Orion Sharkfin
Water Blast
Advanced Targeting Hud (Scanner Provided)
Enhanced sense of smell
From the Character Pilot: Orion Sharkfin, or Jaden, is pretty much an experiment of a character that I just ended up loving way too much and a test on what I could achieve attempting to create as close to a shark-anthro character as possible given the limitations of the game's character creator. The whole concept around this character is not too different from my other characters that are shark-themed--it is an attempt to adapt my shark anthro characters in this game, giving them basic backstories that involved some accident that caused a genetic and physical mutation, and from there they gained their various different powers. For this character in particular, she is not created because of her powers but rather her entire theme, identity, and mannerisms were formed before the powers became a consideration. She is portrayed as a minor online personality that obtained powers and uses them for good.
Borrowing a concept from a beloved Virtue player-character, Orion has her own elevator pitch--described as the presentation of an idea in a summarized fashion that could be shared in the amount of time it takes to ride an elevator. For Orion: imagine if a younger Aquaman hung out with Rick Sanchez and performed the same experiment that made Barry Allen become the Flash and she learned how to use her powers like a Waterbender from Avatar: The Last Airbender.
Background
Background
Jaden Osiris was a quick-witted, bright student of Paragon University that earned her degree in Marine Biology with honors. She joined a global conservation effort protecting sharks in their natural habitat along with a few friends after college and once she got back home to Paragon City she began a short but largely lucrative career in internet streaming. As part of a side-hobby, she worked as an apprentice to a man many would consider to be considered a mad scientist who specialized in gene splicing. Despite knowing better, Jaden had taken one night to learn the intricacies of his experiments. Forgetting that she was also carrying a collection of shark skin samples for one of her research projects, when one of the experiments went haywire it caused a catastrophic explosion with her trapped inside. She wasn't found in the rescue efforts so it was largely assumed that she had perished in the accident.
A few months later, she reappeared in Paragon City completely changed, helping a group of heroes overcome a terrifying sea monster in Independence Port. It seemed that her whole appearance had physically mutated, and she had gained the power to harness and manipulate water as well as control over marine life. She had officially taken under her online moniker as her name.
The story of what actually happened that night of the accident is, naturally, far more complicated.
Jaden had always felt as though she were a stranger in her own body. She was born male, and when she gathered up the courage and became old enough to truly express how she felt, to her shock her parents supported her every step of the way. She underwent her transition at the age of 17 with their support, and became Jaden. This was just in time for her to leave home for college, and she had a great time learning things about the world and being around extraordinary beings. After she graduated she dedicated her life to marine biology and the conservation of sharks, but met an eccentric young man named Diego Kraz--who was studying meta biology at Paragon University. When Jaden had heard Diego was pursuing experimentation on gene splicing, she approached him with a request to join and help him as an unpaid intern.
She had an ulterior motive, however--she wanted to utilize Diego's research and findings to try and see if she could splice herself into something different. She wanted to become a meta-human, herself.
After spending enough time learning the intricacies of Diego's experiments, Jaden was finally alone one night for her to attempt to splice genes by herself, but a component failure with one of the machines caused the whole lab to explode with her still in it. With the skin samples she was already experimenting on, Jaden was caught in the blast and thrown into the bay next to the lab. Her body followed the flow of water and she eventually drifted out to sea.
During this time her body was undergoing extreme metabolic and genetic changes. By the time she woke up, she was alone and drifting in the middle of the ocean. She figured she had woken up in a nightmare scenario until she discovered her uncanny ability to swim and breathe underwater for long periods.
The rest of this story is where it gets interesting; while exploring the depths of the Atlantic Jaden had come across a small underwater civilization of shark-people--unlike the Coralax, these were more of a reclusive species calling themselves Shiksen. Theirs was a matriarchal society comprised of females that took Jaden in and taught her their ways. She was with them for a year while learning how to control the flow of water around her in ways that she could defend herself with. They had essentially taught her how to Waterbend, mixing a form of martial arts almost precisely similar to Tai Chi to manipulate water. Through them she was also able to learn how to communicate with sea creatures. It took Jaden a year to become proficient at this, and before she had chosen to go back to Paragon City her master offered to continue her training whenever she felt ready for it.
