Ok - let's go with the concept/character sheet for the Young Rawiri (this may get amended as suggestions/criticisms are made).
Rawiri Paratene
Species: Human
Gender: Male
Culture: Māori
Subculture: Surfer Dude
Age: 13
Height: 1.7m
Weight:: 75kg
Build: Large
Father: Arana, aged 42. Marine Biologist, specialising in cetacean research, currently working on a project to reintroduce them into the wild.
Mother: Haeata, aged 44. Biologist, specialising in alien lactation.
(Was: Marine Biologist, specialising in cetacean research, currently working on a project to reintroduce them into the wild.)
Siblings:
- Arataki (“to lead”), aged 19? Eldest daughter.
- Currently attending Star Fleet Academy. Academically very bright, seems to have an intricate understanding of systems, which she has channelled successfully into Engineering, where her superlative understanding of the physics behind the Engineering principles has stood her in good stead. She will graduate with First Class Honours in Engineering, with Star Fleet marking her out for rapid promotion. Unfortunately, she was posted to the USS Farragut during its fateful encounter with Nero at the disastrous Battle for Vulcan, where she lost her life.
- Hana (“shine” or “glow”), aged 16. Second daughter.
- Completely unenamoured of the proposed move to "that little barren island" in the Bahamas, she elected to stay with her aunt and uncle in Auckland to continue her schooling. Has a boyfriend, who will eventually dump her and regret it. Not as academically minded as her parents or her siblings, but is just as determined and strong-minded. She has a strong artistic and practical bent and is currently at the start of an ultimately successful career as an artist and sculptor, working in meta-materials such as aerogels and tuned nanolattices. Her art is starting to attract attention outside her college for its uniquely quirky nature, and her burgeoning portfolio will gain her entry into the prestigious Central Saint Martin’s College of the London University of Arts.
Connection with Inagua/the Bahamas: On the 1st year of a 3-year stayover thanks to his parents.
Single-sentence description: The son of marine researchers, Rawiri is a big swimboy athlete who is currently stranded in Inagua, having been abandoned by his sisters, and is just starting to become A Teenager.
Good points: Strong, athletic, powerfully-built. Good keen sailor, surfer, swimmer and scuba diver.
Bad points: Stubborn, prone to throwing his weight around when it suits him. Starting to gain An Attitude.
Description:-
Rawiri's a Māori surfer dude, who’s replacing his lack of surfing in the calm waters of the Caribbean with snorkeling and diving instead. His childhood was spent with one foot in the traditional Māori culture, and the other foot in the modern world.
His Māori upbringing meant that he learned his whakapapa (ancestry) by heart, paddled sea-going canoes, learned to fight (ceremonially) with the mere (short club) and taiaha (long club), and underwent the coming of age ceremony at 12 which included being tattooed the old-fashioned way with a knife carving an intricate pattern into his face with pigment rubbed in. Of course, the tattoo was removed and the wounds healed soon after the ceremony, but the pictures are always there, as is the memory of the pain and of the pride in not flinching at the knife.
On the other side, his childhood included modern music, movies, sailing, diving,surfing, as well as playing rugby, cricket, footie and other sports.
As he grew up, he became aware of his parents' work, and how that took them away from him at times. Finally, this year, the project arrived at the point where the whales were ready for release. The chosen release point was in the Bahamas, and it was decided that the whole family should move for the duration of the project. The two children who were still living at home weren't happy with that, but only the elder, Hana, had an option to stay behind and continue her studies. Rawiri had no choice but to go with his parents.
So Rawiri found himself on Inagua in the Bahamas, abandoned by his older sister who could choose (and did choose) to remain in Auckland, and parted from his friends. To compound matters, the surfing was nonexistent there; too calm to even try. As it turned out, at least the snorkelling and diving was better and the sailing easier. He also found some new friends there.
Rawiri has a skateboard that he takes most places and performs tricks on. He also likes surfing and bodyboarding; the latter when just at the beach and playing about. He'll probably spend the first day in Inagua cruising around on the board, and it will be his normal form of transport in Inagua, as elsewhere.
(Was: Rawiri has a cool powered hoverboard that he takes everywhere, performs tricks on, and is his principal form of transport. It can go over water as well as land, but isn't capable of taking oncoming waves into account, and so would rely on the skill of the surfer to get around/over those. He'll probably spend the first day in Inagua cruising around on the board, and it will be his normal form of transport in Inagua, as elsewhere.) He normally carries some gear with him in a backpack; it normally includes some tools for his skateboard, including a pen knife, sunscreen, a bottle of water (vital in Inagua), some music, and a Net-connected data pad that he has his nautical charts and diving and snorkelling guides, etc. stored on. He has a nice off-road BMX-style bike in Inagua. In Auckland, he would be dressed normally, but out here, he's in a t-shirt, board shorts, beach shoes, and a baseball cap.
Immediate Future
Given his sisters' achievements in the next few years, Rawiri will have a lot to live up to. He won’t turn out to be an academic genius like Arataki, nor a unique artistic visionary like Hana. He will just have to be the best at what he does. As soon as he discovers what that is.
Traits
Māori
- Fight, Hard, Māori Culture, Streetwise
Sporty
- Boarding, Subaqua, Team Sports, Waterbaby, Watercraft
Athletic
- Agile, Endurance, Lightning reactions, Powerful, Quick
Bright
- Academics, Observant, Quick Learner, Navigator
Flags
Daredevil
- Thrives in dangerous situations.
- Key is hit when you do something cool that is risky or reckless.
- Buyoff: Be very careful in a potentially dangerous situation
Overconfident
- Overestimates his ability to achieve tasks set before him.
- Key is hit when you agree to do something that is likely to be beyond your personal capabilities to pull off.
- Buyoff: Carefully consider the task and realise that it's not achieveable by you (or your team).
Buddies with Giulietta
- Most unexpectedly, it turns out that he's spending a lot of time with Joules, diving and sailing, and she's actually quite good company.
- Key is hit when you do something for Joules that may land you in trouble.
- Buyoff: Ignore Joule''s needs.