Marino Carax

Marino Carax is a tribute made by Xax. Please don't use Marino without his permission.

"Rage is a quiet thing; you think that you've tamed it, but it's just lying in wait."

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Name: Marino Carax

Age: 17

District: 6, 5, 3

Gender: Male

Appearance: Dani García

Height: 5’8

Personality: Having made a vow of silence for a period of time in his life, Marino is used to not needing many words, if any, to convey meaning and information through writing or gestures. While he doesn’t actively avoid company, Marino is just someone that is naturally reserved and hermetic. He is overall friendly and polite, but even more than that he is elegant and graceful, both in his interactions and movements, since they are always carefully thought-out beforehand. He firmly believes that things are to be taken with calm and patience to avoid rash or impulsive decisions, since he’s been a firsthand witness of their consequences.

Marino is tactful with others and despite not being one that is used to being in the spotlight in social groups, he is very aware of people’s dynamics around others, and so, he is a master at social cues and at interacting with others, which makes it easy for him to be liked by people, but avoids (sometimes unsuccessfully) getting attached to others emotionally. This is because his sense of responsibility and protection over the people he cares for is off the charts, and he knows that he’ll do almost anything for them, or inevitably feel guilty if anything were to happen to them; a trait  which he hates about himself since he can’t really help it.

He’s quite intelligent but prefers not showing it brazenly and he relies heavily on his resourcefulness and shrewdness. The problem comes, however, when his patience meets its limits. In those moments, everything that he represents is thrown out the window, and he becomes a reckless, irate, and hurtful individual that runs on rage and impulses and will stop at nothing to end with unfinished business.

Backstory:

Igneo Carax had always been the black sheep of the family. The youngest, and the least liked of the four Carax children. Their father had died right after Igneo came of age, but he’d left him with near to nothing. He’d turned to his sisters for help, as they’d received the majority of the inheritance and the family business, but they turned their backs on him.

It might have seemed like a very selfish and cruel move from their part, but the problem lay in the fact that they thought that Igneo had murdered their father, and with fair reason. Most of the evidence did in fact seem to point to Igneo, and having displayed sociopathic tendencies as he grew up, it only made sense for him to be blamed. However, it had all been a misunderstanding and even the evidence wasn’t incriminating enough to follow through with actual legal measures, so the Carax family merely left him estranged as a late teenager.

Having always lived in a well-off family he’d never had to learn how to do anything that was hands-on, but it then proved to be a necessity. He used what little money he’d been left with to rent a flat near a small vehicle-repair workshop and had started working there for free at first while he learned everything. Then, he started to get a proper wage upon proving his potential for growth.

As it turned out, he was adept at pretty much everything regarding business-management and vehicle-repairing. In what were only five years, he became the second-in-command to the owner, a woman named Kyra, and a very close friend at that. She was only older than him by three years. She’d built the whole business herself alongside her older brother, but he’d fallen ill and died soon thereafter. A genetic condition, they’d called it.

They became so close, in fact, that he’d gotten Kyra pregnant. Given how well they got along together and to avoid any scandals, they decided to marry and soon after that she gave birth to a blue-eyed boy who they named Marino.

It wasn’t that the couple didn’t love each other; it merely was that it was an unconventional kind of love that they had for one another. Maybe there truly was no romance, but both seemed to enjoy sharing their lives and a child together, so what was the problem? They gave each other platonic affection, they raised their son harmoniously and there was no money shortage. Given the situation in the District with its increasing prices and taxes, there had to be other couples who really had it rough.

But Igneo, Kyra and Marino were comfortable. At least while it lasted. It wasn’t even five years later that Kyra got pregnant again, and, in a way, they were thankful to have yet another thing to tether them even closer. But six months into the pregnancy, Kyra started falling ill, and while nothing could be confirmed, it was suspected that she had developed her late brother’s same condition. It had been genetic, after all.

Kyra wasn’t a quitter, however, so she pushed through with the pregnancy until the end, giving birth to a baby girl who they named Aerea. Unfortunately, Kyra died while delivering her due to complications that surfaced from her illness while giving birth.

Despite the Carax family taking such a big blow, they managed to get through it rather unscathed. Igneo became the director of the workshop, and Marino simply had to mature a bit quicker than he would’ve normally to take care of his baby sister.

Perhaps the only major differences were that Igneo became much harsher in educating his children and that Marino’s sense of responsibility developed greatly and quickly. Perhaps being entrusted with Aerea at such a young age was too much to put on a five year old’s shoulders, but it seemed to be what was necessary at the time.

