[FIRST SCENE – SUMMONING]
The livestream focuses on four hot gays, the Hex Boys, standing on a cliff overlooking the roiling sea:
1. Ciaran St. Clair
The charismatic one; cropped hair, dark skin, tapered jaw; leather jacket with pockets hiding his hands, each finger sporting one or two silver rings.
2. Oren Ravenwood
The bad-boy; dark hair, under-eye circles, neck tattoo of a rose; currently glaring about with reckless abandon.
3. Ezra Bane
The quirky one; swoopy blonde hair, dozens of ear piercings in addition to a nose ring, knuckle tattoos that spell out ‘HOCUS POCUS’.
4. Kai Prior
The quiet one; brown hair.
The raging of the ocean reflects the inner souls of each of the boys, tortured but powerful. They’ve come together for this livestream in thunder, lightning, wind, and rain.
“Fuck this hurly-burly,” Oren says, producing a cigarette from the inner pocket of his coat and lighting it with a spark from his fingertip. A dozen little hearts appear on stream.
“You know we have to have bad weather for this to work.” Ciaran turns to the others, his dark eyes flashing and then flashing again for good measure. “Ezra, did you bring the rites?”
Ezra slicks his rain-damp hair back from his forehead, settling the style into a sexy swirl. “’Course,” he says and pulls from within a leather duffel bag a freezer-sized Ziploc bag of crusty orange peels and a bag of white powder.
“Hell yeah,” Ciaran says. “Boys, prepare the circle.”
With wind and rain howling (just like their souls), the boys, all of them barely past their anguished teenage years, set about scattering the orange peels in a circle, crushing them in tense fists and releasing the shards to the gale. They each try to sprinkle a fistful of the powder too, which is more difficult than they all imagined with the snatching storm, and they end up spraying the majority to the elements in a show of haunted frustration. They link hands, surrounded by orange shrapnel, and turn to Kai.
“Kai,” says Ciaran. “The words.”
Kai opens his mouth to speak, but Oren interrupts. “Ciaran, shouldn’t you be the one leading this? You brought us out here for fuck’s sake.”
Ciaran nods his head solemnly. “You’re right. Kai, shut up. I’ll lead. And for all of you watching at home, hold on to your butt cheeks. This is going to be sick.” He flexes his ringed fingers. “Da nobis pulchrum hominem ad nos penetrandum,” he utters with gravity and torment in equal measure. The others repeat after him (except for Kai, who was told to shut up). “Da nobis pulchrum hominem ad nos penetrandum. Da nobis pulchrum hominem ad nos penetrandum.”
Around them, the wind picks up and flings the orange peels hither and yon, some of them spiralling over the cliff edge into the storm-tossed sea. Nature swirls around the boys, the wind screaming in their ears, their leather jackets and swoopy hair tempest-pitched as the spell takes hold. The livestream goes bananas. The witch boys summoneth. This is their story.
◊
[CIARAN ST. CLAIR – INTERVIEW]
Interviewer: How did you get started in the business of witching?
CSC: You know, every little gay boy wants to be a witch. Or a mermaid, ha. But me, well, I’ve always been drawn to the darkness. During my emo phase in high school was when I first started practicing, first put out feelers to try and start a coven. And then, of course, I stumbled across the prophecy in the Book of Damnation and blah, blah, blah. You know the rest. I’ve talked about this ad nauseum on my page. But now I’m here! A Hex Boy alongside my best friends in the world.
Interview: What’s the most difficult part about being a witch?
CSC: I’d have to say willingness to put in the work. That and being prepared for a lot of soul-searching and suffering. A lot of people pass up the opportunity to embrace magic because, you know, they’re afraid of power. And I get it, man. It’s scary having power. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to stop and scream just, like, knowing how much power I have. It’s humbling. You can’t take it for granted.
Interviewer: And what about being a man in a typically women-led field?
CSC: Gay men are kind of honorary women if you think about it, so it’s not really weird. I wouldn’t see it as a problem. It’s about holding space and practicing what you preach and being a role model for other queer boys, you know? It’s not about women although they certainly are a part of things.
◊ ◊ ◊
[SECOND SCENE – ENCOUNTER]
Ezra Bane approaches a group of young people on a college campus. In his hand, he holds a deck of cards.
“I need you to pick one, love,” he says to a brunette in a ratty sweatshirt. She does so, looking more than a little confused.
