#chrysallus

[mirage-of-the-virtuoso]

{WAIT I REMEMBERED SOMETHING RECENTLY

Aren't things that are brightly colored in nature known to be dangerous?

Arioch is an alchemic engineer, playing with potions, poisons, and tonics. It would know more than most what's safe in the wild.

Chrysallus's outfit is usually a mix of vibrant green, pink, and yellow. Not only that, but light blue skin tone, white eyes and leaves, the only trace of a natural element is his gloves, which is dyed some shade of purple?

Of course Arioch thinks he's dangerous. Of course it thinks he's secretly unhinged. And with every incident that happens, it's catalogued somewhere, and it looks like the conspiracy theory guy meme every time someone asks it what it's talking about.

Too many things seem out of character in recent years. Suddenly, people realize that Arioch was onto something.

There are debates now (heavily divided) about who the commander really is under his public persona.

Chrysallus has chosen to not get involved, and Auri is quick to separate him from that drama. The last thing he needs is to be hounded by journalists about his 'true identity'}

[wyldblunt]

Have a lot this time because I am chewing on these ocs when I'm not thinking of my own XD ~🌸Chrysallus

50 for Bowyn

42 and 43 for Glyn

39 for both Merrit and Lorelei

10 for Alan

18 for Clooney

29 for Callas

36 for Lisk

oooh, thank you for all these, this is a bunch of good ones!!! (for the ones abt marina's characters i've either consulted him, or it's something he's already written out in rps before :) )

50. Do they have original characters of their own?

yes, actually!! in a few different ways... before meeting rhys, bowyn's main source of income is con jobs. they have a looot of fun planning out their cons and they like to have entire storylines and put a lot of thought into their roles (heavy inspiration from the character stephen in 'the brothers bloom,' btw), so i would say the roles they dream up for their cons count as ocs. they don't go as far as method acting for these stunts, but they do take it pretty seriously, and they end up caring about the 'narrative' of the con landing as much as they do about the money.

once they meet rhys, bowyn ends up... kind-of-sort-of "going straight"...? not for moral reasons but bc they have, uh, A LOT of debt and they've made a lot of enemies and they're sick of having to dodge around and avoid certain parts of tyria etc etc... when they were alone it wasn't an issue, but now they want to be able to travel around with rhys without worrying about it. so they start trying to kind of clean up their act and get their shit in order, and they pivot back towards regular acting and eventually towards writing plays of their own! a lot of their work is romanticized political stuff focused on sylvari history + current events, but they gleefully bastardize everything so much that frankly everyone whose image they're exploiting might as well be their ocs. typing this out is making me realize that i think bowyn and snargle goldclaw and probably besties

42. If they have siblings, do they like any of them? Would they rather be an only child?

glyndwr has a sister -- farmer, my friend finn's commander! they weren't born at a similar time or anything, it's one of those sylvari chosen-family bonds that developed naturally over the course of their friendship.

glyn is actually startlingly warm with her (though in this case "warm" means "not actively unpleasant." but still, startling) and people who watch them interact are usually pretty taken aback by it. farmer can do stuff that would get anyone else's head bitten off, and glyn will mostly shrug it off without complaint. she's also the main reason glyn and caithe have kind of come to an unsteady, chilly truce -- they both tolerate each other for farmer's sake.

he loves her a lot. she unlocks a really soft, tender spot in him that most other people don't have access to -- i think farmer gets to see a part of glyn that even his other closest and most loved people, like merrit and alan and canach, never see.

(one more farmer fun fact: she regularly brings glyn random rocks and leaves and sticks as gifts. glyndwr pretends that he throws these things away but in reality a hidden triple-locked drawer of his desk has carefully organized albums/boxes where he keeps every single one of them.)

