Derek Seong

[Deleted]

The Basics

Name: Derek Seong - 2nd name change
Nicknames: Born Derek Kwan, 1st name change - Se-Yeon Hung
Age: 42
Orientation: Strictly Heterosexual
Desired Rank/Job: Medical Insurance Claims Agent/PUSE
Powers: Meta-human detection - meta auras: Derek is able to see specifically the auras of meta-beings. Normal humans just look like normal humans to him, but metas will have an aura composed of a range of different colors, with each color hinting at a particular property of their individual meta powers. For example, if you assume yellow indicates a physical power, and there is a yellow cluster in their aura, you can assume that it is physical. Assuming it is located on the back of a particular person with an outline of light blue(which we’ll assume has to do with mobility), then we might assume that person has winged flight. However, it would not give the shape of their wings(like bat, bird, or pixie). Assuming further that light green indicates communication and is centered around the throat, he might assume that the meta can communicate with the animal that his wings are based from. Or if the yellow/blue part is further coated with lavender, then it might mean there is a mind-altering property of their wings(such as hallucinogenic dust). It is very non-specific, and even with the extensive training that Derek had while a student at Hammel, it still takes a bit of guessing to find the right answer. The more complex the power, the harder it is to deduce.

Limits: Derek’s power requires a line of sight on the subject he is reading. He cannot see or sense anything that is blocked from view or coming from behind him. Glass acts as a partial barrier and so lessens the intensity of the auras, therefore any auras seen through glass will become muddled. Also, like all meta-detection methods, he cannot see the aura of a meta prior to manifestation. He also cannot determine a meta’s control over their power. A newly manifested aura will look just as clear as a meta of 50 years worth of training.

Side-effects: This power is always on and can cause a strain on the eye, creating headaches and migraines. Derek deals with these by wearing non-prescription glasses to lessen the intensity of the auras and often pops aspirin, tylenol, and ibuprofen cocktails. Also, because the power is always on, it can be a distraction and interfere with his normal sight, so he may not see or notice something on a person that normal people would because the colors are in the way. The glasses also help to lessen this. Tinted glasses and sunglasses can block out the color completely.

When forced to be “activated” for too long, Derek’s vision also starts to degenerate and become blurred. As this is an ongoing degeneration based on how long he is forced to “use” his power, it cannot be so easily fixed with prescription glasses and he needs to rest his eyes for a time, usually while sleeping, but also by shutting himself away in his office for a few hours.

Note: For the ease of interpretation, I will be using normal aura color meanings and relating them as close as possible to meta powers.

Play By:Will Yun Lee

The Details

Hair Color: Black
Eye Color: Dark brown
Any Piercings? None
Any Tattoos? Maybe
Any Scars? Some and each with it’s own story.
General Appearance:
Derek is a man of korean descent, with the classic lack of creased eyelids, tawny skin tone, and thick black hair which he keeps pulled back in a low ponytail when he goes out. For a man of only 42 years, time has not treated him kindly, riddling his face with wrinkles which, on a bad day, can easily make him look ten years older. Though on a good day and when he is in a particularly good mood, that youthful spark can come back to life in his eyes and he brightens up as if he were a boy again.

For the most part, Derek keeps a face worn down by his experience, a small smile that hints he knows and has seen more than he’s letting on, and dark eyes which pierce right through your defenses to see who you really are. Eyes that judge you for who you really are. Wearing a pair of lenses over them does nothing to diminish their intensity on you, only what he may or may see due to his power. An honest smile out of Derek is about as uncommon as the blue moon for he knows of little in his life to be happy about save when he is nursing a nightcap with some good company. More often, Derek is seen looking sad, down, stressed with a heavy brow as if he holds the weight of the world on his shoulders and is about to just let it crush him at any moment.

Despite this, he keeps himself looking professional, especially for his job, donning a suit and tie five days a week, only to loosen that tie and remove the jacket for a quick stop at the bar on his way home. If he goes out during the weekend, the style doesn’t change much, sticking with dark slacks and a casual button up shirt, usually of a solid color.

Personality:
Derek is a man who has grown bitter with time. Bitter towards the world, bitter towards the people in it, bitter towards his life, and yes, bitter towards himself. He could have done great things, but his own weakness, combined with his perceived conspiracies against him, had taken him off the fast track to success and left him in the furthest depths of hell. Needless to say, he is not a happy man and even when smiling, one can see in his eyes that it isn’t sincere.

