Greta Ohm

Core Premise

Greta Ohm lived out the story of her own world and came to Nova Nivalis. The dynasty she served ended with its final wedding, and she was the one who fastened the last button on the wedding attire. She did not come to reclaim the lost royal family; she drifted into this city because of the sensation of her fingertips touching a small fastener and the feeling of closing something. Nova Nivalis is not a palace, nor is it the room of a final ceremony. What continues here is not a royal wedding gift, but the small, repetitive craft of mending a loose button or a broken clasp.

Identity

She makes and repairs buttons and fasteners in a small workshop behind Threshold Market. She attaches fallen buttons, tightens loose clasps, and sharpens the pins of old brooches. Her work is the craft labor the city actually needs. The pride she had when making magnificent wedding gifts remains, but now she applies that pride to mending small things. "Locking and fastening are different things," is her guiding principle.

Visual Profile

Her short curls, dyed a steel blue tinged with cerulean, are neatly arranged. Though her hands are aged, her nails are short and clean. She wears an eyeglass chain around her neck, frequently raising and lowering her glasses, and a magnifying glass necklace over that, bringing it before her eyes for detailed work. Her velvet work apron is studded with various types of buttons and clasps, jingling when she moves. Her signature prop is a palm-sized mini vise, which she uses to clamp and secure small parts. The core of her silhouette is the magnifying glass necklace, the velvet apron, and the mini vise. The accent color is cerulean #4F6D8F, signaling to others that she is a metal artisan even from a distance.

Personality

She is meticulous and speaks with conviction. She is uncompromising about her work; if she sees a poorly attached button, she cannot resist reattaching it. While she appears fussy on the surface, she observes people for a long time and does not pry into others' affairs carelessly. Her flaw is nagging. It is especially pronounced when bickering with Ivo Senn, and she knows it's because of her affection, yet she cannot stop. She is not steeped in tragedy. She jokes with children her granddaughter's age, handing them a button, smiles readily, and searches for her glasses while wearing the chain around her neck.

Speech Pattern

Her speech is clear and slightly elevated. "That's locked, not fastened." "I'll reattach it for you." "Don't open it carelessly." She uses informal and formal speech depending on the person, and being older, she speaks casually to those younger than her. Frequent phrases include, "Locking and fastening are different," "Only the owner knows why it was locked," "A single button defines a garment," and "Don't ask to open it." When silent, she tightens the mini vise or rolls a button between her fingertips. She rarely speaks of the royal family, and she seldom mentions wedding attire.

Special Ability

The name of her ability is 'The Reason It's Locked.' When she sees something locked, she vaguely understands why its owner locked it. Whether it was out of fear, to cherish it, or to forget it, she faintly senses it beyond the appearance of the clasp. Her limit is cautious. She cannot open it, nor does she advise opening it. Even knowing the reason, she only knows it; she does not interfere with the owner's choice. The price is silence. The inability to speak after knowing why someone locked something can sometimes be heavy. The ability does not reverse any outcome. She cannot open a locked heart; she can only secure a clasp that has come loose.

The End Of Their World

Last Scene:
On the day of the dynasty's final wedding, she fastened the last button on the wedding attire. The moment she cut the thread and touched the button, she knew it was the final wedding gift crafted for that royal family.

What Ended:
The entire dynasty concluded with that wedding. The workshop that crafted the wedding gifts, the court that defined her place, and the days spent crafting according to royal formality all ended together.

Last Person, Place, or Thing Seen:
The back of the bride turning away in her wedding attire, and the glint of her last fastened button on that back.

Lingering Regret:
She considers that wedding attire 'locked.' It feels as if she didn't beautifully fasten the end of the royal family, but sealed it shut. This lingering feeling remains not as a quest to be resolved, but merely as a habit of trying to distinguish between 'locking' and 'fastening' in anything.

Lingering Wistfulness:
The soft resistance when a button fits perfectly into a hole and the collar is fastened. When that sensation comes, for a moment, the lamplight and the smell of thread from the wedding gift workshop overlap.

Object Carried Across:
A spare button from the last wedding attire. In the end, she brought that unused button into her apron pocket, and never attaches it to any garment.

What They Thought Would Happen:
She thought her crafting would end when the dynasty ended. She believed that without wedding gifts, there would be no artisan.

What VOTS Actually Gives Them:
Days of fastening ordinary buttons and clasps, not wedding gifts. The city does not return the lost royal family. Instead, it gives her hands to fasten the clothes of different people every day, and neighbors who accept her nagging as affection.

Original Life

Greta Ohm was a royal wedding gift artisan. She crafted buttons for wedding attire, clasps for formal wear, and brooches and fasteners for the royal family. She worked for the court for many years, and it was said that her fingertips dictated the formality of the royal family. In the year the dynasty was fading, she attached the last button on the final wedding attire. Closing that button and cutting the thread was the last craft she performed in that world.

What They Seek

Superficially, she seeks to fasten rather than lock. She wants to perform a craft that gently envelops and fastens, rather than one that seals something away. However, on a level she herself does not recognize, her hands already know that difference. The gesture of fastening people's clothes every day—that it is 'fastening,' not 'locking'—she fails to see because she is preoccupied with the final wedding attire, as if her hands already hold the answer.

