Name: Romano BaroloRomano - A type of hard cheese that can be paired with Barolo wine
Barolo - A type of wine, often considered the best in Italy
Blood colour: ██████████ #461063 ((i made him literally as high on the hemospectrum as possible without being a seadweller))
Gender: Male
Symbol: Grapes
Profile: Barolo’s interests are wide and varied but they always have to be entertaining. Barolo is here to have fun, whether that means setting garbage on fire and tossing fireworks in or sitting wedged in a corner of a highblood party mocking the snobby attitude of those around him. Understandably, he watches a lot of tv, channel surfing to find something that strikes his fancy for the night. Barolo believes in going with his gut feeling, meaning he caters to his own whims more often than not. If he’s in the mood for some bloodsport that day and there’s none on tv, then damn, guess he’ll just have to hunt down a brawl to watch in town or even set one in motion himself. But it can also be as simple as wanting something relaxed and soothing, like tossing paper airplanes off of the highest hive complex in New Hemisect and watching them until they disappear. Fun comes in many forms and Barolo considers himself a connoisseur of relaxation and merry making. Cheaper and simpler forms of entertainment, or the mass media enforced ones like Fiduspawn, while things he’d love to take part in, are looked down on by his lusus . Mama Mae considers these more plebian and inappropriate for Barolo, considering the availability and participation of the lower blood classes.
This purpleblood has an eye for aesthetic, one might say. If there’s one thing that interests him beyond entertainment and his vineyard keeping, it’s the arts. While they can easily be defined as a form of entertainment, he enjoys them more as eye candy. There’s a certain degree of vanity he was unable to escape from developing under Mama Maenad. His hair is kept in order, his clothing matched as per his own standards, and most importantly, his face unblemished. He’s usually not too high key of a person, but will have outbursts if this order he tries to keep is interfered with. He wants his house to look good, his vineyard to look good, and himself to look good.
Speaking of his vineyard though, Barolo keeps the starts of a vineyard on his ample property, just behind his villa. It’s relatively small now, something he can do himself with assistance from Maenad, but it has a great potential. Barolo enjoys fine food immensely, and plans to someday have his own business making grape products, like drinks and snacks, maybe baked goods? Barolo is lackadaisical about a lot of things, but his vineyard is not one of them. He tends to it carefully and dutifully, gratified by the fruits of his labor and eager to see the dream of a full vineyard to become a reality some day.
Obviously, Barolo is a little opulent, with his big hive, his groomed image, and his enjoyment of finer things, despite any dour feelings towards such a concept as bred by the overbearing attitude of his lusus. He does not see it as a “born right” to indulge and enjoy the best as his lusus puts it, but that doesn’t stop him. A difference of philosophy over the subject will not stand in his way of enjoying the best life has to offer. That’s fabric and decor, trinkets and supplies and sustenance. Barolo loves food, trying different kinds, and makes some mean quick breads himself when the mood strikes. Soft sheets to snuggle into on cushy couches and spend the day just watching tv. Rare trinkets or artisan wares that deserve their beetle’s worth. As long as he has the means to indulge himself or someone he finds to be good company, he sees no reason not to.
At the end of the day, Barolo can be quite possessive. Or maybe it’s protective? The line there blurs a little. With a lusus that likes to destroy his personal possessions as a means to impart a lesson, Barolo tries not to be too emotionally attached to his material possessions, as that road just leads to misery and bitterness. That’s not enjoyable at all. On the flip side though, the things precious to him like his vineyard are protected unashamedly, with any and every weapon in his arsenal. If that means tossing his weight as a purpleblood around to get results, he is not above it. He’s likely to exercise a similar sort of possessive protectiveness over someone he similarly saw as a precious thing or his.
Barolo tends to speak his mind, generally unafraid of backlash or displeasure from peers given his blood color. Mama Maenad insists that as a purpleblood, he is a leader whose judgment should be trusted and followed, but he mostly picked up one thing from those lessons and that was that as a purpleblood, he has a lot of privilege. He’s one of the safest trolls around, protected by blood color and the social norms troll society was embroiled in. In that case, why not say what he thinks? What repercussions? When left with empty space, he often ends up chattering bit, making disparaging commentary about this or that, general insubstantial complaints over anything or everything. A rather unfortunate, but amusing habit, as long as you don’t take it too seriously.
