About Tony
Aug. 4th, 2008 02:23 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
wantstodirectTony
Tony is medium height (5'10") and he's a bit skinny. He's got brown hair, blue eyes and fair skin. He wears his hair short but shaggy - long enough to get in his eyes. His left eyebrow is pierced and he wears a gold ring through it. His wrists and neck have a lot of small, faint white scars. You'd have to look closely to see them, but if you did, you might think that Tony's pretty clumsy with a barbeque fork.
Tony dropped out of school and left home at age 14 or 15. (The books have contradictory information on his age.) Canon doesn't really delve into his past. All we know for certain is that his father had issues with Tony's sexuality and there was some incident at school involving a fetal pig dissection.
For the next four years, Tony survived on the streets of Toronto by hustling and dealing in information. He's good at noticing things and putting the pieces together. That's how he became friends with Vicki Nelson, back when she was still a cop. He gave her information and she looked after him as much as he'd let her. She helped him get off drugs and she became a role model for him. She's his personal hero, though he'd never tell her that.
And one day Vicki asked him to donate blood to a badly wounded vampire and introduced him to a whole new world.
Henry was nearly unconscious the first time Tony met him. Tony's blood saved his life, but Tony left before Henry fully came back to himself, figuring that being a stranger in the private space of a wounded and disoriented vampire would probably be a bad idea. But they were officially introduced soon after and developed a close relationship. Vampire feeding in this world is always sexual for the victim, though not necessarily for the vamp. Henry was in love with Vicki, so there probably wasn't a strong romantic component of this relationship, at least on Henry's side.
But along with the kinky vampire sex, they also had a good friendship. Henry helped Tony find a job and an apartment and get off the streets. When they moved to Vancouver, Tony lived in Henry's condo. It was with Henry's encouragement and support that Tony completed his GED and went to Vancouver Film School in the evenings while working in a video store during the day.
Tony was the one to end the relationship. After he finished film school, he was ready to move on with his life and live on his own. Henry was a prince and a vampire. As a prince, he felt responsible for "his" people. As a vampire, Tony belonged to him, was part of his territory. The human part of Henry didn't have issues with Tony moving on - he was actually proud of the boy. But the vampire and prince parts of him didn't let go so easily. They remained friends and Henry kept a protective eye out for Tony.
One of the subplots throughout the Smoke trilogy is Tony's struggle to find the right balance in his relationship with Henry. Henry's a parental/mentor figure for Tony, so he looks out for Tony and Tony wants to make him proud. But Henry also has control over Tony because of the blood they've shared. In the first Smoke book, a shadow possesses Tony. Henry forces the shadow out of Tony by invoking a prior claim - Tony belongs to *him* first and always.
Tony does not want to belong to *anyone*, thank you very much, so this raw demonstration of Henry's hold over him makes things awkward in their new friendship, even though Henry wouldn't take advantage of their bond.
I'm juggling with the timeline to make Tony younger (see below for details) but he'll be right from the end of the first Smoke book. Tony needs to establish his own independence and not automatically run to Henry for help or comfort. He's going to try this boarding school out in Virginia, hoping that putting physical space between them will help create the emotional space he needs.
Tony has decided on a career in entertainment, so it doesn't matter that he's recently discovered he's got magical potential. He's going to be a director, not a wizard. And yet his own curiosity and interest keep drawing him back to the laptop Arra gave him and he's teaching himself magic in spite of his plans. His career aspirations always come first, though. Or they would, if he didn't keep ending up in situations where saving peoples' lives gets in the way. If it comes down to his career or someone getting hurt, Tony'll protect that person without question. But he's going to do his best to save his job once that person is safe.
Where FH Tony Is From
Here's where the juggling comes in. Tony is 24 in "Smoke and Shadows" but I'm going to dial him back to 17. So I'm compressing the timeline. FH!Tony left home at 13. He met Henry at age 15 and they've been living together in Vancouver for the past year and a half. In canon, Tony moves out of Henry's condo before "Smoke and Shadows" begins. FH!Tony will be living with Henry up until he goes off to Fandom High.