While he may not be a happy man, Derek is a least a serious man, and one with ambition no matter how terrible things have gotten. He is calculating, creating a new plan to compensate for the old one that unfortunately had fallen through. This doesn’t mean that his plans are always good, for the more he fails and farther in the hold get falls, the more desperate he becomes. The more desperate he becomes, the more likely he is to make brash decisions which may not always be in his best interest. This is why he pushes himself to do things right on the first try and doesn’t allow for any forgiveness in getting things wrong. He is hard-working and dedicated to any and all work he does. He is a perfectionist. He is a professional.

Derek has the tendency to blame others, however, for his own inaction, and doesn’t easily take responsibility for his shortcomings. He avoids it, to say the least, and will often self-medicate with alcohol, a habit that he is trying to get over and is currently in AA for, though progress seems stilted.

Derek is not all doom and gloom, however, as he does, surprisingly, have some lighter qualities about him. He enjoys conversation, especially those shared with another intellect. He enjoys nature and the presence of animals. Sometimes he wonders why he didn’t become a veterinarian instead. And Derek is also rather good with kids. He may sometimes find them annoying and might not always understand how to interact with them, but Derek enjoys talking with them and encouraging them to do the best they can in life.

Because of his experiences, it can be somewhat understood why he holds such a prejudice towards meta-humans. He feels they caused a lot of upset in his life, they prevented him from succeeding in medical school probably by using their abilities to cheat on the exams, and he can see them over and over again using their powers for personal gain, lying about their meta-status, and manipulating the system. He sees it all the time in adults. For metas who are still children and, for the most part, innocent, Derek holds a great deal of pity for them, because they had no choice but to have been born what they are, and will no doubt learn from their elders to do things the wrong way.

Derek’s opinion on the LGBT community, however, is derivative of his position as a scientist and former medical practitioner. He believes that, biologically speaking, nature intended for a man to be with a woman and that’s that. There is no genetics to it, people are only going against nature as a way of rebelling, because it’s the “cool” thing to do, and that the only reason they stick with it is because they enjoy being selfish and in the lime-light. It makes them special, basically.

Your Vices

Likes:
Scotch - because alcohol
Red wine - because good tasting alcohol
Whiskey - because hard alcohol
Being alone - gives him a clear head and a break from the annoyance of reality
Kids - they’re cute. And innocent. They don’t have to deal with the realities of an adult.
Kimchi - just like his mom used to make
Research - trying to keep up with the medical community is hard though
Genuine appreciation for his services - nobody says thank you and means it anymore
The beach - the sound of the ocean, the smell of the sea, the sand between his toes = heaven
Cigarillos - make it a vanilla and combine it with the beach = eden
Milk - vitamin D for the win. Tastes good too.
Chocolate - dark chocolate has some healthy properties. But overall it just tastes good.
Mystery novels - who dun it this time?
People who listen - nobody knows how to do it these days, especially the young generation
Casinos - you win stuff there. Like money.

Dislikes:
Tomatoes - icky
Diet drinks - Aspartame is evil
Health drinks - Think’s people rely on them too much.
Fad diets - They’re all uninformed and advertise a false cure-all
People who ignore his advice - He knows what he’s talking about, for gods sake!
Clutter - unfortunately, he’s also not very good/motivated at cleaning, so this grates on him often.
Gays - They’re going against natural order of the world
Metas - They’re just plain unnatural. And often abuse their powers.
Colored pens - Blue or black ink only. Red for errors and editing
His past - ………
The city - too noisy. too many people.
Being forced to do things their way and not his
Naturopathic doctors - They’re not all bad, but he specifically doesn’t like the ones who make uninformed recommendations and give advice based on their beliefs rather than solid research and evidence

Strengths:
Being a professional - even if he dislikes someone, he won’t let it affect the quality of services he provides to them
Research - He likes doing it so naturally he’s good at it. And it’s an essential part of his job.
Focus/Concentration - he can do it for a long time and make adequate progress on a project because of it. A double edged sword, though, as he can also easily lose track of time.
Intelligent - Academically, though he worked hard to get that label.
Composure - Might also classify with being a professional, but he is able to keep a cool head for the most part in the most hectic of situations, at least until he has a moment of privacy.
Lying - he’s very good at it. Doesn’t mean he likes it.
Clarinet - He was first chair in high school and played in the marching band in college

