Post by The Exodus on Sept 4, 2011 23:16:22 GMT -6
Character: Santiago Ortiz
Full Name: Detective Santiago Luis Guadalupe Castaneda Ortiz
Age: 32
Gender: Male
Occupation: Private Investigator, (ex) gangster, former stage manager
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thelonghaulproject.com/tlhp/wp-content/uploads/olivier-martinez-10.jpg [/img]
Personality: Santiago is a very no-nonsense sort of man. He does not tolerate slackers or complainers. If you think your life is tough, Santiago rarely has sympathy for you. This particular trait does not serve him well in his current line of work and it’s not uncommon for Santiago to be at odds with his clients. His sense of humor—sarcastic, occasionally cruel, and often dark—also puts clients in uncomfortable situations. For Santiago, though, black humor and sarcasm are a way of life. He isn’t a people-pleaser by any stretch of the imagination.
Outside of the office, Santiago is just as aloof and unapproachable. He is not personable and is something of a loner. However, those few he does care about know that Santiago is a loyal friend, who would (gladly) take a bullet for those he loves. Santiago’s dry humor also ensures that he’s never without at least one good friend in his life.
Santiago believes in hard work and patience. He and disappointment are pretty good friends these days. This is not Santiago’s first career, so he’s gotten used to his luck changing with the wind. However, that has its advantages, since Santiago now has a plethora of skills he’s picked up from all sorts of lifestyles. He’s been an artist, a fisherman, a gun-for-hire, a gangster, a stage hand, a stage manager, and a private detective all. He also speaks fluent Spanish, French, and English; loves opera, football (“Soccer, whatever.”), good drinks, and the feel of his Smith and Wesson clipped securely to his hip.
Santiago has little regard for the letter of the law. Even if he promises to protect the spirit of the law, he plans to do it his way.
History: Born to Carlos and Sancha Ortiz in the Spanish seaport of Malaga, Santiago’s childhood was far from charmed. The Ortiz family was not wealthy. Carlos worked as a fisherman and Sancha worked a day shift in a dress shop and nights as a waitress. Santiago was the only child and left to his own devices.
A precocious child, Santiago won a scholarship to a prestigious art school in Madrid to study technical theatre, with the intent to springboard from there to a top-tier university. However, Santiago was an outcast both at home and at school: he didn’t fit in with the neighborhood kids who dreamt of nothing better than their fathers’ legacies and he certainly didn’t fit in with the well-to-do sons and daughters of business tycoons. He was often bullied and it didn’t take long for Santiago to learn to fight back.
His father was proud of him for standing up for himself, but Carlos Ortiz never understood—or accepted—his son’s artistic proclivities. Had Santiago not been on a scholarship, there is no doubt he would have been pulled from school at fourteen to work on the docks with his papa. Sancha, who seldom stood up to her husband, supported Santiago in this one thing, hoping that her son would have a brighter future than either she or Carlos could provide.
The school, El Colegio de la Santa Cecilia comprised of singers, actors, artists, and dancers from all over. Most kids were from relatively well-off families, so Santiago stuck out a little in his frayed jeans, worn out sneakers, and father’s old jacket. But within the week, he’d made his first friend. Gisele Evrard was studying to be a dancer. Her family had moved from France and the pretty redhead was as much of an outsider as Santiago was in the ritzy school. Misery, after all, loves company.
Though neither child spoke much of the other’s language, Gisele and Santiago painstakingly spent free time teaching each other. They were inseparable for the first few years of school; they wrote as often as they could during the summer (although much of Santiago’s time was taken up with various odd jobs). The years were kind to Gisele and she blossomed into a beautiful young woman. Santiago, meanwhile grew too tall for his father’s hand-me-downs and his teenage years were marred by gangly limbs and a lack of social grace.
Gisele was not easily lured away by the more well-off boys, for which Santiago was grateful. But he didn’t realize how desperately he needed Gisele in his life, or how deeply he was beginning to fall in love with her until she started going steady with Joaquin Castro, one of the well-off and handsome boys in their year.
