Tyler

Academy 218: Still looking for new people to join - now is the primetime.

<Snipped quote by Tyler>

I couldn't figure it out. I just decided it wasn't worth asking.....but I still wanted to fit in.

@bluemoon277

I am so glad you did. For future reference, the code is [.@Their Username]; without the period.

Academy 218: Still looking for new people to join - now is the primetime.

I'm gonna let @shard reply first seeing as he hasn't had a chance to reply to Kana's little motivational comment.

@bluemoon277

I'm gonna let @shard reply first

@bluemoon277

gonna let @shard reply

@bluemoon277

@shard

@bluemoon277

bluemoon, this is the funniest thing I've seen in a long, long time. Thank you.

Academy 218: Still looking for new people to join - now is the primetime.

I'm glad that @The Harbinger of Ferocity has approached our little troupe. I am going to be visiting family in Germany over Easter and won't have access to the Guild until I return on Monday. I will give @Shard and @bluemoon277 chance to respond to Harbinger's post, then I'll write my own response which will end with Mason separating from those three.

I don't want to put you guys in a situation where you're waiting for me to respond, so I thought I would give you all a heads-up before you responded to Harbinger's post.

Academy 218: Still looking for new people to join - now is the primetime.

Mason Crawford

---

Mason was fascinated as Kana told of her ability to control animals. He loved animals, especially cats, snakes and exotic birds; but he also owned a small collection of fur coats. It was his belief that, as the furs were all vintage, it was better they be put to use instead of festering in a cupboard in someone's attic. He decided he would keep this information to himself.

Or rather, that was his intention; Kana dropped the bombshell as if it was an insignificant piece of information that she was only mentioning to decorate her story. Whilst she assured the boys that she hadn't heard any of their thoughts, Kana's affirmation that she "couldn't really control it" gave Mason little solace. In some ways, it made it worse; at least if she had control of it, Mason would be able to trust her not to use it against him. She could hear anything. She could be listening to me right now... Mason tried his best to clean the thoughts from his head, not wanting to offend her.

"Every now and again I just hear peoples voices in my head." Kana said. "You know, at first I thought I was going crazy!" she joked, and Mason forced a chuckle. He still felt very uncomfortable, but he wasn't going to let it show. There was no need to cause any tension. He turned his attention to Casper, who had grown quiet since Kana's arrival. He seemed uncomfortable with the question, and Mason almost felt guilty for asking it. They had only just met, after all. However, he could see the wheels turning in Casper's head, so to speak, and it seemed as though the awkward boy was formulating a response. Mason wondered what power Casper might possess; good things often come in small packages.

"I…I can replicate things…" the timid boy said, before deciding a demonstration would be more effective. As Casper rummaged through his pockets, he captured Mason's entire attention and forced him to forget that the girl beside them was able to read minds. Replication... he thought to himself, almost giddy. Now that's a useful power! Sure enough, he watched as the boy worked like a magician, causing his belongings to disappear and then weaving new ones out of thin air. It was both magical and captivating, and Mason caught himself with his mouth agape. "It can be a cool magic trick, I guess...", said Casper. He was not wrong.

As nobody had asked him about his own power, Mason felt it was best to keep it to himself. His ability was not much to shout about, and in comparison to the abilities of these two he would feel silly explaining to them that he sometimes wakes up on the wrong side of a mirror. What good is that? Here is Kana, able to bend animals to her will and raid the thoughts of anyone she pleases. And Casper, a potential billionaire with his cloning capabilities. No; his ability was but a quirk beside these. It was humiliating.

It was a strange turn of events. Mason was not exactly thrilled to be in the position he was in; forced to leave home and start a new life. But the extremes of the other meta-people he had encountered on this boat made him question whether it was even worth doing. His ability was more of a party trick than a life-changing blessing or curse. For the first time since discovering them, he didn't wish his abilities away. He wished they were something more impressive.

He sighed internally, then turned back out over the waves. "It's beautiful, isn't it?" he mused absently, not really aware of whether the others were paying attention to him. "The sea. It's so big, so vast... It reminds you just how small you are." He probably sounded like a lunatic, but didn't mind. He simply watched the waves dance for a while, until he spotted what looked like a large island on the horizon; shrunk to minuscule proportions by the distance between them.

He nudged Casper. "Hey, is that it?" he asked, before gesturing towards the island that was slowly drawing closer.

Academy 218: Still looking for new people to join - now is the primetime.

Anyways, just to be clear, I think we should keep the collabs and long-term team-ups to a minimal this early on.

@Mr Allen J

Sorry about that. I haven't roleplayed in about two years, and I was worried that introductions between the characters would take too long. Collaborating with Shard for that section of the post felt the most comfortable. But we don't intend on doing another collaboration soon, it was just to get the introductions out of the way so we didn't end up using a whole bunch of posts.

Apologies again!

Academy 218: Still looking for new people to join - now is the primetime.

@Tyler He already has that ability

He knows where the bathroom is. :P

@Mr Allen J

Translation: Go ahead, Tyler, add whatever abilities you like. I have every faith you'll play it superbly.

Thanks, Allen. I appreciate your support.

