Blaugust #01: Marmoris Project

Brief. 'Marmoris' is a narrative project about mermaids, surfing, the beauty of the sea, and discovering a world totally hidden from you. I started work on it sometime in 2022 and like almost everything I do, it's been in an eternal state of pre-production: script writing and re-writing, character concepts, story bibles, and more. I'm hoping to turn it into a webcomic within the next few years, likely with colour but very simple shading. In fact I've really been loving lineless/limtied lineart style drawings/ads/cartoons from the 2000s, something like Stoked or 6teen but more glam. 

Premise. Nei is a high school drop-out who used to be a bit of a local surfing star but hasn't been to sea ever since a traumatic experience in a sea storm. One day, a strange girl is washed onto the shore: she doesn't speak the local language, doesn't understand human behavior, and soon enough makes it known that she's a mermaid! Her mission: stop the Emperor of the ocean from flooding the leftover remnants of humanity (and figure out why he wants to anyway). 

Setting. Imagine a sort-of uncanny half-world that remains after a huge flood/ the results of never ending global warming and rising sea levels. But instead of an apocalypse, people live on isolated, commercialized vacation islands, one of which is Azure Bay. The good life, sporting events, festivals distract people on the islands from what companies are doing in the new vast sea... and what happens to those who are still living in it.

Within the larger world, Marmoris, there are ancient civilizations, mermaid kingdoms, ruins of metropolises, dangerous creatures and more. These places are quite surreal.

Cast. The cast consists of mermaids, half-mermaids, and a few humans. I know high school stories are totally overrated and over-saturated but I kind of can't help it, it's a fun setting.

Neifion 'Nei'. Nei is 17 and should be graduating with his class but for reasons he didn't share with anyone, he dropped out about a year before the story starts. He used to be part of the coolest surfing club, a frequent championship winner, and while he's always been pretty aloof, he was quite popular. Now people think he's a bum and a burnout. He works as a cleaner alongside with Hadrian and lives really far out of town with his sister. His parents aren't around (would it be a dramatic coming-of-age story if they weren't?). He's been scared of going back into the sea ever since he almost drowned during a storm that triggered a lot of the falling out with his old friends. However, with the arrival of Mona he may have no choice to go into the ocean... He also doesn't know that he's part mermaid, but he is. You can see his character sheet, his mermaid form, and listen to stuff I think he would like. 

Monarai 'Mona'. I'm not sure what the actual language of the world is but whatever it is, Mona doesn't speak a word of it. Her arrival is strange, she doesn't leave the side of Nei and Seren and is trying to get them to help her. The truth is Mona is the princess of the kingdom she's from and has magical abilities. She's kind of childish and wants things her way but she's also incredibly kind and believes in justice which is why she came to Azure Bay. She loves humans and human culture and she doesn't want them to become extinct. Here is her character sheet, her mermaid form, and a playlist.

Seren. She's Nei's younger sister though they are in the same class due to her being a bit of a prodigy. She's very smart and always wants to be helpful which sometimes makes her seem annoying and like a bit of a know-it-all but she's got pretty strong defenses and tolerance to jerks. Still, she's very friendly and gives chances to people who are often relegated to being lost causes. When meeting Mona, Seren becomes deeply invested in understanding the world of mermaids. Check out her character sheet, her mermaid form, and her playlist.

Hadrian. The mentor, Hadrian first meets Nei when they are both scheduled to pick up garbage in the same area of town. He's one of the few people Nei trusts, not that he likes to hear his advice. He's 37 and used to surf, he's always kind of been seen as a loser by the people of Azure Bay but he's embraced it at this point. He's fully human and is in danger if the Emperor's future plans come to be, though he doesn't know anything about that until Mona's arrival. He's sarcastic, arrogant but a really great caretaker to the group and is surprisingly responsible. I don't have an up-to-date character sheet for him as of right now as he's undergone a significant amounts of re-designs.

Senka. Resident himbo, he's 18 and held back a year. He's a very nice dude but his naivete has no bounds. Presently he works as a mascot for local fast food businesses. He is often asked to look after Mona while Seren, Hadrian, or Nei are out. Not particularly gender-conforming and does as he likes even when local bullies have it out for him. Has no idea he's part mermaid. Still looking to change his design around and what his mermaid motif should be.

Kiri. Kiri used to be Nei's close friend and ally in the surfing club. They had a huge fight and are now rivals who hate each other. Kiri is always worried about his image and has to appear a certain way to people. In reality, he's pretty insecure and has trouble at home. He has to always win or he feels like he's worthless. Here is his character sheet and playlist.

Kaymi. Kaymi is really bad at being a mean girl but that's what she is. Ever since falling in with Kiri and his group of friends, she's been the resident 'mean cheerleader' type. She does have a huge crush on Kiri and thinks that all this pretense is worth it normally... sometimes she doubts herself. Here's her playlist.

Halos. Halos comes form a noble lineage in his mermaid kingdom and is to be engaged to Mona. He really believes in the royal doctrine and doesn't understand Mona's feelings towards humans and her general mercy to those beneath her. He does speak the local language and is sent to retrieve Mona. Despite not understanding her motives, he obeys nearly everything she says so he stays to help in her mission.

Nero. Nero is a double-agent spy type. He has long lived among the humans and acts as if he's Kiri's friend. But there's someone else he's actually loyal too...

 

 

 

Inspiration. There's quite a few things that have inspired me with varied impact to make this project. The obvious ones are just my love for mermaids, I've always been a huge mermaid fan. I love the terrible graphics of Barbie movies like Mermaidia, I love the story of H2O: Just Add Water and the surfing drama of Blue Water High. I am obsessed with the magical water worlds of Sinbad (2003) and ABZU. Visually, 2000s children's fantasy cartoons and toys have followed me everywhere in life: Winx, Mermaid Melody, Lego Elves (though these are mid-2010s), Disney Fairies, etc. There's a wealth of childhood obsessions manifesting here. Fashion is also something that I should stand-out in my work. When I was a kid my parents owned a lot of Roxy, Quicksilver, and Billabong clothes and accessories despite not being surfers (posers lol) so the style has always been near and dear to me. I myself buy second hand surfing brands, I especially like the rare but very cool old items from French brand, Oxbow. Environmentalism is key to the story and an ever-growing concern in my day to day life.

Notes. So, if this whole post reads like a mess, it's because it is. This project is constantly undergoing re-writes, changes in major plot points, additions and retractions of characters, the works. I feel pretty insecure putting my characters into words because I feel like it's a pretty awful portrait of them but also that's just how pitches work. Overall, there is much that I'm still thinking about that would be too much for just one post (the underwater world, the evil corporation, surfing, etc.). So, do you think this is anything worthwhile or should I abandon ship (fish jokes)? Any and all thoughts are welcome, even if you think this whole idea sucks, please feel free to leave me a comment.