Name: Starbuck (meaning: from the river where stakes were got) Nicknames/Aliases: He doesn't like nicknames, as he thinks "Bucky" sounds lame and then some, and it's the most often used. His mother calls him Puddle from time to time, making him blush to the extreme. Gender: Male Species: Water Nymph Age: 29 Birth Date: November 1st, 1984 Birth Location: Maui, Hawaii Current Residence: Sector 9, San Francisco Jobs Held: He worked as a lifeguard through high school and after. While at his first supernatural school, Starbuck worked at a surf shop. At his last supernatural school, he worked as a healer in the infirmary and assistant in the healing classes. He has most recently worked as a certified EMT/Paramedic. Current Profession: staff healer at Sector 9
Physical Description: Starbuck's build is impressive for his 6'1" frame. He has a lot of nervous energy, which he channels into working out, with swimming being his favorite form of exercise. His eyes seem to be constantly changing. Shades of blue, green and grey seem to swim around his irises, adjusting to the light and the colors surrounding him. He has 'boring brown hair', as he would describe it, which is usually kept short and neat, sometimes buzzed. Never having been a fan of shaving, he can be seen sporting stubble most of the time, and a beard grows in occasionally. Distinguishing Marks: He has no physical scars worth mentioning (just a lot of emotional ones), but Starbuck does like the ink. He has five tattoos. The first is of a bull on his left shoulder, which was inspired by his mom and her name choice for him. She said he's been 'bucking' authority since the day he was born, constantly challenging those above him. It was why she named him Starbuck, after the only member of Captain Ahab's crew to object to chasing after the white whale named Moby Dick. His second tattoo is simply the word 'loyalty', and it's inked on his right shoulder just above his third tattoo, the symbol for 'family'. He believes the two go hand in hand, and he's fiercely protective of his family. His fourth tattoo is on his upper abdomen on the right side, and it says 'In loving memory, Bardsley, with me always'. This tattoo he got after his father's death. His latest tattoo he got while at school. He got it after a very bad week in which he fought with Kat (his sorta girlfriend at the time). The three rows of triangles represent shark teeth and are believed to provide protection. He has them draped over his heart, running up his chest and down his back. And, while it's not a 'mark', it is rather distinctive... Starbuck always smells like fresh rain. Objects Always on Starbuck: He constantly carries a photo of his parents. PB: Chris Evans
Physical Weaknesses: Because of his connection to water, Starbuck shies away from fire, his opposing element. Starbuck has a strong aversion to heat as well, which made him a very grumpy child, considering he grew up in the tropical weather of his native Maui, Hawaii. He needs to be exposed to water on a regular basis or his mood and health will suffer. Personal Weaknesses: His temper annoys even himself, and he's been trying to calm it in recent years, or at least channel it in more productive ways. He has a fear of heights of unknown origin. No specific event in his past triggered this fear, and as far as he knows, he's always had it. Physical Strengths: He's gonna live a really long time, he's immune to human diseases, and his injuries heal faster than they would in a human. Magical Abilities: He can communicate with fish and other water creatures (as a result, he's a strict vegetarian). He has natural healing abilities, but they are still not under his control. In the past year he's learned how to heal minor injuries, but major stuff is still hit or miss. When he heals someone the action leaves a faint blue glow on the area he touched. Training: He received magical training in how to use his healing abilities, but it's not a fully developed skill, which is why he's still going to school for it. He's also a talented lifeguard, and has had some instruction in art. Special Skills: Starbuck is at home on a surfboard. Riding waves is easier for him than walking, and he tries to hit the beach at least once a day. He's an insanely good swimmer, as would be expected. He's also artistic. He enjoys painting, but it's a talent he likes to keep hidden, as he is his own worst critic, and he doesn't want others to look at his artwork. It should be no surprise that his favorite medium is watercolor, and he typically paints fish. To date, other than his parents, the only people to receive paintings from him... are Kat, and Wes, a former teacher and tattoo artist. Wes tried to foster Starbuck's talents with a brush, encouraging him to dabble in more abstract stuff.
