible uses that he was just kind of a delight to everyone. Thankfully, he grew up friendly and sweet, not a horrible person, and everyone involved in his training gave themselves a good back-patting.

Since he had been strongly encouraged to step into civic service, Charles joined the Capitol police force and militia when he got out of school, three years ago. He's the kind of guy who's pretty much just sent where the Capitol needs him. Most of the time, he works among the police; right now, he's just returning from a tour out with the Navy, helping them fight pirates.

Residence/Job: Capitol residences.

Skills/Powers: Telepathy. According to the wiki, Charles Xavier has a truly ridiculous list of powers. His psychic range is 250-300 miles, and within that range, he's able to read minds, communicate with them, erase memories, create illusions, mind control, astrally project, and more.

Needless to say, I won't be playing him with all of those because omg godmode.

Charles' range will be the same, but that will be only his range of communication. He will only be able to influence minds close by, with mun permission.

Resources: Capitol funds.

IV. SAMPLE
Arrival: He comes to with the awareness of swelling panic, all around him. Jarringly wrong, especially considering the usual smooth functioning of a Capitol warship. All he's ever felt in places like this is the click-click of gears, cogs in an enormous machine, precision and pride and cool detachment. (Except in the midst of a battle, but there's an exception to every rule.) They aren't in a battle, Charles confirms, casting his mind out over the water. There aren't any pirates nearby. There's nothing.

He stumbles to his feet, and hands catch him. He catches fragments of thoughts like flatline and Capitol asset and seizure and please don't be dead.

"I'm not dead." His words are somewhat slurred. He's not dead. He just had… a dream. A vision. He's fine. "I'm not dead, really, I promise," and then images float to the surface of his mind. Men dying in the desert. People so starved they were skeletons, walking skeletons. Children…

Charles darts to the edge of the ship and heaves, vomiting over the edge and into the gently foaming water below. Someone checks his heartbeat, someone else runs a scan on his implants and disconnects him from the hardline and he hears, "What the hell happened?"

His stomach is empty of everything, even bile, when he straightens back up again. He sends out a careless mental command and a young petty officer comes running with a water bottle in her hand. It's a complete violation of ethics, but at the moment, Charles doesn't particularly care.

He thinks back to the vision. It was an entire… life. One that honestly didn't bear all that much resemblance to his own; it was too primitive, blocky and strange, without implants or networks. It was on a planet, one orbiting a star -- what did that even mean? -- and it involved blood and tears and a man. A man named Erik. His heartbeat flutters as he thinks that name, coherently, for the first time. Best friend, friend beyond friends, with a connection that went all the way to the deep structures of the mind. He'd never had that with anyone here. Never in his life. In fact, he's been strongly cautioned not to go that far with anyone who isn't an enemy.

For the first time, he questions the wisdom of that.

"Sir," says a doctor, "we need to scan you for possible wetware viruses."

"What?" he asks, then, "oh, yes. I don't think that's it, but, yes, of course." He can see the wisdom. Telepaths can spread wetware viruses without even having any active implants. They have to protect themselves. It makes perfect sense.

He lets them lead him down, into the ship.

Electrodes on his skull that feel surprisingly familiar -- of course they feel familiar, he's had scans like this before, what is wrong with him -- and they start to run diagnostics on his implant, start probing for certain types of wetware viruses. It means a steady stream of anomalous images floating across the surface of his mind, but it doesn't require any real thought. Charles lets the memories settle to the back of his mind. For some reason, he doesn't want to tell another soul what he's seen.

V. ALTERNATE UNIVERSE CHARACTER SUPPLEMENT
Nature of the AU: Basically he's born a few years earlier and ends up in World War II instead of becoming an effete intellectual. Erik, similarly, is used as a weapon by the Nazis.

AU History: Bullet points are as follows:
- Born 1928 in England. Grew up with a distant mother, a dead father, and a potential stepfather suitor who, as Charles' telepathy revealed, only wanted his mother for her money. Charles eventually forces the man to leave telepathically, rendering his mother more distant and depressed than before. Frustratingly enough.
- Discovered and recruited 1940 by the British government to use his telepathy against the Germans. Yes, at the ripe old age of 12. He was taken away from his mother at this time.
- Charles matures into the use of his power as an agent of the British government, with official backing.
- 1942: Charles discovers he's not the only person with the powers in the world, and meets Erik Lensherr, a young boy forced into servitude by the German army.
- 1943: The two ally together and help crush the Germans. (Note: In this version of history, due to the influence of the two powerful young mutants, America was only involved in the war on the Pacific front.)
- 1943: After the war, Charles is offered a permanent position in the British government. At Erik's urging, he declines.

