Changes: Mark

Revision as of 18:57, 17 April 2018

Mark Matthews is the main playable character of Coming Out On Top.

He is a gay undergraduate student in his senior year in Orlin University, living with his friends Penny and Ian. The story of the game focuses on Mark's various potential dates and romances which the player can pursue or reject through his choices and actions.

See the Walkthrough page for achieving specific routes.

Character Profile

Mark is your average run of the mill college student, though he hid his sexuality for many years, which weighed heavily on him. After coming out, he is ready and willing to jump into dating men.

His responses to various interactions with potential love-interests range from polite and friendly to sassy and scathing, as well as varying levels of timidity, then straight to sheer horniness.

Outside of player choices, Mark is a well-rounded and somewhat introverted individual. While not completely inexperienced, he is unsure of himself and his newness in the gay dating scene frequently leaves him high-strung, and a venerable play-thing to romance potentials. However, Mark is capable of seizing control of situations and coming out on top, literally and figuratively.

Appearance

Mark has short brown hair and steely blue eyes. He is 6'0" tall and has a lean upper body "swimmer's" build and a narrow waist. He wears a grey shirt with navy blue sweater vest. He also wears a grey tee for casual occasions.

Relationships

Ian - the "best friend" romance

Ian is Mark's off-the-wall roommate and closest friend. They met during their first week of college, at a dorm mixer. Ian was first to break the ice by asking Mark if he knew what the secret to meeting people was. Pulling out and wearing a very large furry trapper hat, Ian said the answer was 'funny hats.'

The two developed a fast bromance ever since, and became roommates. They frequent the gym together on Saturdays, and meet up between classes. Ian is supportive of Mark's coming out, and even tries to help him hook up with guys. Later, Ian expresses jealousy towards the men Mark tries to date, and will openly flirt with Mark while drunk. If Ian's romance route is pursued to the end, it is revealed Ian has had a crush on Mark since they first met, but refuses to act on his desires for fear of harming their friendship. With a push from Ian's ex, Mark can help Ian work through his fear and begin a strong romantic relationship with his best friend, and eventually the two will marry.

Regardless of whether Ian's romance route is pursued, if their friendship affinity is high enough and Mark manages to save $800 by the end of the semester, Mark will visit Ian in Brazil.

Penny

Penny is Mark's nerdy albeit sassy female roommate and tech guru friend. She met Mark while testing out her campus map app, where she nearly fell into a gutter. She regularly asks Mark to be a beta tester for her newly developed phone apps, such as "Tanning Spray" and "Brofinder," and gets his opinion on bugs and features. She was supportive of Mark's coming out, even expressing excitement to hear about his sexual escapades. She is a good friend who expresses concern for Mark's well-being, and acts as the rational roommate against the comedic foil of Ian.

If their friendship affinity is high enough, post-graduation Penny lands quite a bit of success for developing Brofinder, and asks Mark to be her business partner.

Alex - the "student-teacher" romance

If Mark chooses to go to Charlie's after coming out, Alex will hit on him and exchange contact info. Once the semester begins, Mark realizes to his own embarrassment/arousal that Alex is actually Professor Davies, who teaches his anatomy class. Alex frequents the same gym as Mark, where during Alex's route they will continue to bump into each other and have sexually-charged racquetball matches, and Mark begins to have sexual classroom dreams.

Recognizing their mutual attraction to one another, Alex cuts any further advances, at first because it would be inappropriate for a student-teacher relationship to continue. But their romance continues unabated as they bump into each other again, but it is taken advantage of by another faculty trying to get Alex fired. While Alex's life falls apart, Mark can complete the romance route with Penny's sleuthing to clear his name. Once Mark graduates, he and Alex rekindle their relationship and move in together.

Brad - the "jock" romance

Mark will meet Brad if he accepts the tutoring gig at the athletic house. Brad is a seemingly straight quarterback for the Orlin Otters, struggling with academics in English comp. Mark is taken in by Brad's good-looks, and bribed to write his essay for him. Behind the scenes is Brad's overprotective brother Beau, who hired Mark to keep Brad on track to pass the class.

