Name: Armaria "Mars" Dias
Pronunciation: 'are-mar-ee-ah'
Age / D.O.B.: 25- November 23, 1997
Gender, Pronouns & Sexuality: cis woman - she/her - bisexual
Birthplace: Aurora Bay, California
Current Home: Aurora Bay Drive
Languages: English & Portuguese
Height: 5’7”
Relationship Status: Single
Children: None
Positive traits: Dependable, Easy-Going, Humble, Affectionate
Negative traits: Untidy, Reckless, Melancholic, Restless
-Bio
Aurora Bay born and bred; her father a mechanic at a local auto-shop, Armaria had a wonderful childhood. The only blip on the otherwise happy radar the year when her mother left them. She had been five and while she had cried at the time Armaria never found herself missing her after the fact. Her father filled in for all parent-required activities, active and engaged in his daughter's life. It was more than a lot had and she was grateful.
Her father's job as a mechanic gave her an early fascination with cars. By the time she was thirteen Armaria could change a transmission almost completely without help -the heavy parts still required assistance from dad- and could recite the names of the world's top drivers each year running. Car magazines littered her bedroom and when combined with her tom-boy style often meant that she was teased by her classmates. Not that Armaria cared. A loving father and a shop full of mechanics who adored her raised a confident young woman.
With dark hair and tanned skin from her Brazilian roots Armaria or Mars as her few friends had taken to calling her, was a knockout. If anything her constantly grease-stained fingernails only leant further credence to her good looks. It wasn't until high school that boys began to want her attention. Sure they were okay looking and fun to talk shop with, but they never captured her interest for long. The person who would catch her interest didn't appear until her sophomore year.
Harley Hua was Armaria's first real crush. His (he had not yet transitioned at this time) features were nice to look at but more importantly Mars felt like she could be herself around the other teen. No one outside of their close circle of friends new about the relationship, it was a secret per Harley's request. This could have led to resentment on her part but Mars liked that they were their own little world. To the outside they were simply best friends but within the confines of their own space they shared a love and understanding that went deep.
A party was thrown in Mars' honor when it finally came time to get her license. The test was passed with flying colors and her father had even gifted her a car they'd spent the past year working on together. Everything inside the engine had been upgraded and customized. Her first time driving it down the coast is when her need for speed began. Like an addict Armaria took the car out as often as she could. In the beginning the races were just against other high school kids, but a youtube video that got around made its way to another type of club in a city outside of Aurora Bay. Her fist forray into true street racing.
Invited to an event Mars dragged Harley along, ignoring their protests about safety the entire time. Everything would be fine. It was just a little race. Though plain Armaria's car placed her in first by a landslide. She was hooked. Her racing became a constant argument between her and her father. He worried about the crowds she hung out with, the potential for being arrested, and most importantly her safety. Street racing was regulated like the pros, there was no protection, just a driver and their car. So when the opportunity to go pro presented itself as she was about to graduate, she jumped at it. A chance to earn money doing what she loved in a way that would please her father.
The downside? She would have to leave Harley. He still had another year of high school to finish and she would be busy in LA and on the circuit trying to make a name for herself. The breakup was perhaps the hardest thing she had ever done. Harley was her heart. But the alternative wasn't fair to either of them. After the initial wounds of the amicable breakup had healed, the two stayed in contact. And as Mars' fame grew, Harley began to receive invites to events and other racing related activities, his stay covered by the money she made from sponsors.
At age 24 she was a formula one racecar driver, having earned the title two years before. The beginning of the height of her career.
Crash. Fire. Pain.
Somehow Amaraia managed to walk out but everything for the next two weeks after was a blank slate. A defect in her racing suit had caused the flames to eat at her skin, the flesh of her side a large, painful burn. Combined with whiplash and a broken clavicle, Mars' career was put on indefinite hold.
At first Harley was there for her through the bandage changes and painful debriding. Even morphine wasn't enough to help the pain. Her friend's smile was a comfort... until it wasn't. Two months into her recovery Mars banished Harley. A screaming match of epic proportions that left her throat raw and chest heaving. Nothing mattered other than recovering enough to get back behind the wheel of a car. Some six months later and the physical injuries had healed to a point where she could function. She was ecstatic to get back into the driver's seat.
Only to find she couldn't. Overwhelmed with panic and fear, PTSD her therapist would later say, Mars couldn't make herself go. With enough help and a lot of golf-cart lessons she could finally manage to drive her fathers Hyundai but even then anything over 40 set her on edge. Her career was over. Ruined before it had truly had a chance to begin and Armaria was left empty. LA only held reminders of what could have been. What she needed now was home. The town in which she had grown up.
Her father had moved to LA with her at the start of everything. Now he had a booming business he could not leave and a new-wife that made him beam. Mars knew she could never ask him to leave and so decided to head out on her own. It was her last night in LA that the bomb dropped. She had a brother. Before her mother had married her father she had been in a relationship with another man and had a son, Jake. For her sake her father had kept track of her brother's movements through the years by way of private investigator. He was now in Aurora Bay. Her father urged her to seek him out, so that she might have family in her hometown once again.
It has been two weeks since she moved into town on the heels of a hurricane. The home she had purchased for herself in Aurora Bay Drive had been destroyed, leaving her stranded in a hotel as she began her job at Aquatica Aquarium. Being around the animals helped to relax her, and the sometimes necessary swimming that was required helped with her still aching muscles, a pain that never truly went away. As settled as she can be in the face of everything, its time to seek out her friend to make amends and introduce herself to a brother she's never met.
-Facts
Mars suffered burns on her side as a result of the accident. While many people would be ashamed of their burns she doesn't try to hide them. They're a reminder of the life she loved and secretly hopes she can one day get back to.
Driving is difficult for her. She secretly sits behind the wheel of her car sometimes and just cries because she misses racing so much.
Has only had once serious relationship (Harley) her entire life. After high school she became consumed with her career. Several others tried to get her attention but she only finds attraction when there is that spark of a deeper emotional connection.
Loves the water. A lot of her physical therapy included laps in the pool to help ease the pain in her shoulders and neck. As a kid she loved the beach and now as an adult post-accident she finds the same comfort in it that she did as a child. Her house on Aurora Bay Drive backs right up onto the beach.
-Connections
Current
@jake-hudson Is her half brother that doesn't know she exists
High school relationship and best friend @harleyhua
Possible
Fans: Anyone who supported/watched Mars when she raced. They could have followed her from the beginning when she street raced or started to watch her after she went pro.
Sea-Friends: A connection with another character who has a vast love of the water. They could explore and study the ocean together, go on sea-creature saving missions, whatever seems fun!
Trauma-Bonding: Your character and Saylor bond over their respective traumatic incidents. The way they meet and what leads to the bonding is totally up for discussion. Will take more than one connection for this
Anything else we can think of!
