#oorome

[mariusthevampire]

// For Munday, here is a picture of my two year old currently not going to bed.

[mariusthevampire]

🎭 - How does your muse handle their emotions? Do they bottle them up or pour them out as soon as they start to feel?

// Marius is really complex, so excuse me if some of this is contradictory.  Marius has a set nature, but has always reacted to certain people differently, and given more of himself over to some than others.

Marius is restrained, part of that old Senatorial Roman elite that was taught to be so.  I think it’s also just his normal personality; he was likely a quiet but thoughtful child who matured into a quiet and thoughtful man.  But I imagine he was someone who would nonetheless speak up when necessary or when he had something to say.  Restrained, yes, and careful, probably an easy conversationalist, but not shy or meek.  The restraint of which he currently exhibits probably wasn’t fully matured until he was a man around 30 and had to “grow up.”  I don’t imagine it was hard for him to transition.  He’s even moreso now.  Marius contemplates, he thinks more than he says, and doesn’t often like to waste words.  When he dislikes you, you know, but he is a polite and dignified man and won’t stoop to arguments unless his mood is bad.  He  does bottle his emotions, mostly, because he sees emotions like anger to be undignified and below him.  He doesn’t want people to see him suffer, and he certainly does not want pity.  When he releases his anger he does stupid and hasty things, and can lash our viciously with words.

Individual by individual…

Pandora is likely the only one capable of understanding Marius, but there is a bit of a chasm in which she doesn’t necessarily sympathize when he is suffering.  She’s too much of a know-it-all (I say this with love) to indulge Marius.  The Marius of Antioch was a bit gentler, but the Marius of now is frustrated with her, and his patience is limited to a degree by his frustration.  They are distant the way any pair with a thousand and a half year gap would be.  He counters Pandora’s weakness with throwing his hands up up at it all, and he is prone to speaking discontented things to her.  He’s stubborn with his feelings for her and won’t easily oblige.  He won’t easily admit the tender things he feels for her.

Armand his feelings for has changed drastically from what they were to what they are.  When Armand was a mortal, Marius was tender and sweet, and he loved to love Armand.  While Armand was no confidant and Marius did not confide his feelings beyond love and desire.  In his eyes, Armand wasn’t mature or capable enough to handle all of Marius’ emotions and truths.  Armand was, though, an outlet of the feelings manifested by others.  The current Armand is different in that that tenderness and gentle, passionate love is gone.  He loves Armand, but he won’t give sweet emotions away to Armand easily.  Marius feels guilty for all that has happened.  But he doesn’t mince words– he’ll tell Armand off if he needs to, he’s not so guilt-ridden that he wants to pamper.

With Bianca, I think Marius always found her to talk to and confide in.  Out of all of his relationships, he was probably the most open with her.  Which made for some epic fights.

His relationship with Daniel has transformed as drastically as the one he has with Armand.  At first there was resolved pity, annoyance.  Daniel was a ward, not someone Marius connected with emotionally, so he likely gave Daniel little in the way of emotion.  But by the time we get to Prince Lestat, we see that at some point some change took place.  Daniel’s feelings for Daniel are, at the risk of sounding strange, as sweet as they were for Bianca.  I can see Marius telling Daniel a lot of his feelings, his wishes, but still holding best so as to appear strong and capable at all times.  To reassure Daniel that he is loved, protected, and cared for.

[mariusthevampire]

👧 - What was your muse’s relationship like with their siblings? Who did they got along with best?

// The information given in Pandora is vague, but we do know that Marius had “sisters,” which implies more than one.  My memory is fuzzy, but I am certain Marius mentioned brothers, again plural.  So, at least two brothers and two sisters.  It’s also not known how old they are, whether his siblings are all older, younger, or a mixture of both.

Marius would have gotten along with them because he is mostly, at least then, an amiable man.  Given his nature as a human (keep in mind a lot different than him as an immortal as we know), he would have been very affectionate to younger sisters, tried to be a role model to younger brothers, accommodated his older sisters, and respected his older brothers.  As Pandora said, though, Marius was known to be a “bad boy,” a “poet,” and a “loafer,” so I can imagine they sometimes did not approve of his choices and lifestyle.  Especially that he decided to forego a public, civil, or political career in favor of wandering the world writing stories.

[mariusthevampire]

Җ - What’s your greatest source of inspiration when it comes to role playing? 

Being true to Marius.  I don’t always capture him perfectly, but I put my whole heart into him.  It has always been my goal to be as accurate as possible, and it’s that which inspires me.  I think constantly when I reply, “would Marius truly feel this” or “would Marius truly think this”.  And I always keep in mind that his personality and mindset have changed through the years.  For example, he would react differently to the same thing when he was young and in Rome versus now because his personality has evolved.  I want to say that there are dozens of scenarios I’d like to roleplay or see happen for and to him, but I only want to put him in those situations that are likely.  I mean, we would all love to see Marius as this great Master to Armand (currently, and yeah maybe not all of us because I don’t), but that’s not likely to happen and I don’t feel comfortable doing it because I feel it compromises my accuracy.  Let’s be honest, for the past few books Marius has been a bit of a prude.  Lastly, that’s not to say that I don’t add my own interpretation to him because I have to fill in the blanks (and yeah, I have emailed Mrs. Rice to ask her questions about Marius and have gotten answers, you should try it), and that’s where I could get him wrong.  

