[hider=Aquaman]
[CENTER][h1][color=B0C4DE][b]AQUAMAN[/b][/color][/h1][hr]
[img]https://fanfest.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Aquaman-Comic-Long-Hair-Beard.jpg[/img][h3][sup][sub][color=B0C4DE]Arthur Curry   [color=lightskyblue]♦[/color]   Surf Instructor   [color=lightskyblue]♦[/color]   San Diego   [color=lightskyblue]♦[/color]   Atlantis[/color][/sub][/sup][/h3][img]IMAGE/BANNER[/img]
[/CENTER][COLOR=B0C4DE][INDENT][B][SUP][SUB][H3]C H A R A C T E R   C O N C E P T:[/H3][/SUB][/SUP][/B][/INDENT][hr][/COLOR]
[CENTER][sup][color=lightskyblue]"I’m a blunt instrument and [i]really[/i] good at it."[/color][/sup][/CENTER]
[INDENT][INDENT]With his recent victory over the Brine, Orvax Marius’ Atlantean Empire surges forward on a wave of expansionist fervour. The only bulwark standing between Marius’ complete domination of the seas being ever defiant Xebel. Namor, a captain in the Xebelian Home Guard leads a brutal guerrilla campaign amongst the vast shipwreck fields of the Bermuda Triangle that surround the besieged city state. Yet now with the Atlantean Second Navy lead by the Crown Prince himself no longer tied down to efforts against the Brine, it is only a matter of time before Xebel cracks beneath the weight of the Atlantean military. 

Even as Orvax’s victory seems to grow more inevitable by the day forces still plot against him. One of those force through fate’s cruel irony comes from Marius’ former spymaster Nuidis Vulko. The ex-spymaster having fled the city under the suspicion that his old friend was getting wise on his treasonous activities. Even since, Vulko has searched the seven seas chasing after whispers of a legend. A fated successor of Atlan said to possess his mastery over the water prophesied to save Atlantis in its greatest time of need. And while Vulko chases after legends and rumors resistance continues to brew in Orvax’s own backyard. As a rebel movement lead by the combined efforts of Orvax’s own bastard daughter Tula and the hotheaded young firebrand known as Garth continues to cause trouble on the Atlantean homefront. 

The missing piece to this dramatically unfurling puzzle is an unassuming surf instructor named Arthur. For a brief time the entire world knew about Arthur as the “Dolphin Boy”. Arthur was a scientific curiosity recalled with figures such as Oxana Malaya and Marcos Rodríguez Pantoja, yet while the later two were raised by canids, Arthur was raised by dolphins of all things a fisherman accidentally catching him in his net. Arthur becoming the pet project of a team from the University of California San Diego lead by semi-famous behaviorist Dr. Stephen Shin. The world slowly began to forget about the Dolphin boy, news coverage peaking briefly when Shin's team reported that they successfully managed to reintegrate the child, now a grown man back into society.

Yet Arthur's tale is much more complex than mere scientific curiosity. Arthur's full name is Arthur Curry, his father was Tom Curry the keeper of the Amnesty Bay Lighthouse,  his mother Atlanna the Queen of Atlantis and Orvax's wife. The pair meeting when Atlanna saved Tom's life when he slipped on the rocks slick with seafoam that surrounded the lighthouse. Yet their idyllic life was shattered soon after Arthur was born. Atlanna had originally came to Amnesty Bay as a runaway having abandoned her kingly husband at the altar. Orvax's hunters had after many months managed to track the missing Atlanna down. In the resulting conflict Tom was killed and Atlanna recaptured by Orvax's forces but not before she was able to send young Arthur into the nurturing arms of the sea to live another day.
[/indent][/indent]
[COLOR=B0C4DE][INDENT][B][SUP][SUB][H3]C H A R A C T E R   M O T I V A T I O N S   &   G O A L S:[/H3][/SUB][/SUP][/B][/INDENT][hr][/COLOR][INDENT][INDENT]I have been replaying Dark Souls 3 recently and because of that I've sort of been consumed by the idea of cycles.  There are smaller cycles such as the heroic cycle  that centers around Arthur as the next inheritor of the Clear. The idea of King In The Mountain that comes and goes as the kingdom needs them. Yet my primary focus will instead be on the much larger and in my opinion more interesting cycle of Atlantian politics and its relationship to violence. The question then being are we inherently condemned to such cycles or is there a possibility of breaking them.

