Lucien R. Maria

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> Lucien R. Maria-Devaughn
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> ### Title(s)
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> Professor Devaughn
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> ### Aliases
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> Professor DevaughnLukyan
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> Mr. Dalloway
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> The Book Man
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> Bit-on-the-side
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> ### Status
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> Alive
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> ### Pronouns
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> He/him
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> ### Relatives
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> Marguerita Vaughn (Aunt, primary caretaker/guardian)Unnamed Father
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> Unnamed Mother
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> ### Affiliation
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> Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (formerly)Warren Funeral & Crematory (formerly)Devaughn Books & Gifts
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> ### Occupation
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> Undertaker (formerly)Guest Professor of LiteratureOwner of Devaughn Books & Gifts
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> Biographical information
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> ### Age
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> 30-35 In his forties (as of 'Lazarus, Part Two')
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> ### Relationship status
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> Single (?)
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> ### Romances
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> Michael Foster (best friend/love interest/kissed)
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> ### Date of birth
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> December 26th, 1967
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> ### Place of birth
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> Russian SFSR
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> ### Nationality
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> Russian-Irish
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> ### Citizenship
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> RussianGermanIrishBritish
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> ### Hometown
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> Soho, London
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> ### Place of residence
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> West Berlin, Germany (formerly, 1984-1989)Bed-Stuy, New York (formerly 1990-1994)
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> Bedford Rd, Reading, England (1994-Unknown)
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> Physical description
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> ### Gender
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> Male
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> ### Height
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> Around 5'9 (176 centimeters)
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> ### Eye color
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> Hazel
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> ### Hair color
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> Unknown
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> Appearances
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> ### Appears in
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> All
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> ### Debut
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> Chapter 1.
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> "We're closed."
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> *LUCIEN* is a book-seller residing in Reading, doubling as a literature professor for the University of Reading. He worked formerly in Berlin and New York, in the field of mathematics; as a young boy, he was the assistant to a former nuclear physicist by the name of Sighart "Professor" Konopinski; and later on, used his knowledge of chemistry and biology for embalming services, working in a London funeral home. The profession was dropped after his fiancee, Elizabeth Abu'l-Fazl Lange, died. For all of his pursuits, he is noted for his wide range. After suffering from childhood polio, Lucien's lungs and left leg were left damaged. However, Lucien is shown to not let his disability stop him, regardless of falling ill frequently.
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## Biography

Goodness gracious, this- I mean, this is absolute buffoonery, idiocy even!"

### Early life

Lucien Maria-Devaughn, born Lucien Maria-Anatolyevich, was born in December of 1967 in Ukraine. He lived in Poland and Germany as a boy before going to live with his maternal aunt, Margarita Vaughn, in Ireland, after he and his mother were infected with polio. His mother, Irina, was left paralyzed with long-term symptoms, and Lucien developed weakness in his left leg which would prove to become permanent. When Lucien was 13, his mother passed away in Munich, Germany, of tuberculosis.

In his final year of high school, Lucien developed an intense interest in mathematics and general sciences. His teacher told him he had no reason to come to his class anymore, and told him about a math and sciences professor in West Dublin named Sighart-Lieserl Konopinski. After knocking on Konopinski's door a week later, he almost walked away after knocking four times and getting no answer; however, Sighart appeared in the doorway in a robe and blue slippers, holding a Yahrzeit candle.

### Years at the University of Berlin

After his early graduation in 84, at the age of only 16, Lucien left for college in Germany. He gained a few friends from a German literary group formed by him and other members who did separate majors. He was known to laugh aloud while reading his work, and he wrote in fluent German. He began to develop a niche popularity, especially among East Berliners, as his work contained themes of alienation, which was considered liberating. He also posted writings in the branch of journalism and essay-writing.

Lucien met Elizabeth Abu'l-Fazl Lange after being introduced to her through a mutual friend in 1987. A friend asked if he'd go out with him and his girlfriend as a 'third wheel,' to which Lucien was reluctant to agree to. He arrived at the restaurant to find both the couple and Beth there, and neither Beth nor Lucien knew that they were going to be there. Beth only knew Lucien's first name. Lucien was embarrassed, to the point of asking Beth out for drinks the following Saturday when he, in fact, did not drink, and they ended up getting tea instead after Beth found out. Their relationship was pondered over due to it being both interfaith and interacial, and Lucien being thought to have been gay (when he was a bisexual); as Beth was Jewish (and born in Israel), and Lucien was not.

### 1987-1990: Essay award and first published screenplay, popularity in Berlin; college graduation

In 1987, aged only 19, Lucien directed and produced a version of Camus' 1944 play *Caligula* with friends in the theater business, and was also the narrator. He reportedly spent nights at the theater working while simultaneously managing his college studies and solo work; he later called himself a 'madman' for managing it. When it premiered in West Berlin that year, the theater was significantly crowded; prior to the premiere, tickets had sold out faster than they had since the late seventies.

