#user: briar-ffxiv

[paintedscales]

1. How does your OC feel about pet names? Might they rather enjoy them with a partner, but find them excrutiatingly embarassing if used in public?

Morning, Briar! I hope you had a good day yesterday, and that no one pulled any nasty pranks on you. :'3 Thank you for the ask!

Annual Amorous Asks

Nomin's not the biggest user of pet names. The most that she has for Estinien is calling him "my Sun" every now and then. She also doesn't really like too many pet names. Even with Estinien. It feels a little weird. The only one she accepts from him is him occasionally calling her 'Moonlight.'

I don't really see either of them using too many pet names with one another. I think to tease Nomin, Estinien will sometimes go back to calling her 'Warrior of Light' knowing that it does sometimes get a little under her scales. But he doesn't do it often, knowing it bothers her. It's more for one of those ironic statements made in a teasing manner.

I don't know if I would call them 'pet names'... Nomin has some nicknames from friends on the Steppe. Sometimes people call her 'Min Min' (Мьн Мьн). This has earned her the nickname 'Noodle' from Yanxian and Nagxian natives. Don't call her 'Noodle.'

I think maybe sometimes she does get a little flustered about it. Maybe they're just too cutesy for her.

[paintedscales]

🐙 ---- Is your muse a hugger? Do they enjoy physical affection whether it's platonic or romantic?

Hello, Briar! Thank you for the ask! I hope that you're having a good weekend so far, and that it's not too cold or horrid in terms of weather where you are! ; w ; / ♥

Animal themed headcanon prompts

Hugging is tricky for Nomin, admittedly! She's very conscientious of her particular set of horns, especially since they curve inward then forward, making anything intimate or comforting that is close to her horns something that she doesn't really want to accidentally hurt anyone with.

However!

Nomin does do a lot of touch reassurance and comfort in the form of placing her hand on someone. Whether it's their shoulder or holding their hand, Nomin does know the importance of having the comfort of touch, so long as the person in question would like to have it!

When she's more comfortable with Estinien, she likes being hugged from behind for sure. She likes the warmth and comfort of it all. So long as her horns are no issue in the contact, she really enjoys the feeling of having a warm, affectionate hug! ; w ;

[paintedscales]

☁️ : A soft headcanon

Hello there, Briar! Thank you so much for the ask! I appreciate it greatly! ; w ; / ♥

EMOJI PROMPTS

I was going to screenshot this and add it to the other soft headcanon ask I answered, but I have multiple, so why not! |D

One of the things I like to imagine is, that for Nomin's sake, since I think Estinien is more restless than she is after a time and likes traveling more, is that he brings back packets of seeds from places he's been to the island sanctuary. He knows that Nomin likes growing things, and he's learned that her time with the Sagahl means that she's more prone to planting back what she's taken so that the earth can keep producing (and it's something that he does every now and then, too, after spending more time with her).

He goes out of his way to have the florist / botanist / mycologist / plant person he's getting them from (we don't talk about how much he spends, though I imagine most people who sell seeds probably aren't out to swindle him as often) write down the instructions and ideal planting environment for them so that he can hand those off to Nomin as well. Though none of these items can be used for Merlwyb's initiative in helping build the Cieldalaes islands as places of interest for island-produced goods, successful nurturing and growth of the plants makes Nomin happy, which in turn makes Estinien happy.

It also means sometimes they get fruits and veggies that aren't grown on the island naturally! :>

[paintedscales]

face: Describe your OC's face. What's their smile like? Are their orbs cerulean? What would someone notice first when looking at them?

Hihi, Briar, thank you so much for the ask! \ o w o / I hope that today's been enjoyable, and that the maintenance hasn't been too rough in terms of waiting to log back on. ; w ; / ♥

OC Asks: Character Design Edition

Let's see...

Nomin has a very heart-shaped face. Scales adorn it symmetrically in shape, their form like cooled obsidian that clings to her temples, cheeks, jawline, chin, and neck. There are even some that finds itself along her forehead, through her glabella, and over the bridge of her nose, ending just a couple centimeters above the tip of it. Upon the inky black of those obsidian-like scales are striations of blue, like rivers of lapis that streak through the grooves and indentations of her scales and even her horns.

Speaking of her horns; they jut out where a hyur's ears would typically be, an ilm and a half thick, easily. They grow outward, almost an ilm and a half from her head. They arc backwards just a bit before they curl over upward and forward, their form looking as if they cradle her face between them as they taper off into sharp points about two ilms past her head. Little rings of gold decorate her horns, the decorative etchings on them having given way to weathering over years of use, but no less indicative of her Steppe heritage.

