Horatio Santos

Horatio, one of the main characters in the "#LoveHacks" series, is a bartender at 'The Double Tap'. He is first seen in Book 1, Chapter 2.

Appearance
Horatio has brown eyes, short brown hair, brown mustache and goatee, and tan skin. He wears a bluish-gray collared shirt under a suede jacket with chestnut brown buttons, a green beanie covering most of his hair, and a necklace with a silver heart pendant. His formal attire consists of a violet collared shirt with small white spots all over, and a greenish-gray beanie.

Personality
Horatio is calm and composed, and is known for his poetic style of speaking. Although a hipster, he surprisingly doesn't enforce his beliefs upon anyone, although he does annoy them sometimes with his overly sage-like quips, confusing analogies, and highly philosophical fables. He claims that even though he hates social media for being mainstream, he appreciates it for providing current information.

Horatio not only has a Zen master soul, but also that of a bartender. Despite being promoted to manager, he felt empty inside and declared that mixology is his life. Combining these two traits, Horatio feels that creating drinks must not come from following instructions, but from following one's heart.

Other than his love of Zen and bartending, Horatio's most defining quality is his inability to get angry. In Book ,1 Chapter 12, any annoying or appalling act done upon him by his friends is perceived positively, eventually making them conclude it's impossible. In the few instances he does lose his temper, he becomes extremely intimidating, with the screen flashing bright red and haunting background music playing to emphasize this; in Book 2, Chapter 4, Cole (or Tara if she's dating Horatio) calls this the 'scariest thing ever', likening it to divine wrath, while Mark notes that the surrounding temperature drops. These outbursts are short though intense, however, as Horatio quickly reverts back to his cheerful normal self.

Horatio likes transparency and honesty with oneself; he doesn't feel like working in a cowboy-themed bar as it clashes with his passion, and the player can hook him up with Tara by advising the latter to give Horatio candid appreciation for the nuts. He ironically cannot express his honest feelings to others by himself, however, and requires your intervention to confess to Tara or stand up to Frank.

Background
Three years before the start of the plot, Horatio was just starting his job as a bartender in The Double Tap. His first known customer, Cole, had ordered a Tequila Sunrise for Brooke, who had just recently moved in with Sereena. This was when he revealed his manager had wanted him to speak more casually, as well as the fact that he brainstormed the idea for Brooke's Sphere of Prettiness.

Meanwhile, Sereena and Mark were arguing over who arrived at a certain booth first, whereby Horatio and Cole rushed over to abate it. After getting their attention, Horatio recommended a drinking game to settle the fight, where Sereena won round one. Horatio then told them to answer a question truthfully, where the loser must drink his Truth Serum cocktail. The improvised game continued late into the night, where it eventually became what is now Red Herring.

Some time later, Horatio had accompanied Mark and Cole to Venice Beach, where he was approached by Theresa Holland who asked about the book he was reading. She was seen and interrupted by Cole and Mark, who were both inebriated and trying to flirt with her. Horatio apologized for their behavior, rejected her invitation, and later walked the two men to their hotel. On the way back, however, he had lost track of them and found the two asleep on the roof of a police car.

Tara
Tara is Horatio's potential love interest. They first meet when she delivers a package for Cole to The Double Tap. In Chapter 8, if Cole decides to encourage him to go after Tara, Horatio will thank her properly and ask for her number. In Chapter 16, this time with Mark, Cole can encourage him to take Tara out for a date.Despite her not being a hipster, much to Horatio's disappointment, he comes to appreciate modern views on food after Tara pesters him to try them out himself. She also cares enough for him to share in his sadness when he was working in a different bar after the Double Tap caught fire.

Cole
Horatio and Cole are friends. Cole, along with the other members of the group, often make fun of Horatio for his stereotypical hipster qualities. He is well-aware of Horatio's rage and expressly states this as terrifying. He however encourages Horatio to use this rage when the need arises, such as to scare Frank for his mistreatment. Like Sereena, he is not a fan of Horatio's metaphors.

Mark
Horatio and Mark are friends. He is the first to sample Horatio's rare but unbridled ire when he attempted to grab some fancy nuts Horatio left out for Tara in Book 1 Chapter 12. Apart from this, they are close friends. When Horatio became temporarily traumatized during their paintball fight with Keo, likening it to actual war, Mark tried to snap him back to reality. In return, Horatio, despite claiming to be a peaceful man, is willing and honor-bound to avenge Mark should Keo kill them.

Ben
Horatio and Ben are friends. In Book 2 Chapter 17, he is potentially the second person to see Horatio's wrath when, with the player's discretion, he warns Ben not to hurt Your Character, or else he'd hurt him back.

Sereena
Horatio and Sereena are friends. In Book 1, Chapter 7, Horatio gives Sereena a trial job as a bartender at The Double Tap. In the end, whether she messes up or not, she decides not to take the job because she doesn't know if she can "handle a workplace with so much Zen master wisdom".

Brooke
Horatio and Brooke are friends. He and Brooke both have been the subjects of social experiments conducted by their friends regarding their personalities; whereas Brooke can't make anyone upset because of her "Sphere of Prettiness", Horatio can't seem to get upset by anything, no matter how annoying the act. He cares enough for her to use his anger without protest to get intel on Keo.

Keo
Like with Mark, Cole, and Ben, Horatio was quite wary of Keo as his behavior and background seem suspiciously dark. At the player's choice, Horatio can threaten Keo in their ride to the bachelor party with his rage, which initially worked, until Keo missed Horatio's point and bemusedly replied back with ferocity that made Horatio hurriedly scoot away from him.

Mayor Santos
In Home for the Holidays, Chapter 7, it is implied that Mayor Santos is Horatio's uncle.

Trivia

 * Horatio is shown on the cover of "#LoveHacks, Book 1".
 * On October 25, 2017 it was confirmed via Twitter that he is Mexican American.
 * It is implied that his uncle is Mayor Santos, a character in the Home for the Holidays book.
 * His favorite TV show is Silly Little Gossips, just like Sereena.
 * Horatio has tremendous physical strength, as he effortlessly lifted with one hand a loaded barbell used in a bench press set in Brooke's gym. He attributes this feat to lifting beer crates.
 * Horatio's wrath (and the haunting background music) is displayed a maximum of five times:
 * First, when he yells at Mark not to touch the special nuts for Tara (Book 1, Ch 12);
 * Second, when he warns Ben not to hurt MC/Dani (choice, Book 1, Ch 17);
 * Third, when he tells off Frank for his abusive behavior (premium choice, Book 2, Ch 4);
 * Fourth, when he tries to intimidate Keo during the boys' man-date (choice, Book 2, Ch 8);
 * Fifth, when he is infuriated at his beer deliverer's new policy (Book 2, Ch 16).
 * In Book 2 Chapter 1, if he's dating Tara, she urges him to use his "scary voice" to get everyone inside the bar to rush off outside immediately; however only his "angry" face is shown and the background music does not play.
 * Horatio's favorite drink is his newest creation.
 * His greatest fear is "a soulless, money-obsessed society in which all art is silenced and all cheese is mass-manufactured."
 * Sereena changes her greatest fear from clowns to this shortly after hearing it.