Name: Marielle “Mari” Violet Delacroix
Gender: Female
Age: 18
Grade: 12th
Hobbies and Interests: SOTF, fashion, parties, playing piano
Appearance: Mari stands at 5’9” and weighs 135 pounds; she has a tall, willowy figure, without much in the way of noticeable curves. Though she spent a year cheerleading, her athletic pursuits since then have been sporadic at best, leaving her without much muscle to speak of, either. She is light-skinned, though not particularly pale; she tans easily but does not often spend enough time outside for the effect to become noticeable. Her face is round, but her features are sharp; her eyes are upturned, as is her nose, and her lips carry a heavily-defined cupid’s bow. Her default expression comes across to many as annoyed or bored due her features and general bearing, an impression Mari makes no effort to correct. Her eyes are naturally a light brown, though she occasionally wears colored contacts to make an impression or to match a particular outfit. She has a distinctive beauty mark below and to the right of the left corner of her lips. Her hair is an unusual shade of light ash brown, bordering on grey; it is thick and slightly wavy, falling to her shoulders, with sideswept bangs passing just over her right eye. She plucks her eyebrows into perfect arches and wears makeup, generally limited to mascara, cat eye eyeliner, and sometimes pinkish-nude lipstick.
Mari’s fashion tastes are varied, though her outfits are always coordinated and heavily considered before being worn. Her wardrobe consists of a mix of designer items, purchased when she has the means, and thrift store finds, purchased when she does not. She makes efforts to blend the two seamlessly, giving the effect of being the sort of person who can afford full outfits of designer clothing when really only one or two pieces are. She tends to become temporarily attached to one piece of clothing and design a number of outfits around it before she becomes tired of it; recently she has been wearing the same Coach black denim jacket every day, coming up with new ways to style it. Her ears are pierced, and she generally wears the same small diamond studs in them every day regardless of outfit.
Mari’s voice changes dramatically depending on her current circumstances. The majority of the time her voice is fairly deep and raspy, with little tonal shifting, adding to her general air of perpetual boredom. When she is particularly emotional, or alone with her boyfriend, her voice shifts rapidly upward, becoming high, whiny and almost squeaky at times. She can rapidly bounce between tones when she’s in a particularly poor mood, lending her an almost cartoonish effect.
On the day she was selected to participate in Survival of the Fittest, Mari was wearing her usual earrings and jacket along with a dusty rose-colored short sleeve blouse, a short, dark purple skirt, and close-toed black kitten heels. She also wore a long necklace with a thin silver chain, carrying a silver pendant shaped like a sunflower, as well as a pair of crossed black hairpins holding back her bangs.
Biography: Marielle “Mari” Delacroix was born on November 6th, 2002, to Peter and Jessica Delacroix. The pair were quite old to be having their first child, aged 47 and 41 respectively; they had been attempting to have a child since their marriage in their 20s with no success. At age 28 Jessica had been told by her gynecologist that she had polycystic ovary syndrome and was unlikely to be able to conceive naturally. She had been devastated by the news, but with Jessica’s job as an elementary school teacher and Peter’s as a construction worker, the couple did not have the money to pursue infertility treatments and did not feel comfortable adopting a child. Their hopes waned over the years, such that Jessica’s pregnancy came as a huge surprise, and the pair was overjoyed to welcome their only child into their household. As it was tradition on Jessica’s side of the family for the oldest daughter to be named some variation of “Marie,” and Peter wanted his daughter to have a unique name, the name “Marielle” was chosen.
Jessica was able to take some time off to care for Mari as an infant, but neither parent could afford to quit their job take care of her, and childcare was prohibitively expensive. Jessica turned to her older sister, Marianne, who was unmarried and childless. In exchange primarily for room and board, Jessica asked Marianne to be a live-in carer for Mari until she was old enough to begin school, and Marianne agreed, as she had wanted her own children her whole life and saw this as the best opportunity she was likely to have. Marianne moved into the Delacroixs’ guest bedroom when Mari was three months old.
Marianne was Mari’s primary caretaker until the girl started pre-kindergarten at age 4, and she was a very permissive one. Having never raised a child and unable to resist doting over Mari, she found it nearly impossible to say no to her. The consequences of this reared their ugly head when Mari reached her toddler years and became old enough to physically defy orders or demand things she wanted. If Mari wanted something that was not outside of the Delacroixs’ budget, she would always get it, whether it be a toy she saw on a commercial on TV or ice cream for dessert. Marianne’s health at her age was also an issue, making it physically impossible for her to chase Mari around for very long and making her all the more likely to give Mari whatever would make her sit and calm down. Peter worked long and hard hours and spent little time with his daughter; Jessica had more time to interact with her, but had little success in trying to reverse her attitude. Indeed, she found herself relenting more and more often as her daughter grew, and Mari only became louder and more oppositional with time.
