Mycel Cypress
spiralscales
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- 2 years, 4 months ago
- Creator
- spiralscales
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Profile
Name: Mycelium Cypress (Prefers to just be called "Mycel" or "Commander Cypress".)
Pronouns: he/him
Age: 32
Species: Heavily evolved humanoid chanterelle mushroom
Mycel Cypress is a tough, no-nonsense commander of the Organic Army. He lives in a warzone of a society split in two between "Artificial" beings and "Organic" beings, and in general has a strong distaste for anything he considers "Artificial" (basically anything technological or man-made). He is incredibly stubborn, irritable and rule-driven. He hates the idea of sudden change and inconsistency, seeming to panic at any lack of order in his or others' lives. However, those who somehow manage to break past his more bad-tempered and moody side will come to realize Mycel is just incredibly sheltered and psychologically damaged by his living environment, and he genuinely believes all of the things he says and does are what he has to do to "properly fulfil his given purpose as a commander", even if he doesn't necessarily enjoy it or consider it morally good.
Mycel, being a fungus, has the ability to make any living thing that touches his bare skin decompose and rot. How fast and how severe the rot is depends on how long said living thing touched Mycel and how much of him they touched. This could make as significant of a difference as losing part of a finger vs. collapsing and dying in a matter of minutes. However, this ability is considered by both him and his peers to be useless as it doesn't have any effect on Artificial life. In general, because of this setback, Mycel is considered weak and "the runt of the litter" when it comes to Organic beings; he is often viewed as lesser and incompetent and feels like he always has to overcompensate to make up for it through constant (and almost obsessive) busywork and training.
(WARNING: THE NEXT SECTION CONTAINS DETAILED MENTIONS OF PHYSICAL ABUSE, EMOTIONAL ABUSE, PSYCHOLOGICAL MANIPULATION, TRAUMA, ABLEISM & BRIEF EMETOPHOBIA MENTIONS. BE CAUTIOUS)
Mycel's mindset of "fulfilling his given purpose" stems from the psychological molding coming from the Authorities, a group of god-like entities that watch over the divided society. Nobody has ever actually seen what these Authorities look like, as they only communicate verbally with people through a wavelength on a large monitor screen. While their main function is a ruler for all Organic and Artificial life in said society, due to their brainwashing, Mycel views these entities as a fucked up sort of family/group of caretakers to him. This is likely because since the day he became sentient, according to his own memory, they raised him as if he were their own child. However, it is likely due to manipulation and possible experimentation that some of Mycel's memories have either been tampered with or completely erased without his knowledge. He believes (or at least, he thinks he believes) that everything the Authorities says is entirely correct and for the good of his people, and tends to try and shove down any questions or doubts he has regarding them. Anyone who speaks against the Authorities or even openly questions their actions will almost always get a chewing out from Mycel.
The Authorities have psychologically molded Mycel through a wide variety of ways. They have never allowed him to leave the split society-- he spends the majority of his time within his army camp within the Organic side of society, and the few times that he leaves is when he's on the battlefield slaughtering Artificials across society's barrier. In general, Mycel is extremely isolated both literally and socially, which has allowed him to be highly vulnerable to the manipulation and abuse from the Authorities. When Mycel doesn't do exactly what the Authorities ask of him in the exact specific way they request, he is punished in a variety of ways. The most common way is through verbal degradation, where they remind Mycel of how useless and replaceable he is and further push the idea that he is failing to "properly fulfil his given purpose as a commander". Another way they torment him is through a sort of silent treatment where they refrain from contacting him for an unspecified period of time; this sends Mycel into a state of distress and dependency until they return and warmly welcome him back as if nothing wrong had happened. Lastly, another method they use is much more physical, as they will command Mycel to do physically overbearing tasks extensively-- for example, they'll press him to train and work out until he's vomiting and fainting, with promises that it will "improve his lackluster work".
Overall, Mycel's horrible relationship with his Authorities has turned him into a wreck, placing him under practically impossible standards with a bar that raises indefinitely. He believes he has to constantly give 110% in everything he does without question because it "makes up for everything wrong with him". He doesn't care what has to be done. He doesn't care about how many soldiers he has to bark at and threaten. He doesn't care about how many hours on end of training that it takes. He doesn't care about how many lives have to be lost on the battlefield. If it appeases his Authorities-- if it makes him worth something-- he's more than willing to do it.
Some random facts about Mycel:
-Mycel is canonically a demiromantic pansexual trans man!
-Mycel is also canonically autistic and has PTSD.
-Mycel has a cleft palate, though he was not given surgery to remove this trait of his. Because of this, he often speaks and eats in a way that others might consider strange, and has had some general issues with his teeth (multiple are missing). He attempts to hide this part of himself through a face mask, as his Authorities have wrongfully convinced him that it is "a flaw he must conceal".
-Mycel is so unbelievably focused and structured that he has the time memorized constantly, meaning that he has no need for clocks or watches. If you asked him randomly "what time is it?" he'd whip back to you without hesitation like "it's 7:42".
-Mycel works alongside another Organic commander named Sensu, who has the ability to control moss alongside some healing magic. Mycel acts like loathes Sensu, but in actuality, he... cares about them a good amount. He might even consider them friends. Maybe. He enjoys talking with them and values them above all others in Organic society. Due to Sensu's previous status as a scout, one of his favorite things to do is listen to Sensu tell stories of the world outside of their cooped up society-- he finds it fascinating. (Sensu belongs to @/limelight3212 respectively).
-Mycel believes that everyone is born with a distinct destiny, or "purpose", that they cannot change. Mycel feels as though he couldn't leave his role as a commander even if he wanted to just because he was "made to do it". (Sometimes when he's alone he dreams about a world where he isn't a commander and gets time to relax and explore the outside world.)
-Mycel doesn't typically drink liquids the "normal way"-- he will pour the liquid all over himself and absorb it through his skin. His skin isn't actually skin-- it's mushroom cuticle!
-Mycel will almost never swear. The worst things he says are "hell" and "damn" and on a really bad day "bullshit". He would never say fuck.
-Mycel refers to himself as an "Omphalotus Olearius", which is incorrect information. Also known as Jack O' Lantern mushrooms, while sometimes confused with chanterelles due to their appearance, they are not at all the same; Jack O' Lantern mushrooms contain a sickening amount of poison while chanterelles are completely harmless to touch and eat. Of course, Mycel will deny his status as a chanterelle and continue to claim his status as an Omphalotus in an attempt to intimidate people.
-Mycel gets so extremely flustered and defensive in any scenarios where people treat him with kindness or appreciation!!! It's something very rare for him and he has no idea how to process it or react to it!
-Mycel has no eyelashes. The markings beneath his eyes have become more visible over time, and while it is unclear what exactly they are, they seem to closely resemble tear stains.
-Mycel struggles with sensory issues, especially regarding weather and temperature. His Organic society takes place in a closed off humid tropical rainforest, so colder, dryer weather is something foreign to him.
-When Mycel is relaxed and happy enough, he will emit a strange purr-like sound from his throat.
