[ Stats ]

Generally positive and amiable, he likes talking to people and making friends. He's fairly talkative and willing to lead/steer the conversation, but a genuine, back-and-forth conversation that both parties are interested in is the best kind, in his opinion. He doesn't like negativity and tries to steer the conversation away from those types of topics. He believes negativity is bad for the soul and thinks that one should spend more time dwelling on happier things. That isn't to say he's dismissive of people's feelings, as it's really the opposite; he finds it harder not to feel compassionate towards people, and that compassion sometimes hinders his judgement.  

He likes learning new things and reading, and he's open to hear other people's opinions/side of things, especially if it's about something he didn't know or think about much beforehand. However, he's been dead for 2 millennium and has had time to develop/figure out his values, and he isn't likely to easily change those. If something crosses his boundaries/values, he's very likely to openly state it. He doesn't like arguing all that much, though, because he'd rather not make anyone upset over differences in opinions.

Ever since he was a child, he liked winning things and getting the praise/gains of winning, so he's a bit competitive when it comes to competitions and the like. While he likes having fun and thinks that's one of the better parts of competition, he will become a bit put out / sore if he loses. It also doesn't help if the person he lost to is a sore winner about it. 

While he’s mellowed out a bit since death, he’s still got the mind/heart of a 25 year old, and is pretty impulsive, which can lead to him doing some reckless things or heading into a situation without fully analyzing it.

He's a bit of a spendthrift when it comes to things like jewelry and things that have a metallic sheen/finish. As the son of a merchant, he has an appreciation for the nicer things in life, which does tend to make him end up with a hoard of things like metal fountain pens, gold bracelets/wrist cuffs, and antique wines. It's not like he's gotta spend the money on anything better. 

He could be considered prideful/proud, but it's mainly when it comes to Rome and his heritage. He takes great pride in the fact that he comes from the Roman civilization, and the fact that Rome is sometimes toted as the Empire to strive to surpass, and he easily becomes peeved when someone insults Rome or insinuates that another country/civilization was greater than it. To an extent, he also gets annoyed if Spain is insulted, since his hometown is part of present-day Spain, but that takes second place to his Roman pride.

Weapon of Death: A Falx (curved knife); it’s the same one he tried to cut himself loose with when he died. It's also serves as a symbolic reminder of his life as a charioteer, so it's only fitting that his weapon be this.

Cell phone: Samsung Galaxy S6 

Obituary: 

Date of birth: 10 AD
Location: Emerita Augusta
Date of death:  35 AD; Age 25.
Cause of death: Trampled to death in a chariot race. 

[ Bio ]

TLDR; Young charioteer from a merchant family dies in a chariot accident and has a mid-“death” crisis because of the pressures of being an apprentice and learning that all the things he was told about death/god/faith were wrong. Eventually gets over it and decides to stay an apprentice because he wants to apologize to his parents whenever he does ascend.

Alcaeus was born in 10 AD to a Hispano-Roman/Lusitanian merchant family in Emerita Augusta. As the youngest of his siblings, which included three boys and a girl, he wasn’t expected to inherit the family business, and thus was allowed a little more freedom than his elder brothers.

In between schoolwork and studying he enjoyed frivolities and frequented the circus of Emerita Augusta, and at the age of 18, he asked his parents’ permission to become a charioteer. His parents were reluctant, as many charioteers died relatively young, but after much, much pleading, they gave in and allowed him to go.

He joined the Blue/Veneta¹ team, and usually rode four-horse chariots (quadrigae). Although he won quite a few races, at the age of 25, he slipped up during a race and crashed around the turning point of the track—mainly due to another charioteer’s attempt at pushing his chariot near the edge. As per the Roman custom, charioteers tied their reins around their torsos, and when his chariot crashed and the horses tried to run away, he was trampled before he could cut himself free with his knife.

He woke in the field of chrysanthemums still clutching that knife, and for a moment he wondered if he was in the plain of Asphodel². He quickly learned that wasn’t the case.

