Trivia

Personality

A very mellow and relaxed young man, Herb never gets worked up and is always calm, taking things easy. Even in more dramatic and dire situations, he'll take life as it comes and be chilled out, not taking things as seriously as he perhaps should, to the irritation of people around him. Herb is simply a quiet and inexpressive guy by nature, so people often struggle to get a read on him. This isn't because he's shy or anxious, but because he doesn't really care what other people think of him; he's perfectly satisfied to be who he is and can't bring himself to worry about whatever petty grievances others might have with his attitude. If they don't like him, that's their problem, it has nothing to do with his own opinions towards them back, right?

His enigmatic demeanour often makes people suspect he has something strange up his sleeve waiting to be unleashed, and honestly that's not unfounded. Although he may be a carefree and easygoing guy, he's actually rather eccentric, doing a lot of things in a very unconventional manner rather nonchalantly. He believes following the status quo is such a boring thing to do when life is a such a big, beautiful mess that gives so many options for any given action. He'll go out of his way to do things weirdly simply for that sake of defying the norm and making every moment meaningful and interesting. This can result in some rather disturbing and disastrous remarks and situations, and although he may not care about the perils, the people around him sure do now and then.

The exception to Herb's mellow attitude are authority figures, particularly his parents, whom he regards with disdain. He is rarely seen interacting with them, so the reason behind the contempt he holds towards them is largely unknown, but he seemingly considers himself disconnected from them both, and refuses to rely on his father's influence as mayor to live his life the way he wants. Others implying that he can just do whatever he wants because this privilege might make him exempt from punishment gets under his skin just a little, but like everything else he simply shrugs it off and tries not to let it bother him.

Misc.

• His favourite food is cucumber.

Background

Where Herb came from exactly is a oft pondered mystery in Marigold; one day the mayor had no family, and then one day he did, a young son at that. Who was his mother? Had he been around the whole time and nobody realised? Did the mayor just prefer to keep his private and public life separate? Had he been adopted suddenly? The answers to this are shrouded and only known to Herb and his father, neither of whom are particularly talkative as it is, let alone about this topic. Thus, knowing seeking answers was likely a lost cause, everyone eventually just accepted his existence and were forced to move on, the question of his enigmatic origins gradually fading from the public consciousness apart from the occasional gossip.

Herb soon made a name for himself aside from all that however, as all expectations people had for the child of their long-serving mayor were quickly thrown out the window. His nonchalant attitude towards Marigold's authority figures was seen as very disrespectful and many wrote him off as an anarchistic rebel before very long, particularly with his blatant disregard for convention and societal norms. He'd skip school so often, often being found halfway across town doing something trivial or weird, that eventually they stopped even bothering to expect his attendance. This made his presence somewhat mystical and legendary amongst his peers, becoming a kind of urban legend to some students until the fabled days where he decides to make an appearance, which always brought great expectations among the student body and terrible dread to the faculty.

At some stage, Herb crossed paths with the equally eccentric Marigold Randall, who interested him as much as he interested her, and the two quickly formed a strong friendship that soon saw them hook up as a couple, to her father's horror. He continues his life as a mysterious vagabond with her as his partner in crime, the two getting involved with even more insane and dangerous activities together than they would have already done on their own, often dragging their hapless mutual friend, Lum, along for the ride. Herb has no particular goals or aspirations and simply enjoys living life as it comes, as he always has, finding each new development that comes his way to be as immeasurably interesting as the last.

Synopsis

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