#markus danmar

3/10 - This is an eventuality she was already resigned too.

“We’ve done this before and Markus, that sweet little fool, is always making every concession for my comfort. He asks for nothing. He gives his mother what she wants, he gives his siblings what they want, he’s giving me what I want. I won’t accept that. One day he will look back on all these concessions with a bitter heart and regret.”

“I’m an innately selfish person but for his sake I am trying to take a step outside of myself. I worry that he, himself, might not know exactly what it is that he wants and I haven’t been the reliable friend that can be confided in in such a long time. To make him feel comfortable with me, enough so to make honest demands and stop treating the situation so delicately, I have to prove that I’m worthy of that trust again.”

Markus is a complicated man with complex desires don’t judge him, man.

That being said you’re right.

1: Talk incessantly about his family and give you advice.

He would tell Darcy all about his his family members, particularly Kate and Rose (being the closest in age at 18 and 16 to Markus’ 20). Maybe even a bit about Evelyn and what it was like growing up together given the three of them are mutual acquaintances and so it’s an easy topic of conversation. Or what a little demon Kitty is or who the Murasaki’s are and the subtle nuances of Kaname’s personality.

He would also ask Darcy about herself, and probably try to find a way to solve all of her problems before he left. Markus has a lot of natural empathy and a pretty decent head on his shoulders. Despite his lack of personal experience his advice isn’t bad. He does, however, straddle the line between genuinely helpful and fucking annoying.

Which means that she would learn a lot about the horde of people he is related to and the handful of people he associates with outside of that but honestly probably very little about Markus. (Other than that he’s a big idiot who lives vicariously through others.)

2: It wasn’t really his idea in the first place.

This is probably Kate’s fault.

Asking people to spend time alone with him doesn’t generally occur to Markus unless they have some kind of task to finish. Even his relationship with Evelyn was cultivated under the expectation that they would be required to unite their houses and this would be more pleasant if they at least liked each other enough to stay in the same room together.

In light of this and over concerns of Markus’s general disinterestedness, his family members feel the need to “help” him. There is quite a few disagreements on how to help him, and sometimes conflicting camps will find out about one another’s machinations and try to put an end to them.

The ending is always the same.

Team “Markus is engaged and should be trying to make things work with his future wife” wins because he basically rats out Team “Get Markus laid”, finds out that the excuse was a farce and goes home.

3: CRAFTS

Markus is a crafts guy. Mostly little things like repairing toys for younger family members or making bracelets and flower crowns for his younger sisters. Things like this are the most personal thing Markus really has to share with someone given the most of the rest of his life is devoted entirely to the causes and wishes of other people. Showing someone things that he’s made or maybe even making a thing for a person is as far as Markus’ idea of reciprocal intimacy can go. Anything else is just duty, or an extension of his personality.

I like to think he dabbles in painting and other forms of visual art but that he’s not quite as good at that as he is with practical arts simply because I find him unlikely to practice something purely ornamental whether he enjoys it or not. So if you get to see the watercolors you know you’re in.

Ev has no self control. Her primary character trait is that she rides from impulse to impulse without thinking very much about what’s happening on the way there. She’s very fun to play but I have to admit that a combination of her pretty ridiculous pink avatar and behavior has not only given me very intense feelings of secondhand embarrassment at times but I’ve actively been mistaken for a troll. I’m p. sure there’s a decent handful of DR regulars from a few years ago that have me on their block list because of Ev. I’m not trolling you fam. She’s a legitimate srs RP character.

One day I’ll play a character that acts this way just because but as usual with my clowns Ev acts this way due to severe depression and anxiety. The level of ridiculousness she exhibits is generally proportional to how insecure she feels at any given moment. There have been a few moments where Ev has exhibited actual vulnerability but they tend to be few and far between. Ev can get things she wants and then actively, almost purposely fuck it up because it’s too scary. Her insecurity is probably even more intense than Caoilhain’s simply because Caoil has always had Skoryy at any given time to support her but Evelyn has largely spent her life surrounded by people but alone nevertheless. It’s much harder to recover from abuse by yourself.