This version of Arthur then exists to help approach these questions. His backstory is a synthesis of several interpretation of the typical gambit of Aquaman origins. The first immediate twist is that rather than Tom having raised Arthur, he was at least partially raised by dolphins. This being a reversal of the more traditional narrative were Tom raises a baby that was initially being cared for by dolphins. Arthur as a result is more rough around the edges. His starting point closer to the barbarian-style hero that he became in Peter David’s run. Part of the story then being tampering this wildside into someone willing and able to lead a kingdom.

For my first season my aim is to focus primarily upon Atlantean affairs. The idea being introducing Arthur to this underwater world and have him start to make inroads with the rebels lead by Tula and Garth. Eventually the rebels will win a major battle in the Xebel Campaign with Arthur’s assistance. This giving the rebel faction more legitimacy and an established base of operation from which they could reach out to forces on the land for help. Helping create an avenue for Arthur to enter into the wider world Absolute Comics[/indent][/indent]
[COLOR=B0C4DE][INDENT][B][SUP][SUB][H3]C H A R A C T E R   N O T E S:[/H3][/SUB][/SUP][/B][/INDENT][hr][/COLOR]
[Hider=Allies on Land]

[sub][sub][h3][b][color=Gainsboro]Doctor Stephen Shin[/color]:[/b][/h3][/sub][/sub]
[indent][indent][i]The leader of the team that found Arthur and reintegrated him into human society. A kind of father figure to Arthur and still heavily invented in his development as Arthur’s mysterious case still remains at the center of his research.[/i][/indent][/indent]

[sub][sub][h3][b][color=F5FFFA]Erika Watson[/color]:[/b][/h3][/sub][/sub]
[indent][indent][i]Arthur’s on and off again paramour. (They are currently on an off period) Erika is currently an office in the San Diego Police Department.[/i][/indent][/indent]
[/hider]

[hider=Allies at Sea]

[sub][sub][h3][b][color=Tomato]Nuidis Vulko[/color][/b][/h3][/sub][/sub]
[indent][indent][i]King Marius’ former spymaster partly responsible for organizing the realpolitik that allowed him to assume supremacy. Having now switched side joining up with the rebels, Vulko is now on a search for Atlan’s successor who has believes might just be the key to winning the war.[/i][/indent][/indent]

[sub][sub][h3][b]Garth[/b][/h3][/sub][/sub]
[indent][indent][i]One of the co-leaders of the rebel forces. Garth is a young overconfident firebrand that was initially driven to the cause because of simple revenge. His father having been an officer in the Atlantean Navy that opposed Marius’ rise to power and was killed for his ideas.[/i][/indent][/indent]

[sub][sub][h3][b]Tula[/b][/h3][/sub][/sub]
[indent][indent][i]King Marius’ bastard daughter born through an affair with one of the Queen’s handmaidens. Tula along with Garth leads the rebel forces. While Garth is the leader on the ground Tula is the strategic brains of the operation.[/i][/indent][/indent]

[sub][sub][h3][b]Mera, Princess of Xebel[/b][/h3][/sub][/sub]
[indent][indent][i]The Princess of Xebel and current liaison between the Xeblian forces and the rebels. Her father, King Nereus is an ardant Xebellian nationalists who refused to bow to King Marius’ rule leading to the brutal war that everyone has been swallowed into.[/i][/indent][/indent]

[sub][sub][h3][b]Namor[/b][/h3][/sub][/sub]
[indent][indent][i]Orphaned at birth, Namor was taken in by King Nereus family and raised as one of his own. Having grown up with her, Namor is a  close friend and confidant of Princess Mera. Namor now servers as a captain in the Xebelian Home Guard and currently leads the brutal guerrilla campaign against King Marius’ forces.[/i][/indent][/indent]

[sub][sub][h3][b]Dolphin[/b][/h3][/sub][/sub]
[indent][indent][i]A strange and mute young girl that was saved at sea and given miraculous powers by the water spirit known as Qwsp , Dolphin is Queen Atlanna’s most trusted handmaiden and serves as the Queen’s messenger between her and the rebel forces.[/i][/indent][/indent]

