S122 - Hayward, Humphrey "Prii" [DECEASED]

#1

Name: Humphrey "Prii" Hayward
Gender: Nonbinary
Age: 18
Grade: 12
School: John Endecott Memorial Academy
Hobbies and Interests: Roleplaying, debate, music

Appearance: Prii is 5'9" in height and weighs 128lbs, giving them a skinny build. They are white and have fairly pale skin with no freckles. Their hair is a medium brown in colour and sits messily, often ending up sticking in a few different directions by the end of the day. Prii has hazel eyes which are very lively and expressive, and their eyebrows are thin and carefully shaped. Their face is angular, with high and well-defined cheekbones and a slightly pointed chin. Prii sometimes wears makeup, with their go-to style being sharply winged black eyeliner, a little blush, and blue lip gloss. They have black painted nails. Prii has three piercings in each ear, small black plugs in their lobes and a pair of rings in both helixes.

Prii's style of dress varies depending on their overall level of comfort and self-confidence, which generally means that their clothing is quite drab and plain when they are at school and much more expressive and varied when they're out and about and involved in their hobbies. However, on particularly good or bad days for them, either set of style preferences can slip into circumstances they usually wouldn't. Plain for Prii tends to be grey and shapeless hoodies and loose-fitting jeans, contrasting their other clothing, which is much more colorful, including band t-shirts, leg and arm warmers or leggings, skirts, and wearing a hair ribbon. For debate club, Prii dresses a little more formally in shirt sleeves and a tie, believing they should take it seriously and reflect that in their clothing. When they were abducted, Prii was wearing a long blue coat with white trim, a pink sweater vest over a button-up blouse, a black pleated skirt of medium length, leggings in a split blue/pink design, and black sneakers.

Biography: Prii is the only child of Mindy Lyons and Roger Hayward, respectively a graphic designer and the executive of small chain of businesses which specialise in stationery. Prii has two half-brothers named Nicholas (35) and Francis (38) from their father's previous marriage, but they do not know them well due to the age gap and their brothers' sparing contact with the rest of the family. Prii's parents met when Roger's company contracted Mindy's employer for some graphical work, and the two got along so well that they remained in contact after the contract was completed. The two eventually started a relationship which in time led to the birth of their child, Prii, in Salem, Massachusetts. Prii's parents have never married due to a combination of general apathy towards the institution as a whole and a desire to avoid the gossip that would come from drawing attention to the twenty-two year difference in their own ages.

Prii's early years were spent mostly with their mom due to their dad's busy work life. The family's financial situation was very good, and Prii never experienced any hardship or lacked for anything due to a shortage of funds. Although their dad was not emotionally distant, he tended to be easily drawn away from any activity or conversation with Prii by phone calls or emails. This meant from an early age that Prii started to feel that they really needed to be doing something special or interesting to keep their dad's attention, a belief that only solidified over time as they found that their various childish overtures such as a picture they had drawn or a puzzle they had completed failed to garner anything more than a brief word of praise and pat on the head. Indeed, some of Prii's efforts to win their father over even backfired as they tried to show off or pull stunts that disrupted his work, which generally got them yelled at. Fortunately, their mom was much more receptive and encouraging, especially when Prii was being creative, which kept them engaged and enthusiastic.

At school, Prii struggled, finding that most academic subjects were not coming easily to them and feeling reluctant to ask for help too much because they disliked how it singled them out as somebody who wasn't grasping the topics as easily as everyone else. They were at least a very focused and diligent reader, and their creative subjects such as art were always completed to a high level of concentration and budding talent. After bringing home a few negative report cards, Prii confided in their mom—not wanting to inform their dad in case he was disappointed—that they were having difficulty, and from then on, their mom began to help them out patiently with their schoolwork, leading them towards the answers without handing them all the information. In time this allowed Prii to improve and begin to pick up principles much more quickly by themself, although they continued to be resistant to the idea of receiving help amidst a mounting fear of ridicule as they witnessed low level bullying and name calling amongst other children. Although Prii did speak to other children they were conflict avoidant and quite cautious about opening themself up to criticism, meaning they did not get very close to anyone in particular.