Personality: Starbuck has really lived up to his namesake. His mother, Kai, an avid reader, was adamant about the name when she picked it, and she refused to accept alternatives offered by her mate, Bardsley. Starbuck, was the first mate to Captain Ahab in the book Moby Dick.
*A passage from Ch. 26: -- Uncommonly conscientious for a seaman, and endued with a deep natural reverence, the wild watery loneliness of his life did therefore strongly incline him to superstition; but to that sort of superstition, which in some organization seems rather to spring, somehow, from intelligence than from ignorance... [H]is far-away domestic memories of his young Cape wife and child, tend[ed] to bend him ... from the original ruggedness of his nature, and open him still further to those latent influences which, in some honest-hearted men, restrain the gush of dare-devil daring, so often evinced by others in the more perilous vicissitudes of the fishery. "I will have no man in my boat," said Starbuck, "who is not afraid of a whale." By this, he seemed to mean, not only that the most reliable and useful courage was that which arises from the fair estimation of the encountered peril, but that an utterly fearless man is a far more dangerous comrade than a coward. --
Indeed, Starbuck has many fears, but he doesn't allow them to cripple him. Whenever something frightens him, he studies it with ferocity. He wants to know everything there is to know about it. If the subject is still a threat, he respects it, and keeps his distance. But often times, he finds there's no real need for his original fear.
Despite his love of cooler climates, he can be hot headed at times. Like many water signs, he is deeply emotional, but those emotions can sometimes overflow, pouring out into some sort of rant or even a violent act. Over the years, he's gotten better about not hitting others, picking fights with inanimate objects instead, and more recently channeling his emotions into painting.
He's an intuitive person, typically a good judge of character. Starbuck is not quick to make genuine friends, simply because he likes to do a bit of a background check on a person before trusting them. However, he is very social person. Starbuck is the sort to know just about everyone, but only genuinely trust a select few. If he has a secret, he keeps it, and he expects his friends to do the same.
He is grounded with deep family roots. Starbuck feels an intense devotion to his family and closest friends. He values them above all other things. For Starbuck, there is nothing that could pain him more than the loss of a loved one, or knowing he disappointed someone important to him.
Family: Wife - Kim Mother - Kai. Her name is Hawaiian for 'Ocean'. The water nymph was born on one of the Farallon Islands off the coast of San Francisco, but spent most of her life in Hawaii. This is where she met her mate, and where she gave birth to Starbuck. She gifted Starbuck with the ability to communicate with all sea creatures. Father - (DECEASED) Bardsley. He is named after a town in Oldham, Lancashire where he was born. Bardsley, also a water nymph, was skilled in healing magics, a genetic trait he passed on to Starbuck. Daughter - Kamea. She is his child out of wedlock. Lani is Kamea's mother. Starbuck had a brief relationship with Lani about a year after his father's passing. But soon after they began dating, Lani had to leave to take care of a friend in need in Japan. She discovered she was pregnant after leaving the island. She didn't want to tell Starbuck by some electronic means, and then tragedy struck. She never got the chance to tell Starbuck herself. Instead, a social worker did. Starbuck was called home to Hawaii for an emergency his mother wouldn't explain by phone, and when he arrived, there was a baby waiting for him. He took her back to school with him, and then took her with him when he transferred to TJS. He's still learning how to be a father, and despite the occasional stumble, he's very good at it. Kamea was born June 13, 2006 (now 8 years old) Son - Reed. He was born on March 13, 2009 (now 5 years old) to his beautiful girlfriend, Kim. Pets - two dogs Artemis and Apollo that he and Kim have had for a few years now
Personal Background: Starbuck was born during a thunderstorm, as fate would have it, on the somewhat brisk first day of November (or as 'brisk' as Hawaii gets). His entry into the world was aggressive and anything but easy, establishing what would be the essence of his existence for years to come. No hospital for this family, oh no, as Kai was afraid of human doctors. Fortunately, Starbuck's father was a skilled magical healer, a gift he passed along to Starbuck. So it was Bardsley who delivered his own son.
