Post by romano on Jan 5, 2011 12:19:47 GMT
• REPPUBLICA ITALIANA
(MEZZOGIORNO)
(MEZZOGIORNO)
Name --- Lovino Vargas
Nation --- The Republic of Italy; South
Aliases --- Italy, Italia, Italia Meridionale, Mezzogiorno (Midday), Romano, Roma, Lovino, Lovi, Loviiiiii, that bastard why-can't-he-be-as-nice-as-his-brother Vargas kid.
Apparent age --- 22
Actual age --- 2285 when he met his Grandfather, 881 years for a tangible real sort of South.
Gender --- Male, bro.
|-|-The External-|-|
Eye color --- Hazel
Hair color --- Just plain ol' brown.
Height --- 173 cm (5'8").
Weight --- 67 kg.
Skin tone --- Olive.
Defining features --- Almost default perma-scowl on his face with a stray curl of hair that goes the opposite direction of his brother's. It is very uncommon to see him smiling at anything other than girls; maybe a sneer or two towards guys if he actually bothers to muster up the effort. It's done to the point that it's almost automatic for people to assume he's very moody when he's actually only bored.
Since he likes getting into fights (not necessarily winning them), Romano almost always has that random band-aid on his face or an untreated bruise on his body. Not only that, Romano has a certain strut which gives off an aura bordering close to 'Don't Fuck With Me', unless if he's around girls.
As for scars, he has a strange burn mark over his heart - signifying Naples - that hasn't healed entirely yet. Getting bombed more than two hundred times during the course of four years does that to you. Tattoos are still a subject of debate.
Additional features --- Romano is built more solidly than his younger brother, more likely because he's not that picky of an eater compared to Feli. Rather uncharacteristically, when he wants to, he can move very quietly - slipping unnoticed in a sea of people (really helpful if he decides to be a dick and pickpocket some unfortunate soul).
Sharing his brother's love for fashion, Romano dresses up neatly, preferring smart casual attire when he's not in his uniform. Even so, he still manages to look... Not so neat compared to his brother, and how he does so is still beyond anyone's guess. His clothes changes rapidly according to the times, and he doesn't prefer one style over the other.
|-|-The Internal-|-|
Personality ---
There are many differences between him and his brother.
There are – many, in fact, comparisons spanning the length of forever that Lovino would draw up between himself and the younger Feliciano. He knows this. He is aware of the many things which make them so – so different.
And this was one of them. He’s not nearly as poetic as Veneziano.
He is not as artistic.
He is not as kind; neither as friendly.
He is not him.
He isn’t likely to paint a gloriously colourful picture of the world from his point of view with a well-used paintbrush and a silly grin on his face: he is mostly unaffected by the Renaissance. Rather, his picture of the world has been, for a while now, in darker greys. It may be bleak to others, pessimistic to most - absolutely downright depressing for his brother if he ever knew.
Lovino takes little comfort in the assumed knowledge that he is able to distress the younger Italian.
His decisions are not well thought out. Most of the time the Italian is cowardly and opportunistic, choosing flight over fight for self-preservation. Even so, when pushed over the edge in desperate situations, Romano is able to steel himself to fight his way out of them. He is quick to anger, and when Romano is emotional he is definitely not above using violence if the need calls for it.
Involvement in the Cosa Nostra – Famiglia in certain places and certain times - hasn’t been particularly kind to his character, especially since the organization is deeply entrenched into his society. Romano feels intensely guilty when reminded about the Mafia and the problems they cause for other countries, particularly in Europe, especially his brother. His guilt is worsened by the fact he feels helpless against them.
Almost instinctively, he is distrustful of his governments, more so strangers, and doesn’t have a lot of faith in his bosses – as seen from the 62 different governments established in the span of 63 years. Those who do earn his trust will also learn to deal with his bouts of jealousy, no matter if they are brothers, lovers, family or friends.
It was just easier to be mean. Lovino prefers simplicity, and he prefers shouting his point across rather than using pretty words. Thus it can be ironic when he finds it the hardest to convey what he really feels about something he considers dear to him. He simply wants to mask these feelings he thinks are his weaknesses by being loud, brash, ill tempered and generally mean to anyone unfortunate enough to receive his attention.
It may be surprising then that he privately asks for forgiveness from God when alone, mirroring his brother’s devotion to their religion. He attributes this to Spain’s influence when he was a child.
Be that as it may, he is quite the gentleman to women. He can get particularly aggressive towards a man not treating his woman right. No matter the situation, he will always try to be courteous and polite to them, maybe even dredging up a smile or two. In those smiles lie the charm Lovino is all too happy to keep to himself – for he doesn’t exactly have the patience to put up such a front most of the time.
