Art by Viv.

Like most of the beasts churned out by the infamous Hound-o-Mancer 3000, Squonk is something of a biological trainwreck. She is four and half feet tall at the shoulder and weights just under one and a half tons, but she is incredibly delicate. Her skin is several inches of slimy gelatinous tissue that is easily damaged and prone to drying out- although thick enough that neither of these things pose excessive risk. Her legs stick out at an odd, stiff angle and do not carry her weight well, so she often belly-scoots to get around. She can sit on her rump and use her tentacles to propel herself for quicker and somewhat more agile but precariously balanced movement. It's not something she can maintain for long, the upright posture is incredibly uncomfortable and puts all sorts of weird pressure on her spine and joints. She has a short, flexible trunk and startlingly canine teeth that are ineffective at processing her diet of mainly plants. She is mostly a sky-blue that fades to orange at the extremities, just translucent enough that the shadow of her musculature is visible. Her jade gemstone is hidden in the center of her tentacles.

She finds aquatic life to be more bearable than the land, although she is unable to swim. The buoyancy of water allows her to actually walk and even bounce by pushing off of surfaces. The water also protects her delicate hide from drying out. Her eyesight underwater is poor, but her hearing is just as sharp as on land, and she can seal her ear canals if needed. She can hold her breath for six minutes and can surface automatically even in her sleep.

Freshly hatched she is about two feet at shoulder.

Squonk is a creature of wretched self-pity. She does not enjoy who she is and seems generally uninterested in changing that fact. Misery is safe, certain, and easy, especially when so much of her woe seems intrinsic to her being. And, of course, being so pessimistic and unmotivated are negative traits she can fixate on, feeding into the cycle. She is genuinely lonely. The waterways of the caves tend to be sparsely populated and venturing on land hardly seems worth the effort. She also finds friendships difficult to maintain- it takes a certain kind of stubbornness on the other's behalf to really make it stick.

Despite what she might tell you, not everything about her is bad. She is quiet and introspective, a good listener who gives pretty good advice. She's patient and level-headed, good at deescalating conflict [which is good, considering she can't hold her own in a physical fight.] She's drawn to others who appear to be just as miserable as her, and genuinely wishes the best for them, even if she can't do that for herself.

Houndmancer Thread

 

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