Marianne’s full-time duties tapered off when Mari entered school, as she was only responsible for dropping her off and picking her up from school and caring for her for the hour or so before Jessica got home. Marianne continued to live with the Delacroixs, and after a couple of years, when Mari was 7, her health began failing. Jessica finally quit her job to care full-time for both Mari and Marianne, with Peter picking up more shifts to make up her slack, often working 60 hours or more in a week. With Jessica’s attention split, Mari didn’t let up in her demands and only became angrier when she didn’t get what she wanted. Jessica recognized that she shouldn’t be giving her daughter everything she asked for, but she was exhausted constantly and deeply worried about her sister, and thus didn’t want to spare the energy in fighting Mari.
At school Mari did not display the anger she did toward her parents. She was always a fairly quiet child, wandering aimlessly between activities during free time. Though she got in trouble regularly for not doing her homework, her grades for in-class work were consistently high, and Jessica was shocked when during parent-teacher conferences her teachers always told her that she was a brilliant child and a pleasure to have in class. Their only concerns were always related to her lack of socializing with other children; while she would idly play with others for a little while if invited she never seemed particularly interested and didn’t seem to have any friends of her own. Outside of one incident in kindergarten where Mari pushed over a girl who tried to take a toy she was playing with, she didn’t have any disciplinary troubles.
Mari learned her lesson well from that kindergarten incident, that lesson being that acting out too much would only get her in trouble, and not in trouble she could shout her way out of like she could with her parents, either. She never particularly enjoyed playing with others and generally found other kids tedious; if she tried to mess with them she’d get in trouble, and doing anything else with them was boring. As she got older, however, she became more versed in ways she could upset her classmates without getting in trouble herself. Leaving notes in their desks or acting as a “go-between” for made-up gossip became common tactics for her, and those times she was caught in the act it was easy enough for her to shrug off the consequences. She burned many bridges, but just as often was able to convince people that she was sorry and had changed before pulling the same tactics again. This entertained her; while she had no desire to cause anyone long-term pain or physical suffering, she found causing drama significantly more interesting than trying to actually make friends. Though she would at times form temporary friendships, she would inevitably become bored with them and move on.
In middle school, when this behavior was at its most intense, Marianne suddenly passed away. Jessica was shocked to find that Mari cared little for her aunt’s passing, seeming more annoyed that Jessica was now paying closer attention to her than anything else. Mari only grew angrier and more defiant as her mother tried to find some sort of grip on her, to the point of throwing things, breaking glass, and leaving the house without contacting her parents at all at all hours. Jessica would try to guide her daughter, give up, and try again in cycles, with those periods of giving up often draining their meager savings as she bought more unnecessary things that Mari demanded.
The crux of Mari’s issues was a boredom that couldn’t be satiated by, seemingly, anything. Many of the items she asked for were equipment for various activities she found momentarily interesting, from musical instruments to sporting gear to art supplies. In most cases she has spent a couple of weeks or so interested in her new potential hobby before getting bored and moving onto something else, sometimes cycling back to previous ideas. At present she has returned to the keyboard her parents bought her in 7th grade; her ability with it is minimal and she can only play a couple of very basic songs, and will inevitably move onto something else before she can develop any talent with it.
It was in middle school that Mari did cultivate two interests that would last her going forward. The first was fashion, as she quickly noticed it was hard to insert herself into the popular crowd with her obviously thrifted clothing. She began demanding for money to spend on shopping from her mother, who would at times give in; at other times she would simply steal small bills from her parents’ wallets and add those up to make purchases. She began shopping for her own clothes generally, including at thrift shops, and was surprised to find there was actually some joy for her in forming coherent outfits out of random bits and pieces outside of the social clout it brought her. She considered herself quite attractive as she began going through adolescence, and took pleasure in coming up with ways to enhance that, even though the only audience she really cared about was herself.
