Scratch
From Changeling Venue
| Seeming | Wizened Chirurgeon |
|---|---|
| Court | Autumn Court •••• |
| Freehold | N/A |
| Player | Anthony Fuentes |
Contents |
The Long Road...
Alias(es): Scratch
Real Name: Sgt. Nathaniel D. Hobbes
Age: 37
Concept: Former Combat Medic, now local "physician"
Entitlement: N/A
Physical Description: Scratch is a pretty unassuming man, save for the gash and eye patch - and surly attitude. Relatively short, he keeps himself well kept but tends to wear slightly dated fashions of his youth. Though because of the modern times - he actually fits right in. However he is usually not without his dogtags or jacket. There were the only real keepsakes that survived his time in Faerie - and some say that he keeps them as a cruel reminder to himself of what true fear is.
A Bitter Hate or a Fearful Revelation?
There isn't much to say about the Wizened know only as "Scratch". When he first appeared in Arizona, his clothing were in shambles and the look in his eyes spoke of the same Arcadian horrors that many had faced in Faerie. However, there was something else - the look of fear. That look was shared by many prisoners of war during the Vietnam War. It was deduced, and later confirmed by Scratch himself that he had been drafted as a field medic during the height of the Vietnam War.
During his time there - he and his entire unit was cut off and they were forced to make their way back on their own. Over time, with the VC picking them off - hope demished and baser instincts set in. After one such attack - as they scattered, they fell into another Hell - Faerie.
Unable to fight except by tooth and nail, they were overtaken. Much like the VC, he - like many others soldiers were kept in cages. Looking around, he saw soldiers of all types boxed in like animal - many of which were of his own unit. It was then that he met his Keeper. Seeing that he was a man of medicine - "Charlie" forced Hobbes to treat his "men", though Hobbes could never really call them that. To him, they were ALL just "Charlie"...all of them. Reluctantly, he worked on them. Then one day - he didn't care. He let it die. He was beaten. He was tortured. Charlie came out and grabbed PFC Adams from the cage. Adams' screamed...and screamed as Charlie did surgery of his own. "Disassembling the man at his base, shows the foundation of a man's heart," Charlie said as he laid pieces of Adams before Hobbes. If Hobbes let another die, another one of his men would suffer Adams' fate. He lost it, but so many looked at him with horror and desperation. So Hobbes worked diligently to keep them alive. The bodies seem to piled up and they kept him going as Charlie was fighting a war of his own. More prisoners were brought in - some soldiers, and other unfortunates thrust into bamboo cages. He saw their eyes. Hobbes watched and continued to work. His hands stained with blood. This was his hell - then he lost his eye.
Then one day there was an explosion. Hobbes couldn't see what was happening. All he saw was that door to his cage was blown open. Grabbing the hands of his fellow prisoners, they ran. They ran through the thorns and got separated among its thorny embraced. He ran away from the rain and smell of trees and foliage. He ran where it didn't rain, where it was warm. That is how he ended up in Arizona.
Like many others - he tends not to speak of his experiences of the war, much less his time in Faerie. Besides his seeming - he also walked away with another mark of Arcadia - his time there also took his right eye. A long gash of a scar is only partially hidden behind an eye patch.
History Wishing it Was Fiction
Basic Timeline:
- Gets drafted in the Vietnam War in 1970
- Unit gets lost in the Hedge in 1973
- Escapes from the P.O.W. Camp - arrives in Arizona 1991
Current Activities:
Now a days, he serves the Autumn Court as a physician - and any of those in Phoenix who are willing to deal with his moody nature and rough exterior. Those that do bear the thick skin often find his company and attitude either sharply welcoming or confused. Some have marked this as a result of the war itself. Making his home in the famous and haunted San Carlos Hotel in downtown Phoenix, Scratch keeps the Lost of the Valley alive - or at least walking.
Due to a Wyrdmite infestation, he has been forced to relocate out of his long time home. Moving on the otherside of the valley & into the city of Chandler's VFW Post - he continues his "practice". Also, after saving Anomaly Jones from the brink of death, Scratch settled his long standing feud with the current Autumn King - David Orion. Though he hasn't sworn to the Freehold, he has been coming around more so than often. However, part of that is rumored to be because of Azlene Mooga as aparently they knew each other from before they were respectively taken. How they deal with the cards they have been dealt remains to be seen.
A Family...
It was said that Scratch once had one...but no one knows what happened...or if they were just made up to keep himself from feeling lonely.
Friends?
-Azlene Mooga - She's alive...I don't know what now...
-Bolgra - She's older than dirt...nice old lady.
-Morgana Damphair - The Bishop may be a Wintery Bitch...but she tries...sometimes its all you can do.
-Pyotr Koud Hart - Petey? Yeah, he's a pretty sonuvabitch...but he's got something behind those little eyes...
To Loathe
To Scratch, loathing is a not just a hobby - but a lifestyle. There are many who loathe, but its better to loathe them in person rather than be juvenile about it and write it on a wall.
Quotes...and sometimes just Shit-talking
"I trust everyone. It's the devil inside them that I don't trust."
-John Bridger (Donald Sutherland), The Italian Job
"Before...I had loved Nathaniel. But I am no more his Jo then he is my Nathaniel."
-Azlene Mooga
Rumors & the Insecure Words of Others
-In the San Carlos Hotel, one can sometimes here him yelling in the middle of the night screaming and calling out names.
-He was in love before the war - but has never spoken of that person.
-He cannot stand being in enclosed spaces as it reminds him of bamboo cages.
-His fetch did not survive the war.
-His dreams are often violent and offer no solace while he sleeps.
-He refuses to pick up a gun any more.
-His entire unit was lost with him and may or may not be alive today.
-His Keeper removed his eye for trying to escape while in Faerie.
-His Keeper still has his eye and Scratch has sworn to retrieve it.
Out of Character Information
Scratch is portrayed by Anthony Fuentes
Camarilla #: US2002021852
He is located in the Southwest Region and currently within the domain of Dead Man's Hand, in Arizona.
He is also the current SW ARST Lost for the Region.
Author's Notes
Scratch developed out of my love of M*A*SH & other wartime films (both comedies and drama) of the 50s to 70s. Below were some of the inspirations that I took from. Some of them were the attitude, while others came from roots and compassion that each character carried - yes, even the cartoon inspiration. That is not to say that he is mixture of forces...but rather a mixture of the best and worst of these ideals.
Those He Walked the Path With
-Jacob Singer played by Tim Robbins in Jacob's Ladder
-Hannibal Lecter played by Anthony Hopkins in Red Dragon
-Life Line as seen on GI Joe
-"Hawkeye" Pierce played by Donald Sutherland & Alan Alda on M*A*S*H
-Dr. Perry Cox played by John C. McGinley in Scrubs
-Janitor played by Neil Flynn in Scrubs
Sounds in the Silence
-Fortunate Son by Creedence Clearwater Revival
-Stairway to Heaven by Led Zepplin
-Suicide is Painless by Mike Altman
-American Pie by Don McLean
-No Sympathy for the Devil by The Rolling Stones
-Don't Fear the Reaper by The Blue Oyster Cult
-Riders of the Storm by The Doors
-Strange Face of Love by Tito & Tarantula
A Bitter Hate
(courtsey of Live Journal)
Below is a collection of stories of incidents in Scratch's life. They are more or less there for entertainment value and to get an idea of the story I am trying to create with the character. I hope you enjoy them.
http://scratch-md.livejournal.com/
