[color=#B2ACA9][hider=Victor Shellman, the Tortoise or the Snake]

[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/UgTjMJl.png[/img]
[sub][b][color=#C56710]Lewis Pullman[/color][/b] | [b][color=#C56710]Dark Pumpkin[/color][/b][/sub]
[color=#C56710][b]"[i]No man chooses evil because it is evil; he only mistakes it for happiness, the good he seeks.[/i]"[/b][/color] —[color=#C56710][b][i]Mary Shelley[/i][/b][/color][/center]

[hr][hr]
[color=#C56710][sub][b]Name:[/b][/sub][/color]
[indent]Victor Shellman[/indent]
[color=#C56710][sub][b]Age:[/b][/sub][/color]
[indent]30[/indent]
[color=#C56710][sub][b]Gender:[/b][/sub][/color]
[indent]Male[/indent]
[color=#C56710][sub][b]Sexual Orientation:[/b][/sub][/color]
[indent]Homosexual[/indent]
[color=#C56710][b][sub]Ethnicity:[/sub][/b][/color]
[indent]Caucasian[/indent]
[color=#C56710][b][sub]Years at Camp Jupiter // New Rome:[/sub][/b][/color]
[indent]10 Years Service; 8 Years in New Rome[/indent]
[color=#C56710][sub][b]Place of Birth:[/b][/sub][/color]
[indent]Great Falls, Montana[/indent]
[color=#C56710][sub][b]Key Relationships:[/b][/sub][/color]
[indent][hider=Significant Other][list][*]Nathaniel Day - Son of Janus; Late Husband, eloped just before dying the last year of their service in the Legion.[/list][/hider]

[hider=Friends][list][*]TBD[/list][/hider]

[hider=Enemies][list][*]TBD[/list][/hider]

[hider=Family][list][*]Mary Shellman - Mother, Daughter of Trivia; Estranged due to his mother's current lifestyle
[*]Lawrence Shellman - Half-sibling, Son of Ares; Exiled during his years of service for unknown reasons, died two years after and body recovered. There were no funeral services and his burial was short and private.[/list][/hider][/indent]

[center][hr][hr][img]https://64.media.tumblr.com/4c3ca1f4186d072cd8e293619a98f504/7b7cc814be109491-6e/s540x810/10614ab6218ce5aaeb78598a02772e7efd59fd2c.gif[/img]
[color=#C56710][b]"[i]Scared to live, scared to die[/i]"[/b][/color] — [b][i][url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMCv9djEm1k]Northern Attitude - Noah Kahan (ft. Hozier)[/url][/i][/b][/center][hr][hr]
[color=#C56710][sub][b]Appearance[/b][/sub][/color]
[indent][list][*][color=#C56710]Height:[/color] 6'1"
[*][color=#C56710]Hair:[/color] Brunette, incredibly wavy 
[*][color=#C56710]Eyes:[/color] Dull Blue  
[*][color=#C56710]Body Type:[/color]
[indent][color=#C56710]⸙[/color] The average soldier, of lithe form and fit body, Victor has the physique to match with a wider upper torso (in other words, a defined chest) and a slimmer lower, feeding into rather non-existent hips. There's notable sinew in his arms and legs, but only really apparent when at work. Victor takes on the appearance of a man gaunt and ready to meld into his own shadow. Therein lies a falsehood and Victor finds ample opportunity within.[/indent]
[*][color=#C56710]Clothing Style:[/color]
[indent][color=#C56710]⸙[/color] [url=https://onpointfresh.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/bc938a321f7fbd954e2408cb991e8614.jpg]Quiet and unassuming[/url], but not lacking in care or planning, Victor's wardrobe appears very much apt for an English professor teaching somewhere along the east coast, hidden in private woodlands and autumnal valleys. Even in a crisp spring or during the summer heat, Victor has an astute love for sweaters, sweater vests, and pea coats. Though, he often finds himself dressed down in greys and blacks, he tends to have a fondness for tans and browns, soft creams and oranges. No turtlenecks, though. They itch too much. A few people have considered Victor to have a 'sleeper build' because he tends to wear loose fitting clothes that kind of make him look gaunter than he actually is. On occasion, he does enjoy a good flannel.[/indent]
[*][color=#C56710]Body Markings:[/color]
[indent][color=#C56710]⸙[/color] Ten lines mark his right forearm, denoting his service with the black mark of his father, the astrological symbol for Mercury, sitting next to it. This would be the only tattoo he'd ever get, but not the last mark on his body, though with years the scars along his torso and back have since faded enough to almost look like stretch marks. There is a particular scar along the tenth line of his tattoo where it looks slightly raised; there seems to always be a perpetual redness around it, despite the thinness of the line. There's nothing else quite of note other than the piercing in his right ear where golden band hangs with the word 'Quiet' etched along the inside in cursive script. He never removes it.[/indent]
[/list][/indent]

