Sebastian Riccardi :: District 1 {DONE}

Sebastian Cyrus Riccardi



Male
Eighteen
District 1

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Nearly everything about Sebastian's appearance is a display of his comfortable lifestyle. From his expensive clothing to his unblemished complexion, his family's fortune is virtually embodied by this young man.

Physically, Sebastian is no great athlete, but nor is he scrawny and weak. Standing at a respectable six feet and two inches tall, his physique is best described as slim; he is by no definition bulky, but he still has a respectable amount of muscle from regular exercise and a healthy diet. Even so, he has never partaken in any heavy conditioning characteristic of the wealthier Career districts that other boys were forced into, so he is not quite as impressive as those around him.

Although he mostly considers his body and appearance to be but a tool to him, Sebastian has expressed a certain fondness for his hair. It is noticeably longer than most teenage boys', and the style itself is skillfully executed, choppy and feathered in an attractive fashion. It is a shade of brown so dark that it is commonly mistaken for black, and when combined with its natural thickness, it tends to attract and contain heat on sunny days. But even though it can be hard to manage and can obscure his vision if not swept out of his eyes often, Sebastian quite enjoys his hair, and therefore refuses to get a shorter cut.

Some people have extraordinarily stunning eyes, mysterious windows into the deepest parts of their souls. Sebastian is not among this number. He has learned how to carefully safeguard all of his emotions beneath a regular impassive mask, and his eyes are no exception to this. They are a plain, dark brown color, similar to his hair, and betray nothing of his innermost thoughts. Really, they are quite average and boring, and most people tend to pass over them when taking in his visage.

Thanks to his parents' vast stores of money and their proximity to the hub of Panem, Sebastian has relatively easy access to many of Capitol's facial products. With the help of these salves and creams, he has acquired a virtually spotless complexion, his olive skin free of any blemishes save for the odd freckle. Some people look at his carefully-tended skin and misinterpret it as a sign of softness and vanity, grouping him with the upscale, non-Career children of District One. But truthfully, Sebastian simply prefers to keep himself clean rather than allow himself to become sloppy in appearance, as he understands the value of an attractive face when trying to win a person over.

The entirety of his wardrobe is a tribute to wealth and riches. In fact, the most casual attire he has in his possession are slacks, a button-up dress shirt, a thin tie, and a nice pair of shoes. This is his most common outfit, although when the need arises, he has much more extravagant and expensive clothing ready for use. Sebastian feels that he has a certain image that he must maintain, and in no way can he slack off in keeping himself looking good.

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It is almost impossible to actually figure out the enigma that is Sebastian. Virtually everything he does is a show, a façade designed to mislead and manipulate those around him in order to meet his own ends. These tendencies make him a rather dangerous person even to the most wary of individuals, but most of the time, people are so drawn in that they do not even realize that they should be careful.

Above all, Sebastian is selfish. He views the world with a survival-of-the-fittest attitude, and is determined to be a survivor. He knows what he wants, and he will do whatever he can do to get it, no matter who might get hurt in the process. Manipulation is his middle name; an expert of beguilement, he can get a grasp of the inner workings of another's mind with ease and use it to his advantage.

Clearly, he is a suave person. Growing up in a wealthy family, he was exposed at an early age to civilized behavior and culture, and displayed a noticeable aptitude for it. Augmenting this is his mastery of language; with clever wording and delivery, he can almost effortlessly trick those around him into giving him what he wants, be it a tiny iota of useful information or a desirable physical object. Needless to say, Sebastian knows how to achieve his goals through subtlety and manipulation.

The fact that he is a genius should come as no surprise. With a staggering IQ of roughly one hundred and fifty-five, Sebastian's mind is a powerful one. Obviously, he utilizes this gift as a tool in his efforts to take advantage of other people. Besides that, he is adept at formulating strategies and solving difficult problems, making him all the more dangerous to those that he considers foes.

But for all of his smooth social graces, Sebastian actually holds a deep-seated resentment for other people and the human race as a whole. Even throughout his childhood, he had a difficult time truly connecting with his peers, despite his uncanny ability to imitate a bond in order to win people over. Even as he grew older and became the handsome and urbane young man he is today, he never made any close friendships with anyone, silently considering everyone around him to be below him. The one and only exception to this fact is his younger sister, Amber. In stark contrast to his attitude towards others, Sebastian loves Amber more than anything, and she is the only thing in the world that he values more than himself. She is the one and only true friend he has ever made, and growing up, he would do absolutely anything for her.

After losing Amber, Sebastian’s attitude towards others took a sharp turn for the worse. Rather than merely being polite while secretly brushing off everyone around him with no strong feelings about them either way, Sebastian deeply loathes all of humanity, believing that everyone is, at their core, selfish and monstrous. But never once has this burning hatred for everybody around him surfaced in his actions or behaviors; if anything, since Amber’s passing, Sebastian puts forth more of an effort to be charming and amiable, as he now places more value in the potential of manipulation and yearns to master the cutthroat art.