Once back in Paragon City Jaden was able to put her skills to work quickly. Not long following her return a massive sea creature appeared, terrorizing Independence Port requiring many heroes to respond to calls for help. With her skills she was able to coerce it to stop just long enough for fellow heroes to subdue it and return it to sea. After she had made her mark she began to frequently patrol, tending to stick close to areas with an abundance of water or direct access to water as she was most helpful when dealing with creatures from the sea.
Appearance
Appearance
While Jaden Osiris was formerly a Caucasian human, the accident seemed to have mutated her physical appearance by fusing her with the DNA within the shark samples she was carrying to an even greater degree than, say, Static Shark--a superhero who was a colleague and who also, coincidentally, was involved in an accident in which their body was mutated to a lesser degree to take on the partial appearance of a shark. Her skin was changed to be more gray and feel almost sandpaper-like to the touch. The biggest, noticeable change of her appearance was the presence of an elongated snout where her nose and mouth used to be, and curling her lips open reveals sharp, razor-like teeth. She also possesses a set of gills that are on both sides of her ribs, underneath her breasts, which enable her to breathe underwater for extraordinarily long periods of time. Otherwise, her body is humanoid--without there being any otherwise anthropomorphized characteristics, such as there being a lack of animalistic legs, a tail, or claws.
Personality
Personality
Some might assume that she would behave like a Coralax due to her appearance, but despite undergoing the physical changes as a result of her mutation Jaden is an otherwise upbeat, carefree, and easygoing person who's oddly sociable and outgoing. While her morality might be questionable when it comes to problem-solving, she does what she does out of compassion for other people. She does, however, tend to get carried away when dealing with people of ill repute--often being brash and upfront.
Powers
Powers
Orion has the ability to control and manipulate water through the relaxed but complex motions of Tai Chi; she is capable of utilizing the natural moisture in the air and in her body to generate streams of water that she can then use to defend herself against foes, and support and restore vitality in her allies. This ability is further amplified if she is near any source of water--be it streams, puddles, ponds, fountains, rivers, or an entire lake.
She has further telepathic control over sea creatures, but is not capable of bringing them on-land. She, instead, is able to manifest and project liquid forms of aquatic wildlife when she forms condensed pools of water. These aquatic projections completely emulate their real counterparts--a piranha bites just as hard, a shark can be just as voracious, and schools of big fish can cause blunt force trauma if directed properly.
She uses these powers defensively, using them to misdirect oncoming blows and to avoid being struck. A wall of liquid is capable of either slowing down or completely stopping bullets depending on how deep the wall's structure is formed. She is also able to use her formed streams to heal injuries--she is, however, unable to restore someone from near-death.
Weaknesses
As most super-powered beings do, Orion has herself a few weaknesses that can sometimes impede or completely debilitate her.
Her powers require an almost-total uninterruptible access to a source of water, otherwise she is unable to weave together the flow of it consistently for long periods of time. Sometimes she will have to carry a small bottle or container of water on her, which might impact her ability to help others if she is constantly worrying about it and that water eventually runs out. She is able to use the natural moisture of her own body to this end, but will requires spending a considerable amount of time resting and rejuvenating if she is forced to do so.
Her mutation aside, Orion is still very much a human underneath the shark skin. Although her body is resistant to damage, she is not completely invulnerable. Her costume is lined with material to prevent fatal stab wounds but cannot protect her against bullets or blunt force impacts.
Costume
Costume
Jaden is a big fan of the classics--At its base, her costume is just a full spandex body sleeve with a leotard worn on top of it. The bodysleeve comes in two portions for her upper and lower body, separately. The rest of her costume is considered optional but picked mainly for aesthetic reasons; she wears gloves that have angled fins designed into them, a set of shoulderpads that offer some protection, and a pair of thigh-high boots with tall heels. She also wears a cape by choice. Variations include wearing just the leotard itself, while wearing the boots, and while wearing a cape.
The general idea of the costume will remain the same with variations. Currently experimentation is being done with a bolero and puffy sleeves.
As part of her costume she's always seen wearing a wide-band scanner across her face and what looks like a cybernetic jaw that is actually just an elaborate, cosmetic piece of her mask strapped just underneath her chin. The "scanner" is actually a pair of mixed-reality goggles powered by an advanced battery that allows for 24/7 usage as long as she is not playing games on them. She does not use it for much more than having access to the internet on her face that she can manipulate using the device's built-in look-down tracking for her hands. She can configure it to give her a heads-up display but has not bothered, opting only to use its built-in thermal, infrared, and night vision modes during situations they might be useful.
