#aerianger hair braiding ♥

[stormbabylore]

Time for another one from this series of love-related asks.

ˋ°•*⁀➷⁠ Round 1 | Round 2

Round 3: eclair and inipit!

6. eclair - do they want to one day be married? ─☆─ No, although it's honestly something she just doesn't consider. If she ever did, she'd come to the conclusion that any sort of public or "official" commitment isn't important to her. As she grows more comfortable with the people she feels a sense of commitment toward, the unspoken bond between them would be evident in their actions and routines together; and that's more than enough for her. (Plus, she actively avoids any situation that puts her on display.) That said, I got to attend an in-game bonding ceremony for the first time some months back, and I really liked the bit about the rings they exchanged being forged of their aether. I wanted to put my own spin on that... so I do have a quasi-bonding headcanon for Aeryn and Urianger. I can't imagine it would happen until post-Endwalker, but at some point Urianger would forge a bead or trinket out of aether and request to twine it into her hair (which in my silly little made-up ancient elezen lore would have been the final stage of courtship, when the couple would promise themselves to each other). Since Aeryn can't manipulate aether that way, she gives him the wildflower she'd preserved alchemically and had been wearing around her neck, because the color of it reminded her of his eyes. And because I'm a complete sap. It would be a quiet moment, just a simple gesture between the two of them in the midst of their ordinary routine, and it would come with no pomp or additional expectations, such that I don't know if I would consider them married in any way. It's more like a quiet request of each other: wherever you are, I hope you might carry a little part of my soul there to keep with you. 7. inipit - what qualities do they seek in a partner? describe physical qualities and personality traits? ─☆─ She doesn't. I don't mean to be obtuse, but Aeryn very especially doesn't seek anything or anyone in terms of partnership. Her every action in those early days is laser-focused on surviving in unfamiliar circumstances and finding answers about who she is. She is initially drawn to anyone who doesn't offer her excess attention and allows her the safe space to just quietly exist alongside them. Later, she begins to understand what qualities speak most deeply to her heart as she discovers them in the person who had already, unwittingly, endeared himself to her by offering her that safety. From there it just evolved without her ever having sought it. The qualities that end up meaning most to her are: respect; patience; support; freedom; and a sense of stability - a constancy despite her flightier, less-constant nature in the early days. She needed someone balanced enough to help bring her moments of comfortable stillness and clarity in the otherwise wild chaos of her journey.

[stormbabylore]

Look at this wee sprout with her baby ARR gear. (╥_���)

Aeryn's hair journey:

1. ARR - early Stormblood: Pigtail braids! She awakens on the Source with this style and doesn't change it in hopes that someone might someday recognize her and tell her who she is. (Because her hair glows, then turns yellow when cut/broken, her fringe would also be yellow. The highlights in the braids themselves would be less prominent until the end of the tail.) 2. StB - ???: Short crop, half-braid! (And her current style - see 99% of my screenshots!) Zenos cuts off one of her braids in their first battle, and Aeryn falls into a state of denial, refusing to acknowledge what's happened until en route to Kugane, when Tataru offers Aeryn her first ever proper haircut. It becomes the catalyst for an overarching identity crisis. Keeping her hair unchanged had been representative of an idealistic hope to one day reclaim her missing sense of self; and the loss of that feels more severe while the story is so heavily exploring themes of home, family, belonging, and cultural/national identity - all things Aeryn realizes she might now never find. 3. EW (?): The longer half-braid! Aeryn's unspoken goal since StB has been to grow her hair long enough for pigtails braids again, so I'll change her hair to the shoulder-length version of her current style once I feel there's been enough of a time shift. (Not sure if that will be before or during EW - I'm waiting to see what the story gives me, first.) I've also been toying with the notion of turning her highlights white instead of yellow, but I'm not sure if anything in EW would give me a story-reason for that... so we'll see! 4. Future: Once she grows her hair out long enough (maybe after EW?), Aeryn will discover she no longer wants to return to her former style. Though the style doesn't exist in game, she would probably begin to wear her hair in a single braid over her shoulder. It represents the journey she's been on to blend her two selves - to accept and then let go of her mysterious past while also embracing the person she now is... Future side-braid Aeryn also has smaller accent braids randomly plaited into the larger one. I have a teeny tiny little obsession with my WoLship braiding each others' hair. It's important to me. I headcanon that it's an archaic elezen courtship custom. No one will ever talk me out of this. (ꈍᴗꈍ)♡

What hairstyle do you use for your WoL?