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May. 16th, 2012 01:54 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
alwayshasaplanUser Name/Nick: Becca
User DW:alwayshasaplan
AIM/IM: doctressamnesia
E-mail: freakyberkeley@gmail.com
Other Characters: Dracula, Wanda, Hannibal, Arkady
Character Name: Seth Gecko
Series: From Dusk Til Dawn (Tarantino/Rodriguez verse)
Age: 35
From When?: Seth was in El Rey for all of a week when a freak rainstorm hit while he was caught outside. It was so monsoon like that it cut visibility down to almost zero, and he ended up being nailed by a fruit truck.
Inmate/Warden: Inmate. Seth is a cold-blooded bank robber who kills people who get in his way, and has also covered for his brother’s murderous sex crimes on more than one occasion.
Abilities/Powers: Physically tough, relatively fearless, very quick thinker. Great aim even with his giant .44, very good in a brawl. No supernatural abilities.
Personality:
Seth Gecko is a professional thief. He sees bank robbery and related activities as his career; he treats it with the level of planning and professionalism that he would a legitimate job. Unfortunately he is also totally ruthless in its execution. People who get in his way and cannot be removed in any other way will be killed, without remorse. He does not harm people for pleasure; in anger, he uses his fists; but when it comes to his goal to permanently escape poverty and transiency with his brother in tow he will do whatever it takes. Seth chose bank robbery as his “field” because he despises the rich fucks that run banks; the people who bank there are insured and nobody loses except the fat cats and the government. The dream was to get the one big score that would get him and Richie enough cash that they could retire, and get the kind of stable life that Seth feels Richie needs. They almost made it; to this day his greatest regret is not the people he or Richie have killed, but rather that he ever went to the Titty Twister.
Seth has many good traits: he is tough, smart, emotionally resilient, very good at thinking on his feet, brave as hell, and very loyal to those he cares about. He exudes an air of calm competence which he can generally back up very well unless life throws him a gigantic curveball (such as vampires). Even then, he is capable of coming out of his shock and coping with the situation much faster than the average person, which has saved his life multiple times. Seth has also found faith, albeit a pragmatic sort of faith; because he recognized the Titty Twister vampires as demonic, he deduced that the opposite force must exist in the world, and now believes in it firmly. This does not, however, inspire him to be a better person—not really. Unfortunately he does have one of those weird, nagging conscience things which crops up occasionally. He deals with it by adhering to a code of honor which, although criminal, is not completely amoral; he tries to keep his word, does not kill save when necessary and knows when it is inappropriate to bring a gun to a fistfight.
Unfortunately, he has a big ego, an alpha-male criminal attitude, and a chip on his shoulder, especially about Richie. He lets his aggression do the talking whenever he feels the need to control a situation, which is a lot of the time. He will get in the face of anyone who insults or angers him, regardless of their power levels relative to him, and is tenacious enough to make sure he gets his hits in even if he is being beaten to a pulp. This is especially true if Richie is involved in some way; he will kill or die to protect his brother. This includes covering for Richie’s sex crimes on more than one occasion—although whenever Richie attacks a woman, Seth reacts with outrage, and will literally try to beat into him that This Is Not What We Do. (The lesson never sticks, which frustrates Seth to no end). It isn’t so much that he gives a damn about people—he doesn’t, with the exception of himself and Richie—but rather that he has a very set idea of what is acceptable behavior for a “professional fucking thief”. His code of honor makes him more compatible with average people—but the moment there is a fight or argument he morphs into a ruthless bastard.
Seth drinks, womanizes, and enjoys the odd barfight, but gave up things like romance and traditional friendship early on. If a relationship does not bring him some advantage he does not maintain it; if a woman tries to get too close to him he pushes her away. He is still stung by his short-lived marriage, and though not very misogynistic he is very unromantic and extremely blunt. The only person whose bullshit he tolerates (to some degree) is Richie; other people will get the sharp end of his tongue—at best. In other ways he is a typical Tarantino/Rodriguez character: spectacularly foulmouthed, casually bigoted against various groups, amoral, sarcastic and given to threats. He is used to being the heavy in any given situation, and is genuinely surprised when people talk back to him.