Why should he? After all, everyone pays attention to his brother. When they think of Italy, they think of the North – the Renaissance; Florence, Milan, Venice; cream based dishes and sweeter desserts. There is little comfort in Lovino’s better-known sauces. Even though South Italy has that much culture, that much art, literature, history, cuisine, better coastlines and beaches even, he just -
Ah.
What is not so obvious, is the little… Self-deprecation in the way he acts, in between his words acting as the parasite in his thoughts. Insecurity. He has this sort of – festering hate to what he is and what he isn’t. Comparisons between himself and his brother have long made him bitter – and somewhat expectant – towards stray, insensitive comments about how much better Feli is. After all, there are still the notions of poverty, illiteracy and crime prevalent, till this day, in the minds of those who think of the Mezzogiorno. The disparity between the two regions has always been that way even before, and ever since, 1861.
That is not to say he’s completely despises being together/unified/being Feliciano’s brother, because he’s fiercely devoted to the whole concept of a family. He still feels the unspoken, heavy burden of being unable to properly act out his role as an older brother as he has to rely on Feli. At least it means he won’t ever be entirely alone. Though he would rather shoot himself than admit it, he cares about what Feli thinks of him; and enjoys the times when he gets along well enough with his brother to cheer on their beloved Squadra Azzurra.
(He just doesn’t want to be left behind.)
Likes ---
• His food.
• Large families, especially loving ones. Extended families mainly live in the same house down in South Italy, while in the North it's mostly nuclear.
• His food. Seriously. He's ridiculously proud of his home-grown ingredients (though he's probably biased) and the fact that he doesn't need fancy techniques
• Cooking, like his brother, not that, y'know, anyone cares or anything.
• Tomatoes!
• Football. It's really a given.
• Siestas, but that's pretty much a regional hobby.
• Girls!
•
Dislikes ---
• Foreign food. Can't stand them.
• Germany always, always having to hang out with his brother. Doesn't he have like, that Prussian dude to hang out with? Go away!
• He starts sneering at Pizza Hut when he spots them in another country. Then, he professes how intensely grateful he is to God at how that thing has not and will never, ever, set foot in his soil. Of course after that he gets angry at people calling stuff from there real pizza, vowing to feed such perpetuators with the real thing if they ever come by his house.
• The Mafia, but acknowledges it as a necessary evil.
• Being compared to Feliciano. He gets it that his brother is better than him every waking second of his life, stop rubbing it in his face.
• Guys in general.
• Men who treat women like trash.
Fears ---
• Being left behind. The widening gap between him and Feli in terms of development has always been weighing at the back of his mind. He's not all that happy being forced to receive help from his brother.
• Having to confess or blurt out his feelings. Just, fuck no.
• He knows he's not the nicest kid out there, but he's still terrified of everyone leaving him for who he is.
Lesser known facts ---
• He's actually pretty good at pickpocketing. These days, it's one of those hobbies to pass the time, where he doesn't do it for the cash, but for the fun of it. Half the time he ends up giving it back; if the victim is an asshole he ends up giving it to charity; if Romano decides to be an asshole, he buys gelato for himself.
• If you ask him to explain about Italian food, he'll be happy to. Of course, you still get the customary 'You Are An Idiot' lecture. Push his buttons more to earn Free Pizza, if he believes you're in need of proper Education (for super effectiveness, proclaim you think Pizza Hut is the real stuff).
• First impressions are pretty much everything to the Italian, so he judges a lot from the clothes you wear.
•
Goals ---
• Destroying Pizza Hut. He'll be doing the world a favour, he knows this.
• One day being able enough to help his brother instead of the other way around.
•
|-|-The Past-|-|
History ---
(Proto.)
• 280-275 BC - Pyrrhic War ending with Roman victory, causing Magna Graecia to be absorbed into the Roman Empire. Hi, Grandpa.
The Gregorian Calendar begins.
• 476 - Collapse of the Western Roman Empire. Eastern Roman Empire still exists with the name Byzantine.
• 535-554 - Gothic Wars.
• 965 - Sicily becomes an Emirate.
• 1061 - Christian reconquest of Sicily.
• 1071 - Sicily becomes a County.
(<12 yrs.)
• 1130 - Kingdom of Sicily, a Norman Kingdom.
• 1197 - Start of Hohenstaufen Kingdom.
• 1231 - Promulgation of the Constitutions of Merfi (Liber Augstalis), to establish absolute monarchy and the first of its kind for a centralised state emerging from feudalism.
• 1224 - University of Naples.
