8835/Oh, oh it's Magic (you know)

Oh, oh it's Magic (you know)
Date of Scene:	24 November 2021
Location:	Apartment 3A (Phoebe's Apartment)
Synopsis:	Billy stops by Pheoebe's apartment for tea and questions. The two bond over a love of Game of Thrones and Timothee Chalamet's weirdly shaped head.
Cast of Characters:	Phoebe Beacon, Billy Kaplan

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Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    The sound of an acoustic guitar drifts out over the landing in front of 3A, which still retains the nameplate of P. CONSTANTINE-CHANDLER on the door along with the image of a single snake wending its way up a staff. It's one of the few doors that is ever left unlocked in case of emergency.

    Within, its occupant is holding an amber-colored guitar, plucking at strings with her fingertips as she considers, her phone left on the coffee table. It's a little chilly in the apartment; she's wearing a sweatshirt over some comfy joga pants, and fuzzy socks with the appearance of Llamas on them.

    She's of course invited Billy over, if he wanted to talk, and gave him directions to The Curio in new York, since teleporting directly in... might be a problem.

Billy Kaplan has posed:
Billy is not wearing the cosmic duds tonight. Just some simple, plain street clothes. He makes his way up to the apartment Phoebe mentioned on the phone. He's a skinny white kid in Hell's Kitchen, but he moves with the fearless confidence that comes from literally being a reality bender. When he arrives, Billy takes a moment to close his eyes and enjoy the music, a small smile coming to his lips. Then he reaches up and knocks on the door.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    The music halts -- depending on how well Billy knows his late 80's music, he might have identified 'Wrapped Around your Finger'.

    There's a soft sound of something hollow leaning against a stand, and someone getting to their feet.

    "Come in!" she calls out to the reality bender, and approaches the doorway, only to make a left into her kitchen to set up tea.

Billy Kaplan has posed:
    As he does most things, Billy opens the door gently and slowly. "Hi! It's Billy!" he calls out as he enters the apartment. There is a quiet thunk as he closes the door. As he moves deeper into the apartment, the young spellcaster peers around curiously. "Nice place," he murmurs. "Very...evocative." He finally finds his way to the kitchen where he observes Phoebe doing tea preparations. A broad, genuine smile paints his features. "Hey again. How's it goin'?"

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "Hello Billy." Phoebe states, and she pours hot water into a bright blue mug, and then goes to hand the blue mug to Billy with a smile. "Thank you. It's... a work in progress." she gives a mixed smile, and she comes out of the kitchen, and goes to take a seat on that overstuffed, extra large chair, where the guitar was sitting to the side. She curls her legs up, assuming a lotus sit with her feet up on her knees, and she gives a smile.

Billy Kaplan has posed:
Billy's face lights up and he 'heys' as Phoebe hands him a mug of tea. "Thanks!" He follows the girl into the next room and finds a place to sit down. "Thanks for inviting me over. I really wanted to get a chance to talk to you but didn't know if it would come across as 'Hey, I'm a weirdo. Can I come to your house?'" He quirks a goofy half-grin and takes a drink of the tea.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "Yes, because randomly having a picnic in Robinson Park with Bruce Wayne's Butler, a speedster, and a very, very talkative young woman with a paranormal investigator? Totally," she gives a 'yeah, uh-huh' face "Totally normal." she smiles, and then takes a breath. "Admittedly, I'm not great at ice breakers. I ususally got labeled 'that weird girl' at school -- so... where are you from, Billy?"

Billy Kaplan has posed:
    Billy holds the steaming mug in both hands and takes another sip. "I know what it's like to be bullied. I got picked on really bad growing up. I was a weird comic book nerd, and then the gay thing." He shrugs. "Kids are just vicious. But, um, I grew up in Manhattan. I actually still live with my parents while I'm in school."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "I grew up in Gotham. And yeah, once some fifth graders tried to convince us that our school selected first graders to sacrifice to The Joker." Phoebe gives a little smile, and she shrugs her shoulders. "Kids are weird little jerks." she smiles. "I'm pretty glad that never became a concern where I'm from." she gives a soft huff of air.

Billy Kaplan has posed:
    The young magic-user kicks off his shoes and curls his legs up under him. He has this way about him of watching and observing that belies his age. It's like...what you say really /matters/ to him, like he is not capable of superficial social niceties. "There's something about you. You have a potent mystic energy inside you. It's bright to look at, like a force for good. I felt it even as I was flying into the park today." He gestures to Phoebe with a quick flick of his chin. "Would you be willing to tell me about it?"

