@mystery-salad

coming right up! 👨‍🍳 < weeks later

🖊 Stephanie has a... complicated relationship with mesmers, and their portals especially. She wouldn't admit it but it does stem from her relationship with her mother (it's not good) and the fact she associates them with her. Wouldn't be uncommon for her to end up being teleported outside their home and they'd fight so she just generally hates the feeling of teleporation and makes her nauseous - though she's getting better at handling it! If not out of necessity, when you're running with street gangs and pirates a hasty escape is often needed, then by exposure therapy ie her fellow crewmate Niko constantly pranking her by placing portals under her feet (but it's fine he didn't know, he apologized)

🖊 you get an extra Steph fact, as a treat. She actually didn’t join the Aetherblades by choice, she’d been working with the Seraph when Scarlet attacked Divinity’s Reach, tasked with maintenance of the automated defenses set around the Crown Pavilion for the Queen's Jubilee. When the Aetherblades ran into her, for whatever reason they took her hostage instead of killing her. She was for the most part left forgotten at the bottom of an airship all throughout Scarlet’s antics until the Aetherblades broke Mai Trin out and fled into the Mists, where they’d get stuck, leaving Steph no real choice but to join them

🤥 LYING - are they good liars? do they have tells to show they're lying?

Val lies super easily, like 100 charisma skill easily, doesn’t hesitate or pause when lying and keeps talking just as smooth as if he was telling the truth. His tell however is that he tends to avoid eye contact, when usually he has no trouble maintaining it - though it is subtle, and often overlooked over how animated he is while talking so, to most that don’t know him that well, it would go unnoticed

Tiernac is also a good liar, though in his case it is more of a practiced skilled rather than natural charisma and more often than not it’s lying by omission or just bending the truth rather than outright lying. His tell is quite the opposite of Val, his eye contact is a little too unrelenting, looking a little too hard for any tells of the other person in case they caught his lie and he should start running Neither of them cry easily really, nor is there any one thing that’d make them cry no matter what

🎂 BIRTHDAY CAKE - when is their birthday? do they like celebrating it?

Faryen's birthday is on in winter, Season of the Colossus 87 (aka December 23), her birthday celebrations kind of blend in with the festivities of Wintesday and likely various Moots following the winter solstice, but she's a big fan of all of the above so, she does enjoy celebrating her birthday

Tiernac's birthday is in spring/summer, Season of the Phoenix 42 (May 12), Cycle of the Night as well, but he honestly.... never celebrated his birthday. Between you and me, he might not even remember the exact date

📣 MEGAPHONE - how loud are they? what do they speak like? got a voice claim?

Faryen if given the chance is rather loud and animated, full body talking with slaps on the back and everything, especially if in a group of people. She's just as quick to turn quiet though, once attention is off her, or it's more of a one on one interaction, she'll reserved and soft-spoken, talking more deliberately. Can go quieter still, if the need for stealth arises, using sign language to communicate. On the opposite end, she does have a Commander ™️ voice as well, speaking loud and clear for everyone to hear and leaving no room for questions. she has the range or something

Don't really have a voice claim for her right now, though the ingame female norn voice is likely close enough, except it'd be deeper and more raspy due to scarlet's rattle

Tiernac has a naturally loud voice, though he consciously keeps it low and often whsipery, lest he draws more attention to himself. He generally speaks very matter of factly, no words wasted, but he's known to lose his cool and resort to threats and swearing.

As for voice claim, something between Noshir Dalal and Cillian Murphy ( this clip at 2:15-3:25 is a good example)

🎵 MUSIC NOTE - what is their playlist like? their favourite artists? do you associate a particular song with them?

only Faryen has a playlist between the two and at this point it's kind of just, IBS vibes lol. Probably associate Alpine Marches with her, or the Dragon Bash song.

Tiernac has a little red panda named Turbo, he got her during his time as an Aetherblade when her original owner and his bundmate died in action so Tiernac was like oh. guess you're with me now 🧍‍♂️ He's been taking care of her every since and while he doesn't take her with him into combat of course, she'll often hide in the folds of his clothes or his hood

Val absolutely loooves dogs, he grew up surrounded by his father's hunting danes and drakehounds as well as their family basenji and beagle. When he joined the Pact on their trip to Elona he got so excited seeing the jackals for the first time he nearly got his hand bitten off. (can't decide if he manged to get one of his own or if he keeps failing to tame one)

@mystery-salad

skyscale man actually has a name now and it’s Aki 😏

5. What kind of clothes is your oc most comfortable wearing?

They’re both very ingrained in their work so they’re most comfortable in their respective armor really

(don’t look too closely on Aki’s dyes I need to fix them)

But on a more casual setting, they’re kind of polar opposites. Tiernac is most comfortable with drab clothing that won’t draw attention, generally oversized tops as well, something like a dark sweater and a thick coat, even better if he has a hood or scarf he can put over his head and hide his face.

Aki on the other hand will wear typical elonian dessert attire, with light and bright colors, flowing fabrics and showing a lot of skin - but he’s still more comfortable in his armor

9. What are your oc’s goals for the future? Relationship-wise, career-wise, or other?

Tiernac... has no real goals, he kind of just lives day to day. Ever since he fled Lion’s Arch and defected from the Aetherblades, he’s kinda just... floating in the wind. He doesn’t live with the fear that someone is gonna arrest him again anymore but he hasn’t formed any goals or relationships either in all those years - he’s kinda just. standing there 🧍‍♂️ (he’ll figure it out eventually I’m sure)

I haven’t had the time to really think about Aki yet honestly lmao. He’s a Redeemer in the Order of Shadows so most of his future goals align with his Order’s Goals but besides that, for now, shrug

14. If your oc spent one day free from any consequences or recognition for their actions, how would they act?

I think Tiernac wouldn’t act all that different, he’d perhaps be a little more relaxed, I did say he doesn’t live with the fear of being arrested anymore but he does have a lingering paranoia that he’ll be recognized - that said, might go on a little shoplifting/ pick-pocketing spree, going back to his roots

Aki for his part, would probably just let loose around Amnoon for once, get shitfaced on booze, with all the shenanigans that might entail

24. What is one thing that, no matter who it’s coming from, would anger your oc?

For Tiernac, any kind of prejudice really, whether directed at him or someone else, especially after HoT

boy’s got some legs on him its tru tell us about hiiiim

what part of underdeveloped -- ok fine let’s see