FH!Tony has not completed high school and not yet gone to film school. He got a job as a PA on "Darkest Night" by lying about his age and being willing to do just about anything for very little pay. Since he worked hard and didn't flinch at tasks like cleaning up vomit or making a Starbucks run at lunchtime, CB didn't look too closely at his qualifications. But several people died during the Shadowlord's invasion with no rational explanation as to why, so the police investigated everyone involved and found out Tony was underage. Henry couldn't legally be his guardian for a number of reasons, but Vicki found out about Fandom High and sent Henry and Tony the information. Sending Tony off to boarding school gets the authorities off their back with the bonus that he'll finally finish his education. Tony's not big on the idea of going to school - it didn't work out so well the first time, and he's even more of a misfit now - but he *does* want to go to film school and since he'll have to finish high school first, this Fandom place is as good as any.
Of course in a place like Fandom, Tony's practically normal. But he doesn't know that yet.
Readjusting the timeline *does* mean that Tony's only 15 when he and Henry first get together. But Tony being 15 wouldn't have been an issue in Henry's time and he doesn't see why it should matter now. When you've lived for more than four centuries, a few years this way or that don't make much difference. Tony's no innocent, and while he didn't know *exactly* what he was getting into when he hooked up with Henry, he *was* mature enough to make the decision for himself. Vicki didn't have the time to consider Tony's youth when she dragged him in to donate blood and what happened after was out of her hands. And if she ever worries about Tony being too young, she also knows that Henry's been a good influence on Tony and given him stability where he had none before. Tony, like any teenager, thinks he's old enough to make his own choices.
He'll be arriving as a junior, despite being 17, because he dropped out of school at age 13. Henry's tutoring and his own ability to learn quickly have let him test out of some of the lower level classes and come in as a junior, but he won't be taking any advanced academic classes.
Tony's Magic
Just prior to coming to Fandom, Tony found out that he's got the potential to be a wizard. It's been a few weeks and at the time he arrives in Fandom, he knows exactly one spell - he can speak a seven-syllable phrase and call small things to his hand. And sometimes they even get there without exploding.
As he gradually develops his abilities, he'll be able to call things to his hand without speaking and eventually be able to call a full-grown man to his hand with a thought. (Not dirty.) The spells he's learning help him focus his energies, but it's the will and the power of the wizard that makes the magic. All the spells he learns can - theoretically - be done without the words and the gestures. But it will take him time to learn the spells themselves and then more time to learn to do them without the props. Also, the more powerful the spell, the longer it will take to master it.
When Tony arrives in Fandom, he'll be learning small magics and not doing very well at it. I'd like to have some fun with spells gone wrong. One possible spell-gone-wrong is straight from canon - Tony attempts to do a cleaning cantrip and he accidentally creates scrubbing bubbles which attack his date. I'd like to have Tony try to clean his room with magic and accidentally send scrubbing bubbles out into the dorm hallways to attack other students and leave them spotlessly clean. I haven't come up with other spells-gone-wrong yet, but they'd likely be small, harmless fun bits like the bubbles. I'd also offer Tony's magic experimentation as a plot spare part. Tony would have to deal with the embarrassment and other consequences of having the spells screw up and mess with other people.
The rate at which Tony develops his abilities will depend on how things play out. If he becomes friends with people who use similar magic in their own canon, he may be able to pick up some tips and apply it to his own magic. If he's stuck in a situation where he needs to do magic, he'll learn much faster than if he's just practicing in his room. For example, he might learn a spell during a BDE and since he's using it frequently over the weekend (and the consequences of screwing it up are dire) then he'll have a pretty strong grasp on it by Monday. It would just be one spell at a time, though - he can't cram five new spells into his head and then master them in two days.
In canon, Tony starts with simple spells like calling things to his hand or making a small light. By the end of the series, he's capable of doing a Powershot - a blast of energy which will turn a demon to ash, though it drains the wizard badly each time. He can also, in the right frame of mind, heal himself of any injuries or physical damage. But when he heals himself, he experiences every bit of pain that he would in a normal healing process except it hits him all at once. So this is not something he'd going to do except in critical situations.
