A Closer Look
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blood
sanguis
"All causes shall give way: I am in blood
Stepp’d in so far that, should I wade no more,
Returning were as tedious as go o’er."
― William Shakespeare, Macbeth
MERCUZIO
Male | Mercurial nature | Medieval Italian
ODERISI
Male | Uncertain meaning | Medieval Italian -
B A S I C S
◖BIRTH NAME◗
Mercuzio Oderisi.
◖NICKNAME◗
He goes mainly by Mercuzio.
◖ALIAS◗
Quite a few, but none he finds important, and most were just to put a name to a rumour.
◖BIRTH DATE◗
He was probably born around the 12th century, but the exact date is not known.
◖AGE◗
Unknown, but he looks like he's in his late 20's, start 30's.
◖NATIONALITY◗
Italian.
◖RESIDENCE◗
London at the moment.
◖OCCUPATION◗
Bouncer at a local club.
◖ALIGNMENT◗
None.
◖BIRTHPLACE◗
Somewhere in Italy, he presumes.
◖LANGUAGES◗
Too many to count, he has had his time.◖RACE◗
Vampire.
◖ABILITIES◗
Enhanced abilities, strength, and speed ― whatever the vampire genes give him.
◖HEIGHT◗
1,95 give or take - he is just tall.
◖BODY TYPE◗
Big, broad, muscular.
◖EYES◗
A bluish green colour.
◖HAIR◗
A bit long, dark brown.
◖COMPLEXION◗
Slightly tanned all year around, something he luckily didn't lose when he was turned, though he's a bit to the paler side.
◖TATTOOS◗
None, though he has been close on multiple occasions during his military centuries, but he kept himself free of anything that could easily identify him.
◖SCARS◗
He has a big one on his cheek and on his forehead, as well as both minor and bigger scars over his body - and of course a faint bite mark on his neck.◖HANDEDNESS◗
Right-handed.
◖ZODIAC SIGN◗
Not sure.
◖SEXUALITY◗
Nothing really. He has never really thought about this, it has never had any relevance, since his plan was to simply marry a woman when he returned from war like everyone else ― he is quite oblivious to stuff like this now.
◖RELATIONSHIP STATUS◗
Single.
◖LIKES◗
Quiet times, relaxing at home, the nice sensation of a warm cup of tea between his hands (not the tea itself, though), warmth in general, physical training, running, moving, strong winds, reading, night skies, showers, having a place to call home.
◖DISLIKES◗
Technology (because he has a hard time following its fast pace, even if he has had the time to get used to it), thirst, strong smells, especially cigarettes, politics, something he's always found overrated, loud, modern music, parties.
◖FACECLAIM◗
Gaspard Ulliel.
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B A C K G R O U N D
"I learned to play the instruments of war, he said, and paint in blood."
― Cassandra Clare, City of Lost Souls
V A M P I R E
An eternal stage between the living and the dead.
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Mercuzio Oderisi was born around the 12th century in Italy, but he is not completely sure. The only thing that makes him sure he was born back then is the clear memory of his participation in the Crusades. He remembers that he was a trained knight, but do not remember how much he participated or if he was more than a simple knight – he only remembers the extreme battles, the smell of blood, and the screams of horror. The only other thing he remembers is that at some point he was injured so badly that he would not have been able to survive, if it had not been for a random soldier fighting for the enemy, who ended up saving him by transforming him into a vampire. He does not remember much from his first years as a vampire besides the confusion. He did not leave the other Crusaders, but when the Crusades stopped, he decided to leave the former battlefront, but he did not return to Italy. He began to travel around the world fighting for various armies as a soldier for hire. He has a hard time taking the different battles apart, but besides the Crusades, he is quite sure that he participated in the American Civil War, the First and Second Schleswig Wars, and both World Wars. By traveling around the world for centuries, he did not only meet some of the most famous personalities of military history, he learnt the languages of the nations, and was an eyewitness to some of the most important events of military history. When a war ended, he travelled until he reached a new battlefront. The battlefield became his life, but after the Second World War, he stopped. The meaning of war had changed a lot since the Crusades and his status as a knight did not matter anymore – he did not really understand the use of guns, even though the Germans used the primitive edition already during the Schleswig Wars, but during the Second World War, he realised that he could never fight like a knight again.
