(pre-timeskip) Please take a long hard look at your textbook : xi_rpg application
- PLAYER INFORMATION
NAME: Avie
AGE: 24
PRONOUN OF CHOICE: she / her
EMAIL ADDRESS: aviekokyre @ gmail . com
AIM SCREENNAME & MAIN PERSONAL LJ ACCOUNT: aviekokyre / aviekokyre
OTHER CHARACTERS: n/a
RESERVED? Yes
- CHARACTER INFORMATION
NAME: Derrick Williams
CODENAME: Derek
SERIES/SOURCE: Elite Beat Agents
AGE: 16 (birthday: Nov. 14)
GENDER: male
ROLE: student
BACKGROUND:
Derrick happily grew up in the suburbs of California with his twin brother and parents, rarely ever being alone. He and his brother's music and link powers appeared early in their lives, and together they learned how to use them. Their powers became their secret. (And with the existence of anti-mutant sentiments, they had little reason to tell anyone of it in the first place.) The two would get into all kinds of playful mischief, causing people to do little double takes when they would start moving together at the same time and without words. They thought it was funny to hear how people's beats would jump.
Then tragedy struck the family when Derrick was fourteen. A string of robberies ran through their neighborhood, and one night, their house was a target when only the twins were at home. Derrick's brother believed they could stop the robber because their music senses gave them the advantage. Derrick was hesitant at first and tried to convince his brother otherwise, but he eventually went along with his plan. Unknown to them, the robber was examining their father's gun, which the robber had found in the hall closet. Startled by their sudden appearance, he fired the gun, hitting Derrick's brother in the chest. The robber then ran and was never found.
Derrick's brother died in the hospital's emergency room as Derrick listened to his beat go silent from the hall outside. At the last note, Derrick felt his brother's melody severed from him, and it hurt. He fell into a period when he just stopped, like he lacked the energy to do anything. His parents didn't know how to help and were afraid of making things worse, so they left him alone, thinking time would help. They were also torn up with their own grief and guilt and started to argue. When Derrick tried to block out the dissonance he heard from his parents with music, strange glowing orbs started to appear. They shocked whenever he touched them.
His family moved to get a new start, but it added to the negativity in multiple ways. Everything got F'ed up straight from the heart. Derrick's personality and mannerisms changed as he tried to cope with his life and his inability to make anything better. He was an empath trapped in a negative environment, with nowhere to go, no one to turn to. Derrick did the only thing he could do; he accepted how he felt, that he could do nothing, and gave up. He pushed down every emotion and fear and started living his life like he didn't care about anything. In truth, he was terrified from how his world had flipped upside-down so fast and hid. He didn't know what to do when it all falls apart.
But one night, as Derrick tried to drown out his parents with the radio, a news report interrupted the music. A giant creature was attacking the Intrepid Sea-Air Space Museum, and it was being fought by the Avengers... and students and staff from Xavier Institute. Derrick realized he did have a place to go to and made plans to run away. Maybe with him not around, his parents would sound better.
He didn't make it to the Institute though. After some time on the road, Derrick eventually went to a police station, turned himself in, and was brought home to his parents. He told them his reasons for running away. He was a mutant who was only causing them pain, and his brother's death, everything was his fault. He had heard it all before, and he never really had a doubt. Derrick asked for help to get to the Institute, after which, his parents could forget all about him, just like his brother. He wasn't worth their attention anymore.
To his surprise, Derrick's parents had been worried about him the whole time; they still cared about him when he thought they didn’t anymore. A bit of who Derrick once was started to return at that revelation. He wasn't as dead to the world.
Still, Derrick thought it would be better for him to go to the Institute if only so he could learn to control that new glowy thing power he got somehow. His parents were against it, especially after a recent string of controversy involving the Institute and mutants in general. He'd be safer at home. However, Derrick kept bringing it up and eventually threatened to try and go there himself again. It was the most effort he had put forth toward anything in a while. His parents had seen the full extent their fights had on him and knew that not letting him go might be more harmful than letting him. At least, they would know he arrived their safely and could keep in touch. His mother nervously made a phone call to ask for more information.