[color=#C56710][sub][b]Personality:[/b][/sub][/color]
[center][sub]⤛ [color=#C56710]Diligent[/color] ◉ [color=#A560CD]Quiet[/color] ◉ [color=#C56710]Observant[/color] ◉ [color=#A560CD]Stubborn[/color] ◉ [color=#C56710]Sly[/color] ◉ [color=#A560CD]Cynical[/color] ◉ [color=#C56710]Aloof[/color] ◉ [color=#A560CD]Hardened[/color] ◉ [color=#C56710]Unassuming[/color] ◉ [color=#A560CD]Hard-Shell-Gooey-Center[/color] ⤜[/sub][/center]
[indent]"You'd think a kid straight from Mercury's loins would be a handful, but you're just a delight," Mary Shellman would often say and Victor would simply stare at her. And stare. And stare.

But of course, Victor could not do as other kids had done. They could play with each other and talk of silly things like being a mechanical man or spellcasting witch with a wand. They could tell stories of their siblings or their days filled with mundane whimsy and loving parents.

Victor's stories weren't half as interesting from their standpoint. Because Victor had to grow up a lot sooner than other children. He had learn how to be quiet and vigilant, cautious in all the right ways and reliable to a fault. He had to be caretaker. He had to be independent. Where children of his age were finding out their interests and taking a more carefree approach to life, Victor learned how to clean up after his mother's messes and entertain himself with whatever could be found around a dingy, dirty motel room.

Life forced Victor to grow up fast and in doing so, he solidified who he was rather quickly. Nurtured by a forced hand, Victor ended up a very quietly diligent man who went above and beyond his abilities not for reward or praise but because he needed to and he often did so on his own. He's a man that sees something needs to be done and does it. Does it quietly.

Though this is often met with surprised delight, Victor's learned how to be rather disarming in his social interactions. Usually, this comes with weaponizing 'incompetence' or feigning ignorance. If there's one thing his mother has taught him well, it's how to lie to the authorities, of which he tends to have a stark distrust of. People with too much power often times have no idea how to use it selflessly, an observation he's made on numerous occasions from adolescence to adulthood.

For those he considers peers and friends, Victor is a subtle and easily pleased man that's more than amiable and able to hold a conversation despite his own introverted desires for solitude. For those unable to look beyond his subtle abilities, Victor's a bit of a boring man if a bit nice to look at for a moment. This tends to assist him whenever his desire for pleasantries ends, though it doesn't often work on his equals or folks with greater perception.

While Victor has his quirks and tends to be more of the 'gets approached' rather than 'approaches' type of person, he does his best to be a pleasant person. He does just a bit more to be what he thinks is a good person and, in spite of his occasional feint of apathy, Victor tends to do too much, too often for people he cares about. It feels ingrained into him, at this point. Like a barbed hook stuck too deep in his flesh.

Underneath it all, maybe there's a man who actually enjoys smiling. Who likes sounds like a child when he laughs. Who's definitely not a morning person, but somehow wakes up earlier than everyone else, usually on the couch where he fell asleep. And maybe he would be a morning person if he actually climbed into bed every night. Who enjoys the rain and an open book. Who could recite poetry to the man he loves and tell scary stories to a group of friends who definitely wanted at least an hours worth of sleep. Or maybe watch his mother give him a tarot reading before laying out on the damp grass to watch the stars.