After the World War II, Mercuzio travelled around Europe and spent a lot of his time in Russia and its deep, vast forests surviving solely on animal blood. He enjoyed the cold winters because he could survive them so easily due to him being a vampire. After the wars he could finally enjoy the fact that he was immortal – of course he appreciated it during the wars too because he could not die, not even from the worst battle wounds. He moved from the Russian forests to countries like Mongolia and Serbia followed by China and Japan before moving back to Europe again. He settled down for a decade or so in France followed by a few years in the Netherlands. He had a hard time accepting that he was not a knight anymore and managed by working low-paid jobs while living in the streets, because he did not like to stay in a flat or in a house for very long. Because of his vampire gene, he could still look well fed as long as he kept sucking blood from animals and occasionally humans – he did not smell, look or seem like a homeless and had no problems with being hired from time to time, but at one point, he got tired of living as a vagabond. He cut his hair, shaved and got a nice suit and somehow a company hired him as a trained bodyguard. He ended up travelling a lot again for customers, but quit and moved to London a couple of years ago, where he got a job as a bouncer at a club. His height and width as well as his very serious, stern look made him a perfect bouncer. He has a problem with the music and the young people who party – he never really understood parties at all – but he earns money so he can stay in his apartment. He is slowly getting used to the 21st century, technology, and the life style of the younger generation. -
C O R E T R A I T S
"You did thirst for blood, and with blood I fill you."
― Dante Alighieri, Inferno
➣ S T O I C ▪ 1. not affected by or showing passion or feeling; especially : firmly restraining response to pain or distress. Mercuzio is calm to the point where it's slightly scary. He seems unaffected by most things, like he doesn't really care for much. Even in dire situations, he keeps his cool without any issues, making him seem almost inhuman. ➣ S T E R N ▪ 1. having a definite hardness or severity of nature or manner. Looking at Mercuzio, stern would probably be the word that comes to your mind. He simply looks and acts the part. Though he might be unfazed with many things, he takes his job seriously, giving him a stern approach to most things in life.
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔➣ P R E C I S E ▪ 1. exactly or sharply defined or stated ; strictly conforming to a pattern, standard, or convention. Mercuzio has this elegant, precise feeling around him. Everything he does seems to be just right, every movement precisely measured to fit the action, almost like everything works in slowmotion, probably a habit from his battle years. ➣ S T E A D F A S T ▪ 1. firm in belief, determination, or adherence : loyal. Mercuzio has a strong sense of belief in others and things, though he has been proven wrong many times. He easily stands his ground if needed, and it's clear when he's not going to budge, physically and with principals. Though everything changes around him, he rarely does so. -
A P P E A R A N C E
"Fresh blood at midnight isn't red. It's a purplish black that easily blends into the shadows."
― Karen Chance, Midnight's Daughter
Mercuzio himself looks like he is in his late 20’s, early 30's, even though he is a lot older than that. He is a quiet person mostly because he has nothing in common with ‘his generation’. He was trained to fight, and conversations were not a part of his normal life before, so he still needs to learn how to open up to people. He is a scarred man – both mentally and physically. He does not have many visible scars besides one along his chin and one on his forehead, but his upper and lower body is covered in minor as well as a few bigger scars, but he does not show them off to people. He often seems a little bit cold towards others; some see it as arrogance, others see it as simple as a bad attitude. He is definitely not a people’s person, but he has nothing against his job as the one who kicks annoying people out of a club. He never touches the alcohol at the club. He rarely drinks or eats human beverages and food because no one is watching him during the day, and he cannot take the smell of cigarettes. He hunts when he is not at work. He mainly drinks animal blood, which makes him more humane than other vampires but also a lot weaker, but sometimes he takes the chance and attacks people. When he chooses humans as his prey, he is outside of London just to make sure. At day he mostly stays inside but sometimes goes out only to wander around – if some of his colleagues from the club see him and try to talk to him, he gets quite awkward; he is just awkward around humans in general which is his greatest struggle as a vampire. Other vampires often see him as a loser because of his blood habits, but also because he normally has nothing to do with other vampires. -
S I G N A T U R E