After making new plans and packing, Derrick left for the Xavier Institute by plane. He still didn't know what he was doing and faced yet another major change, but he knew nothing was getting better with him staying. And... was that the light at the far end of the tunnel or just the train? Derrick would take a look at least; he didn't want to stay in the dark anymore.
PERSONALITY:
Derrick looks like a very apathetic teenager and just getting by with what he's expected to do. However, that is only one aspect of him. The past year and a half have been nothing but major change after major change in a downward spiral. As an empath, he heard all that on a deeper level, and he couldn't take that sad song and make it better. He wanted things to stop hurting and scaring him, so Derrick internalized and pushed aside his feelings. He accepts things as is in order to move on and focus on more important matters. As such, he doesn't show emotions as much anymore and doesn't realize how he's actually feeling sometimes. If he can't push his feelings aside right away, he'll hide from people until he can. In other cases, he may freeze up completely. Derrick generally thinks it's better for him not to bother anyone and be overlooked. He's also quick to blame himself when things go wrong, not another person.
The real Derrick is hidden behind a blank face and a muted beat. He was once a cheerful, helpful, friendly, funny, polite kid with a playful streak and fiercely loyal to those he cared about. He wasn't nearly as introverted and uncertain as he is now. Parts of who he was still exist, albeit fragmented and repressed at the moment. Those parts will come out more now that he's in a more positive environment and has a chance to make friends. He needs a hand to help build up some kind of hope inside of him. He'll still be generally reserved and prone to falling back into his blanker state when things get tough.
Bits of his actions and speech show Derrick's lingering feeling that someone should be there, but his shadow's the only one that walks beside him. He tries to hide his deceased twin, the fact that he had a brother at all, and is just lonely. Derrick blames himself for his death and fears that if people find out about his brother, they'll see Derrick as broken and a bad person. He has yet to deal with his grief and guilt, and touching on his brother or what happened in the past, almost instantly starts to distress him.
But, for one that seems content to stay out of the spotlight or hide, Derrick can be incredibly willful at times. This happens whenever something touches on his moral views in relation to another person. Step on him all one likes, but don't expect Derrick to let it happen to someone else. Derrick would do anything for his friends and family, no matter the cost to himself. He won't think twice to take the hit for someone; he may barely think once if a friend or love one is in danger. He'll jump to action if nothing is being done or said and something should be. Derrick knows what it's like to have no one there to help and won't make the same "mistake" of being too afraid to act. Oddly enough, while he's very oriented towards a group/team/family, he has problems dealing with people without some awkwardness.
In short, he's trying to leave the worse point of his life, but he can't quite make it alone in trying to make this life his own. And, those who help are going to find one of the most loyal and supportive friends they may ever have.
APPEARANCE:
Derrick has bright red curly hair that's a bit afro-like where it rubs against his hoodie. And just because his hair looks fluffy and springy doesn't mean people can play with it... The faint lines by his blue eyes are from too many sleepless nights and bouts with insomnia. Derrick doesn't show his emotions a lot, and when he does show them, it'll be because he's feeling really bad or panicked or both. A smile is possible, but it's very rare for the time being. For the most part, people are going to see slight variations of the same blank expression. But don't be intimidated; he's really a nice guy!
He usually wears a grey zip-up hoodie with red stripes over a T-shirt with blue jeans that are a bit tattered at the hems along with a pair of black and white skateboard shoes. His clothes hang on him a little because a growth spurt shot his height up to the point where he really stands out in a crowd. And that's not including the hair color. However, the rest of his body hasn't caught up. Many of his features still have a younger appearance to them, which he's well aware of. It's like his body hasn't figured out what it's doing at all. Derrick is often seen with his skateboard nearby. However, he does not wear any protective gear. It's not because he think he'll look cooler without them or something similar; he's just not that concerned with his health anymore.
