( about mariko )

(the PB is Koito Minase from Myriad Colors Phantom World)
(for reference of what Mariko would look like as a young adult, click here)

Mariko Ishiwatari. Female. 16-21 years old (18 is default age for memes). Japanese-German.
5'5" tall, 120 lbs. Human.

Daughter of a extremely wealthy Japanese industrialist owner of Majestiq Industries. While considered "illegitimate", Mariko is an heir to the  company. But the pressures of such a life drove her mother to send her away to be raised by a friend named Ringo Kurosawa. Feeling unwanted by her own blood, Mariko grew up in a middle-class lifestyle under the tutelage of Ringo, a crass yet responsible rock musician who secretly was a superhero in her youth. This lead to Mariko growing up independent yet reckless, eventually developing a habit of sticking her nose in things that intrigue her, including supernatural urban legends. One legend in particular told of an online community ran by an anonymous admin, who seem to know every strange thing that's been going on in the city. It wasn't until talks of strange, unsolved murders started that Mariko felt trapped under this admin's game. Stalked and been given powers as part of an unwanted contract and membership to this game, Mariko realizes there's something more to this anonymous admin than she thought. Forced to participate, Mariko uses these powers to survive and to find out who this mysterious admin - this "Grey Man" - really is.

Years after the Grey Man incident, Mariko moves to New York City for college and begins a new chapter of her superhero life. There she met Sofia Sinclair and Ayame Sasaki, two superpowered individuals who exposed Mariko to a bigger mystery concerning her entire world, the connection of Majestiq to supernatural activity, and how otherworldy threats exist and are fought off every day without people knowing. Eager to solve a new mystery and to prove herself to these two stronger women, Mariko joins them to help defend her world by solving a multiverse-spanning mystery.


Personality:

ISTP, Choleric

+

• Reserved, introverted with a dry sense of humor and tendency to make sarcastic comments. Mariko can be blunt with her opinions, some of which are pretty cynical. Though Mariko can be pretty energetic and hyper when around people she genuinely likes or through text. This indifferent and sometimes caustic facade hides a protective personality, loyal to her friends and capable of great feats of courage and leadership under tough situations. Mariko is willing to make sacrifices to save others, using her great powers to fulfill great responsibilities, even if it costs to her personally.
• At a glance, Mariko acts indifferent to the world around her, but she is actually quite alert and observant, even curious to the point of sticking her nose in things a normal teenager probably shouldn't get involved in, like investigating a dangerous area or topic. Being someone who sticks to the sidelines, Mariko is perceptive of behaviors and tics from people, and details in things many tend to overlook.
• Mariko is fairly intelligent for her age, despite having a tendency not to put a lot of effort into anything but things that interest her. She is good at putting clues together, reading people's body language as well as being a quick learner. She has developed a hobby in fixing electronic devices, and an interest in military technology and aircraft thanks to her father's influence. To balance out this "tomboyish" hobbies, Mariko also enjoys traditionally feminine hobbies such as make-up and hairstyling.

-

• Mariko has insecurities that prevents her from opening up to others, thinking it makes her look weak. Throughout her life, she feels lonely and longs for affection she didn't get from her family. She deeply harbors a sense of self-loathing on the circumstances of her birth. While she may seem like the loner-type, Mariko can make acquaintances just fine. However she is picky on who to call her friends, and prefers people who are unique. If she is interested in someone, she would ask around about the person first before actually making her move to befriend them.
• Being generally distant, Mariko can be a little selfish and insensitive. She sometimes forget to consider the feelings of others to the consequences of her dangerous actions. Although with time and maturing, Mariko learns to be kinder to others.
• Mariko's curiosity isn't the only thing driving her to investigate dangerous areas and get down to the truth of things, but she does possess a bit of a hero-complex, wanting to prove to her self that she can do great things without help. Despite her cynical shell, Mariko uses her powers to do the right thing, always picking to do superheroic acts over her opportunities to have a normal, or even great social life, and even if it hurts her emotionally to see her friendships start drifting apart.

Quirks: Mariko likes to maintain her facade of being strong and independent like her mother, who she admires and aspires to be like, but deep down she is still a teenager who has a soft side. Mariko is easily moved by emotional movies, music, and stories. On some of the deeper layers of her personality is her romantic and perverted side, even love-starved to the point of feeling depressed over not having a significant other. She sometimes cries when she's alone. She has quirks of posing in front of a mirror and having a sneeze that most people find adorable.

Likes: Listening and playing hard rock and metal music, marching band, her guitar collection, singing and making original songs, jet fighters and airplanes, military subjects in general, airsoft, plastic model kits, robots, sports cars, cute decorations and plush toys, amusement parks, dogs, soccer/football, snowboarding, sweets, sour candy, pasta, reading books/manga (esp. detective novels and smutty romance), blogging/tweeting, investigating mysteries, TV dramas, sitcoms, tokusatsu/kaiju shows, angelic themed designs, castles, online shopping, video games & dating sims, stargazing, attractive people, guns, helping people out with their romantic pursuits (playing "wingman"), giving/recieving manicures and pedicures, hairstyling and make-up, her parents, compliments (especially for her looks), her paternal grandmother, and tinkering with electronics, Kanna Nishikujou's (tronix) idol group (secretly) and her vitriolic friendship/bantering with Kanna herself.