To pursue Brad's romance fully, Mark refuses bribery and pushes Brad to focus. Brad opens up to Mark during the tutoring sessions, and as time passes Brad flirts with Mark. He reveals he has no interest in women, giving Mark a kiss. Beau finds out, and fires Mark for seemingly taking advantage of Brad.

Afterward, Brad acts standoffish towards Mark in public. No longer his tutor, a despondent Mark visits Brad one last time to give him the notes they worked on together so he can finish the class. Brad apologizes for acting a fool, and reveals he has been procrastinating his essay, due the next day. Mark builds Brad's confidence and helps him finish the essay, in a sexually-charged all-nighter.

If Brad passes, they begin happily dating, and Mark stays with him after college and watches his games.

Jed - the "bad boy" romance

Jed lives in the apartment directly above Mark's. Mark is pressured by Penny and Ian to confront the noisy neighbor. Jed opens his apartment door, completely naked. He is openly flirtatious with Mark, calling him "Sparky," inviting him in to join a bukkake party, and suggests Mark should stop back by the apartment for a hookup. If Mark chooses to advance the romance, he sneaks over to Jed's apartment the following week, only to run into Jed's older sister Sylvia, who threatens to call the cops.

Jed makes surprise visits to Mark's apartment to deliver "peace offering" pizzas. He invites Mark to see his punk-rock band "The Dirty Loofas" perform. The band gains recognition at the cost of member cohesion. Ian and Penny worry Jed is using Mark when he continuously asks for help, but in the end Jed asks because he trusts Mark. Jed is nearly kicked out by other members when an opportunity to rebrand presents itself. With Mark's help, the band is kept together and Jed wins a piano competition to fund further success without having to resort to changing their music or identity.

If Jed isn't kicked out, he and Mark will continue their relationship, with the two of them traveling all over the world together in the wake of the band's success.

Phil - the "military guy" romance

Penny asked Mark to welcome Phil at the airport and after a misunderstanding for Mark being a racist, Phil was very distant and cold to him.

Phil's relationship with Mark will fit into the military romance type.

