#parivesh

2. what’s their opinion on Logan Thackaray?

Lynette, Amara, Rasheem, Vesh: He exists.Miguel: Who?Galen: So in canon I suspect he doesn’t have any strong feelings. But commander AU… I’m trying and failing to find a more tactful way of saying that he makes Logan his bitch. I hate my brain. Galen would just really enjoy breaking him.

5. describe their childhood.

Lynette’s earlier childhood was pretty unremarkable. Calm, comfortable. Two brothers, one a twin (fraternal, you’d never know it to look at them,) and one several years younger. Then somewhere in her teens, her mother died suddenly and everything went downhill very fast. Her father took it very hard. A couple years of irresponsible living (and spending) later, he died as well, leaving the twins to try to pull things back together. Some extended family was able to help them a bit, but they were never very high up the noble hierarchy, and in his grief their father nearly ruined them. It’s been a slow, long struggle for stability since.

The Landi siblings are odd to talk about, since throughout her childhood, everyone including Amara saw her as a boy. A particularly effeminate boy that exactly no one was surprised to learn wasn’t straight, but still a boy. (Probably the biggest surprise came in learning that “he” had any interest in girls at all.)

Amara grew up distinctly aware of the series of roles she was expected to fill. Her family ran a textile trade, which she was expected to continue. Nobility came with the expectation that she’d continue the family line by some day marrying and having children. And alongside that, the expectation she didn’t even realize bothered her the most until it struck her there might be an alternative, the expectation she’d do so as a man. She learned to handle pressures from all directions. Mesmer magic ended up coming naturally to a mind that was already trained to carefully manage appearances and keep focus on multiple projects at once. And privately, it allowed some release through fantasy. She got very good at convincingly changing her appearance.

Rasheem’s childhood is marked by an inverse kind of frustration. He’s long felt like the extra, the untalented one that no one really expects to do much. The sad thing is, he’s not entirely wrong. He has a complicated blend of resentment and admiration for his sister, whose talents he tried and failed to emulate. (Though at the time he saw it as his brother he was trying to keep up with. He’s still not entirely used to having a sister.) But he does still love her, because when it’s really mattered she’s been quick to support him.

Galen was a farm boy. An awkward, awkward farm boy who spent entirely too much time doing gods-know-what outside on his own, and who took far too much interest when he saw a priest of Grenth perform some minor necromancy. His family situation was pretty normal; hard working parents, a mother who ran a tight and clean household, and siblings he sometimes even managed to get along with. But he was always a bit detached from most people. Adolescence didn’t help. As a teen he was tall and lanky with the vaguest hints of facial hair that refused to grow in more than wisps, and he was still as awkward and nerdy (I’m not sure Tyria even has that word, but the concept applies) as ever. He grew into his looks.

Vesh’s was not good. Some details are still fuzzy to me. I know she grew up in DR, and her name was originally Eliana. She was only raised by one parent, I’m still undecided which, and she’s not even sure whether or not the other is alive. The one she was raised by definitely isn’t, they likely died when she was anywhere from 9-14. She was always desperately poor, and despite her parent’s insistence on Elonian lineage, obviously of very Orrian heritage. By the time she was a teenager, a certain knack for the more abstract, energy-focused aspects of necromancy was manifesting. That’s when she gave up the struggle to not be the creepy Orrian girl entirely. The persona of Parivesh, witch of the Mists was born. It isn’t the only identity she goes by these days, just the easiest for her to fall back on. She’s developed a few different personas to deal with the constant sense of lack of belonging. Not all of them female, I should note.

Miguel was part of a big, reasonably well-off family of half a dozen or so siblings, of which he was one of the younger. He ended up left to his own devices a lot, and got himself into plenty of trouble. Modern diagnostics would say he has a pretty clear case of ADHD that he never outgrew, so “shut up Miguel” is something he heard a lot growing up. From pretty much everyone. But he doesn’t hold any resentment. He’s a big exuberant puppy of a person, and besides, he ended up doing pretty well for himself anyway.

6. do they feel particularly blessed by one of the Six?

Lynette, in-game choice Grenth: This has some canon relevance, as she’s a moderately religious person who’s had a lot of reason to think about death, and had to make peace with it.Amara, Lyssa: There definitely is a sense of appropriateness here. I’m not sure she’s particularly devoted, but it’s difficult not to feel a connection to the dual-faced goddess when she herself has had two very different faces she’s shown the world.Rasheem, Dwayna: Not really.Galen: …I’m not even going to answer that.Vesh, Kormir: She isn’t at all the religious sort, but if any god could earn her genuine respect, it’s the one who was once human. I do think Kormir speaks to her in a way the others can’t.Miguel, Melandru: Um… He likes birds? That’s nature-y, right?

8. do you have an in-game location for their “home?”

Lynette lives in one of the Shaemoor houses. I have a specific one I imagine, but it’s not terribly distinct description-wise, and I like to imagine it a bit bigger and fancier. I figure the whole world would realistically be scaled up a bit, anyway.Amara and Rasheem live somewhere in the Ossan quarter. I know I’ve picked out specific houses at one point, but I don’t quite remember. Pretty sure Rasheem ended up moving in with his boyfriend, but IIRC he’s in the same general area.Galen: There’s a little house in Kweli, one of the few if not the only one with a real interior. And it’s impossible to AFK in because the periodic forged attacks go right by the door and aggro on you.Vesh: …No actually.Miguel has a particular spot in Lion’s Arch, overlooking the harbor.

12. how do they feel about sylvari?

Lynette has had at least one sylvari as a long-term work partner and intimate friend. Generally positive. Occasionally remembers that they don’t have the same concept of class that humans do, and as someone who spends a lot of time worried about class structure, she finds this refreshing.Amara has no strong feelings. She knows some sylvari. They’re nice.Rasheem is much the same.Galen gets the title of resident dendrophile. He’s functionally (perhaps literally by now?) married to one, so… He’s generally had good experiences with them. Though things like the entire race spawning from the same mother and the fact that his husband is technically 14 are still weird if he thinks about them for too long.Vesh strikes me as the one most likely to take an academic interest in how sylvari work, if given the opportunity. The complex magical underpinnings of life as we know it are very much her thing, and she’d probably end up asking a lot of questions about the Dream to any sylvari willing to answer. She’s definitely had some sylvari friends by now, but I’m not sure if she ever got around to pestering them about it.Miguel will likely never get over the weirdness of (theoretically) being able to have conversations with someone who was literally born yesterday. But as people they seem alright.

17. how well does the dance animation fit their personality?

Lynette: Not very.Amara: It could be worse.Rasheem: Ditto.Galen: no

Vesh: Not very.Miguel: In one of his sillier moments, yeah, I could see it.

18. what sort of climates do they prefer, if they care at all?

Lynette is pretty comfy with Krytan weather.Amara is much the same. Though she does like when it’s a bit cooler, because she likes layers of clothing.Rasheem is also comfortable with Krytan weather.Galen likes cold weather. He finds it invigorating. And yet, he ended up living in the desert. Sigh.Vesh has no strong preference, though I think she might favor warmer.Miguel likes it hot. If only because he looks damn good with his shirt open. Or off.

20. what’s your favorite thing about playing them?

Bonus: Vesh and Trahearne, judging you.