A witch who has pretty cool skills for a human but sort of subpar for a magical being: technology manipulation, omnilingual ability, and eidetic memory (i.e. heâs very good with computers, speaks a lot of languages, and remembers too many things)
Went to Harvard at 13 - does not recommend itÂ
A Nerd⢠who thinks the best way to make friends is to memorize lots of trivia about their interests so that people will talk to him
Daddy Issues⢠are triggered by technology, which makes being an IT technician unfortunate
But the IT job is a step up because he was working as a bus boy at Peggyâs Diner, and before that, a bagger at the grocery store, and before that...
Hacking, Data Gathering, Guy-In-A-Chair at the ready for anyone who needs Intel⢠or to get past a high tech security alarm
Junkfood addiction starring Nutter ButtersÂ
Because he was a child âprodigy,â he never got a real childhood and is now making up for lost time by acting like a stupid teenager who absolutely knows betterÂ
Possible Connections:Â
Colleagues: Tony was that new guy at work who only lasted a week and got all of his work done in the first hour. Maybe you hated him, maybe you liked him, but most importantly you remember he made good coffeeÂ
The Brawn: Aspiring Superheroes/Anyone who does a lot of sneaking around, do you need a guy in the chair to tell you science things through your intercom while you patrol the streets at night? Youâll only have to pay him in coffee. And cash. (But also heâll fix your laptop for pizza)
Trivia Night Partners: Is your muse also a really big nerd who goes to ever trivia night and takes it too seriously? Someone should get them a support group.
Trouble: People who party too much and whose being âboredâ is often dangerous and maybe illegal? whoops.
Cousins: He has a lot of them.
Exes: One night stands, promised to call back but didnât, etc....
Full Bio Under CutÂ
Trigger Warnings: Child Abuse (emotional), Fatal Car Crash, Alcohol Abuse
Antonio Ălvarez was the son of a human and a witch, though he would not find out about his motherâs magical abilities until after her death. Long before Tony was born, his mother had lived in Lunar Cove, but she had left that world behind when she met a human who would forget all about the magic as soon as he left the town borders. Infatuated and willing to follow him to the ends of the earth, she had left town with him, left her family, and left all evidence of her magic behind. She never told her husband she was a witch, nor did she ever suggest that their son might one day inherit the gifts she had suppressed. She waited uncertainly for the firsts signs of his magic to appear, knowing that the second her child reached puberty, he would likely give her secret away. But Tonyâs magic took a detour when, at the age of five, he announced that he was a boy; at twelve, he began puberty blockers and his magic was put on hold.
In the meantime, Tony had quite enough to keep him occupied. Having learned to read English when he was 2, by 6, he was learning to speak Spanish, French, Mandarin, and Japanese. He could always remember what heâd read after only looking at the page once. But no one ever called it magic. For the first half of his life, Tony had no idea that magic even existed. He was told from an early age that his âabilitiesâ were unusual, even heard them called âgifts,â but with a scientist for a father, his early affinity for technology was written off as his simply being a âprodigy.â Tonyâs father was a failed inventor himself, always tinkering away in the family garage on one invention after the other, though they never seemed to work and he certainly never sold any patents. Where he failed, he was determined that his son should succeed, and so he pushed Tony to be everything he couldnât: he put him in all the best schools and, when those didnât seem advanced enough, tutored him obsessively at home and insisted he be moved up a grade again and again until they found a âsuitableâ level. No toys were allowed in the Theriot household; time was to be spent studying and practicing, honing his abilities. When Tony was accepted to Harvard at age 11, it was not a moment of pride for his father; it was a failure. After all, William James Sidis, one of the smartest men in history, spoke eight languages, not just five, and had been accepted to Harvard at 9. Tony had already failed to live up to expectations.
Despite his (very) early acceptance, Harvard would not allow Tony to attend for several more years, wanting him to first finish his very accelerated high school education. In the meantime, his home training would continue. It was shortly after his thirteenth birthday, when he got the news that his mother had died in a car accident. They said she had been going to the store. But what Tony didnât know, what he would never find out, was that when she left that day, she had not been planning to come back. Her love for her husband had long ago dissipated, as he had become obsessive and controlling, his focus only on work and on molding their son into the perfect little machine. She had considered taking Tony with her when she left, but she no longer knew him either, no longer understood their world, and she longed to be back with her own family, to use her magic again. But she never made it back home.