As he adjusted to life as an apprentice, he had to come to terms with a few facts: the Romans idea of death wasn’t correct, and the Roman gods didn’t actually exist—because if they did, why would he be here?

Although there was the promise of a higher plane that apprentices could ascend to when they achieved some unknown quota, as the centuries went on, Alcaeus began to doubt that. If such a thing was true, why hadn’t he ascended yet? It had been centuries upon centuries since he’d died, and he was forced to cut the threads of people he’d known or felt bad for, as well as see the fall of the Roman Empire, which had seemed so glorious to him in life.

Even though he hit a low point in his beliefs about the Death Apprentice system, he realized he had two choices: leave and disgrace himself through desertion, or stay and continue to work towards ascension. Ultimately, he chose to stay because he still wants to be reunited with his family, and the only way he knows he can do that is to stay an apprentice. He still has a lot of regret over making his parents watch him die, because a parent should never have to watch their child die, and he wants to someday see them again and ask for their forgiveness.

--

¹Roman chariot racing had several factions/colors that spectators could support. Among them were the red(russata), green (prasina), white (albata), and blue (veneta).

²The Plain of Asphodel is where a soul goes if they were a good citizen during their life.

[ Extra ]

He likes gambling/betting. Don’t make a bet with him.

Transportation- and horse- related accidents or deaths upset/unnerve him because they remind him of how he died. While the pain of death/the reminder isn’t fresh anymore, it still unsettles him and makes the faint memories come back.

He likes horses!! Horses are his buddies. If you got a problem with horses you got a problem with him.

He loves technology; it fascinates him and he likes learning how new devices/electronics work. The world has come a long way since the 1^st century AD and he is lovin’ it. He plays Animal Crossing: New Leaf and has spent a lot of time on his town to make it look really nice.

He likes reading. He’s probably been reading since he died. He’s very glad that more books keep coming out so that he always has more to read. (His taste in works is rather eclectic, and he'll read anything recommended to him. Specific 'classical' works he likes are The Divine Comedy by Dante, Paradise Lost by Milton, and Antigone by Sophocles, though. ) 

Likes the theater. (Musicals/Plays/Movies) Things have expanded and improved a lot since the Roman amphitheater and he’s always really impressed/wowed by what you can do on stage nowadays.

Listens to mainly Greek or Italian music, traditional or otherwise. (Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin )

Speaks Latin(though it's not the Classical form of Latin), Spanish, Italian, and English. 

 Reminding him that the Roman Empire/civilization fell is a sure-fire way to get him to dislike you.

Likes: Theater, dancing, music, reading, animals, cheerful people. | Dislikes: Lateness, sloppiness, losing, being lost, nosiness, bad manners, hunters. 

He was married before he died; he married the youngest daughter of another merchant family, and they'd only been married for about three years before he died. He did love her, and up until she died, he was always afraid that he'd have to be the one to cut her thread. They did also have two children but, for obvious reasons, he never really got to see them grow up. Part of him is afraid that if/when he does ascend, his wife is going to be mad at him because he died so soon.

Demi-romantic/sexual. 

He can sympathize with Fallen because he knows firsthand how easy it is to lose faith in the system, but he cannot stand Hunters at all. The fact that they turned to killing their own sickens him, and he wants little to do with them. 

He's been through various teammates throughout the millennia due to being "dead" so long. Some of his first teammates ascended because they'd been around before he died, a couple have fallen, and one died due to a hunter attack. It's one of the reasons why he's so bitter towards hunters, besides the whole 'you'll kill me if given the chance' thing.

 Falernian wine is one of the best Roman wines and he misses it dearly. It can be replaced by sherry but it's just not the same. 

His father traded in wines among other things, and it's one of the reasons why Alcaeus likes collecting different types of wine. 

Contact: You can contact me through dA chat, notes, comments, or Skype (Will give out username if asked). I prefer rping through Google docs/Skype/Forums/Notes/Chat (in order of preference?)
RP Methods: Paragraph/Lit, Semi-Lit, & Script.
Timezone: EST

Team/Roommates

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A.C.N.L.

[Relationships]