“Okay, show it to the camera and your mates,” says Ezra, hiding his eyes.
The girl holds up a nine of hearts to the camera and her friends.
“Now slip it back into the deck.”
She follows his instructions. A small smile has appeared on her lips. She’s expecting something amusing, is perhaps glad to simply be a part of something.
Ezra waves his tattooed fingers over the cards and slaps his palms together on either side of the deck. The girl is no longer there. Now, she is a pigeon.
“Haha!” Ezra laughs. When the girl’s friends look bemused and then concerned, he begins to levitate in place. “You guys ever seen someone do this before?”
◊
[EZRA BANE – INTERVIEW]
Interviewer: Tell us about your journey with witchcraft.
EB: You’ve probably heard a lot about it from Ciaran already, but I’ll give you the SparkNotes, love. I’m from England; moved over ‘ere when I was 11. Still got a bit of an accent and all, roight? Ha, but me and me mates, we met each other roight out of secondary school (or ‘igh school’, as you guys call it). We was all looking for what to do next in life, didn’t want to pursue ‘igher education in an institution, kowtow to the man and all that. Ciaran, ‘e knew a fing or two about witches and started this ‘ole ‘ex Boy coven fing. I was immediately ‘ooked. I’ve always felt powerless in my life, and finally, I could do summin’ about it. I can float. I can make fings disappear. I can spontaneously combust fings. And that’s just surface level stuff, love. I ain’t even gotten into the ni’y-gri’y details.
Interviewer: You say you felt powerless. Tell us about that.
EB: Well, fink about it, roight? I was young and gay and that leads to a lot of bullying and that. Not a fun time for lil’ Ezra. Not fun at all.
Interviewer: Tell us about your tattoos.
EB: Roight, I’ve these on me fingies. ‘OCUS POCUS, ‘cause I’m magic and all that. And then I’ve got a sleeve ‘ere. It’s a dragon, but rainbow because I’m proud of ‘o I am. And then I’ve got me chest tattoo and me back tattoo. Got those both done at the same time. They’re a devil skull and spiders because I’ve dealt with so much, have felt like a spider people were trying to squish all my life. And yeah, that’s all I got for now. But stay tuned! I’m learning how to do magic tattoos.
Interviewer: Magic tattoos?
EB: Yeah.
◊ ◊ ◊
[THIRD SCENE – INTERVIEW ON THE STREET]
Ciaran approaches a couple sitting down to lunch in a park, kneels beside the table with a microphone in hand. “Hey,” he says. “Quick question: Do you guys think gay people should have the right to vote?”
“No,” says the woman immediately, staring directly into the camera. “Ew. Gross. I hate the entire DGPTQ-whatever group, and I think they should all be burned at the stake like witches.”
“Joke’s on you, honey,” says Ciaran, standing tall. “Because I’m gay and a witch.”
The woman’s mouth falls open. “Ew. Gross. Babe, we’re leaving.”
“No way, babe,” says the guy. He gets to his feet and hugs Ciaran around the midriff. “I think I’m in love. Also, it’s LGBTQ+.”
“Ew! Gross! I always knew you were gay!” The woman stomps her foot and storms away. In the background, other park-goers watch this scene play out with confused expressions. A child whispers behind a cupped hand to a friend.
◊
[OREN RAVENWOOD – INTERVIEW]
Interviewer: People see you as the bad boy of this coven, but you’re not all bad, right?
OR: Listen. I get what I want. And if people can’t handle that, they should probably stay out of my way. Lock me up because I’m bad to the bone, baby.
Interviewer: It was your idea to combine social media with witchcraft, right?
OR: Hell yeah. For too long, the magical and gay communities have been silenced. I thought, why not break the old laws and really put ourselves out there? It’s important to be a role model for future generations of both gay kids and witches.
Interviewer: Do you see yourself as a role model?
OR: Hell no.
Interviewer: Tell us about your relationship with Ciaran St. Clair. Rumour has it you two were once romantically involved.
OR: Whatever the tabloids say is totally false. Ciaran and I are just friends. I could never date such a goody-goody.
Interviewer: And what about the other boys in your group. Ezra or Kai? Any attraction there?
OR: Listen, if you want to hear all about the steamy details of my relationships, you can check out the links on my page. I’m sure something spicy’ll grab your attention there.