Tonyâs father tried for a year to raise him alone. Then one day he drove him to his auntâs house in Lunar Cove with his suitcase packed. If he noticed the magic as he got back in his car and drove away, he would not remember it. And he never came back for his son. So Tony lived with his aunt and uncle and a house full of cousins who adopted him in as a sibling. A year later, Tony dropped his fatherâs surname, Theriot, and took his motherâs instead. During the week, he stayed in a dorm at Harvard and on the weekends returned to his aunt and uncleâs, and when he was sixteen and able to drive, made the hour long commute more often. Because by then, Tony had learned so much more about his motherâs life, her culture and her family, than his parents had ever told him. By then, he knew about magic. By then, heâd watched his cousins manifest all sorts of wonderful abilities, and as interesting as his studies were, there was just as much to learn at home.
For years, Tony thought magic would be something he watched, not something he practiced. But when he turned eighteen and was able to officially start hormone therapy, that magic came with it. Soon, those âgiftsâ heâd been told he had as a child took on new forms, manifesting beyond what was possible in the human world. His aunt showed him how to focus his powers, and he realized he was no longer just good with computers, he could manipulate technology with an unprecedented power; he no longer needed to study languages because they came to him naturally; not only was his own memory strong, but he could also see otherâs peopleâs memories through a simple touch.
After graduation, Tony returned to Lunar Cove for good. Though he planned to go to graduate school, his aunt and uncle had never had much money and he hadnât heard from his fatherâyet alone received a check in the mailâfor years. Having never learned how to properly socialize with people his own age, Tony found it difficult to keep a job for long, usually growing bored with tasks that, meant to last hours, he accomplished in minutes. He moved from job to job, sometimes in his fieldâworking IT for different companies, for exampleâand sometimes as a bus boy or cashier at the grocery store. And things were normal for a while, an oldâalbeit boringâroutine, until one day he saw an ad online for a device powered by Theriot Tech. A little research told him all he needed to know: that his father was no longer a struggling inventor, that maybe it was having a family that had held him back all those years. Though Tony and his cousins had never seen a cent of it, though heâd never heard a word from the man himself, it was clear that his father wasnât just successful, he was thriving, his garage-office, two-employee company rocketed to a multi-million dollar corporation with thousands of employees and 401kâs.
Today, Tony works as an IT Technician at the local newsroom and is saving up his money to eventually go back to school. He still hasnât confronted his father and feels heâs yet to live up to the grand expectations of his childhood. When heâs not working, he often takes odd (questionably legal) hacking jobs and spends the rest of his time at parties and clubsâanything where the noise of the world might be a little louder than his own head.
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"Is that the song by the lady with the crane machine?" Ralphie asked this genuinely, still moving to the beat with the same gusto with which they had begun this whole affair. In truth, he had been using the Dance-a-thon as an opportunity to show off, seeing as he had grown up on this music and on these steps. Hell, he had already decided he was the hand jive champion of the room, doing it faster, better, and more erratically than anyone else (in his mind). He was not quite practiced or precise, of course, but Ralphie made up for any lack of grace with zeal. "I could go all night. Or at least 'til sunrise. But they, that's what rings are for," he replied, dipping Tony for no reason. "Do ya wanna climb on my shoulders? We really just gotta be connected and grooving, yeah?"
"The lady with the crane machine?" Tony thought that through, finally landing on the music video for a very different song--but the same artist. "Yeah. Yeah, you got it. Hannah Montana. She's got the best of both worlds." He clapped Ralph on the shoulder. "You're getting it, Old Man." With a (not so) healthy amount of coffee in his system--and generally having youth on his side--Tony had been keeping up with Ralph's momentum for as long as he could, enthusiastically dancing on (and off) the beat for the last couple of hours. Now, however, he was definitely slowing down. He grinned, however, when the vampire dipped him. "Maybe we can do that thing where I cling to you like a koala and you keep dancing while I take a nap." He was about to say more when suddenly there was a scream from across the room. Tony straightened up just in time to see a commotion brought by (a) Dilan's shenanigans kicking up a notch and (b) Julian choking. Of course they couldn't have just one night of partying without a little despair, could they?
