(Disclaimer this is how I interpret her from what lore we do know about her and her life, I just wrote this very stylistically because that’s how I was feeling LMAO)
tf!Squiddo is a lot of self hate and insecurity tbh, under everything with her joking, it is seen a lot in her inner monologue. She does not have eyes, she is blind. She tells others at the academy increasingly incredulous stories about how she went blind, dragonfire she says to one. She wears a enchanted blindfold with the spell Blindsight on it. The spell sometimes stops working though.
She is a paladin, a holy knight serving her god and people by joining the academy to help destroy corruption. She succeeded! She got a dragon!
… but it’s not like the others. It’s dead. Like the bones of a whither skeleton. Of course the dragon that picked her was the only skeleton dragon. Because she is cursed from her god with bad luck, even her dragon, a reflection of herself is inadequate (this is what she constantly tells herself regarding trying to find out why she has a skeleton dragon, and how). She names the baby dragon, Meatless.
She got magic like the others!!
… but it is a curse. Probably from her god for her being unholy, she constantly thinks to herself. Her magic itself is Fortune, Luck. But she just keeps getting the unlucky side of her magic coin. The unluckiness rebounding on her instead of the enemy, giving her blindness for moments with her blindfold. She refuses to use her magic after this, choosing to focus on her melee combat and general common bloodshed magic instead.
She tries to help others, looking in their rooms and finding their eggs abandoned! She thinks that it would be good for her to take them, take care of them, and try to hatch them for the students who had left their eggs, cold and alone! That would be good!
… but it is not good. It causes distress and people hate her for it. Namely tf!Jojo. Tf!Squiddo chooses to apologize to tf!jojo in the church in the capital. Jojo’s dragon actually had two eggs, so the guards give her one to replace the one tf!Squiddo took, and it hatches! Then tf!Jojo tries to hatch the one tf!Squiddo took, and it fails and breaks. Tf!Squiddo literally thinks “it is because I touched it with my unholy hands”.
Tf!Squiddo also has a subplot where she found a glitched, unhatchable, Purple dragon egg. She calls this egg, Nightlight. And wants to figure out the mystery of it, why it is unhatchable, why it looks like the scales in displays across the school, and why it keeps teleporting to different inventories around her like tf!Jojo’s.
Tf!Squiddo then leaves the academy, feeling like a failure, she can’t even help with destroying the corruption with her curse of a power, skeletal dragon, that is a baby no less because she let her first one die.
She goes home, or rather tries to. But can’t bring herself to walk into the town she was adopted into, so she just stares at it. It is a town of merfolk, that is why her name is Squiddo even though she is a human they gave her a traditional merfolk name. She feels isolated at the academy because of this, everyone has normal names like Graecie or Ash. And no one looks like they do at home, no one has fish scales, tentacles, fins, or gills. Feeling like she let her family, her people down she can’t even walk in and tell them how she is feeling. She tells her sister though, who does not respond. (I think her sister is dead, probably killed by the corruption as she was trying to fight it, a paladin like tf!Squiddo).
Squiddo comes back to the academy, and as she crosses the threshold, heart set again on making a difference in this world, she gains a new spell. She tries it out, and it is good!! She can throw a circle of luck to heal and boost allies! Or a circle of unluckiness to hinder enemies! But like her first powers she cannot choose if it is luck or unlucky each time. She thanks her sister, she must have put in a good word for her!
Throughout this return day she talks a lot about her sister, how she is following in her sisters footsteps by attending the academy to fight corruption! How her sister was always the better of them two, and would not get lost like she does going to the capital.
She goes to a lighthouse in the distance of the capital, she finds a book documenting the heroics of the Guardian of the Capital. She looks at the statue, reminiscent of her own merfolk adoptive family. She wonders if the Guardian was related to her family, a distant relative? A grandparent? And she looks at the trident she recently got, finally feeling like she could be a hero like the Guardian, save people like she always wanted to do. In class a few days later with Professor Penrose, she doodles herself as the Guardian.
Her relationships with her fellow students are mostly negative, tf!Jojo hates her for what she did, trying to help!
Tf!Squiddo hates tf!Ash for how he speaks so flippantly about the corruption, “What if it was good!” He says to her. A voice in her head tells her to kill him. And she wants to. No one takes the corruption seriously in her POV this is a joke to them all.
AND SHE IS ALSO A SILLY LITTLE GUY WHO DOES SILLY LITTLE GUY STUFF!!
Her void chest is a 7/11 gas station mart!
She takes unconscious people in boats! Trying to “help them” like she did the eggs. She means well, it just happens no one has told her these things are bad!!
