Lotta Mims

Core Premise

Lotta Mims came to Nova Nivalis after the story of her own world ended. Her world ended in war, and she was a momentary attendant pouring tea at the ceasefire signing. Even after the world closed down following the last signature, the sensation of placing two chairs between two people and serving tea remained in her hands. VOTS is not a place to judge or comfort her. What continues here is not a grand treaty, but a life of unfolding two folding chairs for two merchants arguing in the market, handing them a piece of candy, and smelling freshly baked bread.

Identity

Lotta Mims is a mediator who moves between people arguing in the Snowflake Market. It is not an official title, but when disputes over prices or space arise in the market, people naturally call for Lotta. She does not judge right from wrong. Instead, she unfolds two folding chairs for the two people to sit facing each other, places one piece of candy in front of each, and stays by their side without leaving. Reconciliation is up to the two people; Lotta's job is only to create the 'space' for reconciliation. Without her hands to create that space, the minor squabbles of the market fester for days.

Visual Profile

Her hair is copper-red curls, styled in a large updo at the crown. Because her curls are strong, flyaways constantly escape, which suits her laughter well. Her face is scattered with freckles, and the corners of her eyes are lined deeply from frequent smiling. Her voice is loud, so her laughter can be heard from the other side of the market. Her build is round and generous, and her movements are large. Her signature outfit is an apron with multiple pockets, which always contains various types of candy, rustling with every step. Her signature prop is two folding stools, which she carries strapped across her back in an 'X' shape. The core of her silhouette is the copper-red updo, the generous build, the candy pockets on the apron, and the two chairs carried on her back. Her accent color is a warm reddish-orange, resembling the crust of freshly baked bread and copper, giving the impression of a 'person who moves between people' even in small sprites.

Personality

Lotta laughs loudly, eats well, and cries easily. Because she doesn't hide her emotions, people find it easy to lower their guard. Her strength is her ability to be present without judging, but her flaw is that while she expertly mediates others' disputes, she cannot let anyone sit with her regarding her own lingering regrets. As someone who poured tea at a signing, she knows 'how to sit facing someone even after it's over,' but she doesn't know how to sit facing herself. She is not a tragic person. She exchanges jokes with the market people, gives candy to children, and is the first to wipe away tears when reconciliation is achieved. However, there are times when, after the dispute ends and the two people leave, she falls silent while folding the two empty chairs.

Speech Pattern

Loud, warm, and fast-paced. Frequent phrases: "Sit down first, talk while sitting.", "I don't know who is right. But there's a seat.", "Take a piece of candy and try saying it again.", "Reconciliation is up to you two; I just set up the chairs." When her emotions overflow, she cries while laughing. When silent, she places the folded chairs on her lap and fiddles with the handles.

Special Ability

The ability is called 'Bread Scent Premonition.' When the signs of reconciliation begin to ripen between two people, a strong scent of freshly baked bread wafts into Lotta's nostrils. This happens even if there is no actual bread. When that scent appears, she quietly unfolds two chairs. The limit is clear. The scent only indicates the 'possibility of reconciliation'; it does not create reconciliation. There are days when the scent appears, but the two people still turn their backs on each other. And this scent only appears between others—when she herself is at odds with someone, no scent appears at all. The reason this ability cannot solve problems is that reconciliation is ultimately a choice made by the two people, and Lotta's ability cannot force that choice. The city's rules do not force people to sit facing each other. All she can do is set up the space and stay by their side, and that is all she has learned.

The End Of Their World

Last Scene:
The moment she poured tea between the two negotiators at the final ceasefire signing.

What Ended:
Her world ended along with the end of the war. The moment the ceasefire was established, the city she knew and all the negotiation tables within it closed down together.

Last Person, Place, or Thing Seen:
The brief glance when the two people first looked at each other after signing, and the two cups of cold tea left half-full.

Lingering Regret:
The signature was finished, but she never knew if the two people had truly reconciled. She wanted to believe that the signature was reconciliation, but she knows it is different.

Lingering Wistfulness:
The sound of boiling water when pouring tea at the negotiation table, and the silence of the moment the two people first met eyes.

Object Carried Across:
One of the two folding chairs used at the ceasefire signing. The other was paired up anew in this city.

What They Thought Would Happen:
She believed that once the signature was made, everyone would reconcile, and attendants like her would no longer be needed.