The other was Survival of the Fittest, which her mother considered inappropriate for children and tried to keep her from watching. In middle school, though, she heard it discussed enough to become curious and demanded to be allowed to watch; her mother, not wanting to make this an argument and knowing Mari would be exposed to the show soon enough anyway, allowed her to, hoping she would quickly lose interest. She began watching part way through Season 30 and became completely fascinated immediately by the pure human drama on display. The death and gore wasn’t particularly interesting to her outside of its effects on the living, but it didn’t bother her, either; she found herself completely absorbed in the show, and soon started absorbing older seasons online. Up until this point her online presence was very limited, but she began to frequent a number of online communities solely to talk about SotF. While she does not create anything herself, she enjoys consuming fan-created content about the show, though she has no real interest in fanfiction or similar content that has limited basis in reality. The few relationships that she has maintained in high school that are somewhat positive are mostly built on a mutual appreciation for the show, as she is generally happy to discuss it with anyone without inserting outside drama into the conversation; she does, however, have very strong feelings about her fandom, and is liable to get angry when her opinions are challenged, or when she feels someone isn’t a real fan. To her Survival of the Fittest is the only real outlet she has found that consistently entertains her and makes her happy, and therefore casual fans, defined by her as those who don't follow the show closely and have no real investment in the outcome, are an insult.
Mari moved across Miami between junior high and high school, as Jessica couldn’t stand to stay in the home where her sister died and Peter’s job had him travelling all over Miami anyway. While she wasn’t the only kid from her junior high school to apply to Mangrove Garden, most of her classmates now lived far away enough for her growing reputation as a manipulative and duplicitous person to not follow her there. While she was not particularly attached to attending the school her mother insisted that she take the entrance exam, which she duly passed. Her grades had remained consistently high through elementary and middle school, and in fact improved over time as she realized that her homework was generally quite easy and it was easier to just do it than deal with being scolded by her teachers. Entering Mangrove Garden, with its higher standards, made it much more difficult for her to maintain her standing based on natural ability alone. She still cannot bring herself to care much about her schoolwork, but she maintains a decent average regardless and hovers around the middle of the class rankings.
With her expensive clothes, good looks and capacity for manipulation, Mari found it fairly easy to fall in with the popular crowd of fellow freshmen, feigning interest in their lives while not talking much about her own. She was genuinely slightly intrigued by cheerleading at the time and tried out for the team, and though her physical abilities were limited her apparent enthusiasm and the lack of freshman cheerleaders got her a spot on the team. She actually stuck with the activity for the better part of the year, though her interest flagged fairly quickly; the team was a good spot to hear gossip and find holes in her so-called friends’ relationships with each other that she could exploit for drama. Toward the end of the year her interest in those friends flagged as well, and she simply ghosted them, ignoring their texts and shrugging them off when they tried to speak to her at school. Due to this incident most of their year’s students know that Mari is untrustworthy, though she is often able to cajole her way into the temporary confidence of other students regardless.
Though Mari is never specifically invited to parties, she keeps an ear out for when they occur, and has an easy enough time making her way into larger ones. She primarily enjoys them as a medium for people watching, and for the opportunity to convince her drunken classmates to make total fools out of themselves. She has also found momentary entertainment in hooking up with her male classmates. She finds sex to be reasonably entertaining, though she usually isn’t interested in having it with the same guy more than once.
Mari was never particularly interested in relationships, as the idea of being so intimate with one other person both bored and disturbed her; however, two years ago she began dating Cristobal Velazquez. She pursued him, reasoning that he was both clearly easily manipulated and quite rich, and having him around would both give her some social capital to play with and a means of purchasing more clothing when her mother was being uncooperative. Early in their relationship he cheated on her in an affair that was quickly made public; while this infuriated her, she decided the benefits of the relationship were worth continuing the relationship for. She cheats on him with impunity, figuring he deserves it for having cheated on her first; he is aware of this, though hardly happy about it. Mari has developed an odd affection for Cristobal over the time she’s been with him, despite taking advantage of his kindness at every turn. She has never spent so much time around one person before, and having done so has led her to at least care enough about him that she would hurt someone on his behalf. In her eyes the things she does to him are things only she is allowed to do, and anyone else who tries to hurt him must suffer the consequences.
Over the years Mari's relationship with her parents appears to have improved from an outside perspective, though it is truthfully no less tense than before. Her tantrums and fits of rage have mostly given way to a quiet understanding between herself and her mother that, should she be denied anything she asks for, her anger will return; therefore, it is simply easier for both of them to skip that step at for Mari to simply be allowed what she wants. Jessica has long since noticed bills disappearing from her wallet but has said nothing to her daughter for fear of her retaliation. Peter, for his part, continues to work long hours and has a limited presence in Mari's life. When he is around their relationship is polite and pleasant; Jessica never argues with her daughter in front of her husband, not wanting to burden him when he is already worn out from work, and as he makes no real effort to put restrictions on Mari she has no reason to fight him. Peter believes Mari to have grown out of the childish tantrums she had when she was young, and Mari has no reason to contradict him.
