"Lucky" Marvin Lostcause

"Lucky" Marvin Lostcause was a normal village boy until age 19, when he insulted a witch while drunk. She cursed him with spectacular bad luck. Everything he attempts goes hilariously, non-lethally wrong. He cannot die from bad luck (part of the curse—must live with it).

He wandered for 12 years as a walking disaster. The Cabal found him and broke the curse... mostly. Effects linger but are reduced from catastrophic to comedic. He embraced it and finds humor in chaos. He has worked at the Academy for 5 years as a "professional disaster."

Marvin is still spectacularly unlucky—falls, trips, knocks things over constantly. However, disasters are non-lethal and often helpful somehow. It has become almost supernatural comedy.

Famous Incidents

• The Ladder Incident: Fell off ladder, knocked over paint bucket, paint splashed on rat, rat scared cat, cat knocked over exactly the right book a student needed for research (book had been lost for 3 months)
• The Kitchen Disaster: Dropped entire tray of dishes, one plate hit stuck window and opened it, fresh air cleared smoke from beginning kitchen fire—saved building
• The Library Catastrophe: Tripped over nothing, fell into bookshelf, bookshelf domino'd into three others, revealed hidden door no one knew existed—behind door: original Academy charter from 1,800 years ago

Marvin does whatever needs doing, attempts repairs (they fail entertainingly), helps with odd jobs (creates new odd jobs in the process), and somehow succeeds anyway through chaos.

Student Impact

Students LOVE him. His presence makes their failures feel less devastating. "If Marvin can survive this curse and smile, I can handle a bad test score." He provides perspective and humor.

His teaching: "Failure isn't the end. Sometimes it's the weird path to success. Just laugh and keep going."

Marvin is cheerful despite everything, makes others laugh, finds absurdity in situations, never complains, and genuinely doesn't mind the chaos anymore.

His philosophy: "I'm the luckiest unlucky person alive. Or the unluckiest lucky person. Either way, something always works out!"

The Mystery

Did the Cabal really break the curse? Or did they just reframe it? Does it matter if he's happy?

• Cursed with spectacular bad luck by witch at age 19
• Cannot die from bad luck (must live with it)
• Cabal broke curse... mostly (effects linger but comedic)
• Everything goes wrong hilariously but often helpfully
• Famous incidents: Ladder, Kitchen, Library (all ended well)
• Students love him—he makes failures feel less devastating
• Cheerful despite everything, never complains
• Does odd jobs, creates new odd jobs in process
• Philosophy: "Something always works out!"
• Teaching: "Failure is the weird path to success"