Markus has been trying to help her with this, but that’s where his personal flaw comes in. As result of having like 20 siblings and 90 cousins and nieces and nephews galore at like age 20 Markus doesn’t really have a solid identity. Katelyn internalizes her siblings achievements and gets discouraged. Katrina and William try to outdo each other. Rose has her niche and Zacharius is the baby. Markus just kind of...Does what he’s told. His role in the family was determined by being closest in age to Nathaniel’s younger daughters after Margaret eloped so the marriage contract could still be fulfilled.

He has such a laid back personality that he pretty much just rides on the waves made by other people because there isn’t really anything in particular that he wants. Or so he thinks because the fool is so self unaware that he’s been in love with someone for like...a decade and hasn’t figured out that that’s what love actually feels like.

He remained pretty ~*undefined*~ for awhile because I was debating on whether or not I really wanted to make his sexuality an Issue(tm). Ultimately I think that within the realm of Tyria, even without stigma, there’s more than enough room for someone to be questioning and it’s a topic that can arguably be covered. He’s in his early twenties which is a pretty good time for self exploration and as an asexual who isn’t aromantic I’ve also struggled to identify myself and understand the difference between platonic and romantic love up until I was like...24.

Evelyn leaned back with that lazy, not-quite-genuine grin she was won’t to sport and crossed her legs over the arm of the chair she was sitting in.  

She swished a glass of wine in her hand putting on a show of being elegant and debonair, “Well of course I’d need to trust someone first, wouldn’t I? Let’s be honest, the people I should trust implicitly, my mother…? My sister…? Monsters in human skin. Oh they’re not likely to betray me, family advancement and all that. Though Kitty is quite mad and cannot be relied upon to act rationally at all times…”

Part of Markus was tempted to roll his eyes at the dramatics but…As he always did when Evelyn spoke this way he could only frown. He crossed his arms as Ev continued, looking more crestfallen with every word.

“But if my Mother were to get what she wants out of me and quietly slit my throat one night I wouldn’t count myself entirely surprised. Anyone who isn’t my enemy, well, cruelty is in the Crestwood blood. It wouldn’t surprise me if some kind person I’d been using wrongly finally decided to get revenge either.”

Markus shook his head, gaze locked in his lap, “If the person I trusted most betrayed me I would forgive her immediately. Implicitly.”

Kate smiled dreamily, folding her hands neatly in her lap, “My lover (who I’d surely have by that time) would pine for years, making vigils on anniversaries and holidays to lay roses at my grave. He’d sigh over what could have been, tortured and brooding, until one day he met the true love of his life who could end his lonely days for good. But he would never forget me, of course! Despite my ghost lingering in his memories and causing problems for their early courtship, my lord and his lady will fall deeply in love. She will touch parts of his heart I never got the chance to in life. In honor of me, to set my ghost to rest, they’ll name a child Katelyn.“

She nodded sagely when her narrative was spun. Of course it was easy to speak of years of fictional pain for a man who didn’t even exist. To consider her actual loved ones…

"My Mother is such a headstrong woman. I can’t even think of her being anything but stolid in the face of greif. She would be the one to lead my family in the wake of such an unspeakable event, I’m sure…” Kate’s smile softened, “But I would hope that she’d take a little time, perhaps with Father, to let herself be sad. Father would greive openly but I think he gets quite lonely very easily and would need my mother’s companionship in this.”

“My siblings…” She paused, “Well…”

“William is 12 years older than me and Katrina 10 so we’re not very close. Zachariah is closer with Katrina’s son than me, he’s only 10 and Ryouta is the same age. But Markus and Rose… Markus and Rose are both 2 years apart from me, the shortest age gap between any of our siblings. It would hurt them the worst I think.” She rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly and chuckled, “Is is selfish of me that I would want them to grieve for me? I suppose the right answer to all of this would be ‘I want them to be happy and move on quickly!’ but I…Really don’t.”

Evelyn frowned.

It wasn’t that Evelyn disliked the idea of getting married, or the dress itself. In fact Evelyn, like many young girls, had fantasized about the perfect fairy tale wedding when she was young. 

Here she was now, in a bridal shop with no one but her Mother, trying on dresses alone. She couldn’t ask Temanii because Temanii wanted nothing to do with her nuptials (for obvious reasons). Perhaps she could have invited Katelyn...But asking his sister seemed...fake. Especially when she knew just how fake it was.