Dex Fyan

Species - Modified Human (GMH)

Ethnicity - Irish

Nationality - Atlantian (Formerly), Martian (Currently)

Languages Spoken - Atlantian Gaelige, Atlantian English

English Pronouns - They/Them/Theirs

Native Language Pronouns - Siad/Iad*

Gender Identity - Nonbinary

Age - 39

Birthday -September 22 [Estimated date aligned with Earth months]

Occupation - (Former) Atlantis Project Employee, (Current) Repair Scheduler for Reeva's shop

*Siad/Iad technically refers to the plural they/them but is sometimes used to refer to nonbinary folks in Gaelige. In the setting of Sacred Estuaries, Siad/Iad has become the standard 'neutral' pronoun and relies on context as to whether it's singular or plural.

Basic Overview

Dex is part of an old-strain clade of genetically modified humans called 'selkies' that were developed prior to modern GMH laws specifically for the purposes of living on and terraforming a waterworld planet rather un-creatively named Atlantis. When new regulations passed, the previous company in charge of the Atlantis Project found themselves in hot water for allowing the continued production of Old-Strain selkies, and switched to New-Strain as soon as possible. Unfortunately for Reeva and other Old-Clade selkies, the company also saw fit to void their work contracts immediately and move them off-planet so they wouldn't get in legal trouble come time for inspection. This did not work (predictably) and the company went under, then was bought out by a new company who offered very little in the way of support to the now jobless and displaced Old-Strain selkies. only cutting them a check to help them just barely pay a few months living expenses after a long while of back and forth demands.

Dex and their partner Reeva were part of the crew that had their contracts voided, and moved to the Martian Nexus to seek work after realizing that the both of them were too large to work on standard space ships or in standard microgravity spaces. Dex cannot work outside of home for the most part and manages the scheduling for Reeva's Repair Shop Job. Reeva works as a Repair Mechanic for both land and space vehicles, but works solely on-planet. They hope to one day either move back to Atlantis or live full time on a jump-gate station.**

Dex currently lives on the Martian Nexus with their partner Reeva, another Old-Strain Selkie. They are friends with Temiraan and Alex.

**Jump Gate Stations are run and operated near entirely in microgravity, which would solve a lot of Reeva and Dex's joint issues, but they're both nearly 4x the size of the people that typically work on them and would have to be heavily accommodated for, which has prevented them from doing so thus far.

Hobbies and Modern Life

Dex doesn't have an awful lot of physical energy or the dexterity to complete many hobbies due to the way their body is built, but they've managed to figure out a way to adapt a drawing tablet to work with their slightly awkward quadrupedal proportions, stubby arms, and stout hands with short fingers. In addition to illustration, Dex drafts most of the patterns for their and Reeva's clothes before handing them off to be sewn. They also enjoy playing the games that they can manage, especially two-player with Reeva. The two of them have an active minecraft server with a few other displaced Old-Strain gmh friends as well as Tem and Alex.

Dex is also on the local branch Accessibility for All Sophonts [AAS] board and attends meetings with Reeva when possible, arguing primarily for spaces to accommodate much larger folks like Old-Strain selkies and Chenesht on the primarily Human Run colony.

The Two Body Problem

Dex, like most Old-Strain selkies, does not fit within current regulations and standards set forth by the Galactic GMO Council [GGMOC]. This is because the original selkies were never created with the intention to become a proper clade of GMH like more modern strains, but did so anyways due to the time it took (and is still taking) the Atlantis Project to be completed and the need for multiple generations of workers. Over the generations, Old-Strain selkies slowly developed beyond the parameters of their progenitors, and most modern Old-Strains like Dex are now bigger, heavier, and more aquatic than they were ever intended to be. Dex in particular is about four times larger than the progenitor selkie, several times heavier, and is entirely quadrupedal.

In addition to these 'off model' issues, all modern Old-Strain selkies have issues with chronic pain, weak joints, and thermoregulation, having been made to spend the vast majority of their time in icy cold water on a lower gravity planet. Reeva is no exception and has had to make multiple sacrifices and workarounds just to keep working their current job with their physical issues.

Currently, there is a legal battle entitled Selkies v Atlantis Project being slowly fought out in the galactic courts (primarily with oversight from the Galactic GMO Council) in order to give the remaining Old-Strain Selkies better compensation and to ideally let them move back to Atlantis even though it remains technically unfinished given that it's the only place they can currently live without suffering negative physical effects. This legal battle has also tapped into disability law, with many involved arguing that Old-Strain selkies are being discriminated against on the basis of being physically disabled compared to New-Strain selkies. TL:DR on that, it's a massive legal mess and most Old-Strain selkies are really hoping that they get their way so they can finally stop living with intense pain and discomfort every day of their lives.

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