Antonio Fernandez Carriedo

Character Name: Antonio Fernandez Carriedo

Age: Unknown, but he usually appears as a seven-year-old boy. His mentality is that of a mature man, even if he doesn’t always act like it.

Appearance: As a child, he has a small frame and a few subtle freckles on his face. When he turns into an adult, his hair and skin darken to hide the freckles. He still has the same bright green eyes and curly brown hair no matter how old he looks, except after the age of 45, where his hair begins to turn grey.


Mutant Abilities: Age manipulation. Antonio is able to change the age of himself and other living things, either by making them older or younger. He can change himself to any age, but will die if he turns too young or old. He retains the same memories, but if he turns younger than five or older than seventy, he begins to forget things. Because of this, he always keeps his age between these two numbers. If he does not consciously change his age, he will age at a normal rate. Anything that he touches can be manipulated as long as it is alive, including plants. Simple organisms with shorter lifespans are easier than more complex ones. He can grow tomato plants from seeds multiple times a day, but he is limited to changing his own age or that of another person’s only once or twice a day depending on how many years are added or subtracted. If he tries any more than that, he becomes weak and exhausted. Overexertion could result in loss of control and will suspend Antonio’s powers for up to three days. Anything changed by Antonio’s powers will be healed in the process if it is damaged or injured, but he cannot revive something that has already died.

Where Do You Stand?: Living with the Brotherhood for protection, but trying to find a way out. He wants to hide his powers because he’s afraid someone will enslave him and force him to be their own personal Fountain of Youth. If any mutant asks, he just tells them he has a green thumb.

Mutant/Brotherhood Code Name: Sprout

Sexuality: Even after going through puberty several times, he’s not really sure.

Personality: Antonio is very childlike and usually cheerful, but he has a darker, more serious side to his personality as well. He is friendly towards everyone but cautious, too. He’s aware of how vulnerable he is in his younger body and does not trust people easily due to traumatic past experiences. Once he does get comfortable with someone, he is very loyal and affectionate- sometimes to the point of being clingy. People describe him as a “sweet but quiet boy.” Since he is still relatively new to the English language, he sometimes has trouble expressing himself and speaks with a heavy Spanish accent.  

In the very rare instance that he finds someone he fully trusts, the true age will show in Antonio’s eyes, and he will act like the adult he actually is. He hides his true maturity around others as best he can, but once in a while, there will be a situation where he needs to “grow up” even if he choses to physically keep his body the same size. At this point it becomes obvious that Antonio is not really the child he appears to be and does, in fact, always have the intelligence of an adult.

Background:

Antonio was born in Madrid, Spain, three months premature. He was very weak as an infant, and his parents were told he would not survive, as medicine was not advanced enough at the time to support such a young child outside the womb. Miraculously enough, Antoni’s body adapted to the situation and grew strong very quickly. In only two weeks, he was the size of a normal newborn baby, a phenomenon that the doctors could never explain. Antonio continued to grow at a normal rate, always happy to see the marks on the wall his mother used to measure him become higher. Sometimes, however, when he was told he was too young to do something, Antonio would suddenly grow a few extra centimeters very rapidly. His parents thought this was normal for a young boy his age and that Antonio was just meant to be very tall. What finally did concern them, however, was when their son began to grow shorter.

It was after he had stopped fitting into his favorite outfit, a miniature matador costume that his grandmother had made for him. The boy cried when his parents told him he had outgrown it, and Antonio wished harder than anything that he could go back to being smaller. His parents were shocked when their son lost almost of a foot of height overnight. They took him to the doctor, but all tests showed that Antonio was perfectly healthy. With no explanation available, the Carriedos had no choice but to go home and monitor Antonio’s health. The boy became curious about his own abilities, wondering if he could really make himself bigger or smaller just by wishing it. He imagined himself as tall and strong as his father, and sure enough, his body began to change. Suddenly little ten-year-old Antonio was a man. When he ran to show his parents, however, they saw nothing but a stranger and treated him like a burglar, driving him out of the house. Antonio ran away and hid, heartbroken and desperate to change back into someone his parents would recognize. The transformation had taken too much out of him, however, and he found himself trapped in his new adult body for the following day before he was finally able to shrink back to his normal size without feeling sick and tired. This was how he learned the first limit of his newfound powers.  

