application.

2011-11-17T06:40:52Z

Your name: Ashe.
Your journal: ~flameish
Contact:
AIM - fish custards
Email/GChat - such.melodrama[at]gmail[dot]com
Other characters played at Passing: None.

Character name: Dr. Charlotte Frances Xavier.
Character fandom: X-Men: First Class
Version: V2+
Canon point: Post Canon, if it can be considered such.
Importing development from old game? No.
Background: Charlotte Frances Xavier was born in Westchester, New York on January 31, 1932, the first and only child of Dr. Brian Xavier and his wife Sharon. Brian Xavier was a nuclear scientist from an old money New York family, and Sharon was a British socialite who had been fascinated by Brian's good looks and intellect. While it certainly began as a classic marriage between two respectable scions of good families, not quite an arranged marriage but certainly a marriage grounded more in business than romance, the couple did love each other. They were happy together and they were happy to have a child together. Charlotte's early years were spent as the daughter and sole child of a wealthy family, surrounded by the "right" sort of people and given anything she wanted. Her parents were doting and affectionate, even if they were often busy being important and adult, and it would have terribly easy for Charlotte to become just another flighty society girl if it weren't for one simple fact. Charlotte was a mutant, a telepath in fact. And, unlike many who manifested their abilities around puberty, her ability had been present practically since birth. As such, Charlotte was far more self-aware than any child her age had a right to be, and she knew from a young age that wealth and power didn't necessarily bring happiness or make someone a good person. After all, it was hard to hold on to any illusions when you knew that Mr. Halivan was embezzling money from his company, that the maid had taken to stealing the silver and that both Mr. and Mrs. Davenport were having affairs, with the same woman. Not to mention the slew of other things she picked up on over the years.

Charlotte's mutation was something of a poorly kept secret in her house. Her parents knew about it of course, to one degree or another, but they didn't really talk about it. Then again, Mrs. Xavier was stoically British and Dr. Xavier was a man from an old money family. They weren't the sorts to talk about their feelings on the best of days. While Brian was a consummate scientist, doing his best to understand his daughter's ability and encouraging her to explore it and learn her limits, Sharon wrote it off as the fanciful imaginings of a young girl. A precocious child, Charlotte was always closer to her father than her mother. Brian Xavier had always wanted a son, but when he got a daughter instead he saw no reason why that should limit her. He taught Charlotte how to play chess and instilled in her a deep respect and appreciation for science. Charlotte grew up with a deep respect for scientists like Marie Curie and Rosalind Franklin, taking particular inspiration from the latter. Unfortunately, Brian died in an accident when Charlotte was nine. In the aftermath of her father's death, Charlotte's grief and emotional turmoil had a sharp negative impact on her telepathy, making it more difficult for her to control the ability. Never having truly believed that her daughter had a gift, Sharon did what she thought was best to help Charlotte. She took her to doctors who did their best but who were ill-equipped to truly understand the complexities of mental illness and, more importantly, lack thereof. They thought Charlotte was simply suffering from female hysteria. They were hesitant to consider the possibility of schizophrenia in such a young girl, but it was also discussed.

Charlotte was given medications and electroshock therapy, and she eventually made a conscious decision to pretend to be normal. She lied to her doctors and stopped talking about the things she heard and, was back home within a few months. She apologised to her mother for worrying her, and immediately made her forget any of it had ever happened. Instead, she believed the same story she had told everyone else, that Charlotte had spent the summer visiting relatives in Europe. Charlotte regretted manipulating her mother's mind in such a way, but she knew it was safer in the long run. After all, if she could send her daughter away once, she could do so again. The next three years were peaceful, if not particularly happy ones. Sharon threw herself into society, trying to grieve in her own way and hopefully find a husband to take care of her, and she had little time for her daughter. Charlotte was privately disgusted with her mother's behaviour and swore to never be the sort of woman who needed a man to survive. She was lonely, closer to the servants than her mother, and then her mother married. Kurt Marko seemed like a decent enough man, a scientist who had once worked with her late father. With him came a son, Cain, who has brutish and dull. Kurt seemed amused by Charlotte's interest in the sciences, and humoured her incessant questions about his work. But he had married Sharon for her money and this all too soon became apparent. Charlotte knew from past experience not to call him on it, not to let him know about her ability, but she became distant toward him. He grew resentful of her, neglectful and occasionally abusive, but her never took it far. She was a young lady, after all. It was acceptable for boys to have scrapes and bruise, not so much for girls. Sharon meanwhile, became more withdrawn and used alcohol as a means of coping.