◊ ◊ ◊
[FOURTH SCENE – KISS]
Oren Ravenwood and Kai Prior approach a man in a mesh top and rainbow reflector glasses during what appears to be a Pride event. The man waves to the camera, blows a kiss.
“Hey,” says Oren, speaking into a microphone and indicating Kai. “Kiss or slap?”
“Why not both?” the man giggles. He kisses Kai on the lips, prompting Kai to blush bright red, and then gives his ass a hard slap.
“Nobody hits my friend!” Oren screams. He waves the hand not holding the microphone and the rainbow reflectors fly off the man’s face, shattering into pieces in the air overhead. The man lets out a genuine scream and dashes away, tripping over himself in his haste. Several onlookers flinch back at the sound of the glasses’ explosion.
Oren throws an arm around Kai’s shoulder. “You okay, man?”
Kai nods and kisses Oren on the cheek.
◊
[KAI PRIOR – INTERVIEW]
Interviewer: You’re the newest member of the Hex Boys and one of its more mysterious personas. Why so secretive?
KP: [SHRUGS]
Interviewer: Kiss, marry, kill: Ciaran St. Clair, Oren Ravenwood, Ezra Bane.
KP: [SHAKING HIS HEAD]
Interviewer: If that’s too personal, how about your journey with magic? Can you tell us a little about that?
KP: Not much to say.
◊ ◊ ◊
[FIFTH SCENE – GYM]
The four boys are together at the gym, each of them engaged in a set. Ciaran curls dumbbells, Oren hip thrusts a barbell, Ezra does tricep pulldowns, Kai does a combination of calisthenics and burpees. Eventually, they all group together and take a group selfie and several individual selfies and lift up their shirts to show their abs and stick out their tongues and post them all right there to their various social media accounts. Despite having worked out so thoroughly, none of them have even broken a sweat.
◊
[CIARAN ST. CLAIR – INTERVIEW]
Interviewer: What’s the benefit of having magic in the modern world?
CSC: Magic allows us to show off and really celebrate our difference from the rest of society. We’re able to claim a separate space and act as ambassadors, in a way, to alternative lifestyles.
Interviewer: And how does being gay factor into that?
CSC: Being gay allows us to show and really celebrate our difference from the rest of society, to claim a separate space. Now that you mention it, being gay is a lot like magic. It makes us unique.
◊ ◊ ◊
[SIXTH SCENE – STREET]
Ciaran St. Clair and Ezra Bane perform a social experiment next to a curtained cubicle. “Hey,” Ciaran says to a passing young man. “We’re witches. Do you want to participate in an experiment?”
The young man looks around, searching for cameras. His eyes focus on the phone filming him and stay there.
“If you could change anything about yourself, physically, what would you change? Go on, share with the audience,” says Ezra.
“I’m okay, thanks,” says the young man.
“You wouldn’t change anything? Not your eye colour? Your hair? You wouldn’t have bigger muscles or be taller?”
“I guess I wouldn’t mind being taller.”
“Well, we can change that.” Ezra waves his hands around the young man, his eyes glowing white. Latin coils from his mouth and snakes around the now unnerved young man. When the spell has ended, nothing has changed, but Ciaran pulls the curtain aside to reveal a body-length mirror. “Take a look,” he says.
“I’m… exactly the same, I’m pretty sure,” says the young man.
“That’s because you’re perfect just the way you are!” Ciaran and Ezra take turns hugging the young man and smiling at the camera. They’ve shared an important message here today.
◊
[EZRA BANE – INTERVIEW]
Interviewer: Do you have a stance on using magic on non-magic folk?
EB: Yeah, I don’t really do it. A lot of people look at me and say, hey, you’ve clearly done magic on yourself. And I’ll admit it. Yeah, I have. I used magic to fill out me lips, to make meself taller, to give meself a six-pack. But I want people who can’t do that sort of fing to know that they’re beautiful regardless. It’s really tragic what happens in my community, people having to rely on cosmetic procedures in order to feel good about themselves.
Interviewer: By community, do you mean the gay community or the magic community?
EB: I consider myself a part of the world community, honestly.
◊ ◊ ◊
[SEVENTH SCENE – LIVESTREAM]
At the centre of the orange peels, a man appears. He’s muscular and probably well-hung beneath the scrubs he has on. He looks a lot like Ciaran.