'My powers are like breathing' definitely put a smile on her face, because Nesrim understood the feeling. Since she could remember, her powers had been part of her life. Walking around, reading people's colors and picking out bad intentional folks from the good ones in order to protect Meryem, while also healing scrapped elbows and bruised knees from falling down. She understood. But the advisor had also met young witches and warlocks who didn't have the same knowledge about their powers, and she made it a habit to ask instead of simply assuming. "Good." The brunette settled, that same smile still rested easily on her face. "Now we just have to work on your fourth one, I assume." She gently nudged Antonio's shoulder with her own, as if to cheer him up. "Yes, what sort of power do you want?" It was a good start. Granted, the ancestors weren't going to simply abide to everyone's wishes and awaken just about any power, but knowing what your heart truly desired, was a good start. "Can you tell me a little about your other three powers too?" ( @antonioalvarez )
Tony leaned back in his seat, cradling his coffee cup close to his chest and fiddling with the cardboard sleeve on one end. It was a safety blanket of sorts--not just the caffeine rushing through his veins, making sure he moved fast enough not to have to slow down and think about anything for too long, but also something to do with his hands, something to focus on other than the conversation. What did he want his fourth power to be? "I don't know," he said honestly. And he didn't like that feeling. The uncertainty, the not knowing what came next for him. But that had been the story of his life for years now--floating by without a real plan, no next step. "Something offensive. Something to fight with." He'd never been much of a fighter, but maybe it was time for that to change. I don't want to be helpless, he wanted to say, but the words wouldn't come. "I can speak any language. I can remember...everything. And when I touch people, I get their memories too." Which was why he generally kept his hands to himself. "And tech. I can control tech." His clear favorite, evident enough by his tone. It was his bread and butter, his living--literally, as he brought it into all his jobs and sometimes not-so-legal side hustles. "During Valentine's, when people were in danger, it was the first time I ever used tech to fight, but--" He broke off as his phone started vibrating in his pocket. He rubbed his temples and sighed, standing up from the table. "I'm sorry. I have to take this. I have to--" He broke off, forcing his expression back into a smile. "Can we raincheck this? Maybe I can meet you at the Poison Room?" He'd need to meet with Poppy too. It was about time he made this coven thing official.
Kotaro shrugged and listened on. "You're right, I suppose. I guess nobody has died yet." Ko scoffed, jumping to extremes that he still believed were far from the realm of possibility. Psht. Yeah. Like that's actually gonna happen. He was about to walk off and get a refill when the other man mentioned something that was rather peculiar. Chin tilted downward, Kotaro looked at him with a renewed interest in conversation. "...Wings?" How lucky Kotaro was to have a conversation partner so quick to spill. His eyes drifted to where he last spotted the sisters across the party scene. Sisters who apparently had wings. "So I am in the right place." Any lingering doubt he still had was brushed aside. He addressed the other man once again, offering him his hand to shake. "The name's Kotaro. I'm new in town. And to this whole thing in general, really. The concept of someone having retractable wings is completely new to me...Do you also?" Kotaro leaned to the side and tried to get a good look at the other's back, curious to see if it had wing potential. If that was even a thing.
"Well, if last time is anything to go off, we're not doing death anymore. That was so last year. Raising the dead? Check. Torture and trolling? Check check. The new name of the game is messing with everybody. Keeping us on our toes, going crazy and ready to turn on each other." He grinned, though there was nothing funny at all about what he was saying. Lunar Cove was falling apart--that much seemed obvious to him. He didn't know who he was talking to, but he got the impression this man was new to the game. He took the offered hand and shook. "Tony. No wings here." He patted his back with his other hand, though really that proved very little. "That's a fae only sort of thing, unfortunately. If I ever have wings, they'll be Daedalus style, made out of old Nintendo's and my uncle's TV antenna." He grinned. "Welcome to town. You're going to love it here. Or hate it. At least mediocre is not on the table, right?"
"We can't stop, and we won't stop..." Tony sang to himself, despite the fact that actual, very different music was playing all around them on the speakers above. He wasn't really dancing to the tune either, not anymore, not after being at this for hours. He was exhausted and ready to lay on the floor, but they had plenty of time to go, and he wasn't about to lose this yet. "That vampire stamina must be really nice right about now," he said to his partner.
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"I need to be sure, Tony. We can't screw up on this, not like we did in 2016." It was a bad year, they missed a massive sale at Joe's to go to Peggy's for a measly 10% off coupon. That couldn't happen again. "I don't intend to, but needs must," she said, nodding back in agreement before looping her arm through his and walking towards the entrance. "Walk faster then! We have 45 minutes before we can get to Peggy's and all of the best pies clear out fast. Whatever we don't finish, we're bringing home. No dish left behind."
Tony winced. He didn't like to think about 2016. It had been a bad year, a shameful mark on their record--the sort of embarrassment no one liked to remember. "We're not going to make the same mistakes we made before," he said seriously. "We've learned and grown, and we're stronger this year. We've done our research. We know what we're doing." Peggy's had stepped it up this year, making pies buy one get one 50% off, and Tony needed at least a half dozen to take home with him. But 50%--even if it involved pies, beautiful wonderful pies--could never beat buy one get one, and this 2 for 1 deal was the most important on their list. He picked up his pace, the two rushing off to food like their lives depended on it. "Remember, prioritize food we can freeze. If we do this right, we won't need groceries for the rest of the year."