Charlotte might have gone mad in that house, alone save for the staff, a disinterested mother and an abusive stepfather and stepbrother, if it weren't for the fortuitous arrival of a very odd young girl. Her name was Raven, she was blue and she could look like anyone. Charlotte had always known that there was little chance she was the only person in the world with abilities, but it was so refreshing to meet someone else like her. She was smitten with Raven from the word go and they made a pact to stay together always. Once again, Charlotte manipulated her mother's mind, as well as the minds of her stepfather and stepbrother, this time convincing them that they had taken in the child of one of a distant. She and Raven created an appearance for her, based on pictures of her mother's family, and suddenly Charlotte had a pretty blonde sister who called her Lottie and who she adored. Raven became Charlotte's saving grace. No longer alone, Charlotte blossomed into a charming, happy girl. Her mother took notice and warmed up to her again. Though she would always feel somewhat betrayed by the way her mother had treated her as though there were something wrong with her, she thrived under the attention. She did well in school and took more of an interest in sciences. She used her abilities to give herself opportunities she wouldn't have had otherwise. She graduated at sixteen and went to Radcliffe College. She also took some classes at Harvard, though she couldn't fully attend the school. Her mother disapproved of her study of the sciences, but she thought Charlotte might find a nice respectable husband who would overlook her eccentricities.

Charlotte didn't find a nice husband. Instead, she got her degree, then went on to further her education in England, going to Cambridge to follow in the footsteps of Rosalind Franklin. Her time at university was difficult, with men often judging her and professors wondering why she bothered. She heard the phrase 'uptight bitch' more times than she cared to, but she worked hard. Shortly before Raven turned eighteen, Sharon and Kurt died in a car accident. Charlotte became her sister's guardian, and through some manipulation, kept Cain from taking their inheritance. With money at their disposal, some things became easier and others harder. Men actively courted Charlotte and were often unkind when she refused them. But her focus was always her sister and her education. Eventually, after a lot of hard work, perseverance, and generally putting up with a lot of ridiculous bullshit, not to mention a fair bit of telepathic meddling, Charlotte managed what very few women had. She became a doctor of genetics. She knew it wasn't real progress, since she had manipulated a great deal of it, but it still felt good. She made a name for herself and gained the grudging respect of people around her.

Charlotte, now calling herself Charley, worked, while still continuing her studies, this time at Sorbonne. She intended to be something of a perpetual student, always learning and furthering herself even as she worked to make progress in the field of genetics. Perhaps, if she was very lucky, she would even meet more people like herself and Raven with time and better understand the role of mutation. Fate, however, had other plans for the Charley and her sister, in the form of a very pretty CIA agent with a mutated MCR1 gene, named Moira MacTaggert. Agent McTaggert came to her and explained that she had encountered a group of mutants led by a dangerous man named Sebastian Shaw. Moira, as she came to call her, was interested in Charley's expertise in genetics, particularly in relation to the mutants she had seen. Charley was thrilled at the prospect of finding more mutants, and even moreso that she had been approached by a woman who cared very little for her sex, and quickly agreed to come to the CIA with Moira. Unfortunately, the higher ups had little interest in the opinions of a silly woman playing at being a scientist and they were dismissive until she pulled information about Jupiter missiles in Turkey from their minds. Then they thought she was a spy. It was only Raven's quick thinking that saved her. Raven changed her shape more than once and an agent in the back of the room said he would take responsibility for them. Charley fully expected to be patronised and placated, but the man seemed genuinely interested in her ideas. After a little telepathic jiggery-pokery, Charley left the CIA with Moira, her sister and the man and went to find Shaw.

Charley was mostly kept back on the boat, the agents derisive of a civilian woman in their midst. She ignored them and focused instead on Shaw. She was blindsided by Shaw having a telepath of his own, and couldn't quite fight back her resentment when she told them she'd be no help and was met with thoughts that it was no surprise a woman was useless. And then she realised there was someone in the water. His mind was brighter than anything she had ever encountered, and it was quite clear he was going to stupidly get himself killed. Ignoring the shock of everyone around her, Charley dove into the water and went to the mutant. Erik. Touching his mind to try and stop him, she saw all Erik's reasons for wanting to destroy Shaw and also saw someone powerful who could be a kindred spirit. More than that, it was as if she knew everything about him. She let him know that he was no longer alone, and managed to convince Erik to come with her. When they returned to the boat, she found that the crew was grudgingly impressed by her gutsy display...which might have meant more if they weren't also staring at her chest. She made a mental note not to save anyone's life while wearing a white blouse ever again. Raven was quick to give her a jacket, for which she was quite grateful. They returned to the man in black's facility, and quickly met another mutant. Henry McCoy had feet that functioned like a second set of hands, and Charley was certain he has so much more potential than just that. She praised his mutation and encouraged him to embrace it. Living together in England and Paris, she had always encouraged Raven to be comfortable with her true appearance, finding it exotic and lovely, and she wanted Hank to be just as comfortable as her sister. She didn't realise he was developing a crush on her, or that Raven was developing one on him, though the knowledge of these things came later. Erik tried to leave almost the same day he arrived, not believing a group led by a woman, even one as impressive as Charley, could stop Shaw. In spite of Charley's well reasoned arguments for why he should work with them, he left. As he saw it, his goals were too dangerous to involve women. Charley was disappointed and annoyed, but she let him go. And then she met her true love.