Bloodverse Canon
Tony is medium height (5'10") and he's a bit skinny. He's got brown hair, blue eyes and fair skin. He wears his hair short but shaggy - long enough to get in his eyes. His left eyebrow is pierced and he wears a gold ring through it. His wrists and neck have a lot of small, faint white scars. You'd have to look closely to see them, but if you did, you might think that Tony's pretty clumsy with a barbeque fork.
Tony dropped out of school and left home at age 14 or 15. (The books have contradictory information on his age.) Canon doesn't really delve into his past. All we know for certain is that his father had issues with Tony's sexuality and there was some incident at school involving a fetal pig dissection.
For the next four years, Tony survived on the streets of Toronto by hustling and dealing in information. He's good at noticing things and putting the pieces together. That's how he became friends with Vicki Nelson, back when she was still a cop. He gave her information and she looked after him as much as he'd let her. She helped him get off drugs and she became a role model for him. She's his personal hero, though he'd never tell her that.
And one day Vicki asked him to donate blood to a badly wounded vampire and introduced him to a whole new world.
Henry was nearly unconscious the first time Tony met him. Tony's blood saved his life, but Tony left before Henry fully came back to himself, figuring that being a stranger in the private space of a wounded and disoriented vampire would probably be a bad idea. But they were officially introduced soon after and developed a close relationship. Vampire feeding in this world is always sexual for the victim, though not necessarily for the vamp. Henry was in love with Vicki, so there probably wasn't a strong romantic component of this relationship, at least on Henry's side.
But along with the kinky vampire sex, they also had a good friendship. Henry helped Tony find a job and an apartment and get off the streets. When they moved to Vancouver, Tony lived in Henry's condo. It was with Henry's encouragement and support that Tony completed his GED and went to Vancouver Film School in the evenings while working in a video store during the day.
Tony was the one to end the relationship. After he finished film school, he was ready to move on with his life and live on his own. Henry was a prince and a vampire. As a prince, he felt responsible for "his" people. As a vampire, Tony belonged to him, was part of his territory. The human part of Henry didn't have issues with Tony moving on - he was actually proud of the boy. But the vampire and prince parts of him didn't let go so easily. They remained friends and Henry kept a protective eye out for Tony.
One of the subplots throughout the Smoke trilogy is Tony's struggle to find the right balance in his relationship with Henry. Henry's a parental/mentor figure for Tony, so he looks out for Tony and Tony wants to make him proud. But Henry also has control over Tony because of the blood they've shared. In the first Smoke book, a shadow possesses Tony. Henry forces the shadow out of Tony by invoking a prior claim - Tony belongs to *him* first and always.
Tony does not want to belong to *anyone*, thank you very much, so this raw demonstration of Henry's hold over him makes things awkward in their new friendship, even though Henry wouldn't take advantage of their bond.
I'm juggling with the timeline to make Tony younger (see below for details) but he'll be right from the end of the first Smoke book. Tony needs to establish his own independence and not automatically run to Henry for help or comfort. He's going to try this boarding school out in Virginia, hoping that putting physical space between them will help create the emotional space he needs.
Tony has decided on a career in entertainment, so it doesn't matter that he's recently discovered he's got magical potential. He's going to be a director, not a wizard. And yet his own curiosity and interest keep drawing him back to the laptop Arra gave him and he's teaching himself magic in spite of his plans. His career aspirations always come first, though. Or they would, if he didn't keep ending up in situations where saving peoples' lives gets in the way. If it comes down to his career or someone getting hurt, Tony'll protect that person without question. But he's going to do his best to save his job once that person is safe.
"Even if we save the world, I'm going to lose my job, lose my apartment, and end up turning tricks in Gastown.
All of a sudden, I'm feeling a lot more sympathy toward season six Buffy."
"Is that supposed to mean something?"
"Twenty-first century, Henry; try to keep up."
- Smoke and Shadows
Where FH Tony Is From
Here's where the juggling comes in. Tony is 24 in "Smoke and Shadows" but I'm going to dial him back to 17. So I'm compressing the timeline. FH!Tony left home at 13. He met Henry at age 15 and they've been living together in Vancouver for the past year and a half. In canon, Tony moves out of Henry's condo before "Smoke and Shadows" begins. FH!Tony will be living with Henry up until he goes off to Fandom High.