Academy 218: Still looking for new people to join - now is the primetime.

Mason Crawford

---

Mason smiled, but didn't say anything else for a short moment. He pulled out a pair of round sunglasses, in tortoiseshell and gold, which he slid onto his face delicately. The sun was indeed glaring on the water, but the act was more a force of habit; an urge to don some form of protection as he grew pensive. It wasn't Casper's fault, but speaking to the boy took Mason back to a time when he felt lost and alone; a time which, he now realised, was not all that dissimilar from what might lie ahead. He had no idea what life at the academy was going to be like, and it made him feel vulnerable.

"Hey," a female voice said, dragging Mason's thoughts back to the deck. She was a heavy-set girl, but particularly beautiful. Her features were all soft and curved; she had a consistent sleekness to her form that appealed to the artist in Mason. Her face was precious and delicate, like a porcelain doll but without the milk-white complexion; this girl's skin was deep and warm. "You have to tell me the story behind the dungarees and pink streaks." she said, with barely enough cracks in her chirpiness to let on that she was nervous. Heck, we're all nervous, Mason thought to himself. It's just some of us are better at hiding it.

Casper was not one of these people, Mason observed as he watched his new acquaintance stutter his way through the conversation in the same way he had when they had first spoken moments ago. Casper clearly had some confidence issues, as it seemed like it took every ounce of his being to force out words when introducing himself, but Mason guessed the reason for the boy's unpopularity was rooted in misunderstanding. After giving Casper a chance to say his piece, Mason laughed.

"What Casper is trying to say, is that we're pretty much the coolest people on the boat." he said, winking at the girl to let her know he was joking. He smiled, and extended a hand to shake. "I'm Mason," he said, noticing the thick crust of clay under the girl's nails as he introduced yourself. "Ah, the sign of an artist," he exclaimed, "What kind of sculpting do you do?" If Mason's attire didn't give away that he was creatively-inclined, a more observant eye might spot speckles of paint on his dungarees.

The idea of meeting more creative people at the school was one that had thus far been foreign to him. Coming from such an artistic background, it didn't occur to Mason that there might not be many creatives at the academy. He wondered if Casper, too, was a creative spirit; he would make sure to ask him later. After all, he assumed most people didn't come to a school for metahumans to learn about early surrealism or the influence of Greek sculpture. They were all here for one reason: they were different.

This was a thought that unsettled Mason, and he was thankful his eyes were masked by his retro sunglasses. Mason's own power was decidedly lame, and he could find very little use for it other than ensuring he could spend time alone without any possible interruption. If this was, indeed, the true extent of his abilities, he would learn how to control them to stop his night episodes, and then leave the school. He didn't see much need in staying to earn a NEST certificate for a power that would not be particularly useful in public.

But what about the other students? What strange and wonderful abilities did the people on this boat possess? Perhaps Casper could shoot lasers from his eyes, or the girl could fly. What if they had abilities that could kill Mason in the blink of an eye? Or invade on his privacy? Mason shuddered at the idea of being watched by an invisible classmate, or having this thoughts perused like a catalogue. The latter would ruin him. He stayed externally calm and returned his focus to the conversation.

"So, we're all here for the same reason, right?" he said, trying to make the question sound casual. "What can you two... Do?" he asked, hoping the question wasn't considered rude or intrusive. He didn't really know what the social norms were when discussing things like this. There was only one way to find out.

Academy 218: Still looking for new people to join - now is the primetime.

I think, for the sake of roleplay, Mason needs some kind of innate awareness of mirrors. For example, if he is confronted with a locked door, he would be able to sense whether there is a mirror in the locked room. When he's in the mirror world, the mirror he is teleporting to gives off an energy that draws him toward it.

Without these passive abilities, there is going to be a lot of RP time spent wandering aimlessly in the mirror world for a mirror that might not even exist. However, I am aware you felt my powerset was already OP, so I thought I would run this by you first, @Mr Allen J and @UrbanEvolution.

Academy 218: Still looking for new people to join - now is the primetime.

Mason will be taking Ruben's metahuman history & diversity class, if that is still a "thing". He doesn't have the right powerset for his other classes, though.

I will post again when Shard has posted more as Casper.

Academy 218: Still looking for new people to join - now is the primetime.

Mason Crawford

---

Mason gazed out over the blue surf, leaning on the railings of the boat's top deck. The weather was bright and warm, but the firm coastal breeze was only exaggerated by the ship's consistent speed; it was decidedly windy. He drew a long smoke-filled drag from his cigarette (Marlboro White Menthol), then exhaled slowly; watching curiously as the silver fumes dissipated into a fine mist and vanished into the canvas of blue sea and sky. Mason had always been able to find beauty in the simplest of places. The past week had been a whirlwind of activity and emotion, and the young man was appreciative of this moment of serenity. He'd always felt calm around the sea, and hurtling through it towards a new future was somehow soothing. It gave him a chance to reflect; he winced as that word entered his mind. He had been through enough self-discoveries and survived enough crises to not let his recent discovery defeat him... But it was still going to take some time to get used to. He had to adjust.