What is her Icon/Symbol/Emblem?
Orion uses the logo that she has been using as a streamer/internet personality for several years--a "powered-on" Letter O stylized as a power symbol. Much like her choice of name, her logo does not represent her powers in any way, shape or form--in fact, it might be considered antithetical to her abilities as she is unable to conduct electricity.
Affiliations
Affiliations
A particular thing to note is that Jaden has met *a lot of* shark-like people similar to herself, among many others. Many of them take the appearance of a race of sea-dwelling shark-people called the Shiksen.
Allies
Static Shark
Relationship: Close Friends
Jaden is close friends with the person behind Static Shark, a fellow shark conservationist named Cassie Brennar. They both took up mantles to help protect and defend the weak and partner up in many different missions across the city. While they are not the only individuals who each have had accidents that mutated them into walking sharks, the two share a common bond by working on the same research teams and working on the same projects since college. Jaden had also dated Cassie for a period of time but they have since split up while remaining friends.
Static Shark is also played by Orion's player on a different account.
Enemies
Red Thresher
Relationship: Actively Hostile
Petra Stovanovich; serial arsonist, convicted murderer. Once thought to have been executed by the Russian state for crimes against humanity, she turned up and made herself known to the world in Paragon City by associating herself with Arachnos, and conducting strings of arson and murders. She possesses a mutation similar to Orion's, and a more actively combative style that harnesses fire. She's quickly become Orion's arch-nemesis.
The People In Between
Jaadeni
Relationship: It's Complicated
As described by Orion, a rather troublesome individual--a hellspawn that was summoned to perform a dark rite but ended up not doing so out of boredom. Jaadeni walks a very fine line between good and bad, usually finding herself in fights against heroes and vigilantes just for the simple fact that her idea of "helping" usually ends up putting people in hospitals, or worse. Orion has had to try to help put a stop to her antics quite a bit to the point that Jaadeni has leveled an unhealthy obsession towards her.
Jaadeni is also played by Orion's player on a different account.
New Glory
Relationship: Contentious
Orion isn't sure what to think of this one--whenever they meet, it seems the star-spangled Eagle does more harm than good. The vigilante named New Glory dealt personal justice to the mean streets of Paragon City in a way that Orion just couldn't abide by--by lethally fighting her foes and putting them in the ground with ruthless efficiency. They ran into a disagreement when Orion put herself in between New Glory and a group of incapacitated criminals that needed to be brought in for questioning. New Glory just simply believes Orion is terribly naive and the kind of person that would be responsible for other people dying for the sake of their own morality.
New Glory is also played by Orion's player on a different account.
Evolve/Hope
Relationship: ????
Orion wouldn't consider this an "in-between" so much as, "I have no idea." She met Hope in Pocket D while they were having a conversation amongst a group of patrons. There was some playful flirting. While Orion is certain it's all just for fun, they've each agreed to have at least one spar with each other for fun. She isn't sure if Hope means for it to go further than just that but is just along for the ride regardless.
Super Groups
To be determined.
Notes
Notes
Jaden was born male and transitioned at the age of 17 with parental support. She accepted very early on in her adolescence that she didn't feel comfortable in her own body, which made the decision all too easy to make after she had explained it to her parents. Several years of "getting comfortable" were spent being tormented by other kids for simply being different. After she had gone through with her transition she had finally felt as though she were home.
Jaden listened to a lot of music when growing up but resonated more with Trance, Hardstyle, and Power Metal in particular.
Even from an early age Jaden had always been fascinated with sharks and made it a life's goal to work around them.
Jaden will play anything and everything under the sun that she can get her hands on.
Stories
This section is intended to be filled out with Wiki articles of fiction surrounding Orion Sharkfin.
OOC Information
Orion Sharkfin is an online moniker, not necessarily a superhero name. This character was originally meant to be used for the sake of making a tutorial video on how to make Influence when starting out as a fresh level 1 in City of Heroes.
"After some days of development they quickly and eventually became my best and most favorite concept."
-@or10nsharkfin2
Orion is the first-ever character the player has ever hit Veteran Levels and filled out Incarnate slots with, cementing their place as the main toon of the player's two accounts.
The Scanner costume piece never comes off. This is because Orion is using the "Grin" costume face due to how it shapes the nose as if it were a rounded snout. This also comes at the cost of it being a skull with a wicked grin and no eyes.