• 1282 - War of the Sicilian Vespers, encouraged by the Spanish.
• 1302 - Sicily split from Kingdom of Italy, now known as Trinacria. Mainlain referred to as the Kingdom of Naples.
• 1348 - Black Death. 1/3 of the population is killed.
(12 yrs.)
• 1409 - Sicily officially added to the Crown of Aragon.
• 1443 - Naples follows right after the defeat of Rene, where Alfonso V united the kingdoms.
• 1458 - Eventually split the two kingdoms, Naples was given to Alfonso's son, Ferdinand I.
• 1494-8 - First Italian War.
• 1499-1502 - The Second Italian War. France and Spain invaded Naples with the goal of dividing Naples, but got into a disagreement and ended up fighting each other. Naples left to Spanish viceroy after Louis's defeat.
• Continuation of the Italian Wars, although involving Feli instead. Romano enjoys relative peace under Spanish rule.
(16 yrs.)
• 18th Century - Foundation to the modern Mafia spawns from discontent of the peasants towards corrupt feudal lords abusing their subjects. Defining moment in Romano's life, really.
• 1701-14 - War of the Spanish Succession
• 1713 - Treaty of Utrecht. Austria gains most of the Spanish territories in Italy and the Netherlands. This includes Romano.
• 1718 - Sicily occupied by Spain who is not happy with the treaty. Austria steps in offers Sardinia in exchange for Sicily, which Spain agrees to.
• 1720 - Spain defeated; Treaty of the Hague ratified the changeover.
• 1735 - Philip V of Spain invades Sicily and Naples, later gives the two territories over to his son, Charles.
• 1751 - Charles gives Sicily and Naples over to his younger son as he ascends the Spanish Throne.
• 1799 - Romano gets a brief stint as the Parthenopean Republic after Naples being taken over by French Revolutionary forces. Sicily is still under Ferdinand IV.
(18 yrs.)
• 1801 - Ferdinand compelled to make important concessions to the French, solidifying their stand on mainland Italy.
• 1806 - Naples under Napoleon.
• 1815 - Napoleon's defeat, Congress of Vienna.
Italian Risorgimento begins.
• 1816 - Unification of Naples and Sicily, forming the Kingdom of Two Sicilies.
• 1848 - Revolutions of 1848 swept through Europe.
• 1860 - Expedition of the Thousand.
• 1861 - Unification of Italy, though Venetia is still Austrian territory and Rome is under French garrison.
• 1866 - Austria-Prussian War. Austria told Italy to stay out, but Prussia came up to him and said, hey bro, lemme give you Venetia if you declare war within 3 weeks of me doin' it. Okay? Ignore Austria's offer of giving Venetia to you in exchange for non-intervention.
• 1871 - Franco-Prussian War where Napoleon III pulls out troops from Rome, causing Italian nationalists to pressure the government into taking back the capital.
• 1876 - Socialist Period. Continuing depravity in Southern Italy.
(20 yrs.)
• 1914 - WWI broke out. Italy joins after being persuaded by the Triple Entente in return for irredent territorial gains, betraying the Triple Alliance.
• 1919 - Treaty of Versailles. Italy doesn't get those territories agreed in the Pact of London, ends up being hurt, pissed, and generally butthurt at the world with wounded national pride.
• 1924 - Mussolini's march on Rome.
• 1925 - Start of Fascist suppression of the Mafia as a propaganda campain to win Romano's support. Worked for a bit.
• 1934 - Italy joins the World Cup for the first time, on to become the champions of the event.
• 1938 - Mussolini declares his support for Hitler. By the way, Italy wins their second World Cup.
• 1939 - WWII begins.
• 1943 - Sicily overtaken, people in the city of Naples drive out German forces, Italy joins the Allies but Hitler installs Mussolini after rescuing him from prison as a puppet leader to fight against the Allies using forces still loyal to them. Right.
• 1945 - WWII ends.
• 1946 - Referendum to abolish the monarchy. The South protested heavily against this, showing how much at odds the brothers are over their system of government.
(21 yrs.)
Italy becomes a Republic.
• 1950s-60s - Rapid development in the North, widening the gap between the two regions much to Romano's dismay.
• 1963 - First Mafia War.
• Mafia Commission dissolves.
• Late 1960s - Start of the Years of Lead, a period of turmoil where a lot of political assassinations happened, as well as acts of terrorism lasting well into the 1980s, with long-lasting implications (continued violence to this day).
• 1969 - Mafia Commission reestablished.
• 1977 - Worst year of terrorism.
• 1981 - Second Mafia War
• 1986-7 - The Maxi Trial.