43. What do they think is their worst quality? What is their actual worst quality?

if you ASKED him, glyn would snap at you for even daring to HAVE a question like that. obviously he is impenetrable. there are no weaknesses. there are no flaws. who the hell do you think you ARE, to even BROACH the SUGGESTION of criticism like that. glyndwr thinks that if you want to have the right to imply there is anything wrong with him you should have to be able to kill him. and good luck with that.

as for what he actually thinks... i don't know that glyn actually lets himself dwell on the idea that he has a "worst quality" so much as, like, he's never ever convinced anything about himself is enough. as confident and self-assured as he is, he's also constantly dissatisfied with where he's at, and his mind is always darting to the next thing he can do to "improve" (which usually has nothing to do with actually becoming a better or happier person and is more about being More Lethal and Efficient.) he doesn't ever SAY he dislikes anything about himself, but he also never sees fit to actually celebrate anything about himself, either, other than swinging his weight around for the sake of asserting his authority over other people.

and, of course -- his actual worst quality is his ego/pride. it's the source of all his other distinct flaws and is the number one thing that prevents him from being honest with himself and with others, and the thing that most often gets in the way of him making the right choices.

39. Can they drive? What vehicles are they licensed to operate?

as in actual vehicles? noooooo. i think merrit could figure a vehicle (like a charr tank or a skiff or whatever) in a pinch, but he'd hate every second of it and potentially psych himself out bad enough to make a mistake. lorelei would be an absolute disaster no matter what (and would bring none of merrit's well-earned caution along with them.)

HOWEVER, the two of them are very proficient with mounts!! merrit particularly has a way with raptors and is really quick on them -- he often is the one sent out when urgent messages too sensitive for pigeons/communicators need to cover a lot of ground. lorelei just loves all mounts in a standard ranger-animal-companion way. together the two of them spend a Lot of time frolicking around on their mounts, including racing each other!

10. How do they decorate their living space?

alan is all about comfort and opulence. gentle lighting, nice smells, soft seating, gauzy dreamy decorations like sheer drapery and shimmery fabrics. he's dabbled in shaping, and while he's not particularly fast, he can eventually coax together a pretty lovely little space from surrounding plantlife wherever he goes, and if he settles somewhere for long enough he'll eventually end up embellishing it with flowers and vines. (for example, his quarters in the vigil keep started out pretty basic, but over time he's built out an entire homegrown balcony/terrace.) he loves entertaining and showing hospitality to others, and he'll usually always have a few lush fruit plates/platters of cheese and nuts/pitchers of wine laying around at the ready. there's always a vague sense of "how did you know i liked [insert specific refreshment]/how did you have all this ready so quickly???" in a way that is flattering but also... maybe a little weird?

18. What was their worst injury?

clooney had a pretty close call, from combined issues of Lacerations and Blood Loss + Nearly Drowned + All The Gore (Even If Plant Gore) In The Water While You Nearly Drowned Attracted A Bunch Of Sharks, while trying to have insane tipsy sex with a largos. he learned absolutely nothing from this experience and would do it again in a heartbeat, though luckily another opportunity has not presented itself

29. What video game would appeal to them the best?

callas would looooove the sims. but what i mean by that is callas would love to stick sims in the pool and then delete the ladder, and to set sims on fire, and to build sims into little windowless boxes and watch them go crazy and starve to death, etc etc. also all of these sims would be modeled after people who have mildly annoyed her in real life but i figured that was probably implied

36. Do they wear makeup regularly? If they don’t, would they consider wearing any?

if mud and blood and campfire soot count as 'makeup,' then yes, lisk is smearing that crap all over her face pretty regularly

[atemu-remus]

Those pop-it toys are basically portable reusable bubble wrap, and no I will no elaborate

[mirage-of-the-virtuoso]

Idk about anyone else, but in regards to Mawdrey: How funny would it be if those who have Mawdrey on them (ie Chrys because that's his baby owo) could sense other people who have raised another like it? Just nuzzles up to other Mawdrey raisers like an affectionate cat while the character is awkwardly explaining "sorry, it's not usually like this 😅"

[mirage-of-the-virtuoso]

So, I have a few things that are canon to Chrys and Auri particular timeline, and I took a couple of liberties in terms of sylvari behavior and reaction just for my oc's canon.