His parents were frantic with worry for him. They wouldn’t believe Antonio’s story until the boy transformed right in front of them, leaving them speechless and very wary. His mother warned him never to show anyone else his powers, but secretly, Antonio practiced them, learning he could make seeds into saplings and cats into kittens just by touching them. It wasn’t until his aging grandmother was on her deathbed that Antonio thought to use his powers on other people, however. He took her hand and promised to make her young again, wishing it harder than anything and feeling the familiar energy flow through his fingertips. The boy was not prepared to handle changing a human body besides his own, as it was far more complicated than anything he had ever attempted before. He lost control of his powers and watched in horror as his grandmother turned from an elderly woman, to a young lady, to a girl, then a baby, and finally- nothing. The event traumatized him, and after that, he was too terrified to use his powers on another human being again, even after he had learned how to control them better.

There was another bitter fact that Antonio had to learn to live with, and that was watching everyone else around him age. After his father passed away, Antonio regretted not using his powers to try to save him. Not long after, his mother contracted a disease that killed her suddenly. Antonio tried so desperately to make her young again, but found his powers did not work on the dead. With everyone else he knew fading from his life, Antonio was alone.

He turned himself back into a teenager and ran away to start a new life, working as a farmer. Everyone was impressed with how quickly he was able to grow crops, and during the Spanish Civil War, Antonio was a great supplier of food to the Republicans. There were rumors that said he could turn newly hatched eggs into full-sized chickens within a day. The stories and legends around him grew, and finally, feeling he had drawn too much attention to himself, Antonio tried to flee. He was captured by the Nationalists, however, and tortured until he finally confessed to having the power to grow plants and cause animals to age. Not believing him, the enemy threatened to kill the young man- until Antonio turned himself into a harmless child and pleaded for his life. Shocked and amazed, the Nationalists- who now knew Antonio’s powers worked in reverse- forced the boy to work for them and heal their soldiers. The job was thankless and exhausting. When Antonio was not attending to his enemies, he was locked up like a valuable prize, under heavy guard with no chance of escape. They placed a metal collar around his neck so that he could not transform into an adult without choking himself. The soldiers grew greedy and tried to bully Antonio into taking years off their lives instead of just the days required for healing, but they didn’t understand the boy’s limits. When Antonio tried to explain that he couldn’t perform his ability on humans more than once or twice a day when such drastic transformations were involved, he was called a liar and beaten. Without any other choice, Antonio forced his limits, continuing to use his powers even after he started to feel dizzy and nauseous. His captors didn’t stop pushing him even when the boy could barely move. Finally, Antonio collapsed into unconsciousness. His body lost control of itself, shrinking and growing rapidly. The collar almost crushed Antonio’s neck until suddenly, in defense, his body reverted back into a little toddler and remained that way.

When Antonio awoke again, his world was in chaos. The Civil War was close to its end, and the Nationalists’ camp had been found by an International Brigade. The little boy was locked in a cage in the general’s tent, the heavy collar around his neck gone. His body was very weak and incapable of transforming (as it would remain for the next few days). He was freed by a few French soldiers who took Antonio with them, never suspecting what the boy truly was. When asked for his name, Antonio was barely able to remember. With dread he realized that he had forgotten what his parents had looked like and where he had been born. He couldn’t even remember his real birth date. The toddler was only aware of his powers by instinct and the suppressed memories associated with them. He was terrified about anyone ever finding out about them again. He went along with the other Republican refugees and was sent to an orphanage in Mexico, where he lived until he was old enough to go off on his own. Antonio tried to live as normal of a life as possible, working at a cafe in Mexico City and rarely using his abilities except to tend to his own garden privately.