Trivia

Mark's name can be customized by the player.
Penny mentions Mark has a thing for shapely bottoms.
Mark's wardrobe consists of almost nothing except gray tones, including a collection of 7 identical gray t-shirts.
He has a pet goldfish named Slurpy (default name, though it is customizable) which he bought one day prior to the story. Slurpy can become a gag romance option for Mark if he spends too much time studying not going out on dates.
Mark is an only child and remains in close contact with his liberal-leaning parents, usually calling them on Sundays. They are openly accepting if he chooses to come out as gay, and his mother even tries to set him up on dates.
Mark was on a water polo team previously and his swimming abilities earned him the nickname "Spanish Armada." He stopped playing water polo due to a shoulder injury.
Mark has a talent for singing, and was the star pupil in choir practice when he was younger.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+'''Mark Matthews''' is the main playable character of [[Coming Out On Top]].
-'''Mark Matthews''' is the main playable character of [[Coming Out On Top]]. {{X|title1 = Mark Matthews|image1 = Mark 02.jpg}}He is a gay undergraduate student in his senior year in [[Orlin University]], living with his friends [[Penny]] and [[Ian]]. The story of the game focuses on Mark's various potential dates and romances which the player can pursue or reject through his choices and actions.
+{{X|title1 = Mark Matthews|image1 = Mark.png}}
-Mark is an only child and remains in close contact with his liberal-leaning parents. They are openly accepting when he comes out as gay.
+He is a gay undergraduate student in his senior year in [[Orlin University]], living with his friends [[Penny]] and [[Ian]]. The story of the game focuses on Mark's various potential dates and romances which the player can pursue or reject through his choices and actions.
+See the [[Walkthrough]] page for achieving specific routes.
-Mark was in the water polo team previously and his swimming abilities earned him the nickname "Spanish Armada." He stopped playing water polo due to a shoulder injury. Mark is also academically smart as he has an option to tutor English to non-native speakers on weekends.
+==Character Profile==
-Mark was the star pupil in choir practice as a young adult. (Mentioned during Terry's Date)
+Mark is your average run of the mill college student, though he hid his sexuality for many years, which weighed heavily on him. After coming out, he is ready and willing to jump into dating men.
+His responses to various interactions with potential love-interests range from polite and friendly to sassy and scathing, as well as varying levels of timidity, then straight to sheer horniness.
-==Personality==
-Mark is sweet and smart, your average run of the mill college student. He appears to be a well adjusted and friendly young man, living his life leisurely, or at least that's what his friends and family thought. In reality, Mark has been hiding his sexuality for years, and has decided that now is the time to be true to himself. This is where the game begins. What happens next to Mark is up to the player...
+Outside of player choices, Mark is a well-rounded and somewhat introverted individual. While not completely inexperienced, he is unsure of himself and his newness in the gay dating scene frequently leaves him high-strung, and a venerable play-thing to romance potentials. However, Mark is capable of seizing control of situations and coming out on top, literally and figuratively.
 == Appearance ==
-Mark has short brown hair and bluish eyes with a lean build. He wears a grey shirt with navy blue sweater vest. He also wears a grey tee for casual occasions.
+Mark has short brown hair and steely blue eyes. He is 6'0" tall and has a lean upper body "swimmer's" build and a narrow waist. He wears a grey shirt with navy blue sweater vest. He also wears a grey tee for casual occasions.
 == Relationships ==
-=== Ian ===
+=== Ian - the "best friend" romance ===
-[[Ian]] is Mark's off-the-wall roommate and closest friend. They met during their first week of college, at a dorm mixer in which Mark had difficulty socializing. Ian was first to break the ice by asking Mark if he knew what the secret to meeting people was. Pulling out and wearing a very large furry trapper hat, Ian said the answer was 'funny hats.'
+[[Ian]] is Mark's off-the-wall roommate and closest friend. They met during their first week of college, at a dorm mixer. Ian was first to break the ice by asking Mark if he knew what the secret to meeting people was. Pulling out and wearing a very large furry trapper hat, Ian said the answer was 'funny hats.'
-The two developed a fast 'bromance' ever since, and became roommates. They frequent the gym together on Saturdays, and meet up between classes. Ian is supportive of Mark's coming out, and even tries to help him hook up with guys. But later, Ian expresses jealousy towards the men Mark tries to date, and will openly flirt with Mark while drunk. If Ian's romance route is pursued, it is revealed Ian has had a crush on Mark since they first met, but refuses to act on his desires for fear of harming their friendship. With the help of Ian's ex, Mark can help Ian come to terms with his fear and begin a long-lasting relationship with his best friend.