His love for his brother is very codependent. Since his mother’s death Seth has been used to taking care of his brother; when Richie’s mind started going Seth viewed it as yet another reason for him to devote his life to looking after the poor bastard. He views his brother with a mixture of affection, pity and an anger born of deep frustration; the man with a plan somehow can’t come up with one that will keep his brother from flipping out and raping/killing people. He goes back and forth between worrying that Richie might need to be forced into treatment and denying that there’s any problem with Richie that the guy couldn’t solve himself if he tried hard enough. When Richie really acts out, Seth’s frustration bubbles over and he attacks his brother in an attempt to beat some sense into him. This doesn’t really do anything to resolve the problem, however, since Richie tends to retreat into utter denial/have a very selective memory. In his secret heart, Seth is terrified that Richie will continue to get worse and will have to be institutionalized. Because of his fears, Seth is very controlling/mother hennish of his brother, and the two are basically inseperable. He is haunted by having to kill Richie, so his overprotectiveness will be especially pronounced once he arrives on the Barge.
Seth will not take kindly to arriving on the Barge. He will be happy to see his brother again and will attempt to fall into the same patterns that he did before: spending all his time looking after Richie. He will not respond well to the idea that he is here to be “redeemed” and will be very resistant to any such efforts, probably for a long time. He will not go looking for trouble, but he will deal with any threats or insults to his brother and himself very violently. He will resist the Wardens’ efforts to restrict and guide him, second-guess Richie’s Warden, and generally be “fuck you, I’m fine the way I am, stop getting between me and my brother.” He has no tolerance for idealists; in the real world, people have to fight for what they get, and he views his brutal approach as the one most effective for survival. Efforts to make him “go soft” will not be tolerated because he views them as detrimental to his and Richie’s survival.
Path to Redemption: Seth's redemption depends on three things. He must learn to value human/intelligent life, he must alter his codependent/massively screwed up relationship with Richie, and he must learn to solve his problems without aggression. He will not respond well to authoritarian treatment. It is the humanity in his Warden, their feelings, flaws and interests, that will draw him out; it is important that he be able to see them as a person instead of just another screw. He will need to know that his brother is safe in the hands of the Wardens and that he can still see him without all the clinging, which should be weaned out of him once he is settled aboard. Seth is a stubborn bastard, and will be hard to reach at first, because he strongly views what he has done in his life as matters he was forced into or had to deal with because of other people's stupidity. Allowing him to relax into a relationship with his Warden will make him more amenable to the whole idea. He will also have to regularly be reminded that he and Richie both died, after all, and that going through this program is how they earn their lives back.
History: Seth was born in Edgerton, Kansas, first son of a mother who had taken various "boyfriends" on through the years to make money. After she married and had Richie with her new husband, Seth focused on the new arrival to try and ignore the increasing arguments between his "parents". Seeing the effects of the constant fighting, poverty and stress on his young half-brother, Seth made it his personal mission from a very young age to shield, protect and distract Richie from their painful situation. Focusing on his brother in such a way caused Seth to grow up too fast--but if he had not, he would never have been able to handle what ended up happening. When Richie was still small, his father brutally murdered their mother in a fit of rage. They witnessed the aftermath, saw their mother's body--and were immediately scooped up and separated by the foster care system after Richie's father's arrest.
Seth was traumatized, but developed an unhealthy emotional distance on the event so he could focus on helping Richie cope. Knowing that his brother would never be able to handle the situation without him, Seth ran away from his foster home, found his brother and convinced him to do the same. They spent some time as street kids in the Midwest, struggling to survive and stay under the authorities' radar. Seth became a petty thief and pickpocket during this time to help keep them fed, and as an outlet for his own stress and anger. Two and a half years later, though, they were picked up. This time, fortunately, they were sent to a halfway house together.
Six months later, Richie started becoming even more nervous and distracted than he usually was; his nightmares got worse, and Seth would sometimes find him reacting or even talking to voices that he couldn't hear. Seth had no idea what childhood schizophrenia was; he only knew his brother was sick, scared and needed him. He did his best to look after Richie, but soon enough looking after Richie included things like covering up pet killings as much as comforting him after a nightmare. Sometimes he would find Richie, dazed and with blood on his sleeves, and know that there was another mess to clean up. He resigned himself to it, determined to keep his promise to always take care of his brother.
