Beckett

**Lieutenant Beckett Dandridge** is a foot guard for the Pastel Kingdom.

## Appearance

Beckett is tall with a pointy, small nose, tan skin, and blue eyes. He has a messy mop of dark greyish hair, which is usually hidden under his cap. He wears the Pastel Kingdom guard uniform with a white tank top underneath.

## Personality

Loyal, passionate, and dedicated to his Kingdom, Beckett is a young hopeless romantic who pines after Princess Maria. Though very honest and sensitive, Beckett often jumps to conclusions and makes assumptions comparable to how Frederick does, with how they both did strongly judge based on first impressions and appearances. The difference with Beckett is that he may be more devoted to his principles and seizes his opportunities to meet Maria when he ensures that he is the one to accompany her when she goes out to town. His behavior towards the idea of Maria can be seen as patronizing, but he does want to get to know her for who she is.

## History

Due to his post being stationed under Maria's balcony, Beckett ends up listening to her sing often, and greatly admires Maria for that, idolizing the Princesses and supporting the defensive actions King Jack takes to protect his daughters. Despite having very small chances to even speak to Maria, Beckett still has a plan to rise up in the ranks and one day marry her- he's the underdog of situation.When things are flipped as Beckett mistakes Gwendolyn for Maria, this gives him an opportunity to look past the idealization of Maria and really meet her,

## Relationships

#### Maria

Beckett loves Princess Maria simply because of her singing voice, on which he has based the whole judgement of who she is. He has never gotten to see her due to King Jack's strict rules about the guards, but thinks her to be beautiful and kind based on the quality of her voice. He had a plan to rise up in the ranks before asking her father for her hand in marriage, and was upset when his plans were derailed with the engagement between Maria and Blaine. When Maria needed to go shopping, he wanted to escort her because he loved her, and the guards were allowed to escort the princesses if they needed to go anywhere. However, he never got to escort the actual Maria since she was no longer in the mood to go shopping, and he ended up escorting Princess Gwendolyn instead. So, now he currently thinks Gwendolyn is the actual Maria since her appearances checked out with Blaine’s description of her appearance. He also confessed to "Maria" after she gave him a gift, but took his confession back, otherwise he would’ve be punished. When he saw the actual Maria with Blaine, he was infuriated, thinking Blaine was cheating on "Maria" with the actual Maria. Despite that, he was still willing to help the actual Maria when she was crying in what he thought was an awful, gravelly voice, even though he still didn't know she was the actual Maria yet.

He first truly met Maria when she was crying on her balcony, and spoke to her to cheer her up, offering to listen to her vent, although he still did not know she was the real Maria. She confessed her problems to him, but he was upset when he heard she had complimented her fiancé’s butt and tried to kiss him, and called her a "pig", upsetting her further. Beckett apologized the next time she was moping on her balcony, and she apologized for reacting badly. He told her that she needed to know how to treat her boyfriend better, and Maria asked what her fiancé could want more than being desired. Beckett found this question shallow, and told her bluntly her fiancé probably wanted to be seen as a person flaws and all.

The morning of the the Bippity Bop Gala, Maria’s singing voice finally fully recovered, and she resumed her usual routine of singing from her balcony, which caught the attention of Beckett, who recognized her singing. He saw Maria’s face for the first time, and he was struck by how beautiful she was, although he still wrestled with staying loyal to the "real Maria”.

After the disaster at the Gala, Maria spent every day crying on her balcony in the rain, something which Beckett noticed. She vented her woes to him again, telling him that she had hurt her little sister, who was now avoiding talking to her. Beckett suggested forcing her way into her sister’s room, but Maria thought it would be greedy. Beckett told her that if there was anyone she was allowed to be a "greedy pig" about, it was her family. Maria and Beckett often talk now, Beckett offering Maria advice and company. Because he assumes that Gwen is Maria, we know when he checks in with Maria to see how she's doing, it's because he cares and not because he likes her romantically.

#### Elderly Foot Guard

Beckett and the Elderly Foot Guard are both coworkers and good friends. The Elderly Foot Guard's gruff nature contrasts Beckett's youthful energy, leading to some interesting banter and gossip that happens during their shifts. When the Elderly Foot Guard quits his job, Beckett seems dismissive when the Elder Foot Guard tells Beckett that he's his best friend- in fact, he doesn't seem to register it as sincere.

#### Blaine

Due to his crush on Princess Maria, Beckett is jealous of her fiancé, Prince Blaine, the hottest prince around. They are rivals, with Blaine calling Beckett "Dandruff" and telling him all the physically good things about Maria to make him jealous. Beckett also told Blaine that he should get to like her because of her personality and appreciate her on a deeper level, otherwise she would leave him for someone who did, and Blaine ended up actually taking his advice. After he accidentally confessed to "Maria", he had been scared of Blaine, since "Maria" could tell him about the confession. And if Blaine knew about the confession, Beckett would potentially get executed. After Blaine spent time with Maria, Blaine handed out a paper to Beckett, telling him that it was ok. Blaine gave him the paper because he saw the Blaine doll in Beckett’s hands, and thought Beckett was a fan of him, so he gave him the paper to convey the message that it was ok for males to be fans, too. However, Beckett took this as Blaine showing Beckett mercy despite confessing to his fiancé, and called him "a real prince charming". Though his view of Blaine immediately changed after he saw Blaine with the real Maria, calling him "a real two-timing weasel", thinking he was cheating on "Maria" with the actual Maria.

## Quotes

*"A voice like that can only belong to someone benevolent, graceful, and beautiful."*

**"I've only heard her singing from the balcony above one of my guard posts. But I don't need to see her to know that I'm in love with her. A voice like that can only belong to someone benevolent, graceful, and beautiful."**

**"Crap... They're hot."**

*"Well if I were you, I'd stop peacocking with all this gallantry and start to appreciate her on a deeper level! Or else once all your shallow tricks wear off, she'll leave you for someone who does!"*

*"Uhh... I know it's not my place, but you've been crying in that... awful, gravelly voice nonstop for the last two days. And I guess I just wanted to say that if there's anything I can do... It's my duty to help."*

*"--MY NAME IS LIEUTENANT BUCKET DANDRUFF!!--AAH!! I mean **Beckett Dandridge!** My name is Lieutenant Beckett Dandridge!"*

*"(thinking) I almost let that that jerk of her fiancé gaslight me out of my own name!!"*

*"Stupid, stupid Beckett..."*

*"Hm, I'm not sure about that. My mom keeps telling me I don't have to visit so often..."*

*"**ROY G. BIV, HORACE!!!**"*

## Notes & Trivia

* He, Queen Isolde (née Durand), Horace Fais, and Suzanna Winchester are the only characters with confirmed surnames.
* "Beckett" has multiple possible origins. It could be derived from the Old English beo, meaning "bee," and cot, meaning "shelter," often interpreted as "beehive." It could also be from Middle English *bec* meaning "beak" or *bekke* meaning "stream, brook".
* "Dandridge" is a locational surname meaning 'one who came from "Tandridge", a parish in the diocese of Winchester, and there is also a place of the name in County Surrey. The name was originally derived from the Old English word "Dennrygg", literally meaning "the dweller at the swine-pasture".
* He is known as "Bucket Dandruff" by Prince Blaine.
	+ One time, he even said his name was "Bucket Dandruff" to Gwendolyn, almost letting Blaine gaslight him out of his own name.
		- In the Spanish Translation, his last name is "Delgado", meaning "slender". The nickname Blaine gives him is "Tebuck Flacucho", "flacucho" meaning scrawny.
* Beckett mentions his mother often, and also seems to hold her in high regard.