Barolo has a propensity for sharp humor, likely developed from his lusus’s habit of a constant harsh commentary over everything around them. He makes light of the insecurities he sees, poking fun at your worst habits if possible in a backhanded sort of way that can be quite hard to call out, especially thanks to his blood color. Most of his humor in those situations is derived from how upset trolls get over the smallest, most inconsequential things. If other trolls want to live their lives wasting time on being so self conscious and uptight, that’s on them. It won’t stop him from having fun at their expense though. Of course, he knows how to play the high class game, how to disguise his mockery behind flowery speech and niceties, a winning businesstroll’s smile and relaxed, self assured poise to smooth ruffled feathers.
Saying Barolo has had proper culture and etiquette shoved down his throat since wigglerhood would be a damn understatement. His entire upbringing has been embroiled in the highest expectations with what he’d call the pickiest most impossible to satisfy lusus on the entire planet circling his head since day one. Personally, he couldn’t care less. Barolo has no interest in being one the backbones of the social structure, no care for actually being an upstanding citizen. He’d rather relax at home eating fine food, enjoying the moonlight, and working in his budding vineyard as it pleases him. He’ll play the highblood game to keep Mama Maenad satisfied, but if they thought he was going to continue being a pushover about these expectations his whole life, they were a fool.
Barolo would rather have fun than restrict himself. Oh, he loves to point out stupidity, making sure everyone knows that he thinks an idea is poorly thought out and likely to end in disaster, but what’s life without a little risk? As long as he himself isn’t maimed, who cares about a few scrapes or bruises or even someone else getting hurt? As long as he comes out with no permanent damage and he enjoys the trip, Barolo is all game for by standing some adventure or stupid fun. He doesn’t care much for the hard work involved in these types of endeavors, but he loves to watch and make snide remarks. Violence and idiocy doesn’t bother him so much as entertain him, so much so that he’ll seek it out if he catches wind of it. It’s all a show, why not enjoy it?
Barolo himself has no qualms over the kind of company he could keep. Highblood, lowblood, it’s all the same, even if Mama Maenad insists differently. Maybe it’s a rebellion against his lusus trying to control his point of view to the point of excess or maybe his own observations, but what were the real differences between the blood classes besides social norms? What differences there were seemed pretty negligible to him, not that he’s had much experience with them. Mama Maenad is pretty uptight about him getting friendly with the lower class and the backlash from Maenads isn’t worth the outright rebellion. Not yet at least. Instead, he makes “nice” with other highbloods, taking amusement in their pretentious behavior and the collective self congratulatory stupidity of it all. It might have been birthed as a negative reaction to Mama Maenad’s over insistent praise of the higher class, but Barolo looks upon troll society and its flaws and laughs.
It’s the penchant for speaking openly and without shame that can make Barolo such a charming companion. Learned about social practice he may be, but Barolo slacks off in a lot of his other subjects, leading to some hilarious verbal missteps in his verbiage. Given that fun is one of his highest priorities, Barolo is equipped with a broad and robust sense of humor. He’ll say stupid things just because it’s funny, piss other trolls off just for kicks, make a satire out of his own poor education across broad topics. He’s open to playing the fool and does so with an easy smile, unruffled by the possibility of defacing his own name. After all, if you can’t take a joke, if you can’t see he’s making the joke, you’re the problem here. This sort of irreverence can make it hard to talk seriously at him or to realize when he might occasionally try to broach a sensitive subject, and even then he’s likely to brush it off with a well timed joke. He aims to irritate more often than not, but if he accidentally upsets someone with a joke, he’s probably going to try and play it off and soften it with more jokes than he is to apologize and ask what’s wrong. He flusters pretty quick when confronted with more emotional or sensitive souls, and is likely to abscond as quickly as possible or end up responding harsher than usual.