When Richie turned eighteen Seth, who had stayed in town waiting for him while he stole and strong-armed people to survive, came to pick him up. Together they traveled across America, robbing banks and stores, fueled largely by Seth's drive to find them the "big break" that would set them up for life. In Seth's mind, poverty such as they had grown up in was one of the things responsible for their troubles and Richie's illness. Without that stress, Richie would get better. Unfortunately, although he was smart, planned well and had his brother's loyal back-up, Seth simply could not expect all his robberies to end in success. Finally a bank job in Abilene went sour; Seth managed to cover Richie's escape, but at the cost of his own freedom. He was sentenced to 25 years in a maximum security prison. Seth spent eight years inside before he was eligible for parole.
He did not take well to prison--but Seth was smart, controlled, and never let his anguish and worry over his brother show. Instead he carved out a place for himself in that brutal environment, sometimes with his fists, sometimes with deal-making, often through sheer I-will-fuck-your-shit-up-if-you-mess-with-me intimidation. He had a few friends and allies, but not enough to get him out, and was forced to stay on relatively good behavior while he waited for his parole hearing.
It was during his time inside that Seth, away from his all-consuming relationship with his brother, started a correspondence with a young, idealistic woman named Katherine. She worked hard to get through his bitterness, and he started to open up to her. They were eventually married and settled into an awkward life of conjugal visits and weekly phone calls. But Katherine had an image of how she wanted their life together to be, which did not include bank robbery, theft--or Richie. She thought she was encouraging him to rejoin the "real world"; he saw her as trying to control him and change him into someone else altogether. Their weekly conversations became long silences between arguments; Seth was devastated when she asked for a divorce, but hid it well--even from himself.
Finally the date of the parole hearing came. Seth was stunned when his brother showed up guns blazing and proceeded to break him out. It seemed, for a little while, like Richie had finally gotten his shit together. Grateful, and giddy with freedom, Seth immediately came up with a plan. He had learned in prison about a Mexican town called El Rey which was an almost legendary haven for fugitives from the law. A friend who had gotten out the year before had all the connections they needed to get them there. All that he and Richie had to do was get themselves a pile of money, get across the border, and meet him. American dollars went a long way in El Rey; they would finally be set for life.
They headed across Texas, committing a string of brutal bank and business robberies as they pulled together the funds for their escape. Seth had hardened in prison, and thought little of the bodies they left behind in their wake in their desperation to win their freedom. It was necessary, he rationalized. But less necessary were some of the other bodies left in their wake; to Seth's horror, his brother had graduated from pets to women. Seth reacted to each rape-murder with rage, and then even more rage as he realized that his brother was too insane and deep in rationalization to understand. Each time, he would get false hope from Richie's capitulation to his lectures, but each time he was disappointed and horrified afresh. But in their run for the border there was little time to try and sort out Richie's problems. Richie behaved for a few days as they focused on making money. But their last bank job before the border run forced them to take a female hostage. When Seth left them alone in their motel room while he scouted around and got them food, he came back to find the teller's blood all over the room. Another explosion, another smacking around, another lecture, and Seth let the matter drop, weak to his brother as always even as he despised Richie's behavior.
Forced to run for it, they grabbed their money and quickly took another set of hostages--the widowed Reverend Fuller and his two teenage kids, who were heading for Mexico in their RV. The plan was simple: they would all get to the rendezvous point, a randomly chosen bar called the Titty Twister, and wait until dawn. Seth would meet his friend, the Fullers would go free, and the next stop would be El Rey. They made it over the border and got to the bar--a seedy establishment "for truckers and bikers only" which Seth actually loved. Half naked dancers, cheap tequila, a good band...the place had everything. Too bad that immediately after the featured dancer finished her number, the entire staff turned into vampires, locked the patrons in and started killing them. And Richie was the first to die.
The Titty Twister was actually the converted sacrifice platform atop a huge, underground Aztec pyramid inhabited by the nest. For years these creatures had preyed on the sort of drifters, gangsters and scum that came to the bar. And now Seth, along with the Fullers, was trapped with them. Only quick wits, determination and sheer brutality got Seth through the initial siege. A hasty alliance between himself, the Fullers and the surviving bar patrons helped them survive as the scattered human corpses turned into vampires--but Seth was forced to stake the revived Richie in the process.