POWERS:
Musical empathy: Derrick's main power is hearing the world around him as music, and it allows him to identify people and their emotions by their beat. His ability to hear and understand the changes in the music is skilled as it developed early in his life. As such, he can locate someone from a distance. He can also predict a person's movements from them, allowing him to match or avoid the moves. However, he doesn't know that he could do more with the music, such as motivating another person by channeling the spiritual energy and force within the music. ... Also, he doesn't actually know how to dance... yet.
Broken telepathic link: In addition, he has a telepathic link that was once connected to his brother; it's broken now. Sometimes it causes Derrick to unknowingly sync up with others or a song. When he does so, the others may gain fuzzy glimpses into his thoughts and emotions or feel a bit more energized. Derrick may match their movements, move to their tune, or the song. Spontaneous, automatic dancing may occur. The link is mostly one way in this state. Derrick cannot glimpse into their thoughts. The others will not unconsciously sync up with him. In time, he may be able to use this link more consciously to help him purposely match others, hold telepathic communications with those he trusts (link becomes more two way), hear them from a greater distance, and energize another. Derrick believes this link completely disappeared with his brother, and gaining a sense of himself again will aid him greatly in controlling the link and the side effect of the break.
Musical energy conversion: The broken aspect of his link also caused his musical empathy to partially manifest itself in a strange way. Derrick channels the inherent energy of music and brings it into the physical world. It naturally forms into glowing spheres that hover around him. Derrick can take this energy and channel it to himself, other people, and things. If the energy is absorbed to a beat, it energizes. If the energy is absorbed out of sync to the beat, it feels like an electrical shock and disrupts the natural rhythm of the absorber, though it can energize slightly. These boosts of energy are short lived, and anything lasting needs more than a couple of energy spheres. Derrick's knowledge of this "ability" is still in its infancy, and Derrick now depends on music to augment his own energy as his leaks out through his broken link. Some of his own energy also is taken along with the orbs. Creating too many spheres or channeling most of them to another target will exhaust him, potentially causing him to fall unconscious. His beat will sound dangerously quiet and unstable then, and he'll be out for days.
ANYTHING ELSE?:
Telepaths and empaths might sense him as being very dull and blank on the surface, but if they were to delve deeper, they might sense a lot of negativity in the forms of guilt, loneliness, and fear. They might also sense that he's constantly searching for someone because of the broken link. Music empaths might hear him with a very dull, monotonous, quiet beat that's hard to hear, easy to miss. In the background though, there is something not quite right and perhaps struggling to be heard. Be wary about confronting him on the suppressed things in a major way; he's not used to those things being brought forth, especially in front of others.
Next to his bed and facing the wall usually (may change depending on roommate), there is a photo of a smiling boy looking very much like Derrick but wearing blue instead of red. The bottom part of the photo covered. There is a complete photograph of Derrick and his brother if the frame is opened. Only his brother is shown in the partial photograph. On a similar note, don't ever take Derrick's skateboard away or do anything to it. The skateboard means a lot to him; it used to belong to his brother. He won't care if he's up against Godzilla, Magneto, and an army of zombies. Derrick's getting it back!
- RP SAMPLES
First-person sample:
If written:
Does anyone know of a place that allows skateboarding? The school grounds are nicer than I expected, and someone could get hurt from a mistake. It doesn't have to be anything fancy. A flat area would work too. I'd rather not bother anyone if I can.
Thank you.
[Edited a few minutes after:] If anyone skateboards, maybe we could meet when you're bored not busy.
If voiced:
[a few seconds of silence pass before he finally speaks in a hesitant, muttered tone]
... Does anyone know a skateboarding place? Don't want to bother anyone or cause any harm when practicing. Doesn't have to be anything fancy.
...
Thanks.
[the recording promptly cuts off]
[the recording starts again with a few more seconds of silence before he speaks again in a similar, albeit slightly more nervous, tone]
Does... anyone skateboard?
[the recording promptly cuts off again, he'll likely reply only with text]
Third-person sample:
Derrick stared out the window of the airplane trying to ignore the noise of the engines and focus instead on the white clouds and blue skies. Before, he'd listen to the different beats belonging to everyone around him, but ever since that other power appeared, concentrating on the music was too risky. He could upset the passengers if his powers activated again, or worse, cause trouble for being a mutant. It made for a very boring trip, but it was what he had to do.
