ORIGINAL or CANON: Original
Series of Origin: Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles
What was the inspiration for them / do they embody a particular feeling or emotion?Awkward, nervous, very animated and someone prone to overreacting. A more of a "comic relief" character that would be fun to play and watch. Someone who isn't a hero in any way or form, but if they somehow manage to do something heroic, it's a huge step for them
Name: Marmadue
Nickname: –
Age: 37
Gender: Male
Species: Yuke
Being Type: Somebody
Position: Neutral Good
Appearance: One word that could be used to describe Marmadue would be
tall. Standing at a good 7 feet and 3 inches, he tends to tower over many other species of humanoids. Luckily for everyone else, he doesn't really have all that much body mass to go with it, his build lanky and lacking muscle. Everything about him seems a bit elongated and stretched from his thin legs to his long, skinny neck – not to mention his overly long arms that start out thin and thicken up at the forearms to meet with his awkwardly large hands and thick fingers. Marmadue is covered in feathers, colored a pinkish white with darker, duller pink stripes all around him and his limbs – with a few exceptions. His neck and arms lack the stripes and only have the darker coloration to them. On his back, the Yuke has small, bat-like wings that are dark in color.
How does he really
look like, one might ask – meaning his face, of course. After all, the Yuke wears a helmet just like many others of his kind. The answer to that question is only something to be revealed to a select few however, the only thing visible being the single dark horn that grows out of his forehead and has a convenient hole in his helmet to jut out of.
But until then, his helmet might as well serve as his face and the narrow horizontal slit as his eyes. It is made of some metal that seems brass-like in color, spotless and without scratches or bumps – clearly something that hasn't been used as battle-wear. It's mostly rounded and seems to be something that follows the shape of his head, even continuing down his neck a bit where it has been tightened with screws so it does not come off very easily. The visor part has a rather prominent beak-like shape to it, long and tapering into a sharp point, covered in some small holes for breathing. A thin leather strap runs over it to keep the visor from just popping open with movement. The sides of the visor have ornamental, fin-like plates that stick close to the sides of the helmet.
Clothing-wise, he gets most of his style from his people – and it's not just the whole helmet thing, either. His pants only cover his thighs, leaving the lower legs bare to show the striped pattern of his feathers. He wears many pieces of random armor like his plated shoes and cuirass, both of which seem to match his helmet in color. All this despite never getting into battle – and indeed, it's possible that the armor isn't even made to really stand up to such, only there for show. Underneath the cuirass Marmadue wears a long-sleeved white shirt, its long hem peeking from underneath. On top of it all, he wears a green coat that has a yellow trim all around, long enough to come down all the way to his knees. The collar and the cuffs have some extra decorative swirly patterns on them, a similar color and thickness as the trim. On the front, there are large yellow buttons, but he usually just buttons the top one.
History:The land in which Marmadue was born wasn't a very peaceful one. It was covered in monsters and the strange dark mist called miasma that would steal the lives of those foolish enough to wander into it. The only thing that managed to keep the miasma at bay were the great crystals each village had, creating small oases where life was possible for the non-monster races. Unfortunately, the crystals wouldn't keep their powers forever, having to be purified yearly by the dew from myrrh trees that grew all over the world. Because of this, there were caravanners in every village with one, very important purpose: to travel in search of the dew that would keep their village going for yet another year, a small crystal they carried around with them their only protection from the deadly miasma.
That was what Marmadue's parents did – well, once a year, at least, for their village of Shella. For the rest of the year, the two were alchemists – and while their other job might have been a rather dangerous one and not very good for raising a family, they still did end up having a single child. When he was young, Marmadue didn't really understand why his parents had to go once a year on a long journey and why he had to be left behind, but he didn't understand the danger and thus was perfectly happy staying with family friends. It was kind of fun, actually, being a part of a different family sometimes, learning different skills…
Of course he eventually learned just how important it was what his parents did – and how dangerous it was. And still, it was something someone had to do. Did anyone like having their friends and family go on a crystal caravan to the ends of the earth? Of course not. But there was no other option, if they wanted to survive. Even Marmadue didn't want to put his needs before, oh, the entire rest of the village. His parents were pretty much heroes anyway, someone to be proud of. Yukes that were doing good things for everyone selflessly.
But perhaps it was no surprise that one time the caravan came back with one less person.
Marmadue hadn't even lived for a decade when he lost his mother. His father did come back, and never went on another myrrh-collecting trip after that, retiring on the spot. Family life never was quite the same after that, his father heartbroken and depressed. Perhaps, in an attempt to give them both something else to think about, his father hoped that Marmadue would join him and start learning his craft of alchemy.
Which the young Yuke did agree to. Honestly, before it all had happened, he had kind of hoped to become a tailor or something instead, having liked it when he had the chance to observe and try – and he wasn't half bad at it, either. But it was hard to say no to his father considering how down he was. They both were hurting, and perhaps this would let them heal. Marmadue never really had the heart to mention other career options even years afterward, seeing how happy it made his father to work together as a father and son. Marmadue was the only thing he had left, after all.