"So I've been scouting for potential best friends, and you were spotted on my radar. So first thing's first, hi new bestie, the name is Ducky, and I have but one question. Avengers or X-men, who is the better one of the two, and then tell me who would be your favorite,"
Tony was sitting at his normal booth at Peggy's Diner, a mug of hot coffee held in both hands. "Okay," he said, humming slightly as he thought of his answer. "X-Men, for sure." He liked the Avengers, liked he idea of a team of people coming together to take on big world threats, but the X-Men made more sense. They were not that different from the witches of Lunar Cove: people who grew up with powers they didn't quite understand and then ddi the best they could to take of their own with the gifts--or curses--they were given. "Wiz-Kid." Not one of the top tier mutants, certainly not one that made it into the movies, but it was no surprise that Tony picked a fellow tech-based genius. "Your turn."
âYouâre far too comfortable there, you know that?â Meena mused, despite the light laugh that broke from her lips as she watch Tony make himself at home in the leather bound seat behind her desk. The Mayor opted to lift herself up onto the edge of her desk herself so that her feet dangled every so slightly in the air. Letting one of her heels slip to the floor followed by the other. âYour unfortunate detainment?â She asked with a curve of her brow. Another laugh escaping her lips at the thought. âIs that what weâre calling it now? But, I may have missed you a tad. At least your gifts anyway,â she told him with an eased grin as she held her hand out for one of the joints, despite her lingering gaze and momentary glint of concern giving her away. They should have been on their way to the Farmerâs Market by now, but at the moment, Meena found herself in no rush to have to head into any crowds just yet. âYou always think I look amazing,â she pointed out as she leaned over to fetch a lighter out of the top drawer of her desk.Â
"I've learned to appreciate the finer things in life." Tony ran his fingers over the leather chair. He'd never had anything like it himself--the only chair he owned he'd had for years, and it was covered in burn holes (fire and acid related) and missing so much fluff, it shouldn't even qualify as a chair anymore. "I learned about silk recently. Amazing stuff. And did you know a house can have more than two rooms?" He wiggled his eyebrows as if this were an incredible discovery, as if the mayor didn't live in a mansion of her own. "Oh absolutely. I was held against my will, day and night. Fed red Jell-O and forced to watched reality dating shows. I know all about the mansion and roses and bachelors now." He watched her, the easy way she rested against the desk, the stretch of her long legs, the heels hitting the floor, and then the lighter in her hand. "That's because you always look amazing. And I have really great taste."
"If I'm The Other Reed is Dahlia The Other Other Reed?" Arlow joked as he headed towards Tony. "And I don't appreciate being second to Poppy, she's only 5 minutes older." He was not the type to run away from a bar crawl. It hadn't been an easy week, he'd kept up the perfect charade, turned up to events, brought Rowan along for people to gawk at, but bringing Rowan along meant to had to remain un-inebriated. He could do it, but it left him feeling sick, the flood of thoughts he couldn't tune out, so deafening he could hardly decipher them. The idea of the bar crawl was like a trophy at the end of the event, with it came the welcome solace of a silent mind. "I guess I do don't I?" He chuckled slightly, despite already being a few drinks deep, having started in his apartment before heading to the bar. Waving down the bartender he ordered the two of them shots. "I can't believe you got suckered into joining the coven."
"I could have called you Half a Reed," Tony pointed out. "But yes." Dahlia was the Other Other Reed because she wasn't the other half of a set of twins. Tony didn't have any siblings himself, but he had been raised in a house full of cousins that had felt a bit like siblings--still, none had popped out of the womb with him. He could only imagine what that connection was like. "What is Poppy thinking, right now? You got that twin telepathy?" A few years ago, he might have thought that was impossible, but a few years ago, he hadn't known that real telepathy was possible and magic was everywhere. "Cheers," Tony said gratefully, tapping his glass against Arlow's before taking the shot down in one gulp. Hissing, he put it back on the table and grabbed a line, biting into it before speaking again. "Yeah, well, your Older Sister can be pretty convincing when she wants to be. That fourth power was looking real tempting after Valentine's."
Nesrim couldn't sit there and act like she knew what it was or how it felt to not know who you were on the inside, on your own essence... because ever since she could remember, she had always known she was supposed to develop powers. Granted, they came with time, but she remembered each birthday and how it would bring her closer to a possible reveal of powers. It also brought Caleb to mind, and how his parents expected for his powers to develop themselves, but they never did. Nesrim couldn't possibly think of how she would feel if the same had happened to her. It would devastate her.
