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Oct. 18th, 2013 11:40 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
alwaysopportunitiesPlayer name: Ty
Characters played: October (2♠), Dani (6♣), Eden (7&diamonds;)
Character Name: Camden Garrett
Age: 39
How long They've Been in the Deck: 15 years
Face Rank Applying For: King of Spades (currently Ten of Spades)
History: Camden Garrett was five years old when his father Nicholas told him he was adopted. He should know, Nicholas said, before he started school; before he learned from other children, who wouldn't know the truth of it. He should hear from Nicholas, who had taken him in as a baby of six months, raised him as his own. As Nicholas told it, his birth mother was very young and unmarried, unable and unwilling to raise a child. His birth father wasn't in the picture, not a very nice man. But, he told Camden, it didn't matter where you came from, or who your parents were. Only what you made of your life.
It sounds very warm and fuzzy, but warm and fuzzy weren't Nicholas at all. He was a practical man, intelligent, a good father if a little cold. He provided for Camden as if he were blood, made sure his needs were met and he had the best schooling. His adoptive mother Victoria was a kind lady, if a little distant, a socialite by birth and the power behind several local charities and political chairs. Nicholas, an investment banker, had started his own successful firm and built it from the ground up to become one of the most successful financial properties in the Northeastern US. Camden himself was a bright boy, very intelligent, and if his childhood was a little lonely, his knowledge of his own origins only made him try that much harder to be the perfect son. To be what Victoria and Nicholas wanted.
When Cam was seventeen, Victoria and Nicholas finally had a son of their own. Camden, about to start college, had another talk with his adoptive father. He was their first son, Nicholas said, but Charles was theirs by birth. Charles would be the one to inherit his father's company, his mother's wealth. They'd make sure Cam had the right education, that he was cared for until he graduated, even pay for college if he chose that route, but beyond that, he would be making his own fortune. Cam understood. They had no obligations to him. It was only a logical decision, to save those things he'd been struggling to prove himself worthy of for their own flesh and blood. He wasn't angry about it.
Except he was, he so very was, and that rage led him to politely decline the offer of financial assistance or a college education paid for by them. The first and only time Cam ever turned down an opportunity, in favor of creating his own, which worked out infinitely better for him. Smooth talking and some ambitious leaps got him a job working in an economic planner's office while he put himself through college and the necessary exams to become a financial planner himself, and by the time he turned twenty-one he had a degree, several certifications, and the budding beginnings of his own investment firm. With a little careful nurturing, that little firm grew, and Cam never hesitated to take advantage of each new situation and every opportunity he was presented with.
Camden never met his adoptive brother. After he graduated high school, he never heard from Nicholas again, and Victoria only once: the evening of his twenty-third birthday. His business was thriving, developing an international presence, and the celebration (thrown for him by the latest in a long string of girlfriends and liaisons) was large enough that even he didn't know everyone there. He wasn't sure how she got in, who invited her, but one moment he was pleasantly flirting with a diplomat's wife, and the next he was face to face with his adoptive mother. She said nothing, only smiled and pressed a business card into his hand before vanishing into the crowd.
It was a few months later when he finally called that number. Apparently, Victoria had learned something of his birth mother, or at least where she could be found, and while family never mattered so very much to Cam, there were reasons enough to pursue it. A few months later, through an unnamed third-party advisor (third, fourth, fifth--even Cam had a hard time keeping track of who knew whom and how), Camden Garrett became a resident of the Deck.
It's been fifteen years since then, and Camden has settled comfortably into the Spades. He's no closer to learning about his parentage, but has instead only encouraged the rumor that he's an illegitimate son of an old Spade family who moved home after being educated Outside. What he hasn't realized, during his steady progression to Ten, is that the rumor is actually spot-on. Now, Cam has his sights set on King, and is determined to make something truly special of the Spades. After all, it doesn't matter where you come from or who your parents are--only what you make of your life.
Personality:
ur·bane /ˌərˈbān/
adjective
1. (of a person, esp. a man) suave, courteous, and refined in manner.
synonyms: suave, sophisticated, debonair, worldly, cultivated, cultured, civilized, cosmopolitan
Urbane is definitely a word that comes to mind for Cam. His manners are impeccable, at ease in both formal and informal situations. He can go from meeting royalty to rubbing elbows with construction workers without a blink, and has a knack for finding just the right approach to get someone to like him inside the first five minutes of meeting him. Sincere, responsible, trustworthy, cultured but not overly stiff. He seems like the type of man you can really trust, who smiles early and often, whose smiles always reach his eyes.