Maybe. Life if full of maybes, Victor finds.[/indent]
[color=#C56710][sub][b]History:[/b][/sub][/color]
[indent]TRIGGER WARNINGS FOR DRUG USE, DEATH, CHILD NEGLECT, AND SELF-HARM [will denote which bullet points have them; if I miss any let me know!]

[color=#C56710]⤜[/color] Born to Mary Shellman in Great Falls, Montana. Mary, a daughter of Trivia, served her time in the Legion and a few years in New Rome before leaving for the mortal realm. She'd suffered greatly during her time at Camp Jupiter, having been thrust into adulthood in her teens despite wanting to experience more of her life; thrown into 5th Cohort; was the soul survivor of what was supposed to be a 'routine' quest.
[color=#C56710]⤜[/color] [DRUG & ALCOHOL USE] Upon leaving, Mary lived a nomadic life, able to use her abilities to mask her fading scent from monsters as she wandered the world on a whim and quite a bit of drugs. Begrudged by a life in the Legion and wrecked by horror and trauma, Mary spent most of her time partying and drowning herself in many unsavory concoctions. She was a troubled woman, unable to get the help she needed, especially knowing exactly what she was and what she could do
[color=#C56710]⤜[/color] [CHILD NEGLECT] At some point, Mary had her first child unknowingly to a god, Ares, who she named Lawrence. Lawrence himself was a troubled boy and had no idea how to deal with the mother he'd been given, often left alone in crumbling motels or left unattended at bars. He lashed out frequently, got into fights at school should Mary ever remember to enroll him, and suffered greatly from severe ADHD, normal for his kind, but exacerbated by a mother ill equipped to handle him. It hadn't taken very long before Mary left him to find his own path. While he found his place at Camp Jupiter, eventually, it, as things do, ended in tragedy.
[color=#C56710]⤜[/color] While Victor was conceived with the knowledge of who his father was and already having experienced a son—still experiencing a son, Mary was still unable to deal with the all consuming fear that hovered above her daily. She couldn't be sober. She couldn't take care of another child, but she had to. At least this time, Mercury didn't quite leave her to her own devices, but she still denied him much. She had conditions and, however illogical they seemed, Mercury was required to keep to them. He could only offer help from the shadows and without revealing himself to Victor. Her fears were irrational, that a deity would leave a far greater scent on the boy and endanger them both. That she knew what she'd do if there were ever a choice between herself and her son and she wasn't prepared to test that theory.
[color=#C56710]⤜[/color] [CHILD NEGLECT] Early on in his life, Victor quickly came to the realization that he would have to be the adult in his relationship with his mother. That, despite being far too young to take care of even just himself, he had to be the one to care for his mother. For a child, that quite literally shattered Victor's world and yet he did what he could and he kept doing what he could for far, far too long. Cleaning up after Mary, learning how to use the microwave and eventually the stove and oven, making sure his mother wasn't dead and learning how to read and write despite not being able to attend school as often.
[color=#C56710]⤜[/color] Without his knowledge, Victor was given many gifts by his father to aid in his and his mother's survival, much of it came in the form of delivered groceries and many nights paid in full wherever they stayed. Occasionally, Mercury would leave a stuffed toy on the stoop of the motel door. In particular, there was a turtle stuffie that Victor grew very attached to and often told stories to when attending to his mother's needs.
[color=#C56710]⤜[/color] Victor didn't know it at the time, but understands now, since Mary is a child of Trivia, she mostly got by through her manipulation of the Mist. It made navigating the real world a little bit easier, even if she wasn't always lucid. She'd forget sometimes, though, and sometimes Victor would have to scrounge around prior and stockpile and lost money to cover the cost of their stay at whatever motel they'd find themselves in. She'd sometimes use the Mist to allow them to stay at fancier places (usually for Victor's birthday), but she was ever a paranoid woman and feared her use of it for something way above her station might attract unwanted attention.
[color=#C56710]⤜[/color] There was only ever so much that Mary could do when lucid, but one thing she made sure never to miss every morning was masking her and her son's scents. Though she knew that when the time came, Victor would eventually leave. He'd find out, she knew, and by then her ritual would cease to work on him. Before that could occur, Mary piled her son into a stolen car she'd hotwired the night before and drove from a small town in Nevada to Oakland Hills, California. On the way there, she informed Victor of what was happening, of Camp Jupiter, his father Mercury, and the life he'd be forced to live. Victor remembers her staring at him through the rearview, mouth open, unable to say the words he knew she wanted to. It was too late. And, soon, he'd find it would always be too late.