Sexuality is a confusing subject with Sebastian. If he had to identify his, he would dismissively claim to be asexual. Even so, he is not unwilling to go to such lengths with both women and men when it could potentially provide benefits for him in the long run. That is not to say that he enjoys it whatsoever, but if he had to choose, he would say that he finds having sex with a women to be more satisfying to him. When it comes down to it, though, he simply does not take much pleasure in sex, regardless of the gender of his partner.

One thing that Sebastian can actually be honest about is his passion for theatrics. He has always had a flair for the dramatic, and will often alter his plans and actions simply so they will appear more stunning and theatrical. This likely stems from his passion for thespian activities; he has a soft spot in his heart for the theater, and is an active participant in nearly all of his school's stage productions.

Aside from acting, several different talents have been at his disposal since his childhood. He is, in fact, a prodigy; it does not take much effort or time for him to master any given craft, especially artistic ones. He is a virtuoso of the violin, and is rather good at sketching and painting. But his favorite activity -- other than acting, of course -- is fencing. Wielding the thin, swift blade has been his only Career training besides regular exercise, and he has become an expert at it.

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Flowers of wealth have always bloomed on the Riccardi family tree. Mountains of riches have been passed down from parent to child for generations, never seeming to diminish, only grow as each new heir of the fortune augmented it with their own earnings. Needless to say, Sebastian Cyrus Riccardi was born into a rather comfortable situation. With a mother who was a popular fashion designer among Capitolites and a father who spearheaded a jewelry manufacturing company, he would have been among the most well-to-do of District One even without the inheritance backing the family up.

Many adults with such time-consuming professions simply brush their children aside, entrusting them to nannies to raise the baby to be a proper young lady or gentleman. Sebastian's parents were not among this number. Even with their tightly-packed schedules, they always managed to work in some time to spend with their dear little boy, and the three of them became very close.

But much to their surprise, a fourth was added to their number a mere two years after Sebastian was born. She came unexpectedly and, admittedly, was a bit unwelcome; Mr. and Mrs. Riccardi were loathe to cut off any of the sizable inheritance from little Sebastian by diverting half to another child. But they could not simply give her up for adoption for fear of tainting their reputation; and so, reluctantly, they accepted Amber Riccardi into their family.

Once more, they were struck by another surprise: Amber was actually a delightful little girl. Not only that, but Sebastian immediately took to his baby sister. This was particularly astonishing because Sebastian had always been such a distant child. He never made many close friends with the other children, and even with his parents he was quiet and somewhat withdrawn. But they were delighted to see that, for some inexplicable reason, he instantly connected with his younger sister. That may, in part, have been part of the reason why they happily accepted Amber as their own with little hesitation.

Years passed, and the brother-sister bond forged early in their lives grew ever stronger between Sebastian and Amber. They rarely left the other's side, always playing together and exploring the expansive district. They seemed to complete each other somehow: When Sebastian wanted the spotlight, Amber liked to stand out of the way. Where Amber was frugal and miserly, Sebastian was lavish and wasteful. Although they often seemed like polar opposites, it never caused any conflicts between the two.

Sebastian's genius was made known early on in his life. He was a prodigy and everyone knew it; he was always at the top of his class, and by the time he was ten he had mastered the violin. But this virtuosity came with a price: he was always rather quiet and never opened up to anyone but Amber, not even his loving parents. He grew up apart from his peers, admired but simultaneously avoided. This never troubled him, and he spent the majority of his childhood on his own.

Before they knew it, Sebastian was twelve and on his way to his first reaping. Even though he needed no tesserae and his name was only in the drawing once, Amber was still terrified that her older brother would be taken away from her. But with calm reasoning and rationality, he repressed her tears and made it through the selection of tributes unscathed.

Unlike other families in the Career districts, the Riccardi family did not force or even encourage their children to vie for a spot in the Hunger Games. But even so, they wanted to prepare for the unlikely possibility that Sebastian's or Amber's name would be drawn and no one would step forward to take their place. While Amber focused on the arts of stealth and evasion, Sebastian was enrolled in the more direct class of fencing. At this he proved skillful, which was only to be expected; the perfect prodigy was talented in practically everything he attempted. To keep him in good shape, they put him on a regular exercise regime, helping him to develop a powerful body to match his impressive mind.

Neither Sebastian nor Amber knew much about the other, less fortunate districts when they were young. But as they advanced into their teenage years, they saw what life was like in the lower districts, learned of the Dark Days and the horrible treatment the lesser citizens of Panem -- namely, the non-Capitolites -- were given. Although Sebastian had known nothing but goodness throughout his life, he could not help but be bothered by their crimes. This must not be confused with empathy; in fact, at that point, Sebastian had accepted the fact that the only other person he was concerned with was Amber. It was the thought that they could and would harm the people in the districts indiscriminately, and Sebastian could not bear the thought of anything happening to his little sister at the hands of the Capitol. That knowledge, that he, he sister, and everyone around them was nothing to the government, made him hate the Capitol with all of his heart.

