Assorted Drabbles- Theme: Music

Batman- The Sc-Sc-Scoop (get it cause she's a dj)

It was about time she had been given a chance to be interviewed.  And, although it was only the Gotham Gazette, a tourist's magazine for local entertainment, Ying still felt it was a big step.  She relaxed in the big worn armchair in the cafe, sipping at her coffee and smiling at the reporter she was talking with.  It was a nice, relaxed setting.  Lax was good.

"So, I guess my first question- uh, it's Ms. Xou, right?" The reporter asked, pushing a frizzy brown lock of hair behind her ear. "No offense, but your name is a little weird." She added with an apologetic shrug.

"Yeah, Ms. Xou is alright. But you don't have to be so formal," Ying replied. "So, what's your first question?"

"Right, well, I guess the first question is," She tapped her pencil to her lips, recalling what she was going to ask. Then she smiled. "Oh right, the obvious one. What makes you different from other DJs in Gotham?"

"Simple answer," Ying shifted her weight, crossing her legs. "I like to play music that's a bit of a different color compared to the run of the mill.  See, my favorite genres are techno and swing, cause like, on one hand, electronic music is just the best thing. I grew up on old nintendo, and I love that 8bit sound.  But I also like swing, cause the roaring 20's and old jazz like that is awesome.

"However, there's this underground genre that I've picked up called electroswing, and it's kinda become my signature sound next to the other nostalgia remixes I play," Ying explained, pausing to take a sip of her drink.  "I've even found some old recordings from some gigs that never got big that I'm working on remixing right now, it's pretty cool stuff."

"You seem really passionate about this, don't you?" The reporter commented.

"Yeah, I'm all about giving people a new sound to experience," Ying nodded. "Hearing the same stuff at the same sort of places makes every club look the same. With my mixes, I breathe new life into a place, if only for a night."

"Speaking places, what sort of clubs could people expect to see you at?" The reporter pressed on.

"Mostly the alternative clubs, unfortunately," Ying admitted. "I haven't quite gotten my name out there enough to reach the big audience, though the one I have now is pretty good. In fact, I've been booked to perform an all-night jam at a small gaming convention next month. That, I'm definitely looking forward to."

"Oh gosh. Are you a nerd?" The other girl asked.  Ying stared at her for a long minute.

"Woman, I am the nerdiest Asian girl in Gotham."

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XME2- Judging the Composition by His Cover

Ask anyone around to describe Jacob, even those who had only seen him a few times, and they'd usually say the same few things.

"He's a huge guy! The biggest I've seen with my own eyes!" Some would say, and that was true. He was just a few inches shy of seven feet, and tended to dominate the room no matter where he was.

"He's one of those punks, a scary guy. Have you seen his teeth?" Was another common observation. That was one he had half brought upon himself.  The counter-culture spoke to him, that and he liked to dye his hair that nice crimson red and wear it long. His teeth, those sharp canines that poked out of his closed mouth and looked like they belonged on a different animal, were not something he was responsible for, however. Genetics were a tricky thing, especially when mutants are involved. Some people get pretty powers and luck out, while others have to work with what they get, if it can be worked with at all.

"He's dangerous, that's all there is to say." That was the one said so often, usually in tones of contempt or fear.  This was one that Jacob was not proud of.  His temper was like a separate beast, one that couldn't be controlled until all of it's fury was let out, and it was his fury that was easy to set off. It was shameful, that it was his wrath that most people noted him for, when to him it was a big flaw that had nothing to do with the real him.

It was these things that he reflected on in those cold, quiet times, the only time he could keep all of himself under control. Those night times in the big, ornate house that Mr. Radelescu had built his base of operations under, high in the mountains away from everyone.  That big place where he kept him and Kai and the other few mutants he could catch in his web of hollow promises, all cooped up like dogs in a pound.  Though, the canine analogy was probably only one he himself could truly emphasize with.

Everyone treated him like a dog. A big, snarling hound that could be yanked around and scared into behaving by powers he couldn't comprehend, and pandered to with nothing but the promise of food. Even the people he saw as friends, even the family he ran away from, had that odd comfort and wariness everyone would have when around an animal, not truly tame and but still not quite feral. It was an aggravating feeling that he couldn't escape from in anyone.  Well, there was that one person...

Jacob's fingers struck the keys to the piano with a practiced air in rapid succession, his emotions flowing like the notes in front of him.  Those large hands that could toss a vending machine like a cardboard box, now pulling out music with a firm but free technique.  The world seemed to fade away into white noise when Jacob was playing, as if nothing else in the world mattered at all.  He had no muse to compose his own music, but he remembered a time when he was smaller when his ability to play by ear was what he was praised for, and the way he could read music and keep up with it was what people would talk about.  Before his mutant nature became apparent, and he started to grow like a fearsome weed.

In the very back of his mind, however, was the ever growing dread that he would someday be too big to keep his private hobby alive, that his hands would, later in the future, be unable to strike these ivory keys with the precision he placed all his pride in now.

It was a despair he'd never burden anyone else with knowing.

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XME- Untitled Track

Making mix tapes was probably the biggest cliche as far as couples go, but at least Tiras was using a cd and not an actual tape.  She picked tunes she knew both of them liked, and even a few tracks from an artist she had downloaded just because Sam said she should try listening to them.  She almost had the perfect arrangement, and her tiny fangs poked out of her smile as her orange eyes scanned her computer screen.

She hovered her cursor over a certain folder on her desktop.  She didn't have anything super special to record the few things she did with her guitar, but she felt what she could piece together was pretty nice.  But still, hesitation clung to her. Was it a good idea to add 'that' recording? They had only been together for about a month, and Tiras wasn't exactly the expert on the how and when to do certain things in a relationship, and although her friend Tabitha was more than willing to give her tips, Tiras wasn't about to let 'Boom Boom' generously rearrange her playlist 'for the greater good that is romance!'

"Aah, it's so hard to decide..." She muttered, squirming in her seat.  However, as a trainee x-man she was taught to make wise decisions, especially when the matters are dire and serious.

Tiras took a deep breath, and clicked.

Ten minutes later, she had it burned and in perfect condition.  All that was left was to slide it under his door and wait till morning so she could see if he listened or not, since she just had to have finished it so close to curfew.

However, all her nervous doubts went away with the sleepy-headed kiss on the forehead she was gifted with early the next morning, and the knowledge that that track ten-the acoustic cover of his favorite song that she had been so worried over adding- was Sam's favorite track on the whole mix.

They were totes late for breakfast.