[sub][sub][h3][b]Atlanna, Queen of Atlantis[/b][/h3][/sub][/sub]
[indent][indent][i]Queen of Atlantis, mother to both Orm and Arthur, and direct ancestor to the great Atlan himself. King Marius’ forced her to marry him to give legitimacy to his coup d'etat. Despite her marriage Atlanna still tries her best to aide the rebel forces.[/i][/indent][/indent]

[i]More to be added[/i][/hider]


[hider=Enemies]

[sub][sub][h3][b]Orvax Marius, King of Atlantis[/b][/h3][/sub][/sub]
[indent][indent][i]Orvax began his career as a famed admiral in the Atlantean Navy. Of noble-birth being able to trace his bloodlines back to a tributary branch on the family tree of King Atlan’s brother Orin. Orvax saw Queen Atlanna’s rule as troubling seeing her as too kind to the Atlantean tributary states such as Xebel. Riding a wave of nationalist fervor starting amongst his allies in the military, Orvax seized the Throne and sought to reclaim “rightful” Atlantean land.[/i][/indent][/indent]

[sub][sub][h3][b]Orm Marius, High Prince of Atlantis[/b][/h3][/sub][/sub]
[indent][indent][i]Orm is in many ways the perfect son. As cruel and cunning as he is handsome. What drives Orm forward is the challenge, what he might call interesting opposition. He is a solider much like his father before him and a better soldier at that. As a result, much of his sense of identity and self-worth are wrapped around being a handsome fighter, fantastic skills, cutting wit and stunningly expensive equipment that it severely hampers his empathy for anybody who he does not see as worthy.[/i][/indent][/indent]

[sub][sub][h3][b]Llyra, The Spymaster[/b][/h3][/sub][/sub]
[indent][indent][i]Llyra is Marius’ spymaster replacing Vulko. A cunning and shrewd women. Loyalties mean little to Llyra who instead would rather work for whomever she sees as the winning side.[/i][/indent][/indent]

[sub][sub][h3][b]Krang, The King’s Fist[/b][/h3][/sub][/sub]
[indent][indent][i]Commander of the Atlantean First Navy, Krang is a warmonger that had long served as Marius’ second in command during his military days. Now Krang serves as the commander of Marius’ conquests currently leading the siege of Xebel along with his trusted bodyguard, the abomination known as Orka.[/i][/indent][/indent]

[i]More to be added.[/i][/hider]

[COLOR=B0C4DE][INDENT][B][SUP][SUB][H3]S A M P L E   P O S T:[/H3][/SUB][/SUP][/B][/INDENT][hr][/COLOR]
[CENTER][img]http://i.imgur.com/Shp7Pvp.jpg[/img][/CENTER]
[COLOR=lightskyblue][indent][sub][B]Location:[/B] [COLOR=B0C4DE][I]Pat's Diner[/I] - [I]San Diego[/I][/COLOR][/sub][sup][right][b]Sample Post:[/b] [COLOR=B0C4DE][I]Eggs & Conversation[/I][/COLOR][/right][/sup][/indent][/color][sub][hr][/sub][indent][color=lightskyblue][sub][B]Interaction(s):[/B] [COLOR=B0C4DE][I]None[/I][/COLOR][/sub][SUP][RIGHT][b]Previously:[/b] [COLOR=B0C4DE][I]None[/I][/COLOR][/right][/SUP][/color][/indent]
[color=slategray][indent][indent]Doctor Stephen Shin peered anxiously through the diner window at the dark grey clouds gathering on the horizon. For the third time since sitting down, he opened his briefcase to check that he had brought his umbrella. He sighed flipping the digital page on the newspaper that he was reading on his iPad. Another opinion piece about New York’s Man-Spider. 

The click-clack of heels against tile announced his waitress’ return. The woman held a large tray aloft as she navigated the maze of booths and tables, the large mass of auburn hair gathered on her head swayed from side to side with each step. Drinks continued to disappear from the tray and by the time she reached Shin a single cup remained. Smiling she placed the white mug down.