The years passed, uneventful for the most part, Marmadue learning his craft and some simple magic training that seemed to be customary to his species. It was peaceful even, in the protection of the crystal others kept filling with the dew of the myrrh trees. Inside the village, it was almost as if none of the horrible things happening outside even existed. The caravans went and came, bringing with them life and joy that turned into long parties celebrating their great deeds. Marmadue's father wasn't much for the parties, though. He was quite interested in the study of the crystals and miasma, perhaps hoping to come up with something that would have made the crystal caravans obsolete.
The peace did not last. The monsters were usually kept away from the villages, staying to the miasma-filled areas where they seemed to be born. Yet, one day, the skies grew dark and monsters poured in. Marmadue did not know if that happened everywhere, but it certainly happened in Shella. Strange, shadowy creatures no one seemed to have ever seen before, attacking everyone – their numbers seemingly endless, no matter how many of them were vanquished. They were overrun. Many… Well. Many fell.
Marmadue was not a fighter. At the time, he had been alone on the outskirts, picking herbs for his father and himself. An easy target, really. He fled the strange creatures, but there was no place to run to, no place to hide. No one to protect him. He never made it to his father, the village already overrun and too dangerous. What happened next was something the Yuke is still quite unsure about, as the world seemed to grow darker, enveloping him. Perhaps he had ran off too far, perhaps it was the miasma and that was what it would do to those who got too close, but the darkness eventually swallowed him, his vision growing dark. The Yuke panicked and tried to call out, but no voice managed to escape his mouth. No, he almost felt like…
Suffocating. No matter how much he tried to fight it, it was no use. He was starting to lose his consciousness, yet another victim to miasma.
...Maybe? If so, it seemed like being engulfed by it wasn't the end, after all. But Shella or the lake was nowhere to be found when he managed to open his eyes – which was preposterous! He had been right outside its walls just a moment ago… And where was everyone?
Current Primary Objective: What else? To get back home, somehow!
Learning type: Auditory
Personality:Marmadue, while hardly carrying himself with some kind of aura of grace, has a bit of a gentlemanly streak to him. He's soft-spoken – even if a bit long-winded – and polite, and doesn't seem like he has one mean bone on him. As an alchemist, he has a good head for numbers and all kinds of strange formulas or other theories, be it magical or mundane. It's no surprise that he enjoys reading and is, actually, well-read and quite knowledgeable despite not really having traveled – when it comes to his own world, of course, which might not be as useful in his current situation.
Considering that he is often calm and how he's wearing a helmet that conceals his entire face, one might worry that he will appear quite unemotional and difficult to read, and thus, converse with. Such isn't quite the truth. The Yuke probably doesn't even realize how he's basically wearing his heart on his sleeve, his tone and body language revealing his true intentions and feelings. Because of this, he's one lousy liar incapable of any kind of deceit, as surely even the most oblivious child is going to catch wind that not everything is as stated! Marmadue isn't all that great at that
socializing thing either, a bit awkward all around – but he tries his best and means well.
But he's not very good at noticing when he himself is being fooled by others. He… Tends to trust others and assume they're not up to anything bad, often falling prey to deception due to blindly believing – or perhaps hoping – that the person is good.
Unfortunately, despite often appearing calm in
normal situations, Marmadue doesn't handle stress or danger too well. He's a bit of a coward, maybe – but please! He doesn't have any training or other experience in such things! He's no hero. He hasn't been blessed with amazing skills, courage or just dumb luck to survive if he just throws himself at danger without thinking! And he just couldn't possibly
think when he's about to be hurt! No, to him, it's better to avoid something like that. He's a real cautious worrywart and a pushover, despite how intimidating he might look thanks to his inhuman appearance and tall stature. Hurting others isn't Marmadue's game, be it physically or emotionally. Unfortunately for him, however, he has a really hard time turning his back on those who are in trouble – if they seem like they're weaker, younger and unable to handle whatever issues they have on their own.
And no, the Yuke won't remove his helmet. Sometimes he might open it to say, eat, but he goes to great lengths to make sure his face doesn't show. Such is the custom of his species: knowledge of how he might look is only given to a select few! And, well, he would also prefer it if you didn't go showing him your intimate bits, too…
Marmadue quite enjoys sewing and knitting in addition to his reading hobby, and his father is also dear to him. He detests violence and fighting, handling blood and other such gore extremely poorly – his knees just turn into jelly at the thought! He dislikes sour tastes and red meat, as well as getting wet. After all, he has lots of feathers and his helmet is made of metal, so it's just all around very uncomfortable.
These days he is rather lost, being thrown into a new world he does not understand, all alone.
Home World: Unnamed World (Crystal Chronicles)
Natural Affinities/Abilities/Skills: 