At present, while Mari isn’t exactly a pariah at Mangrove Garden, she has burned many bridges and most others don’t trust her. She is capable of sliding her way through social situations through clever words and trickery, but she has no one she can really call a friend outside of Cristobal; that said, she does have a few classmates she spends a fair amount of time with simply because their relationship is entirely dedicated to discussing Survival of the Fittest. While she never regrets her actions on any moral grounds, and has never faced any serious consequences for them, she does wish she had been more subtle in her actions in her earlier high school years, as it has become increasingly difficult for her to find unwitting participants to her games—she finds the most luck with freshmen, the naive, the unflaggingly optimistic, and those whose skin is particularly easy to dig under. She has no particular plans after high school outside of taking a year off; she will likely attend college after that, both because entering the workforce sounds incredibly boring to her and because starting over with an entirely new social group to play with is an appealing prospect.
Advantages: Mari has very little attachment to her classmates, and would not be particularly concerned with their deaths. She is an obsessive fan of Survival of the Fittest and her deep knowledge of past seasons of the show might inform her as to the best actions to take. Her boyfriend Cristobal is an in-built ally, as he has proven to be loyal to her despite everything she’s put him through.
Disadvantages: Mari is widely distrusted and disliked at school, and would have a hard time finding allies outside of Cristobal. She has burned many bridges, some badly enough that others might actively seek to harm her. She is quite spoiled and having to deal with difficult conditions would likely be a problem for her.
Marielle "Mari" Delacroix
good girls go to heaven, bad girls go everywhere
Hey Fen,
Marielle looks -- I hesitate to say great because she's a lil shit, but pretty good so far. As a profile.
I have a few changes I'd like to see you make, and a couple of points for fleshing out.
Having never raised a child and unable to resist doing over Mari,
* doting
How does Marielle define someone as a casual fan of TV? Does she have any interest in wider SOTF media?
"While she wasn’t the only kid from her junior high school to apply to Mangrove Garden, most of her classmates now lived far away enough for her growing reputation as a manipulative and duplicitous person to follow her there."
- This sentence says one thing but implies the opposite. Do you mean that her reputation didn't follow her? If her reputation did follow her, the second clause needs to be adjusted, as it doesn't make sense if that's the intended meaning.
Marielle seems kind of reliant on people to get her kicks and ingratiate herself but simultaneously doesn't really appear to care for anyone. Has she never developed any lasting friendship with anyone outside of Cristobal? Are there any bridges she regrets having burned for the sake of some short term amusement? -- not saying she has to have done either of these, but something worth considering for some fleshing out.
Her relationship with her parents falls off later in the profile. How does she get along with them these days? Does she still throw her weight around at her mom? Has she got any relationship to speak of with her dad?
Has her theft ever been noticed? If so, what was the fallout? If not, how has she managed to get away with it in such long term?
Have there been any specifically instances where stirring up drama has burned her, or is it just the general purpose not being trusted?
Let me know when you've made adjustments.
Marielle looks -- I hesitate to say great because she's a lil shit, but pretty good so far. As a profile.
I have a few changes I'd like to see you make, and a couple of points for fleshing out.
Having never raised a child and unable to resist doing over Mari,
* doting
How does Marielle define someone as a casual fan of TV? Does she have any interest in wider SOTF media?
"While she wasn’t the only kid from her junior high school to apply to Mangrove Garden, most of her classmates now lived far away enough for her growing reputation as a manipulative and duplicitous person to follow her there."
- This sentence says one thing but implies the opposite. Do you mean that her reputation didn't follow her? If her reputation did follow her, the second clause needs to be adjusted, as it doesn't make sense if that's the intended meaning.
Marielle seems kind of reliant on people to get her kicks and ingratiate herself but simultaneously doesn't really appear to care for anyone. Has she never developed any lasting friendship with anyone outside of Cristobal? Are there any bridges she regrets having burned for the sake of some short term amusement? -- not saying she has to have done either of these, but something worth considering for some fleshing out.
Her relationship with her parents falls off later in the profile. How does she get along with them these days? Does she still throw her weight around at her mom? Has she got any relationship to speak of with her dad?
Has her theft ever been noticed? If so, what was the fallout? If not, how has she managed to get away with it in such long term?
Have there been any specifically instances where stirring up drama has burned her, or is it just the general purpose not being trusted?
Let me know when you've made adjustments.
hello elle thank u for things i did some things
- fixed obvious typo that i missed because i keep relying on spellcheck to figure this stuff out for me and spellcheck is like "i mean doing is a word" smh
- added some bits about Fake Fans and also what other sotf media she's into
- fixed the part where i somehow made a sentence be the opposite of what it was supposed to be
- added a paragraph about her current relationship w/ her parents as well as a bit about the stealing
- added some bits about where she's at currently, socially speaking