Arthur Snow

Captain Arthur Joshua Snow, more commonly known as Artoo the Arctic Fox (Navy ID No. R2-75-67), is one of the main protagonists of the Foxtrot: Foxes in Arms series. He is an animatronic arctic fox who currently serves as a high-ranking officer in the United States Navy and is considered a pioneering figure within naval history pages. Arthur is more of a no-nonsense type of guy when it comes to naval warfare, but he's trusted to do what's right when the going gets tough. Needless to say, Arthur is considered a valuable asset to any military team.

Physical Appearance
Arthur is an animatronic fox about the size of an average human male. He has white fur covering most of his body with some blue fur over his front torso, the tip of his tail, and his wrists and ankles (in the form of rings/stripes). Arthur has peach skin on his ears and on his muzzle, though new concept art depicts him with white fur on his muzzle with three fur tufts. Arthur's build is a bit on the slimmer side, but he is still "in perfect physical health."

Arthur has three tufts of fur on each side of his head and hair in the form of two bangs, and as he gets older, he starts to sport a ponytail. In terms of attire, Arthur commonly wears a necklace or a navy blue t-shirt on many occasions. He can also have a full USN dress uniform for formal reasons and a Navy-issue jacket over the t-shirt.

Early Life
Arthur was born on November 9, 1980, in the port city of Norfolk, Virginia. As he grew up, Arthur ended up showing a great deal of responsibility and maturity, especially compared to other boys his age at the time. He was always that 'nerdy' kid, but he was easy to make friends with despite that. He would also form an unbreakable bond with his younger brother Sewell, who was born three years after Arthur had been.

A significant difference between animatronics and organic animals is aging acceleration, but not by much. Arthur was still able to have a fulfilled childhood even if he was a robot. At some point, Arthur met several other animatronic foxes, a red fox named Justin Redding, a swift fox named Swefred Hayden, and a grey fox named Arian Torres. While Arthur was pretty reserved around them at first, he soon grew to like them, and they eventually became a tight-knit group of friends. Even Sewell was welcomed with open arms into their little group. However, as they grew older, something began to happen; Arian pulled away, and eventually, they never saw him again. And at one point, due to his then scrawny appearance, Arthur became a target for mild ridicule. He made it out as nothing much, but he didn't want to show it was hurting him, especially not Sewell. Thankfully, Justin and Swefred were there for Arthur, and they gave him nothing but support and encouragement to keep going. Regardless, Arthur was hurting from all of it, and he became even more distant from those who cared about him.

It would soon get to a certain point where all of it went much further than it should have. As much as Arthur would try and push past it, it was all just getting to him. Then, as he was again getting teased out in public by some other animatronics, Justin came to Arthur's rescue and told off the animatronics for being bullies. They got the message, and it swiftly passed along. Arthur would show a great deal of gratitude toward Justin for standing up for him. Soon, the teasing toward Arthur would eventually subside and become one of those memories wished to forget. Though the experience did help Arthur grow.

Soon enough, the boys would get their chance for adventure. Justin and Swefred both expressed great interest in joining the United States Navy, though Arthur was a bit hesitant at first. He would ultimately decide to join the Navy to continue his family's legacy; the Snow family had quite the history with the Navy.

U.S. Navy Service
By the time he'd come of age, Arthur was accepted for special training within the Naval Academy. He found it all a bit difficult initially, but he was determined to make his family proud and become the best sailor he could be. Arthur would pass his training with flying colors and officially become a sailor within the following weeks. As for Justin and Swefred, Justin would become a naval aviator (fighter pilot) while Swefred would go on to become a Navy medic. Within the coming years, Arthur would ultimately prove to be quite the remarkable character within the ranks.

One of Arthur's most extraordinary feats came when he was assigned as a gunnery officer aboard the USS Edson, an old Forrest Sherman-class destroyer. He would be awarded the Meritorious Service Medal for hitting a target ship 30 km (19 mi) away in the middle of a storm.

After leaving the destroyer, Arthur was entrusted to command an Iowa-class battleship, the USS Missouri (BB-63), becoming the first animatronic fox to get such a position. Even more of a surprise, his younger brother Sewell, who'd also joined the Navy, was assigned to the ship.