However, that didn't stop a quick shuffle of notes from sounding off in his mind as a flight attendant pushed a cart down the aisle, stopping at his row. Derrick turned from the window to see the flight attendant looking at him. The two passengers between him and the aisle were sound asleep. "Would you like something to drink, dear?" she asked with a smile and a perfectly cheerful beat. "We have soda, water, apple and orange juice, coffee and tea if you're interested."
"Right..." His eyes darted from the sleeping passengers to the cart. He didn't want to disturb the other two just to get a drink, but the cabin's recycled air was making him thirsty now that she mentioned it. Derrick's expression remained unchanged despite the conflicted thoughts. Though, it was clear something was wrong from his silence.
"Is this your first time flying? Don't worry we have a very experienced pilot in the cockpit." She gave another smile and motioned to the cart again. "Thirsty? You can have whatever you like. It's comes with your ticket."
"Uh..." Derrick's eyes darted back and forth again.
"That sounds good. Hard to sleep around here." One of the passengers had woken up. He tapped the other passenger next to him. "Hey, 'bro. Drinks." He got a grunt as a reply. Derrick heard the other man's melody perk up in pace before trying to stumble back into a slow tempo. He wanted to sleep more. The first passenger sighed. "Make it two coffees. Sleeping beauty will be up soon. Kid, you want something?"
"Orange juice, please," Derrick muttered, feeling guilty for waking the other two up. He took the juice box and watched as the flight attendant went to serve the next row. Then, Derrick settled back into his chair. He wasn't supposed to be listening to people's tunes right now. It could be dangerous. But, it was so hard when everyone was so close…
Derrick put the straw in the box. The plane was still hours away from New York. All he had to do right now was get to the Institute. Then he'd call his parents to say he arrived safely and figure the rest out when he got there. He needed to push the rest away in the meantime... It was okay. This was something good... wasn't it?
After tugging his hoodie up a bit higher, Derrick sipped his juice and went back to staring out the window. What was he doing...? He had no idea.
***
NAME: Avie
AGE: 24
PRONOUN OF CHOICE: she / her
EMAIL ADDRESS: aviekokyre @ gmail . com
AIM SCREENNAME & MAIN PERSONAL LJ ACCOUNT: aviekokyre / aviekokyre
OTHER CHARACTERS: n/a
RESERVED? Yes
- CHARACTER INFORMATION
NAME: Derrick Williams
CODENAME: Derek
SERIES/SOURCE: Elite Beat Agents
AGE: 16 (birthday: Nov. 14)
GENDER: male
ROLE: student
BACKGROUND:
Derrick happily grew up in the suburbs of California with his twin brother and parents, rarely ever being alone. He and his brother's music and link powers appeared early in their lives, and together they learned how to use them. Their powers became their secret. (And with the existence of anti-mutant sentiments, they had little reason to tell anyone of it in the first place.) The two would get into all kinds of playful mischief, causing people to do little double takes when they would start moving together at the same time and without words. They thought it was funny to hear how people's beats would jump.
Then tragedy struck the family when Derrick was fourteen. A string of robberies ran through their neighborhood, and one night, their house was a target when only the twins were at home. Derrick's brother believed they could stop the robber because their music senses gave them the advantage. Derrick was hesitant at first and tried to convince his brother otherwise, but he eventually went along with his plan. Unknown to them, the robber was examining their father's gun, which the robber had found in the hall closet. Startled by their sudden appearance, he fired the gun, hitting Derrick's brother in the chest. The robber then ran and was never found.
Derrick's brother died in the hospital's emergency room as Derrick listened to his beat go silent from the hall outside. At the last note, Derrick felt his brother's melody severed from him, and it hurt. He fell into a period when he just stopped, like he lacked the energy to do anything. His parents didn't know how to help and were afraid of making things worse, so they left him alone, thinking time would help. They were also torn up with their own grief and guilt and started to argue. When Derrick tried to block out the dissonance he heard from his parents with music, strange glowing orbs started to appear. They shocked whenever he touched them.