Upon Nomin's face, she has two rather large, round eyes that are somewhat upturned and wide set. They speak to her continued curiosities that she never quite lost when she was a child. Her irises are a deep teal, set upon black sclera. Her limbal rings loop around both her irises, bright cyan in color that have always spoken volumes to the innate aether that wells within.

Her nose has a straight edge to it that ends in a slightly wide flare. Her lips are considered thin, though have a bit more heavy-set upon the bottom -- not by too terribly much, though.

When looking at Nomin directly, the heart-shape of her face is accentuated by both her horns and her hair, as they frame it to present that appearance rather nicely.

[paintedscales]

SELF-CONTROL– How easy is it for them to perform a new task well? If they want something, how hard is it for them to wait?

Morning, Briar! Thank you for the ask, and sorry it took so long to get around to this one. :'> I hope you've been well in the meantime, though!

Positive Psychology OC Ask Meme

If it's a completely new task...? Hmmm...

If there's a social aspect to it, perhaps not too well. In her later teen and adult years, even if her Echo may pull her gut instinct one way or another, her mind tells her to keep people away. She takes a while to start warming up to people again after her experiences among the Jhungid, and she especially hates crowds for a good while after that time. So...anything with a lot of people, nerves would certainly get the best of her and prevent her from performing too well.

If Nomin has solitude, or at least minimal company / company she enjoys, I think she can pick up a new task pretty well. She would definitely be much more receptive to learning and putting what she learns to the proof.

As for wanting something, thankfully Nomin can be pretty patient. She's learned how to save up her gil (or whatever currency she has / is collecting for whatever reason) to be able to get something later. However, I think the nature of Eorzea market stalls and things not readily being available later kind of tempers her expectations further. I think something would have to really be important for her to want to buy or trade for it right away.

Otherwise, if we're talking goal-oriented...uh...yeah, Nomin would still be pretty patient. I mean, she paints a lot, and it takes hours, sometimes days if we include some of the breaks in between getting her canvas painted upon before she finally has a finished product.

I realize I'm very grey about a lot of these answers, too. Haha. But there's always nuance when it comes to how I think about how my characters would interact with the world and what scenarios would be present for them to change how their general patience, wants, or desires play a part in all of it.

[paintedscales]

secret: What's one secret your OC never wants anyone to know about them?

Good evening, Briar! Thank you for the ask! \ o w o / I hope you had fun last night at the art party. ; w ; / ♥

OC Asks: Not-so-Nice Edition

There are a lot of different details about her past that Nomin would like some people to not know. I don't know if I would consider them a closely guarded 'secret' by any means? But they're also things she doesn't necessarily go out of her way to make known.

I think Alphinaud is the first person in Eorzea that Nomin really opens up to, and that's in Heavensward after everything has happened with the Crystal Braves. Like, she touches upon it as a means to kind of relate the situation in some small way to her experiences, and at the moment, I imagine it to be something that helps Alphinaud get back up on his own two feet because he realizes that Nomin endured a lot of that before she was his age, and he has a bigger opportunity than Nomin did to make things right.

I guess outside of that...there's just the reason Nomin painted her scales? Like, just kind of having it act as a deterrent from people pointing her out and being like, "that's the Xaela with the blue scales!"

But even then, once Nomin got comfortable with some of the other Scions, they found out her scales aren't actually black. Papalymo was one of the first to learn about that, and when he said he wouldn't speak of it when Nomin was painting over them, she felt she could trust that. Obviously, it's not until the time before starting Stormblood that she understood why she could trust that he'd keep that secret.

Trying so hard to think about other things. Though it's just...kind of difficult. Nomin's not terribly a secretive person after Stormblood. Like...I dunno! She's pretty transparent and makes herself known when she's having genuine conversations.

I GUESS... Nomin struggled a bit during Shadowbringers and didn't tell anyone about the conflicted feelings she had about Estinien while she was also dealing with other things on the First. She hated that he often occupied her thoughts after she was told he plucked her from the Ghimlyt Dark and ensured her safety. Like, one of the thoughts she had was just, "I want to get everyone safely back to the Source so I can see Estinien." And she just felt disgusting for it for a long while.

[paintedscales]

desire: What's one thing your OC wants more than anything in the world? Are they open with that desire? Why or why not? What would they do to fulfill it?

Good evening, Briar! Thank you so much for the ask; as always, it is appreciated! :> I hope that your day has been well! ♥

OC Asks: Not-So-Nice Edition

Acceptance.

Maybe not so much by others, but of herself.

I don't really think that Nomin has a large realization that this is something she wants or desires. Though I believe that the way it comes out is that she wishes that she was like the little girl she remembered she was. The little girl who proudly declared her own name to all of Reunion. The little girl who saw herself and saw that worth.