Cerebro was gorgeous and Charley was enamoured with it at first sight. If it had been a person, she probably would have proposed marriage that first day. As it was, she probably made some really awkward noises when she used it. Using Cerebro was unlike anything she had ever experienced. She quickly found several mutants she felt would be both interested in joining them and useful to her cause. She made it clear to the man in black that she would look for the mutants with Raven, that the CIA would not be involved and they would find their own kind. With the way the higher ups degraded women, she hardly trusted them to handle the task of recruiting mutants with the sort of care it required. Though they were turned down more than once, by men who had no interest in working under the lead of a woman, they finally found their first recruit in a girl named Angel Salvadore. It was incredibly awkward, going to a strip club with her sister, who was pretending to be a man, but Angel was taken in by their abilities, as well as the opportunity to have a more meaningful career. Angel was joined by Armando Muñoz, a cab driver with the ability to adapt who called himself Darwin, Alex Summers, an inmate who called Charley a bitch then decided he respected her when she promptly kicked him in the balls, and Sean Cassidy, who was probably the most awkward young man Charley had ever met. Their last recruit was something of a surprise, as Charley had rather expected he would reject her outright, quite possibly with colourful invectives. James Howlett was a rough man, very old and possessing a healing factor and bone claws. Charley was absolutely fascinated with him. He nearly did tell her to fuck off, but something made him listen to her offer, and by the end of it he had chosen to come. Part of it, to Charley's annoyance, was an old fashioned protectiveness of women, but he was also genuinely interested in helping her stop a very real threat. And he was curious about her. Those were reasons she could live with. They returned to Richmond and began to make plans. James insisted on working with the others, teaching them to defend themselves. Though James originally assumed Charley wasn't a fighter, she quickly proved herself a willing and capable student to the older man and earned his respect.

Their search for Shaw brought them to Russia, but Charley didn't actually go to Russia. Apparently, as a woman, they didn't think she should be involved in that kind of mission. Instead, James went with Moira, while Charley stayed with the younger mutants. While they were gone, Shaw attacked the facility with Azazel and Riptide, killing most of the CIA agents and destroying Cerebro. Though she was afraid of the idea of losing her proteges, for whom she felt a strong sense of responsibility, Charley was not the sort of person to back down in the face of intimidation. Though Shaw's helmet protected him from her telepathy, his subordinates were not as protected. Charley was able to take control of Azazel, using him to put pressure on Shaw. After all, his power wouldn't protect him from Azazel's blade and speed. Though Shaw relented and agreed to leave, he also extended an offer to those with Charley, to join his fight against humans. Charley could have forced the issue, but she did believe in giving people a choice. Charley worried that Angel might leave, considering she didn't think too highly of the CIA agents, but something about the way Charley had defended her caused her to stay. It helped, of course, that she had formed a strong friendship with Charley and Raven. With no one taking his offer, Shaw left. Shortly after, James returned with Moira, having managed to incapacitate Emma Frost, and Charley looked into the other telepath's mind to figure out Shaw's plan. What she saw was a grim vision of worldwide war and nuclear devastation. She knew they couldn't stay at the CIA and she fully intended to let the students leave. It was James who talked her down from that, convincing her to trust the younger mutants to make their own choices. They had elected to stay and she shouldn't disregard that. Knowing how the CIA had been when they were there, Charley chose to cut ties with them completely. She made them destroy all their intelligence on mutants, then erased the knowledge from their minds. Even Moira's memories were erased. Anonymity, in this case, would be their greatest strength...at least until Shaw was dealt with.

They gained one new other addition after Shaw's attack, or rather a returnee. Erik had heard news of Shaw's attack and had come to see what had happened. He seemed honestly shocked to find the group was alive, and even more so to find that it was Charley who had made Shaw leave. The situation forced the man to reevaluate his opinion of both Charley and the group, and he decided that he wanted to help them as they were his best chance to stop Shaw once and for all. Though Raven and James were hesitant to trust the man, Charley consented and took the group to her childhood home in Westchester. Though the place was a source of negative memories for her, she knew it would be a good place to train the younger mutants for the fight that was fast approaching. She focused on teaching them to control their powers, but also to accept themselves and have confidence. With Hank, she also encouraged him to set aside his research into a "cure" for his and Raven's physical mutations in favour of focusing more fully on the task at hand. She assured Hank that he was brilliant the way he was and that his feet were an asset rather than a detriment. She may have also sat him down and explained that it would go very poorly for him if he upset Raven or made her feel like less because of her physical appearance. The words 'spend the rest of your days thinking you're a goat' might have been used. She was, after all, Raven's older sister before all else. At the mansion, Raven completely set aside her human guise, as she had when she and she and Charley lived alone, embracing her true appearance. Charley did all she could to support this, wanting her sister to feel comfortable and safe. Just as long as she didn't feel too comfortable or safe around Erik, on whom she had developed a terribly obvious crush. As to her own romantic situation, Charley had become quite close with James and eventually began something of an affair with him. He was attractive, intelligent in his own way, and he respected her. They weren't in love and it wasn't really a relationship, but it was nice to have something for herself.