Now we go into post-fic.

- 1944-1946: Erik and Charles' involvement in the war does not remain a secret (though their identities do, for now). The shockwave of mutant realization passes through the entire world, with varied and terrifying effects. Mostly: 1) governments realize that they want mutants for themselves, and 2) governments realize that they want mutants locked up. Mostly both at the same time.
- As a result, Erik feels compelled to help the new movement towards creating a haven for Jews and mutants both in Israel. Erik and Charles both become key figures in the new Israeli government as it moves towards independence. They represent the mutant half of the immigrants.
- 1946: The Zionist movement becomes a disaster even faster than it does in our course of history. The presence of mutants (militarized) makes Israel confident; an independent state is declared in 1946 and this action immediately sparks a volatile situation into an outright war.
- 1946-1950: A brutal war is fought in the Middle East, and Israel *wins*. The conflict itself spreads into many nations, which tend to emulate the Nazi example (to great controversy) in order to contain mutants.
- 1951: When testing Cerebro, a telepathic enhancement device, Charles' life is threatened by gunmen. He lashes out to bring them down, and accidentally takes out much of a major city.
- 1951: The Middle East settles into an uneasy peace. Charles outspokenly advocates for resolution and diplomacy in order to make sure that war never happens again. Cause it's the second he's experienced, and he is not a fan. Erik argues for the necessity of arms and violence. The formerly inseparable friendship begins to fray.
- 1952: Charles returns to England, accepting a public job as a mutant advocate and pursuing his degree in genetics. He accepts great restrictions on his powers. Erik thinks it's the wrong choice.
- 1953-1956: Charles continues in his advocate job, traveling back to Israel regularly. But he and Erik almost never see eye-to-eye anymore.
- late 1956: Finally, mutants in Erik's employ decide enough is enough. They take Charles and throw him out into the desert, tied up, no water, with a helmet to block any telepathic call for help. They leave him for dead. He is found just barely in time by an American agent - a young shapeshifter named Raven.
- 1957: Charles recovers under Raven's care. He is upset, angry and betrayed. Charles assumes Erik was behind the murder attempt.
- also 1957: Erik assumes Charles is dead by the hand of dissidents. It makes him even crueler in cracking down on anti-Israeli sentiment.
- 1958-1960: After a brief and unhappy stint working for the US government, Charles persuades Raven to leave with him and start working on behalf of mutants everywhere. 'Professor X' becomes something of a cult figure among mutants, a mythical figure representing freedom and peace and coexistence, even though such an ideal is still far from being realized.

[ You wake up.

It is a warm place; there is sunlight, a knit blanket, a comfortable feeling of home.

The first step, you think (no, that's not you, is it) --no, this isn't right. ]



[ You wake up. It is your childhood home. Only -- perfected. Cleaner, airier, brighter. Full of love and happiness.

And there is a presence, ghosting around the edge of your mind.

You live years in a matter of seconds.

Your mind goes black. ]



[ You wake up.

The surroundings are yours.

You are alone.

And then you are not alone.

Charles is there, and he takes a seat next to you. ]

If I told you that you were about to die... would you believe me?

[ An honest question, backed up by honest, clear-blue eyes.

Would you believe him? ]

So you're interested in playing a character from this AU! Awesome.

Here, have some links:
◊ The fic that inspired it all
◊ Bete Noire application for Charles Xavier
◊ Bete Noire application for Raven Darkholme
◊ Character info for Erik Lensherr

Now, a brief overview of what's up with all the major XFC and X-Men movieverse characters in this AU. Note that many of them are born earlier than their canon selves.

XFC:
- Sebastian Shaw died in 1943, killed at the hands of Erik and Charles as part of the beginning offensive against Germany. Six months after his death, World War II ended with a definitive peace settlement.
- Emma Frost thrives as a key and high-ranking mutant in Israel's government. She was the one who ordered the assassination of Charles Xavier.
- Azazel works in Erik's employ in Israel. He was one of the mutants who assisted in the assassination attempt on Charles Xavier. Later, his conscience will grow to trouble him. When he meets Mystique on a covert mission and begins to fall in love with her, everything changes; when she becomes pregnant, he defects from Israel and joins the X-Men.
- Riptide similarly works in Erik's employ in Israel.
- Alex Summers is in Erik's employ in Israel. He was discovered early, and was one of the first few batches of young immigrants to the new mutant country.
- Banshee, on the other hand, grew up in America having to deal with quite a bit of anti-mutant prejudice. He never went to Israel. Once he was rescued from government custody, Banshee went to work with the X-Men, under Raven and Charles.
- Darwin survives quite well. He was, with Alex, one of the first batches of mutant immigrants to Israel.
- Angel was also an immigrant to Israel. She is close with Darwin and Alex.
- Moira MacTaggert is a CIA agent and elite mutant retrieval squad member. A mutant hunter. She was intent on protecting civilians from out-of-control mutants until she met Charles Xavier. It took a year to earn her trust, but eventually she began passing information from the American government to the X-Men.
- Hank, or Beast, was prevented from going to college by mutant control laws. He is self-taught, a genius, and works with the X-Men. Unfortunately, the oppression that he's suffered in his life has given him a deep and uncontrollable rage. Charles no longer lets him on missions with the X-Men, out of fear that he will become out-of-control and violent.