Pressing her lips together, she allowed Antonio to digest what she'd told him, happy she'd been able to connect with him by sharing a mutual love and dedication to science. "They did, didn't they?" She chuckled softly, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear as she glanced at him. "And yes, that's a great way of putting it, Antonio. Can you imagine the amount of people who have claimed it to be magic something that was later turned into Physics equation or chemical reaction? Besides, like I said, magic's part of you. It has always been there." The witch kept smiling, pointing to the general area of his chest. "Now, you'll just learn how to use it. You know? Like when you're experimenting and then you have a breakthrough? Think of it like that." With that, Nesrim took a sip from her coffee. She liked his attitude. It was refreshing to say the least.
She could read a bit of excitement mixed to hesitation as jokes flew out of his lips, which, she reckoned was a normal reaction in his situation. "Well, you said you wanted a cool fourth power, right? Are you well-trained in your three others? I could help you with that." She offered in a rather motherly fashion. Actually, it was a mix of motherly and the academic figure she played in college. "Poppy wants to do an initiation ceremonyâwhich, sounds a bit cult-y, but I promise it's not. Even if that too, sounds like something someone from a cult would say." She teased, too. Hoping to ease the mood with her sweet laughter. "But jokes aside, the initiation is a moment for celebration. It's welcoming you into a family who would do anything to protect you, to teach you and help you grow." She paused. "When it comes to magic, what are you looking for? Close your eyes and search for that answer. It's right there, you just have to ask the right questions."
Tony never would have used the word 'magic' himself when thinking about a scientific breakthrough, but there was no denying there was something magical about it. Maybe not in the sense of abrakadabra, potions, and spells, but it was a feeling inside, a knowledge that you could do something that no one else could, that you could make the impossible possible, that lightbulb in your head, power in your fingertips type moment. He got the same feeling when he connected with a machine, took one look at it and knew its inner workings, how each wire fit together. He got that feeling when he heard a language for the first time and suddenly understood it. It was a jolt when he touched someone or something and was met with their memories, that rush of time and life that didn't belong to him, stepping into someone else's world. "Yeah," he said finally, fiddling with the edge of his coffee cup. "I guess that doesn't sound so bad."
He smiled wryly. "Trained? My other powers are like breathing." Even before he'd started telepathically communicating with and controlling technology, he'd been taking apart the family toaster and television and everything else with an on switch. He loved technology. He loved learning. And his powers played into that--memory and memorization, language and the coding of the world. But the fourth power, whatever it ended up being, was going to be brand new. He grimaced a little at the idea of the ceremony, but it was a teasing expression if anything. "Family, huh?" He repeated. He didn't hate the sound of that--though family had the bad habit of letting you down.
"What am I looking for?" He repeated. "You mean what sort of power do I want?" That much was simple; he wanted something that could help protect him and others--his family--the next time there was an attack. His powers right now were cool, but they weren't offensive. He needed to be able to fight next time the need arouse.
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âDonât call me that. Tinkerbell is Leyla.â She corrected. âYou can call me literally anything else.â She informed him as she put a hand on his shoulder to steady herself. âWhat? How is that fair? That one doesnât count.â Taking the shot as the bartender brought it her and she groaned before reaching out for it. Picking up the shot and she held it up for a cheers. âCheers.â She announced to him with a laugh before tossing back the shot. Dilan hadnât came out tonight expecting to have fun like this, sheâd came for trivia, but now found herself about to check off at least one item off her list of not two. âYou know what thatâs true!â She nodded with a giggle, sheâd almost died during Valentineâs Day which is part of the reason why her silly little list came about. âThank you. Also yes your brain is beautiful and full of tons of knowledge.â Patting his head softly for a moment before she summoned for the bartender to bring them another round and her missing shot. âWell dancing on a table is on the list too.â She admitted pulling out her phone as she showed him the list. âSo maybe let me?â She remarked hesitantly before picking up her missing shot and she threw it back, ignoring his pinky promise in favor of catching up. âI mean what if it wasnât respectable? I mean why do I always have to be so damn respectable?â Dilan asked hopping off the barstool as she stood in front of Tony. âI canât tell you the last time I even had fun without caring about what everyone thinks?â She rambled on aloud. âI mean my job is to care what you all think about events and I think Iâve just carried that over to my life.â She admitted with a sigh, she leaned back against the bar. âIf weâre being honest Iâve never even really done this because I mean. What happens if I get drunk?â Asking to the abyss but also to Tony who she was now practically ranting too. âIâm worried people might judge me.âÂ
"Literally anything?" He repeated. "I'm pretty sure you don't want to give me that power." But now he had to think of other small, feisty people with wings to name her after. "Wanda? Crysta? I'll brainstorm and get back to you." As the bartender continued to supply them with shots, Tony leaned close to get a look at her list. "Hey, we can get a ton of these done tonight." He had weed in his pocket, but he wasn't all that eager to get someone cross-faded on potentially their first night of doing either. "But let's start with getting drunk." Safely, preferably. He ordered two glasses of water as well as two more shots. "Here. Drink this." He handed her the water first, letting her rant herself out while he sipped his own. "The great news is that the more you drink, the less you'll care about what other people think. And then in the morning, either you won't remember what happened, or you'll be able to tell people 'sorry I was drunk' and then it won't really matter. If people judge you, fuck them. You're not working right now. This is what we call letting loose. Now, when you hear a song you like just go dance to it. No one is watching you. Because you want to know a secret? Everyone is thinking the same thing. Everyone in here is worried people are judging them, and they're too busy thinking about themselves to actually judge anyone else. The whole goal of a place like this is to have fun and be stupid. People expect that when they come through those doors." He nodded toward the entrance.