With James and Erik, Charley worked to give both of the men better control so they could push their mutations further.She found that the older men had both grounded their abilities in rage, and she knew that they could achieve so much more if they let go of that. She helped Logan work on his focus, often pairing him with Hank. Both men needed to channel their animal instincts and she felt that working together would ultimately be beneficial to both sides of the pair. With Erik, she worked to gain his trust and help him embody both rage and serenity simultaneously. With this balance, Erik was able to achieve much more than he could previously. Charley also pushed his own abilities harder, finding new ways to use her telepathy to her advantage. She also worked on using his abilities in more offensive ways, and even learned more hand-to-hand combat, as well as how to use a handgun. At the same time, Charley began to build a friendship with Erik, both of them opening up more about their pasts. Erik, like many others, had assumed that Charley was a typical upper class female, in spite of all he had seen of her. She made it very clear that was not the case and that she had worked hard all her life. The pair bonded over the difficulties of their respective childhoods. While Charley would never actively compare her own suffering to that of Erik's, she did appreciate that Erik dropped the idea that wealth had somehow made her life easy. Still, their views on the situation of mutant-human relations were very different. Charley honestly believed that they could coexist with humanity, in spite of her negative experiences, while Erik's own experiences had made him deeply cynical and distrustful. Still, she actively supported his plan to kill Shaw, knowing the man was far too dangerous to be allowed to live. She just did not believe mass slaughter of humanity would ever be necessary. Erik's view of the situation was very black and white, whereas Charley was very aware of the multitude of shades of grey. She did, however, get Erik to see that she had every intention of fighting for their rights and she didn't plan on sitting back to hide and wait for acknowledgement.

Then came the news of Russia sending missiles to Cuba and an American blockade. They quickly realised that Shaw was putting his plan into action in order to start World War III. They mobilised, preparing for battle, and planned to leave off in the Blackbird the next morning. That night, Raven came to Charley and told her that Hank had still worked on the cure, and had offered it to her one last time. She said she had declined because, even if she hadn't grown comfortable in her own skin, she knew enough from her sister's work in the field of genetics to know that injecting oneself with an untested formula was a phenomenally stupid idea. Charley was proud of her judgement and glad that she'd turned the opportunity down. Raven did, however, stress that Hank had told her she was beautiful either way, and she began to wonder if perhaps it was Hank she needed to worry about and not Erik. She was glad that he'd gotten over his crush on her though. And she did need to worry about him, just not in regards to Raven. The next day, as they prepared to leave, they found Hank's lab trashed. When he finally joined them at the plane (and Charley fully intended to complain to him about how difficult their flight suits were to get into), Hank was changed. The serum hadn't removed his physical mutation. It had amplified it, leaving him blue and furry with fangs, claws and catlike eyes. Both Charley and Raven were quick to assure Hank that he wasn't less for his new appearance, and the others agreed. Still, they could hardly dwell on that and they set out for Cuba. They headed to Cuba, James complaining about hating the colour yellow and bitching about not being able to smoke most of the way there, while everyone else mostly ignored him. Charley did offer to make him a mask with pointy ears if he wanted though. For some reason, he didn't appreciate this suggestion.

They finally reached Cuba and Sean found the submarine with his power. Then, with Charley's guidance, Erik pulled it out of the water and began guiding it to land. Riptide managed to cause both the submarine and the plane to crash on the beach and from there it was a battle. James's brother, Victor, had joined Shaw somewhere along the way, and the two brothers went head to head, while Alex and Hank teamed up against Azazel. Angel and Sean engaged in an aerial assault on Riptide. And Darwin and Raven were in the middle of everything, adapting to handle whatever came their way, while Charley supervised everything mentally. She would have happily got involved in a more active capacity, but Erik had gone after Shaw and Charley wanted to keep an eye on him. Unfortunately, she had to split her focus when she realised that Emma had escaped and rejoined Shaw. Form there it was a full-scale mental battle with the other telepath, and she eventually had to throw the full force of her telepathy at the other woman, severely damaging her mind. When Erik seemed to disappear, Charley was worried, but soon she managed to locate Erik's mind again and witness his confrontation with Shaw. When Erik got Shaw's helmet off, Charley took hold of the man's mind so that Erik could kill him. She did not make any effort to stop his friend, since she had promised to help him and really did believe Shaw was too dangerous to be allowed to live. The experience was excruciating, but Erik seemed to realise that Shaw's death was hurting her too and made it as quick as possible. The real problem came when Erik came out of the submarine and pointed out that the Russian and American navies were planning to attack this new perceived threat. He wanted to turn their missiles back on them, and Charley couldn't allow thousands of people to die. She knew doing so would lead to a conflict they couldn't possibly win, and she wouldn't risk that. She argued that such a direct attack would lead to a prolonged war that would ultimately destroy them. Mutants were spread out and most thought they were alone. A conflict between mutants and humans could not end in victory. Furthermore, most mutants came from human families, and very few would react well to the notion of turning on their parents or siblings. She also reminded Erik that his mother had been human and Shaw a mutant. Turning on humans as a whole would only be furthering Shaw's flawed ideals.