Other major characters:
- Scott Summers was separated from Alex at an early age. While Alex made it to Israel, Scott was caught by mutant monitoring in the United States. Due to Moira MacTaggert's interference, Scott was taken from government custody. He joined the X-Men.
- Ororo Monroe was another of the early immigrants to Israel. Erik's rough handling of the issue of Israel's statehood made her wary. Later in her life, she began to pass information to the X-Men in secret.
- Jean Grey is yet undiscovered as a mutant.
- Sabretooth is a longtime thug in Erik's employ in Israel.
- Wolverine was a victim of mutant experimentation in the United States. He refused to join up with the Israelis, and instead eventually became an X-Man.
- Toad is still young, but growing up and training in the hopes of becoming one of Erik's mutant elite.
- Colossus/Peter Rasputin was snatched up by the Russian government in their early mutant programs. He currently works for the Russian government.
- Bobby Drake is young, unmanifested, but already in one of the United States government's facilities for mutant control.
- Rogue and Pyro are in the same boat as Bobby. All three are on Moira's list for springing, as soon as they manifest.

Other Marvel characters:
- Howard Stark worked with America during World War II, and also sold a truly significant number of weapons to the Allied side. Stark Industries technology was later used to combat and restrain mutants. (This never sat entirely right with Howard Stark, but he was convinced to keep this line of trade going because of the danger that Israel posed to America in a possible outright war.)
- Captain America only ever fought in the Pacific theater of the war, because only a handful of American soldiers fought on European soil. Charles and Erik just turned the tide of the war too quickly for it to be necessary.

Got questions about any others? Feel free to ask.

1. Player Information
Name (or internet handle): Mara
Current characters in Bete Noire: Nikita, Benjamin/Delta

2. Character Information
Name: Charles Xavier
Livejournal Username: xprofessor
Fandom: Marvel (X-Men: First Class)
Image: http://l-userpic.livejournal.com/111328781/39021378
Reserve: http://magistrated.livejournal.com/1299.html?thread=1625363#t1625363

3. Character Information II
Age/Appearance: Nearly thirty, slim, a soft look around his face, full lips. Where the canon Xavier would be pale, physically weaker, this one has just a hint of muscle (the sort that comes from use, not from the gym), skin tanned from the desert, a tougher look around his eyes.
History: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Professor_X (canon version)
http://cerebel-fics.livejournal.com/93560.html (AU fic that explores the beginning of this universe)

Bullet points are as follows:
- Born 1928 in England. Grew up with a distant mother, a dead father, and a potential stepfather suitor who, as Charles' telepathy revealed, only wanted his mother for her money. Charles eventually forces the man to leave telepathically, rendering his mother more distant and depressed than before. Frustratingly enough.
- Discovered and recruited 1940 by the British government to use his telepathy against the Germans. Yes, at the ripe old age of 12. He was taken away from his mother at this time.
- Charles matures into the use of his power as an agent of the British government, with official backing.
- 1942: Charles discovers he's not the only person with the powers in the world, and meets Erik Lensherr, a young boy forced into servitude by the German army.
- 1943: The two ally together and help crush the Germans. (Note: In this version of history, due to the influence of the two powerful young mutants, America was only involved in the war on the Pacific front.)
- 1943: After the war, Charles is offered a permanent position in the British government. At Erik's urging, he declines.

Now we go into post-fic.