Arthur would serve in the Persian Gulf War and get a taste of some of the dangers that come with the service, including nearly losing Sewell in a regrettable friendly fire incident. This incident would scar Arthur mentally as much as it did Sewell physically. Even after it would be confirmed Sewell would survive, Arthur secretly had doubts of his own abilities. When the Missouri was decommissioned for the last time, Arthur briefly quit the Navy until he was mentally able to return.

The "Break"
Both Arthur and Sewell would recover, and while they were out of the Navy, they'd make the most out of their time together. Arthur would also take this time to explore some potential interests he might have, one of which was civilian aviation. Arthur went and attempted to get some flight training and eventually earned a pilot's license. He would briefly join up with an airline company once he built up all the necessary flight hours. It became clear that once he'd fully embraced civilian life, this was definitely going to be a consideration for his life. All was looking up for a potential non-military career for Arthur. However, it wouldn't last indefinitely.

Return to the Front Line
By the 21st Century, a new threat began to materialize, and as a result of the Armed Forces getting a larger budget, they began seeking to build up a larger military force. And as this new enemy was unconventional, as the saying would have gone, unconventional times called for unconventional measures. Included in the new plan was the recommissioning of the USS Missouri battleship. Arthur, initially hesitant again, answered the call and returned to active duty with the United States Navy. He even took back his old position as the commanding officer of the Missouri.

He would once again lead the ship into active combat against all hostile forces threatening the United States. Such engagements included land bombardment of an island in the Central Pacific, fighting off what appeared to be a sizeable flying warship in the South Pacific, and partaking in numerous deployments across the eastern half of the planet. It would've been after he became the captain of the Missouri again when Arthur would also make connections with unusual allies, on top of reconnecting with some old ones.

All of this would lead up to a significant conflict that would reach across the entire planet. In 2018, an elaborate plan to knock down the American Navy's capabilities was carried out by a foreign power. The most powerful nation in the world was thrown into a state of disarray. During the initial attacks, Arthur managed to coordinate a bold counterattack from the Missouri's bridge, managing to lessen the damage done to the ships crewed by his fellow countrymen. Shortly after some attempted retaliatory strikes, things began looking up for the United States, but they were still on the losing end. Being quite the experienced naval officer now, Arthur would not only be entrusted with a battleship but being in charge of an entire fleet even though he was just a captain. As one can imagine, Arthur was quite conflicted on taking on such a responsibility considering his rank. However, the higher up had faith in his leadership abilities, and especially his friends shared that faith. Arthur gave in and accepted the responsibility of becoming the combat commander of an entire fleet, which would become known as the "Vanguard Fleet."

Personality
Growing up, Arthur was pretty usually a kind-hearted animatronic who is always ready to help his friends and anyone else when they’re in need. He’s pretty friendly, and it is easy to make friends with. Though a massive drawback to this became pretty evident during his teen years, Arthur was a lot quieter than he is now. While Sewell can be overly energetic and extroverted at times, Arthur was considerably more reserved and introverted. He even came off as socially awkward at times, though hanging out with Justin and Swefred more often helped him come out of his shell a lot.

On the bridge of a battleship, Arthur takes on a much more serious attitude. He becomes a stern but effective commander who knows how to lead his sailors into battle and leave with no casualties. When it comes to the lives of his subordinates, Arthur known to take things very seriously and isn’t the type to play games in dangerous situations. While he doesn't try to be overly hard on his allies, Arthur does try to ensure everyone performs to the best of their abilities. To be noted, this side of him has gotten him into a few issues.

Overall though, Arthur is an amiable guy and young at heart. Though not as energetic as his little brother Sewell, Arthur still knows how to have fun and express it with his friends. However, he can be annoyed relatively easily. Many of his friends would call him a "young old salty dog" due to his position, and many of the skills he has are inherited from his father. Arthur is also relatively close with Justin Redding and Swefred Hayden, as they have been friends for many years. Most importantly, Arthur is incredibly courageous and is willing to risk his own life to protect those he loves and his country.