When you live with the incarnation of overblown bitterness though, everything being a joke might be the only way to cope.
Strengths:
- Unruffled - More frustrating than Barolos ability to rile other's up is his ability to take the same treatment, and worse, with an easy smile. He can remain calm and unperturbed in high tension situations or take criticism with an easy grace. It's a kind of ease of self that's hard to come by and invaluable when under stress or faced with dangerous odds.
Confident - Barolo acts with assurity to his motions. Even if it’s stupid or poorly thought out, he can present anything and follow through with it as though it’s a grand master plan. Having a purpleblood sure in his motions and his rightness, even if they are questionable, is ever a plus.
Astute - Barolo has a knack for keeping situationally aware. He would claim it just common sense, but it’s his ability to always keep his eyes firmly set to pick out those flaws that make it notable. He comes into any situation with a heaping portion of skepticism ready to hand it out indiscriminately at questionable actions, morals, or ideas. A keen eye like that is ever valuable in a purpleblood.
Flaws:
- Passive - Aside from some choice ventures, like up keeping his vineyard, Barolo likes to take the easy way of life. The path of least resistance. He tends to sideline himself, easily and happily, preferring to let others take the wheel and take the brunt of the effort while he sits back for smooth sailing. He might have to grease the gears to get something going, but one it’s in motion, he’ll gladly hand it off. This willingness to be a bystander isn’t quite what Alternia looks for in its purplebloods, unfortunately.
Nihilistic - Barolo doesn’t think a lot of things matter. And if nothing really matters, why not enjoy yourself? The only real temperance here seems to be is it going to be worth the punishment from Maenads, but otherwise, Barolo is likely to act heedless of any reason. This type of disregard can certainly lead to… problems.
Insensitive - Barolo is not someone you’d say is in touch with his deeper, more tender emotions. As a result, he’s not too sympathetic to the more shy or emotional types. Joking around, griping, and teasing are kind of his modus operandi, regardless of who it might offend or hurt, and he rarely thinks beyond himself before speaking or acting.
Weapon: Hand Sickle
Appearance: Convenient Reference!
Barolo goes for a casual look, something comfortable but still looks well put together. His hair is somewhere between a short coif and a side fringe, which Barolo lightens. His eyebrows are a bit rougher near the center, and arches back at the ends to have a little point. His left eyebrow has a line through it where the hair just doesn’t grow. He has sleepy sort of eyes and a few moles dotting his skin. His horns come out of the side of his head and take a slight downward curve with a smaller outcropping near the base that curves up. He wears a thin long sleeved shirt and an open purple flannel over top, both rolled up to the elbows. He has a pair of loose, pinkish-brown capris and pink sneakers. He has a silver and gold Trollex on his left wrist, and some loose gold circle bracelets on the right. He has a couple rings, one gold, one silver, and wears a wooden bead necklace.
Home: Barolo makes his hive on a large open patch of land on the outskirts of New Hemisect City. A generous few acres to his name, Barolo has the starts of a vineyard close to his hive so he can learn his trade. In the future, surely an impressive vineyard will take up the full property, but as of now, the land he owns is still relatively untamed, though there are some signs posted around the borders of the property to alert travelers that entering is trespassing.
His hive itself is a large, somewhat rustic Italian-style villa, or at least, that’s how an alien from far off might describe it. Lots of windows and porches with cobblestone walkways and decorative greenery lining the pathways. There’s a classy inner courtyard with a large fountain, fancy potted plants and statuettes, and no less than four awning covered tables. And that’s the inner courtyard. The home itself has lots of windows and doors, generally naturally lit with “Mediterranean” style decor. Barolo only makes use of a fraction of the place really, with too many respite and rumpus blocks to know what to do with them all, but Mama Mae wouldn’t settle for anything less.
Lusus: Convenient Picture!