The family lived modestly in what could really be called a 'shack' near the beach in Maui. But the 'hut' (as they liked to call it) served them well. Or, more specifically, it served Bardsley and Kai well. Starbuck bitched and complained on a regular basis, from the moment he could talk, actually. It was always far too hot for him in Hawaii. He would sweat buckets at night while sleeping out on the sand near the water, the only relief coming from getting up every hour or so to dive into the surf. He felt at peace when he was swimming.
It wasn't till he was about six years old that his parents explained *why* he felt that way. Starbuck was confused upon learning he wasn't a normal human boy. He'd always felt TERRIBLY normal, tragically so. Once the confusion subsided, he was elated to know he was actually different. It made him feel special, connected to something. And everything started to click in his mind. He'd always thought he could communicate with the wonders under the water's surface, thought he could understand what the fish and other creatures were thinking. And with his new found knowledge of his ancestry, he began to concentrate on the voices in his head, the little messages from his finned friends. His power grew, and soon enough, he was spending the majority of his time in the water, building new relationships. In fact, his best friend was a manta ray, who Starbuck dubbed Henri.
It was during the next several years that Starbuck's parents began to worry about him. Their son was spending too much time in the water, not enough time getting to know humans. Kai and Bardsley both held regular jobs. Kai worked serving drinks at a local bar frequented by tourists with big pockets. Bardsley was a surfing instructor, also profiting off the tourists. They understood the need to fit into human society. At their begging, Starbuck stopped skipping school so often, attempted to socialize more with human children, and when he turned 16, he took up lessons to become a lifeguard. He got his first job, days before turning 17, at a hotel just a mile down the beach. Being young and still somewhat inexperienced as a lifeguard, his job kept him tied to the pool, which he loathed. The smells of the tainted water were disgusting, and the chlorine made his skin burn at times. He'd sit in his high chair, keeping an eye on the swimmers below, but glancing from time to time out toward the ocean.
Starbuck's skills developed fast, and it didn't take long for his superiors to notice his amazing agility in the water. He swam quicker than anyone else, and he was able to hold his breath for nearly impossible spans of time. By the time he was 19, he was finally promoted to beach duty. It was a much more challenging job, but Starbuck loved it. He was good at his job as well. Not one person had died on his watch, and he'd rescued plenty. Some would simply become overwhelmed by the surf and need to be pulled in for a breather. But others were close to death when he reached them, water-logged and unresponsive. He came close just once to losing a beach-goer, a young girl who began to turn blue as he performed chest compressions. What made him nervous was when she coughed up the salt water and started to regain her color, because just under her bikini top, where his hands had been folded for the compressions, a slight blue glow remained. He quickly wrapped her in a towel and told the arriving paramedics to keep her warm, leaving the beach immediately after. It wasn't until he talked to his father that night that Starbuck realized he may have inherited his father's abilities in addition to his mother's. Starbuck was a healer.
Unlike Starbuck's underwater communication skills, healing didn't seem to come easy to him. He tried to make the magic flow through him again, laying hands on an injured sea turtle once, but nothing happened. Then he tried to soothe a cut foot of a surfer, but still no luck. Bardsley said such magic could not be wielded without years of work, but Starbuck was impatient, and he kept trying, making every attempt imaginable to find that blue glow again.
Unfortunately, he couldn't control the magic or make it work by will alone, which became his downfall at the age of 20. Starbuck and his father rarely had the same work schedule. But on November 20th, when Starbuck and Bardsley did have the same day off, they took a trip to Oahu together to check out the world famous pipe waves. Starbuck was a skilled surfer, but no where near as talented as his father. Bardsley charged the waves, gliding through one pipe after another. The man could have been a professional, but he always worried about attracting too much attention to himself and his family, nervous their secrets would be discovered. But as talented as he was, he was no match for one wave. The wall of water closed early, swallowing him. It wouldn't have been a problem normally, as Bardsley was a strong swimmer and had been overtaken by waves before, but this wave pounded Bardsley into the reef, knocking the man unconscious. It was nearly a minute later that Starbuck realized something was wrong. He dropped his board on the beach and dived in, swimming with all his might to where he'd last seen his father. The waves were fighting him, keeping him from moving as fast as he normally could, and panic was starting to make it difficult to hold his breath. By the time he found his father and pulled him back to shore, no amount of CPR would work. When rescue crews arrived, Starbuck had broken most of his father's ribs, and bruised lungs that would never inflate again. He was shouting at his father the whole time while begging for the magic to work. He'd done it before, why couldn't he do it again? Where was the blue glow? He had to be pulled off Bardsley's body, screaming, only to lie on the sand sobbing as the rescue crews left, no sirens or lights on.