Really, he does mean all of those things he says, all those smiles he gives, jokes he makes. It's just that he also sees nothing wrong with taking advantage of a situation, of someone's trust in him, in calling in favors in ways that might not be in another person's best interests. Self-interest is really Cam's primary ruling impulse. How he can survive, how he can increase his personal gain, improve his reputation and better his lifestyle. This actually results in him taking better care of the people closest to him, too; the more he's likely to get out of any kind of partnership, the more he's likely to put in. Relationships are considered investments of a sort, and while he isn't technically dissociative or cold, he's definitely ruled primarily by logic.
Conversely, he's also got a temper. When things don't go right for Cam, there's a hot ball of rage that sits right below the surface. His self-control is iron-clad, but sometimes there are cracks. Cracks that can result in broken glasses, holes in the walls, and occasionally a fight that ends up a little more vicious than intended. He's pretty good about not picking human targets to vent his anger on, but if someone is specifically responsible for a colossal screw-up...well, better make themselves scarce for a very long while.
Why should they be chosen for this position? Currently, Cam works as a financial manager, handling a portion of the Spades' off-Deck assets and arranging long-term investments. He's got a pretty good sense of where the other suits stand as well, though obviously not in exact terms; still, people tend to talk, and Cam's always been good at listening and connecting the dots.
Cam can definitely be a little cold and may have a very ambiguous morality, but there's no denying his methods have proven to be successful. And really, he hasn't hurt anyone horribly along the way, not really. Taken advantage of opportunities, maybe, not hesitated even if there were livelihoods at stake, but that very same ruthless behavior could actually benefit the Spades greatly. He's proven himself a fairly talented leader, starting his own successful investment firm from scratch Outside, as well as running several profitable businesses on Deck. He knows how to delegate, how to manage, and has a knack for finding just the right people for every job.
His competence will definitely have a trickle-down effect, making Michael's duties easier, and he's more than willing to defer to Katya on current political matters as standing Queen; after all, different perspectives often give one advantages one might not have seen otherwise. Ditto with listening to the royals of other suits. He can make alliances and smooth rough edges with the best of them, all the while getting his own ducks in a row, make seeming sacrifices while putting himself in a better bargaining position.
The Spades have had their spymasters and their martial law; now it's time for a more modern sort of tactic, the financial approach to the dominance he knows the Spades can attain. He knows opportunity when he sees it, and while he can respect Clive's way with words, and with people, the current King has wasted far too many opportunities to advance his suit.
Character PB Billy Zane
Characters played: October (2♠), Dani (6♣), Eden (7&diamonds;)
Character Name: Camden Garrett
Age: 39
How long They've Been in the Deck: 15 years
Face Rank Applying For: King of Spades (currently Ten of Spades)
History: Camden Garrett was five years old when his father Nicholas told him he was adopted. He should know, Nicholas said, before he started school; before he learned from other children, who wouldn't know the truth of it. He should hear from Nicholas, who had taken him in as a baby of six months, raised him as his own. As Nicholas told it, his birth mother was very young and unmarried, unable and unwilling to raise a child. His birth father wasn't in the picture, not a very nice man. But, he told Camden, it didn't matter where you came from, or who your parents were. Only what you made of your life.
It sounds very warm and fuzzy, but warm and fuzzy weren't Nicholas at all. He was a practical man, intelligent, a good father if a little cold. He provided for Camden as if he were blood, made sure his needs were met and he had the best schooling. His adoptive mother Victoria was a kind lady, if a little distant, a socialite by birth and the power behind several local charities and political chairs. Nicholas, an investment banker, had started his own successful firm and built it from the ground up to become one of the most successful financial properties in the Northeastern US. Camden himself was a bright boy, very intelligent, and if his childhood was a little lonely, his knowledge of his own origins only made him try that much harder to be the perfect son. To be what Victoria and Nicholas wanted.
When Cam was seventeen, Victoria and Nicholas finally had a son of their own. Camden, about to start college, had another talk with his adoptive father. He was their first son, Nicholas said, but Charles was theirs by birth. Charles would be the one to inherit his father's company, his mother's wealth. They'd make sure Cam had the right education, that he was cared for until he graduated, even pay for college if he chose that route, but beyond that, he would be making his own fortune. Cam understood. They had no obligations to him. It was only a logical decision, to save those things he'd been struggling to prove himself worthy of for their own flesh and blood. He wasn't angry about it.
Except he was, he so very was, and that rage led him to politely decline the offer of financial assistance or a college education paid for by them. The first and only time Cam ever turned down an opportunity, in favor of creating his own, which worked out infinitely better for him. Smooth talking and some ambitious leaps got him a job working in an economic planner's office while he put himself through college and the necessary exams to become a financial planner himself, and by the time he turned twenty-one he had a degree, several certifications, and the budding beginnings of his own investment firm. With a little careful nurturing, that little firm grew, and Cam never hesitated to take advantage of each new situation and every opportunity he was presented with.