Relatively friendless and insanely jealous, Santiago threw himself into his work. Life took a turn for the worse when Sancha succumbed to ovarian cancer two weeks after Santiago’s sixteenth birthday. Depressed, alone, and angry, again, Santiago was an easy target, but this time, not for bullies.
Lorenzo Reyes was several years Santiago’s senior. His family owned the fishing company Carlos worked for and were not from the wrong side of the tracks like Santiago was. In fact, they were—in Santiago’s eyes—wealthy, powerful, and the sort of people to be envied. In Lorenzo’s eyes, lonely Santiago would make for a relatively easy minion. The summer after Sancha died, the boys made fast friends. Lorenzo brought Santiago along on outings to upscale restaurants, clubs, and other hang outs; he also introduced Santiago to his friends, several of whom were Santa Cecilia students from the “in” crowd. Santiago couldn’t believe his luck. The Reyes family adopted Santiago as something like a second son and Santiago could hardly see a catch.
Sure, there were nights when they were all drinking on the docks and someone would mention “Las Gardunas”—a criminal syndicate rumored to rule Malaga’s ports—but Las Gardunas were just an urban myth.
When Lorenzo went to university in the fall, Santiago returned to Santa Cecilia’s for his final year in school. Lorenzo asked only one thing of Santiago. To take care of his baby sister, Catalina, who also attended Santa Cecilia’s. How could he refuse?
Gisele said he’d changed. But it didn’t seem to be a good change. Santiago no longer holed himself in his work, but instead spent his time smoking out back with his new friends. Gisele spent much of the year trying to persuade Santiago that his friends weren’t so great. He brushed her criticisms aside and pointed out that her boyfriend—still Joaquin Castro—was no prize either. Gisele insisted that Santiago’s new friends were much worse than Joaquin—and criminals. Santiago dismissed the idea and lit another cigarette.
When Gisele proved to be right, it was hard to swallow his pride and admit it.
One night, Santiago was violently shaken awake by Jose Morales and led to the wrong part of downtown. Morales shoved a gun into Santiago’s hand. They navigated the dark, cobbled streets and Morales told him they were going to “take care” or a guy who’d “messed with” Catalina. Santiago didn’t shoot the guy, but he drove the getaway car. Before zipping off back to Santa Cecilia’s, Santiago caught a glimpse of the dead guy’s tattoos—insignia for Las Ñetas.
Santiago’s new friends were part of a revival of the Garduñas, one of Spain’s oldest street gangs. The Reyes family spearheaded the operation under the guise of their shipping company. Lorenzo’s family practically owned his and there wasn’t much he could do. His grades had suffered too much to get into a top school and Santiago couldn’t find employment in the theatre, so after graduation, he returned to Malaga to work in the fishing company Lorenzo’s family owned. On the side, Santiago got jobs with the Garduñas. They paid well and Santiago learned a lot. He rose through the ranks quickly and eventually became Lorenzo’s right-hand man, overseeing the “shipping company”—both the legitimate front and Garduna activity—while Lorenzo was away. He also was one of the few men Lorenzo trusted to protect Catalina.
A few summers passed as Santiago busted his *ss for Las Gardunas when he got a wedding invitation—Gisele and Joaquin were to be wed the following spring. A sharp pain in his chest told Santiago that he’d never gotten over Gisele.
When Lorenzo suggested they get Joaquin out of the way, Santiago didn’t hesitate.
Lorenzo went with Santiago to Joaquin’s house, where Santiago shot Joaquin in the chest. They didn’t account on the gunshot waking Gisele up. In blind fear, Lorenzo shot her, too. Joaquin and Gisele both died that night and Lorenzo pulled Santiago away from the crime scene too quickly for Santiago to turn himself in.
The newspapers reported it as a double suicide. No questions were asked. Within the week, Santiago took on three new jobs as an assassin. Santiago took dozens of jobs as a contract killer for Las Gardunas, eliminating rivals, threats, and law enforcement officers as well as the occasional revenge killing. It was lucrative, but when Santiago was caught by the police, that life ended.
