Name: Martino Velazquez. Age: Twenty-four.
Gender: Male.
Height: 5'7".
Facial expression: Joyful; a small smile or smirk works.
Hair: Dark teal: [x]; shoulder length, slightly waved hair: [x], beard like this: [x] in and a black pair of glasses: [x].
Eye color: Chartreuse: [x].
Skin color: A light clay brown (think Mexican: [x]).
Profession: Ex-artist.
Military outfit: Mix n' match (no waist wrap); v-neck.
Personality: Martino comes off as your typical gentleman; composed and ready to tackle the nearest complication if the need arises. A well-balanced etiquette and softly set manners have been chiseled into his heart by his momma dearest, so disrespecting anyone is out of the question. He is known to keep everything level, from his posture to his tone, and won't raise his voice at all. This causes many to see him as the lax and quiet type, which is actually not too far from his true personality, though he's a bit more of a bookish dreamer. He's also a bit of a romantic and tends to lose his train of thought at the world around him. In particular, Martino is very of the sky. He may randomly admit when transfixed in a dreamy stupor that he is jealous of how, day by day, it can change itself at will without the need of maturity and add, with a languid sigh, how he too wishes he could change his character without applying the arduous effort to do so.
Martino takes things in stride and doesn't like to hurry things, but this also leaves him a victim to being unable to upkeep a schedule properly. He always does what is told of him and finds joy in keeping himself busy. That is why he is quick to accept any task, even if it is hard labor. To him, putting in a day's work and crashing into bed exhausted is the best way to live one's life. It is satisfying because, to him, you know you've gotten something done. Finding happiness in most activities also makes Martino an easy person to work with. It is rare for him to put of a challenge when it comes to confrontations and he is quick to shrug his shoulders at anyone who does. Though he may not have the qualities of a born leader, he is a great follower, and will pull through to make sure any task given is completed in a rightful manner.
Yet, when Martino grows close to another, he shows them a side he keeps nestled and warm only for them. He becomes a snarky jerk and loves poking fun at the people he is fond of (especially his boss, though the man shuts him up with his forward flirting). What he loves most in life is seeing the people he adores smile and exploiting this love comes in the form of joking with them. He knows his limits though. If he happens to be rubbing too much salt onto a wound, he backs way, and murks with a built of guilt on the side. All around, Martino is a bit of a swell guy. He is a mundane soul most seem to like being around because he lacks the ability to judge harshly, aerating an openness that makes others comfortable and want to talk to him.
Unfortunately, Martino is rather inattentive unless, as stated before, it is an item he finds interesting. His mind tends to wander when something comes to bore him incredibly as he is unconsciously searching for something to keep him engaged. When his mind does find something much more worthwhile than the current topic at hand, his brain latches onto it like a lifesaver to save itself from drowning in boredom. Doing this causes him to replace most memories related to the dull-inducing topic and he readily forgets about it to let in memories of something happier. Martino's mind also does this to events that are upsetting, traumatic, or depressing. Since he has made it an constant effort to keep up a mirthful facade, he deters anything from bothering him default mood by ignoring it until he forgets. It is because of this trait all memories of death remain lost to the twining threads of time.
Just as he is inattentive, Martino is indecisive. When given two or more choices, Martino tries to weigh them all equally before he comes to decision. He tends to over think the qualities of each choice though, causing him to make each decision look too appealing. It can take him quite a bit to finalize a thought and, during most moments, he can't make up his mind at all and feuds with himself until an outside force intervenes. However, due to being a bit overzealous, he snaps at someone for choosing for him as he begins to recognize the faults pertaining to that choice. This fuels his desire to go for a former option, but if it is a one time deal, he'd likely complain and whine until it was reversed. At this point, he grows stubborn, and finally remains steadfast on the choice he believes to be better.
When Martino is engaged in his painting, it is very hard to shake his creative side, and he becomes absorbed in the activity to the point the outside world is nonexistent to him. While his wife is content that he still remains true to his life's passion, it raises much concern from her when he does. The first obstacle raised by him when he is trapped in this stupor is his lack of personal hygiene, eating, and sleeping habits. Martino hardly washes or eats for fear these activities may distract him from his inspiration. It is common to see him with greasy hair and hollowed cheeks stalking the kitchen of his home in an early hour of the night looking for sustenance. Also, since Mwanajuma is always the one to tend to his needs, Martino lacks the skills to take care of himself. He essentially needs someone to baby him, causing his wife to huff in annoyance when he denies being a giant man-child.
History: Martino was a successful artist who married his childhood sweetheart, Mwanajuma, despite reservations from her father who saw the arts as pretentious activity rather than a worthwhile skill. His work was typically sought out by the Westhofen family -- specifically the noble man's daughter, Adalwolfa -- because she was a major fan of his skill and accumulated a large collection of his works. Thanks to their financial support, Martino and Mwanajuma lived a comfortable life, until the Westhofen family suddenly stopped their purchases together for unknown reasons. Clueless as to why this occurred, Martino exercised every possible means he could trying to seek out an answer, but his attempt came to no avail. With their source of income now gone, the two fell into disrepair. Martino fell into an unshakeable depressive stupor and Mwanajuma, not wishing to let themselves fall into poverty, took up work as a seamstress.
His episode lingered for so long, Martino eventually lost his muse for painting. He moped around their home and, when Mwanajuma grew frustrated and started to relate him to a child, the male lashed out at her and said he was nothing of the sort. When Martino did work up the courage to pick up a brush again, his subject matter was always items that were dark and depressing. The artist tasked his wife with selling his work, since he lacked the desire to do so himself. Sympathizing with her husband, she agreed, but his work didn't catch anyone's interest. Casting even more pity on him, Mwanajuma would present him with money she made from her job working extra hours to persuade him his art was selling. She hoped, with such a small lie, Martino would return to being the man she loved.
Unfortunately, her fib took a turn for the worse. Martino became obsessed with the macabre and would constantly compose things that made death appear appealing and, almost frighteningly, glorious. Even Mwanajuma would shirk back at the bloodshed and gore in his work that would grow with each new composition. It came to a point when the man approached his wife and came up with a mortifying plan for a magna opus: he would join the military to experience firsthand the carnage they knew so intimately. He wanted to paint and capture on canvas the pain they go through day by day. Before she had a chance to persuade her husband to reconsider, he added he had already submitted his entrance papers, and was to leave as soon as possible. Mwanajuma, so tongue-tied, could not form a response to him even when he bid her farewell and mirthfully left for training.
