Maple Chaudhary

An ill-tempered, yet somewhat aloof metalworker who spends most of his time at the forge. Under the apprenticeship of famed mechanic Ryujin Seong, Maple shapes the metal his boss then assembles.

He enjoys teaching people lessons (after scathing critique) and interspersing analysis with sardonic quips.

• A consequence of FLAME (as well as the majority of Values in the Environmental Connection family) is that emotions can activate the Value subconsciously. Many of Maple’s pants are charred and ashy due to him wiping the remains of whatever he’s unwittingly burned onto them.
• Neither of the Chaudhary brothers show any obvious outward affection towards each other. The younger brother, Rowan, notes that their serious heart-to-hearts have always been punctuated with fist-fights that Maple claimed would toughen him up.
  • The only way Rowan got the upper hand was through transformation. Rowan begrudgingly credits his dexterity as certain animals to brawls with his brother. Meanwhile, Maple relies solely on hand-to-hand combat and actively restricts himself from using his Value.
  • Rowan supposedly had a long phase where he deeply admired his older brother, to the point of following him around and copying him. Maple notes (with a disaffected tone, of course) that even Rowan’s signature hoodie + sunglasses style came from himself first.
• Until he was around 5 years old, Maple lived with his biological parents. Then he, alongside his toddler brother, were placed in the care of their uncles, who would undergo lengthy legal proceedings to formally adopt them. Maple does not enjoy discussing this aspect of his past.
• Nature was his first personal interest, a result of being raised in a deeply forested area. One of his favorite family activities - camping - honed his wilderness survival abilities, which he insisted on as a necessary skill.
  • He particularly enjoyed the feeling of sitting by a man-made fire with a camp he set up surrounding him. At home, the closest he can emulate such comfort is by the fireplace.
• Ever since his early twenties, he has been working as the primary apprentice for mechanic savant Ryujin Seong. He was drawn to her ingenuity in metalwork, as well as the broader realm of craftsmanship.
  • Though his speciality is blacksmithing - shaping the materials into usable parts - Maple strives to become a jack-of-all-trades craftsman like his mentor. He just needs to work on his... delicacy.
  • This workplace is where he would grow close with two other students - Jenny Faire and Berenike Gucciardo. Despite appearing relatively closed off, Maple seems to value their company, especially when their boss falls back on bad habits.
• As he works, Maple is typically seated. There are a number of dirty cushions both at his formal workplace and at home, since he likes to be comfortable even when working with messy things.
  • His relatively weak lower body is supposedly attributed to an incident that occured when he was very young. So, he gravitated towards what he can do with his upper body instead.