Clyde Martin
Clyde Francis Martin (a.k.a. Boogie)
Clyde Martin is one of the two main protagonists in Copperwall.
He is one of the few living descendants of the esteemed Martin family. As a mage of African descent, he belongs to House Soul. He is also the co-owner of The Martin Collective. Officially, Clyde is a freelance forensic necromancer and makes a living by solving crimes and other mysteries. Because of his job title, his peers have nicknamed him 'Boogie', which is short for Boogeyman.
Physical Description
General Physical Condition
In the span of about nine years, Clyde has developed a mild form of anemia. Whenever he does a necromancy ritual, he slices open his finger as a blood sacrifice. Because of this, he used to get frequent infections. His immune system wasn't the best when he first started necromancy, but after years of learning proper wound care and dieting, he is now considered healthy.
Body Features
Clyde's body is an average build, with a little more muscle than fat. He has a few scars on his arms and abdomen, and a large gash on the back of his right calf.
Facial Features
Clyde has a pretty pronounced jawline, with large lips and a wide nose. His eyes are sometimes bagged, and his skin tone is slightly uneven on parts of his forehead.
Identifying Characteristics
Clyde has scarred fingers and often has a bandage around one of them.
Physical quirks
Due to Clyde's scarred fingers, he sometimes has trouble grabbing and holding onto objects if his wound hasn't scabbed over.
Apparel & Accessories
Clyde dresses pretty similar to how most men dressed in the 1920's. His outfits tend to be more fitted to his body, and he typically wears dark, muted colors instead of just black and white. He wears a handmade bracelet that Daisy Thurman gave him, as well as a ring his mother gave him.
Mental characteristics
Personal history
Born to a mage mother and psychic father, Clyde spent his whole life in the presence of magic. At a young age, he took an interest to his mother's grimoire and found her abilities fascinating. His father tried to teach him divination as well, but later felt Clyde wasn't quite developed enough to retain the information. Instead, Clyde's parents tried their best to give him a normal childhood, despite not being normal parents.
For the most part, they were successful. Clyde spent a lot of time out of the house and with his loved ones, including his cousin Claudine Martin and best friend Miles Lester . If he wasn't playing with them, he was in his room reading or pretending to be a mage. He seemed to have a good relationship with everyone around him and was considered a "bright young thing" in his early years. Although Clyde's mother was weary about his interest in magic, she always stated that she'd be happy to teach him when he got older.
Those lessons unfortunately never came. At the age of 11, Clyde's parents disappeared under mysterious circumstances. He came home to an empty house after playing with Claudine one day, and after waiting around for a couple of hours, he realized something was wrong. The house was still in tact, with plates of food sitting out and cold cups of coffee in the kitchen. Claudine's parents took him in, and since then, he still never found out what happened to his parents.
Clyde started to develop depression, and well into his teen years, his new family could tell he was silently suffering. He forced himself to get through school, and only talked to Claudine and Miles about his mental state. They helped him through adolescence and eventually helped him through college. Clyde went to Coppergate University to pursue a degree in Ethical Necromancy, with a minor in Black Literature.
He is now the co-owner of The Martin Collective, which is the paranormal business he inherited from his family. He works as a paranormal investigator and forensic necromancer alongside Claudine Martin.
For the most part, they were successful. Clyde spent a lot of time out of the house and with his loved ones, including his cousin Claudine Martin and best friend Miles Lester . If he wasn't playing with them, he was in his room reading or pretending to be a mage. He seemed to have a good relationship with everyone around him and was considered a "bright young thing" in his early years. Although Clyde's mother was weary about his interest in magic, she always stated that she'd be happy to teach him when he got older.
Those lessons unfortunately never came. At the age of 11, Clyde's parents disappeared under mysterious circumstances. He came home to an empty house after playing with Claudine one day, and after waiting around for a couple of hours, he realized something was wrong. The house was still in tact, with plates of food sitting out and cold cups of coffee in the kitchen. Claudine's parents took him in, and since then, he still never found out what happened to his parents.
Clyde started to develop depression, and well into his teen years, his new family could tell he was silently suffering. He forced himself to get through school, and only talked to Claudine and Miles about his mental state. They helped him through adolescence and eventually helped him through college. Clyde went to Coppergate University to pursue a degree in Ethical Necromancy, with a minor in Black Literature.
He is now the co-owner of The Martin Collective, which is the paranormal business he inherited from his family. He works as a paranormal investigator and forensic necromancer alongside Claudine Martin.
Sexuality
Like most gay men in Copperwall, Clyde struggles to come to terms with his sexuality. He was conditioned to think homosexuality is dirty and shameful, and constantly tries to hide it and deny it. It's obvious that he has feelings for Miles Lester, but he doesn't feel comfortable expressing them. He's definitely anxious about being outed as a homosexual, and even in his own home, he's still paranoid of someone finding out. Still, he loves Miles deeply and wants to find other, less obvious ways of expressing an interest in men.
Education
Clyde attended a small public school system in his neighborhood growing up. He was taught basic life skills, such as reading, writing, and math. His last year of public school ended when he was about sixteen or seventeen. After expanding his skills with extra practice, combined with his interest in magic, Clyde made the bold decision to go to Coppergate University. He studied magic and literature for about 5 years and graduated in the top ten percent of his class, earning a degree in Ethical Necromancy and a minor in Black Literature.
Employment
Prior to inheriting the family business, Clyde was once a junior editor for a literary journal. Once he and Claudine inherited the family business, he stopped editing and instead submitted a few poems to be published. Only one was accepted, and he received a small one-time payment for it.
Clyde is now the co-owner of The Martin Collective. He specializes in paranormal investigations and also crafts a few retail items for sale. His primary source of income comes from shared profits that the business generates.
Accomplishments & Achievements
Clyde was once into poetry and got a short poem published in his district's literary journal. It was not received well by the audience.
Mental Trauma
After the disappearance of his parents, Clyde's sense of security and self-esteem started to dwindle rapidly.
Intellectual Characteristics
Clyde is a relatively fast reader, and although he doesn't have much interest in fiction anymore, he's capable of reading fourteen books in a year. He's also fairly good at math and can do mental calculations in his head pretty quickly.
Personality Characteristics
Personality Quirks
Whenever he's nervous or anxious, Clyde tugs on the back strands of his hair. He sometimes pulls and teases them a bit too hard, causing hair breakage. His clothes usually have strands of his thick, dry coils on them.
Hygiene
Clyde generally keeps himself well-groomed, though he doesn't bathe very often. He certainly has the means to bathe, he's often just too depressed to sit in the bathtub. He's also very anxious about having a communal bathroom in his apartment, so the few times he does bathe, he has to ask Miles to guard the door.
Relationships
History
While they never knew each other growing up, Hawthorne has always held a deep respect for Clyde's pacifist nature.
Given Hawthorne's reputation, Clyde immediately distrusted him upon their first introduction. Hawthorne came off as a creep, but eventually proved to be a dedicated ally towards Clyde and Claudine. It took quite a while for Hawthorne to open up about his past, and likewise, it took a long time for Clyde to stop thinking of Hawthorne as a threat.
Because Hawthorne and Clyde both suffer from severe depression, they learned to understand each other by recognizing pattern behaviors that they both exhibit during depressive episodes. In turn, Hawthorne and Clyde learned each other's individual traumas and built a friendship based on mutual support. Clyde was Hawthorne's first real friend, and this lead to Hawthorne's desire to continue living and seek mental help.
Nicknames & Petnames
Clyde will sometimes inappropriately call Hawthorne "Jack the Ripper". This is due to Hawthorne's obsessive behavior towards Claudine Martin .
Commonalities & Shared Interests
Hawthorne and Clyde share an interest in necromancy.
History
Though they are first cousins, Clyde and Claudine were raised like siblings and treat each other as such. From a very young age, they have always been inseparable and incredibly supportive of each other. When Clyde's parents disappeared, Claudine acted as Clyde's main source of emotional support during that tough time. As adults, they are still very close but engage in relentless teasing of one-another. They sometimes appear to despise each other, yet they get defensive when others question their bond.
Nicknames & Petnames
Claudine inappropriately calls Clyde "noose". This is part of her dark humor in relation to Clyde's suicidal thoughts and Terrahelm's negative perception of necromancers. Clyde's nickname for Claudine is "smooth brain". This is in relation to Claudine's common behaviors that show signs of neurodivergence.
History
After being best friends for nearly 25 years, Clyde and Miles now realize they have romantic feelings for each other. Clyde is a bit less comfortable with his sexuality and is very reluctant to show any affection to Miles.
Wealth & Financial state
Clyde is almost finished paying off his debts from college. He makes an average income of about $3,000 per year.
In the year 1921, $3,000 is the 2020 equivalent of about $43,206.20. (i.e. CPI Inflation Calculator)
Current Location
Age
31
Date of Birth
July 13th, 1890
Life
1890
1948
58 years old
Circumstances of Death
Influenza
Birthplace
Old Canthain District, Copperwall
Spouses
Siblings
Claudine Martin
(Cousin)
Children
Current Residence
Terrahelm District, Copperwall
Pronouns
he/him
Sex
Male
Gender
Cis male
Presentation
Masculine
Eyes
Dark brown
Hair
Short, black afro
Skin Tone/Pigmentation
Dark brown
Aligned Organization
Other Affiliations
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