When Prii was eight they started to take guitar lessons from a friend of their mom, having expressed a passing interest in the instrument while walking by a music store. They immediately took to the instrument, excited at finding a new creative outlet, and one that soon superceded their fondness for art, as they found that learning the right positioning and movement of their hands to produce music much more intuitive than attempting to improve their artistic techniques. With hard work, practice, and the swift installation of soundproofing into a room of their house, Prii started to improve rapidly in the guitar. They frequently listened to music by various bands around the house, winning some rare approval and enthusiasm from their dad when he returned home to find them playing one of his Dire Straits CDs and trying to learn some of the chords.

Prii's guarded shell persisted into middle school, but they slowly began to find that keeping to themself and not engaging with others was causing them to be instead singled out as one of the weird kids. After they picked up a derogatory and slightly vulgar nickname based on Humphrey, Prii realised that it didn't really matter what they did and that some people were going to dislike and mock them for no particular reason. They started speaking up more, first in defiance, but beginning to more naturally express themself when they found they were not receiving such negative responses as they had feared. With time, Prii found a narrow circle of friends that they could be themself around and come into their own personality a bit more, though they did still go out of their way to avoid getting into arguments. At around this time, Prii learned about the hobby of tabletop roleplaying through casual browsing of the internet, and they started to read up about various systems, most prominently Dungeons and Dragons. They were intrigued by the collaborative storytelling elements of the hobby, although they had concerns about descriptions which seemed to indicate a tactical and adversarial war game, leaving them undecided on whether it would be the kind of thing that they enjoyed doing.

Shortly before starting high school, Prii came out to their parents as nonbinary. They had never strongly associated with their assigned gender, and after online research, grew increasingly certain that they did not fit the gender norm. They came out to their mom first, worried as ever about engendering their dad's disapproval, but was encouraged by her supportive and understanding reaction, which in turn prevented them from losing their nerve and delaying telling their dad. With assistance from their mom, they gave their dad the news and found him to be surprisingly well-informed on the subject matter. Nonchalantly, he explained that Prii had accidentally left their computer screen unlocked on a number of occasions while looking up LGBTQ+ topics, and that he had been expecting this conversation for a while. Relieved, albeit a little deflated, Prii went into high school beginning to use they/them pronouns and settling on their current name. They had originally thought to use "Phrey", per their previous name, but then realised that it sounded like they were saying "Free", which struck them as a weird word to use as a name. "Prii" then came about through still having similarities to their old name, which they didn't want to discard entirely, but its own unique feeling that they could make their own. Their friends were also supportive of them coming out, which helped them feel more comfortable and sure in themself. Prii tries not to put too many labels on their identity and often goes no further than explaining their pronouns when the topic comes up in conversation. They retain their reluctance to draw attention to themself in casual settings, and this informs how they choose to express themself to a significant degree, falling back on shapeless clothing they can hide in.

In high school, Prii joined the debate team, a fairly impulsive decision based on the discovery of their dad having participated prominently in debate during his own high school years. Prii immediately regretted their choice, but felt bad about quitting a club before even attending any meetings. Worried about humiliating themself, Prii prepared extensively, looking up debating techniques and strategies and completing considerable research into the chosen topic. To their great surprise, they found that all of the preparation left them feeling significantly more confident, even in a situation where they would normally shrink back and try to avoid going head to head. When their dad later overheard them discussing how the first session had gone with their mom, and indeed reacted with positive nostalgia and some praise for Prii going outside of their comfort zone, Prii was completely energised and immediately promised themself they were going to stick with debate. In the years since, Prii has become an effective member of the team, taking it seriously and trying their hardest, though they can sometimes falter if their opponent is particularly aggressive or hones in on small errors. On the whole they have found enjoyment in the hobby as it lets them feel persuasive and allows them to learn about a variety of topics, and because the debates themselves are in a controlled environment, they largely don't have to worry about full blown arguments developing.

