Couldn't get the idea of him riding a motorbike in his younger years out of my head
Bike is an early Honda Fireblade, good bike, nimble and quick for slipping through traffic on the way to missions, did take a couple of liberties with the design though
In another life perhaps he'd be one of the geezers who'd go "ah yes when I was younger...[40 minute spiel]" to the young bikers he sees around, but alas his job does not allow him that.
Possibly best as a separate post I wonder, since it's a bit long and technological issues plague me
The promised followup to the image I posted last night!
Merman Cecil AU
- At its core, the workings of this AU are not all that far removed from canon, just with particular emphasis on non-human earth sapients (we've already seen Atlanteans, demons, and various monsters capable of communication)
- The GDA occasionally works with creatures like merfolk, and of course 'deals with' them when it's in humanity's best interest (All the fishing disputes and all the drownings! Merfolk are occasionally caught as bycatch, or get damaged by propellers amongst other things, and humans on surfboards can very much be mistaken for seals, so relations are pretty tense)
- GDA as in canon does do a lot of good, but also as in canon, questionable ethical decisions are also very much a thing
- Cecil was one of these merfolk working alongside the GDA in the past. As in the main timeline, Cecil is smart and capable, a fantastic asset to have, but also in possession of a worldview quite different to Radcliffe's at times
- It is due to this that, as you may be expecting, a couple of humans met their end
- Would Radcliffe have rehabilitated Cecil in this AU? Is a genuine question
- No matter the answer, imprisonment for merfolk is tantamount to torture (especially by humans, their 'care' requirements just cannot be met)
- No matter whether Cecil realised his wrongdoing immediately, it'd be against his species' very nature to let himself be confined (bro can self-flagellate elsewhere, just please not in a tiny holding tank)
- Knowing this, and knowing that he will not simply go unpunished when he realises Radcliffe is after him, Cecil flees
- A high-profile criminal escaping is a massive stain on reputation and superhuman society's trust in the GDA, so resources are invested in hunting him down
- Fortunately for Cecil, the ocean is vast, and Cecil is Cecil, so he continues to evade the GDA for many years (this Might just be because I wanted to draw him balding and greying)
- Since he's just so slippery, expenditure towards his capture dwindles over the years as it's simply impractical, but they do take potshots at him when they can
- He's a living legend at this point, many recruits wanting what they consider a cheap fast way to get stars on their chest dream of being the one to take him in
- Donald in this AU is fairly unchanged, very much in the same No.1 position as we know him, has died many times in the line of action, brought back just as many times due to how indispensible he is in his general position. He has so much blood on his hands, and so much of his blood has been spilt in his endeavour to save others. So not much changed there!
- Donald has no real personal stake in what the GDA has going on with Cecil, he's just steadfastly doing his job in the steadfast Donald way
- Cecil has very much matured over the years, definitely no longer as hotheaded, perhaps just a little bit tired
- Which is why, when Donald one day slips up, and stands just a little too close to the edge of the boat with improper gear...
- But yeah they probably form a wary allegiance somehow, grow closer to each other in trust over the job, and then pine after each other forever. (Or not, the world is vast and free) I refuse to think this far ahead in this economy
A little bit on the weapon Donald is holding:
I needed something that would level the playing field just a little, Donald is a capable person and I doubt he'd get caught with his pants completely down so to speak.
A gun would be an obvious pick, but unsure how much use that would be to immobilise a merman, since they're considerably larger than humans and are covered in tough armour. You could consider the human part as a potential weakness, but the major organs would perhaps be located mainly in the better protected fish part, including perhaps enough of the CNS to make a dead merman twitch and thrash very dangerously if not properly dealt with. (Human part may not even be in very much keeping with traditional human anatomy at all, especially since it'll need to withstand huge amounts of pressure)
I ended up drawing in a harpoon based on paleolithic designs, with an embedded capsule of a toxin engineered to paralyse or make movements sluggish, which diffuses into the merman when slashed or impaled through the capillaries in the head of the harpoon. They should be fairly simple to produce and use, like a particularly injurious fountain pen, with a "stick 'em with the pointy end" methodology that's quite practical when an opponent is suddenly a lot closer than one might like.
I might have more thoughts on this, but duty calls for now unfortunately
Thank you for reading this far if you have! Doncil my beloved how they haunt me. Very much made the art piece purely because of the time of year, but would actually like to explore it further, and will always be open to questions if you have them