In the end, only he and Kate, Reverend Fuller's eldest, survived the night. Seth was forever changed. He bore the guilt and anger over his brother's death the hardest, but fighting beside the Fullers had also shifted something in him, and he found himself quietly grieving their losses as well. He got them into this mess; it was his plan. But he also came away with some contradictory feelings. He had seen the power of faith; seen evidence of both Heaven and Hell, at least in his own mind. Faith wasn't something he had ever given much thought to, so he was left chewing over the implications of God being real. Even more troubling was what he felt behind the grief and guilt when he thought of his brother's death: a faint but undeniable sense of relief. He was free. Free from Richie's bloody-handed perversions, free of having to take care of him, free to figure out what the hell he wanted to do with his life besides look after his brother. It gave him a hope for the future that he hated having, because it came at his brother's expense.
He drank a lot when he first got into El Rey. But alcohol, pot, sex, gambling, fistfights...nothing really drowned out his feelings. He had made it; he had money; he was set, more or less. But it all seemed empty without the guy he had ultimately done all this for. Feeling adrift and purposeless, Seth fell into a depression. He withdrew from the friends he had started making and found himself wandering the streets randomly at night. One morning early, he was walking through the market area when a freak heavy rainstorm swept in from the coast. Seth found himself temporarily blinded and disoriented, something which the fifth of hard liquor in his system didn't help. A fruit truck making its delivery rounded the corner too quickly and went into a slide; he didn't even see it in the dark and rain. He felt the impact--
--and woke up on the floor of his Barge cabin.
Sample Journal Entry: [so very private]:
Richie's better. Not all the way, but he's definitely more focused and less freaked out than he was before. What the hell am I supposed to do with that information? Do I admit that maybe there is something to this place, that maybe getting some help beyond just me is one of the best things that could have happened to him? I mean, okay, maybe there's a pride thing working here too, because it's always just been me and we've managed fine. Mostly. OK, maybe it's been a shit sandwich some of the time. But I can't just go admitting that to his Warden and asking what happened. This is Gecko business. But I know how Richie gets. He's so defensive that he's defensive about his motherfucking defensiveness being defensive. So how the hell do I handle this?
I just hope he continues to improve. He's needed a break for so goddamn long.
Sample RP:
Seth didn't know what the big bastard's problem was, but he'd gone after Richie and that meant it was throw-down time. No weapons handy in the hallway; not even anything to improvise. He leaped onto the bruiser's back instead, yanking him backwards and getting his arms around his neck. Choke-outs were tricky, though, especially when the guy you're trying to choke out is so roided up that his neck's nearly as big around as your waist. Seth hung on for dear life as the guy went full on bucking-bronco-on-crack, slamming him against walls, elbowing him in the ribs and even rolling on the floor to try and get him off.
Richie was free to get away, though, and that was what mattered. "Run!" he yelled, and heard him go, but also heard him doing something he wouldn't have before. He was yelling into his communicator for help. "What the f--" Seth's shout was cut off as he ducked a headbutt and squeezed harder. Was there any end to this musclebound motherfucker's stamina? He could feel the artery pounding against his arm as he jammed against it, wondering if this guy was some sort of freaky alien with a backup respiratory system or something. A normal man would have been on the floor in a pile already.
Now Richie was just knocking on doors. The bastard actually straightened and started running after him, Seth flailing around behind him like a kid's t-shirt Superman cape. "Riiiichiiiieee....run! Just run!" He tried punching the guy in the ears and nearly got shaken off for his trouble. "Leave my brother alone, cocksucker!" He wrapped his legs around the guy's waist and put everything he had into cutting off the big sonofabitch's air supply. But it was all he had, and he hung on even as a muscle in his back twanged like a giant rubber band.
Finally, bare yards from catching up on Richie, Captain Roid Rage finally faltered, then staggered to his knees. He wheezed, and started prying weakly at Seth's arms. "No ya don't." Seth gritted his teeth against finger bruises but kept his grip. "Just go to sleep like a nice boy." The man collapsed with a thud, and Seth hung on for a few more seconds before changing his grip.
"Stop."
He knew that voice. It was one of the Wardens. Richie had called for help from the fucking Wardens. "What the hell?" He looked up at the man, scowling.
"You defended your brother and that's fine. But the guy's out now. There's no need to kill him. Right now you can walk away a free man. But you break his neck like you're planning and it's a week in Zero."
Seth opened his mouth to tell the guy to fuck himself...but...faltered. Richie was doing something amazing. He was standing behind him, shaking his head, pleading silently, "No."
He stared for a moment, then let the guy drop and staggered to his feet, feeling like he'd been through the spin cycle of an industrial washing machine. "Okay. We'll do it your way."
Special Notes: Seth wears a small olivewood cross that was given to him by Carlos at an impromptu service for Richie in El Rey.