[color=EE82EE]“Your tea darlin’”[/color]

He grabbed a small plastic pod of milk kept from a bowl on the table and poured its contents into his cup. Shin couldn't drink tea straight in fact he didn't even particularly like tea, but with age, he had lost his ability to stomach coffee and needed another way to please his caffeine addiction. Satisfied, he tentatively took the warm cup in his hands and took a long sip. The entrance's automatic chime made Shin look up and let loose a sigh mixed with relief and agitation. 

Arthur stood at the entrance surveying the room. His long blond hair pulled back into a messy ponytail paired with an equally large beard that while maintaining its shape appeared to be in the early stages of being overgrown. He wore an oversized black sweatshirt that proclaimed “I ❤️ SAN DIEGO” and a pair of ripped white boardshorts. Arthur’s spotlight gaze froze on Shin’s table and his face brightened with recognition. As he made large strides over towards him, Shin couldn’t help but shrink in his seat.

[color=Lightskyblue]“Doctor Shin!”[/color] Arthur bellowed his voice filling the air. He plopped himself down on the bench across from the Doctor, a wide smile on his face. He rested his large elbows on the table causing the table to pitch towards him as Shin scramble to pick up his tea before it slid away from him. 

[color=Gainsboro]“You are twenty minutes late Arthur!”[/color] Shin nearly shouted as he snatched up his tea.

[color=Lightskyblue]“It wasn’t my fault this time!”[/color] Arthur protested, and Shin could only raise an eyebrow at him in disbelief. [color=lightskyblue]“I’m telling the truth! This girl, that I was with last night hadn’t woken up yet, and I didn’t want to disturb her rest.”[/color]

[color=Gainsboro]“A girl?”[/color] Shin questioned taking a longer sip of his tea. [i]And we thought he was going to have problems acclimating... [/i]

[color=Lightskyblue]“She was at the Mission Beach Boardwalk last night and lost her purse. I returned it to her and well...”[/color]

[color=Gainsboro]“Enough Arthur,”[/color] Shin insisted nearly spitting out his tea [Color=gainsboro]“I have little interest in hearing about your sexual escapades.”[/color]

[color=Lightskyblue]“You’re the one that asked!”[/color]

The two sat in silence for a long afterward. In many ways, Arthur was like the son that Shin had never had the time to have. He’d seen the boy grow through the decades helping shape him from a feral beast into a productive member of society. Despite his own paternal instincts, he knew that Arthur did not feel the same way. When their relationship was in better states, such as now, he saw him at best as only a friend, somebody to swap stories of your triumphs in the bedroom and beyond with. The silence was interrupted with the click-clack heels of the waitress returned, summoned back into existence to attend to her new customer.

[color=EE82EE]“What do you want sweetie?”[/color] The waitress asked as she produced her pad and pencil.

[color=Lightskyblue]“Well, I assume you are off the menu?”[/color] Arthur asked with a sly smile.

[color=EE82EE]“Honey, I have kids your age”[/color] The Waitress fired back shaking her head but smiling, nonetheless.

[color=Lightskyblue]“Has not stopped me before”[/color] Arthur started with a smile.[color=Lightskyblue]“Though if I can’t have you, a cup of orange juice and scrambled eggs suits me fine.”[/color]

[color=EE82EE]“One glass of OJ and some eggs coming straight up.”[/color] The women sounded back with a wink as she scribbled the order down on her pad and walked away. The click-clack of her heels fading into the clattering cutlery and hushed mid-morning conversations of the other patrons.

[color=Gainsboro]“Are you finished?”[/color] Questioned Shin as he looked up from his iPad, 

[color=Lightskyblue]“What?!”[/color]

The waitress returned a few minutes later with the orange juice and eggs. Arthur was upon his meal the moment that it was set on the table. Shin’s team had managed to teach him how to use a fork and knife, but they never found a way to tamper the way which he enthusiastically and viciously tore at any food that was given to him. It seemed like two Arthur’s doled in and out of reality in front of Shin in real time. The boy that he had found and the man that he had become. 