Where/When: Dance A Thon, Plot Drop #3
Status: Open
âJesus Christ.â Kotaro leaned his back against the wall, drink in hand and undone tie rested on his shoulders. He came to this party hoping for a chance to extend connections and find someone who could aid in his condition. What actually happened? Ko was caught in the middle of town drama: one bad apple humiliating her sister and making it everyone elseâs problem.
âWhat a shitshow.â He sighed and drank as his eyes scanned through the dance floor, remaining alert just in case someone approached to pull him into the terpsichorean cesspool. At this point he had given up on having a meaningful conversation with anyone and was only here thanks to the sunk cost fallacy. AKA: 'Ah fuck it, I've already been here for this long. Why not?' "Not like I had any other plans tonight." Ko was talking to himself but he spoke loud enough for anyone to hear and chime in on. âIf I wanted to see a family fight, I would have just walked back home.â Kotaro shook his head and chuckled to himself. âWhatâs next? The evil aunt makes her dramatic entrance and everybody gasps?â Honestly, that wouldn't be too much of a shock given that the evil sister was here already...
"This is pretty tame, all things considered." Tony leaned against the bar, sipping his own drink, as the stranger beside him commented on the events. Tony was not about to step between Dilan and Leyla and whatever was happening between them; he'd been in town long enough to know that you didn't get in the way of fae when they were dealing with their issues. And if something else was going on, well, that was pretty par for the course around here. Seeing as no one had been kidnapped, no one had rigged the town into some sort of real-life version of Saw, and there were no ghosts trying to come back to life by killing the living, Tony felt that one angry, chaos-causing fae was really sort of a filler episode in the narrative that was Lunar Cove's bad luck with events. "They haven't even whipped out their wings and started throwing chandeliers yet. I think we've got a ways to go before the evil aunt. Now evil twin....could be. It'd be pretty on brand."
âDonât tempt me.â Tony looked at the bodies on the floor, the blood that had splattered on the walls. He had spent so long around vampires, letting them use his neck like a juice box, heâd started to think he was immune to this sort of thing, that the blood wouldnât get to him anymore. Heâd also started to think that maybe being one of them wouldnât be all that badâsuper strength, super endurance, super life. All it would cost him was a hell of a thirst. How different could that really be from the way he already felt like he needed a whiskey from the moment he woke up to the second he fell asleep? But thisâ âIâll think about it. If I beg nice enough, Meena might turn me next time.â
âSure. I definitely believe you.â His words might be sarcastic, but Tonyâs smile was genuine. He appreciated her pretending, sparing his pride, when it was the last thing she needed to do after the sort of night sheâd had. âGood thing youâre not fae. Youâd be terrible.â As they stumbled out of the dentist arm in arm, Tony nodded at her wide smile, the gaps where her fangs had been. âWill they grow back?â Maybe it was too soon to be bringing that up, but he wasnât sure he understood fully the lengths that vampirism could work to heal itself. âFor what itâs worth, youâre pretty damn good at busting heads fangs or no fangs.â
It was a long walk back, and Tony could feel the weight of his phone in his pocket like a bomb. Next time it buzzed, it would be them. The hunters. Sending out another clue. âItâll be good to have you in the game,â he told Aaliyah. âWeâre lucky to have you on our side.â
âDonât rush it,â Aaliyah murmured. And she wanted to tell him not to rush into giving up his life. Truthfully, she hoped she never had to teach anyone that âtrick.â There was nothing wrong with being a vampire. Aaliyah liked being a vampire. But it also sucked, and it was death, and the adjustment period was killer.