Growing up and enduring a number of hardships, that flame dimmed a lot. Nomin started harboring self-doubts and negative views of herself because it's what she was around a majority of the time, and it kind of hammered in some passing things she heard from the Tumet for a time before she was taken in by the Sagahl. She was around a lot of other trainees and peers who saw her more at a surface level, and as someone who was not...really part of their tribe when she was forced into the Jhungid. Which was fine because Nomin didn't see herself as Jhungid, ever, but it was still very damaging.

The timeline that I have planned out, Nomin starts accepting herself and believing in others more at the end of Stormblood and through Shadowbringers. Endwalker, I want to say that a lot of those negative views and self-doubts go away (I mean, they're still there, and surely they could get unearthed...), though I'll just have to see where my writing takes me when I finally get through all of that. ; w ;

I actually have some fleeting things I talked about with my in-law where Nomin actually gets really emotional during parenthood because her daughters who don't grow up with the Steppe's influence as much are like, "why are our scales only black, and not pretty and with blue markings like mama's?"

So that'll be fun to make an actual one-shot for eventually. :>

[paintedscales]

arms: Does your OC have any weapons? What weapons do they carry, and how do they wear them when they're not fighting?

Happy patch day, Briar! I hope that you enjoy the 6.55 drop today! As of this post, I still can't get in game, but hopefully by the time you've seen this, you've gotten to experience what's been given to us and have enjoyed it! :> ♥

OC Asks: Character Design Edition

One of Nomin's earliest weapons is a dagger that her adoptive sister was a little hesitant on getting for her, but is something that Bayarmaa and Esenaij were willing to trust her with knowing her history with the Tumet, as well as seeing that she expressed a kind of maturity about handling dangerous tools / weapons. The dagger itself is something that was crafted by the Ura with ore they gathered and then smelt themselves. With this dagger in her possession, Nomin remembers fondly the words spoken to her by the Ura tradeswoman: "May the ever tenacious mountains keep you safe with that made of their bounty."

This dagger actually didn't see a lot of use, and it was kept safe in Bayarmaa's possession for a while after Esenaij's death and Nomin's being kidnapped. Bayarmaa kept it and a number of Nomin's other belongings for a little over a decade. At least until Nomin returned to the Steppe, where Bayarmaa handed off a number of things that belonged to Nomin so that they were with their rightful owner. When Nomin gets it back, she wears it on her person at her belt, but never really uses it except for quick cutting for rope, tinder, striking flint, etc.

Nomin's main weapon is a bow. Her starting bow and Esenaij's bow were taken into the Jhungid's possession when they captured several of the Sagahl. One of Nomin's permissions once she rose through the Jhungid training ranks was that she wanted both bows back for training and to use in her conflict with the Kharlu. She used Esenaij's bow since her original bow just was too small for her when she grew up. Granted, Esenaij's bow is a bit big for her, but she adjusted. Eventually, it broke, and Nomin used the pieces to make a new bow for herself that is the only weapon that has a name: Akh (pronounced simply: "awh"). Essentially, the name of the bow is 'Brother' to keep Esenaij's memory close.

Nomin keeps her bow mounted on her back, and she has a hip quiver where her bows are instead of a quiver on her back. It's just easier to get her arrows from her thigh than it is to grab it from a quiver on her back.

Though Nomin can use a lance, she actually doesn't have one that she's particularly attached to. Since she learned how to use a lance with the Jhungid, she's a bit more reluctant to use the arts of the lance unless it's necessary and she has the means to do so. I think I want to have Estinien give her one after they're more amicable toward one another that she doesn't mind it as much. Either him, or maybe something from Alberic. Maybe even something from Hraesvelgr, recognizing her as a fellow Azure Dragoon, and enlightening her to the history of Azure Dragoons like he did with Estinien. Not sure, genuinely. I'll get there.

Nomin does not keep a lance on her person. Not often at any rate. If she has one, she is usually holding it.

Then there's Nomin's rapier and focus. She never really learned how to wield magic well on the Steppe, and always thought herself magically inept with her aether. However, once she meets X'rhun, she learns that she just never really had a good teacher. She broke her first rapier and focus that was given to her after one of the conflicts, her inability to control the amount of aether she was drawing from herself overloading the focus and rapier when they're put together and shattering them. Her current rapier and focus are parting gifts from Venat / Hydaelyn as things that can easily handle the amount of aether Nomin can channel through them.

Nomin's rapier and focus just hang at her hip in their holsters. Nothing special or out of the ordinary.

And now that Dawntrail is bringing us Pictomancer, Nomin will have her comically oversized brush with the relatively normal-sized palette! She won't have a name for them, either. There's nothing special about naming them or how she gets them (yet), but boy does she absolutely adore the very idea of using her aether to bring her paintings to life!