[color=#C56710]⤜[/color] Victor's initiation into the camp, his training with Lupa, and the first few years of his newfound life were rather uneventful. At least he had one thing to thank his mother for. If nothing else, Victor was well prepared for the work he they required of him and often times did so without being told otherwise nor saying anything either way.
[color=#C56710]⤜[/color] What caught Victor off guard in the sudden whirlwind and upheaval of his life wasn't the sudden mysticism of it all nor the quietly growing powers simmering beneath his skin. It was a boy. A boy with short cropped blonde hair and the kind of smile you have to squint to see. For some reason, he found that smile aimed at him again and again and again. Sometimes the world does its best to harden you. For Victor, turmoil felt like normal and this, whatever it was, between him and this boy felt like dropping into a pit of snakes already coiling around his limbs and his body and his heart.
[color=#C56710]⤜[/color] There are moments in his life that Victor can look back on where often thinks to himself: perhaps that was the person I was meant to be. Life with Nathaniel, who he called 'Quiet' whenever Nathaniel smiled at him (despite being so small, it was always so loud to Victor), felt very much like an epiphany. Like an, "Oh! This is what the world is supposed to look like." Perhaps that's what made losing it all so... harrowing.
[color=#C56710]⤜[/color] Their tenth year was wholly uneventful. It was routine every day. Training, eating, training, chore work, training, relaxing, maybe some kissing, maybe something else here and there. It was normalcy in a world definitely the opposite. Every day Victor felt his guard slipping, like he could just enjoy this. That after this year, it'd just be the two of them in a tiny villa somewhere in New Rome just enjoying their days. Perhaps there's a valid reason nurses never mention how quiet of a shift it is.
[color=#C56710]⤜[/color] [DEATH] A quest gone wrong. They had been isolated from the rest of their group, just the two of them. He was bleeding out, dying, and Victor couldn't staunch the flow. Too many wounds. Nathaniel pressed something into his hand then, pale as it was in the moon light. It was solid, colder than Nathaniel's fingers, metallic. "Marry... me, Vic?" there was a pause. Silence. "I don't think I got much time here... y'know," and then a kiss. "Don't ask stupid questions." And then he was gone.
[color=#C56710]⤜[/color] Sometimes people disappoint in surprising ways. Perhaps it was selfish of him to feel disappointed when they lowered Nathaniel's body into the ground in the plot behind the home that they were supposed to grow old in. Like, "Oh, your husband of two seconds died and now you don't get to have a happy pie life anymore," as if it was just a splinter in his finger. Maybe that's what compartmentalization was or something. Or diminishing? Deluding? It didn't matter with him in the ground.
[color=#C56710]⤜[/color] [SELF-HARM] His mother told him it wasn't healthy to be alone after a loss that great. She was correct. He still refused company. He refused company for a good, good while. He especially refused company when he'd woke up one morning with a letter on his kitchen counter with a caduceus staff seal gluing it shut. He refused company when he scrapped and scrapped and scrapped at the final line of his tattoo until it bled, until it scarred over, until it bled again. He'd figure it out eventually. Right now, he just needed to blind himself with his own grief.
[color=#C56710]⤜[/color] It felt like time moved a lot quicker when he had no one to distract him from his thoughts and his duties. He'd attended college just to have something to do that wasn't Legion related. He'd gotten a degree in Ancient Literature with a minor in Creative Writing, attended for his graduate to eventually start teaching at the college. It made ends meet, at least physically. It's what he continued doing for the foreseeable future, meandering along a pitiful existence trying to look for something that might need his attention. Might need him and his ability to move mountains and oceans just to feel like he helped. Feel a bit more like a person.
[color=#C56710]⤜[/color] Present day, Victor contemplates leaving New Rome to live a nomadic life. There's nothing really stopping him, but there's comfort in the familiar and there's a grave he can't quite leave behind in his backyard, however morbid it is to have your dead husband fertilizing your garden.[/indent]
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[color=#C56710][sub][b]Godly Parent:[/b][/sub][/color]
[indent]Mercury, just Mercury.[/indent]
[color=#C56710][sub][b]Relationship to Godly Parent:[/b][/sub][/color]
[indent]There comes a time when a person realizes the root of all their troubles. Their trauma. Their hurts. Their quiet sufferings. Parents are the great arbiters of hope and disappointment. A mixed bag of truths that, as one grows older, it becomes harder and harder to lie about.

