Marlon'to Menai

Marlon'to Menai
"Grumpy cat with magitek legs."
Gender	Male
Race	Miqo'te
Clan	Keeper of the Moon
Citizenship	N/A
Age	27
Sexuality	Bisexual
Occupation	Engineer
Height/Weight	5 fulms 7 ilms / 170 ponze
Diety	None

This page is always under construction.

Basic Info

Marlon has a problem. He’s desperately and unfortunately infatuated with Garlean technology. How convenient then that he has nearly two full legs of the stuff - yes, he thinks so too. The engineer has a fascination for Garlean and Allagan technology, as well as a morbid curiosity for organic anatomy. The miqo'te stubbornly persists with his research, despite his curiosity for Garlean engineering costing him his legs, and commonly takes very risky or less than savory methods to acquire materials and information. He's not hesitant to deal with the criminal underground or shady sources, though far from experienced at the dealings. He uses his legs as an intimidation factor, and will generally rely on them to get him out of tricky situations. Despite his hot blood and spicy temper, he was raised respectfully and will do his best to behave in the presence of others. Presently, Marlon'to works at the Bistro Fork Inn as a ill-suited waiter in order to earn room and board. He tries, but he’s ultimately just not that charismatic or good with people. He attempts to make up for it by doing his best to not scare away customers and doing the occasional handywork around the inn. They allow him the basement to work on his… whims, and generally turn a blind eye to whatever he builds or drags down there.

Likes ■ Garlean/Allagan technology (obviously) ■ Burnt or heavily crisped foods ■ Ambition in others ■ Challenges, unpredictability ■ Privacy ■ Working at night ■ Cold crisp air and cloudy skies ■ Scalp/ear massages

Dislikes ■ Being the center of attention ■ Small talk; extremely social situations ■ Rain and excessive water ■ Interruptions ■ Authority ■ Limiting yourself ■ Unintelligence ■ Hot weather, high noon

Skills ■ Mechanical Engineering ■ Stomping his way through most rough situations ■ Creative problem solving (when he can't stomp) ■ Pain tolerance ■ Being a general stubborn ass ■ Surprisingly enough, empathy and sensitivity, though doesn't always know exactly what to do with it.

Flaws ■ Obeying rules ■ His short temper can flare suddenly and quickly ■ Cares little for his heritage or culture ■ Often neglects his health and wellbeing, unless it involves his legs - which he keeps in immaculate condition ■ Lacks real combat training ■ Has trouble paying attention to something unless he's interested

Appearance & Personality

On the mid to taller side for a Miqo'te, Marlon'to is broad shouldered and muscled from carrying and working with heavy machinery, and his skin is often marked with bruises and injuries. Due to the ceruleum coursing through his magitek legs, the keeper is incapable of accepting aetheric healing, and thus resorts to first aid to mend his wounds. His pale hair frames large sleepy, dark eyes, which usually read of one to many nights up late and working. A sharp prominent nose leads down to thin lips, usually curled down at the corners in an unapproachable glaze. His claws are long and sharpened, which he justifies as necessary to help him work with manipulating smaller pieces of tech, but might just be for intimidation too.

While sometimes aloof and socially awkward, Marlon actually does enjoy the company of others, he’s just not that great at showing it, often choosing to watch instead of participate in conversations. What confidence he has in engineering and combat, he completely lacks in the art of socializing — he quickly flusters and becomes speechless. No witty banter or clever quips from this guy. Marlon attaches strongly to few, but once he does he is fiercely protective, and will anger very quickly if he feels they are threatened. He is very perceptive and sensitive to emotions and the behavior of those around him, and can learn to pick up on small clues that reveal others' feelings. Far from experienced at using these observations, however, he's often at a loss at how to make others feel better, and will often settle for just being silently present, in hopes that his companionship helps.

He has limited patience for unintelligence, but values cleverness and wisdom over book smarts. In fact he sometimes finds people with an overabundant amount of knowledge with no practical application frivolous and spacey.

Known Biography

Marlon grew up in a family of thinkers and tinkerers in the forests along the borders of Coerthas and North Shroud. The middle son to two brilliant sisters, Marlon was constantly challenged through his formative years. Many MANY hours went into the study of his craft - needing desperately to prove his cleverness to his siblings - but seldom little into socializing or other necessary skills. Unsurprisingly, a family of hermits raised a hermit, and Marlon'to grew to be an introvert who values his times of solitude.

Never feeling quite so clever as his elder sister, whom he looked up to immensely, Marlon eventually resorted to more shady, desperate deeds to obtain knowledge and compete, despite his sibling’s disapproval. Not morally opposed to taking a seedy job, theft, or experimenting on cadavers, Marlon turned to more extreme methods to study what fascinated him most — Garlean tech. Now, he and his older sister butt heads constantly, and their relationship has soured. She considers him a morally adrift scoundrel, and even worse, a poor influence on their younger sister. He left his family to escape judgement, and to his surprise his younger sibling followed. He cherishes her support, but unfortunately it drove even deeper lines between him and his family, as they blame him for her delinquency.