Camden never met his adoptive brother. After he graduated high school, he never heard from Nicholas again, and Victoria only once: the evening of his twenty-third birthday. His business was thriving, developing an international presence, and the celebration (thrown for him by the latest in a long string of girlfriends and liaisons) was large enough that even he didn't know everyone there. He wasn't sure how she got in, who invited her, but one moment he was pleasantly flirting with a diplomat's wife, and the next he was face to face with his adoptive mother. She said nothing, only smiled and pressed a business card into his hand before vanishing into the crowd.
It was a few months later when he finally called that number. Apparently, Victoria had learned something of his birth mother, or at least where she could be found, and while family never mattered so very much to Cam, there were reasons enough to pursue it. A few months later, through an unnamed third-party advisor (third, fourth, fifth--even Cam had a hard time keeping track of who knew whom and how), Camden Garrett became a resident of the Deck.
It's been fifteen years since then, and Camden has settled comfortably into the Spades. He's no closer to learning about his parentage, but has instead only encouraged the rumor that he's an illegitimate son of an old Spade family who moved home after being educated Outside. What he hasn't realized, during his steady progression to Ten, is that the rumor is actually spot-on. Now, Cam has his sights set on King, and is determined to make something truly special of the Spades. After all, it doesn't matter where you come from or who your parents are--only what you make of your life.
Personality:
ur·bane /ˌərˈbān/
adjective
1. (of a person, esp. a man) suave, courteous, and refined in manner.
synonyms: suave, sophisticated, debonair, worldly, cultivated, cultured, civilized, cosmopolitan
Urbane is definitely a word that comes to mind for Cam. His manners are impeccable, at ease in both formal and informal situations. He can go from meeting royalty to rubbing elbows with construction workers without a blink, and has a knack for finding just the right approach to get someone to like him inside the first five minutes of meeting him. Sincere, responsible, trustworthy, cultured but not overly stiff. He seems like the type of man you can really trust, who smiles early and often, whose smiles always reach his eyes.
Really, he does mean all of those things he says, all those smiles he gives, jokes he makes. It's just that he also sees nothing wrong with taking advantage of a situation, of someone's trust in him, in calling in favors in ways that might not be in another person's best interests. Self-interest is really Cam's primary ruling impulse. How he can survive, how he can increase his personal gain, improve his reputation and better his lifestyle. This actually results in him taking better care of the people closest to him, too; the more he's likely to get out of any kind of partnership, the more he's likely to put in. Relationships are considered investments of a sort, and while he isn't technically dissociative or cold, he's definitely ruled primarily by logic.
Conversely, he's also got a temper. When things don't go right for Cam, there's a hot ball of rage that sits right below the surface. His self-control is iron-clad, but sometimes there are cracks. Cracks that can result in broken glasses, holes in the walls, and occasionally a fight that ends up a little more vicious than intended. He's pretty good about not picking human targets to vent his anger on, but if someone is specifically responsible for a colossal screw-up...well, better make themselves scarce for a very long while.
Why should they be chosen for this position? Currently, Cam works as a financial manager, handling a portion of the Spades' off-Deck assets and arranging long-term investments. He's got a pretty good sense of where the other suits stand as well, though obviously not in exact terms; still, people tend to talk, and Cam's always been good at listening and connecting the dots.
Cam can definitely be a little cold and may have a very ambiguous morality, but there's no denying his methods have proven to be successful. And really, he hasn't hurt anyone horribly along the way, not really. Taken advantage of opportunities, maybe, not hesitated even if there were livelihoods at stake, but that very same ruthless behavior could actually benefit the Spades greatly. He's proven himself a fairly talented leader, starting his own successful investment firm from scratch Outside, as well as running several profitable businesses on Deck. He knows how to delegate, how to manage, and has a knack for finding just the right people for every job.
His competence will definitely have a trickle-down effect, making Michael's duties easier, and he's more than willing to defer to Katya on current political matters as standing Queen; after all, different perspectives often give one advantages one might not have seen otherwise. Ditto with listening to the royals of other suits. He can make alliances and smooth rough edges with the best of them, all the while getting his own ducks in a row, make seeming sacrifices while putting himself in a better bargaining position.
The Spades have had their spymasters and their martial law; now it's time for a more modern sort of tactic, the financial approach to the dominance he knows the Spades can attain. He knows opportunity when he sees it, and while he can respect Clive's way with words, and with people, the current King has wasted far too many opportunities to advance his suit.
Character PB Billy Zane
