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OOC INFO
Player: Terri
Contact:![[plurk.com profile]](https://plurk.com/favicon.ico)
switalia
Age: 30+
Pronouns: she/her
Timezone: U.S./Pacific
Current Characters/Invited By: No other characters; invited by the mods
IC INFO
Character Name: Martin Blackwood
Character Canon: The Magnus Archives
Canon Point: Episode 200
Age: 30
Crime(s):
Personality:
Nice - Martin is ultimately a polite and kind man. He remembers birthdays, he earnestly listens to people regardless of whether he's actually interested in what they're saying, he helps others without needing something for himself, and he dedicates his life to taking care of others, even the ones who hate him. His first encounter with Jon Sims involved him looking for a stray dog he'd accidentally let into the Archives when he'd stopped to pet it and make sure it was okay. He makes every effort to visit and assist his ailing mother in spite of her being emotionally and verbally abusive. Even during the apocalypse, he can't help but want to help some of the people suffering in the fear domains they pass through, offering apologies to some of them when they can't... even after Jon tells him the people can't hear him and aren't aware of his presence.
Practical - Martin is a practical man and a survivor who has the ability to adapt himself to even the harshest and most alien situations. He weathered a lifetime of emotional and verbal abuse from his mother by just letting her hate him and saying nothing, kept himself alive and whole under siege from Jane Prentiss and her worms by rationing his food stores and keeping constant vigilance, survived Peter Lukas' attempts to turn him to the Lonely by pretending to go along with what Peter wanted, and dragged Jonathan Sims through the apocalypse with all of the essentials in his backpack. He'd been ready to leave their cottage weeks before Jon had been, and made contingency plans for as many things as he could think of.
Romantic - "I think our experience of the universe has value. Even if it disappears forever." Martin is an absolute romantic, both in the sense of falling in love and in his more general world view. He is a (mediocre) poet who writes out his feelings to help himself cope. In the middle of a murder investigation about Jon Sims, he gets happily flustered when the detective interrogating him says other people say he's close to Jon. In the apocalypse, when Martin is talking to a manifestation of his own psyche, he calls himself out for imagining that they'll end the apocalypse by pressing a button that kills Elias while he makes out with Jon in the background. It's also notable that Martin stays fairly optimistic throughout the apocalypse, possibly to balance out Jon's despair.
Manipulative - How could such a nice boy be a manipulator? That's it. That's the ploy. While Martin is nice, he's learned to weaponize his politeness to get what he wants. He can also act more incompetent than he is at times to guide people toward underestimating and dismissing him. He's willing to lie and cheat his way to protect and care for the people he cares about most. He got his job at the Institute with a made up resume so he could afford to pay for his mother's care. He broke down Jon's psychology with cold precision when he needed to push the man away in order to keep up the ruse that he was fully aligned with Peter Lukas. He forced Jon's hand in finding another solution to the apocalypse when he seemed to be stalling in a tailspin by pretending he was kidnapped by another avatar. Martin loves fiercely, and he will do what he thinks is best for you if you're his most important person... whether you like it or not.
Jealous - Growing up unloved and horribly lonely, Martin guards what ties he develops with a fierce and (sometimes) unreasonable jealousy. Because he fancied Jonathan Sims, he treated one of his coworkers with more polite aloofness than others when he thought she was in a relationship with Jon. Similarly, when Jon asked a coworker other than Martin for help in something secret, he became irritated and upset. While normally letting things roll off his back, Martin can become extremely sensitive about specific people he considers 'his.' Once they're dating during the apocalypse, Martin admits that he's horribly jealous that Jon was broken out of his coma by someone else instead of Martin, who had dutifully tended to his bedside for months. He even went so far as to request that Jon murder the man (another avatar), even though he hadn't done anything specifically bad to Jon or their allies.
Self-Loathing - Growing up with a mother who told him he was a terrible person and seeing (via Elias) just how much she hated him has done a number on Martin's personal self-esteem. He considers himself less than the people around him, particularly the ones he loves. Martin isn't particularly well-liked or regarded by his coworkers at the Institute, in spite of his politeness and earnest attempts at kindness. They see him as bad at his job and not much else. As a result, Martin sees his main value in what he can do for others. He dropped out of school and doesn't think he's particularly smart, even if he can be clever sometimes, and he's willing to take abuse about his abilities from people without comment. He's lied to get himself hired, so he IS worse at his job. He's gotten better about this as the series has gone on, but this is still a core part of who he is.
Abilities: Martin is arriving at a point where he's a pretty bog-standard human, having lost his Lonely-based powers. For non-magical abilities, he's a half-decent administrator and administrative assistant and proficient in the Microsoft suite of products. He makes a good cup of tea, is very organized/good at planning, and lies pretty well... and that's about it. He's very much a 'jack of all trades, master of none' sort of man.
Samples: LINK 1 and LINK 2
Player: Terri
Contact:
Age: 30+
Pronouns: she/her
Timezone: U.S./Pacific
Current Characters/Invited By: No other characters; invited by the mods
IC INFO
Character Name: Martin Blackwood
Character Canon: The Magnus Archives
Canon Point: Episode 200
Age: 30
Crime(s):
- Murder - Martin is coming fresh off his canon point of stabbing his boyfriend to death (at said boyfriend's request). He has also encouraged a murder spree by said boyfriend prior to that point. They were all bad people, so they deserved it, right?
- Breaking and Entering - The first crime we're made aware of in the series is Martin breaking into an apartment building via a basement window. He was punished for his crimes with worms, but what's a little more punishment?