User DW:
alwayshasaplanAIM/IM: doctressamnesia
E-mail: freakyberkeley@gmail.com
Other Characters: Dracula, Wanda, Hannibal, Arkady
Character Name: Seth Gecko
Series: From Dusk Til Dawn (Tarantino/Rodriguez verse)
Age: 35
From When?: Seth was in El Rey for all of a week when a freak rainstorm hit while he was caught outside. It was so monsoon like that it cut visibility down to almost zero, and he ended up being nailed by a fruit truck.
Inmate/Warden: Inmate. Seth is a cold-blooded bank robber who kills people who get in his way, and has also covered for his brother’s murderous sex crimes on more than one occasion.
Abilities/Powers: Physically tough, relatively fearless, very quick thinker. Great aim even with his giant .44, very good in a brawl. No supernatural abilities.
Personality:
Seth Gecko is a professional thief. He sees bank robbery and related activities as his career; he treats it with the level of planning and professionalism that he would a legitimate job. Unfortunately he is also totally ruthless in its execution. People who get in his way and cannot be removed in any other way will be killed, without remorse. He does not harm people for pleasure; in anger, he uses his fists; but when it comes to his goal to permanently escape poverty and transiency with his brother in tow he will do whatever it takes. Seth chose bank robbery as his “field” because he despises the rich fucks that run banks; the people who bank there are insured and nobody loses except the fat cats and the government. The dream was to get the one big score that would get him and Richie enough cash that they could retire, and get the kind of stable life that Seth feels Richie needs. They almost made it; to this day his greatest regret is not the people he or Richie have killed, but rather that he ever went to the Titty Twister.
Seth has many good traits: he is tough, smart, emotionally resilient, very good at thinking on his feet, brave as hell, and very loyal to those he cares about. He exudes an air of calm competence which he can generally back up very well unless life throws him a gigantic curveball (such as vampires). Even then, he is capable of coming out of his shock and coping with the situation much faster than the average person, which has saved his life multiple times. Seth has also found faith, albeit a pragmatic sort of faith; because he recognized the Titty Twister vampires as demonic, he deduced that the opposite force must exist in the world, and now believes in it firmly. This does not, however, inspire him to be a better person—not really. Unfortunately he does have one of those weird, nagging conscience things which crops up occasionally. He deals with it by adhering to a code of honor which, although criminal, is not completely amoral; he tries to keep his word, does not kill save when necessary and knows when it is inappropriate to bring a gun to a fistfight.
Unfortunately, he has a big ego, an alpha-male criminal attitude, and a chip on his shoulder, especially about Richie. He lets his aggression do the talking whenever he feels the need to control a situation, which is a lot of the time. He will get in the face of anyone who insults or angers him, regardless of their power levels relative to him, and is tenacious enough to make sure he gets his hits in even if he is being beaten to a pulp. This is especially true if Richie is involved in some way; he will kill or die to protect his brother. This includes covering for Richie’s sex crimes on more than one occasion—although whenever Richie attacks a woman, Seth reacts with outrage, and will literally try to beat into him that This Is Not What We Do. (The lesson never sticks, which frustrates Seth to no end). It isn’t so much that he gives a damn about people—he doesn’t, with the exception of himself and Richie—but rather that he has a very set idea of what is acceptable behavior for a “professional fucking thief”. His code of honor makes him more compatible with average people—but the moment there is a fight or argument he morphs into a ruthless bastard.
Seth drinks, womanizes, and enjoys the odd barfight, but gave up things like romance and traditional friendship early on. If a relationship does not bring him some advantage he does not maintain it; if a woman tries to get too close to him he pushes her away. He is still stung by his short-lived marriage, and though not very misogynistic he is very unromantic and extremely blunt. The only person whose bullshit he tolerates (to some degree) is Richie; other people will get the sharp end of his tongue—at best. In other ways he is a typical Tarantino/Rodriguez character: spectacularly foulmouthed, casually bigoted against various groups, amoral, sarcastic and given to threats. He is used to being the heavy in any given situation, and is genuinely surprised when people talk back to him.