“Where am I?” he asks, blinking against the constant pelting of rain.
“Success!” Ciaran says and high-fives Kai and Ezra to either side of him. “Hey, stranger. I’m Ciaran, and these are my boys. We’re so happy to meet you.”
“What am I doing here? Who am I? What the fuck? What the fuck?!” The top sinks to his knees and clasps the sides of his heads, screams into the wind. The rain soaks his scrubs through, revealing more musculature.
“Ugh, so tortured,” Oren sneers. “Exactly my type.”
◊
[OREN RAVENWOOD – INTERVIEW]
Interviewer: Your most recent livestream met with controversy as you physically manifested a man into existence. Tell us a little about that.
OR: Ugh, the mainstream media blew the whole thing out of proportion. We did a ritual and did magic to summon a top. That’s all. He’s fine.
Interviewer: A top?
OR: Yeah, to top us.
Interviewer: Are you talking about a shirt or a person?
OR: Holy shit, a person, obviously. Are you fucking stupid? We’re all bottoms. That’s the joke. We’re being relatable.
Interviewer: Are you all bottoms?
OR: Oh my god! It’s a joke! For fuck’s sake!
Interviewer: The state of the man you summoned concerned a lot of your audience. He was screaming and appeared to be in pain.
OR: He was fine! Everyone needs to stop overreacting! He’s not even human, fuck.
Interviewer: You said he was a person.
OR: He’s a physical manifestation of our collective desires. We’ve explained this on other platforms.
Interviewer: So, is he a person?
OR: Look, he’s safe and happy and well taken care-of. I pinky-promise. Can we move on?
◊ ◊ ◊
[EIGHTH SCENE – APOLOGY]
Oren Ravenwood is alone in his room, lit by candles and with a stuffed raven mounted on the wall behind him. The muscles in his neck are tense, veining the rose tattooed there, but his eyes leak tears. “Hey,” he says to the camera, his voice a croak. “I wanted to apologize to our audience and to the fans who watch us. I… made a mistake. You all know I’m a bit of a hothead. I’m tortured. My soul is dark and rotted. But there’s another side to me too; a sensitive side with feelings. I got really worked up with a reporter who was just trying to do her job. If you haven’t seen the video, don’t bother looking it up. I don’t come across great. But I wanted to say I’m sorry for getting defensive and for blowing up like that, and especially for calling her the names that I did. I wish I could take everything back. I wish I could magic it all away.”
◊
[CIARAN ST. CLAIR – INTERVIEW]
Interviewer: You typically go by @clairciaran on your social media platforms, though when you started, you went by @theotterhexboy. Can you explain the change?
CSC: Absolutely. There’s so much pressure in claiming a title in the queer community. I didn’t want to be known as ‘otter’ forever. I’ll probably be a bear or a daddy at some point. I used to be a twink.
Interviewer: Your new username doesn’t mention magic at all. Why?
CSC: Magic is all about claiming space, but it can also limit the spaces you can claim. I want to reach people outside of the magic community by appealing to people who maybe don’t like magic. Christians, grandmothers, homophobes, and the like.
Interviewer: And why is it important to appeal to them?
CSC: I believe in creating community. I believe in the synergy of our world family.
Interviewer: Recently, you and the rest of the Hex Boys came under fire for a summoning spell you performed on an Instagram livestream. Tell us, what has the fallout been like and how are you remaining cool under the pressure?
CSC: It was unfortunate and really hard for us to go through as individuals and as a team. I’m all about group dynamics and making sure everyone feels included. This was our first ‘big magic’ performance on a livestream and, well, it certainly didn’t go as planned. But please rest assured that the Hex Boys are okay and will continue to entertain you.
Interviewer: And what about the man who was summoned?
CSC: Spiritual manifestation, actually. Not a man at all. We sent him away as soon as our performance was over. He’s just fine back from whence he came.
Interviewer: How can you be certain? Where did he come from?
CSC: Ha, how can I be certain? Ever heard of a little thing called… magic?
◊ ◊ ◊
[NINTH SCENE – EXCLUSIVE]
Oren Ravenwood and Ezra Bane are being recorded, clearly without their knowledge, though we can’t see the boys themselves. “…Tired of the fucking media trying to get us,” says Oren, voice muffled by a pocket or a hand around the microphone. “Yeah, we’re gay witches, but you don’t need to go on a gay witch-hunt, you know?”