He would be hard pressed to imagine that the little boy that his team found all those years ago would become the broad-shouldered giant that sat across from him. Last time they performed a physical on him they found his cardiovascular health and muscle density were on par if not exceeding the levels of most Olympic athletes. It reminded him of a talk given by Charles Xavier about his fabled ‘X-Gene’ at a conference at Stanford. But this wasn’t just a singular gene, Arthur’s entire DNA was slightly off in several areas. The team still wasn’t done analyzing the results yet, but it was almost as Arthur wasn't even fully human.

[color=Gainsboro]“How have things been going Arthur?”[/color] Shin asked his voice taking on a more professional demeanor as he pressed a button to start a recording app on his iPad.

[color=Lightskyblue]“Oh you know,”[/color] Arthur started between mouthfuls of eggs.[color=Lightskyblue]“Still too early in the season for most people to wanna get into the water so business isn't exactly booming. Though I do get that stipend from the state as part of your research, so I'm not worried.”[/color]

[color=Gainsboro]“That’s good to hear,”[/color] Shin responded making a note before continuing [color=Gainsboro]“and are you happy?”[/color]

[color=Lightskyblue]“Why wouldn’t I be? I get to wake up every day with the sand between my toes and breath in the ocean air. That’s a pretty enviable life if you ask me.”[/color]

[color=Gainsboro]“And are you satisfied with your current life?”[/color]

[color=Lightskyblue]“....”[/color]

The silence that followed surprised Shin. The broad shoulders that Shin himself was examining a few moments ago seemed to sag beneath a colossal and unseen weight. Arthur’s gaze turned away from him looking up towards the dark skies above. His seemed focused on an unseen spot amongst the storm front. He tapped his fingers against the table in small rhythmic pulses with no set time interval between them. 

[color=Lightskyblue]“I guess...”[/color] He took a long sip of orange juice [color=Lightskyblue]“I guess I’ve been feeling a pull recently.”[/color] 

[color=Gainsboro]“A pull?” Shin asked unable to suppress the intrigue and excitement in his voice.[/color]

[color=Lightskyblue]“Towards the ocean,”[/color] Arthur explained like it was obvious [color=Lightskyblue]“like I’m missing something.”[/color]

[color=gainsboro]“And you feel that the ocean has that something?”[/color] Shin suggested

[color=Lightskyblue]“Well,”[/color] Arthur thought about it [color=Lightskyblue]“the one thing I do know is... Whatever the hell it is, I’m not going to find it on land.”[/color]

A flash of lightning danced across the sky followed closely by the boom of thunder. The rain came soon afterward. It fell large, heavy, and unrelenting the last struggling breaths of a tropical cyclone that had died at sea. Shin looked out at the window and then down back at his briefcase. Finishing the last of his tea, he rose to his feet.

[color=Gainsboro]“I hate to cut this month’s meeting short Arthur,”[/color] The doctor spoke as he rose to his feet [color=Gainsboro]“but I should really get going before the weather gets any worse.”[/color]

[color=Lightskyblue]“It’s fine,”[/color] Arthur replied.[color=Lightskyblue]“I should be heading back to the beach anyway.”[/color]

Arthur rose from his side of the booth, the table jerking back into proper alignment as the weight of his arms vanished. Next, to the rail-thin and aging shin, Arthur seemed impossibly large. He reached a hand out towards the Doctor who took it in a firm handshake. As soon as the hands made contact, Arthur pulled the Doctor into a hug slapping a hand across his back. When he released the doctor Arthur was now smiling his pensive expression gone. 

[color=Lightskyblue]“Try not to melt doctor.”[/color]

Doctor Shin shook his head but smiled none the less. He moved towards the diner’s door freezing to produce his umbrella. As he unfurled the umbrella ready bracing himself for the journey back to his car, he turned his head over his shoulder. [color=Gainsboro]“And you stay out of the water today! It’s dangerous even for you.”[/color]

Arthur grinned as he watched the old man disappear into the rain.

[color=Lightskyblue]“A little rain never scared me.”[/color][/indent][/indent][/color]
[COLOR=1E90FF][INDENT][B][SUP][SUB][H3]P O S T   C A T L O G:[/H3][/SUB][/SUP][/B][/INDENT][hr][/COLOR][INDENT][INDENT]
[b]The STORM[/b][list]
[*][url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/posts/4895493]01 - Strangers in the Foam[/url][/list][/indent][/indent][/hider]