Santiago fled Spain’s legal system and moved to France to make a new start. He arrived in Paris after six months of travelling, homelessness, and hiding out in Andorra and southern France. He applied for jobs in nearly every theatre in the city and worked as a stage hand for several years. He secured a permanent position at the Opera Garnier, first as a stage hand, occasionally teaching technical classes at the Conservatory. At thirty, Santiago took over the stage management of the Garnier.
As the Garnier’s stage manager, Santiago whipped the program into shape (or so he likes to see it). He was tough, but mostly fair, with his employees. While no one would ever suggest that Monsieur Ortiz win a popularity contest, no one could say that he wasn’t good for business. Santiago incorporated Spanish surrealist elements into programming, which were wildly popular among the expatriate community that made up the bulk of the Garnier’s top supporters. He also hired many “questionable” talents, who—like him—were looking for fresh starts. However, Santiago’s restless nature dictated he say goodbye to the Garnier eventually. Even when he took the position, Santiago knew that being the stage manager was not the end of his career ladder.
During his time at the Garnier, Santiago’s past came back to bite him. After leading a relatively quiet existence for years, one of his former rivals—a Neta gangster—uncovered Santiago’s whereabouts and made it his mission to kill Santiago. The man snuck in during a power outage while Santiago was working late. However, that mission was derailed when Santiago and his rival realized they were not alone in the building. Rachel Day, the chorus master’s assistant, had also stayed behind that night. She provided enough distraction for Santiago to kill his would-be murderer. Since then, Santiago has killed three other men who dared to try to bring him back into the fold one way or another. Shortly after their encounter with Las Netas, Santiago and Rachel dated. Rachel, like Santiago, comes from a history of violence. Her father is a member of a New York-based crime syndicate and has been out for her blood for years. Santiago sees himself as her protector and although they broke up, the two remain close friends and confidants.
Another person who “discovered” Santiago’s new life was Lorenzo Reyes. Lorenzo came to Paris initially to propose that Santiago spearhead an expansion plan of Las Gardunas into Paris, however, Lorenzo had a change of heart when he saw how happy Santiago was with his new life. Santiago assumed Lorenzo returned to Malaga and found someone else to do his dirty work.
However, a year later, Catalina Reyes turned up in Paris, begging for Santiago’s help to find her brother. She told him that after Lorenzo left for Paris, he was never seen again. It was not unusual for Lorenzo to disappear for a few months, but a full year was suspicious. Santiago agreed to help Catalina find Lorenzo—all the while juggling his career at the Garnier.
Santiago eventually uncovered Lorenzo’s murder at the hands of Catalina’s ex-lover, Sebastian Ramirez. Sebastian confessed to killing Lorenzo because he was the “only thing that stood in the way” of his love with Catalina. Santiago turned Sebastian in to local authorities. The news of Lorenzo’s death was too much for Catalina to handle and she killed herself—and named Santiago the chief beneficiary of her estate on the condition that he leave the opera behind and continue working as an investigator. She arranged, prior to her death, for Santiago to receive a permanent license. This, of course, initially made Santiago a suspect in her death; however he was cleared of all charges. Santiago left the Garnier in his assistant’s, Bill MaCarthy’s, capable hands.
With some of his inheritance, Santiago has set up a small detective agency along the Seine and he is learning to job as he goes along.
