Splasher

Splasher
Since the play rights for newsies has come out, many people have seen the character list and see a certain name they have never heard, Splasher. Now my theory of why we have never heard about this character is because they replace him with kid blink, who is a character that exists but does not show up on the character list. Now I was in Newsies and played Splasher so here is my take on his life.

description
Skin tone: fair

Eye color: rich brown

Hair color: dark brown, almost black

Destignuishing features: warp on arm, face littered with freckles, always looks tired

Personality: cheeky, sarcastic, kind, smirks way to much, dark humor, only talks a lot around certain people

Early Life
Splasher was born in Brooklyn where he lived a middle class life with his mother, father and younger brother. His real name is William Steele, or his nickname Will. He was very comfortable and content with his life. Splasher had always had a talent for swimming since he was very young and loves swimming in the lakes near their house.

Becoming an orphan
One night when Will was nine, he decided to sneak out the house and go to the lake nearby. Then a storm started and one of the lightning bolts hit the house, setting it on fire. Will tried to go back and warn his family but it was too late, the building was already starting to crumble and the fire department(or whatever they had back then) was too late. He had burned his arm in the process of trying to get to his family. He became an orphan on the streets.

Meeting the Newsies
A few months on the streets and Will’s name was forgotten by his neighbors and his friends. He had found himself in Manhattan trying to escape his house. Will had kept his burnt arm wrapped and the burns had turned to scars, but he kept it covered. He had survived by taking food from trash cans and drinking water from the rivers. He had noticed something while on the streets, a group of boys that sold newspapers that he found out were called Newsies. He never thought anything of them, until one day he found himself alone in an alley one night trying to find some food, when a pair of brothers came up to him. The Delancey brothers. They decided to beat him up and would have killed him, but a couple of Newsies came in and saw what happened. They chased away the Delancys and brought back an uncounsious boy back with them.

Getting the name
He woke up a few days later and was taken care of by Crutchie. For first few weeks he wouldn’t tell them his name but they taught him how to sell papes and eventually was invited to become a Newsie. For the first few weeks they would ask about his wrapped arm and he would turn from a sarcastic happy child to sad and shut down. After that they stopped asking. One day, some of the Newsies met up at the docks and one of the younger ones fell in and none of the Newsies there knew how to swim including the one in the water. Will remembering swimming from his child hood, jumped right in and saved the younger Newsie. He opened he told them that he loved the water and had learned in his childhood and from then on he was Splasher.