Following the trail of "some sylvari feel everything too strongly and get overwhelmed in the Grove", Chrys is one of those types, with the unfortunate side effect of a physical cue when he gets too stressed out. Namely, flowers sprouting in his hair. If the stress gets too out of control, or he tries to force it all down for too long, it makes him physically ill, sometimes coughing up petals and flowers in an attempt to force him into a state requiring medical attention or a few days bedrest in order to recuperate.

Chrys despises the fact that this happens, but it's forced him to learn better stress management as a result, especially since this came to light during HoT where he collapsed in the middle of camp some time into the campaign. Auri, being both his lieutenant and personal mender at that point, chewed him out for letting his stress get that bad.

In terms of reactions, especially in combat, I imagine seasoned sylvari warriors have a subconscious reaction to use whatever means necessary to make sure they can defend themselves. In this, parts of their skin may prick up, so to speak, and coat their bodies in a temporary layer of thorns. Kinda like how a cat fluffs up their fur to seem more intimidating, but these thorns could do very real damage to unsuspecting attackers.

While Auri is more a support type mesmer, they have learned how to reflexively activate these thorns, usually when trying to protect Chrysallus when he's otherwise incapable of defending himself. These thorns require a conscious effort to activate, so if they are untrained or unconscious, then a sylvari wouldn't be able to use their thorns as effectively.

[mirage-of-the-virtuoso]

Since I was running through my playlists again, figured I'd find the top three songs to describe my ocs

Chrysallus

• Catch Me if You Can - Set it Off

• Intoxicate Me - Unlike Pluto

• The Devil Within - Digital Daggers

Aurienal

• Secret Garden - Sleepsong

• Let It Burn - Citizen Soldier

• Circus - Britney Spears

Arioch

• You Are Not Your Past - Citizen Soldier

• Electric Sugar Pop - Jeffree Star

• Queen - Loren Gray

[mirage-of-the-virtuoso]

{Finally, my attempt at a sketch for Chrysallus. I chose his virtuoso gear because it was the easiest to work with when I started}

[mirage-of-the-virtuoso]

Chrysallus vs. Arioch: A summary

"You aren't as pure of heart and virtuous as people think you are. I'll get you to slip up and show your dark side, just you wait and see!"

"Bold words to say to a mesmer, but you are welcome to try and fail to your heart's content."

[mirage-of-the-virtuoso]

"Again."

The blue sapling lunged at the violet mesmer, who deflected the sword attack with their scepter, clones appearing out of thin air. In response, the trainee formed a phantasm of his own, then disappears into a cloud of smoke. As the mentor's clones looked wildly for their target, the trainee leapt out of the shadows and struck the other sylvari, only to once again be deflected.

Being spotted, the blue sylvari teleported backwards and swapped weapons, from a sword and torch to a staff. The skill difference was noticeable the moment he swapped sets.

More and more of the trainee's clones appeared, shattering just as fast. The sapling got close, appearing as one of the clones before casting a chaotic storm and leaping backwards, a similar purple aura swirling around him. Before long, more clones appeared once the phantasms expired. It didn't help that there was an occasional sharp pain from a mantra sent their way. A quick pinch to throw them off-rhythm.

Too bad it doesn't quite work on them.

The trainee was distracted by a clone coming for him, practically demanding his attention. A quick close-range shatter or two, and the trainee was gasping for breath on the ground.

"Again."

The blue sapling cast a healing signet, blinking away to the edge of the ring and casting more clones before swapping back to his sword and torch, leaping forward for a flurry sword strike. Once again disappearing into the air, the violet mentor cast one of their phantasms to again distract the sapling. The sword mesmer leapt out from the side and shattered his clones, a crystalline shield preventing him from harm for just a second or two. A second is a lot of time in battle.

Two more clones appeared from the blue sylvari, and all three sprinted towards the mesmer mentor.

Having had enough of this, the mentor used a shatter skill, dazing the trainee so much that he dropped to the ground.

It's now that the mentor notices the flowers in the blue sylvari's white leaves.

"That's-"

"Again."

The mentor caught him by the wrist when he swings, twisting it behind his back and pinning him to the floor.

"That's enough, Chrysallus. You need a break," the mentor firmly stated.

