Profile
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About
Augur of necromancy, who went into self-imposed banishment after being overwhelmed by the shame over his failure of a marriage and also his general inability to fit in with the other townspeople(after reanimating the corpse at a funeral as a child he kinda convinced half the town he was a changeling whoops).
In his 'banishment' he traveled a bit, though not particularly far from home. Once he gets into the rhythm of wandering and finding odd jobs he's actually pretty happy with the freedom it grants him. He can practice his magic without worrying about disappointing people he loves, or scaring people he hates. The lack of expectation is a weight off his shoulders, and he miraculously isn't constantly angry anymore.
(also he starts experimenting with gender presentation, might as well since nobody he knows is around)
He doesn't return home until his mother dies and he has to get her affairs in order. It's a very upsetting time both because of grief for his only blood relative, and because she was sick and didn't tell him so it was not a sudden death at all to anyone other than him. Shockingly(to him), he does still have friends here, and they help him through it, and he decides to stay in town(he missed too much while he was gone and he feels guilty about it).
(Well, not IN town. He sells his childhood home & moves out into the ruins beyond the Fence because free real estate)
He recently took on an apprentice.
Personality & Outlook
Generally pessimistic. He's not necessarily distrusting or suspicious so much as he just assumes people already have reason to dislike/distrust him & doesn't feel obligated to give anyone the benefit of the doubt.
Intense(aka dramatic), grumpy. Easy to drag into a fight, whether verbal or physical(could definitely fuck someone up magically, but still seems to prefer punching? which he is less great at). Very obvious about emotions, even on the rare occasion he tries to keep his feelings a secret they're not too hard to suss out. Much more patient with children(aka anyone under like, 25), which contributes a lot to the fact his friend group is about 50% teenagers.
Ride-or-die when it comes to his precious people or commitments, nothing is more devastating than letting someone down. Stubborn as hell when he thinks he's right, Defensive as hell when he's unsure, clams up and gets embarrassed when he turns out to be wrong. Can hold a grudge forever and is still pissy about shit that happened in high school.
Nobody can be so emotive all the time though & he burns himself out a lot. More likely to be silly/humorous when he doesn't have the energy to get in a fight(or when he's been drinking).
Curses frequently especially when talking passionately(which is almost always). Word choice is semi-proper/old fashioned. Refuses to talk about anything vaguely sexual. He runs his hands over the top of his head when he's stressed/thinking.
Makes too much eye contact.
Prefaces terms of endearment with 'my'[my love, my boy, etc]
Powers & Assets
Necromancy
As an augur of necromancy he has intuitive knowledge of how to reanimate dead bodies. Traditionally necromancy is done by summoning demons to possess a dead body(or inanimate object), but Maverick does it by latching onto their memories/spiritual residue & feeding in the energy to move again under his thrall.
Theoretically he could overrule the will of a live creature on their own body and make them into a living puppet, but loss of autonomy is a huge fear of his so he would never inflict it on someone else
Force Magic
Somehow conceptualized his necromancy into pure force of will exerted over a body. Mostly uses it on himself to get on & off of his roof, or float around when his back hurts.
Your End Is Near
His magical nature also grants him a sixth sense, that alerts him to metaphysical rot. Metaphysical/spiritual rot occurs for a number of reasons, but no matter the cause, it's usually a sign that you don't have long left to live.
Mercenary Enchanter
He's not CoL certified but he will still do commissioned enchanting work. It's not his area of affinity but his mom was a builder and she'd have him help with domestic enchantments (water heating arrays, lighting, ambient magic sinks, etc), so he knows the basics. Not the best at making his own enchantments from scratch but he is competent at recharging them/copy-pasting bits together into something that works.
Relationships
Lorant [child figure #1]
Maverick found him in the middle of trying to summon a demon & made a day out of lecturing him about the dangers of such a thing. Apparently Lorant was more curious about the town cryptid than he was annoyed by the unwanted speech, because he still agreed to become Maverick's apprentice.
Kenny [child figure #2]
A haunted girl Lorant dragged out into the desert to meet him so they could make a project out of ridding her of her ghost problem. He sees a lot of himself in her & tries to give her advice that will help her not be like him hopefully.
Marta [ex-wife/current friend]
His ex wife who he is awkwardly attempting a tense friendship with after purposely avoiding her for many years because that marriage ended in cheating & violence & was generally bullshit. Would die for her, both out of genuine love and to repay the debt he feels for being such a remarkably shitty husband.
Lorant [cautiously dating]
Local pub owner who Maverick may or may not go crawling back to whenever he's feeling particularly touch-starved for some drinks & makeouts. Plot-twist: Also Kenny's dad. Double plot-twist: Also Marta's new boyfriend.
Mother [mother]
A solemn & paranoid woman. She immigrated from Angstrom before he was born, and raised him by herself. He loved her very much & did his best to heed her advice despite his rebellious nature. She's been dead for a few years and he's still mad over her not even telling him she was sick to begin with.