Dislikes: Being told to smile, liars and fakes, socializing for too long, hyperactive children, cowards, stuttering, entitled people, exposing her vulnerable side or others seeing it, others doing everything for her, dealing with emotional conflicts, being forced to work harder than she likes, easily offended or angered people, people who intentionally try to push buttons, narcissists, working in retail, devices with short battery life, slow to no internet, biker gangs or thugs in general, roe, bitter chocolate, reptiles, indecisive people, vague answers, waking up too early, her maternal grandparents, stupid questions, her own insecurities, company meetings, bugs and arachnids, her chatroom username, her unrequited love and general bad luck with boys, being called "princess", her petite figure, humid and sunny climates, zombies, wasabi, matcha-flavored anything, floods and earthquakes.

First Impressions:



♚ VISUAL: Biracial (her dad is German). Average height with a slim looking build, but has a curvier pear-shaped figure underneath those loose fitting clothes she tends to favor. She has fair skin and tussled red hair with her front fringes held together by a hair clip to keep it from covering her left eye. Often seen with headphones around her neck (or on her ears) and eating candy/chewing gum. As an adult, her hair is a little longer with two-toned colors. When wearing casual clothes, Mariko's style differs a little from the typical city-girl in Japan. She tends to favor wearing boots that reach up to the bottom of her knees instead of regular shoes or high-heels, and dark colored jackets and purses. She wears shorts as much as skirts, but always paired up with stockings. She mixes a good balance of light and dark colors. What she wears outside tends to be darker shades while what she wears underneath them are usually lighter shades, signifying her harder and "tougher" exterior hiding a softer side. At home, she just wears shorts and a baggy t-shirt with no or rolled-up sleeves.

♚ AURAL: She sounds bored and monotone when talking, but she has a powerful and resonant singing voice. She is fluent in both Japanese, English, and is conversational in both Korean and French. She even knows certain phrases and words in American Sign Language.

♚ OLFACTORY: Nothing special. She doesn't care about perfumes or heavily-scented bath products. But she does care about her hygiene a lot.

♚ DEMEANOR: A bit of a tomboy. Mariko seems distant and uncaring of what goes on around her. She has a tendency to stick to the sidelines and walk with her eyes fixed at where she's walking. She tends to put her hands in her pockets and walk in a relaxed pace. She is often on her phone texting or browsing the internet.

Powers:

➳ "Avatar" - Spirit: Mariko is protected and empowered by a powerful magical entity that is a part of her. It hovers around Mariko when active, and can use it's power to protect Mariko without direct orders, and she feels whatever pain it feels from the attacks it takes (although a lot less intense). The spirit takes the form of a robotic/doll-like female humanoid, with exposed joints, internal wiring, a helmet-covered face, and wing tips with a star emblem on it's forearms that it uses like blades. Mariko eventually learns to make the spirit transform into a poleaxe, an electric guitar that she can use to fire sound-attacks and buffs, and a rifle with multiple firing modes (assault, sniper, shotgun, cannon, launcher), holographic sights, and fires magical pulses of energy that also emits a magic circle as a muzzle flash. With age and practice, Mariko eventually learns to summon a maximum of 7 avatar spirits to aid her in combat.
➳ "Talent" - Musical Attacks/Enhancements: Mariko can use an electric guitar and turn it to a weapon of destruction and healing. By strumming her guitar, she can produce either damaging concussive and disorienting blasts of sound, or enhancing sound waves giving her allies a temporary boost in their physical or magical powers. Hologram-like speakers and headphones appear to hover near and on Mariko whenever she plays her guitar while enhanced with her power.
➳ "Starter" - Superhuman Condition: Mariko's physical capabilities started on the lower end of the superhuman spectrum, but got stronger with practice and age. This allows her to lift things many times her weight like a car to eventually a few tons at maximum, recover from injuries faster, smash through concrete walls and metal doors and pillars, outrun most motor vehicles and not tire out quick, be evasive and agile enough to dodge most gunfire,enhanced durability to only feel minor discomfort when actually getting shot or ran over by a speeding vehicle, and even fly (though she has never mastered this ability yet until she was 18).
➳ Self-taught Combatant: Mariko's unorthodox hobbies all become useful to her when she needs to defend herself. Her style of combat is instinctive and improvised with erratic combat tactics, often using the environment and emphasizes her superhuman physical capabilities. Her background as a color guard in her school marching band makes her adept with pole weapons, her background in soccer coupled by her super strength makes her a powerful and agile kicker, and her hobby in playing airsoft would make her adapt faster in handling actual firearms and close-quarter combat tactics than an average teenager.