17194/Witches and Weirdos

Witches and Weirdos
Date of Scene:	15 February 2024
Location:	Fourth Floor: Lounge and Sitting Room
Synopsis:	When Johnny Blaze and Lydia Dietrich start talking writing books, their biggest fan is pouring whiskey and promising to carry them in her shop. Nettie and Lydia talk relationships.
Cast of Characters:	Nettie Crowe, Johnny Blaze, Lydia Dietrich

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Nettie Crowe has posed:
    The Lounge and Sitting Room at the Candle Booke and Belle was decorated for Valentine's Day.

    Meaning there was a severed head somewheres. There's a seafood buffet of Pacific fish and shellfish, poke bowl set ups, and from somewhere 1980's Goth Rock was playing just low enough to cover the sounds of the street from the open windows overlooking the East Village.

    Nettie herself was in her usual grays, sitting in the sitting room on some cushions with a variety of raw fish sliced thin in front of her, Torny the crow sitting on her head up against a messy bun, and Corvax attempting to wrestle a clam out of its shell.

    In front of her? A book of blue and gold with THE WIDOW'S WAIL scribed on the front. She seems to be quite absorbed in it.

Johnny Blaze has posed:
Johnny Blaze parks his bike outside and finishes his smoke. He figures Nettie probably isn't picky about that sort of thing, but sometimes mofos get sensitive and he isn't here to raise that kind of hell tonight. Allies are few and far between on the dark side of the highway and Johnny Blaze has learned not to spit in the face of help.

He makes his way in, taking off a cowboy hat and hanging it on a hook as he steps in. He has a leather longcoat, rings on most of his fingers of silver and gold and gems, notably a bit skull with ruby eyes on his right index. He pushes his sunglasses up into his dark red hair, a sketch of stubble along his strong jaw.

"Witches and weirdos, he says, cocking his head at the music playing. "Siouxsie and the Banshees. Nice."

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
    Lydia's been baking again. You can probably smell her before you see her, with the scent of warm cinnamon buns wafting through the house. "Hello?" she says, as she pokes her head into the sitting room. "I made you all a treat."

    Her eyes slide over to the raw meat and she can suddenly feel panic starting to overtake her, the memories of the time she had let Viscera into her mind bubbling up to the surface. She closes her eyes and starts to take a few deep breaths, calming herself down.

    "Sorry," she apologizes, "I didn't... I wasn't prepared." She flashes Nettie and Johnny a grin. All better now, see? "I'll just set this down here. Help yourself to as many as you like."

Nettie Crowe has posed:
    "Ah, well I brought the Witch, you must be bringing the Weirdo." Nettie Crowe, now the leader of the JLD instead of just a hostess to a dire teaparty from the last time she made acquaintence of Johnny Blaze. "Please, come in, have a seat. What are you drinking today, Mr. Blaze?" she questions to the Rider, and she pauses as she tilts her head, and gives a sniff. "-- cinnamon and vanilla? Oooh, my old heart grows weak." she comments to Lydia, and she gives a smile -- before the smile falters, catching Lydia's blood put to simmer (so to speak), and she gives a smile, motioning Lydia over and away from the raw fish and poke bowls -- Nettie takes her own and puts it down to her side and out of sight.

    "Lydia, good to see you. You recall Mr. Johnny Blaze, correct? Or..." she pauses "Have I not made introduction?"

Johnny Blaze has posed:
Johnny Blaze takes a seat, settling in with a kind of natural languor. For as much as he lives on the edge, Johnny himself tends to take it easy, laid back in the extreme. Maybe because he'd always had nerves of steel, even before he sold his soul to the devil. Well, a devil.

He'd gotten it back eventually, after a lot of hellraisin' and broken bones. But that's Johnny's kind or price. He just hates it when other people have to pay it for him. Which is why he's never kept a real home for more than a little while. People he cares about are usually better off without him around, by his estimation.

"I'll confess to weird and worse," he admits with a flesh of teeth, a gold one on the left side. "Anything with a splash of whiskey will do me just fine. I ain't the picky type. So, the world about to end any time soon or y'all in a quiet period?"