Everything was peaceful for several years until suddenly, the city began to grow more hostile towards mutants. It had come as a shock to Antonio to learn that there were other people like him with strange powers. He was curious, but at the same time, wary of being associated with them. He was finally forced out of hiding when a mutant that could sense his powers gave him an ultimatum- join their forces or die. Even though Antonio was not a fighter, he followed the Mexican mutants and acted much like the support he had been for the Nationalists during the Spanish Civil War. However, this time he was careful not to let them know he could do any more than grow plants, providing only food for his fellow mutants. Finally, he grew tired of being held against his will and broke out of their headquarters, disguising himself as an old man. He headed for the airport, hoping he could find a way back to Spain, but with no passport or identification, he was unable to book a flight. Antonio was unaware of the suspicion he had cast on himself and was followed by a mutant trafficker who later witnessed him transforming into a child. Antonio had hoped he could use this appearance to claim he had been separated from his Spanish parents and have the government return him to Spain without needing identification, but before he could put this plan into action, he was snatched up by the trafficker and smuggled to New York City.

Antonio was locked in a cramped little dog crate and held prisoner along with other mutants in a warehouse by the harbor, where they were to be sold to an illegal foreign trade company. That night, however, the warehouse was raided by the Brotherhood, who freed the captive mutants and recruited those that would follow them. Antonio, still stuck in the body of a six-year-old, had no choice but to go with them since they insisted that the streets of New York were no place for an orphaned child who could barely speak English. The Brotherhood took Antonio under their wing and nicknamed him “Sprout” after learning about his power to grow plants from seeds. Again, Antonio was careful not to reveal the true extent of his powers, but the cost of keeping his secret is that he was forced to remain as a child in their presence at all times.

For the longest time, Antonio was afraid to go outside, preferring the seclusion of the underground headquarters, but he missed the sun and the company of non-mutants. He began to wander around areas close to the tunnels and finally, was even able to go to the park by himself. Even though he was under their protection, the Brotherhood did not treat Antonio as a slave, and they became somewhat of a makeshift family for him, teaching him English and looking after his basic needs. The boy began to grow very comfortable with them until slowly, he started to understand more and more of their conversations. Antonio eventually learned that the ideals of the Brotherhood and their attitude towards non-mutants were not at all friendly, and that he was in fact, living among criminals. Suddenly uneasy about his surroundings, Antonio decided that soon, he would need to find a way out. He is currently looking for an opportunity to leave the Brotherhood and once again, start a new life.  


Relationships: (comment or PM to be added)

Brotherhood Members-
Wang Yao: The leader of the Brotherhood and the one who rescued Antonio from the warehouse and brought him back to the Brotherhood headquarters. Antonio is very attached to him and looks to Yao for protection.

Dylan Kirkland: The mutant who released Antonio from the cage in the warehouse and left him to fend for himself. Antonio does not really trust him.

Yekaterina Braginskaya: A Brotherhood member who Antonio is fond of and looks up to as a sort of big sister figure even though in reality, he is much, much older than her.

Other Mutants-
Lovino Vargas: A worker in the restaurant where Antonio seeks refuge after he runs away from the Brotherhood.

Non-Mutants-

Loooove the profile Toni~! *squishes* Just gotta point something out (more like, ask something ^^')

I can totally see Toni's power is not the same as Kiku's power (the only similarity within being they can both control plants; Kiku controls their growth and movement, while Toni controls 'aging', which could also be read as 'growth/death'), but since it's mentioned, I've just gotta make sure there's clarification. I'd have to do this with any organic material (not just plants), but since I can only speak for the tree--*shot*

