~ Machiavelli A. Malvolio ~
Machiavelli- or "Vel" - is a wandering salesman that travels around Gunsmoke selling his wares, which usally consist of bullshit, more bullshit, and a plethora of stuff that he's lying about. Vel is your typical "snake oil" salesman, in that he lies about every product and sells it to whatever shmuck believes him- which happens more often than not, surprisingly! He's got a quick tongue and can be very charming when he wants to, which is probably the only reason he ever makes a sale. Unfortunately, now most towns want to kill him and he's pissed off more than enough people to put him in danger...
Machiavelli grew up in the town of Doratina alongside his childhood bestfriend, Azazel. The two of them met after Machiavelli saved the younger kid from bullies, and from there they became inseparable: Machiavelli's home situation was complicated: he grew up in a multi-generational house that was composed of both sets of his grandparents, his parents, and his three other siblings (he was the third of them). It wasn't *terrible*, but he didn't enjoy his chaotic home environment, and its chaotic nature led to him being ignored most of the time as well; therefore, he spent all his time away from home hanging out with Azazel in their secret hideout. The two of them grew extemely close, and around age 12, Machiavelli realized he was developing a crush on the kid- though he never said anything about it. Both children decided that when they got older, they were going to escape the town together and travel, just the two of them. They'd escape this place together.
During this age, Machiavelli decided it would be fun to sneak into a plant facility to see what was going on in there. The two of them got into trouble all the time, so they both figured it would be fine! While there, Azazel accidentally gives Machiavelli the scar on his nose with a screwdriver. The two of them get caught for breaking inside, but the consequences are a bit more severe than either anticipated: Azazel had been experiencing home issues this whole time (read: his own backstory), and, in summary, this incident was a tipping point for his father: his father, or "Paw", decided to move out of town with Azazel in tow, and did not give the boy the chance to say goodbye. Instead, Machiavelli came to the house, where Azazel (with his father watching him closely) tried to alert Machiavelli something was wrong, but his nonverbal cues were not picked up on. So... Azazel told him nothing was wrong, *kissed* Machiavelli, then the family left the next day. Machiavelli never saw them again after that.
Machiavelli grows bitter as he tries to cope with the loss of his closest friend and first love. He stays in town a bit longer, but soon enough, he decides to just leave. He and Azazel had plans on leaving *together*, but Machiavelli, bitter, is determined to show that he didn't NEED Azazel, he can do it himself. After this, Machiavelli spends years travelling and doing odd jobs, ranging from working in kitchens and bars and physical labor to doing drag and nude modeling- he got into anything and everything. This is also when he starts going by "Vel" as a nickname. Something of note though: Machiavelli attempted to stamp out his remaining feelings of abandonment by drowning himself in sexual activity. He was very prolific in that regard, not thinking of the consequences of those actions- something that would soon bite him in the ass.
Around age 22 to 23, Machiavelli is in a bar when he meets a woman named Penelope Moriarty. Both of them were looking for a decent time to drown out some sadder feelings with, so after getting along pretty well at the bar, they spent the night together. This decision resulted in a pregnancy: Penelope came to him later with news that he'd left her with child. Machiavelli is a bit complicated morally, but this is one thing he wouldn't leave someone with alone, especially since he caused it: he agreed to help her raise the kid to try and make up for his fuck-up. Penelope has the child, and together they name her Charlie.
As the years crawl by, Machiavelli struggles to find work to support the family- which isn't helped by health complications Penelope has from both a the painful pregnancy and her developing Agoraphobia/Depression. Machiavelli takes out loans to buy her medical assistance- but he took loans from the wrong people... He cannot pay back the loans as quickly as the men he took them from want. Eventually, while Machiavelli was gone from the house one day, they arrived and... ransacked the place, then burnt it down with Penelope and Charlie inside. Machiavelli returned home just as it was lighting up, and the men held him back as he had to listen to the screams inside. After thoroughly getting his ass kicked, he was left bleeding and numb as the men left with their stolen goods, only embers and coals left of both his house and family. Machiavelli proceeded to dig through the coals with his bare hands for hours afterwards, even after they'd cooled, just searching for the bodies (he found Penelope's...). This is how he acquired the burn scars on his hands.
Machiavelli barely makes it a week in town after the incident. He's just... aimless. His dissasociative issues spark up here- he can't function with the guilt and grief that the incident brought. Despite their friend, Ctimene's, best efforts to comfort him, she was not a help, and Machiavelli leaves town. She doesn't hear from him again.
After this, Machiavelli spends years just... wandering around again. He takes up a shitty salesman job, morphing himself into the same brand of thing that killed Penelope and Charlie because, in his mind, he is on the same wavelength as those people now since he is ultimately the reason Penelope died. He sweet talks people into buying things they don't need and generally lets himself be treated like the scum of the planet, still moving forward for reasons he isn't entirely aware of now. This life continues, all up until he meets two people named Isaiah and Adam, who later reintroduce him to a face he thought he would never see again: Azazel. Now he travels with the group, letting them give him a reason to keep moving forward all while he deals with the complex feelings that seeing Azazel again brings...