⋆˚ ᴛʜᴇ ꜰɪʀꜱᴛ ꜰɪꜱʜ an indie & selective original character, ʀɪᴄʜᴀʀᴅ ꜱᴜᴛᴛᴏɴ. written and explored by mani since may 2026. ᴀ ꜱᴛᴜᴅʏ ɪɴ : the loss of autonomy. futuristic medicine & the ethics of human test trials. changing against your will. ᴛʜᴇ ʟᴏꜱꜱ ᴏꜰ ᴛʜᴇ ᴘᴇʀꜱᴏɴ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴇʀᴇ ʙᴇꜰᴏʀᴇ ᴛʜᴇ ᴀᴄᴄɪᴅᴇɴᴛ.
heavy trigger warnings for body horror and human experiments.
currently a wip. also found over on @hatigave.
ᴄᴀʀʀᴅ
⋆˚ ʀᴜʟᴇꜱ : don't be a dick. richard is super personal to me, and while he is currently still under heavy development, i am certain he will soon be the prettiest princess at the party.
please see my other blog for my actual rules.
⋆˚ ʙɪᴏɢʀᴀᴘʜʏ : an accident is quick to happen. all it takes is one night shift that drags on too long, and a long blink behind the wheel of a car to see him upside down into the ditch next to the highway. richard originally survives by sheer luck. battered and bruised, he spends weeks in the hospital, recovering from severe injuries. even then, it is hardly recovering.
ʀɪᴄʜᴀʀᴅ ᴅᴏᴇꜱ ɴᴏᴛ ɢᴇᴛ ʙᴇᴛᴛᴇʀ. organs grow tired. soul grows even more so. the ever-changing staff slowly starts to give up on him. ᴛʜᴇ ꜱᴛᴜᴅʏ ɪꜱ ᴘʀᴇꜱᴇɴᴛᴇᴅ ᴛᴏ ʜɪᴍ ᴀꜱ ʜɪꜱ ʟᴀꜱᴛ ʜᴏᴘᴇ. something drastic. something that gives him a shot. he tries to call his ex-wife, but reaches her voicemail for the 6th time in a row.
they don't tell him what they plan to do. not until he's awake during another surgery that feels like being ripped open from the inside. not until he feels like he's drowning while he's lying on the table, flashes of his own blood and organs catching his eye in the reflection of the glasses of ᴅᴏᴄᴛᴏʀ ʜᴀᴡᴛʜᴏʀɴᴇ. renowned surgeon, and hopeful saviour of richard's life.
the plan is simple [ . . . ] ɪɴᴊᴇᴄᴛ ʜɪᴍ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴄᴇʟʟꜱ ᴀɴᴅ ᴅɴᴀ ꜰʀᴏᴍ ꜰɪꜱʜ and other aquatic creatures found suitable enough to be presented to the body of a man on the verge of dying. regenerate. become something never seen before.
richard hates what it turns him into, but it makes him strong enough to survive. ᴇᴠᴇɴ ᴡʜᴇɴ ɪᴛ ꜰᴏʀᴇᴠᴇʀ ᴄʜᴀɴɢᴇꜱ ʜɪᴍ.
⋆˚ ꜱᴛᴀᴛꜱ :
name: richard sutton nickname: rich / ᴘᴀᴛɪᴇɴᴛ 009 age: 32 gender: male sexuality: bisexual nationality: american. las vegas native height: 5'9 occupation: ghost writer & occasional not-struggling singer songwriter who mainly performs in local bars and hole-in-the-wall venues
ᴄʜᴀɴɢᴇꜱ ᴀꜰᴛᴇʀ ᴛʜᴇ ꜱᴜʀɢᴇʀʏ : after the surgery, and the permanent change of his cell structure and dna, richard found that he didn't just want to be near water, he physically craves it. being in dry climates or environments ( such as a smoke-filled bar at the end of a long night ) leaves him short of breath and physically weak.
in order to combat his breathing issues, hawthorne created small slits in the skin of richard's neck and then placed small tubes leading into his artery. the cuts were eventually covered with chemically engineered fish skin, designed to never fully close so that richard could get oxygen out of the water, much like regular fish. ᴛʜɪꜱ ᴇxᴘᴇʀɪᴍᴇɴᴛ ꜰᴀɪʟᴇᴅ, but it left him with a disfigured neck and consistent pain in the skin and flesh there.
his skin has also changed, appearing more oily and slimy than it did before. ʀɪᴄʜᴀʀᴅ ɪꜱ ᴀʟꜱᴏ ᴇxᴛʀᴇᴍᴇʟʏ ꜱᴇɴꜱɪᴛɪᴠᴇ to atmospheric changes. touch, energy, he can feel the smallest changes as they're happening around him.
lastly, his organs are physically misplaced. in order for the surgery to work ⎯ and for the cells to be recognized by his own body, hawthorne partnered with other bright minds to fashion a new organ never seen in humans before. richard was fitted with a swim bladder. this gives him the most discomfort, always making him feel physically unwell and sick.