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
    "We've met once, a while back," Lydia answers, going over to one of the couches to settle herself in. "I don't really remember the details." The pale woman flashes him a grin, "It's a pleasure to see you again."

    "The world is //always// about to end from one thing or another," she says with a roll of the eyes. "Fortunately for us, it's not our turn to prevent it."

Nettie Crowe has posed:
    "I /do/ hear that there is some mayhem going awry in Metropolis recently, some sort of even-less-marketable Justice League is mucking about there. Haven't been called in with the reserve, sos I hear, but the Constantines had been having a go at some of it." Nettie states wryly "Along with the Spandex types with the whoosh-woosh capes an' all. I'll let 'em have this bit unless they have need of someone to do their skullduggery." Nettie gives a smile as she stands up. THe crow perched against her bun spreads its wings to try and stay balanced as Nettie heads to the bar.

    "Anything for you, Lydia?"

Johnny Blaze has posed:
Johnny Blaze makes a crinkled face, "I do hate the capes. Just ain't my scene, really - don't get me wrong, I understand the importance of costuming. You should've seen some of my daredevil outfits back in my circus days. Capes, big flared collars. Sparkles. I looked like Elvis ate a firecracker."

"Nah, I like it here in the shadows much better," he says. He nods to Lydia, "My memory ain't what it used to be. Having your brain catch on fire a couple o' times a week'll do that to ya. But you are safe from the Rider, so you've met before. Most other paranormal types, he gets his dander up the first time. Like a territorial tiger."

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
    Lydia can't help but snicker. "Skullduggery. I guess that's as good as any description of what we do. We've had more than one occasion where we've had a dug a skull." She gives Nettie a nod of appreciation, "I'll take a bit of whiskey as well since you've got it out."

    At the mention of sparkles, she runs her hand through the constellations of pinpoints of light that constantly surround her. "Yeah. Tell me about sparkles. Though, I prefer that I *twinkle.* Sparkly vampires are... a different franchise, let's say."

    She shakes her head. "I never wanted to be a superhero. I mean, I have the power to be one, and there've been times where I've helped out, sure, but putting on tights and running around looking for trouble? Not for me."

Nettie Crowe has posed:
    "Oh Elvis probably ate much worse than firecrackers." Nettie replies quizzically to Johnny, and she gives a small smile as she returns with a tray of shot glasses and a bottle of whiskey.

    Each person gets a shotglass with a skull set in front of them... appropriate for the company.

    "It's true. She twinkles, like fireflies. Soft and poetic in a mysterious twilight. /I/ on the other hand fuckin' sparkled when I was in the 90's. So much glitter. I think I still have some of those butterfly clips." she considers, pouring a shot for each one in turn -- Lydia first, because ladies. Then Johnny, then herself. She then reaches down to the shot glass, and raises it in a toast.

    "To the Spandex Set, for taking the hits to their costuming we can't." she gives a bright grin.

Johnny Blaze has posed:
Johnny Blaze takes the skull glass and grins, "Got my aesthetic down pat," he says, then welcomes the toast, clinking glasses before he takes a long draw. He closes his eyes but there's no wince, no recoil, he's more than familiar with the burning kiss of the liquor in question. "Good whiskey," he says in relief, "Nice and smooth." he says, putting the glass back down.

"Nothing wrong with a little razzle dazzle. I was a showman, after all, even if I am mostly retired," he says. "Feels kind of a cheat now that I know I ain't gonna die if I crash. Plus I can't imagine a circus audience that didn't have a cold blooded scumbag or two in the audience. I wouldn't subject my family to the Rider unless I gotta," he says. The Quentin Circus, wherever it went, remained his home, even if he saw it rarely now.

"I've known a few real heroes here and there. Ain't got nothin' to do with superpowers though.

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
    Lydia graciously takes the offered shot glass when handed to her, and grins at the toast. She raises her glass and toasts, "L'chaim!" and tosses it back. "Mm. That *is* good," she agrees and hands her glass over. "A bit more? For sipping."

    "I used to be with the Brotherhood a while back," she says. "Not quite the same as being on a superhero team, but I think it's close enough." She shakes her head, "I'm not with them any more, though. Me and Mystique had... let's just call it a 'falling out'."

