Romeo

Backstory

Romeo is 18, making him the youngest of the four suitors, and he plays a bit of a different role in the State compared to the other dateable characters. His father might be the most important character in the entire game story-wise, being the leader of the Ragnatela, and so Romeo doesn't actually play any tangible role in the State.

Capo, Romeo's father, was a young boy when the war started. His father (Romeo's grandfather) was an Italian politician before the war and died after the city he was in was bombed by an opposing army. Capo and his brother fled to the UK to hide until the war was over, learning about life on the streets and how to fend for themselves. They met Araya, who would go on to be known as "The Spider", a fellow survivor of the nuclear war looking for refuge, and together the three of them fought for their right to live. Araya was the heavyweight, Capo was the negotiator, and Capo's little brother was the heart. He always believed in the best of people and searched for a way to end the war. The three of them gained followers through Capo's charisma and Araya's infamy. As the war fizzled to a close and Crime States began popping up all around the place, Capo saw his opportunity to start his own, but his brother thought otherwise. Araya strongly believed that starting their own State was a good idea and fought Capo's brother every step of the way. One day, he died trying to negotiate with a violent crimelord, which started a long-standing rivalry between the two states. Heartbroken, Capo invaded the building in which the incident happened, forcing hundreds of the opposing State's troops to relocate and turning it into the hub for their new State, which he named Ragnatela.

Several years later, Capo fell in love with a Syrian noblewoman who had fled to England for the same reason as him and was looking for shelter and protection. Like him, she had a charm and charisma that made people want to listen to her. They had a child, Romeo, and despite trying, they were unable to have another, so Romeo is an only child. He was raised nice, getting the best spoils of the State's winnings, and was most allowed to do what he wanted with his life. Throughout his childhood, he was a stuck-up brat, always wanting to be the centre of attention. Despite being the son of the most revered man in the entire state, he felt lonely as a child, isolated from his peers due to his smaller frame and wimpish personality; plus, other kids were scared to go around him, lest they offend him or upset him accidentally and bring upon them the wrath of his father. Despite being a similar age to Ross (with a five-year age gap) and him being his father's best friend's kid, they never saw eye to eye and had an awkward, estranged relationship. It wasn't until Tokyo was adopted into the State that Romeo felt he had a true friend; Tokyo didn't have the same awkwardness around him that the other kids his age did, since they didn't see him in the same semi-noble light that the majority did. They shared stories from their childhoods, and Romeo admired Tokyo for their skill and bravery in the face of adversity. Romeo never lost his pretentiousness or his passion, but he certainly gained a new level of modesty from his friendship with Tokyo.

Dates and Endings

Romeo, as I mentioned above, does not play the same functional role in the State as the other datable characters do, so thinking up any kind of "mission" for him was quite difficult; there aren't any retro arcade games that fall in line with his "sitting around all day" attitude. Therefore, instead of having a retro game inspire his minigames, you will instead have to help him pick an outfit in the style of an old dress-up game from the early 2000s. You will be given prompts and have to help him dress for events, depending on the dress code.

Once you get enough points, Romeo will ask you to come to an event as his plus one. It isn't so much of an "event" as it is a top secret meeting between Capo and his allies, which Romeo is invited to in order to gain the skills necessary to one day take over the State. This is the first time you've seen Romeo so quiet, and he stays silent until someone insults Capo's methods of leading, and then Romeo gets upset and storms out of the meeting. You follow him, and you can choose to either tell him he's being immature or calm him down and support him.

For the second date, you are told that there is a spy in the Ragnas, planted by the enemy, and that Romeo should lay low in his room until the situation is handled. Capo instructs you to go with him as a companion and bodyguard. While you're together, Romeo lets you in on some of his struggles, and you bond (if it's the bad ending, things are a little awkward). Then, Noah burst into the room and begins to threaten Romeo, revealing his true villainy. In the bad ending, Romeo freezes in fear before fleeing the room. You run after him, but he is shot and killed by Noah in the heat of the moment. Noah escapes, and after the skirmish, you are killed by Capo in a rage. In the good ending, however, Romeo asks Noah not to hurt you and to take him instead, confessing his love for the player. Moved by Romeo's dedication, Noah freezes before being taken out by The Spider just in time.

