Martin
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Martin Holloway |
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|---|---|
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Intake |
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| Gender | Unknown |
| Year of intake | 2019 |
| Sponsor | Ella |
| Gender at intake | Cis male |
| Date of birth | c. 1999 |
| First appearance | Chapter 5 |
| edit this box | |
Martin is a boy in the 2019 intake. He is sponsored by Ella.
He is frequently referred to by Bethany as "Martin Moody" (sometimes just "Moody") [SD 5], a reference to his miserable emotional state upon intake.
After Christmas, he wears a bracelet given to him by Ella. [SD 33]
Bethany sardonically considers his appearance at intake to have resembled a cross between "minor, disgraced and reasonably inbred royal nephew with Snoopy." [SD 25]
Pre-transition
Martin is an alcoholic. He recalls to Steph that he was "always drinking" before he arrived in the basement. While driving home one night, he lost control of the vehicle and ran off the road, hitting a couple as they exited a restaurant. The wife survived with a broken leg but the husband died pushing her out of the way. Martin's wealthy family hired an expensive lawyer who sufficiently spun the details of the case to have Martin fined and sent to a rehabilitation facility rather than face justice. Martin admitted he "couldn't hack" rehab, [SD 5] and returned to drinking and driving, [SD 13] [SD 30] at some point after which he was selected for intake into the basement.
Martin describes his family as "borderline aristocratic" and blames their shielding influence, combined with his own personal weakness and carelessness, for enabling his destructive behavior and making him a danger to himself and others. [SD 19] Martin has alluded to the fact that his father was largely absent during his childhood. [SD 34] Raph describes his pre-Dorley status as a "useless failson". [SD 41]
First year
At intake
Martin is initially a loner in the basement due to his taciturn and withdrawn nature and generally seems resigned to his fate in the programme. Bethany coined his full nickname, "Moody Martin the Murderer", on his first day out of his cell. [SD 5] Martin was still jittery from sobering up during his first week in the basement and mainly spent that period in a corner, sitting on his hands. [SD 34] Steph recalls him at intake as a "strung-out, moody, barely recovered addict with a severe self-hatred problem". [SD 42]
Many of the sponsors and basement residents dislike Martin on the basis of his crime and past behavior and are generally puzzled or agitated by his lack of personality. Steph notes early on that Martin's sponsor, Ella, obviously despises him and is uninterested in his rehabilitation. Due to this, he is apparently not required to leave his room and socialize with the rest of the intake. [SD 9] Martin later reveals that he spent most of his time during this period thinking about the programme and observing Steph, in particular. [SD 34]
Martin tries to run during the October examination by Karen and is tased. [SD 12]
By the end of November, Ella has begun to warm to Martin. During disclosure, Steph notices the two of them exchanging looks after Martin laughs. When pressed, Martin reveals to Steph that he had correctly guessed the true purpose of the programme but has no interest in resisting. Later, Tabitha, Jane, and Monica speculate that Martin is particularly indifferent regarding his gender, likely as a result of the trauma and guilt he has experienced. Bethany remarks that he is "practically anaesthetised by his own self-loathing". [SD 19]
December
By mid-December, Christine notices Martin's appearance has become less disheveled and that Ella is willing to hold his hand and comfort him. Adam is astonished to see Martin laughing and joking with Ella during a meal. [SD 27] Martin begins participating in conversation more often and can frequently be seen watching TV with other people in the common area.
By the end of December, Ella has reported to Maria that Martin is "doing better" and Maria believes they "both rather like each other now". It is revealed that the man Martin killed was Ella's best friend's husband and that Ella's assignment as his sponsor was intentional, with the aim of helping her "move on" and process her hatred towards him. Martin has become more emotive and Pamela is seen reassuring him when Bethany attempts to rile him up. [SD 30]
Martin confesses to Raph and Bethany that he regards himself as the worst person in the basement "by some margin" and that he does not consider himself a recovering alcoholic, rather he is merely an alcoholic deprived of alcohol; because of this, he has chosen to trust his life to Ella rather than himself. He has no plans to leave the basement until he feels that he is ready to do so. This prompts a small epiphany in Bethany, who recognizes that all the boys in the intake are addicts, in a way, and are incapable of being responsible men in the same way that Martin is incapable of drinking in moderation. [SD 30]
At Christmas, Ella gifts Martin a handmade bracelet to commemorate his three months of sobriety. Seeing the progress he has made, Steph begins to warm to him. [SD 33]
On December 30th, it becomes clear by his inclusion in the "communal bitching session" that Martin has recently received full disclosure from Ella. When the subject is brought up, Ella states that Martin simply asked her a few days prior and she told him; she has also made him aware of her relationship to his victim. Martin admits that now that he knows the full truth it has only solidified his trust in Ella. He is now convinced that he is finally receiving consequences for his actions and that he feels he has been "reborn" in the basement; now that he knows everything he is ready to become a girl. Martin and Ella reveal the full course of events that Martin has experienced since being captured by Dorley Hall, including a week spent in a room in a Peckinville facility where he experienced aural hallucinations while sobering up before arriving in the basement and meeting Ella. (The timing of their first meeting inadvertently caused Martin to associate Ella with feeling better and he confesses that he initially thought of her as his guardian angel.) Ella explains that it was Aunt Bea's idea for her to sponsor Martin and though she initially wanted him to wash out, her feelings changed after she pushed him too hard early on. She has since made her peace with Martin, recognizing him as the product of "a whole edifice of bastards" who share responsibility by preventing him from getting the help he needed. Steph observes that the two have settled into a sisterhood similar to that of Pippa and herself or Maria and Bethany. [SD 34]
January
By mid-January, Ella has reported to Jane that Martin is now proceeding through the programme at roughly the expected pace and is currently experiencing the "euphoria of nothingness". [SD 44]
Towards the end of January, Adam has been making an effort to befriend Martin and is showing him how to play Stardew Valley. [SD 44]
Photos
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Pre-transition associates
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| Dorley girls (and a few non-girls) | |
|---|---|
| 2019 intake | Adam (Edy), Bethany (Maria), Diana (Monica), Leigh (Tabitha), Martin (Pamela), Ollie (Harmony), Raph (Jane), Stephanie (Pippa) |