Weaknesses:
Succumbs to his vices easily, especially alcohol and gambling
Time management - He has a poor concept of the passage of time and so has alarms to remind him of almost everything, right down to when he’s supposed to take a coffee break.
Easily manipulated - If there’s something he wants at the end of the tunnel, he can be talked into almost anything
Self-defeating/loathing - Guilt over being so weak minded and for not succeeding in his practice are the biggest motivators for this
Singing - can’t carry a tune to save his life.
Writing - specifically, his handwriting. It’s illegible. Doctor’s handwriting.

Fears:
That his past is going to catch up with him
Dying
Seeing anyone from his family - He thinks he’s a disappointment and they will reject him

Secret: Derek’s entire past is pretty much a secret, from the time he started getting involved in underhanded practices to the time he was released from witness protection. All those records are sealed from public record, so it’s unlikely that it will come out even in a background check unless he happens to encounter a nosy telepath or post-cog.

If he had known about Myndi’s pregnancy when it started, he would have made her get an abortion. As it stands, he blames the existence of his son for his lack of success in life.

Family Ties

Father: Michael Kwan
Mother:Hwa-Young Kwan
Siblings: Susan Kwan
Any Other Important People:Phoenix Tang - Son(unknown), Ming-hee(Myndi) Tang - mother of his son,

History

1972-1983: Childhood
Derek Kwan was born on April 1, 1972 in a Los Angeles hospital to the very happy newlywed couple, Hwa-Young and Michael Kwan. They weren’t a rich family, not even lower middle class, but they got by on the family business, a Korean and Thai restaurant located around the vicinity of Koreatown. They were strict, traditional, though that was mostly from Hwa-Young’s side of the family, and hard-working. Derek himself was always thought of as a particularly bright child by his parents. Well-balanced. Knew what he wanted and how to get it. When he wanted friends, he’d go out and make them, when he wanted to be left alone, he’d stay in and read. When he wanted a little bit of extra cash, Derek would help out his parents with menial tasks at the restaurant.

He did have a little bit of a wild side though, and would often make the same mistakes over and over again seemingly out of mere spite. When Derek was 8, he was dared to cross the highway by his “friends”; older kids from the local middle school. Not being one to pass up a dare, and certainly not one to turn down a challenge(even more not one to let himself be called chicken by his peers for doing the smart thing and saying “no”), Derek carried out this dare with an urge that he couldn’t quite control. Unfortunately, his impulsive action let to severe consequences. He stumbled on his own feet while crossing and was nearly hit by a car. The driver, thankfully, swerved out of the way, but in the process caused a pile-up of three other vehicles. Derek remained uninjured save a few scratches, but the casualties of those others involved yielded three hospitalizations: head trauma, broken arm and ribs, and one who had aggravated his slipped disc.

As a way of teaching him to take responsibility for his actions and as a very valuable lesson of thinking things through before giving in to the pressures of his peers, Derek’s parents forced him to visit the victims of the accident and their families and to help out with them(or at least those within a reasonable driving distance) for two months. For a child of only 8 years, especially one losing his summer vacation, those two months seemed to last forever. However, by the end of it Derek had been inspired enough to decide what he wanted to do in his future: become a doctor. So that’s what he started aiming for in his studies even as he entered junior high.

1983-1992: Hammel Years
Derek’s manifestation occurred in December of 1983, when he was 11 years old and in the middle of his 6th grade year. Being the low-key kind of power it was, and because he was in a school where students were either too young to be manifested, or they simply weren’t metas if older than that, Derek didn’t notice anything right away. He did, however, notice that a few of the teachers had a particular glow about them of varying colors that looked like one of those lava lamps he’d seen in the stores. In the middle of class, he complained about there being something wrong with his eyes and asked to see the school nurse. When he got there, he described his symptoms to the nurse. Derek was afraid he had some sort of terrible eye disease, which would impair his ability to be a doctor. She assured him that that probably wasn’t the case but told his parents that he should go see an eye doctor just in case, to be safe. In the meantime, she asked them for permission to obtain a blood sample for some other precautionary tests. Later that week, the tests came back positive for his meta-manifestation. A few days later, the Kwan family was contacted by a recruiter from Hammel and arrangements were made for Derek to attend the meta-institution.

