Marius Asclepius

Childhood: Marius was born to two rich Italian pharmaceutical moguls hellbent on profits and building an economic empire. He lived a cozy, pampered life with a great education at a private school, where he’d flaunt his money, as his parents did. This earned him many friends, but in time, he learned they were all rather superficial. Coupled with the fact he had made a few enemies who mocked him for his carefree spending, he started to dislike his status at the school. Shouldn’t people in themselves be more important than their wealth? Besides, currying favor with money was too easy. The fact that ‘commoners’ had to form bonds through interaction and hobbies and emotional support… That was fascinating. People and their genuine opinions on him as a person were surely more important than Euros, right? At the very least, they were far more fun and interesting to interact with than a fancy new car or a giant home theater filled with empty seats.

College: When the man came of age, he decided to move away from the family business and instead focus on law: a people-oriented job where his ideals could clash against others'. He went into Defamation Law, where it was all about words versus words; it was his wheelhouse, as he had always been fascinated by how powerful mere statements could be, when said in the perfect way, at the perfect place, at the perfect time. He attended the Humboldt University of Berlin, and opted to stay in the city instead of moving back to Italy, given he had already found housing there, whereas at home, all he had ever known was his family’s mansion.

Adult Life: He enjoyed the toughness and effort each of his cases required, and the fact that trial watchers were sharing translated clips of ‘zingers’ of his on social media helped boost his already healthy ego further. He became a bit of a mini celebrity when he was hired by a German politician, Rolf Deimar, to defend him against one of his former employees, earning him the title of The Bull of Berlin.

Meeting Rolf: As a means to get his clients to open up to him and relax, Marius was always one to try to break the ice with various methods, be it a casual walk in the park, a coffee & donut break, or a game of poker. Rolf was no different, though he was a tougher nut to crack, especially with his constant criticisms of the most minute details of Marius’ character (“You’re too happy.” “Your outfit would match better if the tie was lighter.” “I don’t like your car; you should take public transportation.”). Thankfully, Marius was the perfect lawyer for him, confident enough in himself to not be offended, and instead simply course-correcting whenever a new complaint popped up. He finally made some headway when his client’s eyes sparkled at the mention of poker, followed by a “That’s ridiculous; I’m not paying you to play card games,” but when Marius insists it’s off the clock, he begrudgingly accepts.

Through poker, the two formed a budding friendship, the politician even offering to pay him a fulltime salary to be his personal lawyer, and it was then that Marius caught on that the man was lonely and desperate for someone to be close by to confide in, as his poor social abilities pushed most others away. At the time, Marius refused, but promised to keep playing poker with him every Friday, slowly introducing Rolf to new people to try to open him up further, and in time, “Bluff Waffe" formed, consisting of avid poker fans who met each week to play matches—with the twist that cheating was allowed, the goal being to not be caught. Bluff Waffe is his secondary pride and joy, after his skills and fame as a lawyer.

While Rolf never became ‘friendly,’ some of his rougher edges were sanded out, Marius becoming his personal ‘translator’ when it came to his overly blunt remarks. Rolf would often invite him to various social events and ask him to stick close, not feeling truly comfortable interacting without him. Rather quickly, Marius realized that Rolf had grown to like him more than just a friend, and while not nearly as lovestruck, he eventually offered to move in with him, for Rolf's sake. He had come to realize Rolf kind of needed him to function in any sociable manner, and while he didn’t have any dependence on Rolf in turn, he liked the man well enough to spend his life with him.

Marriage: They spent quite a few years as this odd housemate couple of two rich people who had plenty of money, and rumors certainly spread that they were dating, which Marius would either wave off or joke about how it was a little suspicious, hoping to slowly edge his way into making Rolf admit he had a crush on him. Of course, it never worked, as the man was a brick wall, so in time, Marius instead ‘confessed,’ despite being the less lovestruck of the two. Rolf scoffs and says he’s ridiculous, yet accepts, “for [his] sake,” the eternal tsundere.

They marry and not much changes, aside from a bit more actual romance in their life. Rolf continues to be a less controversial politician, while Marius continues with his famous hotshot lawyer gig, taking on all sorts of interviews and enjoying the limelight, then relaxing each night with a much more subdued quiet life with his husband, outside of poker nights.

When Ultimates start being handed out, he’s pretty confident he’ll be chosen as Lawyer or Attorney or whatever they’d call it, and indeed, he is, leading to more interviews, more fame, more fans, and more potential detractors: all of it great fun, because now he could use his words on an even greater stage.

And that’s where they leave off. There’s no tragedy. There’s no trauma. Just a confident, charismatic lawyer and his grumpy, bad-mouthed husband, living a happy, stable life in Berlin.

• His laurel 'crown' is suposed to resemble bull horns, albeit, they're pretty small as to not be too showy.
• I likened him to wearing mostly green originally, but purple is a sign of 'magistrates' in Rome, so I decided to go more purple, at least for his work-related stuff.