Post by romano on Apr 19, 2011 22:00:06 GMT -5
(((My Reflection)))
Nation: Italy Romano
Name: Lovino Vargas
Gender: Male
Appearance Age:23
Hair Color:Chestnut brown
Eye Color:Hazel-brown
Height: 5’7”
Weight: 124 lbs.
Appearance:
Romano looks very much like his younger brother Italy, understandably as they are brothers. Although there are several differences that make it easy to differentiate them on sight such as Romano’s darker hair and skin as well as his green-ish eyes.
Romano has his hair cut short so that it barely hangs down his neck and he has a single curl that sticks out to the right side. His hair is dark brown with less of the red tint that his brother’s. His skin is also several shades darker than Italy’s, and it’s almost olive in color. Although, Romano has been known to turn tomato red whenever he is embarrassed or angry as pointed out by Spain. His eyes are hazel-brown and his brows are slanted into a permanent ‘angry’ expression. Romano rarely shuts his eyes like his brother and he honestly cannot understand how Italy can see so well when his eyes are closed. Romano’s default expression is a frown but a smirk will do in a pinch.
The clothes he wears differ only slightly from Italy’s, sometimes the clothes he wears actually look more Spanish than Italian. One of his uniforms is blue and almost exactly like his brother’s with a black shirt and belt. Another uniform that Romano likes to wear is a khaki suit with the sleeves rolled back. He also tends to like boots with a tall heel.
His physical appearance is taken mostly from his Grandfather, Rome but he has been influenced by Greece and Spain. He also has some Arabic blood in him.
(((Know Thyself )))
Personality:
Romano is almost always in a bad mood and he has no qualms about being vocal about his opinions. Often times, Romano is frank to the point of being really rather rude to other people, especially France and Germany, both of whom he goes out of his way to insult as much as possible. Romano is generally unsociable and distrustful of almost every other male. Not because they intimidate him but rather because he has no interest in them and wants to be left alone. There are exceptions to this, of course. Romano actually likes Japan and has invited his to use –kun rather than –san after his name. All in all, there are very few other male countries that Romano likes. Most notably, they are Venezino, Spain, and Japan.
Anyone of the opposite sex is a completely different story. Romano loves woman as much as his younger brother and acting kind and friendly around them comes naturally. The way Romano behaves around woman is on the complete opposite side of the spectrum to how he acts toward men. This may be something that he picked up from his Grandfather, who also spent a good portion of his time flirting with woman. Usually, Romano is uninterested in woman as far as deep relationships go but he would never deliberately harm a woman or a child.
All in all, there are only a few people that Romano cares deeply for and only rarely will he express his feelings. Romano has a bit of a ‘me against the world’ mindset. He is often envious of his brother’s talents and he refuses to think that Spain likes him for anything more than who his Grandfather is. Despite this, he really has become attached to the both of them and he hates Germany mostly because he saw German soldiers in Spain’s house as a child and his brother constantly talks about him.
Despite being a weak coward, Romano does know how to fight. He has to or else he would have disappeared a long time ago and his time with the mafia has only stronger. Or rather, Romano just learned how to fight dirty. Even though he knows how to fight, Romano will avoid fighting as much as possible, preferring to hide behind a stronger person or running away.
Due to the firm grip of the mafia in his house, Romano has a very dark and biased view of the world. The mafia is deeply rooted within him and he almost always obeys their orders. On a few occasions, such as when Spain was sick with a cold, Romano managed to ignore the mafia and do what he wanted but for the most part he is at the mercy of their whims.
Likes:
★ Pasta!
★ Veneziano (North Italy).
★ Antonio (Spain).
★ Japan.
★ Pizza!
★ Tomatoes.
★ Cute girls.
★ Italian food.
★ Winning fights.
★ The Mafia.
★ Farming.
★ His people.
★ Belgium.
Dislikes:
✖ That jerk, Germany.
✖ What England calls food.
✖ People touching him!
✖ Pushy jerks (France, America, Prussia, Russia, Turkey, Austria).
✖ People touching the hair curl.
✖ Jerks that mess with Veneziano or Spain!