- 1944-1946: Erik and Charles' involvement in the war does not remain a secret (though their identities do, for now). The shockwave of mutant realization passes through the entire world, with varied and terrifying effects. Mostly: 1) governments realize that they want mutants for themselves, and 2) governments realize that they want mutants locked up. Mostly both at the same time.
- As a result, Erik feels compelled to help the new movement towards creating a haven for Jews and mutants both in Israel. Erik and Charles both become key figures in the new Israeli government as it moves towards independence. They represent the mutant half of the immigrants.
- 1946: The Zionist movement becomes a disaster even faster than it does in our course of history. The presence of mutants (militarized) makes Israel confident; an independent state is declared in 1946 and this action immediately sparks a volatile situation into an outright war.
- 1946-1950: A brutal war is fought in the Middle East, and Israel *wins*. The conflict itself spreads into many nations, which tend to emulate the Nazi example (to great controversy) in order to contain mutants.
- 1951: The Middle East settles into an uneasy peace. Charles outspokenly advocates for resolution and diplomacy in order to make sure that war never happens again. Cause it's the second he's experienced, and he is not a fan. Erik argues for the necessity of arms and violence. The formerly inseparable friendship begins to fray.
- 1952: Charles returns to England, accepting a public job as a mutant advocate and pursuing his degree in genetics. He accepts great restrictions on his powers. Erik thinks it's the wrong choice.
- 1953-1956: Charles continues in his advocate job, traveling back to Israel regularly. But he and Erik almost never see eye-to-eye anymore.
- late 1956: Finally, mutants in Erik's employ decide enough is enough. They take Charles and throw him out into the desert, tied up, no water, with a helmet to block any telepathic call for help. They leave him for dead. He is found just barely in time by an American agent - a young shapeshifter named Raven.
- 1957: Charles recovers under Raven's care. He is upset, angry and betrayed. Charles assumes Erik was behind the murder attempt.
- also 1957: Erik assumes Charles is dead by the hand of dissidents. It makes him even crueler in cracking down on anti-Israeli sentiment.
- 1958-1960: After a brief and unhappy stint working for the US government, Charles persuades Raven to leave with him and start working on behalf of mutants everywhere. 'Professor X' becomes something of a cult figure among mutants, a mythical figure representing freedom and peace and coexistence, even though such an ideal is still far from being realized.

Xavier enters here, as an undercover sort of peacekeeper, going around and protecting mutants and stopping violence. And ignoring the consequences.

Personality:

On the outside, Charles Xavier is an eccentric, intelligent, friendly and flirtatious young man, kind to a fault, generous, and trusting. He's always the first to extend the hand of friendship and trust. He believes in the goodness of people, and isn't afraid of being vocal about it. He likes a good time, enjoys flirting with lovely ladies, and shows off his intellectual ability and emotional insight almost every chance he gets.

That is … in canon.

This AU version of Charles has learned caution and has seen terrible violence. He certainly can turn on the charm and is still prone to trust, but he's quieter. He knows the value of secrecy. He uses telepathy only subtly, making absolutely sure that the other person won't know they're being read.

He believes at heart that people are good, that they are worth it, that peace is possible and achievable and the right way. Frankly, Charles has lived his entire life hearing the surface thoughts of everyone around him -- every secret, every petty jealousy. Especially in the suppressed, quiet British culture of the 1940s, this must have been a shocking contradiction to the young boy. He only managed to survive by making his faith in humanity absolutely unshakeable, part of the core of his being.

Of course, Charles has been through not one but two wars, now. Both time he was on the winning side, and both times he a major cause of that victory. He's seen a lot of men killed. He's caused a lot of death. The first time, he believed he was right with the absolute unshakeability of youth, but the second time, he faced atrocities and slaughters on the part of his allies, and he couldn't take it. He sees no side as absolute good, anymore. Everyone is worth saving, yes, but governments and institutions lead necessarily towards violence to keep themselves in power, and Charles can't trust that. Rogue peacekeeping, therefore, is the only answer he's managed to come up with, and even that is a fragile stopgap, and his reasoning is fraught with internal psychological contradiction.

In short: Charles is brilliant and compassionate but extremely flawed. His view of the world is too black and white, a mottled idealist cynicism, balanced on a knifes edge and perfectly ready for someone to shove it one way or the other.

Sexual Preferences/Orientation:

First, with this, I'm going to cover Charles' feelings on intimacy, which are something I didn't go over in the personality section. Charles' distant mother and lack of a father figure creates in him a voracious longing for affection. No doubt a lot of the reason he extends trust so easily is because he wants love in return. He needs deeply and in a way that's not at all healthy.

Now: sex. In his formative years, Charles only saw sex as one party taking advantage of the other. Adding to that the understated social mores concerning sex in pre-WWII England, and overall it's safe to say that Charles grew up tense and afraid of physical intimacy. Adding to that the fact that he no doubt heard and felt sex telepathically at an age where he wouldn't have understood it -- Charles' sexual development was accelerated in odd patches, stunted in others, and in general never quite came out the way it should.

He first introduced himself to sex after the end of World War II, when he as a confident and accomplished young man (who thought himself much more mature than his years) discovered that romancing women could be a lot of fun. He learned to flirt and to enjoy, but there was always a barrier to how intimate he would get. If he fell too much in love, if he wanted to give of himself fully, he might lose control of his powers. And, when out of control, he could twist someone out of all recognition. He could erase someone entirely.

