Angelo Carmine

 is a Rider encountered in Monster Hunter Stories Ultimate, and serves as an optional fight.

Description
Angelo Carmine is a tall, lithe man with long, light blonde hair, blue eyes, and soft facial features, giving him the appearance of a dandy. On his head rests a dark red, wide-brimmed hat with a massive, white feather, and he wears a black domino mask alongside a dark red bandanna on his face, obscuring his identity. He wears a dark red jacket with silver lining and trim and gold buttons and rhinestones, and over the sleeves of this jacket rest black gauntlets with silver markings and gold, ovular rhinestones. Over his shoulders rests a black cape with gold trim, which is held in place with gold chains. Underneath this jacket is a pair of white breeches, black leg coverings that reach up to the thighs, a white breechcloth, and dark red boots with silver lining, gold rhinestones, and black soles.

Personality
Angelo is an intrepid merchant, travelling far and wide to collect rare, valuable items to sell to customers for very high prices and looking for all manner of customers to sell his wares to, no matter the risk involved, with his favoured customers being Hunters and fellow Riders due to their long, wide travels leaving them wanting for new, worthwhile items. He is shown to be courteous towards his customers, talking to them like they were old friends, offering them fine wine, and respecting their decision to buy or not buy items, and is honest about the effects of the items he sells, as he values customer satisfaction. When he's not busy selling his wares, he is a robber by trade, boldly going up to intended marks with his Monsties in tow and requesting them to hand over their goods if they want to avoid a fight, and is willing to fight them to get what he wants. He is also pragmatic when it comes to his choice of targets, refusing to rob the poor because they lack valuable goods, and prioritizing government figures and members of nobility, sleazy and corrupt ones in particular, due to them having large sums of money and valuable items on hand and being disliked by the general public. Should anyone try to steal from him like he steals from others, he will challenge them to a fight to see if they are worthy of taking his goods; if they win, he will let them have the goods for free, and if they lose, he will take them back, alongside the money they would have initially paid for it.

Background
WIP.

Abilities
Angelo Carmine is a Rider with no specific element of choice regarding Monsties, wielding a Blast Ailment-based Sword and Shield called the Hero's Sword and using an Ivory Lagiacrus, a Stygian Zinogre, a Kirin, a Glavenus, a Bulldrome, and a Shrouded Nerscylla. He and his Monsties are all at the highest level Riders can reach, and his Monsties' Genes are tailored for competitive matches between Riders, making him a difficult match for all but the mightiest among them. He is also a well-traveled and hardy individual, having scoured all sorts of places to acquire rare goods.

Tropes that Apply to Them

 * | Affably Evil: He's polite to the player and other customers, talking to them as if they were old friends, offering them a glass of wine free of charge when they stop to buy his wares, and respecting their decision to not purchase his wares, and has genuine respect for the player's abilities as well, praising them if they beat him and encouraging them to get better if they lose. He's also a ruthless mugger who'll send his Monsties after noncombatants if it suits him, and will rob the player if they lose to him.
 * Bonus Boss: Regardless of the route the player takes, he can only be fought by refusing to pay for something taken from his store.
 * The Dandy: He's quite focused on his own physical attractiveness, wearing stylish clothes and keeping himself neat and tidy.
 * Domino Mask: He wears one.
 * Evil vs. Evil: His primary targets are sleazy and corrupt politicians, nobles, and associates of the Hunter's Guild, as he sees them as easy game due to them having rare and valuable goods on hand in addition to being disliked by the general public and making their fortunes off the backs of others.
 * Genius Bruiser: Not only is he at the highest level a Rider can be, but his Monsties are all tailored for competitive play, making him as tactical as he is strong.
 * Gentleman Thief: While a bit more violent than most examples, he's a dashing and debonair fellow who refuses to rob those who can't afford the loss.
 * Graceful Loser: If he's defeated, he'll praise the player for their strength and skill, and will also let them keep the item they tried to steal from him following the battle with him.
 * Intrepid Merchant: No matter how dangerous the area is, he will find a way to get there and try to sell the player his goods, and he's explored many different areas in an effort to gain new goods.
 * Long-Haired Pretty Boy: He's a tall, long-haired, dashing rogue, and when unmasked, he's shown to have soft facial features.
 * Meaningful Name: His last name, Carmine, is a shade of deep red, reflecting his primary choice of colour regarding his outfit.
 * Pragmatic Villainy: He refuses to rob the poor because they having nothing valuable for him to take. This extends to gameplay as well; while he normally has no qualms with robbing the hunter if they lose to him, he won't do so if they lack the funds needed to buy the item they tried to steal.
 * Shoplift and Die: Stealing from his store will result in him attacking the player so he can get his goods back, along with what the player would have initially payed for it.
 * Videogame Stealing: If he defeats the player after they steal something from him, he'll take what they would have paid for it alongside the stolen items.
 * Villain with Good Publicity: Despite being a ruthless mugger, he's amassed a large, dedicated following due to his genuine politeness and charm, sharp sense of style, and habit of targeting wealthy figures seen as sleazy and corrupt by some. This is invoked in-game as well, with him carrying a Hero's Sword despite being classified as a villain due to his reception among the public.

Gallery
N/A

Notes and Trivia

 * Angelo Carmine was designed to be an optional, high-level boss that players could effectively test their skill on; not only are he and his Monsties at the highest level they can reach, but he also utilizes Blast, which can be deadly in PvP due to the damage it deals, and all his Monsties are ones that are high-tier or top-tier in PvP and have gene selections designed to fit their roles (for example, his Shrouded Nerscylla has a Hounding Gene, which goes well with its status-inflicting moves).