✖ Losing fights.
✖ Hand grenades.
✖ Sadism.
✖ Slow Cars
✖ Getting rejected by cute girls.
✖ Guys.
✖ Work.
✖ The cold.
✖ Non-Italian food.
✖ Potatoes and anything else that reminds him of Germany.
✖ Dogs.
✖ The Mafia.
Fears:
☣ Losing Italy’s affection.
☣ Losing Spain’s affection.
☣ France molesting him…again.
☣ Someone finding out his fears and telling Spain or Italy.
Secrets:
♦ Romano sometimes thinks about what would have happened if he and Italy became separate nations. He would never act on this but he also feels that they’re very different and he’s jealous of his brother’s talents.
♦ Even if he acts tough or cowardly, Romano really wants to be left alone to farm, fish, and cook. He really would like it if there was no more strife for him to deal with.
♦ Despite his mixed feelings, Romano is secretly in support of the mafia. He likes their ideals and he has some satisfaction from undermining other countries as it spreads around the world.
♦ France, Japan, and Spain actually have some pretty decent food.
♦ Because he had Choreia (a disease that effects movement) when he was little, he used to have bed wetting troubles until Spain ‘cured’ him by forcing him to dance the Taratella.
Strengths:
Speed and stamina. Romano can sprint for hours without end.
Determination.
He’s a damn good pickpocket and marksman because of the mafia.
Romano is great with many domestic skills such as cooking.
There is almost nothing that he can’t grow. (Italy is very fertile and warm)
He’s great with the ladies.
Weaknesses:
Romano is a total coward. He will run away and hide the second an enemy appears.
He’s fairly weak.
Very easily angered.
Jealous.
Rude and crass to anyone of the same sex.
He’s lazy and often times late.
(((The Pages of History )))
History:
Pre-Country
Romano is the Grandson of the Roman Empire, just like Italy. He was born while his Grandpa was still in power (around 9th century B.C.E.) but he wasn’t a nation until his Grandfather disappeared in the 5th century C.E. Unlike his brother, Romano was settled by the Magna Graecia tribes as well as the Roman Empire when he was little and so he is also related to Greece via Greece’s mother. There are still some people in his house that speak Griko, a Greek and Italian hybrid language.
Childhood (9th century-17th century):
During the Dark Ages, Romano suffered from heavy over population and farmers were forced to grow only wheat so as to feed everyone. Despite this, poverty and starvation became common occurrences. It is believed that the Black Death came first to the island Scissile and then to Romano exterminating around two thirds of the original population. Romano’s government collapsed during the plague and he barely survived the ordeal. During this time Romano acted very bravely and he tried to send warnings to other countries however this action only ended up in helping the disease to spread faster.
After the Dark Ages, Romano did not experience the same sort of Renaissance as his brother. While his brother became a brilliant artist, philosopher, and scientist, the people in Romano’s house were satisfied with growing crops and living a quaint life. Almost all of Romano’s brilliance was sent to his brother’s house to receive a better education-causing one of the first documented cases of brain drain.
The decreased population from the Dark Ages made room for the growth of such crops as apples and tomatoes (although tomatoes were considered toxic for a long time and people who ate them were called daredevils). Once poor farmers suddenly found themselves with huge expanses of land and they could feed themselves with much to spare. As a result, most nobles lost all of their servants and had to begin doing their own labor thus much of the rank stratification evaporated and created a sense of community not experienced previously.
It was during this time that Romano was ruled by Spain. Romano and the people in his house thought that the Spanish were too high strung but they did not mind being under Spain’s rule so long as they could continue their peaceful lives. Although, they did warm up to Spain in the end after their economy began to sink. In times of prosperity, however, the people thought Spain was a harsh leader. To this Day, Romano still has a sense of closeness with Spain because of the take-over.
Important events: Byzantines (535-965 C.E.), Arabs (965-1075 C.E.), and Normans (1071-1197 C.E) rule Romano. Following that there were a series of rather tyrannical and bloody rulers until the ‘Second’ Italian War (1494-1559). In 1501, Romano became the property of both France and Spain, causing a series of wars between the two countries (1521-1526). In the end, Spain won. After that, Romano was ruled by a series of monarch put in power by Spain.
