𝟏𝟎𝟕 ▸ Tigerfish

tl;dr: She has the personality of an NPC shopkeeper.
A little chaotic at times, but not antagonistic.
Well-meaning with eccentric philosophies and trains of thought. Exudes peak random XD energy.

The core belief of Tigerfish's life that drives their every action is a simple one: you are a story. This notion doesn't just apply to your life in general—you, immemorial, are a being crafted from the stories you tell, and the stories others weave in your name. These threads coalesce to form the crux of your identity, and it is this identity from which your entire being thrives. In theory, it means that as long as your story never dies, then neither shall you. By extent, this also means that the world you live in is not just a physical space on which you are made manifest: the world is a living, breathing story that is constantly being told

How ironic it is, then, to have been born in a world which most think has already breathed its last sigh.

Though many see her as immature and brash, Tigerfish is—excuse the pun—the type of person who "goes with the flow." Not much ( if anything ) fazes her, and she's always ready to find a way to laugh at any situation presented in her midst. While many take this to mean that she doesn't take life seriously, it's rather the opposite—she sticks to her philosophy so thoroughly that everything to her seems ordained, in a sense.
That isn't to say that Tigerfish necessarily believes in things such as "fate;" arguably, she believes more so in narratively-thematic coincidences than anything else. While Tigerfish is content to leave matters to the whimsy of the universe, it's not particularly because she believes that a higher being is the narrator of all existence; it's just easier to think of everything as an ongoing improv theatre performance. Life is a treasure, and that treasure is a story to be shared. For this reason, the sea-striding merchant has taken that to mean that every moment you live should be thoroughly enjoyed in some way. Otherwise, you're not really living your own tale, now are you?

Despite their grown age ( or perhaps you could argue because of it ), Tigerfish has an extremely lax personality. They are easygoing and friendly, though they often speak in cryptic riddles and confounding phrases. This seems to mainly be due to their need to sow the seeds of mild chaos wherever they go. Though they are not an overtly mischievous person by any means, Tigerfish does dabble in the art of general shenaniganry to pass the day-to-day. Living a hundred years means you've seen a lot of shit in your life, and being middle aged in a world where not much happens also means any excitement that happens is most likely excitement you create for yourself.

It is also to this extent that one could argue for Tigerfish's genius at times; there's the saying that there are "methods to one's madness," and it seems like Tigerfish embodies a rather chill, more subtle version of that colloquialism. Again, she isn't an agent of chaos who terrorizes others she meets—she's just a little bit more ... eccentric than the honest merchants of her ilk who merely wish to make an honest living.
Nonetheless, Tigerfish is a rather intelligent person underneath their quirks. They do not act as if they know everything nor do they flaunt their smarts. They are not scholarly, but it could be argued that if anything, Tigerfish is wise. Though, of course, just as much as it's possible that what she tells you is the result of years of wisdom and growth, it could also be complete and utter bullshittery that she's telling you for the sole purpose of making you run around in a circle for her amusement. So who knows what's going on in her brain for real.

At the end of the day, not many know much about the mysterious merchant. Perhaps her personality as well, then, is a story woven from her little spool of lies.

Tigerfish comes from a village within Gredia that is community-oriented, albeit lacking in natural resources to truly feed the populace. The merchant often travels to other parts of the Palm to sell goods in an attempt to help their village members out.

That's more or less all there is to their tale, really.

Of course, if you're not satisfied with that boring story, there's many other things you can say about Tigerfish. For one, many people think of her as some sort of mysterious oracle who lives within the village's temple. Though, given the lack of a use for gods nowadays, it isn't as if the temple is in actual use, nor has it ever been shown that Tigerfish has any ritualistic ability of any sort.

Though they seem unassuming, the tale of Tigerfish's supposed origin is a rather confounding one, to say the least. It sounds more like something out of a fairytale than anything else!

...Some time ago, roughly 50-60 years prior to the story, Tigerfish suddenly ... appeared on Gredia. It wasn't as if they were a marooned sailor, neither were they a merchant who had stumbled upon the area. They were not a castaway, nor were they dredged up to the shore. It seemed as if they just ... popped into existence. As if that weren't weird enough, they seemed to have had a knowledge of the land that implied they'd been there before. But no one had ever heard of nor seen a being who looked like her. So who exactly was this stranger?

Making their way to the village they would soon call their home, Tigerfish took one look at the temple—once said to have housed the beliefs of one of the sea gods of the land—and amidst its dilapidated ruins, she said: "I like this place! I think I'll stay here."

And despite having been a complete stranger to the land and its people, the hefty weight of her charisma made sure that those words weren't just spoken for the sake of speaking them—they soon became a reality.

Just as she said she would, Tigerfish cleaned up the rubble surrounding the temple. What once was a ruin of little more than mere memory, it was soon turned into what it used to be, about 10 years prior—back when the temple was still looked after and cared for by the previous (and following her death, final) Templekeeper.

It wasn't as if Tigerfish had become the new Templekeeper. She had no access to the original culture of the people who looked after the place, after all; but despite her inexperience, people quickly began to associate the young woman with that area of the land. What was once thought to be an abandoned relic of the gods became a community center: a place where everyone could gather and swap not only resources and tools, but also stories and experiences.

Eventually growing bored with just living in the village and seeing the same things everyday, Tigerfish soon set her sights on the other settlements on the God's Palm. Seeing as her village was also not located in the most naturally rich setting, she took to renting a boat and fishing up whatever she could from the ocean's depths to sell and make a living. Nowadays, Tigerfish mainly travels to the biggest cities and towns in Gredia, selling various fruits which she procures from her connections. Of course, despite her endless charisma, she's not exactly good at her job—oftentimes, a mango or dragonfruit is easily given in exchange for an interesting story. Because for Tigerfish, there is no better payment than to hear the tales that people have to share.

Another thing that comes to mind when one thinks of Tigerfish would be that of her ward, Shell—a young sea slug Anima who lives with her in the temple and acts as its attendant. Due to the fact that there is no need for the temple's initial purpose anymore—as well as the fact that Tigerfish spends most of her day outside of the village in order to make end's meet for everyone in her community— Shell is often the person who greets guests and provides them with any amenities needed. His cheerful smile and boundless optimism could cure any traveler of their weariness, after all.

Due to Tigerfish's village having a custom of community members raising children together ("it takes a village..."), they are not worried about leaving Shell alone for most of the day. Sometimes, Tigerfish will even treat the kid and have him close the temple for a day so the two of them can go visit other locales.

Though she already had much of a personality of her own before she met the boy, Tigerfish has definitely changed ever since she fished him out of the ocean ten years ago.

It really isn't that much of an exaggeration to say, then, that to an extent, Tigerfish's story—that is to say, their life in general—begins first with Shell.