[paintedscales]

11. Someone my muse doesn’t understand

Hi, Briar! Thank you for the ask! I appreciate it! May anything you're hoping for in today's Fan Fest come true! \ o w o /

SUPPORTING CHARACTER ASK MEME

You know...Zenos without a doubt. I'm already heavily biased against Zenos, and I know that doesn't help? But like, in attempt to remove my bias, Nomin just doesn't...like...see how someone can live the way he does. Only seeking greater and greater thrills, but only in the form of combat, of being predator and prey.

Nomin just doesn't think that's any way to live. She likes experiencing the world around her. She likes seeing the beauty of nature and natural scenery -- it's why she paints and tends to her gardens and flowers diligently on her island. It's why, after she becomes a mother herself, her top priority is ensuring that her children can live in comfort -- maybe even to a stifling degree where there's some resentment there from her children as they grow older.

She likes...living. She likes being free. She likes being able to experience things that make living worth it. The sun upon her skin and scales. The fresh and bursting flavors of fruit when you bite into it. Laying down in the grass on a temperate night to stargaze. The sound of the ocean's waves as they crest upon the shore. The warmth and joy of loving someone -- romantically and platonically.

There are so many things out there worth living for. Worth experiencing. She's had to fight tooth and nail with blood, sweat, and tears to enjoy it fully, and she would do it again. Over and over and over again.

And this is why she doesn't understand Zenos. Who's only pleasure in life is nothing but seeking a greater foe, even at the lives of many with nary a care for them.

[paintedscales]

Coeurl - Do you have any allergies? How did you discover it/them?

Hihi, again, Briar! Thank you for a second one, even if it might have been a teeny mistake. I still appreciate it all the same! \ o w o / ♥♥

FFXIV "CREATURES OF EORZEA" CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT PROMPT

Nomin shakes her head almost instantly in response to the question.

"No...no allergies that I'm aware of..." Nomin sits and thinks more, her tail swaying idly. She seems to be really searching her memories.

She shook her head again.

"No, I can't think of anything that I'm allergic to. I don't think I have allergies or allergic reactions to anything," Nomin reaffirms.

OOC: I had a thought of making her allergic to shellfish -- mollusks in particular because there's flavor-text on Xaela hating river clams. It felt like low-hanging fruit a little bit, though! So I decided against it.

[paintedscales]

Tonberry - Tell a story of a time you were blinded by rancor! Is it still ongoing, did you act upon it, does it compel your actions?

Heya, Briar! Thank you so much for the ask! I hope today has been well for you! :> ♥

FFXIV "CREATURES OF EORZEA" CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT PROMPT

Nomin leans forward in her seat, elbows brought to rest upon her thighs as she drew her hands together. There is a distant yet steeled look upon her face as she thinks on this question, searching her memories for the answer.

"... There are a lot of memories from my time upon the Steppe..." Nomin starts. "I don't go back for a number of reasons. The fact that I held the title of khagan one year notwithstanding. While there are plenty of memories that are great and that I cherish, the fact that my presence puts others at risk for simply knowing me is not something that sits well with me."

Dropping her gaze lower, Nomin furrows her brow.

"I have a hatred...a loathing...of the tribe of Jhungid. When I left them...when I finally had the courage to do so, I set fire to their orda in the chaos of combat between them and their rivals, the Kharlu."

Nomin wrung her hands tightly, lacing her fingers with one another.

"Perhaps...they are lucky that was all I did."

[paintedscales]

Chocolate-3. What does your OC find comforting when they are distressed or anxious? Are they able to ask for this comfort from others? Or do they need to be alone?

Hiya, Briar! Thank you for the ask! I appreciate it! \ o w o / Happy New Year's as well! I hope that the days meet you with grace and kindness!

Sweets and Puddings OC Questions

A lot of the time, Nomin found comfort in plums. Whenever she is feeling down or upset, having plums, plum-snacks, or just anything with plums in it would help to make her feel a little better. She associates plums with acceptance and belonging, because when she was first adopted into her Sagahl family, she was given some plums and remembers fondly the first time she met Bayarmaa, her adoptive sister, and Esenaij, her adoptive brother.

Before a certain time (pre-Shadowbringers), Nomin would be hard-pressed for sure to ask for or even accept plums from other people. The only time that she had less of a reservation to do this was when she asked Tataru or Alphinaud to do her shopping for her when they were in Heavensward before the movement after the Singularity Reactor ushering in an era of peace between Ishgardian and Dravanian. Or at least starting to. Nomin freely wanders Ishgard whenever she goes back (though still expresses trepidation without having some company with her to do so).

On that note, Heavensward for sure she indulged in a lot of dried plum snacks that could be procured for her. Another comfort of the time was drinking Ishgardian tea with a lot of milk and sugar as she bundled up close to the fireplace.