Melancholies drew this for me, aw yeah.
Name: Torero Bolero
From torero, the Spanish term for a bullfighter, and Bolero de Ravel, an amazing orchestral piece that you really should listen to!!!
Blood colour: [#990000]
Gender: Male
Symbol: A dumb horseshoe-lookin' thing.
Personality: Above all else, Torero wants to be liked. Well, that and he doesn't feel good unless he's being useful. Simple goals, accomplished easily enough through his fantastic beastfighting shows! The audience loves him for taking down whatever orphaned lusi and ferocious fauna they throw at him, and he makes a living for himself and his lusus. It's not the most glamorous life, but it's all Torero has known, and he loves it. Sure, he doesn't have very many friends since UnicornDad Rocinante is always keeping him busy, but that's OK! Rocin is just looking out for him, and his fans adore him! What more could he want?
On the rare occasions Torero is allowed to talk to other trolls, he does everything he can to leave a lasting impression and get them to like him. Part of being a showman, Torero will modify his behavior accordingly, telling them what they want to hear, doing what they want to do, building himself up to be just the coolest and most charming dude. Cheerful and good-humored, Torero is easy to get along with, a fact he takes pride in. It's not all acting, coming more instinctively, and it's not like Torero changes into a completely different person every time he meets someone new. He just tries to be a people-pleaser, first and foremost. It's what his lusus taught him!
As is obvious, Torero is usually very obedient to his lusus, who is always driving him to train and fight and work and not much else. This has made Torero quite sheltered and naive, knowing only his shack and the ring for most of his life—cue the "usually" in very obedient. Now, wanting to see more of Alternia, Torero is more adventurous and rebellious, believing himself invincible, wanting to go out and make himself a hero and protector! He's got a bit of that Don Quixote spirit in him, stupidly idealistic and ignorant to the realities of troll society. Turns out Rocinante's plan might be backfiring on him, whoops!
In the few instances that Rocin does cut Torero some slack and give him free time, Torero enjoys amateur taxidermy, making freakish trophies and clothing and accessories and souvenirs and all sorts of wacky s**t from the carcasses of the beasts he has slain. He likes to offer these as gifts when he can! Torero also has a great love for chivalric and romantic novels, his shack full of stacks Rocinante has brought him that he reads and rereads and always asks for more. Torero loves these tales, wanting to live his own someday!
Strengths:
+Bold: Not wanting to look like a coward, Torero will crack jokes in the face of danger. He fights beasts for fun and profit, after all! Don't get him wrong, he gets scared, but Torero will force himself to overcome his fears and reservations if it means helping others out or, well, entertaining them.
+Attentive: Torero picks up on things very quickly, be it which side a beast favors to charge or a friend's favorite things. Once he learns something, it's not likely he'll forget. Although he seems to just charge into things, Torero's good at thinking on his feet, recalling what's he learned and gaining confidence from his observance.
+Compliant: Always aiming to please, Torero is a reliable comrade, laid-back and ready to go along with whatever you want. Even if he's not quite the man for the job, he'll sure as hell try. Torero also tries to get along with everyone and anyone, regardless of blood color or attitude. Everyone needs friends! And he's happy to be there!
+Easy to please: It doesn't take much to make Torero's day. He might go out of his way for others, but he doesn't expect much back. As much as his lusus wishes for riches, Torero could probably live on attention and praise alone. However, any gifts and trophies he does receive, Torero will cherish. He can be very sentimental.
Flaws:
-Crass: More used to dealing with beasts and being a spectacle, Torero's a bit lacking in the socialization department. He tends to be immature unless called out, vulgar and informal around highbloods, overly blunt to fellow lowbloods. He just doesn't know when to cut the crap and be serious, inappropriately cheery in the worst moments.
-Clingy: Desperate to be liked, Torero will latch onto anyone who even so much as smiles at him and will do anything to keep them liking him. And if someone doesn't like him? Torero will be even MORE desperate, scrambling to get their attention and win them over.
-Hasty: Impulsive, always wanting to dash off and do things, Torero hates to wait. He is also very quick to assume things of others. Annoying enough, but he's especially fixated on quadrants. It goes from "I made a new friend today, they must be my moirail!" to "This person made me angry, could this be blackrom blossoming?!" Impatient as he is, Torero doesn't get that relationships develop over time. He wants to experience it aaaall!
-Naïve: Of course, with his need to please others and rather sheltered life, it would be very easy to manipulate Torero. Always optimistic and assuming the best in everyone, poor kid doesn't seem to realize that there are monsters lurking outside of the matador ring, too.
Weapon: A piñata stick banderilla, good for whacking or stabbing!
Appearance: Torero's clothes would basically be a very simplified version of the traje de luces, of course! A long-sleeved black bolero (hoho) over a grey shirt bearing his symbol, black pants that cut off below the knee to reveal white socks and black slippers, all topped off with his trusty, tattered red cape thrown over his shoulder. His stringy hair is messily brushed back, with two tiny horns curving like a young bull's horns (oh god so cute). Young and lithe, Torero is built for agility, dodging beasties and riding his lusus. Also, you'd never see it, but Torero's left arm is pretty mangled, flesh twisted and scarred from a particularly nasty beast that managed to best him. It's why he favors wearing his cape over his left side, it's like a security blanket.
Home: Torero's hive is a sad-looking shack on the beach of infamous Old Hemisect, but he spends most of his time deeper in the city, in an abandoned ring where he puts on his beastfighting shows. He doesn't get to admire the ocean as much as he'd like to, what with his lusus always pestering him to stop wasting time lazing about.
Lusus: Rocinante the UnicornDad is an attention whore. Torero would never say so himself, of course, but it's obvious to everyone else that Rocinante likes to steal the show when he joins Torero in the ring. Showy and arrogant, Rocin acts as majestic as a seadweller's lusus, believing they certainly deserve better! But mostly him! He's the one that pushed Torero into the beastfighting biz in the first place, grooming his charge to be the perfect little showman so that they may achieve FAME and RENOWN!!!
...Really, Rocinante just wants to shield Torero from the crapsack world he knows Alternia is. Always shuttling him back and forth from the ring to their shack, Rocin wants to diminish the contact Torero has from other trolls. So long as he keeps Torero fighting and believing they love and admire him for it, they're set, right? He doesn't want Torero to know that, as a redblood, he really is the lowest of the low and could be culled any ol' time. Or that many attend his shows just to see, hey, maybe the dumb kid will get killed this time! Oh no, he can't have that. And certainly, he doesn't want Torero to know that sometimes he blinds or cripples or otherwise weakens some of the more formidable beasts before a fight so the kid has a chance. No no, he can't ever let Torero find out.
"I know you expect me to say it! So here it goes, just for you: ¡OLÉ!"
