Maria

"Whether ye hail from these cursed lands or ye was searchin' for new isles, all of ye met Davey Jones an' ye spit in his face. Damn straight ye should.”
Maria is the current Conductor of the Chicago District and former Game Master of Week 18. She is the self-proclaimed “captain” of the pirate ship, the Tall Windy, and calls her reapers and the W18 ex-Players her crew.
==Appearance==
Physically, Maria is built to run a ship with her bare hands. She is strong and quick to react but lacks endurance and her speed often leads to her clumsiness. Other than that, she’s average height for her age and has dark freckled skin, bearing a tattoo on the first knuckle of her right thumb. Her orange hair emphasizes her warm hazel eyes, especially when angered.
No captain is without the proper attire. Maria wears tall boots, dark pants with a golden belt, a red tank and her iconic coat which is blueish indigo with a golden trim. The inside of her coat is embellished with patches of pale blue water droplets and a bright red flame. Except when in an emergency (like falling off a skyscraper), Maria’s coat covers her reaper wings. This is true during and post-W18.
==Personality==
Where Maria lacks in holding her tongue from a torrent of swears, she makes up in a full range of emotions. She is short-tempered and blunt, preferring honesty beyond bluff, even if the bluff would put her to the advantage. She can read a room pretty well and does her best to validate other people’s feelings before giving her two cents on the topic.
She loves a good insult, be it from her mouth or directed towards her. Always seeking adventure, Maria makes it a point to stir up action – or at least, a meaningful conversation. She hates half-doers and slackers. While Maria was willing to let every reaper choose GM or Conductor side, she judges loyalty harshly.	Among other things, she holds the surviving players of W18 dearly like a mother hen and her chicks. They are the first people she’s seen live past a Week without disappearing under [former Conductor] Roxy’s shadow or falling completely into static. She would do anything to protect them and is quick to call them her family.
==History==
Player:
Maria’s history with the UG of Chicago dates back 6 years ago. When she woke up in the UG, Chicago was exactly as W18 was presented: entry fees, then the teams and finally, the LIVE. With the entry fee theme being “what restrains you”, her entry fee was “her caution”. The teams were named Oasis and Caldera. When the first LIVE took place on Day 1, she met Roxy. She approached without hesitation, eager to know more about the Conductor as a person. She was instantly entranced with the addition of Conductor-aligned benefits. Shortly after, Maria was voted off Team Oasis on Day 3, the first day her team lost. She gained her wings and erased another Player of Team Oasis with an onslaught of noise the same day, proving her worth and unwavering loyalty to Roxy.
Reaper:
The pair were an item for 2 years. Inseparable and indomitable, Maria and Roxy worked jointly to perform the daunting LIVE for the teams of Players and put the Game Masters through their own special hell. Every Day 7 ended in Roxy sabotaging the GM while Maria stayed obliviously busy with cutting down GM-aligned reapers. Until one Week, the teams gave Maria a change of heart. When she watched that team grow, she saw the nature of teams differently. Not to tear each other down, but to catalyze determination and strength. After persuading Roxy to let Reapers run the LIVE for the Week, Maria spared the teams from an erasure a day, hiding the “voted” Player from Roxy’s sight. No team was larger than this on that Day 7. You can guess some Conductor-worthy destruction took place after that. Everyone was turned to static with only Maria to spare. Fearing Roxy’s rage, she fled Chicago proper to hide somewhere within Lake Michigan.
Game Master:
There’s a possibility that W18 was not Maria’s first attempt as Game Master.
Maria made a deal with Roxy that she would not flee on D7 if Roxy changed the rules of erasing Players to donning them Reaperhood instead.
==Relationships==
Family: Maria’s living family includes her dads Raul and Michelangelo and younger brother Ezerin. Both Maria and Ez are adopted.
Reapers:
Cassis: The eastward compass. Maria needs tea time with this one. The first Player she turned into a Reaper, which caused her to be an emotional wreck. It’s fitting that he would save her life during the final fight on Day 7 after she saved him pre-Week.
Anzu: The feathered crown. Maria respects her choice in Reaperhood, confident that Anzu will overcome her entry fee in due time with the support of the crew. Itching to poke her for a gentle conversation on self-love and how to be enough.
[DARn those two lovebirds. Envious she is.]
Players:
Niko: The dreamcatcher. He was the one who convinced Maria to consider sparing Dan and AR, and while she sees the mercy, that decision is still wavering. Proud of his overcoming of his fears and hopes his sleep is once again peaceful.
Rosey: The canvas. Reminds Maria of herself when she was younger- spunky, fierce and just. Her artwork is worthy of more than a refrigerator door, but truly the walls of the Art Institute.
Fox: The megaphone. Eager for his publication of the “UNDERGROUND REPORT”. Through the Week, Maria watched him take on a handful of hardships and teach all of the Reapers a lesson. She admires his determination during even the most bleak of Days.
==Trivia==
*Maria is left-handed, and the majority of the Tall Windy’s mechanics adhere to that.
*The total rainfall per day ascended in exponents of 3. (D1: 0’; D2: 1’; D3: 3’; D4: 9’; D5: 27’; D6: 81’; D7: 243’)
*Her name isn't actually Mario, sorry.
==Gallery==
Captain Sketch.jpg|
Cap by Meru.jpg|Credit to meru.
Category:Week 18
Category:Game Master
Category:Reapers