Characters World of Darkness: The Academy - [Mortals] Maria Juliana Palacios (student)

[Atomicweasel]

Name: Maria Juliana Palacios (Mari)

Gender: Female

Age: 14

Concept: Mesiah Waif

IDing Information:

Year: Freshman

Height: 5'1"

Weight: 102 lbs

Hair: Dark brown

Eyes: Hazel

Ethnicity: Latina

Striking looks ****

Dexterity ****

Presence ****

History

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Mari grew up on the hard streets of Queens. Her father was killed on active duty in 1995, during Desert Storm, just months after Mari was born. Mari grew up with two older sisters, Yanaida and Elizabet, and her mother, Laura. Because she was the baby of the family, Mari was always coddled by her mother. Her sisters, especially Yanaida, were fiercely protective of her and tried to make sure Mari avoided all the pitfalls they'd fallen prey to.

As a result, Mari was raised with a strict moral code, and from even a very early age, she felt a strong bond to God. She was brought up Roman Catholic, like everyone else in her Newyorican barrio, but unlike the other children her age for whom communion and Sunday School were a chore and a burden, Mari eagerly embraced the Catholic faith and its teachings. She sang in choir, helped at her church, and by the time she was twelve she had memorized the bible.

Mari's other love, besides Jesus, was soccer. She played with all the neighborhood boys and when she got too good for them, she played with their older brothers. She was playing one of these pick up games when she was seen by Evan Rosen, the girl's soccer coach at the Trevor Dalton Academy. Evan, a charismatic thirty-one year old who had played in college for Cornell, was visiting his ailing brother Sam. He stayed a week longer than he had intended, introducing himself to Mari and her mother. Star-struck by Mari's soccer skills and her quietly intense presence, Evan spoke at length with the dean of admissions and was able to offer Mari an athletic scholarship at Trevor Dalton Academy.

With a mixture of trepidation and excitement, Mari set off to begin her freshman year of high-school. Her mother and sisters made her vow to call them every day before she was bundled up with her meager belongings and sent off in Evan's care.

Description

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An achingly pretty young teen, Mari has dark chocolate brown hair and lovely hazel eyes that lend her delicate features an almost angelic look of innocence. Lithesome, slight and svelte, Mari appears even younger than her fourteen years. Her smooth complexion is lightly tanned. Her smile is breathtakingly sweet and earnest.

Wisp of a girl though she is there is something about Mari...some bit of steel hinted at beneath the softness of her voice, the way she has of carrying herself, that inspires the confidence of others.

Personality

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Mari is an especially focused girl. She believes that God has a purpose for her and nothing will stand in the way of that purpose. She is deeply religious, but her relationship to her religion is one of almost intimate privacy. She doesn't force her beliefs on others, or even share them except with those closest to her. She is a loyal friend, trusting, kind, and generous. She tries to give others the benefit of the doubt, always looking for the best in them. Mari's fatal flaw is her pride. Though slow to judge, once she makes up her mind that she's right, she's unwaveringly stubborn.