While his family wasn’t quite sure what to think of having the first meta(that they knew of) in the family, they still thought it was wonderful for Derek to be so privileged to be able to go to such a well-off school where the boy was sure to succeed at his own pace. Derek too was pleased to be going to such a well-to-do school where he could get the proper education he wanted in order to go to a good college and achieve his goal. Even better was that he didn’t have to work in that tiny little restaurant of his family’s anymore.

Unfortunately, a couple months after arriving, Derek did meet a familiar face, one that he wasn’t expecting and honestly had trouble recognizing until he heard the other boy’s name spoken out loud. That’s when he knew it was the same boy who had gotten Derek involved in that traffic accident when he was eight. After further investigating, Derek found out the boy had some sort of persuasive suggestion power and he deduced that that must’ve been the reason why he’d felt so unable to say “no” to the dare at the time. Needless to say, Derek developed a grudge against this boy but whenever he told the story to teachers and counselors, they assured Derek that it while the other boy shouldn’t have been making the dare in the first place, he was also likely unable to control his ability since even he didn’t know he had it. There was nothing that could be done. In the meantime, Derek watched as the other boy used and abused his powers, got punishment for it, only to do it again. And all he could do was sit and stew, making him feel like his own power was completely useless.

Academically, Derek excelled quite a bit, graduating on-time and with several scholarships. Unfortunately, because of the complicated nature of his power, Derek was required to stay an extra two years at Hammel for further training, thus preventing the young man from starting university right away. At least that’s how he saw it. Derek decided to stay in the dorms and attend the local community college *shudder* and get a certificate there that would at least enable him to get a job in Allied Health while he worked on his Bachelor’s after finally completing the training portion of his Hammel years. Once that was done, and thanks to the full scholarship he’d gotten, Derek was finally able to leave Pilot Ridge and return home to California where he started his first year at UCLA: San Diego.

1992-1997: The Rise
Derek’s first couple years at UCLA went by smoothly. He took a full load of credits, managed a part time job at a blood bank, and was an active member of the pre-med association, attending volunteer events at least once a month. All of his teachers had very high hopes for him. He was very serious, straight laced, and followed the rules, even abstaining from things like alcohol until his 21st birthday. Unfortunately, that celebration happened to be right before an exam which he unfortunately failed. Theoretically, he should have learned his lesson from that, but only in the timing of his recreational outing, restricting them to only when he knew he could afford to miss a day or when there was nothing to do the following day.

In September of 1994, there was a seminar in Seattle that the Pre-Med Association was going to and Derek, of course, attended with them, even volunteering to be a driver all the way up to Washington. Once the seminar was over, they all went out for a night on the town. That’s where he met Myndi Tang, a cute little cocktail waitress at one of the bars. That night, the two hooked-up for a one-night-stand. The next morning Derek and the group left back to Los Angeles. While Derek had kept Myndi’s phone number, and she his, no contact was made between them for several years.

During those years apart, Derek failed his MCATs twice before finally getting a passing score, just in time to put in his application to the Medical School at UCLA. Matriculation happened in August of 1997 where he started as a first year. It was during his winter break of that year, however, that Derek and a couple of his friends returned to Seattle for a quick vacation. While he was there, Derek thought to call up that woman he hooked up with last time, if she still happened to live in the area. She invited him over to her place and he went expecting to have another amazing fling with this Myndi woman, but what he found was far from what he expected. Little Phoenix was already two years old and upon finding out he was the father, Derek panicked. The man wanted nothing to do with raising the child, something that Myndi figured out herself, but he did agree to at least pay child support so long as she and the kid just stayed out of his life. And that’s what he did, keeping the payments secret from his friends and family so that he wouldn’t have anything to interrupt his ambitions.

1997-2007: The Fall
Unfortunately for Derek, the stress of knowing he had a kid was a little too much for him and he often spent his days stressing about it. It distracted him from his studies, it drove him to drink when he couldn’t, and he was stressing even more in coming up with those child support payments, taking money from his financial aid, from his parents, and wherever he could get it just to make them. Though in all honesty, he probably would have been fine if he just explained himself and asked for help, and stopped going out on a weekly basis to these drinking parties he’d grown so fond of using as a way to distract himself. But he couldn’t let anyone know about his shame, of having a child out of wedlock. Derek just knew his parents would disown him for something so obscene.

