Marny Cresswell

Marmaduke the 9th, known as Marny Cresswell is the youngest member of the Cresswell Family. He is a junior at Brookfield School, excelling in Theater. Marny now lives in the Northview Building while attending classes. Marny is known to be close his older sister Marina, as the two siblings talk daily. Marny enjoys doing Theater after school, going to Seaside Mall with his friends, and playing Turf War. Marny has the gift of gab, able to chat up peers and superiors alike.

Personality
Marny is friendly, outgoing and genuinely interested in the lives of other people, no matter their social status. He is liked by many, and it's easy to see why. Marny is unapologetic of who he is, or what he likes. He wears his heart on his sleeve and doesn't care that Glade Bay's culture frowns upon "The Sensitive Male". Marny prioritizes his appearance to make sure that people see his best self, a trait he's learned from his father. Because of this, he's not quick to share his problems as he doesn't wish to inconvenience others. As a result, he's falling behind in Advanced Math.

Marny's fellow peers find him friendly and pleasant to be around, attributing to his popularity at Brookfield School. This doesn't mean he'll hang out with just anyone--he's selective on who he chooses to spend time with. Marny is funny, kind, and naturally curious about the world around him. Sometimes, this leads to his peers to believe he's a naive individual, which isn't entirely untrue. Some classmates (unfairly) attribute his lack of experience, wisdom, and judgement to being a Cresswell.

Marny's online persona on Turf War is FishPrince, attributed to his love of marine life. Marny has fun with his teammates, and opponents alike. He enjoys the game, and finds it to be a great escape from the expectations of real life.

Marny has a love for all things art, and self expression. When it comes to the practical classes like Science and Math, Marny will daydream in class, often forgetting the knowledge required to proceed. He doesn't want to appear stupid or absent minded, so he'll purposely refrain from asking questions. While confident in most things, it takes him a great deal of courage to ask for help.

Appearance
Marny's dark complexion and curly hair are taken straight from the Cresswell gene pool. His eyes are an unusual emerald green; another trait associated with the Cresswell Family. While Marny may be competing for tallest student, he comes second to his father who stands at 6'4. Marny is stylish and coordinated, taking great care in how he looks. He wears his Brookfield approved cream coloured vest, matching hat and navy blue slacks. On campus, he rarely strays from this look. He is rarely seen out of his school outfit. Marny's formal wear is inspired from the 1920's jazz era.

Background
Marny grew up in the Cresswell Manor in Glade Bay, and has lived there his entire life. Due to their father's busy schedule, Marny and Marina spent a lot of time together, and since Marina was six years older, she adopted the mother role in Marny's life. When Marny was small, he used to sneak into Marina's bed at night and ask her to sing to him. She was more than happy to sing to her little brother. They were made up songs, and sometimes made no sense, but they gave him comfort. Eventually, he'd sing along with Marina's calming lullabys. To this day, Marina is his best and most treasured friend.

In 2009, when Marny was 8, his mother went missing. There was no explanation as to why, just that she left one day, never to return. Marny and Marina were devastated by the loss of their mother. While their father did stay home for a couple of weeks, he went out of town more often leaving the staff, Marina and his home-school tutor to become Marny's caretakers. Marny knows that Marina moved out of the Brookfield School campus to live with him, and he greatly appreciated her for it.

When Marny was 12, Marina showed him the underground bunker under the manor. It was revealed to be a shooting range; long and wide as far as the eye could see. She explained to him that the world was a dangerous place for the Cresswells, because an organization called The Delta Stream was watching their every move. It was up to 18 year old Marina to train him how to use a weapon, and keep himself safe--especially since this year he would be moving to Brookfield School. Marny didn't want to learn how to use a gun (the thought terrified him) and he didn't want to leave Marina. However, through Marina's loving words, she encourages Marny to proceed through with the training, and helps him pack for Brookfield. When they arrive on campus a few months later, Marny is terrified (and hates his room--it's small, damp and outdated). Marina instructs Marny to hide the gun he has under one of the floorboards by his bed (she adds that Brookfield had cleared Marny due to the Delta Stream threats, however, no student must ever find out he is in the possession of a firearm). Marina promises she'll call him daily for the first couple of weeks, but then she'll have to stop because she'll be two weeks into Thermidor's rigorous schedule.

Once Marny started classes, he realized that Brookfield was a lot of fun. People were nice to him, and he had no reason to be afraid. Until Brookfield, Marny was shy, reserved and unsure of the world around him. He blossoms into his own person, discovering he loved chatting with people his own age, and was thrilled when people had similar interests to him. He even noticed a couple of cute classmates, which was an entirely new experience for him.

Despite Marina's warning about the calls, the siblings chatted on the phone each day (their co-dependent habits were strong), right up until October 2017.