💫 So, open question for SHADOWMAN enjoyers, are there any Shadowman experts willing to info dump to me about him? 👀 I would like all the context of his and Primis Richtofen’s interactions please and thank you, it would help me greatly! Give me lore, references and any insight you have!! ✨
visual concept : a city of white, gold and baby blue. lots of intricate details and clouds in the architecture and a bit of a glowy atmosphere. city above the clouds with residents that seem otherworldly with their big white wings. takes inspiration from ancient greece, the floating mountains and the palace of versailles.
portal : the temple of artemis in ephesus. located in modern day turkey. has been kept relatively hidden away from any humans. besides the portal, accessing aurevia requires a bit of hidden (and forbidden) knowledge that is very hard for outsiders to access.
ruling house : house of (name reserved for jude to decide here). (monarch status here) (monarch name here).
heir : (name reserved for jude to decide here).
sigil : a sword and wings on a golden crest (this kinda vibe.)
motto : wings banded together.
the city of aurevia : aurevia is a medium-sized realm that resides on floating mountains in the clouds. every mountain is connected by long bridges, but it is not exactly needed due to its citizens. although aurevia is a realm full of different beings, the main population that resides in aurevia is the native population: vinge. they are a population of rather humanoid creatures, however taller in stature and their most notable physical difference .. their large white wings. however, you can find many other species in aurevia!
locations : the temple of the old gods, the house of orion, the white keep (knight's quarters & training center), an array of shops and restaurants, the castle, the philosophical temple of clouds (closed for maesters/philosphers only), numerous taverns, the whispering woods, the floating waterfalls of aurevia, the sacred watchtowers. heavily inspired by mondstat (layout wise!!)
how to reach aurevia : due to it’s extremely high altitude and almost impossibility of reaching the city without wings, the native population of aurevia created a pulley system that mimics modern day elevators. there is a ground floor of aurevia which functions as a visitor’s centre. in this centre, non-natives will get visas to access the city, as well as other permits and things. then, they may purchase a ticket to board the golden pulleys of aurevia, which can fit 100 individuals at a time, and work from 5am-5pm. after this time, outsiders may not access aurevia without the help of a native.
jobs : bard, maester, philosopher, knight, forest watcher, tower keeper, seamstress, royal courts, travelling merchant, master of whispers, town shouter, interpreter, master of coin, court jester, circus ring leader.
mythology : 'old god' mythology - typically only followed by the common folk, though the royal family does follow and promote the religion.
the old gods : the sacred 5, said to have created the realm of aurevia and any other realm that may exist. this religion has slowly began to fizzle out in the times due to the slow progress of technology, but the majority of the common folk and the royal family still follow it.
nelros : the queen of gods, mother of creation. life started with her, and she created her siblings. takes the form of a golden dove.
sotlir : the god of death, the ruler of the other side. life ends with him. takes the form of a black raven.
lilyan : the god of time, the son of eternity. life goes on with him. takes the form of a white deer.
iesis : the god(dess) of love. life is loved through them. is also the god(dess) of food and harvest, in charge of controlling the elements. takes the form of a swan. has no confirmed gender, and is seen taking both male and female forms.
miona : the goddess of justice. the all seeing eye of life. takes the form of a male lion.
the white keep : the home of the rosen knights, which are the sacred knights of aurevia. incredibly skilled fighters, both agile in the sky and on the ground.
the oath : (almost completely stolen from the night’s watch oath….) clouds gather, and now my life begins. it shall not end until my fated death. i shall take no wife, hold no lands, father no children. i shall wear no crowns and win no glory. i shall live and die a rosen knight. i am the shimmering sword in the light. i am the angel that rises in the ashes. i am the shield that guards aurevia. i pledge my life and honour to the rosen knight’s, for this day and all days to come.
armour : typically dripped in gold and silver to show off stature, has open slits for their wings and extra armour available for them as well. their headpiece has wings on the sides, mimicking the greek god hermes. their main chest plate has a red rose ethched into it, along with other red rose symbolism engraved throughout their armour, symbolising their status of being rosen knights.
weaponry : all rosen knights are extremely skilled in both ground and aerial combat. all knights typically have two swords at their disposal, a longsword made for intense warfare that hands from their sheath, and a smaller sword for any everyday usage. a longsword is not permitted to be used in any other combat outside from war, and is hand crafted to be held by none other than the knight it belongs to. (a lot like thor's hammer), it is almost impossible to lift a rosen knight's longsword unless magic has been gifted to you. however, besides their swords and rigorous sword training, they are also taught to hold numerous other weapons: the longspear, the bow and arrow, and from the witches, occasional magic to help summon creatures for their aid - but only if absolutely necessary. all knights have the option to choose which other weapons they may like to use, but are trained in all of them until they can perfect it.