His family moved to get a new start, but it added to the negativity in multiple ways. Everything got F'ed up straight from the heart. Derrick's personality and mannerisms changed as he tried to cope with his life and his inability to make anything better. He was an empath trapped in a negative environment, with nowhere to go, no one to turn to. Derrick did the only thing he could do; he accepted how he felt, that he could do nothing, and gave up. He pushed down every emotion and fear and started living his life like he didn't care about anything. In truth, he was terrified from how his world had flipped upside-down so fast and hid. He didn't know what to do when it all falls apart.
But one night, as Derrick tried to drown out his parents with the radio, a news report interrupted the music. A giant creature was attacking the Intrepid Sea-Air Space Museum, and it was being fought by the Avengers... and students and staff from Xavier Institute. Derrick realized he did have a place to go to and made plans to run away. Maybe with him not around, his parents would sound better.
He didn't make it to the Institute though. After some time on the road, Derrick eventually went to a police station, turned himself in, and was brought home to his parents. He told them his reasons for running away. He was a mutant who was only causing them pain, and his brother's death, everything was his fault. He had heard it all before, and he never really had a doubt. Derrick asked for help to get to the Institute, after which, his parents could forget all about him, just like his brother. He wasn't worth their attention anymore.
To his surprise, Derrick's parents had been worried about him the whole time; they still cared about him when he thought they didn’t anymore. A bit of who Derrick once was started to return at that revelation. He wasn't as dead to the world.
Still, Derrick thought it would be better for him to go to the Institute if only so he could learn to control that new glowy thing power he got somehow. His parents were against it, especially after a recent string of controversy involving the Institute and mutants in general. He'd be safer at home. However, Derrick kept bringing it up and eventually threatened to try and go there himself again. It was the most effort he had put forth toward anything in a while. His parents had seen the full extent their fights had on him and knew that not letting him go might be more harmful than letting him. At least, they would know he arrived their safely and could keep in touch. His mother nervously made a phone call to ask for more information.
After making new plans and packing, Derrick left for the Xavier Institute by plane. He still didn't know what he was doing and faced yet another major change, but he knew nothing was getting better with him staying. And... was that the light at the far end of the tunnel or just the train? Derrick would take a look at least; he didn't want to stay in the dark anymore.
PERSONALITY:
Derrick looks like a very apathetic teenager and just getting by with what he's expected to do. However, that is only one aspect of him. The past year and a half have been nothing but major change after major change in a downward spiral. As an empath, he heard all that on a deeper level, and he couldn't take that sad song and make it better. He wanted things to stop hurting and scaring him, so Derrick internalized and pushed aside his feelings. He accepts things as is in order to move on and focus on more important matters. As such, he doesn't show emotions as much anymore and doesn't realize how he's actually feeling sometimes. If he can't push his feelings aside right away, he'll hide from people until he can. In other cases, he may freeze up completely. Derrick generally thinks it's better for him not to bother anyone and be overlooked. He's also quick to blame himself when things go wrong, not another person.
The real Derrick is hidden behind a blank face and a muted beat. He was once a cheerful, helpful, friendly, funny, polite kid with a playful streak and fiercely loyal to those he cared about. He wasn't nearly as introverted and uncertain as he is now. Parts of who he was still exist, albeit fragmented and repressed at the moment. Those parts will come out more now that he's in a more positive environment and has a chance to make friends. He needs a hand to help build up some kind of hope inside of him. He'll still be generally reserved and prone to falling back into his blanker state when things get tough.
Bits of his actions and speech show Derrick's lingering feeling that someone should be there, but his shadow's the only one that walks beside him. He tries to hide his deceased twin, the fact that he had a brother at all, and is just lonely. Derrick blames himself for his death and fears that if people find out about his brother, they'll see Derrick as broken and a bad person. He has yet to deal with his grief and guilt, and touching on his brother or what happened in the past, almost instantly starts to distress him.