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Phoebe opens her mouth a moment, and then closes it. Ears darken a little as she looks down at her tea.

    "It's... a little hard to really comprehend. I thought I was just born special, but..." she trails off a moment, and sips at her piping hot tea, and then tilts her head back.

    "It's... a spark. Primordial Light, taken from Egypt before Nut and Geb produced Osirus, Isis, Set and Nephtys. It's... inherited, I guess?" she narrows her eyes a moment, and then she breathes out.

    "What about your powers? You feel different than most of the other magic users I've encountered." she inquires.

Billy Kaplan has posed:
    Billy focuses on Phoebe's words. But when the very short telling ends he can't help but let out a laugh. "That's it? That's all I get? Do you always have guys over to your apartment and leave them so unsatisfied," he says with a playful smile. "You have a powerful metaphysical energy in you and I get three sentences? When did it start? Have you always been able to control it? What sort of things do you use it for? Have you ever felt it try to control you?"

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    At the question of leaving guys unsatisfied, Phoebe looks perfectly scandalized.

    "I don't often entertain people in the apartment my adopted dad lets me live in." she replies sourly, and actually sounds hurt.

    "It' just... someone killed my entire family to try and get their hands on it. I'm the last one. And the two people who have told me about it are my murdering necromancer cousin, and a demon who decided he was going to play house with another man's face on. So forgive me if I'm not totally forthcoming. I've only *just* met you." Phoebe points out.

Billy Kaplan has posed:
    Billy's expression instantly falls. "Oh my god, Phoebe," he says, as he sets the mug down. "I am /so/ sorry. I can't believe what a dick I just was. I didn't mean..." Billy takes a few beats to collect some thoughts. "I am surrounded all the time by people who are so comfortable and confident with their powers. I guess it didn't occur to me that for some people this kind of things hits their life like a gut punch. I was just trying to use humor to..." He draws in a deep breath and lets it out slowly. "Phoebe, I'm really sorry. I definitely didn't mean to cross a line. Can we please start over?"

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Phoebe is quiet for a moment.

    "It's okay." she replies evenly. "You couldn't have known. Impulse is one of my best friends, and he doesn't... know all the details. It's complicated." she replies quietly, holding her cup of tea with tense fingers.

    "A gut punch... that's pretty much the best descriptor. I don't think it's sapient. The magic I have with it is mostly... instinct. It's like a muscle, it grows, the more I use it, the finer my control is with it." she explains, and she sets her mug down, and she raises a hand to the door. THe deadbolt clicks, and there is a swipe of heiroglyphics across the door, a protective ward.

    "Almost everyone in this building is supernatural in some way. Except Bart." she gives a flat expression. "Bart just happened to stumble in and agreed to have an apartment." she gives a soft snort.

    And she takes a deep breath, and closes her eyes. She raises her hands, and between them, a warmly glowing ball forms between her palms.

    "I first knew about it for certain when I was fourteen. The feeling of The Light. Healing, and purification, the shred of order in the chaos, the eye in the malestrom." she explains.

Billy Kaplan has posed:
    While Phoebe explains, Billy's attention is focused raptly on her. His eyes follow each magical effect with a mixture of curiosity and professional assessment. "You control the magic without even using any incantations. You use the words 'instinct' and 'muscle' and those seem spot on. When I become really used to doing something -- say, flying -- I can just do it without any verbal commands. I just /think/ it and it happens." He motions to Phoebe with a flick of his head. "Is it like that for you, Phoebe? Do the effects get easier with time and use?" His tone is soft, gentle, contrite. He crossed some lines and he knows it. It may have been inadvertent, but the lines were crossed nonetheless. Sometimes in life there are no As for effort. Only the outcome matters.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "Only some things. I can't fly. I can't... I'm not super strong. I bleed, but it heals. I heal others." Phoebe's fingers tremble, and she lets the light dissipate.

    "So your effects, you can do anything -- if you can think it, it happens. Mostly." she gives a little bit of a smile. "Teleportation is so complicated and stupid hard."