The sapling, Chrysallus, struggled to get free. "I can- I can get this, Auri!" he grunted, fighting to stand. "One. More. Time."

Auri, the mentor, sighs. "You're obsessing again, Chrys. This perfectionism of yours is getting out of hand. No one learns everything in a few days."

"I can learn this!"

"You will wear yourself out first, then where would you be? This would get you killed in a fight."

Chrys finally stops struggling. He loathes giving in, but he didn't have any more energy to keep fighting.

Auri lets him go. "We'll call it a draw-"

"Don't pity me, I lost."

"I'm not pitying you, I'm acknowledging your progress," the violet sylvari huffs. "Stop shooting down praise that's rightly earned, you will not get anywhere being difficult like that."

Chrys sheathes his weapons, still looking irritable. Auri approaches and embraces him from behind. "Why don't we go into the Garden of Dawn? Unwind for a little while? Treat the bruises?"

After a moment of silence, Chrys pulls away and tugs them by the sleeve of their shirt. He never was particularly verbal when frustrated.

They link arms with him and lead the difficult sylvari away from the training ground, over by a small pool. Both of them dive in and swim to the other side, being met with a brightly lit space paved with smooth rocks and a small waterfall at the end. They sat down in front of it, and Auri wasted no time meticulously untangling some flowers from Chrys's hair.

"Aurienal." Hearing their name, they made a hum in response. "Do you know of any other sylvari like me?"

"Like you?"

"These damn flowers. Pesky little things always being an inconvenience."

"Well, you refuse to take breaks when you need to, these 'pesky flowers' make it easier to give you that time," they reply. "A strange little quirk, but it's benign, for the moment."

"Hmph."

Once the flowers are picked out, his mentor pulls him back to relax against them. "So, your body has a visual cue. If you had continued as you had, you likely would have forced yourself to collapse."

"I would have been fine!"

"I'd have to drag you to a mender on principle." That response earned a growl. "Don't growl at me, kitty cat. You're the one being difficult."

"I am not a damn cat."

"No, but you share a lot of similarities with them!" Hearing Auri laugh, Chrys just huffs in annoyance.

"You're lucky I tolerate your pet names. But I don't want you using them in front of others."

They rest their forehead on Chrys's head, feeling him relax a little. "Not one word. But I reserve the right to call you 'kitty cat' when you're being difficult."

"Oh shut it, I'm not doing it on purpose."

Auri helps him settle, noting his yawn from exhaustion. "I know. Now get some rest. We'll get some food once you've recovered more of your strength, my treat."

[mirage-of-the-virtuoso]

Being that Chrys is a Priory Magister and Auri is a member of the Whispers, there have been times where they came looking for information while he's organizing, and Chrys takes one look at their outfit to determine whether or not Auri was getting pranked by their faction.

Example:

"Hey, Chrys, looking for information of [x] region in Sparkfly Fen."

"Sure, anything-" Chrysallus eyeballs Auri's outfit, which seems ridiculously out of character with the wild colors and general mamba vibe. "....anything in particular?"

"Rumors of Court activity in the area. Apparently, I'm to act as bait."

"... Mhm... well, bait is the only good reason for that outfit, I suppose. Though, why you have to look like a tie-dyed moa to get their attention seems unreasonable. They'll target anyone who's alone or outnumbered anyway."

"Are you telling me this is someone's idea of a joke?"

"If it is, I pity the fool who came up with it. Let me know how that goes, here's the information I have of the area."

[mirage-of-the-virtuoso]

{Do you guys ever wonder what it's like for your character to interact with the world? Like, I imagine that if Chrysallus meets another Pact Commander, it'd likely be in a place in the Mists (ie WvW Mist War) and his first reaction is typically to run at the first sign of danger. He's an explorer, not a fighter. If he is going to be part of a fight, he'll blend in with a zerg.

Outside of that, it's "pick a story season and we'll figure it out from there" because you could literally find him anywhere otherwise.

