#user: zeloinator

[paintedscales]

13. What is their go-to for making a partner feel loved?

And~

14. What makes them feel loved? Would they build up the courage to ask for it?

Good evening, Zee! Thank you for the ask! \ o w o / I hope that the week ahead treats you well!

Useful/Fun Character Development Questions for Couples

What is their go-to for making a partner feel loved?

For Nomin, her go-to is being close and generally just holding hands with Estinien whenever he's particularly...quiet or avoidant of topics. Mostly because she doesn't really know him to shy away from difficult conversations or situations all that much unless they're very specific things (like whenever Aymeric is attempting to keep tabs on him).

If Estinien is upset, it's giving him space and doing something for him to pass the time in the meantime. Sometimes this means teleporting to Kugane and then coming back once she's purchased some dried squid for him (though on the island, she's been learning how to season and dry out squid herself so she doesn't have to expend all that aether). She does have a reserve of dried squid rations for him just to help with that.

When Nomin cannot teleport, she has actually sat down and learned a number of traditional Ishgardian meals, particularly ones that were more common in smaller towns and villages on the outskirts of Ishgard that she might make for Estinien. Her cooking isn't perfect, but I imagine that Estinien appreciates that she goes through the effort to give him something nostalgic.

As for how I imagine this in Estinien's case... I like to imagine he's more willing to humor Nomin and engage with some of her interests. She is a little more outgoing than he is, and she has hobbies where he does not have many outside of training and keeping himself in check. So sometimes he offers to do some gardening with Nomin. If she's feeling particularly down, I imagine he just sits with her and lets her curl up against him while they bask in mutual and loving silence.

What makes them feel loved? Would they build up the courage to ask for it?

For Nomin, she really does appreciate whenever Estinien goes out of his way for her. A lot of his little gestures are so appreciated, because while they seem little for others, they're actually huge for Nomin. They're huge for her because it means he cares enough to listen and to remember these little things that she likes or engages in.

Since I imagine that Estinien becomes more adventurous (and we're even shown this!), and Nomin becomes more sedentary after getting the island sanctuary, he often comes across things he remembers Nomin likes and will bring them back to the island. 8 w 8 He never really goes out of his way for things she hasn't mentioned or has shown a particular interest in.

So...things he's brought back for Nomin are:

Seeds

Paint brushes (she collects them!)

Paint

Honey

Canvas and hide

Scale polish (skdjfsf This one is tricky because while Nomin takes care of her scales, sometimes what Estinien brings back if he sees it isn't quite...Right™)

Nomin never really asks Estinien to go out of his way too often. It's when she's pregnant that she asks for stuff more because she's having to adjust and take it easy. Not to mention, her first pregnancy, she's not really sure how to take care of herself and how she should exercise at first because...she never invested time in learning.

As for Estinien, just seeing Nomin happy and sharing what makes her happy with him is enough. Her sharing anything with him is enough. Especially if it's special to her.

One thing in particular is that Nomin painted Ferndale for Estinien later in their relationship. And this probably was the most touching thing that she spent an extraordinary amount of time on. I don't think Estinien would have ever had the courage to ask her to do it, even if he was sure she could do it. The thought and sentiment behind her efforts definitely makes him feel loved. That she would go out of her way to grab her Echo by the neck just to see Ferndale herself through the memories of others that were willing so long as she could do it.

[paintedscales]

motion: How does your OC move? How does their clothing help or hinder their range of motion? Are they flexible, coordinated, clumsy?

And~

change: Has your OC ever drastically changed their appearance? Significant haircuts, big tattoos, complete wardrobe swap, etc? Why? How do they feel about the change?

Happy...//looks at the time// ...Day after patch day, Zee! Thank you so much for the asks! \ o w o / I hope that the patch was enjoyable for you!

OC Asks: Character Design Edition

motion: How does your OC move? How does their clothing help or hinder their range of motion? Are they flexible, coordinated, clumsy?

Nomin is very light on her toes. She walks, tip or side of her foot hitting the ground first to heel. Very rarely does she do heel to toe steps. This is to help muffle and silence her steps as she walks.

She generally wears pretty light clothing that allows her to move freely and without feeling like she's too weighed down. It's also preferred, since she prefers the climate of summer, and though she enjoys summer, she would rather enjoy it to its fullest with clothing she knows can shield her from the sun, but allow for decent air flow to help cool her body.

Overall, I would say that Nomin's method of movement tends to be rather precise. She hates wasting her time on trivial matters, and she feels like, within combat or hunting, every action has to count. Every arrow has to be shot without hesitation, lest the food gets away, or the enemy seizes the opening.

change: Has your OC ever drastically changed their appearance? Significant haircuts, big tattoos, complete wardrobe swap, etc? Why? How do they feel about the change?

The biggest change Nomin's ever really made for herself was making a habit of painting her scales. And, like...it's not even a good disguise, really. In the grand scheme of things, if she wanted to hide better from the Jhungid, she probably SHOULD have cut her hair and learned to dye it with whatever methods there were / are.

Though...I do feel like that once she makes her way off the Steppe and starts experiencing Kugane, and then sailing over to Eorzea, Nomin definitely starts changing up her wardrobe. She still has an appreciation for her origins on the Steppe, though as her clothes get worn, she definitely has to find new ensembles as she travels.

[paintedscales]

57. What’s a simple daily activity / motion that they mess up often?

I have a feeling you sent me two by accident, but even if you didn't, thank you so much for even just one of them! ; w ;

Wierdly Specific but Helpful Character Building Questions

To answer the first question:

As far as daily activities go, that one's pretty tough to think about. I never really wrote about it because it feels distracting thinking about it, but I imagine she often forgot to feed Horse anything outside of allowing him to just graze. Especially since it was a brand new responsibility at first that she never thought about. It was always someone else's job to take care of the beasts of burden / war before she took Horse and rode away on him.

Likewise, I think she probably messed up getting him bridled and saddled because no one really ever showed her how? She probably had to learn on the go by simply observing how it was before she rode him before Arik showed her how to properly cinch the saddle up and make sure it was straight and secure before mounting.

I think when she starts living in her own permanent residence on the Island Sanctuary is when she has the most amount of new things to get used to, and therefore, the most amount of daily / mundane things that she messes up for forgets to do. Sweeping is actually one thing that came to mind -- like, never having to do it in the past and then being like, "wait, the floors are dusty and dirty... I never had to deal with this when it was just my tent or staying at an inn!"

As for the second question, I'll put it under the cut just so this response doesn't stretch out peoples' dashes!:

Nomin's guilt definitely is different between being personal and professional. Most of the times, Nomin doesn't feel professional guilt. At least at first. It's really difficult for her to really feel anything for people she doesn't really know too well -- people that kind of foisted the role of Warrior of Light onto her (and just because she is doesn't mean she wanted to accept that responsibility at first).

When it concerns people that are close to her, though? Nomin doesn't want to lose them. Far from it! The guilt of her actions that harms those that are close to her digs deep and it also deploys these hooks that make her second guess a lot of things regarding those that she either feels like she's hurt, or has actually hurt.

Essentially, it is easier for her to shrug off guilt when it concerns nameless and faceless people to her. After all, it comes to a point of: "I don't know them, why should it concern me?" versus knowing people, having their names and their faces in her mind, and knowing that if she hurts those she cares about, she could end up losing them and their friendship.

[paintedscales]

🌹

Their dance was bubbly and filled with a jovial kind of playfulness that the two complemented each other on.

For Every 🌹 a Sentence from a WIP