"My mother's a deadbeat, but I love her." But I love her. But I love her. But I love her. Over and over again, yet sometimes it's that 'but' that stings the most.

"I don't know my father, but I love him." But I love him. But. But.

Sometimes, a person grows tired of the excuses made in another's stead. Even nine unassuming years doesn't feel enough to mend what wasn't even there to begin with. Victor doesn't know his father. He doesn't really care to. It's not a burning hatred or a simmering rage. It's a simple but poignant apathy.

Perhaps, were he younger, there could've been something there. There could've been talks and stories. There could've been quiet moments beside a fire. Could've beens don't do much in the face of grief. Victor knows it in the avoidance of his mother's gaze not once, but twice. He knows it in the absence the following morning. In the grey toned light of their—of his room.

Even in this, there's still the letter on his kitchen counter. Still there every day, unopened, untouched. Dust on the caduceus seal keeping it shut. Always catching the light from the window. Always catching his eye when he thinks for too long, too hard in the early hours.

Sometimes, Victor thinks, it's a lot easier to project than it is to truly know.[/indent]
[color=#C56710][b][sub]Abilities Pertaining to Godly Parent:[/sub][/b][/color]
[indent][color=#C56710]⸙[/color] [u]Thieves' Cant[/u] - Messages, codes, languages all unravel to Victor's ears, eyes, and mind whether they be dipped in magic or simple tools of communication. The benefits of being a son of a messenger god of thieves, after all. All the more reason to have a fully stocked library if language has never been a barrier. On the other side of the coin, Victor can also easily speak and communicate in languages and code he has seen or heard.
[color=#C56710]⸙[/color] [u]Psychopomp[/u] - Being that Mercury is technically a chthonic god and psychopomp, Victor, though he cannot travel with them to the underworld, can send off souls to their afterlife. Helpful for hauntings, of which he has done a few, sometimes under the table and without the proper paperwork. However, unlike other children of the more Underworldly Underworld deities (Pluto, Proserpina, etc.), Victor's a bit limited in what he can do with the dead. This is pretty much it and, while he can speak to them during this moment, he cannot really speak to them at will any other time.
[color=#C56710]⸙[/color] [u]Endurance[/u] - It would make sense that a god of Mercury's caliber, his children would also inherit his unimaginable speed (to a degree), but Victor's never been the fastest of his ilk and wouldn't want to be either way. Perhaps it's this disposition that kept any godly quickness from manifesting. What Victor did inherit from his sire was an unimaginable endurance. Victor's stamina may often times seem endless to his peers (though it is quite finite as he is still half mortal) and, while he cannot traverse great distances in little time, he can stay the same sprint speed (that of any top level runner) for at most a week, should he push himself to his absolute limit.
[color=#C56710]⸙[/color] [u]'Mundane' Camouflage[/u] - An invisibility of some sorts, Victor seems very unassuming to his peers. This ability is actually what first landed him in the 5th cohort. At first glance, Victor seems unbelievably mediocre. He's just kind of there. Nothing special. No greatness or potential. He's simply a regular demigod—forgettable in every way. Folks with a greater perception, however, whether it be enhanced through their lineage or through magical/mystical means are typically able to tell Victor's not actually what he appears to be. He's a bit of a snake in the grass and he quite likes to keep people thinking he's absolutely not worth a second glance. (First glances at Victor are typically met with an immediate lack of impression, but his own colleagues and peers are typically able to look past his 'camo' so to speak. The situation with the augur putting him in 5th cohort was definitely a fluke)
[color=#C56710]⸙[/color] [u]Lucky Find [Minor][/u] - Victor's never been the type of person to rely on dumb luck, but it does sometimes follow him around. Being the son of the god of merchants and trade has its perks. This is what mostly got him through life with Mary should she ever simply forget to utilize her own abilities. It mostly allows him to find lost things easily and this includes money. In a day, Victor could easily find the equivalent of 5 to 15 dollars or find a small lost item. As a kid, he'd stockpile this money in case of emergency.