âAs you should. I never lie.â Which was, in and of itself, a big lie. Aaliyah lied easier than breathing. Literally. And she needed it more. She didnât know how to stop. She rolled her eyes, but he was right. âEvery fucking day, Iâm grateful Iâm not a fae, trust me. I mean, theyâre cool and everything, but I just donât think I could pull of the wings, you know?â Her tongue brushed over the empty space in her mouth, wincing minutely in pain. âTheyâll grow back. Itâs just a bitch waiting on it. It wonât take long, though.â It would hurt the entire time, but that was no fucking biggie, not really. She smirked. âDamn right I am.â
Aaliyah was careful with Tonyâs wounds as she started the walk back, and, yeah, maybe itâd be easier to carry him, but she wasnât going to do that unless he gave the okay. Whatever was going on sounded like a fucking nightmare, and she didnât know if they were lucky to have her on their side, but she did know that whatever fucking hunters were out there were gonna be unlucky as shit. âYou can fill me in on the way. I have a feeling Iâm gonna fucking hate this game.â
choose your own adventure: awesome blossom edition !!
Location: On Pitch
Event: Sing-Off
A shrill wailing emitted from the speakers and Bea almost wished it was a banshee, but no, it was just a misguided werewolf howling out Adele's Rolling In The Deep. Usually, Bea wouldn't be caught dead in On Pitch due to her particular relationship with its owner, but she wanted to make sure she was doing her due diligence and ensuring no sirens were cheating during the contest. She winced as the performer's voice cracked after not being able to reach a high note. Noticing the person beside her also wincing a bit, she took a sip of her drink before asking, "Is it usually like this?" in a low voice. "I don't know how An-- how anyone could be here for so many hours without needing a break. I'm almost tempted to go outside for a smoke break and I don't even smoke."
Location: Town Green
Event: Hanami
Tearing off another bite of her mochi donut, Luna walked farther from the farmer's market-- shopping bag full, as a member of the community that supported small business and all-- and towards the town green where people had gathered to picnic. "Hey, want to share a blanket?" she asked a person nearby. "I've got way too much food and I don't think I can take it all home. Promise you won't be on the menu," she said with a small wink, "--unless you want to be."
Location: Celestial Hills' restaurant street
Event: All of the food deals, all of 'em
"Listen, this is like my Superbowl, okay? Don't you screw this up for me, just nod and pay for your half," Reese said seriously as she pulled out the sheet of participating restaurants and her plans on how to hit them all before the week was up. "Rainbow Roll has their best deal today, but the special is two-for-one and normally I'd be all for ordering two meals and taking one home, but this is a lover's special so I need a partner. So, are you in or are you in?"
"Are you kidding? I've been saving all year for this." Tony raised an eyebrow at Reese, looking mildly offended that she could think for even a moment that he wasn't taking this seriously. He took her paper and looked it over to check her math, but if there was one thing Reese was good at, it was doing her homework for well-priced food. "Please never say the words lover's special to me ever again. But of course I'm in," he agreed, nodding solemnly as he handed her back the paper, looking like he was being asked to go to war but was determined to fulfill his civic duty. "But we have to eat fast so we don't miss Peggy's sale. There's pie."
Ah... the funny guy. Of course. Nesrim was used to those inside a classroom environment, but it seemed like people around her tended to be more serious in a way. Maybe Antonio was meant to change that. "Ah, we only do that on Sundays." She teased right back, waving her hand in the air as if it was no big deal. Just because she was the coven's advisor, it didn't mean she had to lose all of her essence now, did it? "Jokes aside, we do chant our enchantments to the goddess. If we're using movies as reference, it's a bit more The Craft and a little less Harry Potter. A lot less, actually." Nesrim clarified. In fact, she disliked that piece of media a lot. Even more after having heard about its author's horrible beliefs.
As he continued, this time in a more serious tone, Nesrim followed suit, letting him speak his mind, before adding to his words. "You see, Antonio... I'm a scientist, too. Magic is a bit of everything, if you think about it. Who would of thought that by mixing sulfur, potassium nitrate and carbon it would end up resulting in gunpowder, right? Yet, it's chemistry. It's real." To Nesrim, it was easier to use science to explain things, especially chemistry. She understood chemistry. It was palpable. But at the same time, she understood Antonio's doubts. To them, they needed to see it to believe it. "Our ancestors thought fire was magic, too. Not only that, but it was something demonic... because they couldn't understand it. That's what we are offering you. A chance to understand things."
At the mention of Poppy scolding him, she couldn't help but laugh a bit. A soft, discreet chuckle that ended up hidden behind her cup of coffee as she brought it to her lips. "Look, I hate to break it to you, Antonio... but powers aren't made to make you look or feel cool. They're gifted to you by the goddess. They're your essence. They're part of you, you know? You're the one who decides how to make them look cool, if that's what you wish."
