Reef the true squid kid/adult and more (Patreon)

Reef (im sooooo unique haha, but really I just like making cool water names)  I’m thinking of making reef more of a he/they so I’ll update that in future posts about them. Yes, reef is the same one from the last comic! they are a lasting companion to Onori and his tattoo was being done relatively around the same time as Onori did his. It’s meant to mean a form of symbolic closeness And companionship.  His tattoo has lots of waves and a large squid with lots of patterns. Tear drops that just like Onori’s, symbolizes sadness, hardship.  All that cheesy stuff. They had a big growth spurt in high school and dedicated their time to getting stronger. Reef wanted to repay Onori for his kindness and protection by being the one to protect him from then on. so reef did lots of risky jobs, got shot and stabbed and a few other things, but they never minded (gave Onori lots of heart attacks). He’s still the meek person and stutters violently whenever they’re nervous, but he’s much more sure of his own capabilities and not many people want to fuck with him.  
relationship wise, he’s not really a romantic partner? its more casual and his bond with Onori is deep, you can say he’s in love with Onori and you wouldn’t be wrong. it’s not really a label or a commitment but a friendship that neither of them ever intends to let go. Bromance if you will.
to onori, reef is the first real person to stay with him, and second person he’s ever loved. (not as romantic as you may think, but it’s true regardless) and the only person that’s been with him the longest, been through all the hardships, and is still by his side. cheesy cheesy.  
you can see his beak is on the smaller side. its actually normal for a squid like him, as his teeth are very very sharp rather than real big. He only has that one beak and bottom beak, the rest of his mouth is a hard palate, with a radula to continue shredding soft bodied prey and meats. He’s got a light under-belly with lots and lots of “freckles“ decorating his skin. They are more like the chromatophores on squids, and he changes color slightly from emotions and kinda fluoresces with a black light.  
and the human cephy  (short for cephalopod cus I need a shorter/catchier identifier) is a whole bag of psychological worms with spices of morality and ethics. He’s smart, observant, and well organized. His detective skills are best with people, where he can judge character, context, and infomration that paper cannot replace. He catches on quick and knows when a fight isn’t winnable. He’s not reckless but far too cautious, hes too scared to “rock” the boat.  his lack of risk taking and confrontation when needed (specifically in his job) makes what he knows unusable or written off by them.  The riskiest he’s ever gotten is confronting members of the group hes investigating, but it has always led to an escalation he doesn’t account for.  The most pressing for him though, is his stance on humans and Cephies the meaning of good and bad. In his hometown and region, cephies and humans are hardly peaceful, and the worst treated are the ones who aren’t 100% of either. currently the humans are taking over, and they are asserting a violent thumb against everything that isn’t them. Tru cephies, despite receiving such a blow, refuse to even acknowledge the in-betweeners, the “false  cephies” Even though they need all the help they can get. as a ceph that passes as human, he’s often a Bystander of the cruel Remarks his coworkers make unaware of his status. He thinks a peaceful era can happen, but everywhere he sees is strife and a lot of victims. Him included. he sees hubris and superiority complexes, gatekeeping and lies. The only thing that even resembles solidarity is the new criminal organization, with members of all kinds. It’s a united front… but they’re bad, Right? They’ve done bad things, and are certainly not good, but they’ve done good THINGS. starting in his hometown, where he was thrown out for being romantic with the squid kid he knew, his parents admonished him for it and never allowed him to run off without supervision. it was bad then, but it’s better now? Not thanks to the local law enforcement but to the gang that’s firmly rooted themselves here?. More cephies live here and antagonism is minimized. it’s the only town that has such a welcoming atmosphere since he left. Even crime rate has decreased which is ironic considering this is the heart of the Organization. It throws him off, even his own hardships didn’t have him question as much as it did here. Are they really bad if this is what they accomplished? or is force and violence no matter how justified, unjustifiable by its existence? Can you even fix a broken system? is he a good person by stopping crime that did some good, or a bad person by stopping that good because of some crime? You know all that philosophical jargon. he just has a crisis and all that as he’s doubting the world snd becomes unsure of morality itself. Doesnt help that he eventually finds out that Onori is the leader and the kid he liked in middle school.