Also, probably likely to spot him going into jumping puzzles because he's just Like That}

[mirage-of-the-virtuoso]

The trio's "hidden talents"

Arioch: Seashell crafts and karaoke

Aurienal: mixology

Chrysallus: pole dancing/aerial arts

Take this info as you will :3

[mirage-of-the-virtuoso]

For those of you that enjoy in-game tonics and such, do you also envision that your character may adopt certain traits of their most used transformation tonics?

ie - more creature like for animal tonics (cat, dog, desert creatures, etc); kinship with other races/corrupted creatures (void tonic, quaggan, kodan, skritt tonics), difficulties with space proportions (embiggening/miniature tonics)

Chrys has lately realized that he has more cat-like tendencies/preferences than most sylvari, and his most used tonic for various purposes is the mystery cat tonic (the one you get from the laurel vendor). He's not sure what to do about this discovery

[mirage-of-the-virtuoso]

• Tell us about your love life? What's your type?

That isn't any of your business. But, in the spirit of the occasion, I suppose I can give a hint. They need to be able to match my energy. It doesn't matter if they are better or worse than me at something, but they do need to be able to keep up. Or, be capable of helping me slow down when I get stressed out.

• Do you get crushes? Who was your first?

..... Yes. My first... isn't here anymore. Sorry, I'd like to move on from this question.

• Explain this mysterious hanahaki like disease you're dealing with

"Hanahaki"? Oh, what did that translate to again? I know it's a Canthan thing- *he's flipping through a book he has about Canthan myths and legends, then through fiction tropes*

Right, okay. So, traditionally, it's some sort of fictional romantic cliché, typically used as a symbol of unrequited love, and if the love isn't accepted, the sufferer dies from heartbreak. Or, something along those lines. It felt a lot like guilt tripping or forcing relationships, so I don't like the concept as a whole.

Looking back, I understand why others may assume it to be similar. Coughing up flowers and whatnot is... pretty grim in retrospect. Hm. My particular case is a symptom of high stress. Some soldiers I've worked with have had similar conditions where they felt like they were having strokes or chest pains when under extreme stress. Mine manifests in the form of flowers, similar to this hanahaki disease thing.

As much as I despise it and want it to disappear entirely, it does help me learn better stress management. So long as I'm not under too much stress, I won't have to deal with it. If it gets too bad, I could black out from the pain and nausea as well. All things I'd rather not deal with.

I'm also unsure of how common it is. I don't hear of other sylvari suffering from this illness either, so I'm of the belief it's fairly rare.

• Who is Aurienal to you?

They are the closest I have to family. They have bent over backwards for me, regardless of inconvenience and personal cost. They are my lieutenant command and most trusted advisor and mender in the Pact. They have done more for me than I could wish or ask for. I only wish they would be a little more selfish sometimes.

(Auri: ..... Not that I'm not grateful for this praise, he speaks about himself in these words and doesn't realize. He is far more giving and self-sacrificing than myself. He will drive himself to ruin and self-destruction if he's not careful)

[mirage-of-the-virtuoso]

Chrys is easily annoyed anytime he's sick. Especially if the illness is, at most, just a mild inconvenience.

If he's at a point where he's incapacitated, he'll actually listen to mender orders and get rest.

On the other hand, if it's just a couple of annoying symptoms (ie coughing fits, allergies, congestion, etc), he will growl very verbally with every one.

Example: Chrys is physically restraining himself from coughing because he doesn't wanna worry anyone. But he's also been sneezing a lot. Sneezes a couple of times within the past 15-20 minutes. 4th time he's had to sneeze that day, and he very audibly growls once the sneezing is over. "Chrys, do you want to go lay down and-" "No. I'm fine. Just a minor inconvenience, that's it." "… you sure?" "Keep asking me stupid questions and find out what that earns you."

In the case of allergies (he thinks he might have some type of dust allergy, but it's so sporadic it's hard to pinpoint), it's a lot of sneezing and his eyes itch to hell, to the point where he expresses wanting to rip his eyeballs out of his skull in rage.

It's good to have Aurienal nearby in case this happens. It's also part of the reason Auri doesn't like to be away from Chrys; they think he actually would given half a chance.

[mirage-of-the-virtuoso]

Chrysallus would be the unfortunate victim of being a rice krispie skeleton