"That's probably for the best. I don't think Hogwarts would like me much." That was as much as he'd say on the topic--he did his best not to think or talk about She-who-must-not-be-named if he could help it. He leaned forward a bit, holding his cup of coffee steady, but his interest clearly and immediately peaked as she brought the conversation of magic around to chemistry. Maybe that was what he'd needed this whole time, to talk about magic with another scientist. For someone to tell him that the two could co-exist side by side, that he didn't have to give up everything in his life, everything he was made for, everything he gravitated towards, just because he happened to also know people who put science to shame.
"Yeah, and people died of fright at solar eclipses, thinking it was a god angry with them taking over the skies." She was right. "Magic is just science we don't understand yet, right?" He'd heard it before and believed it. He needed to believe that. He needed to sink his hands into the meat of it and take it apart, study it, learn it from the inside out and take away the mystery and mystique. A chance to understand things was exactly what he needed.
"Well, that's disappointing," he joked. "I was really hoping to come out of this with the full comeback story. Prove all the bullies wrong. Hold cars above my head. Get my picture on the cover of vogue." But despite his teasing, he understood what she was saying. He took another sip of his coffee and nodded. The way she was explaining things meant more to him than he could say. "So what happens now?"
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âIf thatâs what you get with leadership then Iâm really in the wrong kind of leadership.â Poppy told him with a laugh. âMaybe I need to try and get paid for this role because penthouse? I mean I have to live above a bar.â It wasnât that she couldnât afford somewhere else. She could, just at this point sheâd got to use it. Giving a smile when he mentioned he didnât hate the idea. âI mean hey we could all do better than we did at Valentineâs Day. So I think self defense training and may bring learning defensive magical techniques would be helpful to us all.â She explained. âDonât worry Iâll make sure your name is top of the list.â She teased with a wink.Â
Poppy gave his hand a squeeze and continued to smile. âI mean you have real magical powers Tony. Just not really offensive magic.â She explained. âWell Iâm not sure any of those powers will help you in a fight either. Unless you plan to summon all the animals or just run away.â Shaking her head with a laugh. âHow about next time something like this happens we have you try to hack them instead and see where the messages are coming from.â Offering to him since it at least wasnât out in the field where he could get hurt again. âI know people find scars sexy and all but letâs not add to the many youâll probably have from this.âÂ
"Yeah, but you also own the bar, don't you? That's the dream. If I lived above a bar, I think I'd just never go anywhere again." He grinned, as if this was the epitome of a good time, as if he didn't want a drink right now, in broad daylight, in a hospital bed. Maybe living in a bar wouldn't be the best for him. Maybe he already drank too much. But hell--he was young. He could handle it, right? "That reminds me...I don't know if this is a good time to ask, and I know I'm already asking a lot with joining your Merlin Fan Club and everything, but I uh, could use another job. If you're hiring. I'm pretty good at pouring drinks."
At her suggestion, however, he raised an eyebrow. "You don't think I tried to do that? Poppy, I tried to track it. I was trying to track it from the moment it started. I didn't stop trying to track it the whole night. I got nothing. It was like--like I was blocked. And on Halloween, when the power went out, I couldn't start it back up. Remember that? There's something happening there. The one thing I'm good at--the only thing I'm good at--has been useless against them." He cleared his throat, knowing he was starting to sound like a petulant child, and serious wasn't something he did. If he couldn't joke about it and tuck problems under the rug, then he didn't talk about it at all. He was flying far too close to real right now, and that wasn't what he wanted. "I'll come see you after I get out of here, alright?" he offered. "Join up. Sign the papers. Get that fourth power. I'll knock your socks off with the next one, I'm sure of it."
"I'm not sure we should be doing this..." Dilan remarked as she downed her now third shot. "I mean... what if we get drunk?" She asked whispering to Tony. It wasn't that she didn't drink, just she never actually drank enough to get drunk; which is exactly why it was on her list. "Actually I probably should, but..." Trailing off as she stood up straight and put both hands on Tony's shoulders as she forced him to look at her. "You can't let me do anything embarrassing."
"That's the point, Tinkerbell." Tony gestured at the bartender to get them both a fourth shot. "And I had one before you got here. You got to catch up." They had gone to plenty of trivia nights together, drinking casually and answering questions the world expected him to know and her not to. Tony loved that side of her--smart and sharp and quick witted--but he couldn't lie and say he wasn't curious what she'd look like actually having unabashed fun. "We've all almost died how many times this year? This town is fucked. It's spring. The drinks are flowing, and you have an item to check off your list." As she grabbed hold of her shoulders, Tony put down his shot and forced himself to manage a serious nod. "I promise, on my life, and on my brain--which is my most important and beautiful asset, just so we're clear--that I will not let you do anything embarrassing. If you try and dance on a table, I will bring you back down. I will not let you make out with anyone questionable. We will have a perfectly respectable night." He put out his pinky to promise.