Having continued playing guitar throughout their childhood, Prii had become a skilled musician by their teens. When they were fourteen, a couple of friends who had come over to Prii's house noticed their guitar and asked them to play something. Although reluctant at first, they obliged, and were taken aback by their friends' enthusiastic reception for their casual performance. Encouraged, they delved into their library—their musical tastes having developed towards a combination of soft rock and punk—and played some more complex pieces, garnering a very positive reaction. Prii was rather bashful from the praise; they had never really played in front of anyone other than their parents or teacher before, and were unused to this kind of external validation. Word of Prii's previously unknown talent spread to their other friends, and they soon found themself with a number of requests for performances. A little too shy to play in front of everyone, Prii compromised by making a recording instead. Duly impressed, they suggested Prii upload the video onto social media. Although unenthused by the idea, Prii assented in order to put the subject to rest, correctly deducing that they were unlikely to draw too much attention online and that their video was filmed at an angle and with poor lighting, and so it would be hard for any viewers to recognise them. Prii currently maintains YouTube and TikTok accounts, periodically posting on both, but has few subscribers or followers, much to their relief, as they prefer to enjoy music as a listener or as an expression of their own hard work and skill, not as a performer.

Prii eventually did take up tabletop roleplaying after discovering the webseries/podcast Critical Role. Enamoured by the character work of the actors and the gripping narration of the dungeon master, their doubts about tabletop RPGs simply being a battle between players and GM were assuaged. Prii often listens to episodes of Critical Role during other tasks as pleasant and reassuring background noise, finding that it also sparks off their own creativity. They play in two text-based play-by-post D&D games online, and also participate in a Discord science-fiction roleplay which is more freeform. They also act as dungeon master for a small group face to face, and have been experimenting with a few different none D&D systems which have less of an emphasis on combat, as they find it less interesting than character interaction and when there is action, are more drawn to cinematic and emotional conflicts than mechanically intensive ones. They find being a DM to be very rewarding and do not mind so much often being the centre of attention, as they have rules and their own planning to fall back on, and they adore evincing the emotion of their players through good storytelling.

The pandemic was a difficult time for Prii, as it exacerbated their issues with asking their teachers for clarifications or support, and their dad's age meant that he was in a high risk bracket, giving them cause to worry a great deal. Furthermore, Prii became quite isolated and lonely as what were now their two primary social outlets, roleplaying and debate, were no longer happening in person, and they felt that their DMing suffered a lot when remote, and within a few months they had stopped running sessions altogether. Although Prii still had their online circles, all the news they were receiving was very gloomy, which had a negative effect on their own mental health. Prii, as a result, came out of the pandemic in a somewhat worse state than before and took a long while to really start getting back to their old self, though having friends around again and in person was a big boost to their mood.

Prii has never become more than a middling student throughout high school. Their creative topics remain their best, and they are close to the top of the class in their fine arts electives, especially music, but they are weak with English, math, and the sciences, and can only drag them up to a high C grade at best. As a result, they chose not to apply for college and have been doing some basic office work for their dad in anticipation of joining his company. They feel somewhat guilty for getting a relatively free ride, especially since they are aware of their financial privilege and that most people don't have the luck of a parent who has saved money on their behalf. Prii hopes to work on their creative ambitions in the long term, and has started writing both an RPG system of their own and an adventure for D&D. They have tentatively explored the area of actual play podcasts and audio dramas, but are still plucking up the courage to actually apply for any roles as either a player or a voice actor. Prii maintains a great relationship with their mom and feels comfortable talking with her about any and all topics. On the other hand, they have never truly got over their yearning for their dad's approval, and while they can hold a decent conversation with him, they never truly feel as if they have impressed him and are at a loss of how to do so. Prii often leaves interactions with their dad feeling like they have somehow let him down, regardless of whether there was any real opportunity to succeed at anything.

Advantages: When given time to prepare, Prii is a persuasive speaker who is experienced in debating rhetoric, which should enable them to navigate certain social elements of the game. Their habit of fading into the background might help them slip under the radar as a potential threat and keep a low profile.
Disadvantages: Prii is insecure and starts to doubt themself easily, so they will struggle to maintain their own confidence and morale. They are poor at handling confrontation and standing up for themself, and their overall conflict aversion is likely to give them difficulty in acting decisively under duress. Prii's narrow circle of friendship leaves them with few allies to call upon, and a lack of trustworthy confidants will place additional strain on their general need for validation.

Designated Number: Student No. 122

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Designated Weapon: SIG Sauer P239 (9mm pistol)

Conclusion: They've got a graphic designer for a parent, and they let them go out like that? - Cecily Lacoste