Teens (17th century-20th century):
At the start of the 17th century, all of Italy began to want independence. Romano became rebellious from Spain and eventually managed to become independent in the 18th century. There were several times that Romano almost achieved independence before then, however; France was also closing in on him and so he went back to Spain for protection.
After finally becoming Independent, Romano was almost immediately drawn into the French Revolution in 1799. Romano then tried to reestablish his own king so he could avoid any more influence from foreigners. In the 19th century, Napoleon took over Veneziano and set up the Kingdom of Italy which eventually spread to Romano as well. Romano hated being under French rule after having tried so hard to avoid it in the past so he was overjoyed when the Kingdom fell in 1814. He was even more ecstatic when Napoleon lost his power and was imprisoned within his own borders. One thing that Napoleon did do for the brothers was to finally unite them as one country. From 1815 to 1871, the brothers fought the Italian Independence Wars (Il Risorgimento) against Austria and finally became a complete nation and renamed themselves the New Kingdom of Italy.
In 1882 of Italy joined the Triple alliance with Hungary, Austria, and Germany. The story was that the nations were allied to keep them safe from France and Russia but, in truth, it was a method to keep Italy from attacking Hungary-Austria with whom they were still having territory disputes.
Important Events: The War of Spanish Succession, the War of Polish Succession, the French Revolution, Napoleon and the Kingdom of Italy, Il Risorgomento (First, Second, and Third Italian Wars of Independence), and the Triple Alliance.
Adulthood (20th century-present):
The New Kingdom of Italy was heavily wounded in World War I, but came out on the winning side in the end. However, Italy was in a very bad shape and he could not get aid from any of his former allies or even his former enemies.
Due to the terrible condition of the country, Benito Mussolini of the fascist party became the new boss with relative ease and they entered World War II on the side of Germany and Japan. Unfortunately, Romano didn’t like his new boss and he seceded from The New Kingdom of Italy in 1943. It was very difficult but there were too many differences between the brothers for them to remain together for any longer. Romano became a relatively neutral party throughout the war; although he continued to support his brother with supplies.
In 1946 Italy and Romano rejoined as the Italian Republic under a new boss. Although there had been much destruction in the wake of the last war, Romano worked hard and soon the Italian Republic saw economic growth and stability. In 1950-60, Italy saw a huge economic boom called the Miracolo Economico. Thus far, Italy has joined, or helped to form, the European Union, EEC, the United Nations, NATO, UNESCO, G8, G20, and the Organization for Growth and Economic Co-operation Development. Sadly their economic successes took a nose dive in 2008 and have been falling ever since. Currently, they seem to have stabilized a bit but they still need to recover a bit. They are currently ranked the 11th greatest national Power.
Sometime during his adulthood, the seeds that inevitably became the mafia were planted within Romano. He isn’t sure when they first appeared but they defiantly existed by the time the world wars rolled around. They are currently very prevalent and he sometimes isn’t sure whether he should be reporting to the current mafia-don or to the boss he shares with Italy. Many of the people in his house are afraid of them and leave to live in his brother’s house to avoid them.
Important Events: The Mafia, World War I, The Pact of Friendship and Alliance or Italy and Germany/the Pact of Steel, World War II, Secession of Southern Italy, unification of Southern and Northern Italy, Economic Boom, and the Economic Downfall.
Allies:
Northern Italy- Romano has almost constantly been allied or unified with his brother, even if he doesn’t always get along with him.
Spain- He was ruled by him for a long time.
Austria- He was ruled by him for a while.
Prussia- During the Third War of Italian Independence.
France- During the revolts against Spain and WWI.
England, Russia, and America- WWI
Germany and Japan- WWII
Enemies:
Spain- the Revolts and the second War of Italian Independence.
Turkey- Italian-Turkish Wars.
Austria- Italian Independence Wars.
France- Almost every time he wasn’t an ally. Italian Wars, WWII, and Napoleon Wars, mostly.