He used to be rash and impulsive, never thinking before speaking, and he’d often retort to others. Igneo, for as calm as he’d become for the past years, had still held that violent trait of his dormant deep within him. That, alongside the growing pressures of the workshop losing customers to the competition, an incoming crisis, and not having any other adult to help him support or take care of his two children, made him cave in to alcohol.

It was a slow transition, to be fair. At first he merely got grumpier. Then he started blaming everything on his children. They just took and took and never gave anything back, those leeches. This didn’t stop even when Marino entered the workshop at 12 years old and started working there himself as a mechanic. It wasn’t until a year later, however, that Igneo cracked and actually hit him. Marino had grown up to worship his father as he’d been the only one that was there for him. He’d secretly resented Kyra for passing on, despite knowing that it was an unjust thing to do. But Igneo had stayed, so surely everything he said must have been right.

But his teenage years had been arriving and with them the rebelliousness, which Igneo didn’t appreciate, and he would let his son know about by painting his body with violence. Sometimes it was a brush of purple on his left eye. Other’s a splatter of crimson on the corners of his lips. But Marino always knew better than to retaliate, and he was surprisingly good at hiding the vivid hues from the public eye.

He took all the hits for himself and from Aerea, who selfishly enough didn’t seem to mind. She had a great relationship with Marino, but deep inside her, she always knew that she would receive no harm because his brother would always take the bullets for her, so she grew up to be reckless.

By the time Marino was 15, he’d started to learn that his impulsivity wasn’t good, so he repressed it. But it was bottled lightning, and it soon exploded when he finally had enough from being abused and he actually blamed Aerea when Igneo was about to hit him. He didn’t think Igneo would actually do anything to her. She was a girl, for one. But more so than that, she was barely 10 years old.

But Igneo had drank one too many drops of the damned liquid, and he unleashed his rage on his daughter by serving her a slap across her cheek and consequently pushing her. Fortunately, the damage had been minimal and upon realising what he’d done, he’d apologised to Aerea and swore he’d never drink to that point again.

Still, Marino knew it had been his fault and the guilt swallowed him fault. Had he just shut up and accepted the punishment for his sister’s actions, she wouldn’t have that red hand imprinted on her left cheek. Had he never spoken, she’d never have sprained her wrist from falling at an odd angle. He decided to make a vow of silence as penance for his mistake.

He stopped talking. At first, he’d carry a board and he’d write on it. It seemed to do the trick. It gave him enough time to actually think if something was worth writing, so he only did it when absolutely necessary. Igneo did seem to stay true to his word and he stopped drinking, cold turkey. No more hitting. No more pain. Both seemed to have learned their lesson, but Aerea still resumed her brash ways.

As time went on, Marino learned how to use his body to communicate himself. Mostly gestures and facial expressions. It was a bit tough trying to communicate with strangers, but when it came to the people that he saw frequently, they seemed to understand him with surprising ease.

Things seemed to be much better, and he’d learned how to dominate himself and to tame his impulses. The process had been slow and painful, but he’d been disciplined. By the time he was about to turn 17, he decided to renounce his vow of silence, as he’d become who he’d wanted to become.

But all good things come to an end, and so did Marino’s good period of time in his life.

The workshop suffered a mysterious fire, and almost everything was lost. Igneo would have to practically start again. But he wasn’t as young as he used to be, and Kyra wasn’t there to help this time. He attempted to recuperate from the incident, but he started drinking again, and the violence resumed.

Just a few months before Marino’s eighteenth birthday, it all came crashing down. Aerea had had a feud at school with the son of Igneo’s biggest client, and she’d beat him up. No wonder where she’d learned that from. Still, this time there was no blaming it on Marino, and the client swore he’d never pay Igneo another dime after what had happened.

Nonetheless, Marino couldn’t let himself watch his father hurting his sister another time, and he tried avoiding an altercation, but the drunken Igneo had simply pushed him out of his path to go and hurt Aerea. Surely this time, she’d learn.

But Marino was sick of this. Sick of taking the blame for things he’d never done. Sick of the pain. Sick of having to depend on a drunkard and on protecting a time bomb of a person. For as patient as he’d become, he still had a breaking point, and this was it.

He held his father from the arm before he could harm Aerea, and right then and there, he gave him a piece of his mind. The words that were said were honest, but they were pernicious. Only destruction came off his mouth.

He spoke about how he’d practically raised Aerea. How pathetic Igneo was for taking out his misery by hurting his own son. But not all words were directed towards him. With Aerea still standing near them, Marino turned to her and called her out for her recklessness, telling her about how she’d never amount to anything if she always let others take the blame for her actions. If she never changed. And about how idiotic it was that she was ruining her life just to get attention, among other more hurtful things. The words clearly struck a nerve and the girl had run out of their place, bawling.

