Maru

Maru is a villager who lives in the Mountains north of Pelican Town and is one of the twelve marriage candidates. She lives with her family in the house attached to Robin's carpenter shop, and her appearance changes at work: in the Social Status menu, she wears a nursing uniform while she is at Harvey's clinic.

Maru works as a nurse at the clinic on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and she also keeps up with her scientific interests at home. After marriage, she moves into the farmhouse, adds her own room to the right of the bedroom, and sets up a small outdoor work area behind the farmhouse where she sometimes works on gadgets. She continues visiting the clinic on Tuesdays and Thursdays after marrying the player.

Her daily schedule varies by season, weather, and special events. On regular days she often stays in her room in the morning, uses the lab in her home, and later sits on benches near town before heading home at night. On rainy days she tends to remain indoors longer and may spend time in the house’s store area and lab. If the Beach Resort on Ginger Island is unlocked, she may randomly spend the day there, but she never visits on Tuesdays, Thursdays, or festival days. On her first Green Rain year, she stays in Sebastian's room all day. She also has special schedules for the Desert Festival, and on Spring 16, after bus service is restored, she rides to the Calico Desert for the festival.

Maru is closely tied to several townspeople. She lives with her parents, Demetrius and Robin, and her half-brother Sebastian. She has a strained relationship with Sebastian and wishes they were closer. She is friends with Penny and is often seen sitting with her on the bench south of the Saloon. She also works with Harvey, and both worry that his clinic does not get enough patients. At the Flower Dance, she will dance with Harvey if the player is not dancing with him.

Maru has a broad set of gift preferences. Her universal loves include Battery Pack, Cauliflower, Cheese Cauliflower, Diamond, Dwarf Gadget, Gold Bar, Iridium Bar, Miner's Treat, Pepper Poppers, Radioactive Bar, Rhubarb Pie, and Strawberry. Universal likes include Chanterelle, Copper Bar, Iron Bar, Magma Cap, Morel, Oak Resin, Pine Tar, Purple Mushroom, Quartz, and Radioactive Ore, while her universal neutrals include Daffodil, Dandelion, Ginger, Hazelnut, Leek, Wild Horseradish, and Winter Root. She universally dislikes Blackberry, Common Mushroom, Crystal Fruit, Maple Syrup, and Salmonberry, and hates Holly, Honey, Pickles, Snow Yam, and Truffle. She also loves the movies Natural Wonders: Exploring Our Vibrant World and Wumbus, and she likes most concessions except Black Licorice, Joja Cola, and JojaCorn; her favorite movie snacks are Star Cookie and Stardrop Sorbet.

Maru can occasionally request an item through the Help Wanted board outside Pierre's General Store. Completing the request rewards three times the item’s base value and 150 friendship points. She also has unique marriage dialogue and rainy-day gifts: after marriage she may hand over useful crafted items such as Warp Totem: Farm, Quality Fertilizer, Refined Quartz, a Gate, or a Bomb, and on rainy nights she may offer desserts such as Rice Pudding, Blueberry Tart, Cookies, or Chocolate Cake. If she stays indoors all day, she may give the player items from her scrap pile, including Cherry Bomb, Bomb, Fried Mushroom, or Crab Cakes.

A few details stand out about her presentation: her portrait shows her wearing glasses even though they are not visible on her sprite, and three of her portraits have no nurse-uniform equivalent, so she uses the surprised portrait when those expressions would normally appear.