England, Russia and America (and the rest of the allies)- WWII
Sample Post:
(1943)
Romano had declared independence before when the time called for it. He had left Spain and helped to reclaim territories from Austria when the people in his house wanted it. This time was different. Always, Romano had been able to trust and rely on Veneziano for almost anything. Sure, they didn’t get along all the time and they had grown up not knowing each other-but at least he had always been there as a brother!
Now that was about to change. Romano had been sent north by the people of his house with one goal in mind. ‘Inform Northern Italy that Southern Italy is seceding’ was simple enough but the second Romano thought of his brother running up to him, flailing his arms and making strange noises… Romano slapped himself hard across a cheek and shook his head to clear it. What had to be done would have to be done. Romano could not let his people down on this one.
At the moment, he was sitting in a conference room, waiting for his brother to show up so he could deliver the news. The place was plain and comfortably boring, perfect for soothing Romano’s nerves. He was, after all, about to abandon his brother in the middle of a war.
Romano completely agreed with the movement. He did not like being involved in the war and he was eager to remove himself from it. Veneziano had charged in after Germany and dragged Romano in with him without even bothering to ask Romano what he thought. Romano had not wanted another fight, he didn’t want to have to fight anymore ever again.
His strong resolve was hanging on by only a thread.
“Chigigi,” Romano muttered under his breath and he sank into the chair and put his boots up on the table, smearing mud across the white cloth to the horror of the attendant. He fiddled with the linings of his pockets and stared at the door, waiting for it to open. Veneziano would be here at any second and Romano still wasn’t sure what to say. He turned a thousand possibilities he had already rejected in his mind and tossed them out once more, occasionally making tiny noises under his breath.
At long last, and far too soon, the door burst open and Romano’s brother was there, smiling brightly and clearly delighted to have his brother in his company. Romano scowled at him. How dare he be so happy? This was already hard enough, damn it!
“Romano!” Veneziano said and he dashed over to hug Romano, who leapt off his chair and onto the table to avoid him. The chair teetered then clattered to the floor and an innocent vase of flowers was sent hurtling across the room by Romano’s muddy boots. Slightly crestfallen and a little confused, Veneziano stopped and lowered his arms.
After only a second, Veneziano’s face lit up again and Romano suppressed an irritated hiss. Again, why was he making this so hard? Romano glared down from his perch and tried to find the right words. “Hey, hey!” Veneziano said, for once sensing the atmosphere and trying to discover what was distressing his brother so much. “I saw Germany yestereday! I ran away from England’s army but then it was really a dog so he started scolding me about being a soldier!”
“Chigigi,” Romano growled and Veneziano almost flinched. Romano hated Germany even if he had never met him. He was taking up so much of his brother’s time that it was nerve grating.
“Japan was there too.” Veneziano tried to continue, although now he was smiling nervously. “And he showed me how to make rice balls! They were really good, too!” Why did he spend so much time with other countries? Romano snorted and took up an even more defensive stance. “How long are you staying for? Wouldn’t it be fun if we could make them together?”
“Veneziano.” Romano cut in quickly before he could go on about Japan and Germany or spending time together. His brother stopped and looked at him, clearly confused and now more than a little nervous. Romano was doing a poor job of hiding his agitation if even Veneziano could sense what was going on. Romano swallowed even though his mouth was dry before he continued, “I…I’m going to secede.” He said quickly from his stand on the table.
Veneziano actually opened his eyes in surprise and Romano hated the hurt he saw there. Romano swallowed even though his mouth was dry and took on a much harsher tone. “I can’t be the same country as you anymore. I don’t want to fight. My people don’t-I don’t-want to be with you anymore.” Romano snarled. Feeling a little ridiculous, he jumped down from the table, boots thudding loudly when he hit the ground. Without breaking stride, Romano brushed past his brother and left the room, pretending that he could not here Veneziano calling after him and blinking hard to keep back the tears that had appeared to try to convince him he was hurt too.
Did you read the rules and Dark Reflections Canon?
Italian Pasta is always best from Romano, you jerk!
Random fun fact about yourself:
Hi, I’m Lia. My favorite color is gray.
...I feel like I might have typed too much for this....I hope it's okay. D:
