Marcus Contrary

"What grows in an English Country Garden? Just a Mean Green Mother..."

Marcus Contrary (he/him) is the son of Mary, Mary Quite Contrary. Although often dismissed as 'just another' nursery rhyme legacy, by fairytale legacies, his role runs deeper than that (just like many other nursery rhyme legacies!)

Marcus identifies as a Royal. He's not satisfied with the state of things, but he still appreciates the value of nursery rhymes, as something important to children. Plus, he likes gardens.

Personality
The first word that springs to mind with Marcus is ofputting. He doesn't say much, and just tends to sit in the background and stare. When he does speak, he has a penchant for making things awkward, by asking difficult questions, particularly to royal students.

Marcus is a true contrarian, with a lot of opposing opinions that he's not afraid of expressing. He's fond of a bit of friendly debate, but once it becomes serious or argumentative he quickly loses his enthusiasm. Marcus isn't opposed to the idea of having his opinion challenged, and he frequently does change his mind about things, making his opinions frequently conflict with things he's previously stated. He's rather politically minded, and critical of things, although he's not the kind of person who'll actively bring it up in contexts where it's not already on the table.

Marcus is pretty laidback, all things considered. He minds his own business and does his own thing, regardless of how people feel about it. He's surprisingly down to earth, with a practical perspective on how to solve problems. He rarely gets upset or wound up, because he'd rather clear the air and discuss the problem before that happens. Although he's not very expressive as far as body language and facial expressions, he's actually pretty playful, fond of slipping little jabs and jokes into his speech in a deadpan voice. He has a very inappropriate sense of humour, and makes plenty of dirty and dark jokes. He is aware that people find him creepy, and frequently plays on that fact by being slightly cryptic, or on the flip side excessively specific to a concerning degree.

Marcus is also really good with children, perhaps surprisingly so. He takes on an almost brotherly role with them. He likes teaching them how to overthrow parliament.

Gardening
Marcus loves plants, and gardening. Extreme gardening. He loves collecting rare plants and learning how to look after them.

Appearance
Marcus is a guy of medium height. He has large unblinking eyes that people often find creepy.

How does Marcus come into it?
The Contrarys are actually minor royalty who presided over a small kingdom in England. Due to their small size, they were and still are constantly overlooked.

The previous Mary, Marianna Contraire-Charming was actually a dual legacy, getting chosen by the Storybook of Legends to fill in a second princess legacy! Finally, things were looking up for them, if they could maintain both of their roles, they could witness huge growth and increase their political influence!

That... didn't work out. Their kingdom lay in the centre of an entire cluster of minor provinces ruled by enterprising lords and nobles looking to expand their territory. They launched a huge smear campaign against the Contraires, which included allegations of torture, blackmail and extorting the kingdom's residents. It worked, and Marianna was arrested, with her kingdom dissolved and assimilated into the noblemen's lands. All that was left to their name was their large manorhouse and surrounding gardens that they soon had to sell off to stay afloat.

While he lost the second destiny, he retained the Mary one. Due to his story right, the fairytale authorities stepped in and he kept possession of a quarter of the garden. He ended up being fostered by a Fairytale Authority appointed guardian, and moved into the groundskeeper's cottage. The manorhouse was converted into a luxury hotel, much to Marcus' chagrin. Marcus now keeps his garden in a kind of overgrown organised chaos, which he loves, but the aesthetics driven hotel hates. He refuses to change it.

Parallels

 * His name and his nature both directly reference Mary.
 * He is a gardener, much like his story.
 * His fondness of collecting dolls is a reference to the 'pretty maids all in a row'
 * His fondness for inappropriate jokes and political nature reference nursery rhymes as a whole-while they appear innocent they have very strange histories.
 * Mary Quite Contrary is often interpreted as being about Mary I, or Bloody Mary, with the silver bells, cockle shells and pretty maids interpreted as torture devices.
 * This is why his design features spikes, piercings and has a morbid edge.
 * And why his clothing is based off the tudor period.
 * This is also the inspiration for his backstory as royalty and the allegations of torture (although in this context they're untrue)
 * This is also the reason he is White/Hispanic. Catherine of Aragon, Mary's mother was from Spain.

Pet
At home, Marcus keeps bees. He has about two hives, nicknamed the Towers of London. He would have named one Parliament, but the bees are too productive for that.

At Ever After High, Marcus has started keeping an ant farm. He has, perhaps uncreatively nicknamed this 'The Dungeons under The Tower of London.' After someone suggested the names 'The London Underground' or 'Guy Fawkes' Escape Route' Marcus has been rather conflicted about names.

Romance
Marcus occasionally jokes that he's fond of older women and pretty maid dresses but that's not particularly true.

He's pansexual and likes people with good bone structure.

Trivia

 * Marcus is from Somerset and has the accent to match.
 * He enjoys going to the seaside.