Felix Blackwood

Name:	Felix Blackwood
Pronouns:	He/Him
Aliases:	Luthuli, Trusted Associate (Year Zero), Employee #71 (First Cafe), Employee No. 17 (Fourth Cafe)
Affiliation:	The Zulu Cult (Formerly), The Cafe and Diner (Formerly), The Bingo Cult (Formerly)
Trivia:	Esotericism, Apocryphal Literature and Occultist Texts

So, we’re damned if we do, damned if we don’t. Per usual, eh?

Felix B. was the original Employee No. 17 of the Fourth Cafe. As one of the CaD's founding members and a former employee at Zee's Bakery, he was one of the most knowledgeable people around when it came to the coffee trade.

Biography

A member of an old Louisianan family, Felix was always quite adept with the use of magic. Years ago, he and his siblings Marcelle and Lucien performed a ritual which resulted in the creation of the Teal Room, a “dead pixel” in the universe. Lucien died in the process, and many of the old New Orleans families shunned them, save for the Ramses.

At some point before the founding of the Cafe and Diner in 1988, Felix worked for Zee's Bakery under the name Luthuli. At some point before 1988, he met Marcus Douglas, a warlock of Lucifer, who introduced Felix to Lucifer’s patronage, and helped him to become her warlock. By 1988 he had left the Bakery, met Jean, and together with Lucy], they founded the Cafe and Diner.

The First Cafe would later open for business in 1992, and would presumably burn down at some point in 2000-2001. During this time, Felix's main role in the CaD was to help the Owner manage his Wicked Blight, giving him the nickname the Medic or the Healer. In 1997 he, along with the other members of the First Cafe, became known as the "Anathemas", due to their defeat of Satan.

After the First Cafe burned down, Felix was believed to have retired. However, at some point between then and 2017, he joined the Deep Corp 23, some kind of clandestine organisation dedicated to sowing doubt about the "Investors", Muldra Yonomo and Sophie Grenbelrn, alongside Jean, Lucy and Nick Langley. In October 2017, he resurfaced to aid the Third Cafe deal with Al Crow.

Felix, along with the rest of the Deep Corp, would once again help the Third Cafe during the Cafe Crisis, and would later become part of the Fourth Cafe when Muldra Yonomo took ownership of it, using the name Employee No. 17.

During the Fourth Cafe's Otherworldly Adventures, Felix became embroiled in a caffeinated conspiracy, joining the Darn Defiance, a clandestine organisation within the CaD dedicated to getting out from under Muldra and Sophie's thumbs. He would also provide lodging to the Cafe in his family manor during March 2020, as operations during that time were focused in New Orleans. During April of the same year, he, Manager No. 0, and Manager No. 5 remained in New Orleans to investigate the Portrait of Satan within Blackwood Manor.

After Muldra was ousted, and the Cafe had dealt with the Haunting of 112, Felix remained with the CaD as part of the Long Beach Branch, though he took on a mostly advisory role, especially once that branch moved to Astoria. This suited his vast knowledge well, though even he was surprised to learn of Manager No. 7's true parentage.

Felix's long years of service would finally end, however, in September 2022, when he got into an altercation with three members of Padre Santos' Open Doors Church: Miss. Janos, Miss. Fitch and Miss. Cece. Though he survived, he was forced to retire, but he ensured his space would be filled by both Employee No. 1331 and Employee No. 1223, the latter of which he trained personally. Even so, he stayed with the Cafe and Diner in an unofficial advisory position.

Despite his age, Felix would later turn up after the Cafe and Diner’s end, as a member of The Sacred Hall of Bingo. Dubbed “The Dancing Queen” - a twist on his former employee number - he claimed to have joined so he could keep an eye on their members, though by his own admission, he believed in their cause at one point. He would later defect from the Bingos after discovering their leaders’ true goals, and would teach Ichabod how to perform the Darkest Hour Signal.

Personality

Felix is a rather calm person, who does not anger easily. He is exceedingly loyal to his friends, and almost always knows more than he will - or can - say. As one of its' founders, he believes wholeheartedly in the CaD's mission, and wishes to help it achieve its' goals, even through underhanded means.

Ties That Bind

• Best friends with Jean and Lucy; he is also a warlock of the latter.
• Due to his former employment with the Zulu Cult, he owes a debt to the Secret. Shaka is also technically obliged to kill him for leaving, but seems content to leave him be as long as he keeps the Zecrets of Zulu secret.
• No. 1223 views him as a close family member, referring to him as “tonton”, meaning “uncle”.
• He is Blackwood’s great uncle, though the two seem to have a strained relationship.
• Is very protective of No. 7, due to her parentage.