This is Linden for Eclair Express!! Link: https://eclairexpress.deviantart.com/ 

GENERAL

GIFTS

PERSONALITY

＋　Gentle • Curious • Polite • Calm & composed
=　Sentimental • Soft-spoken • Free-spirited
ー　Insecure • Gullible • Inattentive • Absent-minded

　　Linden is commonly described as a soft-spoken gentleman who is polite and gentle, often minding his actions and putting others’ comfort over his own. He is calm and composed most of the time; but if he finds someone’s actions or something absolutely unacceptable, especially towards other people, it would agitate him enough to speak up. “For the sake of educating how one should behave”, as he would say.

　　Linden is constantly seen reading or observing different things and phenomenon to satiate his curious mind - no matter the location and circumstance. Some people would see him as a free-spirited soul, who never seems to be bound by what other people would expect of him. There would be days when it is raining, and you’d still find Linden reading and notetaking underneath a tree, with a coat that is barely waterproof. He might be a knowledge fanatic, but he is very inattentive on how he should be taking care of himself - he is especially well known for forgetting to take his meals on time, or forgetting his work duties when he is too invested in reading.

　　Generally speaking, Linden is very absent-minded, and tends to forget things very quickly. He tries to counter this problem by carrying a small notepad, a bottle of ink and something to write with (which usually happens to be a random feather/twig he picked up, because he keeps forgetting where he left his pens at…). He is particularly enthusiastic about educating people and sharing knowledge that he has obtained, and would not miss any chance of dragging others into his passion.

　　Despite being a bit of a romantic, due to Linden’s past relationship and memories from childhood, Linden has gotten a bit insecure about himself. Although it doesn’t show much, he is constantly thinking whether he’s bothering someone, or if something could be done better. Small things such as a certain song, a certain flower, can easily make him enter a sentimental trance for days.  As such, he is also very much gullible - he doesn’t question the aim behind people’s words and actions, and would prefer to go along with others than to make enemies - though he is definitely not a people pleaser, Linden can easily come off as a bit of a pushover.

HISTORY

　　Despite being born a well-off household, Linden has never been a strong child - while kids ran across the fields catching bugs and eating fruit off trees, Linden would start panting just by running for a few minutes. His family has brought him to multiple doctors, shamans, and whoever that they think could improve his health. None of them have ever successfully identified what was wrong with the boy. Linden didn’t really mind it, but his family thought otherwise. “It must be a curse!” they thought, and it wasn’t long before they started to become distant and cold towards their child.

　　Linden never caught the gist of what was happening until he grew older. He thought that his parents have just been too busy to care about him, and only learnt later on that he was being neglected on purpose. Packing enough food to last him a few days, he ran away from home out of frustration, across the hill where he found a library. He only meant to pass time until his parents started to panic about him, but the book he picked up was so intriguing that he couldn’t stop. He was fascinated by how books were able to teach him things that his parents would never tell him; and how they could bring him to places that he wouldn’t have the stamina to travel to. He was later found by the librarian, asleep in a pile of books at the corner of the library.

　　His parents never came for him, but he went back home nevertheless for food and shelter. After that day, he continued to visit the library regularly - and even met a girl at the there, whom he promptly fell in love and dated. It was truly, what he felt like was the best time of his life - but the relationship did not last long, and he was heartbroken when he found out the girl left him for another man. Saddened, he returned home, only to overhear his parents in the living room:

　　Torn, heartbroken, and feeling helpless, Linden was desperate to take his mind off recent events. He soon found himself at the place where he was most at home - the library. As he was looking for a new book to indulge himself into, a piece of paper fell out of the book. It appeared to be a letter inviting whoever that recieved it to Toffee Town.

“Do you feel like you can't be accepted for who you are?”

　　That simple question turned him to a sobbing mess of a man. How did the sender know his situation, unless… it was fate? He’s come across the name “Toffee Town” while reading, and recall that it was on some sort of record related to magic. Even better, the letter offered him a job and a place to live - it was the perfect opportunity. Linden immediately called up the Eclair Express to book his journey.

　　TL;DR - Linden has a relatively weak body ever since he was a child, the reason was never found so his parents thought it was a curse, and became cold towards him. He ran away from home one day and found warmth, comfort, and books that taught him knowledge in a library - only to have it ripped away from him soon after. He finds an invite letter to Toffee Town in a book when he was looking to drown himself in reading to take his mind off things. 

ADDITIONAL INFO

• Linden decided to leave for Toffee town for two reasons: 1) spiritual healing; 2) to be at a place where he’s not despised and disliked - but welcomed; 3) wishful thinking that perhaps “magic” exists there, which could cure his weak body.
• Likes doodling and writing quotes from books he’s read onto the notepad and gift them to people as “a piece of wisdom” or “food for thought”; or simply to use them as bookmarks.
• Often found in the corner of the library reading instead of doing what he should be doing… he will respond if you if you poke him / take his book away / ask him about something though.
• Linden likes most gifts that people give him, because he always think that “it's the thought that counts”. The only items he reacts strongly against are things that his parents used to give him to “entertain him” (e.g. bread used to be his meals when his parents can't be bothered to cook for him)
• He's the type who thinks Romeo and Juliet is romantic, and probably have cried over the book too many times to count. Loves fairytales and romance novels for fiction. He reads everything non-fiction, except biology (anything bloody creeps him out)
• He is a person who lives in the past and present. One of the reasons why he wants to learn so much, no matter the cost, is because he is under the impression that his weak body will give up on him one day and he'd miss out on everything.