Nettie Crowe has posed:
    Nettie has a couple guesses at the Falling Out. She wasn't around for it, but she throws her whiskey back with the best of them (centuries of practice), and she pours another round.

    "I know a few superheroes. Batman has been here to have tea. My son Joshua's just gone to college for medicine after having a bad time of things -- skin issues." she explains without expounding, and she purses her lips. "Made friends again with a gentleman I hadn't seen in eighty years. He hadn't aged much, but wears the world on his shoulders." Poor Bucky. "He's quite heroic, doesn't wear spandex, thank gods for small favors. Three quarters of the Village would be hanging outside my door." Nettie gives a very amused sound at Bucky Barnes's expense.

    "I have always felt that the surest proof that I've become a Good Person is that I can drink with any of the three I've met. And not a one hurts me." she comments to Johnny's commentary, and then she raises a hand to Lydia.

    "She's a hero. She's a writer. All writers are heroes."

Johnny Blaze has posed:
Johnny Blaze sighs, "Affairs of the heart. Worse than any demon in hell," he sighs, holding up his own glass for more whiskey. "Here's to falling outs," he says, taking a long deep swallow.

"I don't think I'd ever dare claim good person. I done too much bad to too many folks, even if some of it when I wasn't in my right mind. But that's okay. Ledgers don't always have to balance. Sometimes it's okay to be in a little debt. Especially when you're also the collector," he says.

"Comes to books, I was mostly a Louis L'amour man."

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
    Lydia would blush if she could at the compliment. "I wouldn't go that far for my writing," she demurs. "But I'm also a teacher. Now //that// I'd gladly accept the title of 'hero' for. I would say that for any other teacher. They're overworked and underpaid. It's bad enough that I can only do two nights at Hope House. I wish I could do more, but I just don't have the time for it."

    She nods at Johnny, "Yeah. I think we all have to do a bit of balancing in our ledgers, if I'm to be honest. I don't think the JLD would be the JLD without people like us. Still," she says, taking a sip of the whiskey, just enough to roll it around in her mouth. "As a friend of mine once said, evil isn't something you //are//. It's something you //do//. Nobody's beyond redemption if they want it."

    She smirks at the mention of Lous L'amor. "Cowboys and Indians. I'm not entirely surprised there. Seems like the sort of thing that's right up your alley. I write lesbian supernatural romance books." She shrugs dismissively, "It's a niche market, but my books sell well, and I get a lot of positive feedback on them." She looks thoughtful, "I haven't set one in the Wild West though. That could be an interesting one."

Nettie Crowe has posed:
    "See, that is a frontier I never encountered -- never was in the Wild West. I headed to the East. Somehow feel like I missed out somehow -- but there I was in India, in Nepal, generally making trouble for my brother." Nettie gives a small smile, "I didn't get out to the west US coast until the... seeeventies?" she pauses, and she wrinkles her nose in thought "Maybe the nineties? All kind of blurs together, California. Lots of women on roller skates." she states quietly, and she pours another for herself and for Johnny.

    "Aye. Affairs of the heart are a bitter tea to take." she states quietly.

    "I don't think anyone's interested in the two books I've ever written. But I dare say Lydia authors *are* Heroes. One of my old professors was a rather famous writer."

Johnny Blaze has posed:
Johnny Blaze smiles broadly, "I've not a thing 'gainst romance or lesbians and have enjoyed both in my time," he says with a wry grin. "I grew up in the circus, but we toured the whole Southwest mostly. California, Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico. Texas in the summer, going into every podunk little town and setting up tents. Still mostly the same way it's always been, goin' back a hundred years. Just better trucks to move all the junk around. But all the tumbleweeds and the desert, they got into me. Plus, old Western novels is what the ringmaster liked and most of the books I read growing up were what I could get out of his office. I didn't exactly get much formal schoolin'."

"I thought about writin' a book, but I don't think anybody'd believe it. Not even in this weird damn world."

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
    Lydia quirks a curious eyebrow at Nettie. "Oh? Who was that? If you say it was either Lewis or Tolkein, I'm going to throw a pillow at you."