His phone buzzed with urgency in the pocket of his dungarees, but he took a slow and deliberate moment before checking it. Though he knew what he was going to see, it still upset him: "Raja - Miscall (2)". It was the most recent installation in a week-long string of attempts to contact him by the friends - no, family - he had left behind in Berlin. As he stared blankly at the notification, another appeared over it. A message:

RAJA: Wo bist du?? Wir sind besorgt! Bitte rufen. xxxx

Mason was not an outwardly emotional person, but he knew the desperate message would have stirred something in him had he not shoved the phone back into his pocket, pressing his finger tightly on the 'Off' button. He had to forget about the messages and the calls - and the people who were sending them. It was not that he didn't want to speak to them; in a situation of so much confusion as his life shifted around him, Mason would have given anything to chat with the men who threw him a lifeline when he most needed it over two years ago. It was simply not safe for them. Germany did not have the same history as America regarding metahumans, whose existence was first announced to the world from the White House. In a city like Berlin, where there was such a history of separation and judgement, Mason simply could allow himself to put his friends at risk. As an openly gay couple of drag queens, they had enough on their plate. They couldn't afford to be accused of harbouring a mutant freak.

He took another drag on his cigarette, and turned away from the water to survey the rest of the passengers. It was an eclectic group, to say the least. Mason had considered himself near enough desensitised to all the oddities the world could present to him, having spent many nights in the art discos of London and the Berlin Berghain. But this crowd was truly something else. Sure, there were more mild eccentricities: a Hispanic-looking boy eyed his cigarette longingly, wrapped up in knitwear as though he were expecting a snowstorm; a towering Amazon of a woman picked up a small boy, who clung desperately to a sunhat that didn't look quite like it belonged to him. Mason figured he had stolen it from the woman. A pair of twins bickering amongst themselves was perhaps the most normal thing on the whole boat.

For a moment, he almost forgot that these quirks were certainly not the most unusual aspects of each of the people he observed. Every single person on this boat had some kind of ability... It was an intimidating thought that Mason chose to discard with immediate effect.

He turned his back on the crowd of misfits; not out of disgust or disapproval, he was simply drawn towards the horizon. He drew a final breath from his cigarette before flicking the short stub out into the waves. As he exhaled, flashes of bright pink flickered in his peripheral vision. He turned, and spotted a younger-looking boy, his black hair streaked with the bright colourings that had caught Mason's attention. He was looking directly at Mason with a spark of youthful curiosity in his eyes, his red shirt and shoes brightened by the sunlight. Mason smiled.

"Nice shoes," he said, gesturing towards his own, slightly more battered, pair of Converse.

---

(The following text is a collaboration between @Shard as Casper and @Tyler as Mason)

The sudden comment pulled him from his train of thought and Casper looked down to his shoes quickly with his cheeks turning red in response. "Th-.." He was about to respond but remembered that his headphones were still on. Pulling them down, he repeat. "Th-thank you..." He managed a soft smile, looking up at Mason. "Nice hair..." The boy continued.

Mason laughed and thanked the boy. He saw something of himself in the guy; his pink-streaked hair was quite clearly an act of defiant self-expression, a concept he was all too familiar with. Something about him told Mason that, like himself, this boy had never been one of the most popular kids in school. "You look a little lost, are you on your own?" he asked, his voice full of ease and laxness.

As the young man spoke, Casper felt himself more at ease. This person was very relaxed, very calm. There was a sense of harmony surrounding him, yes...just like back home. "N-no..." Casper shook his head. "I'm just...I get lost in thought easily..." Was it this hard to talk to people? Trying to straighten himself up, Casper took a deep breathe and managed a slightly brighter smile. "I'm Casper."

Mason smiled as he watched the awkward young man stumble through the conversation, exactly as he had done at that age. When Casper introduced himself, Mason extended his hand. "Nice to meet you, Casper," he said, sincerely. "I'm Mason." he added, shaking Casper's hand firmly. "How are you feeling about starting a new school? Are you excited?" he added, trying his best not to sound patronising.

It was hard not to giggle at Mason's words, but Casper didn't sound impolite as the soft laughter left his lips. "I've been here before." He replied, for once not stumbling over his words. "But uhm..." The boy looked back down, his hand dropping back to his side. "I'm not the most uh...popular guy around..." Forcing a gentle smile back to his lips, the boy looked at Mason once more. "I'm sure you'll do better."

Mason smiled understandingly. "Don't worry about it, dude. People grow out of that sh-," he stopped himself from swearing, and coughed. "People grow out of that crap. But you'll always be you, and when they're older they'll see you were the coolest guy they knew." he assured Casper. It might have seemed cliche and insincere, but Mason meant every word. "I mean, with hair like that, you have to be pretty awesome, right?" He chuckled at Casper, smiling.

His continued words brought the blushing back to Casper's cheeks and he felt himself flare up at the words reaching his ears. "Th-thanks...Mason." Hugging himself, Casper placed his hands on his biceps, but was unable to directly meet Mason's eyes. "You're a good guy..." He really was like the man back home. It was almost scary, but soothing at the same time. Hopefully he'd get to know Mason more at the Academy.