Hyaki [nuisance cop]
Highly respected Belle, but Mav don't like cops so fuck off!! she shows up at his doorstep just to check on him even though he lives outside of the barrier & it's literally not her problem or business!! Also delivers his paychecks from the Fence-upkeep ppl cuz he does maintenance on it in absence of a real certified enchanter. Also sometimes she shows up when he's having a bad back day & he's not above asking her to bring him some water so he don't have to get out of bed but still fuck off Belle.
Aesthetic
Generally, his aesthetic falls in line with exactly what would be expected of a secluded necromancer. Very into bones and runes and cloaks and black feathers and all that.
Also loves ponchos & other similar textiles, dresses in so many layers, the ideal form is one whose exact dimensions are unclear. Literally never removes his gloves. If it doesn't have tassels is it even an outfit? Mav says no.
Trivia
• has chronic back pain from an injury he suffered when he was younger (he fell off a roof lmao)
• Essentially a magical merc, mostly fixes peoples' runing, maybe does more questionable shit a CoL certified mage wouldn't touch
• Not CoL certified despite the benefits it would grant him because his mother is from a place that forcibly drafted mages into its military and forbade him from putting himself on a list like that
• Actually pretty squeamish, especially when it comes to touching anything vaguely gross(never seen not wearing gloves)
• Completely sex-repulsed, will call you vulgar if you try to talk to him about it
• His mother instilled in him a deep distrust of authority figures/systems, to the point he thinks something horrible will happen if he gets a library card or goes to the doctor/dentist. Will not put his name in any registries, resents having to have an email address & keeps his phone in a foil envelope when he's not using it.
• Tries to live self-sustaining so he can avoid going into town but he is frail & it's hard so he kinda just has some chickens and a dinky little garden.
• Has absolutely no fear of death in his entire spindly body
• Can not eat if he's in extreme emotional distress
• Doesn't season his fucking food & lives mostly on oatmeal/grits/bread/potatoes/any other bland shit he can get his hands on, "This water is so spicy". also loves meal-replacement shakes because eating is a goddamn chore & a half
• prolly autistic but he's never been to a doctor
• Kind of insecure in his gender/sexuality & doesn't like to discuss them. If you ask for his pronouns he'll give you a "They're your words you figure it out", or maybe a "Just pick one and stick to it I don't care" if he's more comfortable with you specifically.
• [self harm] Chopped off his man parts for dysphoria reasons like 15 years ago(only kept them that long because he wanted kids, but he gave up on doing that the old-fashioned way). Doesn't regret it, feels very good about it, but also didn't know that surgical sex reassignment is a thing you can do in a hospital and not unanaesthetized in a hotel bath tub. But again, he's never been to a doctor.
Q & A
Q: Why would you much rather fist fight? Does your magic end quickly and waste lots of your energy? Or do you like the feeling of being physical? - Alrozsk
A: (IC) "Nothing so amateurish as inefficiency, but I'd be lying if I denied that I liked the feeling...the motivation is mostly just plain spite, though. Why bring magic into it when using it maliciously is what's expected of me? The only time I've actually used magic against someone in a fight was...Well, I was very much intending to kill them." A shame it didn't work out.
Q: Failed marriage? What exactly caused its failure? Was it both ends, or one main person's problem? How does she feel about your attempting to be friends? - butterfly
A: (IC) Maverick grimaces, straightens his hair to buy a little time. "It was...It was on both ends, but I'd say it was...more my fault. I was not a very good husband. There were things I just couldn't..." He gestures vaguely, trying to describe scenarios he doesn't want to put words to. "Do."
"Eventually...Eventually it drove her to find what she wanted in someone else. It wasn't surprising, in retrospect, but it still hurt." He crosses his arms, shoulders tense as he forces the words out. "I hit her. We separated shortly afterwards."
"If she is as uncomfortable with it as I am it doesn't stop her from inviting me to her get-togethers. I don't know if it's out of pity after my mother's death or that she genuinely wants to be friends again. Even with her second husband and children out of the house I can't imagine she's just lonely."
Q: How are things between you and your ex-wife now, since a few years have gone by? What are your feelings towards her now? - Paracosm
A: (IC) "I...well, not to be pathetic but I still love her. I'm sure I always will, seeing as the hell that was our splitting hasn't completely ruined my regard for her and I can't imagine there's anything worse than that to come between us. That said, I'd never consider another attempt at a romantic relationship with her. She's a good friend but we could never be a happy couple."
Q: Do you ever see yourself committing to a relationship with Gale in the future? - Zinnia
A: (IC) "No. Or- It's complicated. I certainly didn't when we first started..." He makes a confused gesture with his hand and avoids eye contact while trying to come up with the right description. "...Seeing each other. It's not that I have anything against him personally, I just...swore off romance a long time ago. I'm not any good at it and even if it's appealing in the moment I know it'll only end horribly."