But, for one that seems content to stay out of the spotlight or hide, Derrick can be incredibly willful at times. This happens whenever something touches on his moral views in relation to another person. Step on him all one likes, but don't expect Derrick to let it happen to someone else. Derrick would do anything for his friends and family, no matter the cost to himself. He won't think twice to take the hit for someone; he may barely think once if a friend or love one is in danger. He'll jump to action if nothing is being done or said and something should be. Derrick knows what it's like to have no one there to help and won't make the same "mistake" of being too afraid to act. Oddly enough, while he's very oriented towards a group/team/family, he has problems dealing with people without some awkwardness.
In short, he's trying to leave the worse point of his life, but he can't quite make it alone in trying to make this life his own. And, those who help are going to find one of the most loyal and supportive friends they may ever have.
APPEARANCE:
Derrick has bright red curly hair that's a bit afro-like where it rubs against his hoodie. And just because his hair looks fluffy and springy doesn't mean people can play with it... The faint lines by his blue eyes are from too many sleepless nights and bouts with insomnia. Derrick doesn't show his emotions a lot, and when he does show them, it'll be because he's feeling really bad or panicked or both. A smile is possible, but it's very rare for the time being. For the most part, people are going to see slight variations of the same blank expression. But don't be intimidated; he's really a nice guy!
He usually wears a grey zip-up hoodie with red stripes over a T-shirt with blue jeans that are a bit tattered at the hems along with a pair of black and white skateboard shoes. His clothes hang on him a little because a growth spurt shot his height up to the point where he really stands out in a crowd. And that's not including the hair color. However, the rest of his body hasn't caught up. Many of his features still have a younger appearance to them, which he's well aware of. It's like his body hasn't figured out what it's doing at all. Derrick is often seen with his skateboard nearby. However, he does not wear any protective gear. It's not because he think he'll look cooler without them or something similar; he's just not that concerned with his health anymore.
POWERS:
Musical empathy: Derrick's main power is hearing the world around him as music, and it allows him to identify people and their emotions by their beat. His ability to hear and understand the changes in the music is skilled as it developed early in his life. As such, he can locate someone from a distance. He can also predict a person's movements from them, allowing him to match or avoid the moves. However, he doesn't know that he could do more with the music, such as motivating another person by channeling the spiritual energy and force within the music. ... Also, he doesn't actually know how to dance... yet.
Broken telepathic link: In addition, he has a telepathic link that was once connected to his brother; it's broken now. Sometimes it causes Derrick to unknowingly sync up with others or a song. When he does so, the others may gain fuzzy glimpses into his thoughts and emotions or feel a bit more energized. Derrick may match their movements, move to their tune, or the song. Spontaneous, automatic dancing may occur. The link is mostly one way in this state. Derrick cannot glimpse into their thoughts. The others will not unconsciously sync up with him. In time, he may be able to use this link more consciously to help him purposely match others, hold telepathic communications with those he trusts (link becomes more two way), hear them from a greater distance, and energize another. Derrick believes this link completely disappeared with his brother, and gaining a sense of himself again will aid him greatly in controlling the link and the side effect of the break.
Musical energy conversion: The broken aspect of his link also caused his musical empathy to partially manifest itself in a strange way. Derrick channels the inherent energy of music and brings it into the physical world. It naturally forms into glowing spheres that hover around him. Derrick can take this energy and channel it to himself, other people, and things. If the energy is absorbed to a beat, it energizes. If the energy is absorbed out of sync to the beat, it feels like an electrical shock and disrupts the natural rhythm of the absorber, though it can energize slightly. These boosts of energy are short lived, and anything lasting needs more than a couple of energy spheres. Derrick's knowledge of this "ability" is still in its infancy, and Derrick now depends on music to augment his own energy as his leaks out through his broken link. Some of his own energy also is taken along with the orbs. Creating too many spheres or channeling most of them to another target will exhaust him, potentially causing him to fall unconscious. His beat will sound dangerously quiet and unstable then, and he'll be out for days.