[color=#C56710]⸙[/color] [u]Deal Breaking[/u] - While non-magical deals tend to have physical ramifications (usually a punch in the face), magical deals tend to be a little trickier and often come with incredibly fatal and terrifying consequences (selling one's soul, binding a person to servitude, etc.). Victor has the uncouth ability to break magical deals and, if the deal isn't of godly design, he can break another person's deal without invoking the fatal legalities that binds himself or the person he's assisting. It, however, doesn't quite stop the person from getting potentially murdered, BUT if they sold their soul to some nefarious creature they can at least rest knowing they'll not be trapped for eternity. This has come in handy the [i]most[/i] out of his abilities, oddly enough. There's an untold amount of people who sign things without reading them first, especially the younger demigods. (This ability is very much dependent on the strength of the contract and, occasionally, how airtight the legalese is. He cannot break contracts of creatures or beings exceptionally more powerful than he is, but he does get a sick satisfaction from punching a bit above his weight, just not way above)
[color=#C56710]⸙[/color] [u]Locality Tracking[/u] - Being the god of travel and roads, Mercury gifted his son, at birth, the ability to know his location exactly. That's all there is to it. It's quite a bit more useful than it seems.
[color=#C56710]⸙[/color] [u]Directional Sense[/u] - What made Victor one of the most useful Legionnaires to have on a quest is his undeniable ability to know where the nearest pathway is, whether it was a highway or a simple desire path made by frequent footfall, Victor knew where it was and where it went. Combined with his self-tracking ability, Victor seems almost impervious to ever being lost. Physically, at least.
[color=#C56710]⸙[/color] [u]Value Sense[/u] - Through touch, Victor could deduce an objects value, typically what it would go for within vicinity of someone willing to buy (if there were none nearby, he'd get an idea of its cost on eBay, though real money currency conversion with ancient money did tend to be somewhat difficult). It made him very annoying to merchants who tried to upsell him cheap knock offs.
[color=#C56710]⸙[/color] [u]Vehicular Adaptability[/u] - Though dependent upon size and complexity, Victor has an uncanny knowledge of how to operate most vehicles he is on, in, or currently riding. Being a somewhat selfish person, Victor tends to keep this ability under wraps simply because he enjoys saying, "Beginner's luck," anytime he miraculously pilots something his ability allows him to. (Vehicles that he cannot pilot are space shuttles, commercial airplanes, military planes, yachts, or cruise ships. He can pilot anything similar to a car and small planes and ships. Fun fact: Victor [i]can[/i] expertly ride a unicycle)[/indent]
[color=#C56710][sub][b]Legacy:[/b][/sub][/color]
[indent]Trivia, the three-way Roman Goddess of crossroads, magic, and witchcraft[/indent]
[color=#C56710][sub][b]Legacy Abilities:[/b][/sub][/color]
[indent][color=#C56710]⸙[/color] [u]Forager's Luck[/u] - It could be argued that an ability of this type might fit a plant based deity's kid more, Victor's specific (preternatural) talent focuses on finding specifically plant and animal-based ingredients suited for alchemy and witchcraft. If needed and when, he knows exactly where to find something should it be within a 5-mile radius.
[color=#C56710]⸙[/color] [u]Curse Reading[/u] - While Victor cannot manipulate curses (or cast/dispel them without the proper ingredients or rituals), Victor can tell whether an object or a person is cursed and with what. If he takes at least a day's worth of focusing, he can tell where a person or object attained their curse if it is within a 30-mile radius.
[color=#C56710]⸙[/color] [u]Minor Hypnokinesis[/u] - Though unable to fully put even a willing person to sleep, Victor can at least aid someone, and even himself, to a bit of restful sleep. Mostly, though, he's able to keep a willing person under restful sleep for as long as they are willing. They usually have to give consent and a timeframe before falling asleep, otherwise he can't do anything.[/indent]
[color=#C56710][sub][b]Cohort:[/b][/sub][/color]
[indent]Former 5th and 3rd Cohorts.[/indent]
[color=#C56710][sub][b]Position in the Legion:[/b][/sub][/color]
[indent]Former Legionnaire[/indent]
[color=#C56710][sub][b]Fatal Flaw:[/b][/sub][/color]
[indent][color=#C56710][i]Old Reliable[/i][/color]
There is nothing more bitter than the need and desire to put your whole, entire faith into someone who can only ever truly disappoint you. And to keep doing that over and over and over again knowing full well that the only person he can ever rely on is himself. Because people die. People don't know how to take care of themselves. People cannot operate without another person's guiding hand. People close to him cannot seem to do anything but die, lie, or leave. So why should he ever put his life in another person's hands when the people he cares about most either spiral into death or depravity?

