About

Marie is my main fursona and the main character of THRIVE IN SPITE. They are an artist living in a small townhouse and spend most of their time drawing, gardening, and learning a new skill. They are best friends with Gloria and Charlotte.

Marie is kind, shy, aloof, and optimistic. Creative and curious, they get restless if they haven't made or learnt anything new recently. Their belief in hope and knowlege often drives them to do whats right for anyone, even those they dislike.

Their perfectionism, dissociation, and anxiety frequently causes burnout and unreliablity. They put a lot of work into being a better person and healing from trauma. Nowadays they show a more affectionate, supportive, and honest side to their personality.

Reference Sheet

Appearance

Marie has a fat and curvy body type, and they stand at 5'1" or 154cm tall and weigh aprox. 220lbs or 99kg. They have messy brown curly hair and a short striped tail. They wear casual comfy clothing in greens, greys, pinks, and blacks. They have a permanent leg injury on their left leg causing a noticable limp.

Design Notes

• Ear notch on their left (our right) ear.
• Eyes are brown, with an optional pink flower accent/highlight
• Lips, nose, and paw pads are blue-ish black. Tongue and inner mouth is typical pink.
• Birthmarks on face are not optional, but body birthmarks don't have to be exact.
• Nails are often painted pink or black.

Story

Content Warnings for mentions of neglect, parentification, physical/emotional abuse, and derealization.

Marie was born "Hazel Marie Moody", the eldest daughter of teenage parents who both came from generations of poverty and abuse. Marie's childhood was similarly instable, they were the primary caretaker for their much younger siblings while their mother worked and their father struggled with alchoholism. For a variety of reasons, Marie struggled to make friends, was intensely bullied, and spent most of their time caring for their younger siblings. They felt intensely lonely and did not receive the care they needed.

One day, Marie's shadow came to life and revealed themself as a black binturong named Maeve. Whether or not Maeve was an imaginary friend or something more supernatural wasn't high on Marie's priority list, they were just happy to have a friend that (literally) followed them everywhere. Unfortunately, the bullying only got worse as they got older, so Maeve began taking a more active role - literally taking control of Marie's body to get through confrontations and fights.

Around this time, Marie was injured in a hit and run. Despite being in visible pain, they were not believed by their parents or properly treated by doctors, who incorrectly attributed it to growth spirts. To this day, Marie deals with daily pain, weakness, and walks with a noticeable limp. This only made Maeve feel more pressure to protect Marie, and they developed an intense fear and distrust towards everyone around them.

When they entered high school, Marie felt that they could no longer tell where Marie ended and Maeve began, as Maeve had taken control so often Marie often struggled with derealization. Maeve, consumed by paranoia, began to actively sabotage Marie's friendships in order to avoid being abandoned or even harmed. Despite this, Marie befriended Charlotte, an upperclassman who felt an intense solidarity with Marie and accepted them as an odd but kind person. They even befriended Gloria, someone who didn't initially like Marie but changed her mind once she realized who Marie really was. Marie realized that people weren't the way Maeve thought, which caused the start of a major rift. Marie began to resent Maeve's attempts to stop them making friends.

When Charlotte graduated, the trio got surprisingly closer as they were planning and saving for their futures. They all wanted to leave that small town and find something better. Gloria, who had been struggling with her identity and religious family, began to confide and rely on Marie, and expected to do the same for Marie. This terrified Marie and their dread was swiftly weaponized by Maeve. Marie decided that, since they were the weakest link, they would leave their friends first. After graduation, knowing their friends had gotten someplace better, Marie moved and began to isolate themself.

For the next few years, Marie's mental illnesses (PTSD, a dissociative disorder, anxiety) took over their life. They struggled to work and function, and at their lowest, they fully succumbed to Maeve's paranoid and pessimistic beliefs. However, one day they met their now partner at work, who helped Marie realize that they could try again and that people did care for them even at their worst. At a crossroads on the journey of recovery, Marie finally confronted Maeve directly, finally telling them in no uncertain terms the harm and anxiety Maeve had been causing. Maeve only saw their behavior as protective and even necessary. This caused a huge fight, which finally severed their bond. Marie was left without a shadow, and Maeve was given their own physical body.

Marie left Maeve, and together with their partner, they moved to the city to reunite with Charlotte and Gloria. The trio immediately went back to being close friends again, all relieved that everyone was doing alright and excited for a safe future together. Currently, Marie wants to make up for lost time and become a better person for their friends. They feel immense guilt, but they also feel a lot of hope. They live in a small townhouse and spend much of their free time drawing, gardening, and hanging out with their friends. They are the happiest they've ever been. They've especially become close with Gloria, and eventually realizes that they have a crush on her, though they don't plan to confess or even expects her to feel the same way.

However, Marie's second chance is challenged by the return of Maeve, who now believes that their purpose is to reunite their soul into "Hazel" again. Marie tries to convince Maeve that they can find a place and a second chance too, but they fail repeatedly. Marie can tell that Maeve is holding something back from them, but with their bond severed its as if they are strangers. Marie nervously hopes that everything will be okay.

Relationships