A Closer Look
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"And perhaps it is the greater grief, after all, to be left on earth when another is gone."
― Madeline Miller, The Song of Achilles
ROMAN
Masculine | Roman | English
MALLORY
Surname | unfortunate, unlucky | English -
B a s i c s
◖BIRTH NAME◗
Roman Mallory.
◖NICKNAME◗
None, at least none that he would like to admit to. He was referred to as Rome for a long period in school, which was an incredible pain in the ass.
◖ALIAS◗
None.
◖BIRTH DATE◗
28th June.
◖AGE◗
He's 20 years old.
◖ZODIAC◗
Cancer.
◖NATIONALITY◗
American. At least as far as he knows.
◖BIRTHPLACE◗
San Francisco, California.
◖OCCUPATION◗
He's a parttime worker at a bookstore, which in many ways is ironic.
◖RESIDENCE◗
He lives with his mother in New York City.
◖ALIGNMENT◗
Himself and his mother.
◖RACE◗
Demigod, though unknowingly.
◖ABILITIES◗
Quite a few, unaware of most of them.◖HEIGHT◗
1,9 m.
◖BODY TYPE◗
Taller than most, surprisingly muscular underneath his clothes, most people would probably be surprised to see him shirtless.
◖EYES◗
A warm, hazel colour that's especially beautiful in sunlight.
◖HAIR◗
A very dark brown, almost black that he keeps short and fluffy.
◖COMPLEXION◗
White.
◖TATTOOS◗
He has a few and definitely wants more.
◖SCARS◗
None major.
◖HANDEDNESS◗
Right-handed.
◖TRADEMARKS◗
His constantly unimpressed expression is definitely his trademark.
◖SEXUALITY◗
He's pretty gay.
◖RELATIONSHIP STATUS◗
Single and perfectly fine so.
◖STRENGTHS◗
He would be quick to say that he has none, but he seems to be able to withstand more or less anything that he's put through. He stands his ground and fights for what he believes in and what he loves. He's an incredibly quick learner and as soon as he finds comfort in things, he will quickly excel. He can keep his head cool in even the worst of situations, his focus and observation skills are definitely strengths of his.
◖WEAKNESSES◗
His lack of trust in others is his greatest weakness of all, his general world view and realistic ― also known as pessimistic ― stance on life, being generally sceptical of more or less everything. His difficulty to open up to others keeps him from really getting close to anyone, keeping everyone at arm's length. His people skills in general is a huge weakness as they are almost non-existing.
◖LIKES◗
He likes being alone, taking long walks, especially in nature, listening to music, which is the only kind of noise he really enjoys ― loud music directly into his ears. He enjoys an occasional run, even doing workout, but it needs to be the right time. He enjoys movies, especially foreign ones, even if he struggles with subtitles, he loves art in more or less any form, tattoos, tea, cooking, books, even though he struggles reading them, he likes listening to them at least.
◖DISLIKES◗
Crowded spaces, too many people ― which is definitely great living in New York ― school, feelings too, they're just too much most of the time, customer service, bossy people, overly happy people, arrogant people, yeah, he definitely has a lot of different types of people that he really doesn't like. He prefers nature over urbanity and loud cities, once again something that goes really well with living in New York, but sometimes he can appreciate living close to everything. People looking down on him, judging him unfairly based on nothing but a look.
◖FACECLAIM◗
Matthew Daddario.
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B a c k g r o u n d
"I am made of memories."
― Madeline Miller, The Song of Achilles
BORN OF DARKNESS
DESPERATELY SEARCHING FOR THE LIGHT
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Roman Mallory was born in the golden state of California in the end of June, full of sunshine and blessed light. What should have been a joyous event was far from it, though. His mother, Amelia, was alone. Not only did she have no family to help her, but the love of her life, the father of her son, had left even before she gave birth. Even before he was born, his faith seemed doomed by the sheer sadness that had overwhelmed his beloved mother. Seeing him did lighten it all up, but the happiness was only brief. His existence was proof of the fact that she had been left by herself, even when she had hoped to the very end that his father would choose her. This left her not only with a raging pospatrum depression, but with a bitter hatred for herself, him, and even the newborn son that had no chance to make his case. She did her best to love him as she knew that he did not deserve to feel the consequences of her choices in life, but she was unable to love him in the unconditional way that he deserved.