FH!Tony has not completed high school and not yet gone to film school. He got a job as a PA on "Darkest Night" by lying about his age and being willing to do just about anything for very little pay. Since he worked hard and didn't flinch at tasks like cleaning up vomit or making a Starbucks run at lunchtime, CB didn't look too closely at his qualifications. But several people died during the Shadowlord's invasion with no rational explanation as to why, so the police investigated everyone involved and found out Tony was underage. Henry couldn't legally be his guardian for a number of reasons, but Vicki found out about Fandom High and sent Henry and Tony the information. Sending Tony off to boarding school gets the authorities off their back with the bonus that he'll finally finish his education. Tony's not big on the idea of going to school - it didn't work out so well the first time, and he's even more of a misfit now - but he *does* want to go to film school and since he'll have to finish high school first, this Fandom place is as good as any.
Of course in a place like Fandom, Tony's practically normal. But he doesn't know that yet.
Readjusting the timeline *does* mean that Tony's only 15 when he and Henry first get together. But Tony being 15 wouldn't have been an issue in Henry's time and he doesn't see why it should matter now. When you've lived for more than four centuries, a few years this way or that don't make much difference. Tony's no innocent, and while he didn't know *exactly* what he was getting into when he hooked up with Henry, he *was* mature enough to make the decision for himself. Vicki didn't have the time to consider Tony's youth when she dragged him in to donate blood and what happened after was out of her hands. And if she ever worries about Tony being too young, she also knows that Henry's been a good influence on Tony and given him stability where he had none before. Tony, like any teenager, thinks he's old enough to make his own choices.
He'll be arriving as a junior, despite being 17, because he dropped out of school at age 13. Henry's tutoring and his own ability to learn quickly have let him test out of some of the lower level classes and come in as a junior, but he won't be taking any advanced academic classes.
Tony's Magic
Just prior to coming to Fandom, Tony found out that he's got the potential to be a wizard. It's been a few weeks and at the time he arrives in Fandom, he knows exactly one spell - he can speak a seven-syllable phrase and call small things to his hand. And sometimes they even get there without exploding.
As he gradually develops his abilities, he'll be able to call things to his hand without speaking and eventually be able to call a full-grown man to his hand with a thought. (Not dirty.) The spells he's learning help him focus his energies, but it's the will and the power of the wizard that makes the magic. All the spells he learns can - theoretically - be done without the words and the gestures. But it will take him time to learn the spells themselves and then more time to learn to do them without the props. Also, the more powerful the spell, the longer it will take to master it.
When Tony arrives in Fandom, he'll be learning small magics and not doing very well at it. I'd like to have some fun with spells gone wrong. One possible spell-gone-wrong is straight from canon - Tony attempts to do a cleaning cantrip and he accidentally creates scrubbing bubbles which attack his date. I'd like to have Tony try to clean his room with magic and accidentally send scrubbing bubbles out into the dorm hallways to attack other students and leave them spotlessly clean. I haven't come up with other spells-gone-wrong yet, but they'd likely be small, harmless fun bits like the bubbles. I'd also offer Tony's magic experimentation as a plot spare part. Tony would have to deal with the embarrassment and other consequences of having the spells screw up and mess with other people.
The rate at which Tony develops his abilities will depend on how things play out. If he becomes friends with people who use similar magic in their own canon, he may be able to pick up some tips and apply it to his own magic. If he's stuck in a situation where he needs to do magic, he'll learn much faster than if he's just practicing in his room. For example, he might learn a spell during a BDE and since he's using it frequently over the weekend (and the consequences of screwing it up are dire) then he'll have a pretty strong grasp on it by Monday. It would just be one spell at a time, though - he can't cram five new spells into his head and then master them in two days.
In canon, Tony starts with simple spells like calling things to his hand or making a small light. By the end of the series, he's capable of doing a Powershot - a blast of energy which will turn a demon to ash, though it drains the wizard badly each time. He can also, in the right frame of mind, heal himself of any injuries or physical damage. But when he heals himself, he experiences every bit of pain that he would in a normal healing process except it hits him all at once. So this is not something he'd going to do except in critical situations.