#### Troubles with German authorities

In 88, he produced a version of *The Elephant Man,* and also directed, produced, and acted in a version of *The Accidental Death of An Anarchist*, playing Francesco Bertozzo, an interrogator; the play, carrying themes of police corruption and anarchism, was quick to be on the verge of being banned in the climate of divided Germany. The crew, including Lucien, were put on a watch-list by the West Berlin government. Despite the clear danger of running the set again, Devaughn convinced the crew to revolt, and the play was again performed that autumn. During the third performance of the play, police walked into the building and asked them to stop the production. Lucien said that they would not cease the performance. After this incident, the play was banned in West Berlin. Beth had independent projects as well; however, some of her productions sparked more controversy among police than they did Lucien's, likely due to her being a Jew (and a woman) unlike Lucien. The two of them assisted each other on projects from time to time, though they were mostly solo outside of development.

In 1989, the Berlin Wall fell. In a flurry of the circumstances, the authorities threatened to ban Lucien's rights to publishing in the country if he were to release any more works that featured politics. In his home one evening, authorities knocked on his apartment door and informed him that he could go to prison. Elizabeth came home to this scene, and tried, ineffectively, to convince them to un-ban Devaughn. The authorities searched his apartment, and found an unfinished play manuscript by Devaughn called '*Schiesser*'. Based on the title only, the police told Lucien that he would either destroy it, or go to jail. Lucien burnt the manuscript that day.

### 1990-1994: Move to New York, engagement to Beth Lange

After the year's turn Beth and Lucien, graduated from university, moved to Bed-Stuy in New York. In New York, they respectively gained more positive attention than in Berlin. In April of 1990, Lucien and Beth were engaged in Sicily, Italy. They also adopted Murph around this time, and Lucien started working as a mortician's assistant; though he had no degree in mortuary science, his employer found him fit to pursue it with his knowledge of biology.

### Death of Elizabeth Lange, move to London

In the autumn of 1994, Lucien's fiance, Beth, passed away of ovarian cancer. Lucien, devastated, began to hide away in his home, and left his job of a morgue assistant; he moved to London mid-1995. It was in that autumn that he opened the bookstore to sell used books.

### 1996-present

On a 'particularly humid' summer's afternoon in 1995, Michael Foster walks into Lucien's bookshop-library fusion holding five books; all of which are copies that used to be held in the shop, before they disappeared almost ten months prior; and confesses that he 'stole' all of them and was now giving them back. Lucien curiously quips that you 'cannot possibly steal from a library, one just doesn't tell the librarian'. Foster is charmed and almost sheepish at that, and lays the books on the counter and asks if he can do anything to make up for it. Lucien tells him that he's fine, and says to come back to 'steal' whenever he'd like.

On the Halloween of 1996, Lucien yet again bumps into Michael inside of a Catholic Church in London. Lucien quips that 'this isn't the bookshop'.

## Personality

Lucien is described as reclusive and overworked, and warm but scattered in casual settings. When introduced, he's instantly portrayed as aloof and off-put at the sight of visitors; he could be argued to be socially skilled, however, his tendency to say what's on his mind and his usage of sarcasm occasionally disrupts that statement. Unlike Michael, Lucien's shyness is balanced with a reserved and conversational stance, and a bold tendency to ask any question on his mind; doing so with disposition and grace. His sense of humor is somewhat morbid and inappropriate; when Michael asks if his former occupation, a mortician's assistant, was very socially stressful, Lucien comments with grace that 'my guests were rather quiet'. He also states once that he has 'put on more bras than he's taken off', referring to both at one point dressing bodies for funerary purposes and having a not-so-lively sexual life with women (not to be confused with one with men). Even though he does try to be comedic, he sometimes is funny unintentionally.

While described as almost 'angelic', Lucien has an extremely crude sense of humor and occasional falters of his perceived innocence (see the bra joke earlier), which could even be called flirtatiousness. After asking Michael into his office for a cup of tea, Lucien makes a polite and joking statement that he is not 'cottaging' Michael, even if it may seem as such. In another instance, Lucien says once that he 'has more brains than looks', to which Michael says in somewhat suggestive manner that it could be argued that the other man has both; Lucien is shown to be taken-aback, but then he straightens himself up and replies, "I certainly won't stop you, Michael." They are then interrupted by a customer entering the bookstore, and depart. He also has a temper--- in Chapter 5, the head of the Arts & Humanities department refers to Michael using the name 'Michelle'. Michael expresses a tinge of anger but 'doesn't let it get to him', however, Lucien taps the toe of his shoe against the floor and begins to act dismayed by the man; when the latter refers to Michael as a 'she', Lucien throws a heavy punch at the man, though Michael barely holds him back. Lucien typically redirects any anger by doing work like repairing objects (handyman-work) or restoring his books.

Lucien sometimes shows guilt for being 'unruly', most of the time expressed after he indulges in what he is after. In 'Life on Mars?', Lucien and Michael are bickering, before Lucien grabs Michael by the coat and kisses him. It escalates into something more passionate, but even as Michael wants to continue, Lucien starts to panic and calls himself 'wicked for taking advantage' of Michael. He cries out of guilt, even though Michael clearly wanted him.