Billy Kaplan has posed:
The young spellcaster relaxes back into the seat. He draws in a deep, slow breath and lets it out. "Well," Billy starts, "It's kind of a different things with me. There is a direct line from me to the Universe. It's.. it's hard to explain because I don't really fully understand it. But I guess in the future -- the very, very, VERY distant future -- I'm... I'm going to be some kind of a god." He says that last bit low, like he is actually embarrassed by it.
    "When I get there," he continues, "I think I'll be able to do anything. And as I grow in the use of my powers, I can do more and more. But there are still a lot of limits, and honestly I'm really grateful for that. You saw me screw up teleportation earlier. That one..." He lets out a low laugh. "Well stupid hard is the best description for it." A particularly empathic observer would pick up notes of fear in Billy's expression and tone.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Phoebe gives a small smile, and she draws her tea back up, holding the warm mug in her hands a moment as she cants her head to the side, listening to Billy speak. Her dark eyes watch him, and her eyebrows rise up at the idea of Billy developing into a God.

    And she leans over, and brings up one... two... three.. four, five thick sketch books, and puts them on the coffee table.

    "My teleportation work, for one fixed global point to another." she explains. "That's not instinctive to me. Just... only the basic stuff. And I don't dare to apply it until I have someone who is way, way more experienced than me takes a look at it." she sips her tea.

    "Unfortunately, turns out I'd probably need a summoning circle the size of Central Park, or a very, very dedicated ouija board." she states, with a shrug and a smile.

Billy Kaplan has posed:
    Billy moves from his seat to kneeling on the floor in front of the coffee table. He begins to look through the books that Phoebe brought out. His gaze moves over the work. "This is...incredible. I never had to do anything like this." He narrows his eyes, contemplating for a moment. Suddenly he stands and offers his hand to Phoebe. A bright smile crosses his smooth face. "Do you wanna try? Right now? Maybe some first-hand experience will give you some context for your work?"

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Phoebe tenses a moment as Billy opens the notebooks.

    It's mostly theory, measurements. Taking into account variations to make sure the connected doorways would be linked even if there was differences in tetonic plates. Sidenotes regarding linking to power grids and electrical engineering notes. Several. Sketchbooks. Worth. of heiroglyphics and runes and math. So much math.

    " -- wait -- you... you understand what I wrote?" she questions, her eyebrows rising up, and she motions to it "This is off research from several Very Much Dead magicians and wizards and review from books written five hundred years ago and you want to just... try it?" she asks, "After admitting that teleportation is stupid hard and dangerous?"

Billy Kaplan has posed:
Billy reaches forward and takes Phoebe's hand in his own. He gently tugs her closer to him if she allows it. "It's okay," he whispers gently. "Trust me." He rests his head close to hers in a more than casual manner. If he wasn't gay, this whole thing might be sus. Then he murmurs an incantation, but he speaks the mystic syllables slowly. ~I Want To Take Us To The Kitchen, I Want To Take Us To The Kitchen~ Being this close to a future Demiurge while he speaks magical words is...an experience. The vowels roll like stardust into the consonants, and the entirety swirls like some verbal dance. Golden light swirls in a cyclone around the two teens standing close to one another. There is a strange feeling, like when one just goes over the crest of the hill of a rollercoaster, and as quickly as they vanish in thin air they appear in the kitchen!

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    It would be sus, but Billy had made his orientation very known. Not that it would have bothered Phoebe. Her luck in the dating department is almost as horrible as her luck in the parent department.

    The teen holds Billy's hands, and she breathes out, listening to the incantantation being spoken. Her hand closes against his a little tighter before they teleport over to the kitchen. She blinks as she looks around, a little disorientated as they come over into the kitchen, and she looks out over the livingroom from her little galley of a kitchen, then back to Billy.

    She gives a slight smile. "Okay, yeah, that is... definitely cool, and way, way easier than all the math I was doing." she gives a soft smile.

    "It must be nice, though, knowing that you have that destiny. To be a god."

Billy Kaplan has posed:
    The young magic-user smiles gently after the teleportation finishes. He slowly releases Phoebe as it becomes plain that she handled the transportation and is able to stand on her own. She's strong, that one. It doesn't take a baby god to figure that much out. Anyone can see that.
    Billy slips his hands into his front pants pockets casually. After a slow, deep breath, he turns to face Phoebe. "How much do you know about the Demiurge? Has it come up in any of your studies?"

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Phoebe teeters a moment. Teleportation was never her strong suite, and it felt WEIRD to not have to pass through the House of Mystery to do so.

