DemiserofD
Sodbuster
Maru's just never vibed with me.
Maybe it's because her arc feels very distant and unemotional? I started out with Haley, and her arc was just so great, transforming from this prima donna to the point where she's enjoys getting dirty and stuff, which kinda transforms her work in photography and such. Maru, by contrast, just kinda feels more like a roommate. Even in her cutscenes, she just kinda wants someone to validate what she already thinks is right. There's no real conflict there, so your participation feels sorta gratuitous. And when you marry her, nothing really changes except where she sleeps.
I feel like she'd have been a more compelling narrative if she was more under her father's thumb, and you needed to help her realize that she has a right to be more than the perfect scientist, that it's okay to want things for herself, too.
Even if that thing is science.
Instead of STARTING with her robot under construction, maybe at the start she's kept that hidden, because Demetrius thinks her dreams of making things that really change the world(like her eventual robot creation) are a childish fantasy, and that REAL science is stuff like what he does, and the way he does it. Water and crop samples, careful repetition, etc. Maybe give him a scene where he carefully and methodologically does water testing and then is like, "And now we do it all again! We'll need to do another hundred samples before we have an adequate sample size. Isn't science fascinating?"
And he really DOES think that. He's not malicious, just set in his ways and resistant to change, even as his daughter yearns for it. In that scene, Maru is just forcing a smile, going along out of duty, not passion.
You can be the one to encourage her to build her robot, to pursue what SHE cares about, not just him. She kinda nervously admits she's been tinkering around with a robot, as if she's expecting you to criticize her: "I know, it's kinda silly, huh?" And you can encourage her: "No, it's really cool! There's more to life than water samples." And she just lights up. "EXACTLY! Dad can never seem to see that, for some reason!" And then she's just like, "Thanks, <playername>. It's nice to know I'm not all alone out here, you know?"
After that, she starts working on the robot in earnest. But this, too, can be a process of growth for her. Like, when she accidentally shocks you - if she's doing this in pursuit of a 'frivolous' pursuit, then it could be a much bigger moment! Because that screwup is because she's pushing boundaries, breaking rules, and it brings out all her doubts in herself. "Ohmigosh, are you okay? Darn it, I knew this was silly, I shouldn't have done this..." And you can reassure her. "Don't worry, it didn't hurt that bad. If it's important to you, then it's more than worth it." And she's just kinda...shocked. Someone cares about what SHE wants?
Along the way, in the process of that self-pursuit, she can realize that she wants more than just that, more than just being a scientist - and that she doesn't think it's wrong to want more than one thing in life. You helped teach her that. She can choose be a scientist - and more. Indeed, that having more doesn't hold her back, it helps her be a BETTER scientist.
And she wants - chooses - you.
Maybe it's because her arc feels very distant and unemotional? I started out with Haley, and her arc was just so great, transforming from this prima donna to the point where she's enjoys getting dirty and stuff, which kinda transforms her work in photography and such. Maru, by contrast, just kinda feels more like a roommate. Even in her cutscenes, she just kinda wants someone to validate what she already thinks is right. There's no real conflict there, so your participation feels sorta gratuitous. And when you marry her, nothing really changes except where she sleeps.
I feel like she'd have been a more compelling narrative if she was more under her father's thumb, and you needed to help her realize that she has a right to be more than the perfect scientist, that it's okay to want things for herself, too.
Even if that thing is science.
Instead of STARTING with her robot under construction, maybe at the start she's kept that hidden, because Demetrius thinks her dreams of making things that really change the world(like her eventual robot creation) are a childish fantasy, and that REAL science is stuff like what he does, and the way he does it. Water and crop samples, careful repetition, etc. Maybe give him a scene where he carefully and methodologically does water testing and then is like, "And now we do it all again! We'll need to do another hundred samples before we have an adequate sample size. Isn't science fascinating?"
And he really DOES think that. He's not malicious, just set in his ways and resistant to change, even as his daughter yearns for it. In that scene, Maru is just forcing a smile, going along out of duty, not passion.
You can be the one to encourage her to build her robot, to pursue what SHE cares about, not just him. She kinda nervously admits she's been tinkering around with a robot, as if she's expecting you to criticize her: "I know, it's kinda silly, huh?" And you can encourage her: "No, it's really cool! There's more to life than water samples." And she just lights up. "EXACTLY! Dad can never seem to see that, for some reason!" And then she's just like, "Thanks, <playername>. It's nice to know I'm not all alone out here, you know?"
After that, she starts working on the robot in earnest. But this, too, can be a process of growth for her. Like, when she accidentally shocks you - if she's doing this in pursuit of a 'frivolous' pursuit, then it could be a much bigger moment! Because that screwup is because she's pushing boundaries, breaking rules, and it brings out all her doubts in herself. "Ohmigosh, are you okay? Darn it, I knew this was silly, I shouldn't have done this..." And you can reassure her. "Don't worry, it didn't hurt that bad. If it's important to you, then it's more than worth it." And she's just kinda...shocked. Someone cares about what SHE wants?
Along the way, in the process of that self-pursuit, she can realize that she wants more than just that, more than just being a scientist - and that she doesn't think it's wrong to want more than one thing in life. You helped teach her that. She can choose be a scientist - and more. Indeed, that having more doesn't hold her back, it helps her be a BETTER scientist.
And she wants - chooses - you.