- Arson - The end of Season 3 saw Martin burning company-owned property as a distraction for the Big Bad while everyone else enacted a plot. He was told to stop by his boss and metaphorically thumbed his nose and did it anyway. He used it to purposefully make himself a target and was punished for it with knowledge of how much his mother hated him.
- Fraud - Probably his most prominent crime. We learn in Season 2 that Martin obtained his job at the Magnus Institute by lying on his resume. Later in the series, he mentions being a college drop-out and needing to lie to get work and get by.
- Forgery - Complementing the fraud is forgery. To bolster his apparent credentials, Martin has forged 'evidence' of having graduated from a university and likely other things.
- Torture - In the apocalypse, there are only victims and the avatars who victimize them. Martin has his own personal fear domain where a duplicate of himself torments lonely people who feel unseen by others and/or society. It’s one of the ‘gentler’ domains in that no one is dying, but incredibly insidious for what it does to emotionally torture the people trapped there. Martin derives his energy and privileged position in the apocalypse, in part, from this place.
Personality:
Nice - Martin is ultimately a polite and kind man. He remembers birthdays, he earnestly listens to people regardless of whether he's actually interested in what they're saying, he helps others without needing something for himself, and he dedicates his life to taking care of others, even the ones who hate him. His first encounter with Jon Sims involved him looking for a stray dog he'd accidentally let into the Archives when he'd stopped to pet it and make sure it was okay. He makes every effort to visit and assist his ailing mother in spite of her being emotionally and verbally abusive. Even during the apocalypse, he can't help but want to help some of the people suffering in the fear domains they pass through, offering apologies to some of them when they can't... even after Jon tells him the people can't hear him and aren't aware of his presence.
Practical - Martin is a practical man and a survivor who has the ability to adapt himself to even the harshest and most alien situations. He weathered a lifetime of emotional and verbal abuse from his mother by just letting her hate him and saying nothing, kept himself alive and whole under siege from Jane Prentiss and her worms by rationing his food stores and keeping constant vigilance, survived Peter Lukas' attempts to turn him to the Lonely by pretending to go along with what Peter wanted, and dragged Jonathan Sims through the apocalypse with all of the essentials in his backpack. He'd been ready to leave their cottage weeks before Jon had been, and made contingency plans for as many things as he could think of.
Romantic - "I think our experience of the universe has value. Even if it disappears forever." Martin is an absolute romantic, both in the sense of falling in love and in his more general world view. He is a (mediocre) poet who writes out his feelings to help himself cope. In the middle of a murder investigation about Jon Sims, he gets happily flustered when the detective interrogating him says other people say he's close to Jon. In the apocalypse, when Martin is talking to a manifestation of his own psyche, he calls himself out for imagining that they'll end the apocalypse by pressing a button that kills Elias while he makes out with Jon in the background. It's also notable that Martin stays fairly optimistic throughout the apocalypse, possibly to balance out Jon's despair.
Manipulative - How could such a nice boy be a manipulator? That's it. That's the ploy. While Martin is nice, he's learned to weaponize his politeness to get what he wants. He can also act more incompetent than he is at times to guide people toward underestimating and dismissing him. He's willing to lie and cheat his way to protect and care for the people he cares about most. He got his job at the Institute with a made up resume so he could afford to pay for his mother's care. He broke down Jon's psychology with cold precision when he needed to push the man away in order to keep up the ruse that he was fully aligned with Peter Lukas. He forced Jon's hand in finding another solution to the apocalypse when he seemed to be stalling in a tailspin by pretending he was kidnapped by another avatar. Martin loves fiercely, and he will do what he thinks is best for you if you're his most important person... whether you like it or not.
Jealous - Growing up unloved and horribly lonely, Martin guards what ties he develops with a fierce and (sometimes) unreasonable jealousy. Because he fancied Jonathan Sims, he treated one of his coworkers with more polite aloofness than others when he thought she was in a relationship with Jon. Similarly, when Jon asked a coworker other than Martin for help in something secret, he became irritated and upset. While normally letting things roll off his back, Martin can become extremely sensitive about specific people he considers 'his.' Once they're dating during the apocalypse, Martin admits that he's horribly jealous that Jon was broken out of his coma by someone else instead of Martin, who had dutifully tended to his bedside for months. He even went so far as to request that Jon murder the man (another avatar), even though he hadn't done anything specifically bad to Jon or their allies.
Self-Loathing - Growing up with a mother who told him he was a terrible person and seeing (via Elias) just how much she hated him has done a number on Martin's personal self-esteem. He considers himself less than the people around him, particularly the ones he loves. Martin isn't particularly well-liked or regarded by his coworkers at the Institute, in spite of his politeness and earnest attempts at kindness. They see him as bad at his job and not much else. As a result, Martin sees his main value in what he can do for others. He dropped out of school and doesn't think he's particularly smart, even if he can be clever sometimes, and he's willing to take abuse about his abilities from people without comment. He's lied to get himself hired, so he IS worse at his job. He's gotten better about this as the series has gone on, but this is still a core part of who he is.
Abilities: Martin is arriving at a point where he's a pretty bog-standard human, having lost his Lonely-based powers. For non-magical abilities, he's a half-decent administrator and administrative assistant and proficient in the Microsoft suite of products. He makes a good cup of tea, is very organized/good at planning, and lies pretty well... and that's about it. He's very much a 'jack of all trades, master of none' sort of man.
Samples: LINK 1 and LINK 2