His parents, on the other hand, had nothing against the Capitol. In fact, they would be nothing without the residents of the magnificent city, would have no one to purchase the products of their labors. It was because of their differing views that Sebastian and his parents began to drift apart -- not to say that they were not distant to begin with, of course. But this was merely the beginning; nothing could have prepared them for the trauma that was soon to come.

When it happened, Sebastian was sixteen years old, and Amber a tender fourteen, just growing into her youthful and attractive figure. It was late, and their lessons for the evening had ended. Since their classes had run later than usual, the two were eager to get home, and against all of the warnings that their parents had drilled into them since they were old enough to wander the district unsupervised, they decided to take a shortcut through a rougher part of their town.

It was there, on a deserted street, in the darkness between two streetlamps, that they were confronted by three strange men, dirt in their hair and alcohol on their breath. Sebastian and Amber froze up, startled and unsure of what to do. Their hesitation proved disastrous as one of the men suddenly charged, tackling Sebastian to the ground, smacking his head against the curb and dazing him. Between the man's heavy-handed punches, he could do nothing but watch with blurry and flickering vision as the other two men grabbed Amber and slammed her up against a wall, ripping her clothes from her body. Sebastian blacked out shortly after they finished their business and began going through their pockets.

He didn't wake up until late the next day. It was in that hospital room, a thick layer of bandages wrapped around his head, that he learned exactly what had happened. The three men, after beating Sebastian and violating Amber, had robbed them both of everything of value that they were carrying, and finished by ganging up on the terrified girl huddled next to a garbage can, beating her even more savagely than they had Sebastian. By the time their parents realized how late the two were and called the authorities, the two had been lying unconscious on the sidewalk for over an hour. They were both rushed to a nearby hospital. Sebastian endured, but Amber could not.

That night was a turning point for Sebastian. In the weeks following the attack, he became more silent and withdrawn than he had ever been when he was a child. Those who thought him a friend tried to reach out to him, but he would merely turn and walk away. No one ever saw him shed a single tear. No one could figure out what was going through his head.

Although he never expressed it outwardly, Sebastian felt as if a part of his soul had been ripped from him that night. He began to lose weight as he skipped meals and workouts. On the rare occasions that he spoke, his voice was raw and hollow. When not in class, he was locked away in his bedroom, reading or playing aimlessly with his violin. He rejected all of the therapists that his parents offered him, and those that they forced him to visit were met with nothing but cold silence.

This behavior went on for about two months until, before the dawn one morning, Sebastian awoke and, staring up at the ceiling, had an epiphany: The entire human race was shit.

To an outsider, this belief would likely seem extreme, and truthfully, Sebastian felt the same way initially. Really, how could the actions of three drunk lowlives be representative of all of humanity? But as he went about his day, walking down the street, sitting in class, eating his lunch, he looked around, watching the people going about their own lives. Each person smiled, laughed, played with their friends. But Sebastian looked deeper than that. He could see the selfishness, the malice that lay dormant in their hearts, the bloodlust locked away by their fragile morals, desperate to be released. And he could see that no matter what they were doing, it was all a façade to disguise their inner savagery, hiding their greed and rage even from themselves. Sebastian realized then that they weren't much different from himself.

From that day forth, Sebastian seemed to open up again. He smiled and talked to his friends again, went on dates with pretty girls, displayed a resurgence of energy in his training. Everyone thought he was finally recovering from the trauma, that he was going back to the charming young man he had always appeared to be. No one knew the hatred that boiled below the surface as he looked at his classmates, a friendly twinkle in his eye, seeing nothing but the worst things in each of them.

Time went by, and he became stronger, faster, more confident in his abilities. Even though he despised the Capitol, the people that so clearly embodied his beliefs about humanity, Sebastian could not help but notice a growing fascination in the Hunger Games as he aged and trained. It was not so much the killing that engrossed him; as self-centered and angry as he was, he felt that he was above the primal urge to kill that dwelled in the hearts of so many others. No, it was the drama that captured his heart, the grand scale of the show. It was sick and he knew it, but he could not ignore the drawing effect it had on his very soul, to be able to be in the spotlight and to achieve a lifetime of glory and fame. All were promised if he could just stay alive.

The attraction disturbed him somewhat. It was impractical to risk his life for wealth when he already had so much, and the honor that came with victory did not appeal to him when his family was already as prestigious as it was. So he drowned out the longing by focusing his mind elsewhere. He became somewhat famous at his school for repeatedly claiming the lead role in theater productions. He memorized and perfected entire books full of melodies to be played on his violin. He took up sketching and painting as a hobby. He shot up to the top of his class and held that position throughout his entire high school career. He was young, intelligent, and talented. His future was bright despite a tainted past. And there was no way he was going to let some measly temptation take that all away from him.

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