## Appearance

Lucien is said to be hazel-eyed with somewhat crooked teeth. He wears a KAFO brace on his left leg, and usually is seen with a cane or crutch. He's noted to have a particular way of dressing; he favors corduroy, tweed, and robes made of silk; when out and about, he dresses smartly and prefers a professional air. It is a well-known fact that he meticulously, and compulsively, polishes his shoes, and makes a habit to polish his brogues every Sunday.

```
*"In the crack of the door was a startled-looking face, young although wrinkly eyed and his smile lines harsh, a meek gleam of boyhood in his eyes behind the geriatric reading glasses on the tip of his nose. He was likely just a few years older, only with a maturity in the way he moved and a poise in him that suggested some kind of messy sophistication."*

```

## Relationships

### Sighart-Lieserl F. Konopinski

Lucien met Professor Konopinski after being referred to him by his high-school mathematics professor, due to Lucien's knowledge succeeding the Senior curiculum at 15. Konopinski, in the midst of building the parts of a nuclear reactor, was initially confused at how his mutual friend, Lucien's teacher, saw the boy fit; however, after Lucien looked at the chalkboard and told Konopinski that the physics was not correct. Konopinski, slightly offended, asked Lucien, 'How?', before Lucien went to the board and began to correct the sequence.

### Michael Foster

Set in 'Revolving Door,' Lucien and Michael met on the evening of Halloween in 1996, at St. Etheldreda's RC Church in London. Lucien was the only person in the building, and was sitting in the back row of the nave; upon hearing the sound of a cane hitting the floor and drawing closer, he looked back, and then turned away. Michael recalls that he looked tired, and that he wore a maroon scarf and broken glasses held together by tape; going on to describe him as long-faced and gaunt.

## Quotes

* *"I know," (he cried.) "Of course I know."*
* *"O-Oh, well I certainly won't stop you, Mr. Foster."*
* *"We could use it and run away to Paris and I could become a wealthy gigolo. How does that sound?"*
* *"I doubt that, Michael. You'd never lie to be, because you **can't**."*
* *"Oh, God! This wouldn't happen in Jane Austen, dammit!"*
* *"Oh, I'm thirty-eight years gray, Margot. Pass me the sugar?"*
* *"This is Mr. Devaughn. I'm sorry, I'm polishing the brogs, and I will reach you in---"*
* *"Are silverfoxes still considered 'attractive?"*
* *"This robe makes me look like a wine-aunt, and I can't say I don't like it."*
* *"Hello, this is Lucien Devaughn. I am unable to come to the phone, but I will perhaps answer in, well...five...four...three...two...one!...Oh, I'm sorry. Genuinely. Maybe next time." (TELEPHONE BEEP)*
* *"I really need to get wine-drunk right now, so if you'd excuse me---"*
* *"Reminds me of Andy Warhol, y'think so?"*
* *"I don't want to listen to Boris Yeltsin any longer or else smoke will pour out of my ears. Coffee, tea?"*
* *"He's gayer than five unicorns in handkerchiefs sitting in the middle of a molly-house. I should go and talk with him."*

## Trivia

* Lucien shares similarities to Andy Warhol, who is mentioned in the first chapter directly before Lucien is introduced.
* He does not own any electronics other than a television, a failing computer, and a home phone. He cannot perform basic tasks on his computer regardless.
* Lucien uses Polari slang.
* In 'Lazarus', it's mentioned that he was sexually abused by a church official when he was young.
* Lucien speaks Ukrainian, Russian, Spanish, German, English, and conversational Spanish.
* In 'Life On Mars?' Lucien states that he was not born with a nose bump; In 1984, he got into a fight over a woman with one of his close friends in Berlin, and received a blow to his nose and broke his hand. The bridge of his nose was fractured and left with a bump, partially crooked. Lucien says that he, however, thinks that the fight was a 'solid tie.'
* Lucien is frequently seen crossing himself from right to left, as seen in Eastern Orthodox, rather than the traditional Catholic method. He is seen praying multiple times, once saying an Orthodox prayer and another time a Roman Catholic prayer, though his actual religion is unknown.
* Lucien is bisexual, as he is in a romantic relationship with Michael Foster, and was formerly engaged to Beth Lange.
* His preferred cigarette brands are Eckstein and Sobranie, and he uses a vintage Zippo lighter.
* In 'Revolving Door', it's revealed that Lucien hates Boris Yeltsin. In 'Life On Mars?' Lucien refers to an absurd situation as 'Reaganomics.'
* In 'Revolving Door,' Lucien sarcastically refers to himself as an 'auntie,' gay slang for an older, gossipy gay man.
* In 'Lazarus', Lucien states that he and Beth were going to adopt when they got older ("around (their) forties"} due to both of them being 'unable to have children'.
* He has expressed that he was a problem-child.