#thank u so so much for askin oli!!!!! i love any excuse to talk abt My Baby

[solasan]

2, 8, 9, 13, 17 and 33 for vórimë pls!! 💚

OC DEVELOPMENT QUESTIONS

02. can your oc play any instruments? have they ever wanted to learn how to play any? why?

uhhh on a purely practical level, yeah, sure, vórimë can technically play the harp and flute, and by the standards of men, she probably wouldn't even sound too bad. by the standards of her fellow elves, though, she absolutely fucking butchers music dshdsjkds. i think that she has a quite clear, sweet singing voice — again, nothing special by elven standards, but enchanting to the race of men — but when it comes to instruments, she's better off leaving that to her more talented kin.

she'd like to be better with the harp especially, because her long-dead mother loved the harp best of all and she'd like to connect with her — and also, honestly, she doesn't like being bad at things. maybe after retiring from arwen's service and heading for eryn lasgalen she picks it up and puts in some practice but idk?

08. does your oc prefer being in a crowd or being completely alone? how many people can be around them before they get uncomfortable?

answered here <333

09. how easily does your oc make friends? do they have difficulty talking to new people? why?

she doesn’t have much difficulty talking to new people — she’s relatively outgoing for an elf, and she’s a quick wit, so even if she’s not necessarily charming (bc she can come across as a little arrogant and intimidating), she’s not all that difficult to talk to — but making and then keeping friends is... difficult for her. she’s outlived a lot of her friends, just bc of the number of wars she’s seen, and because of that she kind of... has trouble actually connecting with people beyond politeness or funny small talk. she doesn’t make the effort with mortals anyway tbqh; it’s too painful. by the third age, she counts arwen, elladan, elrohir, @denerims’ tiriel, and like... possibly haldir? among her friends? maybe? (even if tiriel’s kind of more of an adopted granddaughter in vórimë’s head bc of how young she is) and that’s kind of it sdhdsjk. she’s very lonely tbh.

13. how dangerous is your oc? are they completely innocent, or someone to be feared? do others know?

oh yeah, dangerous. not in a malicious way — vórimë doesn’t pick fights and there’s not an evil bone in her body — but more in a... very capable kind of way? she’s known for her skill in combat; there’s few finer swordsmen in imladris, and she’s definitely the best archer rivendell has. she didn’t become arwen’s bodyguard just bc her dad was pals with elrond (tho that probably helped). 

so she’s not rly someone to be feared (unless like thranduil u get on her bad side) but she’s definitely respected for her capabilities. however, she’s no great legend told around campfires, so unless a person’s resided in rivendell or hung around with a lot of elves from the area, they probably haven’t heard of her. she’s no aragorn, son of arathorn.

17. how well can your oc keep secrets? is there a difference between how they handle their own vs someone else’s? to what lengths would they go to keep something hidden?

i’m honestly not sure omg. i think— i think she honestly probably approaches secrets in much the way a therapist or doctor would; if no one’s going to be hurt, she’ll keep it, but if someone’s in danger, she won’t. arwen is probably the only person vórimë would keep any secret for, purely bc they are so close. she doesn’t have many secrets of her own to keep, so she’s pretty open; the only one i can rly think of is her growing love for thranduil over the years, and that’s mostly out of embarrassment / belief the feelings aren’t reciprocated. it’s also not especially well-hidden; anyone who knows her knows about those feelings, even if they don’t know the details of their relationship.

she’s not a particularly brilliant liar, though, so how successful she’ll be in hiding a secret is questionable. probably if someone could tell that she was lying, she’d admit it, but refuse to elaborate on the secret in details. so i don’t think she’d go especially far to keep a secret; just refuse to speak on the matter, growing steadily agitated if she’s being probed. she wouldn’t like... kill someone to keep a secret.

33. how does your oc’s own perception of themselves compare to how other people see them? is your oc aware that other people see them differently (if it’s different)?

oooooof. i don’t think vórimë’s self-perception is bad, per se; she’s very proud of her capabilities and the things she’s accomplished, and she’s especially smug about having the honour of guarding arwen. but i don’t think that she really... views herself as particularly legendary? she perceives herself in a very utilitarian way; how can she serve, what can she do, what use is she in a given situation? she doesn’t really let herself just... breathe. 

whereas i think other people yes, do see her for these capabilities and her prowess in battle, as well as the wisdom she’s gained through experience, but not just as a tool to be used. to others like thranduil, she’s laughter in a quiet room, or sunlight washing over the trees. she’s a safe place to land — even if she does come across as somewhat intimidating on first meeting. and i’m not sure if she’s even aware of that tbh dshdsjk

#just realised she's adopted both the queen of the reunited kingdom and the queen of rohan so she stays winning actually <3 #thank u so so much for askin oli!!!!! i love any excuse to talk abt My Baby #answered #coffeebucko #ch: vórimë