    "As for me," she says, letting dropping her neutral American accent, "I'm Brooklyn born and raised. Never lived nowhere else, though I've visited a bunch of countries." She giggles with a sip of whiskey and lets her neutral accent slip back in. "I can't tell you how hard I worked to get rid of the Brooklyn accent, though."

    "You should write it anyway, Johnny," she says, giving him an encouraging smile. "Even if you don't publish it. It's a good experience to have and you never know. Just because it wouldn't be believable it doesn't mean people won't enjoy it."

Nettie Crowe has posed:
    "Well, I never studied under /Lewis/, but I distinctly remember a tea party in Tolkein's garden going rather awry and having to be carted out in a wheelbarrow." Nettie states, with more than a little truth as she prepares to catch a pillow. "Corvax recalls."

    "No I don't." the larger crow states, hopping up onto the table. "You got so /hammered/ that even my memory is fuzzy! You threw plates around and encouraged his wee ones to catch!"

    "... sounds about right." Nettie states, and provided Lydia follows through she catches a pillow to her face.

    "I concur with our Ms. Dietrich! I'd be happy to carry it in the shop provided I get an autographed copy!"

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
    Lydia, in fact, tosses one of the throw pillows at Nettie. After all, what good are throw pillows if you don't actually throw them? "You're such a showoff," she teases.

    "Speaking of books, I've finished my next one. It's off to the editors for the first pass. Want to be a beta reader when I get that back?" She grins, "It's a supernatural cyberpunk novel. First time I've dealt with sci-fi. I ended up reading all //sorts// of books I normally wouldn't have otherwise."

    "It's about a shooter ... a troubleshooter, it's what they call those freelancers who pick up jobs and such, who takes a job from a mysterious woman. She gets thrown into the supernatural underworld, and they fall in love, that kind of thing. You should see the notes I have coming up with this world."

Nettie Crowe has posed:
    NEttie gives a laugh, and she rubs the back of her neck. "Oi! It was before he was famous and all! Had come in for a wedding in Ireland and decided to stop and give an old friend an earful about the man she married!" she laughs.

    "Cyberpunk, eh?" Nettie considers as she settles back down. "So a shooter and a mysterious lady meet and fall in love. Don't suppose there's a measure of inspiration behind that?" she asks in amusement.

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
    Lydia just rolls her eyes at Nettie. "I think I'm at the point to where I'm going to throw something at you every time you namedrop someone. I can't tell half the time if you're serious or just pulling my leg."

    She shrugs, taking a sip of the whiskey. "Not really? Working class girl who falls in love with mysterious vampire patron is pretty much the default template of supernatural romance. I'm trying something different here, so it's lighter on the sex and a bit more heavy on the plot."

    "If you're asking if I met someone, I haven't," she says with a sigh. "I've added a couple of people to the harem, but they're not anybody I really want to date, you know? I'll keep looking, though."

Nettie Crowe has posed:
    "Heh. I've not had anyone interested 'cept Marin. Hope she's keeping well." Nettie gives a small frown, and she turns to Lydia.

    "So if I mention how I went on a mission with Bucky Barnes, Captain America, and DumDum Dugan, went back and did shots with Eisenhower, studied under Tolkien after nearly toasting the city of Boston, wandered about and did some very curious things with Janis Joplin, went to a Qarryman concert and said that they Beat-All the other competition that night, was flirted at by JFK an' his brother but did all my flirting with Miss Monroe, an' then later tottled off for a bit only to come back and hang with Joan Jett while Peter Jennings did an interview an' later hung around some absolutely deplorable people in New Castle..." she considers, counting on her fingers.

    "I won this building off Steinback."

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
    Lydia just //stares// at Nettie. "I don't have enough pillows," she states flatly.

    "My parents are a member of the Hellfire Club so when they took me to parties, I got to meet all sorts of people," she says. "The ones I remember most was Keanu Reeves and George Clooney. I'm sure I met others, but I was, like, ten at the time so any politician or businessmen I wouldn't have recognized."

    "And you did //not// win this building off of Steinbeck."

Nettie Crowe has posed:
    "Why do you think the book was called 'The Red Pony'? Lad lost a bet." Nettie states with a wry smile, and she leans back. "I Met Victoria when she was still a princess. My uncle was an Exorcist to the Crown." she states, and she wrinkles her nose "I think m'mum was Order of the Garter but it never came up." she gives a small snort.

