Birchwood Isle Family Roleplay

Basic Information

Full Name: Mariposa Mayumi Flores
Nickname, if Any: Mari
Age: 16
Birthday: 18 July
Sex: Female
Pronouns: she/her
Current Grade/Year in School, if Applicable: 10th
Current Occupation, if Applicable: none
Special Needs: none?

Appearance

Height: 5'6"
Build: athletic
Hair Color: brown
Eye Color: hazel
Distinguishing Features: almond-shaped eyes, several moles on her face
Brief Description: Mari is the kind of understated beautiful that doesn't know it's beautiful. Her straight brown hair falls just past her shoulders, touched with gold from summer highlights. She has a straight nose that belies her Asian roots, along with her almond-shaped hazel eyes. Her skin is a very light brown with golden undertones. She has thick eyelashes and hair and a full, straight mouth that often gives her a serious expression. Several moles on her face only enhance her beauty. Sadness reflects in her eyes.

Personality

What are your greatest strengths?: creative; down-to-earth; conscientious; deliberate; intentional; open-minded; friendly; supportive; good-natured; adventurous; outgoing; passionate
What are your greatest weaknesses?: suspicious; untrusting; emotional; sensitive to criticism; emotionally-inhibited; guarded; impulsive; manipulative; high expectations; easily frustrated; self-destructive
What do you struggle with? Most of all, Mari struggles with boundaries; not only setting them, but also respecting other people's boundaries. Rules are also often an issue for her. She's used to being able to do what she wants and having to abide by rules set by strangers is a real challenge for her.
What are your hobbies or interests? rock climbing & rappelling; drawing; cooking; outdoor activities
What do you really enjoy? spending time with other people; watching the sunset; sketching natural elements; long swims in natural pools; taking off on solo adventures; celebrating holidays with friends rather than family; long-term friendships; making out with boys
What do you really dislike? rules for the sake of rules; being told what she can't do; people who expect instant trust; roads with no sidewalks; being stuck indoors for too long; oversleeping; people who do nothing but complain; people who don't know anything outside video games
What are your favorite things? her sketchpad and drawing pencils; an old photograph of her mother
What do you fear? getting too close to someone and then having them taken away; getting attacked by a bear
Describe your personality in 100-500 words: Mari is the type of person who goes out of her way to make people like her because being liked is the most important thing. While this is a common trait among teenagers, Mari is deeply concerned that being disliked will result in her being shuffled off to somewhere else. Maybe a different house at first, and then maybe sent to St. Jude's, and then maybe kicked off the island altogether. At the same time, she is impulsive and does things that get her into trouble, which has the same emotional effect on her. She goes into shutdown mode when she believes there is the possibility that she could be ejected from the community. Despite all appearances, community is everything to her. The panic is entirely internal, which means that it's not visible to people who might be able to help her and understand her better.

She is also an incredibly private person who does not readily share information about herself, or her emotions, which also puts quite a bit of distance between her and the people who are caring for her. It's intentional, but it's also disruptive to her wellbeing, so in a big way, Mari is self-destructive.

Relationships & Behavior

How do you normally get along with adults? The very last thing Mari wants is to get attached to an adult because, in her experience, they just leave her. She can forgive her (single) mother for dying, but she cannot forgive the family members who left her to the system, the system that chewed her up and spit her out, and then the family that chose to send her to Birchwood Isle instead of trying to find a place for her. She does not trust adults easily -- or anyone, for that matter, but adults in particular. This causes her to resist their authority a lot of the time, which, in turn, gets her into trouble a lot of the time.

How do you normally get along with teenagers? Really well. Mari is friendly enough that people usually like her, and because she's somewhat closed off, she doesn't make everybody else's problems about her. Privacy has its benefits, and in this case it means that she spends a lot more time listening to her mates' concerns than she does sharing her own. Deep friendships are rare, as a result, but when another teenager proves Mari can trust them, she is a friend for life and very committed.

How do you normally get along with other children? Well enough. Mari's good with little kids and they don't clash or anything like that, but she doesn't tend to develop close relationships with them.

How independent are you? Extremely. Mari isn't used to having to answer to anyone who genuinely cares about her. It makes her distrustful, but it also means that she has learned a lot of skills that help her to be more independent.