His love for his brother is very codependent. Since his mother’s death Seth has been used to taking care of his brother; when Richie’s mind started going Seth viewed it as yet another reason for him to devote his life to looking after the poor bastard. He views his brother with a mixture of affection, pity and an anger born of deep frustration; the man with a plan somehow can’t come up with one that will keep his brother from flipping out and raping/killing people. He goes back and forth between worrying that Richie might need to be forced into treatment and denying that there’s any problem with Richie that the guy couldn’t solve himself if he tried hard enough. When Richie really acts out, Seth’s frustration bubbles over and he attacks his brother in an attempt to beat some sense into him. This doesn’t really do anything to resolve the problem, however, since Richie tends to retreat into utter denial/have a very selective memory. In his secret heart, Seth is terrified that Richie will continue to get worse and will have to be institutionalized. Because of his fears, Seth is very controlling/mother hennish of his brother, and the two are basically inseperable. He is haunted by having to kill Richie, so his overprotectiveness will be especially pronounced once he arrives on the Barge.
Seth will not take kindly to arriving on the Barge. He will be happy to see his brother again and will attempt to fall into the same patterns that he did before: spending all his time looking after Richie. He will not respond well to the idea that he is here to be “redeemed” and will be very resistant to any such efforts, probably for a long time. He will not go looking for trouble, but he will deal with any threats or insults to his brother and himself very violently. He will resist the Wardens’ efforts to restrict and guide him, second-guess Richie’s Warden, and generally be “fuck you, I’m fine the way I am, stop getting between me and my brother.” He has no tolerance for idealists; in the real world, people have to fight for what they get, and he views his brutal approach as the one most effective for survival. Efforts to make him “go soft” will not be tolerated because he views them as detrimental to his and Richie’s survival.
Path to Redemption: Seth's redemption depends on three things. He must learn to value human/intelligent life, he must alter his codependent/massively screwed up relationship with Richie, and he must learn to solve his problems without aggression. He will not respond well to authoritarian treatment. It is the humanity in his Warden, their feelings, flaws and interests, that will draw him out; it is important that he be able to see them as a person instead of just another screw. He will need to know that his brother is safe in the hands of the Wardens and that he can still see him without all the clinging, which should be weaned out of him once he is settled aboard. Seth is a stubborn bastard, and will be hard to reach at first, because he strongly views what he has done in his life as matters he was forced into or had to deal with because of other people's stupidity. Allowing him to relax into a relationship with his Warden will make him more amenable to the whole idea. He will also have to regularly be reminded that he and Richie both died, after all, and that going through this program is how they earn their lives back.
History: Seth was born in Edgerton, Kansas, first son of a mother who had taken various "boyfriends" on through the years to make money. After she married and had Richie with her new husband, Seth focused on the new arrival to try and ignore the increasing arguments between his "parents". Seeing the effects of the constant fighting, poverty and stress on his young half-brother, Seth made it his personal mission from a very young age to shield, protect and distract Richie from their painful situation. Focusing on his brother in such a way caused Seth to grow up too fast--but if he had not, he would never have been able to handle what ended up happening. When Richie was still small, his father brutally murdered their mother in a fit of rage. They witnessed the aftermath, saw their mother's body--and were immediately scooped up and separated by the foster care system after Richie's father's arrest.
Seth was traumatized, but developed an unhealthy emotional distance on the event so he could focus on helping Richie cope. Knowing that his brother would never be able to handle the situation without him, Seth ran away from his foster home, found his brother and convinced him to do the same. They spent some time as street kids in the Midwest, struggling to survive and stay under the authorities' radar. Seth became a petty thief and pickpocket during this time to help keep them fed, and as an outlet for his own stress and anger. Two and a half years later, though, they were picked up. This time, fortunately, they were sent to a halfway house together.
Six months later, Richie started becoming even more nervous and distracted than he usually was; his nightmares got worse, and Seth would sometimes find him reacting or even talking to voices that he couldn't hear. Seth had no idea what childhood schizophrenia was; he only knew his brother was sick, scared and needed him. He did his best to look after Richie, but soon enough looking after Richie included things like covering up pet killings as much as comforting him after a nightmare. Sometimes he would find Richie, dazed and with blood on his sleeves, and know that there was another mess to clean up. He resigned himself to it, determined to keep his promise to always take care of his brother.