    "Well. Considering how recently a bunch of heroes both mystic and not gathered together to fight the Demogorge Atum the Devourer, who is one of the Ogdoad, which is the source of my power --" she trails off a moment, and she gives a small shrug "I was helping do the research on possible Names for the Devourer. My spark was from the beginning of creation, when the seas of chaos parted. The first 'Let there be Light', as it were." she gives a small, sad smile, and a little shrug of her shoulders.

    She leans against the counter, and crosses her arms over her chest.

    "I was warned that there was a chance I would go dark."

Billy Kaplan has posed:
    "Well...you said it must be nice knowing that I have that destiny," Billy replies. "But really, it's not. I mean..." He shrugs both shoulders. "...I would give all of it up in a moment, the powers, the destiny, all of it. I could, I dunno, just meet a nice boy and fall in love and get married and live a life and grow old and then just...pass on."
    The spellcaster walks into the next room--a return journey that seems so mechanically mundane after the teleportation--to grab his tea. "The Demiurge is as far above Gaea as Gaea is above mere gods like Thor or Odin or Zeus or whatever." He shakes his head. "And I don't know what that's going to do to me. You worry your light may go dark? I'm worried I could become so corrupted by power that I could, I dunno, destroy the universe or some shit." His voice goes monotone, chilled. "If I thought that was going to happen, I'd take myself out right now. No question."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "Yeah, I can understand that. I found out through a Greek Demigod that I'm going to stop aging. I get to see my friends grow old and die," Phoebe states as she follows Billy out of the kitchen. "Or worse. If I become so corrupted within their lifetimes, my friends having to kill me. Constantine... Chas, Lydia, Jubes... even Zatanna." Phoebe drops down in front of the coffee table, between it and the overstuffed chair, and she looks through her workings for the doorways. She frowns a moment, her eyes on her writings, but her attention on Billy. "My aura makes most people's brains release dopamine and serotonin. I'm literally a walking 'love me' beacon. Once I realized that my circle of friends grew a lot easier, I doubted friendships. Relationships. Even the affection of my adopted father. Finding a partner, falling in love --" she shrugs, "I've already gotten used to the idea that it's not going to happen, because it's not fair to my partner to always suspect that their affection isn't true." she gives a shrug.

Billy Kaplan has posed:
    Billy sits down on the carpet cross-legged next to the overstuffed chair upon which Phoebe sits. He smiles up at her. "Well that doesn't seem to work on me," he offers. "Maybe we can be friends. /Real/ friends. And we can use our powers to keep one another on the right path." He reaches up and rests his hand on Phoebe's forearm if it doesn't seem like that sort of touch is unwanted. "What do ya say? As one future god to another?" He really is quite pretty. And when he smiles like he's smiling now, he sometimes turns even hard hearts soft.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "I'm not -- I'm not a god. I'm never going to be a god. I'm... just a place holder." Phoebe points out quietly. Her arm tenses as he touches her, and she curls her fingers a moment.

    "... I'm sorry, I'm... I got hurt, last year. And I thought I had found someone I could trust with everything, only for him to be ripped away from me." she breathes out, and then she looks to Billy, looking at that smile, such a stupid pretty boy, and Phoebe's just some girl from Gotham with a ripped open heart.

    "I know it doesn't work on you. You're too strong. You're real."

Billy Kaplan has posed:
    "Will you try? For me?" Billy asks in the softest of voices. "I'm not suggesting we trade BFF rings or anythings. I'm saying let's just take it one day at a time, see what tomorrow brings, and then do the same thing tomorrow." He stands in a gentle, fluid motion and returns to the chair he was sitting on, curling his legs up underneath him. He rests his head against the back of the chair and does something that a lot of kids his age don't have the wisdom to do: he just shuts up. He shuts up so Phoebe can think, so she can come to her own conclusions and her own choices.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "Good thing, because my BFF would totes be jelly if I suddenly replaced him." Phoebe points out weakly, and she pushes herself up, and looks around the room.

    "I'll try. We'll keep each other from getting too bad." she states, and looks over at Billy before she sits down in her chair.

Billy Kaplan has posed:
    Billy draws in a breath, his cinnamon eyes glittering with humor. "Whew. That's good to hear. I mean, we young-adult, magically charged, mystic-destiny types gotta stick together, amiright?"

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Phoebe gives a weak smile at that, and then draws her legs up.

    "Gotta warn you though. I'm an awful friend. Getting kidnapped or people attempting to murder me, I seek out violence in the form of vigilantism and don't tell people half the things going on in my head."