While Roman was born in California, he didn't grow up there. He essentially never had a place where he grew up, as his mother preferred to move them around. They would settle down and then she would change her mind and uproot them once again to travel across the country to her next destination. He never knew anything else, but it left him with a lack of commitment, while his feeling of abandonment only grew with age. He always had his mother, but he was always aware that he did not have a father, since his mother never hid the fact that he left them. She would occasionally spew hatred about him, but never tell anything about him besides the fact that he left them. Once, she did tell him that she loved him and still did so to this day, but that she could never forgive him, and he simply didn't get it ― not that she couldn't forgive him, but the fact that she still had it in her to love him. He grew up both hating and missing this figure that he had no knowledge of besides the fact that he had abandoned him and therefore must have had no interest in him, no love for his unborn child. Even with this sense of hatred, he so desperately wanted to meet him, but it never happened. He had a period in his early teens where he would run away to look for him, but he would always return, even if it took a few days.
Roman was never the one to make friends in school. He was easy to pick on ― he was too tall for his age, he did poorly in reading, he was funny to poke at, especially as soon as they learnt that he had no father. This made him content with his own company and nothing but that, bathing in his own melancholy and solitude. He could spend his time drawing and listening to music, go for walks and be out in nature, go for a run, who knows what. It felt better, he felt more at home in the forest close to the ground than at school or at home. He knew that his mother wouldn't be looking for him anyway, so he spent most of his time outside or away from others. It was also easier since he knew that they would some day soon be moving anyway, so why bother making an effort?
Roman has always felt out of place and he still does. It feels like he should be looking for something, but he has already been looking for so long that he has lost hope. During his entire life, it has been filled with lack of support and companionship, while also filled with occurrences that he had no way of explaining to the point that it became normal. He saw things, experienced things that no one else did, and he just convinced himself that it must be something in his head. He never talked to anyone about it, aware that it was not normal, but he was not normal anyway. All he had was his mother and even if she was incapable of taking care of him or herself, he still loved her more than anything in the world. She might forget him, she might not care about where he was, but those moments that she would look at him and smile as if she forgot her all-consuming grief for just a moment was what made it all worth it. He knew that she loved him either way, that she could not do without him and that she probably knows as well, which is the sole reason why he stopped running away. In the end, hearing her tell him that she loves him is all that he needs, even if it's not much at this point. As long as she's alive, he has a purpose and that's alright. -
C o r e t r a i t s
“I am air and thought and can do nothing.”
― Madeline Miller, The Song of Achilles
○ G L O O M Y
adj. | gloom·y
Low in spirits, lacking in promise or hopefulness. Roman is an overall pessimist and has an incredibly gloomy outlook on life and his existence in general. He can rarely be seen smiling, he's generally scowling and keeping quiet, as he would rather just stay silent with himself than engage in meaningless conversation with others. He is overall not happy, finding it hard to find joy in most aspects of his mediocre life. He could if he made an effort probably, but he has no interest in doing so, just like he easily looks down on himself. He is not insecure, he's alright with himself, he just acknowledges that he's not that great of a guy. If other people had not made him aware of that his entire life, he is sure that he would have realised so on his own anyway.○ T E N A C I O U S
adj. | te·na·cious
Continuing despite difficulties, opposition, or discouragement. While he might have a generally negative view on life, Roman is prepared to hang on with everything he got. He has been told constantly that he is no good and while he might believe it, he is not someone to back down. He might not be in your face about it, but moving in the shadows is something he is rather capable of doing. It mostly comes from being incredibly tired of having people look down on him and even if it won't change their minds, at least he knows that he's fighting simply by continuing on. Sometimes it's as simple as continuing to live, continuing to support his mother where most would have given up. When you face opposition most of your life, it hardens you.
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔○ D I S T R U S T F U L
adj. | dis·trust·ful
Inclined to doubt or question claims. Roman struggles with trusting others. It's not just when he meets someone, it takes ages for him to trust people, trust their words, their actions. He has seen what it feels like to be taken advantage of ― since that is essentially what it seems like his father did to his mother ― and he has no interest in falling for such a trick again. Even if their arguments are logically sound, he is hard to convince, but the most difficult part is really getting close to him. He does not let people get close to him, believing that they will at some point turn around and lie to him or use him, so instead of trying he makes sure that it won't happen at all. He always prepare for the worst, and the betrayal of someone close to you is honestly as worse as it can get, so to him it's just protecting himself. People lie, that's a fact.○ S T E A D F A S T
adj. | stead·fast
Firm in one's allegiance to someone or something. Can one be steadfast and loyal whilst being as distrustful as Roman is? Well, in his case, yes. While it's incredibly, almost impossible gaining his trust and loyalty, he will do anything for those he believes in ― which is why he does so much to protect himself. There's only one person that he will do anything for and that's his mother, but he will also do anything, absolutely anything for her to stand up for her and help her. He has very few things he believes in, but if you manage to get close to him, he is incredibly selfless, the type of person who would gladly sacrifice himself for others. The only obstacle is the fact that he believes in absolutely no one and is rather sure that it will never happen. -
A b i l i t i e s
SON OF HADES
“You can use a spear for a walking stick, but it will not change its nature.”