    "All right, is or is Keanu Reeves not an immortal? I love to see these conversations."

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
    Lydia decides to throw a pillow at Nettie as she continues to rattle off names. "Showoff," she admonishes lightheartedly.

    "I don't think he is," she says thoughtfully. "If you look at his photos he's clearly aging. Then again, it could be a superb makeup job." She shakes her head. "Immortal or not, he was one of the sweetest men I've ever met. I probably would've gotten a crush on him if I weren't into girls."

Nettie Crowe has posed:
    Nettie catches the pillow, and she gives a small snort.

    "I have always retained a 'if it had to be a man' list. MOstly because the men who were on the list were also maintaining 'if it had to be a woman' list, in case things got puritanical." NEttie admits quietly, and she lays down the pillow.

    "Christopher Reeve was on mine -- NOT mind you someone I met." she comments with a small smile.

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
    Lydia nods in understanding. "Lavender marriages. I read this book about a trans couple in Victorian London, who left everything behind and lived somewhere else so they could live their authentic selves. I mean, that's not really a lavender marriage but it put me in mind of it."

    "Cristopher Reeve..." she says, her eyes looking skyward as she tries to remember the name. "His name sounds familiar but I can't place a face to it."

Nettie Crowe has posed:
    "Oh, he played a gent in a movie called Somewhere in Time, about sacrificing your present to find love in the past. Lovely soft movie, but the man had the prettiest blue eyes and a most genuine smile." Nettie gives a small grin, and she closes her eyes. "Might be a bit before your time."

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
    "Hunh," Lydia says as Nettie explains who Christopher Reeves is. She pulls out her phone and taps away at it, pulling up a picture of him. "Oh, yeah. I can see what you mean. 'Somewhere in Time' you said?" She pokes around on her phone some more and grunts. "Not on a streaming service I subscribe to. I'll have to keep an eye out on that."

    "My big crush was Kristen Stewart. I think I watched Twilight in the theaters a hundred times. I was eleven at the time so I didn't really understand what it was that I was feeling but reflecting back on it now, I get it." She grins, "I've got an even bigger crush on her now that she's come out as bisexual. I still don't stand a chance in hell, but you never know!"

Nettie Crowe has posed:
    "I have the videotape if you want to borrow it." Nettie pours another whiskey. "Somethin' about men with blue eyes since the 40's. Still consider myself queer and definitely a lady's ma'am." Nettie gives a bright grin, and she looks over to Lydia.

    "See, Twilight, I never got it. You get old, you get old, and you still want to hang out with a highschooler? Madam I look like I'm in my mid twenties, and I do *not* want to just 'hang out' with random highschoolers let alone date them. Them and their tiktoks and instant grams. Back in MY DAY our grams weren't instant!" she jokes with a bright smile. "And you do never know, Lydia. I should hope that you find as daring a deep a love as I was fortunate enough to have."

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
    "Video tape? What's that?" Lydia asks deadpan and waits a beat or two before breaking into a grin. "In all seriousness, I don't even know where I'd get a VHS player. I don't even know if they'll hook up to my TV."

    "Well, it's a fantasy on the high schoolers end, not the vampire end, really." Lydia explains. "Something about dating a dark, mysterious, dangerous who's centuries older than you has a certain appeal. Looking back on it now, you can see how that'd be //really// creepy but for a teenager it's kinda romantic, you know?"

    "But you're right. There's no way I'd ever go back to high school as a student." She snorts, "I don't even want to go back there as a //teacher//. Teenagers are such a mess."

Nettie Crowe has posed:
    "Too many students not enough support for the staff and faculty. All well and good if you can afford private tutors, but for certain the issue becomes too many students, not enough teachers, too many requirements." Nettie states with a snort. She has strong opinions.

    She leans her head back and looks up to the ceiling. "What *do* vampires fantasize about then?" She questions out loud. She's weaving a little bit.

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
    Lydia nods along with Nettie. "Oh, I couldn't agree more. You really have to love what you do if you want to teach in America anymore. You have to have passion and patience for it, though you can burn yourself out if you're not careful."