Victor can take care of himself, so that he can take care of others. He needs to. He needs to be the one person that doesn't end up disappointing, otherwise how else will they survive?[/indent]
[color=#C56710][b][sub]Weapons:[/sub][/b][/color]
[indent][color=#C56710]⸙[/color] Calamus - An Imperial Gold enchanted pugio. It's disguised as a denarius with the image of his father engraved on it. The enchantment allows Victor to transform the dagger within 5-10 seconds of releasing it, allowing him to flick it for a surprise attack.
[color=#C56710]⸙[/color] Gallus - an Imperial Gold hasta that can be both disguised as a compass with a rooster on the tip of the arrow and a walking stick/cane. It has the uncanny ability to look a lot shorter than it actually is.
[/indent]

[color=#C56710][b][sub]Misc Information:[/sub][/b][/color]
[indent][color=#C56710]⸙[/color] Still keeps the turtle stuffie which he named "Girsh" as a kid. He keeps it on his bed and, yeah, sleeps with it at night still.
[color=#C56710]⸙[/color] While he doesn't have regular pets, Victor keeps multiple terrariums (and plants, in general) in his home. He quite likes fungi and has a few mushroom colony terrariums in his office.
[color=#C56710]⸙[/color] Even though he has no desire (or won't admit to it) to see his father, Victor sometimes writes notes to him that he tosses in the trash or burns. Occasionally, if a bit tipsy, he'll often lean against his balcony and quietly tell Mercury his thoughts.
[color=#C56710]⸙[/color] His mother gave him a necklace with rhodonite attached to it for healing purposes after the loss of his husband. He keeps it on his nightstand now after having moved it from his foyer to his living room to the bathroom and then to the kitchen. It might not do exactly what it says on the tin, but he knows his mother enchanted it at least with a spell to sooth him whenever he holds it.
[color=#C56710]⸙[/color] Writes poetry and short stories every few days.
[color=#C56710]⸙[/color] After some pestering from his students, he holds a book club meeting every Saturday evening at 8 PM. It's currently being held nearby Ceres's Garden as he looks for a more permanent location.
[color=#C56710]⸙[/color] Despite his personal issues, Victor loves his mother and would do just about anything for her. He kind of understands now the hell she must have gone through. It makes him a hypocrite, but he does truly wish she sought out help.
[color=#C56710]⸙[/color] Victor doesn't actually know much about his own brother, Lawrence, just that he was 8 years older than him (Mary was 22) and that he died before he was sent to Camp Jupiter. Mary had a private funeral to mourn him; they cremated him at her request and allowed her to keep the ashes.
[color=#C56710]⸙[/color] Victor isn't a singer, but he does sound mildly pleasant whenever he does sing. It's rare and he likes quieter, more melancholic songs.
[color=#C56710]⸙[/color] He calls his late husband, Nathaniel, 'Quiet' because any time he'd smile at Victor, he'd shush him and whisper, 'Quiet.' He'd had his reasons but never explained it to Nathaniel.
[color=#C56710]⸙[/color] Wildflower and Barley by Hozier
[color=#C56710]⸙[/color] The Moon
[color=#C56710]⸙[/color] Hermes (as a kid), Hecate (as an adult)[/indent]
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