― Madeline Miller, The Song of Achilles
Roman is the son of Hades, one of The Big Three, making him an extremely powerful demigod, only rivalled by the other children of The Big Three. As a demigod of the Underworld, he has control over all that is subject to Hades' kingdom beneath the earth. Besides the abilities inherited by his father, Roman possesses a few general "abilities" common to all demigods alike. One of them being ADHD due to his heightened senses and natural aptitude for battle, causing him to seem impulsive, restless, hyperactive, and hypersensitive in the eyes of humans, gaining him such a diagnosis. Another common trait is dyslexia, caused by the brain being hardwired for reading Ancient Greek instead of modern languages, making reading fluency, spelling, and reading comprehension very difficult. Roman is mostly unaware of his abilities and has mainly unknowingly gained access to them. He has yet to gain control of most, even realise that he has them.
| Geokinesis |
Roman has the ability to control the earth ― levitating rocks and making them deadly, black, and extremely sharp. He can open fissures in the earth that can swallow up creatures and trap them in the Underworld. He can cause earth tremors so powerful, they can shatter the pillars of a mountain fortress. He can also control the black walls of the Underworld.
| Necromancy |
As a son of Hades, Roman has control over the dead, as well as many monsters native to Hades' realm, such as the Furies. Besides being linked to osteokinesis, the ability to summon and control bones, this ability has a multitude of aspect: Power Over The Undead, the ability to reanimate skeletons, summon Skeleton Warriors, put them to sleep, and destroy them. This ability is not only frightening in itself, but extremely powerful as it literally allows him to have an army anytime he wants. Summoning too many undead warriors at once can cause him to become fatigued; Summoning Deceased Souls, summoning souls of the deceased by digging a pit, filling it with food, and chanting in Ancient Greek; Releasing Souls, releasing the souls of people that should have died but had somehow managed to cheat death; Telepathy With The Dead, the ability to communicate with dead spirits simply by giving off a warning vibe; Sensitivity to Death, one of the abilities that Roman has unlocked, but is unaware of its existence, is that he can sense death as it happens or when it is coming; when a person close to him dies, it comes as a ringing in the ears. He can even sense when an immortal is fading; Life Aura, sensing someone's life aura, allowing him to sense if it's flickering or in danger ― if death is closing in on others; Power Over Ghosts, physically manipulating ghosts, such as taking hold of them by hand or forcing them to be silent with a gesture; Ghost Transformation; the ability to kill mortals, demigods, and legacies by turning them into ghosts and forcing them into the Underworld for eternity, but this would take away a lot of his strength and may cause him to be completely fatigued.
| Umbrakinesis |
Another incredibly strong ability of his, Roman has the control over darkness and shadows for various uses such as solidifying it for attacks and to hide in it. Once again, this comes with a range of different facets: Shadow Travel, using shadows as a way of transportation; however, great distances can wear him out and might even fatigue him completely. Overexertion of shadow travel can cause the user's molecular structure to begin to fall apart, gradually turning them into shadows and lose themselves; Shadow Absorption and Dissipation, the ability to dissipate and absorb shadows with his weapon; Darkness Generation, shooting solid bolts of darkness and surround enemies in pitch-black clouds of lightless space; Darkness Shields, the ability to solidify shadows into virtually impenetrable shields; Invisibility, using shadows to cover himself in darkness to become invisible; Umbrakinetic Healing, healing himself and others using darkness, but only minor injuries.
| Hypnokinesis |
Roman can navigate through "the dark dreamscape" of dreams better than most other demigods due to the close link between dreams and death. This also gives him a higher degree of control over his dreams, the ability to astral project his consciousness, even find and enter the dreams of other demigods. He can also put mortals to sleep by sending deep dreams their way. He is also an extremely heavy sleeper at times.
| Phobikinesis|
Roman radiates an intense aura of fear and death like his father, but to a much lesser degree. This can make monsters back away from him. This can be further built up by feelings such as nervousness, anger, or sadness, as he then can begin to literally radiate death, building up the pressure of his aura.
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S i g n a t u r e
