Thinking of lore pertaining to chrysalis 🤔

Imma about to lore idea dump so be warned—

I’ve thought a lot about chrysalis lately and what can help separate her hive from the average changeling kingdom/empire and I’ve come up with a few things—
I like the idea of her hive becoming more and more “westernized” with time (basically taking inspiration from Equestria but I was thinking more old-timey mainly just because of aesthetics and symbolism, aka I love the idea of them dressing up in a way similar to the roaring twenties since in my opinion it was a time of hubris and wealth to middle/higher class Americans). I’m also thinking of there being a social hierarchy built on two things, favoritism from the queen and the rank held in their military, meaning that those who rank far below and don’t have the queen’s favor are often starving and living in immense poverty in comparison to the more lavish and well-fed lives those at the top have.
I lowkey didn’t like how out in the open and obvious chrysalis’s hive was in the show so I’m thinking of that hive being a red herring of some sorts, so that her enemies wouldn’t find her so easily. So I came up with the idea that her actual hive is based on an underground wasp nest (but much more massive and complex looking of course), for simple reference

Another thing, I like the idea of the hives location being set kind of near the crystal empire in the frozen north. Another part of that social hierarchy is that those deeper underground hold a higher status and are toastier than those above them in the hive, as they’re often exposed a bit more to the cold and harsh conditions in comparison to their higher ranking counterparts.

Ooh and one more thing, chrysalis will have a social circle made up of her generals (all of whom were picked based more on favoritism than competence/cooperativeness) and here they are

General Ito Hiroto “Mantis” of the Queen's Army ( Japanese-based) - He’s been the favorite of Chrysalis since they were teenagers, having an on-and-off relationship with her that tends to bother him at times. He desires to one day retire, settle down, and start a small family with her once she’s satisfied with what she has but… he’s concerned about the effects of feeding mainly on love will have on his fertility; he’ll be lucky and have no side effects from it, right? Not only that but he’s becoming more and more aware that everyone can tell he has feelings for the queen, and that he’s become the butt of the joke within their hive, not helped by the rumor that chrysalis has had countless flings with other soldiers but that can’t be true either, right? (Light blue)

General Anahita Hashemi “Wasp” (Persian-based) - She’s considered one of the most terrifying members of Chrysalis’s personal circle, having little to no empathy for those outside of her queen’s hive, draining others of emotions without hesitation. She has a history of harassing the lower ranking male and occasionally female soldiers and has countless reports of physical harassment and verbal abuse but these are never followed through with. Chrysalis finds her to be both a major threat and massive advantage to her schemes so, better keeping her close and with a high position to make sure she won’t one day turn on her for something better. (Rose pink)

Lieutenant General Aaqil “Pharynx” (Singaporean Malay-based) - He’s been loyal to Chrysalis since day one, born in her hive with a surprising appearance that deeply resembled changelings from the southeast colonies; leading to them theorizing that asexually birthing changelings in specific parts of changelings territory might affect their appearances. Pharynx was a bit of a playboy in his youth, constantly having flings with both Changelings inside and outside their hive… although it was mainly deception and used for information when it was outside his queen’s hive. He eventually calms down a lot—as well as gets a bit grumpier—after he gets much older and settles down with his beloved Painted Lady, who fell hard for him after getting bored of trying to catch Mantis’s attention for their own social advantage. (Red + Purple)

Major General Aadhira Singh “Hornet” (Indian-based) - She’s considered to be a rarity in the hive, one of the few—besides Painted Lady—that still embraces her original culture from Bhatrot’s colony Parivartan. Although she always dresses “flamboyantly”, clothed and adorned with what males in her old colony would wear with pride; she’s considered among one of the few natural beauties left in Chrysalis’s hive. She’s also rumored to secretly have a more sadistic side to her, possibly orchestrating violent crimes within the hive for her own entertainment but even then, it’s never been proven. She is rather close to Wasp and word on the street says they’re more than just friends, and whether or not that should concern the soldiers is a mystery. (Orange)

Brigadier General Chankrisna Chea “Painted Lady (Khmer-based) - They are considered the most beloved members of the hive for their strength, intelligence, and ethereal beauty; some even say that “if Chrysalis is the Queen of the Hive then Painted Lady is the Queen of their Society”. They have a popular reputation outside the hive in their home country of Cantlebodia, being among the few dancers for their colony’s royal family (they use this to their advantage quite a lot). They’re a major flirt and Chrysalis finds them entertaining to keep around as one of her top generals, a confidant, and as a brilliant double agent, although Painted Lady only really has eyes for one changeling in particular, the hard-to-tie-down womanizer, Pharynx. (Golden brown)

Also y’all can try and tear my headcanon of “Pharnyx was absolutely a pretentious fuckboy in his youth” from my cold dead hands because I think it’s hysterical

Comments

[BezierBallad]

Also y’all can try and tear my headcanon of “Pharnyx was absolutely a pretentious fuckboy in his youth” from my cold dead hands because I think it’s hysterical

I mean, it’s somewhat fitting lmao

Also Idk why but the idea of Japanese Mantis just really strikes my fancy

[Melody Song]

I love all these characters so much, and Pharynx being a pretentious fuckboy sounds like it would be absolutely wonderful to read, so by all means please do that

[Musical_Trash]

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The idea of Chrysalis meeting him while he’s training to become a geisha (making him a maiko at the time), and finding herself drawn to him before being awestruck the first time she sees him without all the heavy makeup makes me go absolutely feral 😭—

[BezierBallad]

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Mantis as a friggin’ geisha oh my god—