Profile
The Blooming Bard
"I am foolish about you, I admit."
A new emerging talent from the Bellard family of musicians, Marigold is a young woman with big dreams. Although her current standing is humble (completely unknown) and most of her shows take place in questionable taverns, Marigold is a talented bard who plays piano, the lyre, and the accordion.
After leaving home to seek further training than what her parents could offer, Marigold is just trying to make it in an unfamiliar city and find an apprenticeship.
Likes
- art
- baking
- gardening
- cats
Dislikes
- fighting
- humidity
- critics
- early mornings
Personality
ambitious
When it comes to her career, there's no mountain too tall for Marigold to envision herself upon the tip of. Driven both by the gentle pushing her of parents and by her own passion, Marigold has always been an incredibly studious person, even as a young girl. She's no sooner accomplished one of her set out goals than she is looking for the next foothold on her way to success. She has always been practical rather than a dreamer in most areas of her life, the result of growing up as the eldest sister in poverty.
studious
Marigold has always had her nose in the books -- namely, any book she could get her grubby little hands on. Education proved to be a breeze for the intelligent young girl thanks to her disciplined and hard-working nature. Unfortunately, her social life did not recieve nearly the same amount of effort; Marigold buries herself in her studies and lessons and really any other busywork she can find to avoid having to face the discomfort of socializing. Books have always been much kinder to her.
creative
Marigold has always had a vivid imagination and she's expressed this through art her entire life. Growing up in a family experiencing poverty sobered Marigold and disillusioned her early on, and the only way to escape to a better world was through daydreaming and immersing herself in a better, kinder world. Along with her musical talent, Marigold paints and she writes poetry and fiction -- the fiction isn't bad, and the poetry is truly appalling.
kind
Marigold is always the first to offer a helping hand to anyone in need, though her kindness need not be mistaken for naivety; while she prefers to play the pacifist, she's very capable of biting back and can dish out a surprising amount of venom with her words alone. She isn't the type to lash out at those who don't deserve it, however, and she values other people's perspectives and feelings sometimes even above her own. She does her best to improve others' lives, though her efforts are often bumbling and awkward.
insecure
It isn't hard to see that Marigold doesn't think very well of herself; from the way she keeps her gaze turned downwards in conversation to the genuine surprise and embarrassment whenever she's met with praise, everything about her screams 'I don't like myself very much!'. Her insecurity is the result of intense bullying from her peers that has imbued her with an intense sense of shame for being herself, and it drives her to stay quiet in most social situations. Get her talking about something she's interested in, however, and she'll likely never close her mouth again.
cynical
Although she also loves fairytale romances and stories of hope and kindness, Marigold saves most of that for fiction. In reality, she errs on the side of caution and general suspicion about most people and their intentions. As a child she wasn't exactly in the position to maintain her sense of illusion with the world, and she became a very sober 'realist' in contrast to the dreamy, bright things she would dream up. She wouldn't say she's a cynic, but pretty much anyone who knows her for any amount of time would.
Skills
• playing and writing music
• baking
• painting
• gardening (she's actually terrible at it but she's determined to get better)
Trivia
• Marigold can find her way around most string instruments, though her main instrument is a custom made pink piano accordion with delicate floral accents painted on. She uses this for special performers, and besides that she uses a roughed up lyre.
• Most of the fiction she writes is... mature in nature.
• Her most mortifying moment is when her mother looked into her childhood sketchbook and saw pictures Mari had drawn of her kissing other girls. She's never quite moved on from this moment, though her mother was very kind about it.
• She's had her cat Gurby since he was just a little kitten. She found him on the street and brought him inside, and he never left.
• Her right arm is covered in delicate floral tattoos, which is what she spent pretty much all of her savings on upon moving out. Oops.
Background
Born into a family of talented but undiscovered musicians, it wasn't a surprise when young Marigold took an interest in music and it's creation. Her father was a retired pianist and her mother was an opera singer who had never gotten the recognition her talent deserved. Upon retiring, the two bought some farmland to raise their children on. Marigold and her younger brother grew up very loved, though in severe poverty.
Marigold dreamed of opulence from a young age and decided early on that she wanted to be a court musician and composer. She studied diligently and practiced daily, letting music become her life. Her social life suffered for it, but by the time she was sixteen she could read sheet music just as fluently as Common, and she was an unrecognized prodigy. The time came, however, when her parents had taught her all they could and Marigold set out on her own to travel and find a master to apprentice under in order to continue her education.
After travelling for a few years and just getting by with the performances she booked and the tips she managed to accumulate from tavern to tavern, Marigold settled in the large city of Highvale, the capital of the country of Ifaria. She lives above a flower shop with her beloved cat Gurby, playing shows wherever she can get them and waiting for the day where she is acknowledged and rewarded for her hard work.
Relationships
crush Giselle was Marigold's first and longest childhood crush. Marigold admired and dreamed about the Princess from afar as a young girl, though she never had any hope of actually being recognized by her. Meeting again years later at one of Marigold's shows, however, proved that Marigold never really let go of the crush. Marigold adores Giselle's strong and silent demeanor and she lives for the rare moments Giselle smiles, though she's far too awkward to admit her affections.
Gurby
beloved pet A very large and lazy grey housecat, Gurby is Marigold's beloved pet. He was the family cat originally, but Marigold's parents agreed to let her take him when she moved out. She's had him since he was a kitten, and she absolutely spoils him rotten; he eats before she does in most cases.
