[center][h1][color=3CB371]M A N A S[/color][/h1]
[img]https://i.imgur.com/a32AP4I.jpeg[/img]

[color=2E8B57][h3]|| NAME ||[/h3][/color]
[color=3CB371]Manas[/color]

[color=2E8B57][h3]|| AGE ||[/h3][/color]
[color=3CB371]29[/color]

[color=2E8B57][h3]|| GENDER ||[/h3][/color]
[color=3CB371]Cis male[/color]

[color=2E8B57][h3]|| SPECIES ||[/h3][/color]
[color=3CB371]Merfolk[/color]

[color=2E8B57][h3]|| BIO ||[/h3][/color]
[color=3CB371]Merfolk are a people steeped in kindness and love. Their rarity, atop the fact they live in such small clans, means that there isn’t time or space to exclude those that don’t conform. Survival is paramount and, over centuries, merfolk have learned that survival is made simplest through community. Manas is the second offspring of his parents and enjoyed even more love than his older sibling. He was raised to swim, sing, fish, draw, and even tell stories. Everybody took a turn to teach him something and, in return, he was a dutiful student. He happily curled up in the arms of his mother whilst she explained how to take the scales from their trawl, even when she had to pop the organs out. Other times he would swim far from his home with his father, mapping the seafloor and surroundings in his mind’s eye. Exploring the crevices and cliffs under the swell was a time of excitement and wonder at the scale of the underwater world they inhabited. Sometimes he was left alone, allowed to delve into the passages of learned people and progenitors to his gens. The lessons he remembered best were the horror stories of humans, however. Cruel, exploitative hunters that sooner exterminated life than tried to live with it; there was no greater demon to be feared than the people who came close to the merfolk. Survival depended on their never discovering his clan and, true to his family as anything, he knew he would be forced to do his part if ever they stumbled upon him. Despite having gils, merfolk required at least a short period of time a day above the water. It was when they were at their most vulnerable. These were the moments to be most wary and Manas still found the experience fraught with anxiety. He didn’t wish to imagine what might become of any merfolk caught in the nets of humans. It was best he never had to find out, and he had grown very careful with where he broke the surface. Perhaps, not careful enough however.[/color]

[color=2E8B57][h3]|| PERSONALITY ||[/h3][/color]
• Dutiful •
[color=3CB371]Manas was fortunate enough to be raised in a place of love and he takes his responsibilities to carry that forward very seriously. Once he had mastered some skill or talent he rushed to give his wisdom onto those younger than him. He always volunteered to help with raising his younger siblings and took his responsibilities seriously. Nothing was too big or too small and, if sometimes he needed help, he would always endeavour to succeed. Even now, with most of their family having grown to adulthood and the grim shadow of travelling to find partners, Manas had resigned himself to whatever it is his family requires of him. It is his duty and his duty ensures his family.[/color]

• Curious •
[color=3CB371]Manas has always been a sponge for information and new facts. Autodidactically educating himself with everything he could get his hands on lended itself to a calm, unsupposing demeanour that was more concerned with the content of conversation as opposed to its intent. Riling the merfolk was a challenge so long as there was yet more information to be extracted. This also was a danger, however. More often than he liked to remember his father had grabbed a hold of his scruff and pulled him from some odd current he had been trying to inspect closer. The sort that dragged a person down and never let go of them. Or crashed them into rocks.[/color]

• Irreverent •
[color=3CB371]There is no fanfare or pomp in the family of Manas. With a very small social circle and the ignominy of going through childhood in full view of everyone, nobody survives with their arrogance intact. Instead, teasing and playful banter abound to pop any ego that might have developed. Manas loved every one of his family but that didn’t mean he wasn’t going to remind his mother of the time she cut her own hair too short and came out looking a little like a puffer. Just as his younger brother continued to poke fun at the time Manas had been bitten by an eel he’d mistaken for the largest piece of seaweed he’d ever seen. They were as close as anything, especially as they were all very at peace with their flaws and errors.[/color]

• Introspective •
[color=3CB371]Living so close to others has left a hole in Manas’ life. A sense of privacy and his own being that is underdeveloped. Lacking a complete sense of individuality, he spends a great deal of time lost in his own thoughts and trying to consider how he should act, not just how any of his family might. He prefers to take these moments alone or at times when it might be rude to disturb him. Self doubt and anxiety over his identity has left him with a number of questions he feels he might never have an answer to. Sharing this with any of his family had earned some odd looks and he has since been sure to keep all kinds of observations about himself to himself. Better than worrying anyone unduly.[/color]

• Caring •
[color=3CB371]Compassion was taught to Manas from as soon as he could breathe. Even if the lesson was never explicitly explained, he saw kindness in everything his parents did. They swaddled him in love and understanding. When he fell they picked him up and when he succeeded they threw him onto their shoulders and cheered. The delight in being happy and making others happy came as naturally as learning to swim. Whether he was looking after his siblings, delving into a new reef, or even fishing one of the nearby shoals, Manus did everything with kindness at the forefront of his mind. Never destroy a home, never let a creature suffer, and always teach through compassion. Humans caused pain and created fear; Merfolk are not humans.[/color]
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