character :: Joseph Gideon
Joseph decided, from an early age, that if he wanted something, he'd have to take it by force. And why not? His parents, although civilians in the lowly Trade Hub, worked hard peddling their wares each day until they had earned enough to buy the tinest store front right in the heart of it all. Joseph worked at the shop as a teenager, befriending another hellion that frequented the Trade Hub named Enzo, who, much like himself, got a bad hand in life. The two bonded over their misfortunes and Joseph, although joyful over the idea of being given the business when his parents passed away, didn't feel that things were moving fast enough...so he'd have to force it to move faster.
With Enzo's help and the promise of a hefty payment upon their deaths, Joseph attempted to act as as the assassin of his own flesh and blood but are caught by none other than Joseph's loving parents. They disowned him, wrote him out of the will and forced him out of the house, leaving him with no place to go than his friend's couch until a woman comes along, a beautiful, wealthy woman. Joseph uses his charm to romance the woman into a relationship and later marry but soon after, their financial problems begin. At first, her business seems to be hitting a small slump, nothing to worry about, but not even seven months later, she is practically destitute which is fine by Joseph, who has already moved on to a younger, more beautiful woman. Broken by his infidelity, she divorces Joseph and yet again, he finds himself bumming around friends' couches and various women's beds until a new woman catches his eye.
Claudia is a smoking hot gun store owner from the Tech region, with all the confidence and badassery that Joseph's been looking for in a woman but there's one small problem: most people know not to associate with the 'trade trash' that comes from the Trade Hub, they can't be trusted. So Joseph changes his identity, his entire look and claims to be from the Tech region himself, quickly working his way into her life as her new boyfriend. Joseph plays his part perfectly, getting to know anything and everything about his girlfriend that might be useful while courting her with all the best flowers (thanks Enzo) and gifts to make her heart soar.
But even through nearly five years of a steady relationship, Claudia refuses to allow Joseph to become the co-owner of the gun store, leaving him to work as nothing more than what he's always been: a lowly front desk clerk. But Joseph was still hustling on the side to feed his lifestyle and he'd just fake it until he made it. Rumors had been spread of a glitched boy that lived there that could unlock the secret to immortality, perhaps even the Creator, but the plan was botched from the beginning. Robbing the people of Countryside should have been easy, most didn't own guns and their schedules were very predictable. The men, Joseph included, tried to sneak in silently and steal the boy but the family, still present at the home, awoke and the fight ended in gunfire and Joseph could only flee the scene with the boy in hand, hoping this was the prize he was looking for.
I was just joking...
Put the pistol down
When he returns to Claudia, trying to explain away where he's been, the boy, whom Joseph though he got rid of, blows his cover. Joseph, thinking quick, goes back to his original story, explaining that the boy is an orphan, looking for a family after his was brutually murdered and Joseph had saved him. The plan seems to work: Claudia takes to the child very quickly and Joseph comes out looking like a hero. It's not until later that Joseph realizes that he may have given Claudia another heir to her riches and Joseph can't have that; history, as it tends to do, repeats itself one last time as Joseph preps for an assassination except for one very important change that Joseph didn't count on: Claudia. While most others might simply divorce him or disown him for his exploits, Claudia fights back and unlike everyone else, she's shooting to kill. She won't allow herself to become a victim and just like that begins the most dysfunctional relationship the Requisite has probably ever seen.