Other: Santiago’s hands are incredibly callused from manual labor. He also has four tattoos—one of the Virgin Mary on his right arm, one of a dragon on his left, some script (“Mas dolor, mas valor”) on his bicep, and a pair of ragged wings between his shoulder blades. His oldest tattoo was made from pouring hot tar into an incision in the shape of Las Gardunas symbol. It is on his left ankle and is the size of a quarter. He also has a series of scars on his back and chest from multiple near-death experiences. Santiago is an avid smoker, with a habit of chewing the inside of his mouth. His greatest loves are his motorcycle and his dog, Lola. Neither his best friends—Myron Bolitar and Reese Cordova— nor his sometimes-girlfriend—Georgette Duguay—has any idea that Santiago used to be in a gang and Santiago sees no reason to change that
AI: Oliver Martinez
Full Name: Detective Santiago Luis Guadalupe Castaneda Ortiz
Age: 32
Gender: Male
Occupation: Private Investigator, (ex) gangster, former stage manager
Personality: Santiago is a very no-nonsense sort of man. He does not tolerate slackers or complainers. If you think your life is tough, Santiago rarely has sympathy for you. This particular trait does not serve him well in his current line of work and it’s not uncommon for Santiago to be at odds with his clients. His sense of humor—sarcastic, occasionally cruel, and often dark—also puts clients in uncomfortable situations. For Santiago, though, black humor and sarcasm are a way of life. He isn’t a people-pleaser by any stretch of the imagination.
Outside of the office, Santiago is just as aloof and unapproachable. He is not personable and is something of a loner. However, those few he does care about know that Santiago is a loyal friend, who would (gladly) take a bullet for those he loves. Santiago’s dry humor also ensures that he’s never without at least one good friend in his life.
Santiago believes in hard work and patience. He and disappointment are pretty good friends these days. This is not Santiago’s first career, so he’s gotten used to his luck changing with the wind. However, that has its advantages, since Santiago now has a plethora of skills he’s picked up from all sorts of lifestyles. He’s been an artist, a fisherman, a gun-for-hire, a gangster, a stage hand, a stage manager, and a private detective all. He also speaks fluent Spanish, French, and English; loves opera, football (“Soccer, whatever.”), good drinks, and the feel of his Smith and Wesson clipped securely to his hip.
Santiago has little regard for the letter of the law. Even if he promises to protect the spirit of the law, he plans to do it his way.
History: Born to Carlos and Sancha Ortiz in the Spanish seaport of Malaga, Santiago’s childhood was far from charmed. The Ortiz family was not wealthy. Carlos worked as a fisherman and Sancha worked a day shift in a dress shop and nights as a waitress. Santiago was the only child and left to his own devices.
A precocious child, Santiago won a scholarship to a prestigious art school in Madrid to study technical theatre, with the intent to springboard from there to a top-tier university. However, Santiago was an outcast both at home and at school: he didn’t fit in with the neighborhood kids who dreamt of nothing better than their fathers’ legacies and he certainly didn’t fit in with the well-to-do sons and daughters of business tycoons. He was often bullied and it didn’t take long for Santiago to learn to fight back.
His father was proud of him for standing up for himself, but Carlos Ortiz never understood—or accepted—his son’s artistic proclivities. Had Santiago not been on a scholarship, there is no doubt he would have been pulled from school at fourteen to work on the docks with his papa. Sancha, who seldom stood up to her husband, supported Santiago in this one thing, hoping that her son would have a brighter future than either she or Carlos could provide.
The school, El Colegio de la Santa Cecilia comprised of singers, actors, artists, and dancers from all over. Most kids were from relatively well-off families, so Santiago stuck out a little in his frayed jeans, worn out sneakers, and father’s old jacket. But within the week, he’d made his first friend. Gisele Evrard was studying to be a dancer. Her family had moved from France and the pretty redhead was as much of an outsider as Santiago was in the ritzy school. Misery, after all, loves company.
Though neither child spoke much of the other’s language, Gisele and Santiago painstakingly spent free time teaching each other. They were inseparable for the first few years of school; they wrote as often as they could during the summer (although much of Santiago’s time was taken up with various odd jobs). The years were kind to Gisele and she blossomed into a beautiful young woman. Santiago, meanwhile grew too tall for his father’s hand-me-downs and his teenage years were marred by gangly limbs and a lack of social grace.
Gisele was not easily lured away by the more well-off boys, for which Santiago was grateful. But he didn’t realize how desperately he needed Gisele in his life, or how deeply he was beginning to fall in love with her until she started going steady with Joaquin Castro, one of the well-off and handsome boys in their year.