The weeks that followed were spent in much the same way, with Starbuck crying and shouting in anger at times. Starbuck refused to go to work, refused to do much of anything but sit on the sand outside his home, watching the waves roll in and pull back. All his life, he'd loved the ocean, felt a connection and love for it, but now he didn't know what to think. How could something he cherished destroy something else so dear to him? His mother was at a loss to explain it, only saying, "Water is everything. It is our very life, and when we pass, we return to it." But her words were no real comfort to him. He wanted his father back. He wanted the magic that had flowed through him before to return and allow him to save Bardsley.
It took over a month, but Starbuck eventually set foot in the water once more, he physically had to or risk falling ill. The sensation sent a chill up his spine. He was revolted and soothed all at once. He wanted to hate the water, but his soul ached for it. In time he came to terms with his loss, and he learned to love the ocean once more. More than a year later, at the 'ripe old age of 22' (as his mother liked to tease), he finally returned to working as a lifeguard. It was then, of all times, that his gift decided to return as well.
Not even a week back on the job, and he once again found himself charging through the waves after a helpless soul. A young man, far too inexperienced to be out in water so deep, was pulled under by the rip current. Starbuck reached him, pulled the man back to the beach, and began CPR. A crowd started to gather, much the way the sweat was gathering on Starbuck's forehead. All he could think about was his father as he pushed down on the man's chest. Starbuck had to save this man, he HAD to. Flashes of Bardsley's face replaced that of the victim on the ground, and before Starbuck knew what was happening, the blue glow started to radiate from his hands to the man's chest, filling it. Most of the spectators whispered and backed up, frightened by what they were seeing. But one spectator didn't back up. The dark haired woman leaned closer, her eyes wide as she watched the man on the ground come back to life, his chest still glowing.
The next few minutes were a blur to Starbuck. The man he rescued was taken away in an ambulance, now breathing again. The whispering spectators scattered. And Starbuck was left kneeling in the sand staring down at his palms which were still a faint blue color. That's when the dark haired woman finally spoke to him. She understood what he'd done more than he had! They talked for a few minutes, before she asked if she might join him and his family for dinner that night. Unsure what to do or even say, Starbuck nodded dumbly.
Over dinner, the woman explained to Starbuck and Kai that she was a scout for a school for people like Starbuck. A school for the 'gifted'. She offered for both son and mother to travel with her there, so that they might find a place among others with such unique backgrounds and talents. Kai refused. Her home was in Maui, but she insisted that Starbuck attend this school, learn how to use his gifts, and return to her when he was ready. Starbuck didn't agree right away. In fact, it was well over a week before he accepted the offer, and even then, he wasn't so sure of his decision. His family meant the world to him, and now that his mother was all he had left, he wasn't keen on leaving her side. It wasn't until his mother told him that he might be able to learn to control his healing abilities and save others, as his father would have wanted, that Starbuck finally agreed.
Starbuck spent nearly a year at the school. He made progress there, but also stumbled a lot along the way. Personal relationships and all their dramatics have a way of distracting a man from his mission. While there, he fell in love for the first time and got his heart ripped out by a woman for the first time. When all was said and done, it turned out to be for the best. It taught him how to heal his emotional scars, and he blames himself a lot less for his father's death. He also understands much more about the figurative heart and all it's capable of. His time spent there also allowed him to progress a bit more in the field of healing. While there he gained the ability to heal cuts and bruises with ease, and began working on more advanced healing. He knows it's a matter of tapping into the energies within him and making them connect with the energies in another. It's a slow process learning how to heal, but he gained more patience in his time spent at the school.