Abilities
Arthur is an excellent commander with practical leadership skills (he has to have these since he's the Captain of a battleship). He's also quite firm and fast, and in fact, has pretty quick reflexes and reaction times, some of which have been enhanced since he joined the military, though it might be looked down upon since he's a sailor. Arthur can hold his own in a fight, but of course, that would depend on the foe. However, thanks to his know-how of modern naval warfare coupled with the old battleship tactics and maritime artillery, Arthur a credit to the US Navy. Another thing to note is the fact that Arthur can learn and adapt quickly.

Romantic Relationship with Vienna North
It would be during the 2018-2020 war when Arthur would meet his significant other. While spending some time at the Hawaii base in between deployments, Arthur would end up running into Vienna North, an animatronic arctic vixen who was also a Colonel in the United States Marine Corps. Initially, upon meeting her for the first time, Arthur felt that he might be attracted to her. Still, since he'd never experienced such feelings before, he was incredibly nervous about it. During missions where Vienna's 7th Marine Division needed naval fire support, Arthur would ensure that the Missouri provided no less than the best. After some time would pass, it became apparent that Vienna had developed feelings for Arthur as he did for her, and after a mission where they feared the other wouldn't survive, they came out and expressed each other's honest feelings. It would be at this point that both arctic foxes vowed to protect each other no matter what happened.

Friends and Allies

 * Vienna North (Love interest)


 * Justin Redding
 * Swefred Hayden


 * Crew members of the USS Missouri
 * Mark the Arctic Wolf
 * Azul the Grey Wolf

Rivals

 * Captain Grayson Williams the Grey Fox (Friendly rival)
 * Captain Alexander “Alek” Kolesnikov the Polar Fox - CO of RFS Vladimir K. Konovalov (DD-475) (Polar Opposite)

Enemies

 * Arian “Arthree” Torres

Honors and Awards

 * Silver Star Medal
 * Bronze Star Medal
 * Legion of Merit
 * Joint Service Commendation Medal
 * Navy Commendation Medal
 * Navy Achievement Medal
 * Navy Unit Commendation
 * Navy E Ribbon
 * Navy Expeditionary Medal
 * National Defence Service Medal
 * Southwest Asia Service Medal
 * Sea Service Ribbon
 * Navy Marksmanship Medal (Both Rifle and Pistol)
 * Surface Warfare Insignia
 * Command at Sea Insignia (Awarded after retirement in 1995)
 * Good Conduct Medal
 * Kuwait Liberation Medal (He holds onto it, but the award belongs to the USS Missouri)
 * Four Service Stars
 * Polaris Award (As a civilian airline pilot for flight UA875)

Trivia
While none of his friends officially know it, Arthur is quite fluent in another language. That other language being Russian, which he learned as a part of his studies to become a high ranking officer in the Navy during the Cold War.

Arthur’s appearance is slightly influenced by the armor design on the 501st Legion clone troopers from Star Wars, primarily the rings on the wrists and ankles.

Arthur’s ID number, R2-75-67, is a blend of the astromech droid R2-D2 and Clone Captain Rex’s birth number CC-75-67. Arthur’s nickname is also inspired by the famed astromech droid.

The United Airlines necklace Arthur commonly wears has two sides to it. Though both sides have the old tulip logo, one side reads “737,” referring to the Boeing 737-300 he flew when he first joined the company. The other side, the one he has shown most often, reads “DC-10,” referring to the McDonnell Douglas DC-10 he flew for the rest of his airline career.

As the original draft for the series went, Arthur was originally the sole main character of the entire series; the others would've been more secondary or tertiary characters while Arian Torres served as Arthur's primary antagonist. While Arthur is still a main character, he is not THE central character as he now shares the role with Sewell, Justin, Swefred, and Vienna.

Elements of Arthur's personality take inspiration from characters from other franchises. Regarding his militaristic side, his disciplined, cool-headed, and outward thinking are all in common with Clone Captain Rex from Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels. And especially while he was younger (though it's still true today), Arthur's more docile, kind-hearted, empathetic, and soft-spoken side holds striking similarities with Legoshi, a gray wolf and main protagonist for the manga turned anime series Beastars.


 * His relationship with Sewell is also paralleled by that of Legoshi and Jack, a golden retriever who's shown as Legoshi's best friend. Though differences exist as Legoshi and Jack aren't brothers, while Arthur and Sewell are.
 * Though not listed yet, a desired voice actor for Arthur is Jonah Scott, who voiced Legoshi in Beastars.