Friends

 * Marina Cresswell - His best friend and closest relative. No matter how old they get, Marny will treasure her always.
 * Rachel Veronica "Mattie" Matticus - Marny met Mattie when he was 16 due to a coincidental turf match-up. Even though she's a grade above him, the two get along famously. Many have mistaken Marny and Mattie as a couple. Both deny it, but aren't repulsed by the idea. Their interests lie elsewhere...
 * Lizzie Poole - Marny and Lizzie were friends before the turf match-up, and both enjoy each other's company. She was one of his first friends at Brookfield. She's funny, cute, and has a wicked perspective on gaming. If Lizzie weren't so openly into girls, Marny may have considered dating her.
 * Sebastian Waterford - Marny knew of Sebastian before the coincidental turf match-up. His father had encouraged their friendship since they were small, since the Waterford Family was one of their biggest customers. While Sebastian is a nice guy, Marny wouldn't spend any one on one time with him. He's just a little too perfect...

Family

 * Marina Cresswell - Marny's sister, but her role extends far beyond that. Ever since their mother's disappearance, Marina has taken on a motherly role, while still remaining on his side. Both have a co-dependency on each other, which no one can really blame them for. Growing up as a Cresswell wasn't easy. She was the one who gave him the nickname "Marny", due to a poor pronunciation of Marmaduke when she was 6.
 * Marmaduke the 8th Cresswell - Marny's relationship with his father is a complicated one. When they were kids, Marny's father was attentive and kind. After his mother disappeared, he became tough and rigid. He was never mean, but Marny misses the dad of old. Even though Marny has the family's legacy name (Marmaduke), Marina is the first born child--which means she was to take on the family legacy. However, his focus has now shifted to Marny due to Marina's official coming out, and her relationship with Pearl. His father wants grandchildren, and now sees Marny as the prime candidate. This makes him uncomfortable, as his father doesn't know that he swings both ways. Now that Marny was older, he and his father were starting to get back on track with each other, but Marny fears that there will be underlying conditions to their new relationship.
 * Barron "Braised" Cresswell - Marny's older cousin. He's annoying, and Marny doesn't like him. Marny can remember their childhood together; teasing, roughhousing and patronizing behavior was all Marny can remember of his cousin. Since Marny had a nickname, his cousin had to come up with one too... Thankfully Marny only sees him during the holiday season.
 * Dawn Cresswell - Marny likes his cousin Dawn. Her and Braised were twins, and Marny didn't half wonder if she inherited all the brains and common sense. She's smart, fun, and calm, unlike her brother.

Enemies

 * The Delta Stream - Marny fears them, and hates them for what they have done to his family. If it weren't for The Delta Stream, he would still have his mother, and he could feel safe walking the streets at night. The only way to escape his harsh reality is to surround himself with good company, allowing him to forget that The Delta Stream exists.


 * Pearl Eastriver - Ever since Pearl and Marina became an couple, Marny isn't able to talk to Marina as much as he was able to before. Marina tells him that Pearl wants to get to know Marny, but he'll have none of it. He's never told Marina this, but if the two were to split up, he'd prefer it. Marny wants his sister back. Despite this, he does attend every Squilla Mantis concert (and Pearl's raps are amazing), and keeps backstage visits short. It's not until much later that this dissolves; Pearl and Marny eventually become friends.

Romantic

 * Emma Locke - Emma and Marny met at one of Thermidor's parties, and have kept in touch since. Despite Emma being three years older than Marny, she took great interest in him and Marny found himself captivated by her beauty, and her interests in aquamarine life and Turf War. In the summer of 2017, the two grow closer and Emma asked him to become her boyfriend. Marny was delighted, and was more than excited to tell Marina (who he would have told sooner but he didn't want to jinx it), who for some reason didn't sound pleased. Even though Marina didn't approve of their union, she didn't encourage Marny to split up with her. Marny had hit all the bases with Emma in their short time together; which was why it was so shocking to him when Emma broke up with him via text messaging. Marny wasn't heartbroken, but felt confused, because they were having so much fun together (and she was the first person he's ever been intimate with). When Marny tells Marina about the breakup, she assures him it's for the best and before long, he'll meet someone ten times as better.
 * Sam Wade - Marny's math tutor, and a Junior at Brookfield School. He's not sure if Sam makes him nervous because he's being tutored by a fellow student, or because when those steel-blue eyes lock on his own, his mind turns to mush...

Squilla Mantis
Marny (as one would expect) enjoys Squilla Mantis. Marny has been to every one of their concerts, and will go to many more. He admires his sister's singing talents as her voice is nostalgic, reminding the two of when they used to sing together as kids. Marina's kind voice carries through her performances and it's part of the reason he thinks Squilla Mantis is doing so well. Marny knows he's biased, but he can't help it. Marina is amazing.