Billy Kaplan has posed:
    "That's what a friend is," Billy says. "They see the whole you and take the good with the bad." He shrugs one shoulder in a brief half-shrug. "I'm just asking for that chance. You have some special powers and maybe together we can help one another figure out each other's powers." He takes a drink from his tea, now cold, as he watches Phoebe.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Phoebe holds her tea in her hands, and gives a little murmur. It starts to steam again, and she gives a smile like the cat who's eaten the canary.

    "So what about you? Prone to desperate heroics? Quipping while magicking a solution to some minor issue like goblins tumbling out of dryers?"

Billy Kaplan has posed:
    Billy blurts out a light chortle. "Well sometimes I try to get involved when I see something going down. Sometimes I even don't screw up my spells and manage to actually do it. Buuuuuut mostly, I'm busy with school. When I'm not sleeping I'm studying. When I'm not studying I'm in class. When I'm not in class I'm sleeping. Lather, rinse, repeat. I don't even time for dating, and who could /I/ date anyway?"

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "You're goregeous, so I'd pretty much say 'anyone you wanted'?" Phoebe raises her eyebrow, looking over to Billy as she points out his good looks. "I mean, even one-night dates -- DIFFERENT than one night stands!" she adds a little louder, in case anyone was listening, but she looks back to Billy and she shrugs. "Beats what I do. I work part-time in the bar next door. When I'm not there, I'm on patrol in Gotham or waiting on a medical alert either here or with the Titans or the Justice League. Every once in a while I get called in to help with something. Nice to feel wanted."

Billy Kaplan has posed:
Billy everts his eyes shyly for a moment when Phoebe says he's gorgeous. Yes, he /really/ is that modest. "I meant more along the lines of not putting someone's safety in danger," he murmurs while trying to keep a pleased smile from his lips.
    He deflects the conversation back to Phoebe with a quick flick of his chin in her direction. "Not everyone gets to come in to assist the Justice-fucking-League," he says as one corner of his mouth curls in a half-grin. "That's...a pretty big deal. They don't play. If they're calling you in then you're doing something very, very right, girl."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "It was extrenuating circumstances. I'm on good terms with the Themyscirans -- Wonder Woman was... something of a mentor to me when I first started out. I learned their language and writing system, I spent hours in their library and volunteered at the embassy, so when something went wrong with her -- they called me to see if I could help, because the Themyscirans are very, very protective of her. So because they trusted me, I was able to take a chance to help -- No Pressure At All." she gives a small smile.

    "I helped little bit, anyway." she sips her once-again hot tea. "Least I could do after accidentally destroying some of their books."

Billy Kaplan has posed:
    Billy chuckles and shakes his head. "Do you you even /hear/ yourself?" he asks good-naturedly. He takes a playful faux-Phoebe tone to his voice: "Hi. My name is Phoebe. I only incidentally got called in to help the Justice League by accident. I mean, I didn't do anything to deserve it. All I did was volunteer hours of my time showing respect for their culture and language, and worked to help them in day-to-day tasks until I proved how reliable I was. And Wonder Woman herself trusted me. But yeah, just an accident that I got called in."
    He bursts out laughing playfully, his cinnamon eyes glittering with life and energy. "I don't think anyone in the Justice League knows my name."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "I just said it was because they trusted me!" Phoebe protests with a small smile, and she brings her arms up to hide her embarrassment.

    "Wonder Woman knows I heal based on Light and Holy energies as does Wonder Girl and DOnna Troy. They happen to know me!" she laughs a moment "It's not like you know, Batman or Captain America dial me up out of the blue to help with things. "And it was that one time. I don't... it's not like I'm a big part of anything." she smiles, and shrugs her shoulders "I was... but now I think maybe it's just better if I don't..." she pauses a moment, and she shakes her head "And besides, ONE time. It's not like we text each other and go out for tea."

Billy Kaplan has posed:
    He made Phoebe laugh. His work here is done. With a pleased-with-himself grin, Billy nestles back into the chair. "Made you laugh," he says then sticks out his tongue. "Alright, let's play Questions With Vetoes. We take turns asking each other questions. If a question crosses a line, then you can veto it and the other person has to..." He glances around the room, then down at his mug. "...take a drink of tea." He giggles.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "It's... it's not hard to make me laugh, really. Just been down a lot lately. Tim makes me laugh. Bart makes me laugh. Just sometimes it's a little more difficult." she gives a slight amused sound, and she looks to Billy's mug.

