Name: Mercer EnturaMercer: Name meaning merchant
Entura: From Ventura, meaning fortune
Blood colour: #0040b3
Gender: Male
Symbol: Star
Profile: Mercer is a troll motivated by the simple things, namely money, lots of attention, and going fast. Really fast.
A shamelessly indulgent adrenaline junkie, Mercer likes to live life fast and loose. He thrives off the rush of danger, and is always looking for ways to add a little extra excitement to his daily life. In his spare time he enjoys playing sports and other cooperative games (he is very much a team player when he wants to be), but also engages high risk recreational activities. He’s gotten his fair share of bumps and bruises as a result, but that hasn’t slowed him down. His worst enemy is boredom.
Mercer’s other pursuits are far less legal. Or at least morally dubious. Thanks to the influence of his lusus, he has developed some bad habits. Cheating, lying, sleight of hand—they all come as easily as breathing to him. He gets thrill out of stealing, even though he could more than afford what he takes, but that’s irrelevant. The whole point is whether or not he can get away with it.
While Mercer is (for the most part) out for himself, he knows the value of allies. He has a natural charisma that enables him to make good with others using little to no effort. When he needs to, he can turn on the charm and flatter the fins off a seadweller. Compliments are just another currency in his mind. Otherwise, he might trying playing stupid or pitiful to get what he wants if he thinks he has a willing audience.
When worst comes to worst and things start to look dicey, Mercer skedaddles. He has nothing against the Alternian form of conflict resolution, but he personally would rather be as far removed from it as possible. Friendly wrestling? Sure thing. He doesn't mind taking a few hits in the name of good sport. But the second it goes from friendly competition to grudge match to potential death arena, Mercer is out. Ultimately, he's not going to risk his exoskeleton if it isn't fun.
Mercer loves to show-off. He has no qualms about using his super speed to make himself look good… however he does not show off his ability itself. Mercer recognises that his speed gives him a hidden advantage over other trolls, and it’s an advantage he is loathe to lose. So, instead he plays it off like luck or just sheer talent, while he is in fact cheating at hyperspeed.
Thanks to the hoarding tendencies of his lusus, Mercer is always on the lookout for new trophies. His hobbies are a constant revolving door. He picks something up just long enough to understand how it works and build up a skill set, and then he applies those skills towards competitions, cheating to win if he has to. However if the ribbon isn't blue, Mercer isn't interested. As a general rule, he doesn't like to work at anything for too hard for too long. Most times following failure, he'll move onto the next thing and absorb himself in that, rather than contemplate on his losses. His hive is a testament to this. Not only does it house the trophies of his various victories, but also the forgotten tools of his discarded interests.
Though Mercer practises being a jack-of-all-trades, his primary interest lies in motor racing. Scuttle buggies, motorboats, spaceships, he finds something indescribably appealing to the sport. Sure, his own power lets him go as fast as he wants, but it’s not the same thing. He loves to watch live races when he can find them, and knows all the big names in the industry as well as all the specs. Of course he wants to race himself, his age makes that difficult. Even so, he keeps his own hot rod, which he cares for diligently. Otherwise he contents himself by collecting Sizzle Disks modelled after the latest, fastest scuttle rods.
He doesn’t think much about the hemospectrum, given his position on it. Lowbloods should spend less time worrying about politics and more time just doing whatever they want. Anyone can make it if they try.
Strengths:
Laidback: Mercer doesn’t sweat the details—or much of anything. He keeps his cool in high-stress situations and is difficult to spook or rattle. Even when annoyed, he’s not one to let his temper get the better of him.
Smooth-Talking: Though young, Mercer has an intuitive grasp of conversation and subtle social cues. Adaptable to all kinds of situations, he has a way of ingratiating himself to others, either through sheer confidence, flattery, or mirroring. Lying comes as second nature to him.
Opportunist: Where Mercer sees an opportunity he takes it, even if taking advantage of said opportunity might be slightly illegal.. He knows that no important never got anywhere anywhere without taking a little risk. He has a good sense for when and where to make a move.
Flaws:
Addictive: Once hooked, Mercer is easily caught. He cannot resist a little rush in his life, and will engage in risky or self-destructive behaviour if it’s presented the right way. He tends to prioritise his interests and obsessions above all else.
Double-Dealing: The face that Mercer shows to the rest of the world is rarely his real face. He has no qualms about taking advantage of others if it suits his personal agenda. As a result he struggles to maintain long-term friendships, as he tends to view his relationships as expendable.
Careless: The flipside to being laidback, Mercer does not recognise problems for what they are: actual problems. Reliant on his blue blood and silver tongue to provide an escape, he procrastinates on resolving issues until they escalate.
Weapon: While superspeed would lend itself well to close-quarters combat, Mercer would rather not have anything to do with it if he can help it. Instead he would prefer to keep as much distance as possible between him and his opponent. He dual wields a pair of laser pistols.
Appearance: Star boi
Home: An estate just outside of New Hemisect downtown. The street view of his home is modern and chic; while it is not as grand or sprawling as some of his neighbours’, it makes up for it in class. A brickwork driveway curves through a well-manicured lawn, and around a tall-spraying fountain. The hedges and lawn are maintained by a crew of robotic groundskeepers.
The front side of the hive is open for all to see. Window walls, installed with auto tint tech for the daylight hours, show off a pristine and almost minimalist interior. Plush, white carpet, huge vacuums of unoccupied space, comfortable leather furniture, displays of useless but expensive art and decor that the rich are so inclined towards, and of course trophies—even the nutrition block is spotless. The only thing they don’t show is the hive’s state of the art alarm system.
From the street, the hive only appears to have two stories, but below ground there are two additional levels. Downstairs is actual living space. It is considerably less looked after than the above, a mixture of organised chaos and just genuine, sloppiness. Below, Mercer has his respite block, rumpus block, a secondary nutrition block (crumbs everywhere), ablution block, a theatre, trophy block, workshop, gym, and of course garage. At the moment the latter only houses one vehicle, but there is room for more. Cleaning robots come down once a week to tidy the place up.
Lusus: Gatormama, a furry, six-legged, pocket-sized alligator with a protective bony, crest between her eyes.
She is well-adapted to city life, her powerful claws lending her more than enough purchase to scale New Hemisect’s hivestems. She employs this ability quite often, as any window or door left ajar might as well have a sign saying, “Come on in; take what you like!”. She has a fondness for gold and board games, and in the case of the latter particularly those which involve dice. However most game pieces inevitably find their way into her stomach. In the case of gold, she keeps her own personal trophy collection, which serves as a nesting, grooming, and bathing place.
Gatormama has a excitable, if forceful personality. Though not overbearing, she is eager to share her skills with her charge, and curious to see what he’ll do with them. So far, he has not disappointed her. More often than not, she finds herself impressed with his ingenuity.
Though small, Gatormama is formidable. Her jaws are more than capable of crushing bone and/or taking off a limb. She also has six claws attached to each of her six adorable feet that can pierce most surfaces, including, most importantly, flesh.
Power: Shooting Star
Mercer is fast. Not just olympic sprinter fast; try like- a-comet fast. He can only do so for short bursts, no more than a second at a time, but he can reach up to (and even exceed when he puts in the effort) the speed of sound.
During this time, his perception is heightened so that the world around him appears to be at a stand still, or simply moving in slow motion. He also gains temporary immunity to effects of gravitational force, inertia, and blunt-force trauma from interacting with slower-moving/stationary objects. This only applies while he accelerates near sonic speeds or faster.