Relationships — Residents

- Ivo Senn (batch1, Locksmith·behind Threshold Market): They are rivals and close friends. Ivo is the locksmith who opens what is locked, and Greta is the artisan who makes the fasteners, so when they meet, they argue, "You lock it, so I fasten it," "Since you try to open it, I lock it better." However, they are the first to recommend each other's work, and if Ivo closes his shop for a few days due to illness, Greta watches the shop door for him.
- Hanjo Bel (053, Stamp·Seal Stall): They are discussing a craft partnership. Hanjo, who carves seals, and Greta, who makes fasteners, discuss creating 'name-engraved fasteners.' A conclusion has not been reached yet, but the two often set up their stalls facing each other, respecting each other's fingertips.

Relationships — Core Five

Suyeon - The one she fastened the buttons for on stage costumes. Since Suyeon's performance costumes are elaborate, the buttons often come undone, and Greta reattaches them securely. When Suyeon said, "Please lock this so it won't come undone," Greta replied, "It's not locking, it's fastening. That way, it won't come undone even when you spread your arms wide." Suyeon has since performed, swinging her arms freely.

Iris - The one she didn't ask the reason for. When Iris entrusted her with repairing the clasp of an old rocket necklace, Greta vaguely sensed that it was an item that had been locked for a long time, but she asked nothing. She returned it with only the clasp fastened, saying, "Don't ask to open it." When Iris probed, "Aren't you curious?" Greta retorted, "Being curious and opening are different. You asked for the clasp to be fastened so it wouldn't be opened." Iris finds that polite distance comfortable, so she leaves all the crafting to Greta.

the Ramen Owner - The one she fixed the apron strap clasp for. When the clasp on the strap crossing in an X on the owner's red apron became loose, Greta tightened it. When Greta commented, "This apron has been worn for a long time," the owner replied, "Hmm... that's right..." and let her look at the back. Greta vaguely understood why the apron was worn for so long, but as usual, she said nothing and just fastened it.

Serena - The one she brushed past regarding a coat button. Greta was the first to say, "That's going to fall off soon," upon seeing a loose button on Serena's white long coat. Serena asked, "Could you fix it?" and Greta liked that the words were a request, not a command, so she fastened it with great care. Serena asked for a plain clasp with no red or gold, and Greta took note of that taste.

VIA - The one she mended the black ribbon on the hood for. When the black ribbon on VIA's drooping rabbit hood frayed and came undone, Greta fastened the ribbon as if it were new. VIA accurately pointed out Greta's guiding principle, saying, "It has been fastened... it is not locked," and Greta was pleased that the little rabbit understood her words. VIA even recorded the knot of the ribbon that Greta fastened.

Gameplay Use

- Basic Interaction: Button, clasp, and fastener repair service, short conversations about crafting.
- Revisit Change: She remembers the player's clothes and belongings and fastens them better next time. She does not open things for them.
- Expression of Lingering Feeling: Hand movements trying to distinguish between 'locking' and 'fastening,' the habit of not attaching spare buttons anywhere.
- Expression of Wistfulness: The resistance when a button is fastened, sensory dialogue about the smell of thread in the workshop.
- Relationship Reward: Not new items, but a careful continuation of other residents' situations through their clothes.
- Combat: None. Even in a crisis, she chooses to fasten and tidy up what is disordered.

Daily Routine

In the morning, she checks the buttons and clasps on her apron by type and tightens the mini vise. This check is not a compulsion but a small ritual that separates the royal workshop from the back alleys of the market today. During the day, she fastens each piece of clothing and decoration that comes in. Around noon, when the market light streams into the workshop and the metal glints, her wistfulness rises briefly. At night, she takes out the spare buttons from her pocket, rolls them around, and puts them back. Without attaching them to any garment. For players who visit repeatedly, the affection in her nagging slowly reveals itself, and she occasionally lets slip a word about the wedding attire. Even if they become quite close, she does not reward them with the kind of crafting done on royal wedding gifts.

Everyday dialogue

Only a button? It's holding your entire coat together. Show some respect.

Fastened, not sealed. A good clasp still opens after a large meal.

My fingers keep catching on the memory of that wedding dress. I'd like to say I only closed its clasp.

Design Notes

Palette: #4F6D8F, #A7B7CB, #2C3A4C, #E9E2D6, #B08A55
Material language: Brass buttons, velvet apron, mini vise, magnifying glass lenses, old thread.
Silhouette rule: The steel blue curl - magnifying glass necklace - velvet apron - mini vise must be read as separate elements, and must not overlap with the silhouettes of other artisans (Tum, Ivo).
Emotional rule: Lingering feeling is shown through the habit of distinguishing 'lock/fasten' and the spare buttons left unattached; wistfulness is shown through the resistance when fastening and the smell of thread; continuity is shown through daily crafting.

Canon Check

Greta Ohm arrived in VOTS after the end of her own world's dynasty. What remains is lingering feeling and wistfulness, not a royal family for VOTS to reclaim. The city does not return the lost wedding gifts, and her ability does not open locked hearts. The new scene continues from the hands fastening buttons next to the finished wedding, not erasing the finished ceremony.