fighting skills : it is a known fact that it is extremely difficult to defeat a rosen knight in any sort of combat, however, it is not impossible. they are extremely skilled fighters in both aerial and ground combat, and typically train from the moment they are able to stand to the moment they are sworn in, and even so, they are still trained throughout their service when there is time to do so. however, they do not believe in senseless violence. it is extremely frowned upon for a rosen knight to use violence unless absolutely necessary, and only one knight has ever been dismissed from service for using excessive force when it was not needed (which was rumoured to be suggested by the philosophers).
origin : many common folk have wondered where the rosen knights even originated from, as their history is not well known by many outside of the knights themselves or the philosophers. however, it is said that nelros created the first rosen knight after a particularly gruelling war. there was ash everywhere due to raging fires, and yet, a single red rose had survived, and it stayed planted on the ground, almost shining. from that single rose, nelros created the knight from its petals. she created his sword from it’s stem and the blade from it’s thorns. from then on, a godly and prestigious knighthood was created to protect aurevia from any harm.
symbolism : the rosen knights are a tight-knit brotherhood rumoured to be created by the sacred rose of aurevia themselves. they are knights that embody beauty in every sense of the word, and although are skilled fighters, value fairness and gentleness above violence. although they are appointed by the gods, the philosophers are the ones that they directly report to. however, the rosen knights seemingly have their own government and way of selecting their commanders and officers. all rosen knights are said to be a beauty that is otherworldly, however, they rarely ever show their face unless they are in the presence of their sworn brothers.
current commander : hugh (41) the strong, of house ravenwood. there are currently 32 rosen knights in aurevia.
familiars : as soon as you are sworn to be a rosen knight, you are visited by the rosen witch. this witch is a woman who is appointed by the philosophers, and gives the knights their familiar (imagine megumi's dogs). a familiar is chosen typically at random, but follows the heart of what the knight is truly capable of. all familiars are different despite them sharing a species sometimes, and each familiar comes with their own unique abilities.
familiar symbolism : the pegasus - a horse typically larger than average horses, with a large wingspan, typically around 8.5 meters (27 feet). every pegasus has a different coat colouring and unique special ability, but represents aerial grace and freedom. is typically rode with knights that choose the bow as their main weapon.
familiar symbolism : the cat - (imagine a bob cat/maine coon type) typically larger than house cats. every cat has a different coat colouring and unique special abilities that typically deal with close combat (ex. stunlocking the enemies). they represent strength and force. they are typically beside knights that choose the sword as their main weapon.
familiar symbolism : the phoenix - a rare, but rather interesting familiar to have. they are larger than most birds of prey, and are all a normal shade of brown, only lighting itself on fire during combat. they represent sacrifice and honour. they are typically with knights that choose the bow as their main weapon.
familiar symbolism : the wolf - extremely larger than normal wolves (cough.. cough… twilight wolves….), and come in a range of coat colours and special abilities. these familiars deal with long ranged ground combat. they represent bravery and duty. they are typically beside the knights that choose the longspear as their main weapon.
familiar symbolism : the banshee - a unique familiar that resembles a woman. are also known as sirens. appears from the elements of nature (ex. comes from tree bark), and uses their voices to lure in their enemies. they represent deception and dishonesty. they are more difficult to claim as a familiar, as they choose who they become tied with. however, they have been known to be with knights that choose the sword as their main weapon.
familiar symbolism : the demon - the most dangerous type of familiar to get, as the knights must go through a trial in the underworld and become possessed by a demon and survive it (imagine seraph of the end - attaining a cursed weapon). there has been very few cases where it has been successful, so not many try for this familiar. however, if successful, the demon takes home in their chosen weapon, and once released during combat, become almost a shadow of their knight and act as a second, more stronger version of them, while also giving the original knight enhanced strength, speed, and agility. however, it is a constant battle to control their demon, and if a wrong move is made, or a weakness is shown, the demon will most likely devour their soul. there is no pattern for the knights they choose besides whoever was brave enough to try.
note : if you have an idea for a familiar, feel free to tell me or add it and i’ll format it!! :D
the protector of aurevia : hand picked from the gods themselves, this person is a protector of the realm in all sense of the word.
origin : the protectors of the realms of orion are a sacred force as old as the gods. they are the sole protectors of the realm and the first one to be used as sacrifice in order to conserve the realm. they are typically individuals of high standing that have proven themselves to the gods with their deeds done as mortals. once chosen as a protector of the realm, there is infinite knowledge, power, and help at their disposal. for the protector of aurevia, they are ranked above the rosen knights, the royal family, and even the philosophers. they are regarded as gods to the common folk.