Since there is a slight (emphasis on very slight) similarity, we probably should discuss what would happen if the two of them came into contact with each other (e.g. would Kiku's control over plants make Toni's growth of them weaker if they are both using their powers on the same plant, or vise versa)? I swear, this isn't a cry for change...just something that could develop into something really interesting (since Kiku runs a flowershop and is the current green thumb of the AU, he'd definitely love some company in the form of a sweet, kind-hearted Toni aka the other awesome green thumb of the AU~ <3)

One more teensy thing, and it's just something we tell everyone in general who has a power that might alter someone else's appearance--just make sure it's all cleared in the plotting. (Sorry I had to say it...I know you know D: )

Thank youuu~! I spent quite a while on this profile and am very happy with how it came out. I'm already in love with this version of Toni and can't wait to start playing him! <3

I did read your profile to make sure I wasn't copying Kiku's power, and I do think they're different enough in the way they work. Toni can turn the biological clock back and forth for living things, and this includes plants. He can't make them bigger or smaller than they were meant to be (everything must follow their predetermined DNA), and he definitely can't make them move the way Kiku can. He also must be touching the plant he's manipulating, so no telepathy. If we want to go really deep into how mutant genes work, we can say that Toni and Kiku come from the same "mutant family" but are more like cousins in the evolutionary tree. Honestly, learning there is someone so similar to him who shares some kind of power over plants would make Toni extremely happy. Right now he's a lonely little tomato.

As for what would happen if they both tried to control the same plant, I think Kiku's influence on the plant would eventually overpower Toni's, though it wouldn't be easy. Toni's power is more "basic"; he can't do as much to a plant as Kiku can, but because he is really is an old fart who's had over a century to train and master his powers, he could probably put up quite a resistance and make Kiku's job harder. On the other hand, if they both had the same goal (ex: make the plant bigger), I think Toni's power would boost Kiku's and make the plant grow faster and easier. I highly doubt he would see the need to do this, but I hope that answers your question! Let me know if you have a different opinion.

And yes, I won't be changing anyone's age without their RPer's consent. XD The first time I read that rule, the wording confused me- I thought it meant I had to get other RPers' permission to manipulate my OWN character, but I realized you meant only if I'm trying to change someone else. You might want to consider revising that rule for clarity (to help easily confused people like me). ANYWAY, with the bad experiences Toni has had trying to change any else's age (it's NEVER ended well! T_T), he would be terribly reluctant to do it unless he was forced to. So it's more like, someone will have to ask *me* if they want it done to them. XD

asdjfklasjdfkl TONI CAN I JUST...LOVE YOU FOREVER PLEASE? *sobs into*

Thank you, a million times for writing out this amazing, epic explanation/answer to my silly questions! I was like, 99.99% certain they weren't the same, but wanted to make 100% certain. It's all good, and we should definitely RP sometime! I'll hop on your plotting thread if you'd like, or you can hop on mine (either way is fine~!)

(Look how short this is...after...all you wrote to meeee *sobs*)

It's cool in regards to the rule. It was honestly made because someone wanted to be able to manipulate genders, but in a way it does apply to characters who can manipulate ages and such as well. Basically, the only reason the rule exists is because not everyone is comfortable RPing with someone who has reversed say, genders (aka, nyotalia), or is not comfortable playing as another gender. (Example: Kiku being genderswapped is cool with me, but maybe Feil is happy being a dude and doesn't want to be genderswapped in the RP).

I'll check the wording, but basically it's a two parter. The only thing that'll affect you in terms of Toni aging (besides the actual 'ask the other person' XD) is if someone isn't comfortable playing opposite a child. (Arthur also has this problem with one of Arthur's split personalities, so you aren't alone) Honestly, I don't think anyone is going to have a true issue with it, but we wanted to cover as much as we could with said rule x.x Still, I'll look over it and see if I can do anything to make it better/more understandable (though in general, we don't want to assume everyone will be against it, but we have to write like everyone will. It's so awful, this 'political correctness' *sobs*)

*squiiish* <3 No problem; I'm glad that helped, and writing it out gave me a clearer understanding of their powers as well. (And stop apologizing about writing something "short" silly This is a conversation without a word count!)