It was while at the school that Starbuck's life changed forever. He was called back to Hawaii for an emergency his mother couldn't explain over the phone. When he arrived after a long red-eye flight, he found his mother waiting for him with a baby and a social worker. Starbuck had a daughter. Her mother, Lani, and Starbuck had had a brief relationship about a year after his father's passing. Lani and Starbuck were very different, but they clicked wonderfully, both in personality and passion. But just weeks after meeting, an emergency arose. Lani had to go to Japan immediately to be with her best friend's family. Starbuck understood completely and wished her well, neither of them having a clue that she was pregnant at the time. Lani figured it out while she was in Japan, but never having been a fan of electronic communication (phone or computer), and feeling this was something better shared in person, she didn't tell Starbuck. The stay in Japan stretched out longer than Lani anticipated. She couldn't leave. Kamea was born June 13, 2006. As the months wore on, Lani found herself making more and more excuses for not going home to tell Starbuck, but a freak accident eliminated the need to keep looking for excuses. Lani was killed in a car crash. It took months for the social worker to track down Starbuck (damn his family for having no last name), and even then the social worker had to wait for him to fly back to Maui. He considered staying in Hawaii and seeking his mother's help in raising the child, but he had so much more to learn at school, so he returned with Kamea.
They weren't there long when yet another wrench was thrown into the cogs. A magical accident destroyed the school. Thankfully, no one was killed or seriously injured, but the school had to be shut down. Students were invited to transfer to other schools, so that's exactly what Starbuck did. He took his little girl, and quite a few of his friends, and enrolled at TJS in the fall.
Starting the fall semester of 2008, Starbuck quit taking classes at TJS in favor of being a teacher's assistant. He helps Wesley with the healing classes and continues to work in the infirmary. He started taking classes OFF campus to become an EMT/Paramedic. But in 2009, Starbuck and Kim decided to continue their education and raise their growing family elsewhere. They moved to Maui and got a place close to his mother's home.
Life was much easier in Maui, and Starbuck and Kim were as happy as ever. When Kim finished her studies in 2012, they decided to take a vacation to celebrate. Leaving the kids at home with Kai, Starbuck and Kim headed to San Francisco for a week. Their trip included plans to visit their friend, Charlie, and his daughter, Maggie. The meet up was strange, because Charlie wasn't able to talk about his job or where he was currently living. Starbuck figured maybe Charlie had gotten involved with the military again, but perhaps in a way that was classified. In a way, Starbuck was right, but it wasn't until exploring the city with Kim that the pieces fell into place. Starbuck's healing skills were suddenly needed, and he ended up saving one of Charlie's coworkers without realizing it. Within hours, Starbuck got a call from Charlie asking if he wanted to come in for a job interview. Starbuck would have said no, because he was happy with Kim in Maui, but she convinced him to at least go to the interview for curiosity's sake. He did, and it lead to his current job as the head healer at Sector 9. The organization had room for a staff psychologist as well, so Kim was accepted. The situation is different, and the two still aren't sure about their new careers or employees, but the money is great, and their children are safe and well-educated.
Starbuck's Friends: - Starbuck's Best Friend: - Henri People Starbuck Doesn't Get Along With: - Love Interest/Wife: - Kim: conflicted (officially his girlfriend as of 10/27/07, and wife as of 1/28/13)
Sexual Preference: Heterosexual Turn ons: mental and physical strength, a good laugh and bright smile, vanilla and citrus smells, honesty, a silly side Turn offs: snobs, inflated egos, drunks, gossips
Important Dates: - Kim and Starbuck play football in the rain - 7/28/?? - Kamea's birth - 6/13/2006 - Starbuck meets Kamea for the first time - 6/29/07 - the first time Kim and Starbuck kissed - 9/24/07 - Kim and Starbuck's first real date - 10/9/07 - first time they got it on and Starbuck asked Kim to be his girlfriend - 10/27/07 - Starbuck tells Kim he loves her for the first time - 12/10/07 - Kim confesses to her past - 4/15/08 - Kim discovers she's pregnant with Reed - 10/18/08 - Reed's birth - 3/13/09 - Starbuck proposes to Kim - 9/24/12 - Married - 1/28/13 -----------------------------------