ANYTHING ELSE?:
Telepaths and empaths might sense him as being very dull and blank on the surface, but if they were to delve deeper, they might sense a lot of negativity in the forms of guilt, loneliness, and fear. They might also sense that he's constantly searching for someone because of the broken link. Music empaths might hear him with a very dull, monotonous, quiet beat that's hard to hear, easy to miss. In the background though, there is something not quite right and perhaps struggling to be heard. Be wary about confronting him on the suppressed things in a major way; he's not used to those things being brought forth, especially in front of others.
Next to his bed and facing the wall usually (may change depending on roommate), there is a photo of a smiling boy looking very much like Derrick but wearing blue instead of red. The bottom part of the photo covered. There is a complete photograph of Derrick and his brother if the frame is opened. Only his brother is shown in the partial photograph. On a similar note, don't ever take Derrick's skateboard away or do anything to it. The skateboard means a lot to him; it used to belong to his brother. He won't care if he's up against Godzilla, Magneto, and an army of zombies. Derrick's getting it back!
- RP SAMPLES
First-person sample:
If written:
Does anyone know of a place that allows skateboarding? The school grounds are nicer than I expected, and someone could get hurt from a mistake. It doesn't have to be anything fancy. A flat area would work too. I'd rather not bother anyone if I can.
Thank you.
[Edited a few minutes after:] If anyone skateboards, maybe we could meet when you're bored not busy.
If voiced:
[a few seconds of silence pass before he finally speaks in a hesitant, muttered tone]
... Does anyone know a skateboarding place? Don't want to bother anyone or cause any harm when practicing. Doesn't have to be anything fancy.
...
Thanks.
[the recording promptly cuts off]
[the recording starts again with a few more seconds of silence before he speaks again in a similar, albeit slightly more nervous, tone]
Does... anyone skateboard?
[the recording promptly cuts off again, he'll likely reply only with text]
Third-person sample:
Derrick stared out the window of the airplane trying to ignore the noise of the engines and focus instead on the white clouds and blue skies. Before, he'd listen to the different beats belonging to everyone around him, but ever since that other power appeared, concentrating on the music was too risky. He could upset the passengers if his powers activated again, or worse, cause trouble for being a mutant. It made for a very boring trip, but it was what he had to do.
However, that didn't stop a quick shuffle of notes from sounding off in his mind as a flight attendant pushed a cart down the aisle, stopping at his row. Derrick turned from the window to see the flight attendant looking at him. The two passengers between him and the aisle were sound asleep. "Would you like something to drink, dear?" she asked with a smile and a perfectly cheerful beat. "We have soda, water, apple and orange juice, coffee and tea if you're interested."
"Right..." His eyes darted from the sleeping passengers to the cart. He didn't want to disturb the other two just to get a drink, but the cabin's recycled air was making him thirsty now that she mentioned it. Derrick's expression remained unchanged despite the conflicted thoughts. Though, it was clear something was wrong from his silence.
"Is this your first time flying? Don't worry we have a very experienced pilot in the cockpit." She gave another smile and motioned to the cart again. "Thirsty? You can have whatever you like. It's comes with your ticket."
"Uh..." Derrick's eyes darted back and forth again.
"That sounds good. Hard to sleep around here." One of the passengers had woken up. He tapped the other passenger next to him. "Hey, 'bro. Drinks." He got a grunt as a reply. Derrick heard the other man's melody perk up in pace before trying to stumble back into a slow tempo. He wanted to sleep more. The first passenger sighed. "Make it two coffees. Sleeping beauty will be up soon. Kid, you want something?"
"Orange juice, please," Derrick muttered, feeling guilty for waking the other two up. He took the juice box and watched as the flight attendant went to serve the next row. Then, Derrick settled back into his chair. He wasn't supposed to be listening to people's tunes right now. It could be dangerous. But, it was so hard when everyone was so close…
Derrick put the straw in the box. The plane was still hours away from New York. All he had to do right now was get to the Institute. Then he'd call his parents to say he arrived safely and figure the rest out when he got there. He needed to push the rest away in the meantime... It was okay. This was something good... wasn't it?
After tugging his hoodie up a bit higher, Derrick sipped his juice and went back to staring out the window. What was he doing...? He had no idea.
***