If you complete Romeo's good ending, the song "Death by Glamour" from the indie game Undertale will play. Of course, this song is already partially in 8-bit; however, I still think that the dramatic vibes this song exerts fit perfectly with Romeo.

Death By GlamourToby Fox · Song · 2015

Art

First Concepts

Taking inspiration from his moodboard, I sketched some initial ideas for what Romeo should look like. I wanted him to display very triangular shape language—as you can see in his torso shape, his face, his hair, and his nose—to allude to his energetic and flirtatious personality. Of course, his primary colour is going to be pink, as it is vibrant and feminine, just like him.

There were a few ideas that I liked; him having a crop top fits well with his personality, and I also want him to be extremely skinny, almost to an unhealthy degree. Maybe he's suffered from an eating disorder? Of course, monster energy came up a few times in his moodboard, and I imagine him being the monster to Ross' red bull.

Something else that I considered after making this sheet is the potential of Romeo being ethnic; this then sparked the idea of him having eastern European heritage, hence why his mother is Syrian. I imagine him having a very angular face with a long, straight nose and hooded eyes. Not only does this make him look distinct from the other characters, but it also lends itself beautifully to his sultry, handsome personality.

Outfits

Next came the outfits. The first look took great inspiration from one of the images on the moodboard for the first outfit; however, the open-fronted crop top is just too fitting to miss. I also like the look of the skinny jeans and the Converse shoes, as I think they lend themselves more to his triangular shape language. The second outfit is also very nice; I am in love with the design on his hoodie; however, I realise that the shape is quite square and might be a little too baggy for his look. Same situation with the shoes; I think they look really cool, but clunky boots just don't really convey the triangular shape I'm going for. The third outfit is a little more casual; the hoodie is a nice colour but conceals his shape too much. I like the bottom half, though; the socks and shorts combo is very appealing.

I asked around, and most people said that the first outfit fit best with his personality, but surprisingly, there were a lot of people saying they liked the third one better. I think that the more muted colour palette is more appealing, and the fit of the jacket is more natural. While I agree with these points, I think that I like the crop top too much to not use it; therefore, I will be using the crop top from the first outfit, matched with the bottoms of the third.

Hair

Finally, it was time for the hair. I sketched up this close-up of his head, and while I think that he looks a little bit like a lizard, I think it captures the angular element of his face. The first hairstyle is what I have been giving him thus far, and while it's a little basic, I still like it; it's triangular, it's nicely textured, and it fits with his personality. The second hairstyle is a little more unique; I like it though, and I think it gives him a little more spice than the first one. When I asked my friend what she thought of it, she said it looked like a haircut that clearly said, "This is a man named Romeo", which I think is a positive? I also think this hairstyle fits his face shape a lot more, and while it's less triangular, it complements the angular parts of his face with a softer aspect. The third hairstyle is terrible; I tried to do something similar to what I saw on the moodboards, and it turned out awful. There is nothing more to say. In conclusion, I think that while the first and second hairstyles have equal good and bad parts, I am going to go with the second hairstyle purely because it is more interesting and visually dynamic.

Extras

Reference Sheet

The process of drawing Romeo's reference was a lot simpler than many of the other reference sheets, as I have a pretty solid idea of his anatomy, outfits, and hair, so it was mainly just a case of getting the colours perfect.

I made his skin tone a little darker than some of my previous sketches, and I very much like the way that his skin and face shape look distinct from the other suitors, as it gives him a little bit more individuality than the others. His anatomy is intentionally very stylized; many of my peers commented that he is so skinny that it looks like his skeleton has shrunk. I want him to be extremely lanky and underweight compared to the other characters, as this gives him a more triangular silhouette.

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