“If Kai had just said the words with us, we wouldn’t even be having this conversation,” says Ezra, oddly accentless. “And if Ciaran wasn’t such a prick.”
Oren scoffs. “You know they would have found something. They always fucking do, fucking jackals, fuck. Ciaran is a prick though. I’ll agree with you there.”
◊
[KAI PRIOR – INTERVIEW]
Interviewer: Some members of the Hex Boys have reportedly expressed themselves negatively toward you and Ciaran St. Clair as of late. Anything to say about the situation?
KP: No comment.
◊ ◊ ◊
[TENTH SCENE – APOLOGY #2]
Oren and Ezra sit beside one another in Oren’s room, the stuffed raven’s wings hovering over their heads. Both of them have tears on their faces and arms around one another shoulders. “Roight,” says Ezra. “You might have ‘eard a rumour lately that we said something mean about some of our dear friends. We’re devastated the two of us. You can’t imagine ‘ow we feel.”
◊
[EZRA BANE – INTERVIEW]
Interviewer: Recently, you’ve been accused of faking your accent.
EB: Listen, I don’t want to ‘ear nuffing about accusations and the like. What happened to talking about being gay? About magic? Why are we under the microscope all of a sudden? ‘ere, watch this. [EZRA OPENS A PALM TO REVEAL A CHEEPING BABY ROBIN.]
◊ ◊ ◊
[ELEVENTH SCENE – AFTERMATH]
On the windy cliff, the conjured man continues to scream. “Is he okay?” asks Kai.
“’e’s making a right scene, isn’t ‘e?” Ezra remarks.
Ciaran looks uncertainly between the camera and the man, rain dribbling down his neck and seeping through his leather jacket. “Maybe we should end this,” he says. “Kai, turn the camera off.”
“He’s not your fucking servant, dickhead,” Oren spits. “What the fuck is wrong with this dude?” he kicks a clod of mud at the screaming man.
“Don’t be an asshole, Ravenwood. Ezra, shut him up. Kai, get the camera.”
“We’ve got a massive audience, mate. We can’t just shut it down before we fix ‘im.”
“He’s making it hard to think. Oren, do something. Help.”
Oren lunges at the screaming man and wrestles him into the mud. He attempts to clamp a hand over his mouth and is greeted by a flash of teeth.
“Motherfucker bit me!” he shrieks and punches the man in the side of the head. The screaming stops. The man keels over.
“Hell,” Ezra swears.
Ciaran raises his hand. There’s a glow and an explosive bang.
The livestream erupts just as Kai shuts it down, blinking from the residual flare of Ciaran’s flaming palm.
◊
[CIARAN ST. CLAIR – INTERVIEW]
Interviewer: People are upset with you.
CSC: People don’t understand us because we’re different.
Interviewer: Members of your own group are upset with you.
CSC: We, the Hex Boys, are trying to foster a community through remediation and understanding. We’re matching energy with energy. No one is mad at anyone.
Interviewer: People are mad at you.
CSC: Well, people can be stupid sometimes. We have this amazing platform to showcase queerness and magic in all its many colours and now we’re accused of… what, exactly? Misappropriating a spell? Failing to live up to people’s expectations? We’re doing something different, goddamnit, and people want to label us as all the same! We’re unique, and that should count for something!
◊ ◊ ◊
[TWELFTH SCENE – MAGIC]
Ciaran and Kai appear alongside a variety of gay couples at a pride event. Ciaran shouts: “We’re here and we’re what?”
“Queer!” the other couples respond.
Bang! Fireworks pinwheel from Kai’s outstretched hand.
“Unique!” Bang! Fireworks pinwheel from Kai’s outstretched hand.
“Different!” Bang! Fireworks pinwheel from Kai’s outstretched hand.
“In love!” Bang! Fireworks pinwheel from Kai’s outstretched hand.
“Love is love!” Ciaran says and waves the tiniest pride flag you’ve ever seen.
Benjamin Johnson (he/him) lives and writes on Treaty 6 Territory in the Canadian Prairies, his work focusing on queering space through magic and camp. He holds an MFA from Vermont College of Fine Arts and has had work published previously by The Ex-Puritan, Grain, Hunger Mountain, The /temz/ Review, and others.