When she had finally talked Erik down from a course of action that would have surely led to their destruction, her friend blowing the missiles up in the air rather than attacking the ships, she used her own power to force the ships to leave. It was definitely a strain on her abilities, affecting so many minds so soon after her mental battle with Emma and sharing Shaw's death, but she managed to make both groups forget about targeting the beach and go their separate ways. With Shaw dead, Azazel, Janos and the others had no reason to fight them. The only real threat was Victor and James had managed to knock him unconscious. Azazel brought the group back to Westchester, and then he and Janos left, taking Emma with them. James left as well, planning to return once he had dealt with Victor. He could see the threat his brother posed and he didn't want to leave him alone until he'd dealt with his violence and instability. Once everything was settled, Charley and Erik began making plans. They all agreed that they needed to be better prepared before letting the world know about them. This also allowed them the opportunity to eventually introduce mutants to humanity on their own term. With that in mind, they began considering opening a school for mutants, not to hide but to give people like them a safe environment to learn both control and how to accept themselves. Things were somewhat uneasy with Erik after everything, but the two were learning to understand one another and Charley felt that by working together they would be able to balance one another's extremes.

Changes from canon, if AU: Everything? No, seriously. ALL THE THINGS. I think I've covered it pretty extensively in her background. The obvious change, of course, is that Charles isn't Charles. Charlotte Xavier is a very different person. Many people would point out that Charles was a fairly moderate, conservative individual, but that's to be expected. Charles Xavier was a wealthy white man in the 1960s. He could do what he wanted with his life without having to push for anything. Charlotte, as a woman, did not have it so easy. As a result, her personality is far less moderate. She pushes boundaries more and fights harder. She's not quite the pacifist her canon counterpart is. She still has a strong sense of morality and a distaste for violence, but she's not the type of person to placate or preach compromise and appeasement. Likewise, her view on mutations is different. As someone constantly judged by society for a quirk of genetics she could hardly control, that being her biological sex, she embraces her mutation and those of others much more completely. She encourages those with physical mutations to accept and love themselves as they are, and she tries her best to make everyone see how amazing they are because of their mutations. Because of this, she has garnered a deeper respect and loyalty from her comrades. At the same time though, she didn't have as visible a presence in leading the group early on. As a woman, she was never really in charge when they were working with the CIA, which led her to break ties with them more completely. After all, she could hardly trust a group of people who were sexist assholes to be accepting of mutants.

Obviously her relationships within the group were different, as she was a different person with different reactions. She and Raven were far closer, without the awkward sexual tension and misunderstandings. Her relationship with Erik was even more complicated, because she was a woman and he had difficulty not being overprotective and underestimating her, but also because she was more open and accepting of both mutations and his quest for vengeance. She never tried to dissuade him from killing Shaw. Many of the younger mutants, particularly Alex, were not as close with her because of her gender, though Hank had a crush on her and was more likely to listen to her because of his respect and attraction to her. Most changed, really, was her relationship with Moira. There was no sexual attraction there, and they were more friends with a mutual respect for one another as women in difficult situations. However, Charlotte also broke ties with Moira much earlier, because she left the CIA more completely, so Moira wasn't as central a relationship in her life. James Howlett, however, was, in a way he never was for FC Charles. Or...I assume Professor X and Wolverine never had an affair in the sixties. As to differences in actual events, those are covered in the background. Hopefully this covers things adequately, at least from the perspective of Charlotte's identity and relationships with those around her.