Igneo, outraged, slapped his son for his sudden outburst of insubordination, but Marino wouldn’t turn the other cheek. Not this time. Instead, he’d pushed his father back forcefully, and the other had predictably retaliated. It became a full-on fight, and despite Igneo being stronger than his son, was unfortunately drunk, which made his movements slow. After a few minutes, Marino got the upper hand, and he punched everywhere with all his might, but his hace was hot with unlimited rage, and he couldn’t stop himself. Not when his father surrendered. Not when he felt the nose crack beneath his fist. Not when the blood splattered his face. Not when bone became visible. It was only when the adrenaline and his wrath had dissipated that he noticed Igneo wasn’t moving anymore.

He panicked and tried everything to bring his father back but it was too late. Again, what had started with his words, had ended up in someone getting hurt. So no, he hadn’t learned his lesson. Not completely anyways. He couldn’t just resort to another vow of silence this time. Aerea’s wrist had healed, but Igneo couldn’t heal now. Now or ever. He needed a more drastic solution. Death was permanent, so it was only fitting that his punishment should be permanent too. Hopefully this way he wouldn’t be the cause of anyone else’s suffering.

With all of this in mind, Marino steeled himself for what was to come. Grabbing a kitchen knife and tweezers from the toolbox, he headed towards the restroom and looked at himself in the mirror, gathering the resolution needed for what he was about to do.

Penance was a funny concept. Did causing pain to other’s make one deserve pain?

Pulling his tongue out and holding it fast with the tweezers, Marino resumed to tightening his grip on the knife until his knuckles turned white before severing his own tongue in a swift slash.

There was blood. Lots of it. But it was okay. Blood for blood. This time he wouldn't possibly be able utter another word to ruin his life. After all, rage was a quiet thing.

He tried making things go back to normal. Tried taking over the workshop. But he just wasn’t successful at it. He became proficient at articulating ghosts of words with his mouth, and others learned how to lip-read, but it just wasn’t the same. In reality, having no way of speaking had nothing to do with it. The workshop just reminded him everyday of Kyra and Igneo, but it was good to have an excuse for himself. Aerea hadn’t come back, and he didn’t know if she ever would. Perhaps he’d never see her again, and perhaps he deserved it.

He’d already gotten his head around the idea of not ever having a family again, when the reaping came. And against all odds and irony, when the escort called out his name and he was ushered up to the stage in front of all the youth of his District, there she was with the 12 year olds, attending her first reaping ever. Wild as she was, she now looked dead still. Like a wilting tornado. Aerea.

For as much as he wanted to run towards her, hug her, and let her know that everything would be alright, he didn’t. Not because the peacekeepers would stop him.

But because he was entering the Games, and he knew that would have been a lie.

Primary Weapon: Double Saber (A sword with two blades, each one coming out of opposite sides of a hilt in the middle).

Alternate Weapon: Sword

Strengths:
 * Cold-Headed: It is very hard for Marino to loose his cool, so he has uncanny focusing skills despite external circumstances.
 * Forethinker: Marino thinks before executing, so everything he does is well-thought out enough to usually grant him expected results in plans and relationships.
 * Underestimated: Despite being mute and not having a towering build, Marino has worked as a mechanic for years, so he’s developed great strength and resistance, which he doesn’t show off. Most people see him as an underdog and pity him because of this, and he likes it that way, so he can take them by surprise when needed.

Weaknesses:
 * Mute: While not particularly a weakness in and of itself, it definitely proves to be challenging to communicate with other people who aren’t used to his gestures or during critical and hasty moments.
 * Attachment: While difficult to get attached to others, when he actually does, he becomes susceptible of wanting to protect them from everything.
 * Impulsive: Deep down, he is an impulsive individual, but he’s learned to mostly master it. However, when pushed to his limits, this side of his will come out, and it has proven to be critical when it happens.

Fears:
 * Hurting his loved ones.
 * Not being forgiven for his mistakes.

Strategy: Marino is most likely going to try to seek a small alliance or a partner. Throughout the Games he’s going to make sure to stay alert at all times and to get to know his ally/allies better and even offer bits and pieces of information about himself to encourage trust, even if he’s going to withhold from giving them his trust for a moderate while. The closer he gets to his partner/s (or at least how close he wants to seem to them), the better, and he’s going to attempt to stick with them up until the point where it is no longer feasible, for which he’ll take the decision to just abandon them. For unforeseen circumstances, Marino will to rely on intellect, resourcefulness and his sense of prudence.

Trivia:
 * The names Igneo, Marino, and Aerea are based on element-related words in Spanish, and their personalities are loosely based on the archetypes that they represent. Igneo represents fire, Marino water, and Aerea air.
 * Marino was in part inspired by the song "Simmer" by Hayley Williams.