How do you normally react when you get into trouble? Mari is extremely sensitive, but she is also very independent, so her first reaction to being confronted for something she's done is to challenge the adult by reminding them that she is capable of doing whatever it is she did and that she doesn't need them telling her what she can do. She will not be quick to accept corporal punishment, which may be challenging for the adult. If she's grounded, she's likely to storm off and then try to violate the grounding later. Adults will need to keep an eye on her. On the other side, when the punishment is over, she's going to be an emotional, distrustful mess who doesn't want to let you get close to her, but she's going to require that closeness. This presents a whole other kind of challenge on its own.

Link to your discipline sheet: click here✅

Orphan Village

How long have you lived at the Orphan Village? Just Arrived as of June, 2026
Which House do you belong to? Maple House
Are you currently enrolled at the Orphan Village Academy or BWI College? Orphan Village Academy
What jobs or responsibilities do you have at the Orphan Village? Mari helps take care of the animals in the animal center and volunteers at the adventure camp

How did you come to live at the Orphan Village? Mari's three aunts decided that it was better for her to "go somewhere more permanent" than to keep getting shuffled between foster homes and family members, gaining and losing hope constantly. They meant well, but Mari feels well and truly abandoned now and has lost all trust in adults.

How do you generally get along with caregivers and authority figures? Not at all well. Her trust has been obliterated and the last thing she wants is to allow someone to get close enough to hurt her again. She keeps them at a serious emotional distance if she can, and does her absolute best to stay out of trouble -- all while not being the most well-behaved kid. Mari is a true challenge to authorities for this reason. They are likely to get attached to her before she is to them because well-behaved or not, she's a good kid with a huge heart that needs nurturing.

How do you generally get along with younger residents? Pretty well. Mari's usually even willing to babysit. She might get a small thrill out of "babysitting" older residents who have been put on restriction, too.

How do you generally get along with your peers? Excellently. Mari is friendly, funny, adventurous, and always up for fun. As long as nobody tries to make the relationship get deeper than she's comfortable with, she's great!

Do you prefer to be adopted or remain in the Orphan Village? Mari won't admit it, but she would love to be adopted, within or outside the Orphan Village.

Describe your ideal adoptive family. Mari: Do I have to?

Grownups who encourage adventure and support her interests are crucial. They should have boundaries around going places and doing things without letting someone know where she is, but the answer needs to be "yes" at least 60% of the time or she's going to be so frustrated that she's going to behave even worse than she already does. They shouldn't be so strict that she can't breathe without getting into trouble, but should be strict enough that the boundaries they set matter. Rules need to be meaningful. Punishment also needs to be meaningful. And she'll do best if she has younger, rather than older siblings, but older siblings aren't out of the question, either.

Is there anything else we should know about how you get along in the Orphan Village? Mari is the type to lead the charge into poor behavior, getting other residents to follow her into activities that the adults would prefer them not to be doing. She's challenging that way, but she will ultimately always take the blame if doing otherwise means that the other kids will get in trouble for something she orchestrated -- or did.

Background

Describe your history in 150-1000 words: For the first nine years of her life, Mari was raised by a single mother who loved her with a deep and abiding commitment to giving her the best life she possibly could. Sometimes that meant her mother worked three jobs. But that was only so that she could take Mari on grand adventures. They visited the National Parks and went ziplining or hiking in the mountains, visited local tribes and ate a variety of weird American foods. Her mother provided structure and discipline, but also freedom. She taught Mari independence, which has been one of the few things Mari has successfully clung to since her mother passed away.

Her mother was murdered two weeks before Mari's tenth birthday. Still in shock, Mari was sent to live with her aunt and uncle. They had four children of their own and a lifestyle that didn't match what Mari was used to. Still, she did her best to accept it to the best of her ability. Her attempts did nothing to change the outcome. Within the year, her aunt and uncle passed her on to the next aunt and uncle. This cycle continued until she'd run through all four of her mother's sisters. By then, she was thirteen, and she went through a second loop with six-month stints until her aunts conferred and decided to put her in foster care, as it "wasn't working out" with any of them. That lasted another year, at the end of which she'd been through three homes and her aunts and their husbands again conferred and decided that Mari would do best in a totally different environment.

They sent her to Birchwood Isle.

Alone.

It was terrifying to arrive on the docks, where she was apprehended and questioned about her arrival. Shaken, she spent three weeks living at the Department of Social Services and waiting for the Orphan Village to open. Now she lives in Maple House, which has turned out to be a decent fit for her.

Other

Is there anything else we need to know about you? Mari has been hurt. It cannot be stressed enough just how distrustful she is toward grownups as a result of the abandonment she's experienced. This may be somewhat universal in the village, but it remains an important part of her personality. She wants to trust you and she wants to be loved, but it will take a lot of effort to get her to the point that she feels she can do that.