    "I can warm that up for you, if you'd like." she offers, and she leans back into her chair. "So, Truth or Truth, huh?" she wrinkles her nose. "All right, wiseguy. You go first."

Billy Kaplan has posed:
    Billy grins broadly and holds up his mug. "Warm away, Wizardress of Wonderment!" He screws up his face in thought. "Okay...when was the first time you remember manifesting a supernatural power?"

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Phoebe reaches over, and she brings her hand under Billy's mug, and with a whispered cantrip, his tea is back to being piping hot. She breathes out as she recalls.

    "Conciously? Maybe thirteen. I was able to form balls of light. Manifesting healing powers, fourteen on myself, almost fifteen on someone else, but I suspect I was maybe ten when I healed my dog Scout. Miraculous recovery after being run over by a UPS truck." she sips her tea.

    "What about yourself?"

Billy Kaplan has posed:
    Billy grins into his tea as he takes a sip. "That counts as your question," he informs sagely. "Funny thing is, I was also 13 when I first realized I could do strange things. I was in the middle ooooof..." He glances upward contemplatively. "...beating number two hundred and eleven from a bully." He playfully flexes one too-skinny arm. "Hard as it is to believe, this beacon of physical perfection you see before you was once a skinny nerd." Glittering eyes speak to how over those days he really is. "And right in the middle of it I felt this painful tingling in my arms and hands and I just splorched lightning all over this dude. I mean, it was a big deal. They had to do CPR on him and everything. I was terrified that I had killed him." Another sip of freshened-up tea. "Luckily he made it, and from what I heard he never bullied anyone ever again."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "Yeah... I tended to attract bullies myself in Gotham. I was the black kid of a white couple, so it was really, *really* obvious I was adopted." Phoebe explains, her eyebrows rising up "So you just manifested lightning and knocked the guy down, CPR, and taught him a pretty horrible lesson. Must have been freaking terrifying for you."

Billy Kaplan has posed:
    Billy nodnodnods in response. "Oh yeah. I /literally/ hid under my bed. I'm not even making that up. I went into my room, I had /zero/ frame of reference for how to even begin to parse the situation. All my brain could even come up with was to hide under the bed, which is where I was two hours later when my parents came looking for me."
    He licks his lips and begins thinking. "Let's see....my turn. Ummmm....." After a moment he makes a popping sound with his lips. "You said you were adopted by white parents. What was it like to be raised by two people who didn't look like you? Who were of a different ethnicity?"

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "Oh hey, I do the hide-under-the-bed thing too. Still do, sometimes, when I was living in the loft next door before I got like, a real place." she gives a small smile.

    And when asked, she considers, leaning her head back.

    "Hard. So... so hard." Phoebe admits, drawing up her legs a moment. "I mean, I don't remember my biological family, other than meeting my mother and an uncle post-death. I grew up thinking my biologicals abandoned me in a liquor store, and that I wasn't wanted. My dad, Chuck Beacon? He was cool. He taught me a little guitar, we'd all go to church together. My adopted mom hated my hair and wished that I had nice, good, white-girl hair. It was always obvious I was adopted." she shrugs "Got bullied a lot because of it. Gotham's mean." she looks curiously over to Billy.

    "Were you raised by your biologicals?"

Billy Kaplan has posed:
    A look of relieved kinship drifts over Billy's features when he hears that Phoebe also hides under the bed. It's nice to have friends!
    "Yeah," he murmurs in affinity when Phoebe says that Gotham's mean. "It's mean all over, but Gotham's definitely ahead of the curve."
    The young magic-user clears his throat a bit to answer the next question. "I was raised with all kinds of stupid privilege that honestly makes me sick. White kid. Two white parents who are both doctors. It didn't stop me from getting bullied and beat up /constantly./ But yeah, they are my actual parents as far as I know. What happened to give me powers or tie me in with this whole Demiurge crap I have no clue. It just came to me without me asking for it or doing anything to earn it, just like financial stability and the best clothes and the best schools and never missing a meal." He shrugs once, subdued a bit now, as he drinks some tea.
    This question struck a nerve, it seems, and his eyes glisten with moisture. In an attempt to quickly change the subject he asks, "If you could go on a date with any celebrity, who would it be?"