Relatively friendless and insanely jealous, Santiago threw himself into his work. Life took a turn for the worse when Sancha succumbed to ovarian cancer two weeks after Santiago’s sixteenth birthday. Depressed, alone, and angry, again, Santiago was an easy target, but this time, not for bullies.
Lorenzo Reyes was several years Santiago’s senior. His family owned the fishing company Carlos worked for and were not from the wrong side of the tracks like Santiago was. In fact, they were—in Santiago’s eyes—wealthy, powerful, and the sort of people to be envied. In Lorenzo’s eyes, lonely Santiago would make for a relatively easy minion. The summer after Sancha died, the boys made fast friends. Lorenzo brought Santiago along on outings to upscale restaurants, clubs, and other hang outs; he also introduced Santiago to his friends, several of whom were Santa Cecilia students from the “in” crowd. Santiago couldn’t believe his luck. The Reyes family adopted Santiago as something like a second son and Santiago could hardly see a catch.
Sure, there were nights when they were all drinking on the docks and someone would mention “Las Gardunas”—a criminal syndicate rumored to rule Malaga’s ports—but Las Gardunas were just an urban myth.
When Lorenzo went to university in the fall, Santiago returned to Santa Cecilia’s for his final year in school. Lorenzo asked only one thing of Santiago. To take care of his baby sister, Catalina, who also attended Santa Cecilia’s. How could he refuse?
Gisele said he’d changed. But it didn’t seem to be a good change. Santiago no longer holed himself in his work, but instead spent his time smoking out back with his new friends. Gisele spent much of the year trying to persuade Santiago that his friends weren’t so great. He brushed her criticisms aside and pointed out that her boyfriend—still Joaquin Castro—was no prize either. Gisele insisted that Santiago’s new friends were much worse than Joaquin—and criminals. Santiago dismissed the idea and lit another cigarette.
When Gisele proved to be right, it was hard to swallow his pride and admit it.
One night, Santiago was violently shaken awake by Jose Morales and led to the wrong part of downtown. Morales shoved a gun into Santiago’s hand. They navigated the dark, cobbled streets and Morales told him they were going to “take care” or a guy who’d “messed with” Catalina. Santiago didn’t shoot the guy, but he drove the getaway car. Before zipping off back to Santa Cecilia’s, Santiago caught a glimpse of the dead guy’s tattoos—insignia for Las Ñetas.
Santiago’s new friends were part of a revival of the Garduñas, one of Spain’s oldest street gangs. The Reyes family spearheaded the operation under the guise of their shipping company. Lorenzo’s family practically owned his and there wasn’t much he could do. His grades had suffered too much to get into a top school and Santiago couldn’t find employment in the theatre, so after graduation, he returned to Malaga to work in the fishing company Lorenzo’s family owned. On the side, Santiago got jobs with the Garduñas. They paid well and Santiago learned a lot. He rose through the ranks quickly and eventually became Lorenzo’s right-hand man, overseeing the “shipping company”—both the legitimate front and Garduna activity—while Lorenzo was away. He also was one of the few men Lorenzo trusted to protect Catalina.
A few summers passed as Santiago busted his *ss for Las Gardunas when he got a wedding invitation—Gisele and Joaquin were to be wed the following spring. A sharp pain in his chest told Santiago that he’d never gotten over Gisele.
When Lorenzo suggested they get Joaquin out of the way, Santiago didn’t hesitate.
Lorenzo went with Santiago to Joaquin’s house, where Santiago shot Joaquin in the chest. They didn’t account on the gunshot waking Gisele up. In blind fear, Lorenzo shot her, too. Joaquin and Gisele both died that night and Lorenzo pulled Santiago away from the crime scene too quickly for Santiago to turn himself in.
The newspapers reported it as a double suicide. No questions were asked. Within the week, Santiago took on three new jobs as an assassin. Santiago took dozens of jobs as a contract killer for Las Gardunas, eliminating rivals, threats, and law enforcement officers as well as the occasional revenge killing. It was lucrative, but when Santiago was caught by the police, that life ended.