So does this mean I *do* have to make sure people are cool with me playing as a kid? I understand the reasoning behind it, but it puts me through the trouble of having to ask everyone I play with if it's okay for Toni to be in the form he's going to be in the majority of the time...I don't mean to complain, but I think that would make my character feel pretty burdensome. -_-; I will follow what you say, though, 首領.

alskdjfkljasdf gah...just...you guys have to pillow bop train me not to apologize for such silly things *clings to and loves* Seriously, just grab a pillow and bop me over the head with it if I apologize too much/for something silly ^^'

Nah, no worries! (I understand completely, since one of my 'Kiku' characters is a 'female' in Thorny Rose, how troublesome it can be to check with everyone to see if it's okay to play as her rather than as a male. You won't run into the whole 'well-I-don't-do-xxx-or-yyy' issue with Toni in this AU methinks XD) I think basically anyone who isn't comfortable playing with Toni as a young child just won't, or will find their own way to exit the RP if they feel uncomfortable. If you're doing a 1-on-1 RP, maybe just casually remind them that Toni tends to play young (that's the easier case anyway XD) but in terms of group RPs, if you happen to be plotting and someone goes "Wait, I didn't know Toni = little all the time ohmigoshissuesmanissuessss" or something (probably far more mature), or even if it happens mid-RP, just casually point out your profile and remind us all (because my memory sucks and I'm sure I'll be like "Wait, Toni = little...oh wait...oh yeah okay cool~" and go about my life all normal)

(That...was...very babbly x.x) If you do have issues though...like, someone joins a RP not realizing Toni was little and then makes an issue out of it to you, just poke either myself or Arthur to help get things patched up/quick saves <3

Er, less babbly version: You don't necessarily have to go to ask every single person, since in Open RPs you can't control who joins XD But say, you're in your plotting thread and someone goes "Well man, I'm really not cool with teeny Toni", then you can either work it out with them so he's not teeny, or just end up RPing something else that doesn't make the 'age' thing so apparent.

(This rule came about more because of two things, which are fairly unrelated to Toni in this situation. The first was nyotalia characters were pretty highly controversial when the rule was written, thus gender is given as an example. The second was, in case a RP turned mature at some point (which won't happen in a Open RP unless it's rated that way XD)...and was a little related to the first (thus gender again, since not everyone is comfortable RPing all types of mature).

If Toni's majority form is young (which, being the lovely person I am *shot* I reread your profile to make sure and he will be young most of the time ^_^) then no, you don't have to ask. The rule will apply to you if you are going to change someone else's age, which you already knew), or if you're planning to have Toni say, turn into a one-year-old or an eighty-five year old (aka, things far out of his norm). I doubt anyone would have an issue with a cute little babeh Toni...or even old man Toni, but it never hurts to put it out there as a casual "Hey, Toni's gonna be a geezer in this RP, just sayin'" or something. Otherwise, go about your RPs as cute little Toni and if you have any issues during, or any questions, or just want a hug, you know where to find either myself or Arthur~

(Can I just...huggle you now for putting up with my silliness? *sniffles*)

Ooo, yes, please give me hugs! 8D *squiiiish* And thanks so much for taking the time to clear that up. It doesn't sound like there will be any issues or dampers on anyone's RP experiences so long as we can all play nice. *celebrates* Also, I'll try to make Toni's appearance obvious in my posts, either with a little note at the beginning of the thread or through his description in the post itself, so no one ends up getting surprised about his apparent age. Thanks again for your helpfulness~

Now that that's cleared up, did you want to start an RP together? Something where Kiku and Toni can bond over plants would be cute, though Toni would be too cautious to reveal his powers first. If he saw Kiku doing something with plants, though, he would probably get really curious and maybe even choose to open up to him a bit (note: this Toni is much more timid than the one I usually play).