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "Yeah, my adopted mom was a middle school teacher. Privilege doesn't have to make you into a jerk, it's what you choose to do with it. I was kinda privilaged, because my dad did make really good money as a full-time firefighter and inspector at the end, but only after learning about my biological family did the whole Light thing make sense. I thought it was just random." she shrugged "Even got tested to see if I had the mutation gene, once. Had to lie about my age."

    And she sips her tea, and almost gives a snort at the question.

    "Tim-othee Chalamet." is the instant answer to Billy's question "... or Zendaya. Or Elliot Page." she pauses a moment, and then hides her face again.

    "I'm not in the closet, but I don't make any secret that I fell out of a cupboard." she jokes. "What about you?"

Billy Kaplan has posed:
    Billy bites his lower lip, unsuccessfully suppressing a smile. Phoebe's answer instantly dispels the funk he almost fell into. It seems like he is probably generally a pretty happy kid, and doesn't go down deep or for long.
    "Well...for /sure/ Zendaya is soooooper hawt, but I am definitely not into girls in that way, so that's out. Timothee? I...don't know. Everyone goes nuts over him, but am I the only one who thinks he has a weirdly shaped head? I mean, doesn't he look like he's from some other dimension?" He shakes his head. "Nope on that one."
    The young magic-user contemplates a few more moments. The sudden reddening of the sides of his neck and his earlobes says he found the answer. He glances up at Phoebe, and his social embarrassment causes a broad, reflexive grin. "Jason Mamoa."
    "Favorite dessert?" he fires off as the next question.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "Yeah his head is weird, but he has beautiful eyes. I dunno, pale, blue-eyed, dark haired guys are just weirdly attractive?" she shrugs, and Phoebe purses her lips.

    "OK, so when you say Mamoa, are we talking Star Gate, Baywatch, or Game of Thrones?" she questions, and she tilts her head back. "... that man *also* has beautiful eyes. So you have good taste. As far as looks."

    And at the inquiry of her favorite dessert?

    "Strawberry mochi ice cream."

Billy Kaplan has posed:
    Billy answers without hesitation: "Game of Thrones Jason Mamoa. Send my ass off in an arranged marriage, thank you very much." He grins into his tea. Finally, he says softly, "This is nice. I haven't relaxed this much in forever, and without any alcohol or weed. You're cool beans, Phoebe. But I have to come up with some sort of nickname for you."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "That's fair. I'd be pretty sorely tempted. Unfortunately there is another from that particular show that I really adore, with his facial hair and his being terribly confused about everything except windmills." Phoebe gives a little smile, and gives a softened expression.

    "See, alcohol and weed? Most drugs don't do anything to me. I was pumped full of horse tranquilizers for me to be kept under... but I burned through it so fast." she shhhrruuugs slowly.

    "So any time you want to have a straight-edge relax sesh, I'm game." she holds her mug carefully, and flashes her thumbs up, carefully.

    "I reply to Pheebs, Peebs, Peeble, Pebbles."

Billy Kaplan has posed:
    Billy's expression softens when he hears Phoebe talk about horse tranquilizers. "I'm sorry," he offers gently. "Can I give you my number?" he asks. "If you're ever in some shit, call me. I'll be there. I'm no Superman, but you definitely could do worse than have me stand beside you in a fight."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "I have your number, goose, you texted me." Phoebe states, and she holds up her phone. The phone has her, in selfie-mode, along with three adults behind her. One who looks smiling but somewhat bewildered -- Chas Chandler. One who is wearing a sweatervest and looks surprised -- that's Jon Sims -- and at the end of a bar, a grumpy looking blonde man with a ciggarette in his mouth and a glass with amber liquid in it in his hand.

Billy Kaplan has posed:
    Billy does a playful, faux-incantation while wiggling the fingers of one hand mysteriously. "You will forget I asked that stupid question. You will forget I asked that stupid question." He breaks out laughing, apparently having no trouble poking fun at himself. But finally he does stand. "I gotta bounce, Pheebs. It's late and I'm tired. This... this was one of the coolest nights I've had in ages. Thanks for being so real with me."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "Of course, Billy. Any time." she smiles, and stands to see him off. "I try to be chill. It's about the only thing I'm really good at." she smiles. "So, whenever. I don't go to school, so I'm typically around." she smiles at him. "So, you be safe getting back home."

Billy Kaplan has posed:
    "I'll be home in an instant," Billy says with a wink. He heads out the door.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "Provided you don't teleport yourself into the couch down in the lobby!" Phoebe calls back, but she does go to lock the door behind him.