But he was also finding that it was getting harder and harder to remain competitive in medical school, especially with, he noticed, a bunch of other metas dominating the top spots of the class. What’s more, he realized, is that they never disclosed that status to the rest of the students and teachers. Being able to read their auras, Derek deduced that their powers what must have been making it so easy for them to succeed and not because they simply worked harder. The stress of this caused him to fall back even more into drinking, and now even gambling. His final year in medical school, Derek ended up gambling away his entire financial aid, leaving him without the ability to make payments to Myndi and his bastard in Seattle. He took out a private loan to cover the expenses and made his parents co-sign it for him. Derek graduated somewhere in the lower half of his class.

After that Derek thought that things were going to start looking up again. He was in his residency program and on track to get his license to open his own private practice one that was over. Once he’d finally completed his residency in 2004, he spent the next year trying to take care of the problems he’d accrued with his irresponsible behavior before finally opening up his own private practice in his family’s neighborhood. Unfortunately, this meant taking out even more loans. Loans to pay back his student loans, loans to pay back that private loan from before, and loans to get his practice started. That year was also when he started skimping out on his child support payments. His drinking also worsened, but he didn’t think it was that big a problem, which was what he chanted over and over to his family and new fiance. Things were still going good, right?

2007-2013: Further decline
Unfortunately, the only thing good was Derek’s delusions to himself. Despite his practice clearly not succeeding, Derek still insisted that he was fine. Meanwhile, behind closed doors, the man was still medicating his stresses with alcohol and gambling, as he continued to dodge debt collectors, child support payments, and then accrue even more debt from his gambling losses. Eventually it caught up with him, with the State of Washington coming after him legally over his failed responsibility to Myndi. The big secret of his bastard in Seattle was finally revealed. His fiance left him. His parents labeled him as a disappointment. His practice was already failing. That year he filed for bankruptcy.

Unfortunately, there were some collectors that wouldn’t let him get away with not paying back his debt. In several moments of desperation, and with pressure from back-alley intimidators, Derek started working in some underhanded business for a large organized crime conglomerate. Since his family and fiance had all turned his back on him, Derek felt like he didn’t have many options anymore. He reluctantly did what they asked. His association with them did not last very long, however, as he was soon scapegoated in late 2009 and given up to the authorities. In order to save his own skin, Derek agreed to give up the names of those the authorities were really after and to testify against them. From then, and for the next five years until the end of the trial in 2014, Derek was placed in the witness protection program and went off the grid.

2014: Starting Over
Now that everything is over, Derek finally has his life back. He changed his name to Derek Seong, the records of the investigation he was involved in were sealed, and he was released back into society with the his own sentence having been served. While he cannot practice medicine anymore, as his license was revoked for his malpractice, there were other options he could look into for employment. He hasn’t contacted his parents since being released and doesn’t intend to. The only contact Derek has had with his past life is with an old friend from medical school who helped him get a job with a local medical insurance agency, where his medical knowledge would prove invaluable. What he didn’t expect was that this job was eerily close to his old school, the Hammel Institute. Derek decided to take a small residence in the town of Pilot Ridge while he commuted to his job in Burlington.

Almost immediately upon arrival, Derek learned of the organization PUSE and was reminded of the many things he’d witnessed since he was a child of meta-humans abusing their powers just like this organization claimed they did, even during the legal trials he was involved in, on both the prosecutor and defense sides. Derek joined this organization, despite being a meta himself, deliberating to the leaders of his own trials involving abuse of powers and how he felt sick to be associated with them himself. They welcomed him.

Roleplay Example

In my defense, I have nothing to back up the beginning of this sentence.

What About You?

Name: Ophelia, Pheli
Age: 27
Experience: Bleh
How Did You Find Us? Bleh
Ready To Play? Bleh

[Deleted]

BAAAAMP. I'm so sorry I wrote a novel ><

[Deleted]

Accepted!

It was a lovely novel though! ;D You know what to do! Don't forget your claims and go have fun!