The Maenads are a hivemind murder made up of one central, larger power, and numerous small workers. The central brain of the murder is called Mama Maenad, while the chicks are just Maenads. Mama Mae is a crow about 15 inches in height, covered in eyes and bioluminescent bubbles that appear, shift, and disappear at random. The surfaces of Maenads are the same, though size wise, the chicks range from 4 to 7 inches in height. Mama Maenad is the master brain of the murder, but each of Maenad’s chicks have some of their own unique personality quirks. They might enforce Mama Maenad’s will and be generally vessels for her will, but they each have slight tendencies of their own. Generally, the chicks are a bit spacier, not capable of the higher more critical thought that Mama Maenad is, much like the chicks they are. There are approximately 9 chicks at any one time, making the murder count 10 total. Should the murder suffer a casualty, Mama Maenad is capable of creating new chicks, which are produced through budding and take approximately a week to become a proper drone and not just a helpless baby bird. In the event that the brain of the murder is killed, one of the chicks will develop and grow into the new brain, allowing for the continued survival of the murder.
As one might expect of an avian lusus, Maenads takes fascination with sparkling and shiny trinkets, with a tendency to hoard. Luckily for them, their troll’s hive has plenty of space to store such baubles in. Also luckily for Maenads, Barolo has an ample stock of their favorite foods, fine grape beverages and hard cheese.
Being of the highest blood class possible while not being a seadweller, Mama Maenad has high expectations for Barolo. To Mama Mae, the hemospectrum is the ideal way of life for trolls, and scorns the social reprobates that divest themselves from it. A machine is only as good as its parts, and if some are rusty or malfunctioning they need correction or replacement. Those that would go against their social standing are deplorable and despicable in Mama Mae’s eyes, and they makes sure Barolo knows it. Given that, one can only imagine the kind of nagging and harassing Barolo endures under Maenads. They expect nothing less than perfection from their charge, leading to a near constant litany of complaints. Still, Mama Mae is sure that under her continued tutelage, Barolo will shape up, even if it means they have to get a bit physical with him to remind him of his stature. One day, they will shape him up into a proper purpleblood. When they’re not complaining about Barolo’s perceived flaws, they’re harping about anything and everything else. The weather, the temperature, the door that’s been ajar in the upstairs third respiteblock for a month now, the filthy rebels trying to disintegrate civilized society into pure anarchy, the list goes on. Mama Mae sees themself as a pillar of ethos, a learned authority, but at the end of the day, nothing will ever be enough to truly satisfy them.
Maenads is a very vain creature, careful to maintain appearance and propriety. Within earshot of other trolls, Maenads is a model lusus, cool, collected, firm but fair, regal. The epitome of a purpleblood’s affluent handler. That just means that so long as another troll is in earshot, they won’t be verbally reprimanding either Barolo or disparaging the other parties around them. Of course, as soon as the coast is clear, you can damn well bet they’ll have some kind of barbed remark to make. In situations like that, Mama Mae resorts to more subtle corrections of Barolo, like clenched claws or short sharp pecks with a Maenad.
Their biggest qualms so far come in the form of Maenad’s constant monitoring of Barlo’s movements and heavy handed control over his home life. If Maenads catches Barolo in possession of anything they wouldn’t classify as cultured enough for a purpleblood, it’s likely Mama Mae will shrill harshly at Barolo for hours on end while destroying whatever the offending object is in front of him. This sort of approach, while intended to impress the futility and wrongness of Barolo’s interests upon him, seems to instead be quietly breeding a rebellion against Mama Maenad and their ideals.
Mama Mae only ever calls their charge Romano, his first name. Perhaps in an attempt to distance interpersonal relationships from the often negative commentary that comes along with his first name, Barolo goes by his last name. Mama Mae of course sees this as a proper formal distance that sets Barolo apart from the common masses and approves of this decision, but for the obviously wrong reasons.
This isn’t to say that Maenads and Barolo don’t get along, Barolo often taking entertainment from the running foul mooded commentary Mama Mae provides, amused that any creature could possibly hold so much bitterness inside them. Mama Mae gets a dry laugh every so often from Barolo’s own scornful commentary, so long as it’s made at the expense of those disobeying social class or propriety. The more affectionate of Maenads like to snuggle into his neck while perched on his shoulder, and the mellower ones make good company for relaxing.
Power: nope