When Richie turned eighteen Seth, who had stayed in town waiting for him while he stole and strong-armed people to survive, came to pick him up. Together they traveled across America, robbing banks and stores, fueled largely by Seth's drive to find them the "big break" that would set them up for life. In Seth's mind, poverty such as they had grown up in was one of the things responsible for their troubles and Richie's illness. Without that stress, Richie would get better. Unfortunately, although he was smart, planned well and had his brother's loyal back-up, Seth simply could not expect all his robberies to end in success. Finally a bank job in Abilene went sour; Seth managed to cover Richie's escape, but at the cost of his own freedom. He was sentenced to 25 years in a maximum security prison. Seth spent eight years inside before he was eligible for parole.
He did not take well to prison--but Seth was smart, controlled, and never let his anguish and worry over his brother show. Instead he carved out a place for himself in that brutal environment, sometimes with his fists, sometimes with deal-making, often through sheer I-will-fuck-your-shit-up-if-you-mess-with-me intimidation. He had a few friends and allies, but not enough to get him out, and was forced to stay on relatively good behavior while he waited for his parole hearing.
It was during his time inside that Seth, away from his all-consuming relationship with his brother, started a correspondence with a young, idealistic woman named Katherine. She worked hard to get through his bitterness, and he started to open up to her. They were eventually married and settled into an awkward life of conjugal visits and weekly phone calls. But Katherine had an image of how she wanted their life together to be, which did not include bank robbery, theft--or Richie. She thought she was encouraging him to rejoin the "real world"; he saw her as trying to control him and change him into someone else altogether. Their weekly conversations became long silences between arguments; Seth was devastated when she asked for a divorce, but hid it well--even from himself.
Finally the date of the parole hearing came. Seth was stunned when his brother showed up guns blazing and proceeded to break him out. It seemed, for a little while, like Richie had finally gotten his shit together. Grateful, and giddy with freedom, Seth immediately came up with a plan. He had learned in prison about a Mexican town called El Rey which was an almost legendary haven for fugitives from the law. A friend who had gotten out the year before had all the connections they needed to get them there. All that he and Richie had to do was get themselves a pile of money, get across the border, and meet him. American dollars went a long way in El Rey; they would finally be set for life.
They headed across Texas, committing a string of brutal bank and business robberies as they pulled together the funds for their escape. Seth had hardened in prison, and thought little of the bodies they left behind in their wake in their desperation to win their freedom. It was necessary, he rationalized. But less necessary were some of the other bodies left in their wake; to Seth's horror, his brother had graduated from pets to women. Seth reacted to each rape-murder with rage, and then even more rage as he realized that his brother was too insane and deep in rationalization to understand. Each time, he would get false hope from Richie's capitulation to his lectures, but each time he was disappointed and horrified afresh. But in their run for the border there was little time to try and sort out Richie's problems. Richie behaved for a few days as they focused on making money. But their last bank job before the border run forced them to take a female hostage. When Seth left them alone in their motel room while he scouted around and got them food, he came back to find the teller's blood all over the room. Another explosion, another smacking around, another lecture, and Seth let the matter drop, weak to his brother as always even as he despised Richie's behavior.
Forced to run for it, they grabbed their money and quickly took another set of hostages--the widowed Reverend Fuller and his two teenage kids, who were heading for Mexico in their RV. The plan was simple: they would all get to the rendezvous point, a randomly chosen bar called the Titty Twister, and wait until dawn. Seth would meet his friend, the Fullers would go free, and the next stop would be El Rey. They made it over the border and got to the bar--a seedy establishment "for truckers and bikers only" which Seth actually loved. Half naked dancers, cheap tequila, a good band...the place had everything. Too bad that immediately after the featured dancer finished her number, the entire staff turned into vampires, locked the patrons in and started killing them. And Richie was the first to die.
The Titty Twister was actually the converted sacrifice platform atop a huge, underground Aztec pyramid inhabited by the nest. For years these creatures had preyed on the sort of drifters, gangsters and scum that came to the bar. And now Seth, along with the Fullers, was trapped with them. Only quick wits, determination and sheer brutality got Seth through the initial siege. A hasty alliance between himself, the Fullers and the surviving bar patrons helped them survive as the scattered human corpses turned into vampires--but Seth was forced to stake the revived Richie in the process.
In the end, only he and Kate, Reverend Fuller's eldest, survived the night. Seth was forever changed. He bore the guilt and anger over his brother's death the hardest, but fighting beside the Fullers had also shifted something in him, and he found himself quietly grieving their losses as well. He got them into this mess; it was his plan. But he also came away with some contradictory feelings. He had seen the power of faith; seen evidence of both Heaven and Hell, at least in his own mind. Faith wasn't something he had ever given much thought to, so he was left chewing over the implications of God being real. Even more troubling was what he felt behind the grief and guilt when he thought of his brother's death: a faint but undeniable sense of relief. He was free. Free from Richie's bloody-handed perversions, free of having to take care of him, free to figure out what the hell he wanted to do with his life besides look after his brother. It gave him a hope for the future that he hated having, because it came at his brother's expense.
