David's Plotter

[David]

I humbly present to you...

 

Mania Victoria

Mania Victoria, the 19-year-old middle child of an Equine goldsmith family with Noric roots, is probably one of the most unpleasant individuals on the Roman social scene. Thoroughly jealous of her older brother Primus, who is set to take over the family business as firstborn, she has begrudgingly had to accept her role in society as a woman in a misogynistic and patriarchal society. While unhappy with her role, she, however, intends to dutifully fulfill her responsibility towards her family and is thus somewhat torn between her wishes and her responsibilities. She spends her days being pampered at the thermae, attending sporting events and theatre performances, eating, drinking and gossipping away at dinner parties and travelling all across the Empire. Many attempts to set her up with a suitable husband have been made by her parents, but were in vain, put to an end either by the matches who saw her as an unfitting wife, as Mania's parents would like her to marry up from the Equine into the Senatorial class, or because Mania simply avoided them until they lost all interest. She wishes to command her own destiny, and sees her older brother and the gender norms as obstacles which prevent her from doing just that.

 

Friends

In terms of friends, Mania prefers the company of other Patricians, either from the Equine or Senatorial class. Networking has always been a crucial part of the family business, and that is essentially what Mania sees friendships as. Don't expect her to be the friend who'll come running to your aid in time of need - in fact, expect her to be the one who tells all of Rome exactly why you were in need, especially if it's a juciy piece of gossip or a spicy secret. Speaking of juciy gossip - if you want to get on Mania's good side, you better had plenty. But beware if you gossip about her; her brothers don't call her Medousa just because.

 

Relationships

While Mania isn't a big fan of traditional gender roles, she was still raised with them in mind and thus only sees relationships as a way to secure a marriage and offspring. She isn't into casual sex or short flings at all and is, in fact, still a virgin and intends to remain one until marriage. Any man who wishes to marry her better be very well-situated and can expect a noteworthy dowry. However, he should also be ready for a not very happy marriage. If you think Mania's parents could have thought of you as a suitable candidate for marriage, or if your character simply (for whatever ununderstandable reason) wishes to become romantically involved with Mania, you're setting them up for a world of drama and rejection - which, arguably, does make for fun threads and plotlines.

 

Enemies

Enemies are probably what Mania has most of. While she keeps up a very prim and proper facade in public, she can quickly become very unpleasant to be around in private and has no reservations about letting those she dislikes know she does, even though social etiquette prevents her from doing so overly directly, forcing her to resort to backhanded compliments. She will exhaust every resource to find out your dirtiest secrets and will make sure to put them right where everyone can see them, onto the Wall. If Mania lived in the 21st century, she would most likely be the world's most hated gossip columnist.

 

Other

Do you not see where your character could fit in just yet, or you have a vague idea but nothing concrete in mind? Let me know, I'm sure we can figure something out! If your character is active in the Patrician social scene or of the Equine class, chances are they have met or could meet Mania somewhere. You could also have met either one of her brothers, and they could've let you know just how ghastly she can be, or you're a customer at her father's shop, or have worked with him in the past in some capacity. The possibilities are endless!

 

Please, if possible, contact me with plot ideas through Discord - I prefer to plot in DMs, as plotter threads can get convoluted and confusing quite quickly!

Edited June 28, 2021 by David