As the two ventured out on their own, they continued their studies together, trying to push the boundaries of engineering. His younger sister was eventually courted by an underground Limsan syndicate, and she joined their ranks. Not meshing well with authority, Marlon'to turned down their involvement, but was glad to see his sibling taken care of. They parted ways, and Marlon continued floating about from job to job, too engrossed in his own personal projects to hold steady employment for very long. He used nearly all earnings he received to trade for pieces of whatever Garlean equipment he could get his hands on. Ultimately, when he became unsatisfied with the damaged rubbish that he could buy off of adventurers, he started sneaking into Garlean camps and ultimately strongholds to filch what he could. He became surprisingly good at it, and even made somewhat superficial friendships with the guards he could bribe to let him in. However his overconfidence led to his eventual discovery and the event that led to losing his legs.

Finally having their hands on the little miqo’te pain in the ass that had been swiping their technology over the past years, they were not blind to the irony as they cruelly fitted him with magitek legs. Before their full plans for punishment could be realized however, one of the Imperial guards he had befriended took pity upon him and aided in his escape. He speaks details of the whole event rarely, and if he does, it's to a rare, close few.

One would think that this would be the end of Marlon’s obsession for raiding Garlean fortresses, but he’s a stubborn cat. No longer suited for sneaking around with his heavy footsteps, he instead leads parties of adventurers into Garlean territory as a Warrior, forcibly taking whatever interests him. Recently he has taken up residency at the Bistro Fork Inn, where they allow him the basement to continue his research.

Miscellaneous

• Terrible at dressing himself. Hells, he might be colorblind.
• Marlon'to's voice is fairly low and he speaks somewhat slowly, almost sleepily -- unless really mad, where he flusters and sputters easily.
• His Garlean legs are actually fairly lightweight and don't add much to his overall bodyweight. If anything they actually make him lighter.
• His legs are water-resistant, but not water-proof. He can stomp around in a pond or shallow water briefly, and a few hours in rain are fine, but complete waterlogging would damage and render them useless.
• He's made all sorts of modifications and adjustments to his legs, including hidden blades and maybe extra compartments to hide snacks in.
• His recklessness commonly gets him in trouble and into scraps. It's hard to tell if he likes it and seeks it out, or if he honestly just can't help it.
• He prefers the cold now due to the implants, which run at a higher average temperature than his body, especially when under duress.
• The legs are detachable for maintenance and rest. When detached, a small cap or 'threshold' is left at the ends of what remains of his legs. It is this section that the legs attach to when they are reattached.

Rumours Some of these rumors are untrue or are greatly exaggerated. Please feel free to add your own rumors under PC! ◢ Common Rumors (Easily overheard) ■ "Doesn't talk much when I see him. Just looks tired and irritated all the time." ■ "Oh, he works at that one new inn in the Mists. He's kind and soft spoken enough, but he seems rather out of place doesn't he?" ■ "He use ta pay me well for what I could find near th' Castrums. Still does if I find somethin' whole enough." ■ "He's kinda cute if you flirt with 'im - don't expect a guy like that to handle it so poorly." ◢ Moderate Rumors (Moderately difficult to overhear) ■ "Don't get in a fight with that one, he stomped my friend's foot like it was nothing." ■ "Naw, you can take him easy. Just take out the troublemaker's legs. He's all bark and intimidation - no real skill at all." ■ "Kinda creepy, ain't he? I see him around the mortuary often, can't imagine what business the man has there." ◢ Rare Rumors (Very difficult or rarely overheard) ■ "You got a dead body? He'll buy it off ya. Don't ask me what he does with them, I stay out of that." ◢ PC Rumors (Rumors from the character's of other players) ■ "Marlone's work performance is exceptional, the best I've ever had! Well, admittedly I've never had anyone work under me before, but he does his job and even eats the food that accidentally gets burnt here and there (not that I burn my food often)! Needless to say, I do wish I knew what he did in the basement though. It's rude to pry into other's personal hobbies of course but..." --Eir'a Holmen ■ "He's mine. Obviously. Maybe I'll have to mark him. But yes. Mine..." ~Teld're Eska'aldren ■ "Solid fellow, he! and not just in his legs...No! No, I don't mean THAT, get your mind out of there...but rather he's all around a nice and decent guy, even if he forgets his words sometimes! Helps me get away with bending the rules, he listens to me prattle, and...Well, he treats me like I'm not about to die. To him, I'm not made of glass. What more can I ask for?" ~Wyra'li Polaali ■ "He promised that he would drag me to the seven hells for teasing him. Oh ~ I hope he was not just being melodramatic; what a tragedy that would be." ~ L'Vanelle Denja