• 1988 - Violent retaliation from the Mafia due to prosecution of its members and increasing defectors.
• 1992 - Italy declared as the "Second Republic" by political commentators after some institutional changes. Basically, Italians were pissed at their governments.
• 1993 - Founder of the European Union.
• 1994 - Berlusconi becomes PM for the first time. Forced to step down not long after.
• 1995 - Campaign of violence from the Mafia replaced by pax mafiosi.
• 1999 - Adopts the Euro.
(22 yrs.)
• 2001 - Berlusconi appointed as Prime Minister. Proved to be the longest lasting government of post-war Italy up until 2005.
• 2006 - Hello, fourth World Cup. Elections won by the center-left.
• 2008 - Prodi resigns. Berlusconi wins again and forms his third government.
• 2011 - A death caused by a bullet and a guy got admitted into intensive care after he was shot also, by stray bullets, during the New Years' Celebration. Fireworks caused garbage piling up in Naples to catch on fire. Romano, please watch where you're aiming next time.
|-|-The Style-|-|
Roleplay example ---
Liberation of Naples
1 October 1943
8:43 AM
He was just waiting.
He was just waiting for a firm knock by bruised knuckles, on that heavy steel door right across him; telling him – in English; American perhaps – to come out. Maybe they wouldn’t even be that courteous: it was war, after all. They might just barge in, hit his head against the stone floor, pull on his hair, rip out his scalp, make him bleed, and tell him – at gunpoint, exactly what he needed to do.
Lovino was perfectly fine with that, because he was perfectly aware of what war was. He was also perfectly fine with the knowledge he would spit on their faces if they ever did such a thing to him, because damn it -
- he didn’t fight tooth and nail against his supposed ‘ally’ to be treated that way. He did not rise up against – against Germany for four nights straight without any sleep, blood on his hands and almost shot in the head as he pushed that bastard out of Napoli, to receive that kind of treatment.
Involuntarily, he grips his shirt tighter when he hears a distinctive sort of rumbling – a i r craft - in the distance, thoughts spinning his head a mile a minute because those b-bastards I don’t want this I don’t want this I don’t want this I don’t a hundred and eighty -
And then it was over. It was nothing. It was a trick. A trick by those sick, sick minded people. The skin over his heart throbs, already expecting another burn on top of the hundred or so others he’s collected.
... I can’t feel anymore.
A good chunk of the right side of his body is numb, starting from the tips of his fingers, up his arms, down his sides, and ending near his knee. Sicily has fallen two months ago and he knows they’re creeping up ever so slowly, marching towards Napoli, because he knows that at the end of it all it is simply strategic. His right arm lies useless beside him and he has completely given up the notion of holding a gun constantly after the… Hundred eighty-fifth burn.
He counted.
There wasn’t much else to do when you’re constantly bombarded, constantly invaded, hiding in the depths of the underground train stations with other families around him crying softly for peace. Maybe even the occasional aqueduct or two if he went a little deeper, because sometimes the impacts were too loud for him to bear.
Sometimes, the only relief was to simply cave in to himself; shut his eyes so, so tight.
The loudest was hundred eighty-one. It was the fourth of August – and it was also the most painful for him, because it was the longest raid, with the largest burn -
and -
- and because when he finally opened that heavy steel door to look outside... He no longer sees his beloved church, his Santa Chiara.
Can’t… Feel anymore.
The breaking point was when that monster of a human ordered for his beloved Naples to be turned into ruins. It was a tactic, merely a battle strategy as that bastard Germany retreats. For them to even consider such a thing – his heart screamed, mourned at him because - how could they? From then on he knows that he needs to – do something. Anything.
And he did.
27 September.
He fought for four days straight, as numb as he was, against that bastard who was perfectly willing to burn him down because it was orders. He kicked, punched, screamed and pushed as hard as he could and finally, finally they relented. It ended just hours ago, and Romano hasn't gotten any sleep since. He was still shaking badly.
Since he isn’t as optimistic as his brother, he knows it won’t be over when they come knocking. He knows it wouldn’t be over when he gives himself up; wouldn’t be over when they finally make sure they land their boots in well and good into Napoli’s soil, guns raised and well ready to fire.
And when he hears yet another telltale rumble of incoming bombers – three, perhaps, he’s gotten good at this – Lovino inhales deeply, closes his eyes because there’s nowhere else to run, and in that irrational split-second of a breath as he waits for that knock on the door –
(or maybe another burn not another one please one hundred and eighty six no more)
- wishes his brother could feel his hate.
|-|-The Player-|-|
Username --- Max
Age --- 18 years bro
Time zone --- +8 GMT