[mariusthevampire]

👶 - If they have any, what is your muse’s relationship like with their children? Do they feel like they’re a good parent? (blood children)

// I am going to go based on the books, not really the roleplay threads that I do.

Let’s oldest to youngest.

Pandora is the most complicated even though it seems like the most simple relationship, but 1300+ years is a long time to grow into different people.  The Marius that Pandora found was different from the one that left her, and the same was true for Pandora, and I think this confused him.  It really began when she refused to come with him after the ball.  The fear that she showed toward Arjun left Marius perplexed because, shoot, she never would have put up with that crap when they were together.  Believe she would let Marius know she isn’t scared of him and spouted some feminist stuff like how men thrive on the fear of women.  Which would have made Marius annoyed.  But that’s how they were.  Blood Communion told an essential part of their story: Pandora feels like she isn’t good enough for Marius and Marius is angry that she is “weak”.  I think he wants to see that fight, he wants to see her spirit, come back.  She wanders around lost and sad, and Marius can’t process that.  He’s pretty bad with emotion, gentle and tender though he can be.  And he’s never really been too tender with Pandora, only Armand.  But he has had his moments.  For example, after Akasha was destroyed and Pandora was grieving, Marius did all he could think of to make her feel better… granted it was through material objects when she probably just needed a hug and kiss.  A sad and defeated Pandora isn’t what Marius wants to see and she knows he is angry at her for it, even though she is exaggerating how fed up he is, and this just makes the giant rift between them wider.  But people still refer to Pandora as the wife of Marius, which is true.  The two really just need some time together alone to talk and to discover each other again.  

Armand.  Currently, I think the two are beginning to mend their differences.  When he thought Marius was dead, Armand seemed, behind the scenes, to realize things about his and Marius’s relationship.  I think he was perhaps surprised to feel… sad at the thought of Marius being gone.  I don’t feel that Marius is angry at or disgusted by what Armand has “become.”  He was centuries ago, but he had time to make peace.  He understands what happened to Armand, and he feels a bit responsible for it, but not enough to indulge Armand.  But he thinks Armand takes things too far sometimes, that Armand can be unnecessarily rigid or cruel, and Marius doesn’t hold back letting Armand know that he’s acting like a child or a jerk.  He’ll never be master of Armand again, but given the chance he could likely be very sweet and generous.

Bianca he loves but he has moved on from.  I do think he has his share of regrets.  He definitely regrets the way he disregarded her for Pandora, and that it was cruel of him to be willing to discard her.  But I think he has accepted that it happened, and he isn’t angry or bitter.  I think Marius wants a relationship with her, hence her being such a big part of his private life as he designed the Court’s laws, and I think there is more to their present story that we haven’t been clued in on.  

Sybelle and Benji there is less about.  Marius likely feels proud of Benji.  And Sybelle is like beautiful glass; he knows she is fragile and easily broken, so he is very careful how he treats her.  He is sweetest to Sybelle, not critical or short tempered.

[mariusthevampire]

I made this. Don’t steal it. You can use it though if you play a VC character that this is relevant to. You just have to be like: hey, you see this…. this guy (meaning me) made this. C. 30 BCE -...

I’m working on adding things to Marius’s timeline.  If you can think of any event important to Marius’s life that I am missing please let me know.

[mariusthevampire]

🌺 - Does your muse have a favorite flower? Why do they like it?

//Cherry blossoms for their delicate beauty, the way the just cover the ground like colorful snow, and because of their legend.

The Dahlia because it is a generous and full flower, and because there are so many species and thus different shapes, fullness, and a plethora of gorgeous colors.

Roses, of course.  They are just beautiful flowers.

[mariusthevampire]

👩 - What is your muse’s relationship like with their mother? Is it good, bad, or complicated?

// Marius’ natural mother died giving birth, so he never knew her.  And his father avoiding discussing her for various reasons.  Two of the most prominent were because he barely knew her, as she was nothing more than a beautiful slave, and because it was inappropriate... out of respect for his legal wife.

As for Marius’ step-mother, she was very good to him.  He had a happy childhood, not marred by trouble or neglect.  Though a bastard child, he was legally adopted into his family (side note, that means his cognomen would have ended in -anus and that’s just rudely funny to me because, though in my 30s, butt jokes are still funny)which means, and his step-mother treated him as one of her own.  Yes, she was less affectionate toward him, but this suited him fine.  He did not leave to see the world because he was necessarily unhappy, but because he wanted to see the world