Personality: Charlotte, or rather Charley, is a complicated woman. That may seem like a cheap answer, but it's true. Charley is nothing like what women in the late fifties and early sixties were expected to be. She is intelligent, driven and fiercely independent, secure in who she is and not particularly inclined to let anyone else tell her what she's supposed to be or do. To say she is intelligent is really an understatement. Charley is a genius and an expert when it comes to genetic mutation. There are many who would say it's a shame she's female because she's so terribly clever, and she would respectfully like to force-choke those people. As a scientist, specifically a geneticist, Charley is an intensely logical individual. As such, she has a hard time accepting the idea that women are somehow inferior to men, after all science shows nothing to support that, and she goes out of her way to subvert expectations with respect to her gender. Where some women in her position would wear trousers and cut their hair short in an almost subconscious means of appearing more male, Charley flaunts her femininity. She almost exclusively wears dresses and skirts, though she will wear pants when it is practical, and is more likely to be found in heels than flats. Of course, that is in part because she is fairly short of stature. It is almost as if she is saying "Yes, I am a woman and I am still smarter than you. Deal with it." Conversely, she rarely answers to Charlotte and prefers Charley, an arguably masculine alternative. Of course, really Dr. Xavier is the best option. Where some might have gone to teach, Charley has always leaned more toward the practical applications of genetics and has fought tooth and nail for the respect of her contemporaries. Having seen women like Rosalind Franklin get lost in the shadow of their male colleagues, Charley has done her utmost not not to allow the same to happen to her.

Charley is stubborn to a fault, and rarely has the good sense to back down from a situation...even when she should perhaps do so. Driven and ambitious, she knows what she wants and she gets it. Though she considers herself a moral and upright person, she also does not shy away from using her evolution-given gifts to her advantage. After all, if people are going to insist that her sex, a quirk of her genetics, should hold her back, then by science she'll make damn sure to use her telepathy, simply another quirk of her genetics, to move her forward if she has to. This is not to say that she uses her power indiscriminately, or that she relies on her telepathy to the exclusion of other means, but she sees no reason not to use it when other means of achieving her goals fail. And Charley does have other means. Really, she is far more manipulative than she, or anyone else for that matter, realises. She is an attractive woman, and furthermore she knows it. She would by no means use sex as a means of moving forward, and she would frankly be offended at the suggestion, but she does recognise that sometimes a pretty smile can get results. She is also charismatic when she wants to be, witty and affable with a distinctly British sort of charm and a dry sense of humour. Most of the time, though, she is direct and to the point and even a little bit abrasive. She has to be, constantly fighting as she is to be accepted and respected and treated like a human being. While she tries her best to be polite and courteous, unless given a reason not to be, she's always a little to brash, a little too aggressive, for most people's tastes. People don't know what to make of her, so they generally nod their head and hope she goes away.

Charley is a woman of many bad habits. She smokes. She drinks. She has a habit of swearing when things don't go her way. She goes to bars and chats up men and doesn't give a single fuck about her "reputation". Honestly, that probably went down in flames years ago. She enjoys sex, but she's not going to saddle herself with a marriage for that. She is too in love with her independence to really consider a relationship. Plus there's the fact that she has a really hard time letting people in. Charley has trust issues, stemming from the way most of her interactions with men. Anyone who seemed interested in her or her work was usually only interested in taking advantage of her or her ideas. And she always knew from her telepathy. As a result, she's built thick walls of sarcasm and cynicism around herself. She'll offer the illusion of letting people close, but there are few who she actually does. Raven is a notable exception, because she's family and Charley trusts her above all else. Charley's aloofness is also a product of her upbringing, a combination of a British stiff-upper lip mindset instilled at an early age and childhood filled with abuse and neglect. Her mother paid more attention to her than she might have a boy - and part of the reason Charlotte dresses as she does is that it was the one real connection she had with her mother - and Kurt wasn't quite as rough with her as he might have been otherwise since he didn't see her as a threat and he figured she could just be married off if she became an issue, but her childhood still wasn't particularly happy. As a result, she tends let people just close enough so that she doesn't feel alone, while still maintaining enough of a distance to avoid being hurt, disappointed or abandoned.

Charley is very comfortable with her abilities, seeing them as a natural part of her that should be embraced. She thinks being judged for her mutation is just as ridiculous as being judged for her sex. After all, it's hardly as though she up and decided one day that she really fancied being a female mutant, or that Darwin chose to be a black man, or Angel a hispanic woman. Raven, she knows, hardly chose to be blue, and Hank certainly didn't choose his feet, fantastic though they might be. By that same token, she encourages other to accept and embrace their abilities. She prefers Raven's blue form to her adopted appearance and thinks Hank should avoid shoes all together. She doesn't believe that violence is necessary to meet their goals, and she definitely follows a diplomatic approach to the situation of mutant rights, but she doesn't believe in simply backing down or adopting a policy of appeasement. Compromise has it's place, but she has seen it used too often as a tool to push people down and deny their rights. Charley cares about equality, not just for mutants but for everyone. She is an egalitarian, and sees the current struggle mutants face not as a fight to be better than humans but as a fight to be equal. The same is true for women and blacks and homosexuals. The ways she sees it, you do not make yourself better by pulling others down. All you're doing there is lessening everyone. Charley is a good person who believes in doing the right thing and helping people, but she doesn't do so with as much idealism and naivete as her canon counterpart. Charley isn't a patient person, she isn't calm and composed. She is a fighter by nature because she has always had to fight to make it in life.

There is a softer side to Charley that few people are privy to. For the longest time, Raven was the only one who saw those parts of her, and she's still the one most likely to witness them. Charley is a warm and caring woman who genuinely wants to help people. She is an affectionate, tactile person with people she has allowed close, and she enjoys the simple pleasures of life like a quiet night at home with a good book or a game of chess. Though many people find her brash and unsettling, it isn't because she's loud or harsh. There is a quiet intensity to Charley that makes people take notice of her. She's the sort of person people gravitate to without quite knowing why, a strong but compassionate leader who doesn't allow herself to be held back by the constraints of society. And she hopes. Even though she can be cynical and jaded, she still has hope. She wants to make a difference in the world, and she has an idealism to her without the naivete that can be a hazard in idealists. At the same time though, as much as she cares for others, she is generally far too cerebral to really connect to others on a deeper level. Charley tends to get stuck in her own head as it were. This is heavily tied in to her telepathy; her mutation gives her a unique understanding of the human condition. Through it, she gains insights into the minds of others that she would not otherwise possess and this affords him a greater awareness of the people around him. Though some might mistakenly believe her naive and ignorant of the harsher realities of life, whether because she is a woman or because she grew up having wealth, nothing could be further from the truth. Telepathy has shown Charley the darker parts of men's minds from a young age, but it has also shown her the best parts. She doesn't believe in black and white moralities. Hers is all shades of grey, because she knows that nothing is absolute. It isn't that she can't understand the more militant viewpoints of others so much that she thinks such extreme stands are fundamentally flawed. However, because of the level of understanding of others, her failings often come from her inability to understand herself. It doesn't help that she has trouble acknowledging her own faults or that she does need help from time to time. She despises weakness in herself and she does her best to stand on her own. The most difficult thing for Charley to do is allow someone else to help her.

Abilities: Charley is an Omega level psionic mutant and the most powerful telepath in the Marvel world. Her telepathy allows her to see into the minds of others, hearing their thoughts as well as projecting her own in order to communicate. She can also create illusions with her mind and even completely mask her presence, and that of others with her, from detection. She can use her mental abilities to command others to do as she wants, or even take control of their bodies to act through them. She can unlock or remove memories from people's minds. She can mentally cause pain, temporary paralysis, or even unconsciousness in others and, presumably, could kill someone with her mind if she focused hard enough. She can produce psionic blasts that cause mental damage, as well as psionic shields that protect her mind and those of others. She can quickly absorb information, such as other languages or skills, through mental transference, allowing her to learn things she needs to know without much time or effort. She can sense other mutants when they're nearby, and this can be amplified through external means such as Cerebro. There is some speculation she may possess latent telekinesis as many telepaths do. At present, she has no access to that ability. A full list of his telepathic abilities can be found below:

Telepathic Communication: able to read minds and project her own thoughts into the minds of others within a radius of 250 miles. With extreme effort she can greatly extend that radius. When synched with Cerebro, she can connect to every mind on a planet.
Telepathic Illusion: ability to create realistic telepathic illusions and cause people to experience events which are not actually occurring.
Telepathic Cloak: can mask her presence from being detected by others. Her abilities can at times go undetected or be counteracted by other more powerful telepaths depending on their level
of skill in using their own psi abilities. She can extend these defenses to others around her as well.
Psi Link: ability to develop a mental link with any person which remains as a connection to that individual.
Telepathic Camouflage: ability to mask herself and other people from those around her. Can telepathically disguise herself, making her appearance to those around her quite different (changing the appearance of clothing, as well as more involved disguising).
Mind Blast: ability to place large amounts of information in another's mind.
Mind Control: ability to control the minds of others upon mere concentration. This power can allow her to completely shut down several people's minds, making it appear as if time has
stopped.
Mind Possession: ability to possess the mind of another, and use that being's body as her own.
Mind Alteration: ability to alter the minds of others by force of will.
Mental Amnesia: ability to cause loss of particular memories and amnesia in another person or even in a group of people.
Psionic Shield: ability to erect a psychic shield for protection of herself and of other minds.
Psionic Blasts: can project psionic force bolts which have no physical effects but which can affect a victim's mind so as to cause the victim pain or unconsciousness and can even kill an adversary.
Astral Projection: ability to Astral Travel and communicate with others astrally through her own will, or through contact with the thoughts and memories of others. In the astral realm, she can use her powers to create "ectoplasmic" objects. She cannot engage in long range astral projection on the earthly plane.
Mental Detection: can sense the presence of another superhuman mutant within a small but as yet undefined radius of herself by perceiving the distinctive mental radiations emitted by such a being.
Mind Transferal: able to transfer both her mind and powers into other host bodies if her own physical body could be somehow killed.
Absorb Information: ability to quickly process and store information, by mental transference. ^{[ 1
]}

Writing sample: Charlotte honestly couldn't believe they had all made it out of the conflict unscathed. Part of her insisted it couldn't be that easy. Life had taught her it couldn't be that easy. But here they all were. Shaw was dead, Erik had been dissuaded from what would have been, quite possibly, the single most idiotic thing he ever could have done, and all their little ducklings were all safe and secure. Of course said ducklings would probably throttle her if they ever heard her calling them such things, even in the relative safety of her own head, so she supposed it was lucky she was the telepath here and not them. Still, they were all safe and that was more than she had ever dared hope. She knew she would have to speak to Hank about the effect the formula had on his mutation but, if she was perfectly honest with herself, she had to admit she was avoiding that discussion. Part of her was just so disappointed with Hank. She had told him time and again that his mutation wasn't a detriment, that they all accepted him as he was, that he shouldn't try to change himself. A tiny, vicious part of her felt vindicated that the formula hadn't worked. It had been foolish of him to try it, particularly without running tests first. Conducting a peer review. Anything. But she didn't want Hank to suffer for his mistakes. She could only imagine how uncomfortable he was in his own skin now, when simply having different feet had so disturbed him. As much as she disagreed with his choices, she wanted to be there for him.

She also needed to talk to Erik, but that was another conversation she wished to avoid for a little longer if possible. For all they had left the beach on the same side, she could feel the cracks that had formed in the foundations of their alliance and she knew things between them had very nearly fractured. Erik had considered putting on that god awful helmet. He had considered ending all the lives on those ships. He hadn't, but the fact he would ever think those actions acceptable could be a problem. She knew, without the slightest shred of doubt that, if he had tried to fire on those ships, she would have ended him before he could stop it. She would have hated herself for it, but she would have done it. She had helped him kill Shaw because the man was too great a threat to be allowed to live. If Erik had moved to kill so many people, decent men who had reacted out of fear and hadn't truly known what they were doing, then he would have made himself into just as great a threat. And she would have executed him just as he did to Shaw. They had gone to Cuba to stop one war, not to start another, and she wouldn't have stood idly by while one man dragged them into a conflict they could not hope to win. For all the others sometimes thought her naive and idealistic, they had no idea what she was truly capable of when pressed.

There were so many things she needed to do, and the weight of responsibility was heavy on her shoulders. She ignored it, retreating instead to her study. The problems could weight. She had no doubt they would still be there in an hour, or two, or in the morning. For now, they had survived, and she wanted to hold on to that for a little longer before moving on to the next great challenge. She passed the chessboard, fingertips dancing lightly over the squares of stained wood, before making her way over to the sideboard. She grabbed a glass, filling it with a generous measure of brandy, and stared out the window at the grounds as she drank it silently. Let someone see her and comment. She was long past caring about the opinions of others, and the children - for all that they were children after everything - knew enough about her by now not to be too scandalised. She would never be the model of a respectable woman, nor did she care to be. As if to illustrate this point, she pulled out her cigarette case and took one of the neat little cylinders out, lighting it and holding it to her lips. Nicotine and the feel of smoke in her lungs pulled the last of the tension from her and she leaned out the window, taking a careless drag. She missed James, a dangerous admission to make even in the privacy of her own thoughts. She wasn't in love with him, wasn't even particularly attached to their physical intimacies, but he was a friend and she had grown accustomed to his presence. She could only hope he would finish with Victor and come back soon. That he would come back at all.

The sound of footsteps pulled her from her thoughts, as she finished her cigarette and dropped it to the ground below the window. She turned, knocking back the rest of her drink and setting the empty glass down just as the door opened. Like a dance, perfectly choreographed and executed. "Raven, darling," she said with a small, fond smile for her sister. "I was just about to come looking for you." No, she wasn't. She was planning on hiding here, retreating from the others until her mind wasn't quite so raw or seeing them became unavoidable. And Raven knew that, and called her on it, like a good sister would. But it was fine, because the warm press of Raven's consciousness against her own was like a balm, all tendernessaffectionfondamusementchiding and Oh Lottie, what am I going to do with you? It helped. It always helped. For all she did her best to keep out of Raven's mind, her sister always knew when she needed that contact, that brief connection that centred everything and soothed the raw edges of her mind. "I suppose we ought to find the others," she said, feeling that much more at peace. She smiled at Raven, pleased to see blue skin and gold eyes and red hair, bright against the white of the dress she wore. "White was always a good colour for you," she said fondly, as she linked arms with the other woman. "Come along then. There is so much to be done, and I've no doubt our boys need so much looking after."

Voice sample: Here.

If you want a more thorough example, I would be more than willing to do a thread with one of the mods.

charlotte xavier can kill you with her brain

application.