+The two developed a fast bromance ever since, and became roommates. They frequent the gym together on Saturdays, and meet up between classes. Ian is supportive of Mark's coming out, and even tries to help him hook up with guys. Later, Ian expresses jealousy towards the men Mark tries to date, and will openly flirt with Mark while drunk. If Ian's romance route is pursued to the end, it is revealed Ian has had a crush on Mark since they first met, but refuses to act on his desires for fear of harming their friendship. With a push from Ian's ex, Mark can help Ian work through his fear and begin a strong romantic relationship with his best friend, and eventually the two will marry.
+Regardless of whether Ian's romance route is pursued, if their friendship affinity is high enough and Mark manages to save $800 by the end of the semester, Mark will visit Ian in Brazil.
-Mark and Ian's route is the best friends turn romantic relationship of the various routes.
 === Penny ===
-[[Penny]] is Mark's nerdy albeit sassy female roommate and tech guru friend. She met Mark while testing out her campus map app, where she nearly fell into a gutter.  She regularly asks Mark to be her beta tester for her constantly developed phone apps, such as "Tanning Spray" and "Brofinder," and gets his opinion on bugs and features. She was supportive of Mark's coming out, even expressing excitement for his sexual escapades. She is a good friend who expresses concern for Mark's well-being, and acts as the rational roommate compared against the comedic foil of Ian.
+[[Penny]] is Mark's nerdy albeit sassy female roommate and tech guru friend. She met Mark while testing out her campus map app, where she nearly fell into a gutter. She regularly asks Mark to be a beta tester for her newly developed phone apps, such as "Tanning Spray" and "Brofinder," and gets his opinion on bugs and features. She was supportive of Mark's coming out, even expressing excitement to hear about his sexual escapades. She is a good friend who expresses concern for Mark's well-being, and acts as the rational roommate against the comedic foil of Ian.
+If their friendship affinity is high enough, post-graduation Penny lands quite a bit of success for developing Brofinder, and asks Mark to be her business partner.
+=== '''Alex '''- the "student-teacher" romance ===
+If Mark chooses to go to [[Charlie's]] after coming out, [[Alex]] will hit on him and exchange contact info. Once the semester begins, Mark realizes to his own embarrassment/arousal that Alex is actually Professor Davies, who teaches his anatomy class. Alex frequents the same gym as Mark, where during Alex's route they will continue to bump into each other and have sexually-charged racquetball matches, and Mark begins to have sexual classroom dreams.
+Recognizing their mutual attraction to one another, Alex cuts any further advances, at first because it would be inappropriate for a student-teacher relationship to continue. But their romance continues unabated as they bump into each other again, but it is taken advantage of by another faculty trying to get Alex fired. While Alex's life falls apart, Mark can complete the romance route with Penny's sleuthing to clear his name. Once Mark graduates, he and Alex rekindle their relationship and move in together.
-=== Alex ===
-[[Alex]] is a potential romantic interest and an Orlin University professor. If Mark chooses to go to [[Charlie's]] after coming out, Alex will hit on him at the bar and exchange contact info. Once the semester begins, Mark realizes to his own embarrassment/arousal that Alex is actually the professor teaching his anatomy class. Alex frequents the same gym as Mark, where during Alex's route they will continue to bump into each other and have sexually-charged racquetball matches, and Mark begins to have sexual classroom dreams.
+=== Brad - the "jock" romance ===
-Eventually they are forced to cut any further advances, at first because Alex thinks it inappropriate for a student-teacher relationship to continue. But their romance continues unabated as they bump into each other, but it is taken advantage of by another faculty trying to get Alex fired for indecent conduct. While Alex's job is on the line, Mark can complete the romance route with Penny's help to clear Alex's name. Alex and Mark rekindle once the semester concludes and Mark graduates.
+Mark will meet [[Brad]] if he accepts the tutoring gig at the athletic house. Brad is a seemingly straight quarterback for the Orlin Otters, struggling with academics in English comp. Mark is taken in by Brad's good-looks, and bribed to write his essay for him. Behind the scenes is Brad's overprotective brother [[Beau]], who hired Mark to keep Brad on track to pass the class.
+To pursue Brad's romance fully, Mark refuses bribery and pushes Brad to focus. Brad opens up to Mark during the tutoring sessions, and as time passes Brad flirts with Mark. He reveals he has no interest in women, giving Mark a kiss. Beau finds out, and fires Mark for seemingly taking advantage of Brad.
-Mark and Alex's relationship is an example of a student-teacher romance.