current protector : as of today, aurevia is currently unprotected with no named protector due to the unusual and mysterious death of the previous protector of the realm (it is rumoured that the philosophers got rid of them due to being threatened in power). as of now, the gods are trying to come to terms with who should be the new protector of the realm, however, the philosophers are attempting to overrule the gods by nominating their own protector of the realm.
acting protector of the realm : as for now, the commander of the rosen knights, hugh ravenwood, is the acting protector of the realm until the gods can decide on a new one.
the philosophers : the knowledgeable philosophers of aurevia, and the corrupt secret society that pulls the strings of the realm behind the god’s eye.
origin : once again, a system set up by the gods. however, this time, it was the goddess miona, the goddess of justice, who came together and selected a chosen one of each of the 6 realms to ultimately watch over orion as a whole, and make sure that each of the realms stayed safe. she placed them in a golden sept in aurevia, the capital realm, and named them the philosophers. she granted them the ability to see into the future and look into the past, and gave them the ultimate test of fairness. throughout history, numerous philosophers have come and go, changing from holy maesters to highly ranked philosophers, but their previous love of fairness and honesty has long gone. now in the modern times, it is easier to find one of the gods than it is to find a philosopher who isn't corrupt.
current philosophers : the philosopher of elyria, (name reserved for jude here) of house (name reserved for jude here). the philosopher of lyriel, (name reserved for jude here) of house (name reserved for jude here). the philosopher of aurevia, rob of house black. the philosopher of myrithen, (name reserved for kaz here), of house (name reserved for kaz here). the philosopher of altus, (name reserved for rain here), of house (name reserved for rain here). the philosopher of nymbralis, (name reserved for jude here), of house (name reserved for jude here).
their corruption : it all started when a philosopher of aurevia had secretly murdered all of the other philosopher's and replaced them with a tainted 5. due to the philosophers being anonymous at the time, no one had known that they were feeding the other realms complete deception. because of this, the philosophers are no longer a just force feigning for fairness and equality (imagine the betrayal of the academia in sumeru).
the species of aurevia : aurevia was once a closed off realm, only open to their native population and the 5 other philosophers. however, as time progressed, the capital realm has become extremely open and a central hub for all sorts of different species.
vinge : the native population of aurevia, known for their extravagant and rather large (and super fluffy!!) white wings. if a vinge allows you to touch their wings, the tips of your fingertips will tingle in the slightest euphoria, and being gifted a feather off of their wings is known to be a lucky charm. however, if a feather is taken without their consent or knowledge, extreme bad luck is known to befall those who make that mistake. for the majority of vinges, they spend their lives in the sky, as their wings are far too big and drag on the ground when they walk. befriending a vinge means that you'll never have to walk anywhere again (a sign of companionship is to carry their partners while they fly!).
centaur : another large majority in aurevia due to the floating mountains that are actually rather expansive. a majority of the centaurs have a horse form along with their human half of their body, and are matching in size with the pegasus that fly around in the skies. typically, centaurs are in charge of breeding pegasus (and unicorns if they're lucky).
nymphs : a product of the forest in aurevia, these are creatures of the forest, also known as forest watchers of aurevia. they take the forms of nature, and create a humanoid form when they would like to be seen. the nymphs may come from the tree bark, the petals of flowers, a running creek, a thorny bush, or even the dirt. they are known to have a gender non-confirming form, with their anatomy shared between men and women. however, due to being such an isolated population in the forest, not a lot is known about them except for the fact that they protect the forest.
misc : besides the natives of aurevia, there are numerous other types of species in the realm from different realms!
You know what? I'm in the mood for writing pseudoscience. I was the Dragonology kid and I've been thinking a lot about Charlie Weasley so here, have this... account? I guess that works.
Chinese dragons (Sinodraco fluviatilis) hatch in the glacial headwaters of rivers, high on the Tibetan Plateau in the shadow of the Himalayas. As they grow, they make their way further downstream, so larger dragons live closer to the river’s mouth. Chinese dragons are amphibious, able to move distances overland, which allows for genetic exchange between river basins; when dragons breed, they return to the headwaters of their birth river to lay their eggs. Eventually, when they get too large for even the widest parts of the river, they head out to sea, where their limbs become vestigial, they take on a completely aquatic lifestyle, and become sea serpents (some Eastern cultures refer to these ancient individuals as dragon-kings).
As Chinese dragons age, they become increasingly magical. The primary use of this magic is in attracting rainfall, in order to make their rivers even bigger, which has the added bonus of endearing them to drought-prone human populations. Conversely, the largest sea-dwelling dragons have been accused of manifesting typhoons around themselves as their power grows to unbelievable proportions. The oldest river dragons can, purportedly, fly without the aid of wings, on pure magic alone. Known to be fiercely intelligent, though largely benevolent, tales of these dragons being capable of speech and even writing are considered to be entirely mythical at the present time.