So, Charles only sleeps with people he likes and enjoys. But he can't like them too much.

Thus enter Erik and Raven. Both of them claim extremely important places in his life. Erik is/was his closest friend, his greatest rival, the man who understood him perfectly. There was indeed desire to possess and give of himself, with Erik, even though it was a long time before Charles had any word for or conception of homosexuality.

With Raven, the problems of homosexuality don't enter the equation, but he grew to care for her and depend on her so much that he was careful to keep her within the realm of family. She was a partner. Every time she started to make hints towards sexual desire, he would shut it down, pretending ignorance and/or misunderstanding.

As for gender: Charles is primarily attracted to women, due to both social pressures, internal assumptions, and being a 1.5ish on the Kinsey scale. Women are for unequal relationships, in his mind. Men, on the other hand, are equals -- and a man who challenges Charles, who understands him, could be a powerful lure.

Powers: According to the wiki, Charles Xavier has a truly ridiculous list of powers. His psychic range is 250-300 miles, and within that range, he's able to read minds, communicate with them, erase memories, create illusions, mind control, astrally project, and more.

Needless to say, I won't be playing him with all of those because omg godmode.

Charles' range will be decreased to the size of the city (of course). In addition, his powers will decrease exponentially the farther away the person is. This means that he'll barely be able to communicate with someone on the other side of the city.

He will retain all other powers except astral projection. Bete Noire, of course, makes these powers function sporadically; currents of magic can produce false images and false impressions, or could prevent him from using telepathy entirely (this would be used if a mundane did not want their muse's mind read). On top of that, the overall environment of Bete Noire will wear on his brain in a more intimate and visceral way than the other inhabitants, making it as much a weakness as a strength.

Reason for playing:
- He fits into my niche. Badass who just wants to be loved.
- I'm super-enthusiastic about him lately and I'd like to channel that enthusiasm into Bete Noire.
- His telepathy and constant desire to meddle make him the source of many potential plots.
- He looks the same as Gabriel from Cho's backstory and there will be mindfuckery.
- Why AU? Because I'd like the chance to explore Charles as a more weathered, more experienced individual, while still keeping him the same optimist we saw in canon. I think it'll be a great challenge, and I also relish the opportunity for WTFery as he interacts with possible non-AU canonmates.

4. Original Character Supplement
World History: What kind of world is your character from? This part can be short, but it must focus on the particular character's context. What was their world like, from their point of view?
Character History: Let us have a summary of the highlights, the turning points of your character's history. What was it that made them who they are?

5. Samples
First-Person:

I'll never send this letter, Erik. I'll never tell you what happened to me after you had me killed. I wonder if you deserve that. After all, if you were confronted with your friend, the man you'd betrayed and ordered to the slaughter, it would hurt. I know you that well, my friend. It would lend me some satisfaction, and a good deal of closure.

Unfortunately, now, my only concern is my safety. If you knew I was alive, that safety would be threatened.

The only time name you will know me by, now, will be Professor X.

Third-Person: http://cerebel-fics.livejournal.com/93560.html
Third-Person #2: When he touches Erik, it's with young, raw, furtive intimacy.

He's seventeen. He's only just lost his virginity (to an older girl, awed by his stories of war). He hasn't lost the gangly, awkward, youthful look, and he's starting to believe he never will. He and Erik are sparring, testing and re-testing their powers, their ever-so-basic fighting skills, a give-and-take they've mastered by now. Impromptu.

Until suddenly he touches something in Erik's mind that sparks like a live wire.

He freezes, and Erik takes him to the ground.

There are sparks, red-hot sparks, and Charles breathes shakily, caught in a rare heat.

"Erik," he whispers.

Erik is uncertain, suddenly, and that strikes Charles as highly unusual. Ever since Erik grew out of his shell, ever since he learned English, he's always been tough, sure, quiet and ruthless.

Charles moves to prop himself up on his elbows, to shift out from under Erik's body, but Erik catches him.

A flush stains Charles' cheeks.

When they kiss, all Charles can think is this is wrong, this is wrong, this is wrong, because he has no context for this, no words, nothing but a clumsy sexuality that threatens to devour him. He's afraid to move, afraid to reach out telepathically, afraid of what he'll find and what he might not.

Their teeth click together.

Charles' fingers tighten in Erik's clothes.

And then he pushes Erik away.

"No," he says. "No, I'm sorry, we can't," his heart pounding with the fear and the dreadful want alike. "My friend -- we can't."