"I keep finding out he's close to many of the people I am close too, though, and it's harder to keep his presence in my life compartmentalized to lonely mistakes." He sighs. "I don't know."
Q: Aside from magic, and with the context of his failed marriage/relationship with his old town in mind, what else will Maverick want to teach his apprentice in terms of life lessons? - d-m
A: (OOC) Maverick is actually resistant to talk about romantic relationships at all, with anyone, but he considers it especially inappropriate to try to discuss it with a child(his apprentice is technically an adult but it doesn't stop Mav from viewing him as a dumb lil baby). If Lorant asked he might try his best to advise him, but luckily Lorant hasn't yet(and probably won't ever, he knows enough about Mav that he assumes he'd just get an hour-long lecture on the virtues of abstinence or something equally boring & overly cautious).
For non-romantic relationships? He can see Lorant doesn't seem to mind not having many friends, but he's kinda experienced in being lonely and not wanting to show it? So he's unsure if it's genuine apathy or if he's just adapted to being isolated(Lorant is kind of a weird kid, he loves him but can see why people would be put off by him). So he'll do his best to encourage him to make friends? Or at the very least help him maintain a friendship with Kenny since she's around anyways for the magic/ghost shenanigans.
Q: Is where he lives exactly where he'd like to be, or would he rather live somewhere else? - d-m
A: (OOC) He's actually living adjacent to the town he grew up in; he wasn't really planning to come back to live there but after his mother died and he had to come back to deal with her affairs he was kinda too depressed to go anywhere afterwards. He lived in her old house for a while but eventually the frustration from memories and proximity to town overwhelmed his lack of motivation to do anything that he sold the place and moved out into the desert(still not very far from town, but far enough for his sanity).
He could have gone out 'adventuring' again but he's old & doesn't want to. Belvite isn't IDEAL for a number of reasons but he's a lizard he missed the climate. Nice and toasty during the day & it gets chilly enough at night to bundle up under 6 blankets? It's good. Plus he ended up back in contact with Marta and learned about her whole fae-fiasco & somehow backways blamed himself cuz he 'could have saved her if he had been around'.
Q: Is there a particular reason why he has more patience with children and teenagers than people that are older? Is it simply because kids are generally more innocent than adults are? Are children usually the people he will fight on behalf of? And lastly, do they (children and teens) look up to him as a kind of role model for defending them? -kokohearts
A: (OOC) There is something to the innocence thing, but he really feels like it's the duty of the older generations to protect the younger ones & teach them about the world anyways(and the generation before him kinda failed him on both fronts, he suffered a lot from ignorance & disdain & honestly....spite is at the root of a lot of his convictions)? Plus he just, never had kids of his own, despite wanting them, and has a surplus of paternal energy that has to go SOMEWHERE.
Honestly, he doesn't really like to have children see him fight? He really feels like that's when he's at his worst. He will definitely protect a child he sees endangered but will typically be more concerned with taking them away from the danger rather than angrily murdering it in front of them, that's not something a kid should see..............
He's not really a publicly-heralded hero of the children? I don't think he has a reputation among young people, really,,,Maybe this has something to do with the children in his life being kind of outcast & therefore not talking to other kids about him & also his self-imposed isolation from the goings-on of the town. His protectiveness & willingness to fight & die for them is underappreciated by the children that are in his life, sadly. (it's actually his student's least-favorite thing about him lmao, he sees it as a lack of confidence in his ability to keep himself safe)
Q: What injury caused your chronic back pain? -Nonstop
A: (IC) "Years ago--Well, decades ago-- I...fell off a roof, while I was working. Nowadays it would have been easy to catch myself, it's one of the more practical uses of my magic." He sighs and straightens his hair to fidget out some of his embarrassed energy. "But I didn't have enough control back then to even start casting in the second it takes to hit the ground. I landed in a fucking pile of bricks."
Q: Do any of your friends or companions know about [your back injury]? How does it affect your day-to-day life? Has there ever been a time where the injury affected you in a really inopportune way? -Nonstop
A: (IC) "I don't keep the fact I have a bad back a secret. They might not know all of the details but I'm sure most of my friends are aware." He rubs at his lower back on a subconscious impulse. "I can't really stand or sit up straight for too long before it starts bothering me. Some days it's not so bad, but if I overwork it I'll end up stuck in bed the next day. It's definitely caused cancelled plans, and living alone while you're bedridden turns simple tasks like eating or getting to the bathroom into incredible ordeals."
Artist Notes
- Skin should be darker/browner than his hair
- please don't make him look overly masculine or feminine if you can help it
- Main ref, but you can draw him in the blue poncho/red scarf outfit too
- please don't use anything in the outdated art tab of his gallery as a reference
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