Current Relations ♥ Sexual Desire ♥ Romantic Interest ♥ Platonic Love ● Good Standing ● Neutral ● Poor Standing ♥ Ratio Menai: Marlon'to's younger sister, the only of his immediate family that he still commonly associates with. The two were close as they grew up, despite their 6 year age difference. Ratio and Marlon'to share common practicalities and points of view on engineering and knowledge acquisition, despite their older sibling's vocal disapproval. Marlon'to sometimes worries he's a bad influence for his younger, but Ratio can commonly be colder and more pragmatic than he, and he considers her mind more sharp than his own. ♥ Deakkov Penritt: Strangely enough, Marlon'to purchased the Hyur as a cadaver to study and work on — however upon closer inspection he discovered he was not entirely dead yet. The engineer chose to nurse the unfortunate boy back to health, and the not-quite-dead-yet Deakkov and him became quick friends to solid companions. Marlon'to is currently confused about how he feels for the Hyur, waffling between attraction and brotherly love. However it is very clear that Deakkov is quite important to him. ♥ Teld're Eska'aldren: The two met by chance, and since the two miqo'te have had a volatile chemistry, littered with equal amounts of arguments and fights as thoughtful and genuine discussions. Marlon cannot easily deny his attraction for the young fighter, despite his stubborn reluctance to admit he's charmed. The blonde knows how to ruffle his feathers and get his blood heated, but can also be genuinely kind and thoughtful, and he is truly touched by Teld're's offerings to help. He finds him both intriguing and confusing -- a puzzle he'd like to glimpse more facets of. ● Wyra'li Polaali: An inpatient at the Bistro Fork, Marlon'to was quickly charmed by the sick bard's cheerfulness and sense of humor. He finds him pleasant company, if not more, and is growing to care a great deal about him - leading him to fret about the miqo'te's current health. He would go to great lengths to help. ● Eir'a Holmen: The owner of the Bistro Fork, Eir'a and Marlon'to have not interacted too much beyond what's necessary for his employment, though he does appreciate the keeper's generosity and understanding, especially concerning his work. Eir'a gives him a place to work and generally lets him go unquestioned and undisturbed, so he does what he can to make sure he stays in the man's good graces. If someone was bothering or stressing Eir'a, Marlon would not hesitate to aggressively show them out or stalk them down an alley until they got paranoid and left. ● Staelufre Lysmerl: Marlon'to is still embarrassed that Staelufre's first impression of him is getting punched in the stomach and fried with an electric current, debilitating him for the rest of the fight. He appreciates Staelufre's intervention, and admires her skill and sharp instincts. Slightly intimidated, as he senses Teld're and Staelufre are from a world of much more experienced and deadly fighters. Having since interacted with her more, he finds her charming, yet mysterious. He often doesn't understand her manner of speaking, but finds a poetic beauty in it that he finds fascinating. ● L'Vanelle Denja: A friend of Teld're's whom he's met a few times, and is generally too shy or awkward to interact with more. After an embarrassing event in the J'umago estate with the dancer present, he seems strangely more comfortable around her. ● Betyn Hawke: Though having only met the highlander once outside of a spar, Marlon'to finds him kind and amicable. He'd like to grab a drink with him sometime when things aren't crazy and strange. ● J'umago Nunh: Since spending more time with Teld're, Marlon'to often finds himself in the Jackal Nunh's estate. He holds some form of respect for the Nunh - or maybe it's a healthy dose of fear. While he doesn't particularly understand or care for Seeker customs, he does respect how fiercely passionate J'umago is about it. The Nunh seems to tolerate the keeper inside his house, despite expressing his general distaste for it, so Marlon does his best to not upset the old man. ● Tiergan Vashir: Only meeting the gladiator very briefly, Tiergan was kind enough to invite him in and offer him food and drink. He knows little about him, but finds him pleasant and interesting. ● Ranirus Crithalos: The miqo'te responsible for said electric punch to the stomach. He feels frustration and anger for him for drawing weapons against Teld're, but feels like he's in a poor place to judge since he's also picked fights with his friend. He finds him unpredictable and curious. Sympathetic. Conflicted with protective ferocity for Teld're and a genuine sympathy for the keeper. Since the altercation he keeps seeing the strange miqo'te around, and his curiosity has been piqued even more.

Gallery

• 

  Grumpy cat maintenance

• 

  Sketch

• 

  Garlean leg reference

Footnotes

Tumblr: http://marlon-ffxiv.tumblr.com/

Template by Bancroft Gairn