Santiago fled Spain’s legal system and moved to France to make a new start. He arrived in Paris after six months of travelling, homelessness, and hiding out in Andorra and southern France. He applied for jobs in nearly every theatre in the city and worked as a stage hand for several years. He secured a permanent position at the Opera Garnier, first as a stage hand, occasionally teaching technical classes at the Conservatory. At thirty, Santiago took over the stage management of the Garnier.
As the Garnier’s stage manager, Santiago whipped the program into shape (or so he likes to see it). He was tough, but mostly fair, with his employees. While no one would ever suggest that Monsieur Ortiz win a popularity contest, no one could say that he wasn’t good for business. Santiago incorporated Spanish surrealist elements into programming, which were wildly popular among the expatriate community that made up the bulk of the Garnier’s top supporters. He also hired many “questionable” talents, who—like him—were looking for fresh starts. However, Santiago’s restless nature dictated he say goodbye to the Garnier eventually. Even when he took the position, Santiago knew that being the stage manager was not the end of his career ladder.
During his time at the Garnier, Santiago’s past came back to bite him. After leading a relatively quiet existence for years, one of his former rivals—a Neta gangster—uncovered Santiago’s whereabouts and made it his mission to kill Santiago. The man snuck in during a power outage while Santiago was working late. However, that mission was derailed when Santiago and his rival realized they were not alone in the building. Rachel Day, the chorus master’s assistant, had also stayed behind that night. She provided enough distraction for Santiago to kill his would-be murderer. Since then, Santiago has killed three other men who dared to try to bring him back into the fold one way or another. Shortly after their encounter with Las Netas, Santiago and Rachel dated. Rachel, like Santiago, comes from a history of violence. Her father is a member of a New York-based crime syndicate and has been out for her blood for years. Santiago sees himself as her protector and although they broke up, the two remain close friends and confidants.
Another person who “discovered” Santiago’s new life was Lorenzo Reyes. Lorenzo came to Paris initially to propose that Santiago spearhead an expansion plan of Las Gardunas into Paris, however, Lorenzo had a change of heart when he saw how happy Santiago was with his new life. Santiago assumed Lorenzo returned to Malaga and found someone else to do his dirty work.
However, a year later, Catalina Reyes turned up in Paris, begging for Santiago’s help to find her brother. She told him that after Lorenzo left for Paris, he was never seen again. It was not unusual for Lorenzo to disappear for a few months, but a full year was suspicious. Santiago agreed to help Catalina find Lorenzo—all the while juggling his career at the Garnier.
Santiago eventually uncovered Lorenzo’s murder at the hands of Catalina’s ex-lover, Sebastian Ramirez. Sebastian confessed to killing Lorenzo because he was the “only thing that stood in the way” of his love with Catalina. Santiago turned Sebastian in to local authorities. The news of Lorenzo’s death was too much for Catalina to handle and she killed herself—and named Santiago the chief beneficiary of her estate on the condition that he leave the opera behind and continue working as an investigator. She arranged, prior to her death, for Santiago to receive a permanent license. This, of course, initially made Santiago a suspect in her death; however he was cleared of all charges. Santiago left the Garnier in his assistant’s, Bill MaCarthy’s, capable hands.
With some of his inheritance, Santiago has set up a small detective agency along the Seine and he is learning to job as he goes along.
Other: Santiago’s hands are incredibly callused from manual labor. He also has four tattoos—one of the Virgin Mary on his right arm, one of a dragon on his left, some script (“Mas dolor, mas valor”) on his bicep, and a pair of ragged wings between his shoulder blades. His oldest tattoo was made from pouring hot tar into an incision in the shape of Las Gardunas symbol. It is on his left ankle and is the size of a quarter. He also has a series of scars on his back and chest from multiple near-death experiences. Santiago is an avid smoker, with a habit of chewing the inside of his mouth. His greatest loves are his motorcycle and his dog, Lola. Neither his best friends—Myron Bolitar and Reese Cordova— nor his sometimes-girlfriend—Georgette Duguay—has any idea that Santiago used to be in a gang and Santiago sees no reason to change that
AI: Oliver Martinez