+Afterward, Brad acts standoffish towards Mark in public. No longer his tutor, a despondent Mark visits Brad one last time to give him the notes they worked on together so he can finish the class. Brad apologizes for acting a fool, and reveals he has been procrastinating his essay, due the next day. Mark builds Brad's confidence and helps him finish the essay, in a sexually-charged all-nighter.
-=== Brad ===
-[[Brad]] and Mark will know each other if Mark chooses to respond to the tutoring gig at the athletic house. Initially Brad will try to bribe him by asking him to write Brad's papers instead of actual studying.
+If Brad passes, they begin happily dating, and Mark stays with him after college and watches his games.
-Brad is the stereotypical falling in love with a jock romance option.
-=== Jed ===
+=== Jed - the "bad boy" romance ===
-[[Jed]] lives in the apartment directly above Mark's. After hearing deafeningly loud noise coming from upstairs, Mark is pressured by Penny and Ian go up to tell Jed to keep the noise down. Jed opens his apartment door, completely naked, thinking Mark is there for a bukakke party. He is openly flirtatious towards Mark, calling him "Sparky," and suggests Mark should stop back by the apartment on Tuesdays if he wants to have a little frisky fun. If Mark chooses, he will try and sneak over to Jed's apartment the following week, becoming erect in his excitement, only to run into Jed's older sister [[Sylvia]], who threatens to call the cops.
+[[Jed]] lives in the apartment directly above Mark's. Mark is pressured by Penny and Ian to confront the noisy neighbor. Jed opens his apartment door, completely naked. He is openly flirtatious with Mark, calling him "Sparky," inviting him in to join a bukkake party, and suggests Mark should stop back by the apartment for a hookup. If Mark chooses to advance the romance, he sneaks over to Jed's apartment the following week, only to run into Jed's older sister [[Sylvia]], who threatens to call the cops.
-The next week, Jed makes a surprise visit to Mark's apartment to deliver a "peace offering" pizza to him and his roommates. He invites Mark to a concert in a venue downtown, but forgets to mention it's his band that's playing: "The Dirty Loofas." Mark can try to enjoy himself in the mosh pit, getting a little scuffed up, but a full-on fight breaks out when a racist comment is shot Jed's way. The police show up and break the event up, but Jed drags Mark to safety. Alone together, Jed flirts with Mark and gives him a blowjob.
+Jed makes surprise visits to Mark's apartment to deliver "peace offering" pizzas. He invites Mark to see his punk-rock band "The Dirty Loofas" perform. The band gains recognition at the cost of member cohesion. Ian and Penny worry Jed is using Mark when he continuously asks for help, but in the end Jed asks because he trusts Mark. Jed is nearly kicked out by other members when an opportunity to rebrand presents itself. With Mark's help, the band is kept together and Jed wins a piano competition to fund further success without having to resort to changing their music or identity.
+If Jed isn't kicked out, he and Mark will continue their relationship, with the two of them traveling all over the world together in the wake of the band's success.
-Jed's route is a falling in love with a bad-boy type romance.
-=== Phil ===
+=== Phil - the "military guy" romance ===
 Penny asked Mark to welcome [[Phil]] at the airport and after a misunderstanding for Mark being a racist, Phil was very distant and cold to him.
@@ Line 51: / Line 58: @@
 == Trivia ==
 *Mark's name can be customized by the player.
-*Penny mentioned that Mark has a thing for shapely bottoms, but she thought he refers to female bottoms before he came out.
+*Penny mentions Mark has a thing for shapely bottoms.
+*Mark's wardrobe consists of almost nothing except gray tones, including a collection of 7 identical gray t-shirts.
-*He has a pet goldfish named [[Slurpy]] (default name, though it is customizable) which he bought one day prior to the story. Slurpy can become a joke romance option for Mark if he spends his time studying too much and not going out on dates.
+*He has a pet goldfish named [[Slurpy]] (default name, though it is customizable) which he bought one day prior to the story. Slurpy can become a gag romance option for Mark if he spends too much time studying not going out on dates.
-*Mark is an only child and remains in close contact with his liberal-leaning parents, usually calling them every Sunday. They are openly accepting when he comes out as gay, and his mother even tries to set him up on dates.
+*Mark is an only child and remains in close contact with his liberal-leaning parents, usually calling them on Sundays. They are openly accepting if he chooses to come out as gay, and his mother even tries to set him up on dates.
-*Mark was on a water polo team previously and his swimming abilities earned him the nickname "Spanish Armada." He stopped playing water polo due to a shoulder injury.
+*Mark was on a water polo team previously and his swimming abilities earned him the nickname "Spanish Armada." He stopped playing water polo due to a shoulder injury.
-*Mark was the star pupil in choir practice as a young adult. (Mentioned during Terry's Date)
+*Mark has a talent for singing, and was the star pupil in choir practice when he was younger.
 [[Category:Character]]
 [[Category:Playable Character]]