“Growing up with a carpenter and a scientist for parents, Maru acquired a passion for creating gadgets at a young age. When she isn’t in her room, fiddling with tools and machinery, she sometimes does odd jobs at the local clinic. Friendly, outgoing, and ambitious, Maru would be quite a lucky match for a lowly newcomer such as yourself… Can you win her heart, or will she slip through your fingers and disappear from your life forever?”
Maru lives with her parents Demetrius and Robin, as well as her half-brother Sebastian who is Robin's son. She has a strained relationship with Sebastian and wishes they were closer.
Maru works with Harvey at the clinic, and both worry that it doesn't receive enough patients. She is also friends with Penny.
Gifts
For an explanation on friendship points/hearts and how gifts increase them, please visit the Social page.
Triggered by walking into Carpenter's Shop. (*Known times:Saturday/ *Time unknown:Sunday ,sometimes after 1PM/ *Monday before 12PM/ *Wednesday after 11AM/ *Friday after 12PM/ *Other days/times are unknown)
Details
As you walk into their house, you find Maru and Demetrius in their lab. Maru asks you to watch a beaker as she has to go do something. While you're watching the beaker, Demetrius starts talking to you about his special little girl Maru. Demetrius states that he doesn't want anything getting in the way of Maru's future "If you know what I mean." When Maru returns, Demetrius tells Maru that he was telling you about the tests.
• "Right, (your character name)?"
• "(Say nothing)" +10 friendship points. Both Demetrius and Maru go back to their work.
• "Actually, your dad was being weird." -100 friendship points. Maru will ask Demetrius what (character name) is talking about. Demetrius will tell the truth and apologize for his behaviour.
Your answer will affect her affection meter (look at Social).
Four Hearts
Triggered by entering the clinic on a Tuesday or Thursday while Maru is working there.
Details
She is surprised by your entry and drops a glass beaker she is holding. Worried about Harvey's response, she asks you what she should do. The three responses below are paraphrases.
• "Just scoop it off the floor. He won't know the difference." -50 friendship points. She will argue that of course Harvey will be able to tell the difference. Harvey comes in after hearing the breaking glass, and Maru tells him it was an accident. He is thankful for her telling the truth, since she is a big help around the clinic. It ends with Harvey asking if the player is ok, since they're looking a little pale.
• "Tell Harvey it was [player's] fault." -20 friendship points. She agrees and tells Harvey once he comes in from hearing glass break he is disappointed she blamed someone else and it ends Harvey saying it'll put them back in red for a month.
• "Tell Harvey it was an accident." +50 friendship points. She agrees and tells Harvey once he comes in from hearing glass break he is thankful for her telling the truth since she is a big help around the clinic, in the end Harvey asks if the player is ok, since they're looking a bit pale.
When Maru tells Harvey the truth, he easily forgives her and praises her for being such a good help around the clinic. Maru is happy that she was honest, but the player character has a tear above their head at the end of the event (unclear whether from sadness or relief).
When Maru blames the incident on you, Harvey scolds her saying that she shouldn't blame her problems on others. This leaves Maru feeling flustered and upset.
Six Hearts
Triggered by entering the area of the map where her house is located in the evening (Appears to be around 9PM - 11:40PM on a sunny day).
Details
Maru is looking through the telescope and is surprised to see you walking past. She offers you to look through the telescope and asks what you see. You have the option to say :
• "A beautiful planet" +30 friendship points.
• "A cold, dark abyss" -30 friendship points
She mentions that she has something to tell you but thinks about it and changes her mind and decides to show you a binary star system instead. Your character feels as if Maru showed you something special.
Eight Hearts
Triggered by entering Carpenter's Shop, when she is not at work.
Details
Maru will show you what it is she's been working on, and accidentally shock you in the process of testing it. The player falls to the floor and Maru quickly gets burn cream. You have the choice of responses which may affect her affection for you.
• "It's okay, it doesn't even hurt." +30 friendship points.
• "You'd better be. This hurts like crazy!" -50 friendship points.
She says that her project is finished. Now she takes you into her workshop (trapdoor) to show you a robot she built to help her parents.
Demetrius follows you and gets scared by the robot Maru activated. The robot wants his freedom so they let her go. Maru will ask you what you think which may affect her affection for you.
• "I'm so impressed with your inventions." +50 friendship points.
• "I'm disappointed... you should have made that robot your slave." -50 friendship points.
• "MarILDA's just a piece of machinery designed to act human." +50 friendship points.
• "I was just kidding. MarILDA deserves her freedom." +50 friendship points.
• "I would've put her to work on the farm." -50 friendship points.
• "So is your Dad okay with 'us' now?" no change in friendship points.
• "(Just stare at Maru and say nothing)" no change in friendship points.
Marriage
Maru's room.
When you give Maru a Mermaid's Pendant she accepts, and says the ceremony will be in three days ( she will sort out everything). Immediately after you go to sleep on the second day, a cutscene happens in which Lewis declares you married (this cutscene apparently uses up no time at all)
You appear back Home after the marriage cutscene with Maru standing on the porch,she says she watered all the crops and put water in your pet's bowl. A smaller version of her old room has been installed in your house attached to your bedroom.
Maru will occasionally give you an item at the start of the day, if she begins the day inside the house but not in her annex. She usually describes these items as things she found in her scrap bin, but occasionally she'll refer to having made the item in her workshop. Items Maru gives you appear to most commonly be either a Bomb, Cherry Bomb or Crab Cakes, but she will also more rarely present you with a Warp Totem: Farm.
Portraits
Timeline
Maru's look evolved over the years the game was in development.
Here's a timeline showing how ConcernedApe's art and Maru's style changed over the years before the game was launched.