He drank a lot when he first got into El Rey. But alcohol, pot, sex, gambling, fistfights...nothing really drowned out his feelings. He had made it; he had money; he was set, more or less. But it all seemed empty without the guy he had ultimately done all this for. Feeling adrift and purposeless, Seth fell into a depression. He withdrew from the friends he had started making and found himself wandering the streets randomly at night. One morning early, he was walking through the market area when a freak heavy rainstorm swept in from the coast. Seth found himself temporarily blinded and disoriented, something which the fifth of hard liquor in his system didn't help. A fruit truck making its delivery rounded the corner too quickly and went into a slide; he didn't even see it in the dark and rain. He felt the impact--
--and woke up on the floor of his Barge cabin.
Sample Journal Entry: [so very private]:
Richie's better. Not all the way, but he's definitely more focused and less freaked out than he was before. What the hell am I supposed to do with that information? Do I admit that maybe there is something to this place, that maybe getting some help beyond just me is one of the best things that could have happened to him? I mean, okay, maybe there's a pride thing working here too, because it's always just been me and we've managed fine. Mostly. OK, maybe it's been a shit sandwich some of the time. But I can't just go admitting that to his Warden and asking what happened. This is Gecko business. But I know how Richie gets. He's so defensive that he's defensive about his motherfucking defensiveness being defensive. So how the hell do I handle this?
I just hope he continues to improve. He's needed a break for so goddamn long.
Sample RP:
Seth didn't know what the big bastard's problem was, but he'd gone after Richie and that meant it was throw-down time. No weapons handy in the hallway; not even anything to improvise. He leaped onto the bruiser's back instead, yanking him backwards and getting his arms around his neck. Choke-outs were tricky, though, especially when the guy you're trying to choke out is so roided up that his neck's nearly as big around as your waist. Seth hung on for dear life as the guy went full on bucking-bronco-on-crack, slamming him against walls, elbowing him in the ribs and even rolling on the floor to try and get him off.
Richie was free to get away, though, and that was what mattered. "Run!" he yelled, and heard him go, but also heard him doing something he wouldn't have before. He was yelling into his communicator for help. "What the f--" Seth's shout was cut off as he ducked a headbutt and squeezed harder. Was there any end to this musclebound motherfucker's stamina? He could feel the artery pounding against his arm as he jammed against it, wondering if this guy was some sort of freaky alien with a backup respiratory system or something. A normal man would have been on the floor in a pile already.
Now Richie was just knocking on doors. The bastard actually straightened and started running after him, Seth flailing around behind him like a kid's t-shirt Superman cape. "Riiiichiiiieee....run! Just run!" He tried punching the guy in the ears and nearly got shaken off for his trouble. "Leave my brother alone, cocksucker!" He wrapped his legs around the guy's waist and put everything he had into cutting off the big sonofabitch's air supply. But it was all he had, and he hung on even as a muscle in his back twanged like a giant rubber band.
Finally, bare yards from catching up on Richie, Captain Roid Rage finally faltered, then staggered to his knees. He wheezed, and started prying weakly at Seth's arms. "No ya don't." Seth gritted his teeth against finger bruises but kept his grip. "Just go to sleep like a nice boy." The man collapsed with a thud, and Seth hung on for a few more seconds before changing his grip.
"Stop."
He knew that voice. It was one of the Wardens. Richie had called for help from the fucking Wardens. "What the hell?" He looked up at the man, scowling.
"You defended your brother and that's fine. But the guy's out now. There's no need to kill him. Right now you can walk away a free man. But you break his neck like you're planning and it's a week in Zero."
Seth opened his mouth to tell the guy to fuck himself...but...faltered. Richie was doing something amazing. He was standing behind him, shaking his head, pleading silently, "No."
He stared for a moment, then let the guy drop and staggered to his feet, feeling like he'd been through the spin cycle of an industrial washing machine. "Okay. We'll do it your way."
Special Notes: Seth wears a small olivewood cross that was given to him by Carlos at an impromptu service for Richie in El Rey.
