The Wasteland King (The Ocean King (AU))

Waterworld AU because I have the brainworms apparently

In the Waterworld (1995) setting, the Wasteland King makes the same absurd claim to kingdom over the entire area, it's just a wet one instead of a sandy one. In this case though, he does actually have a small following in the form of being the leader of an atoll: A ring-shaped floating fort/village anchored above a seamount (actually just a sunken mountain on the old continent) that attracts a greater number of edible fish than the surrounding open ocean. A scant population of about 40 people, Pearl Atoll doesn't exactly live up to its lustrous name but for its size has an above average quantity of healthy plants, including a massive fig-like tree and two precious palms that produce small coconut-like fruit.

King Imsara himself is a mutant, a fact which is widely known but not openly talked about, just as several others at the atoll have mutant traits that are widely known but not talked about. Discrimination against mutants is treated like any other dispute at the atoll and taken before the king, where it's hard to come up with a good answer as to why a mutant should be thrown out when the king himself asks you with a broad hard-edged smile and weird laughing eyes the colour of the midday sun.

The king in this setting has mutations based loosely on an albatross or other long-ranging seabird: His silver-gold eyes can see very far and can see clearly underwater like he's wearing modern diving goggles. He has tremendous physical endurance, making him a relentless combatant and a powerful swimmer, with slightly webbed toes to complete the image. He's also able to sense north/south, which aids in navigation (but would be disrupted by nearby magnets, if such a thing were to ever show up).

Gem in this setting is about 12 and just starting to get rebellious and independent, causing a lot of exasperation for Imsara as he tries to balance that on top of keeping her safe, running the atoll, and dealing with any outside threats (which are not infrequent, since more people come to challenge/poke fun at his claim to kingdom than to investigate it peacefully). Gem's mother was a raider and possibly a mutant herself, for Gem is a fish-style mutant with gills that she's still learning how to use fully.