    Lydia considers the question thoughtfully. "Well, //I// still pine after Kristen Stewart. Outside of that, I want a woman to sweep me off my feet. Somebody who will romance me. I spend so much time pursuing others that I want to be the one pursued."

Nettie Crowe has posed:
    "Aye. I teach magic every once in a while. My last two students weren't precisely... y'know. Between Tynan usin' the Candle as a backup mercenary drop point and Mairin becoming obsessed with me, in a bad way, I wager p'haps I"m just not cut out for teaching anymore. My only other living student passed a few months back, poor dear. Great grandmother. Damn proud of her work and her family. Was a charge nurse after she got out of the service." Nettie recounts quietly.

    "Heh. Here's where I usually recommend that people dash out to find their prince charming, because he's probably stuck in a tree somewheres, but in our case..."

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
    Lydia purses her lips. "I.. that's going to be the hard thing, isn't it. Watching everybody you love grow old and die. It's a part of life, I get it. But still. It can't be easy."

    "The thing is," she says with a shake of her head, "is that I have no idea how to go out and find my princess charming. I mean, I go clubbing, but that's for when I'm hungry. I could try dating apps, but what would I even put in them? 'Single white female, looking for a companion. Must love the night and not be squeamish about blood.'"

Nettie Crowe has posed:
    "It is. I... couldn't be there when my brother Albert passed. His wife was aware of my proclivities. Didn't approve -- cultural reasons. Women were meant to marry men and have children. An' that just wasn't in the cards." Nettie gives a small smile. "I lived so many lives, and let so few people in. After a while you get a better sense for it. It never isn't difficult, watching someone you love grow old without you."

    Nettie reaches, and she pours herself another shot of whiskey.

    "Why not use one of them apps? Write just that. Single white female seeks the greatest Gothic love story ever told." Nettie begins, "Sanguine nights and lazy days are a must. I shall pen for us the adventure of many lifetimes in your favorite color of lip rouge to the tune of fingers running up the back of your neck. If you seek the night and the beautiful dark, you seek me."

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
    Lydia takes a sip of her whisky her voice turning sad. "I'm so young," she says. "There are days when I know it. Then there are days when I feel so //old//. It seems like forever ago that I was turned, but it's only been, what, two and a half years ago?" She shakes her head, "When I sit down and think about it, it's hard for me to fathom."

    Her melancholy is broken by Nettie's suggested ad. "You have a flair for the poetic," she says. "'Sanguine nights and lazy days.' I'm going to have to remember that."

Nettie Crowe has posed:
    "Well, if you do, remember to credit me. A nice dedication would be nice. 'To Nettie, the Biggest Pain in the Ass.'" Nettie gives a grin, and knocks back her whiskey.

    "So. Now with Mr. Blaze having checked in, Mr. Ketch and Mr. Reyes, I'm sure there's going to be something big coming down the line." Nettie takes up the bottle, and gives a manic sort of grin.

    "And isn't that terrifying?"

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
    "Mm," Lydia grunts as she takes another sip of whiskey and shakes her head. "//Second// biggest pain in the ass. You haven't met my mother. She is..." she lets out a breath, puffing out her cheeks. "Whoo. She's a real piece of work. Imagine the worst kind of Jewish mother, and helicopter parent, and that's what she's like. It's amazing that I'm as functional as I am."

    "I'm just glad that they're on //our// side. I've seen what it could do to an evil ghost and I would //not// like having that turned on me." She taps her lips thoughtfully. "Does make you wonder if there are any more out there in other countries. They can't //all// be in New York at the same time."

Nettie Crowe has posed:
    "Oh undoubtably there's others. They may not all be called Ghost Riders. India has a billion people, bound to be a couple of Spirits of Vengeance hanging about." Nettie comments breezily. "And Ghost Riders don't die. Their pacts aren't breakable... in general... though I suspect there are special cases, as there are in everything. Last I heard there was someone in Gotham doing research into them, but I don't track the goings-on in that city." Nettie states, and then she goes to stand, unsteadily.

    "You *are* young, Lydia. You deserve to find your happiness, and for you -- an' maybe for a couple of others -- I'd even be open to askin' you get it." Nettie states. She gives a small chickle, as if she's said something funny.