What VOTS Actually Gives Them:
It confirms to her every day that what is needed is not a signature, but a 'space to sit facing each other.' VOTS does not bring back that war, but it gives her the alley where hands are needed to unfold chairs in a market where people still argue and reconcile.

Original Life

Lotta was a momentary attendant at a negotiation table in a world of war. What she did at a place that determined the fate of a nation was not sign documents, but pour tea. When the negotiators' voices rose, she quietly filled the cups, and when the atmosphere froze, she boiled fresh hot water. No one considered her important, but the temperature of the tea she poured slowly softened the air in the room. As the war dragged on and countless negotiations failed, Lotta watched how people turned their backs and how they sat down again. On the day the final ceasefire was signed, she poured the last cup of tea between the two negotiators. When the signing was done and the two people first looked at each other, she felt that just being there was enough. And the world closed.

What They Seek

What Lotta believes she is seeking is 'reconciliation without a signature.' She wants to see the moment when two people simply sit facing each other and smile, not through documents and treaties. What she must seek without knowing is that the two chairs she sets up in the market are already that signature-less agreement. A piece of candy, a seat to face each other, a person by their side—Lotta still doesn't take it seriously, viewing it as the same as a cup of tea she followed her whole life.

Relationships — Residents

Ono Bar (102, Scale Inspector) — The market duo of fairness and reconciliation. When Ono measures the 'right price' with the scale, Lotta soothes the hearts that are hurt over that price. They always pair up to conclude market disputes, because even if the price is right, the heart can still be hurt. Ono jokes that Lotta's candy is a bribe, and Lotta retorts that Ono's scale is heartless.
Noe Bri (141, Bread Sector) — A person who is like the actual origin of Lotta's 'Bread Scent Premonition.' When Noe bakes bread, a real bread scent spreads throughout the market, and every time, Lotta confuses her ability with the real smell. They use that confusion as a source of humor.
Tessa Wren (008, Seed/Dried Flower Merchant) — A colleague from the merchant association. When merchants argue over space, Tessa is the first to call for Lotta. Tessa feels relieved when Lotta arrives, saying, "It's settled now," and Lotta uses Tessa's stall as a neutral ground to set up the chairs.

Relationships — Core Five

Suyeon - Lotta set up chairs when Suyeon had a price dispute with another merchant in the market. Suyeon resisted, saying, "I won't sit; I'm right," but Lotta gave her a piece of candy, saying, "Being right and sitting are different." Eventually, Suyeon sat down, and the dispute fizzled out. Since then, Suyeon grumbles that Lotta's candy is a 'defeat candy' but eats it well.
Iris - When Iris argued with a market merchant over drone noise, Lotta set up a mediation space. Iris acted cynically, saying, "No reconciliation or anything," but Lotta didn't try to reconcile them; she just sat beside them. Iris eventually decided on her own to only use the drone noise at night, and Lotta didn't call it reconciliation, only saying something like, "The space helped."
the Ramen Owner - Lotta takes charge of seating arrangements at the ramen shop. Since no one has an eye as good as Lotta for seating two unknown customers at one table, the Ramen Owner entrusts her with seating arrangements during busy times. The Ramen Owner serves the broth according to Lotta's arrangement, saying, "Hmm... I see..."
Serena - Lotta once verbally reported the 'City Dispute Statistics for this Month' to Serena. "Twelve price disputes, five space disputes, and fourteen reconciliations this month." Serena listened with a smile without giving instructions. "I'm curious about the number of chairs you set up, more than the numbers." For the first time, Lotta counted the chairs she had set up.

VIA - Knowing that one of Lotta's two folding chairs came from another world, VIA tries to record how many people have sat in it. "This chair... It has seated people face-to-face forty-three times." Lotta was silent for a long time after hearing that number. VIA recorded no further regrets, simply sitting beside the chairs to share the market's smell of bread before leaving.

Gameplay Use

- Basic Interaction: Watching market dispute mediation, receiving candy, short life conversations.
- Revisit Changes: On the first visit, she laughs heartily and only gives candy. From the second visit, she subtly shows her ability, saying, "Those two, they'll be sitting soon," and if they become close, she brings up a piece of the ceasefire signing story.
- Expressing Regret: The moment she falls silent while folding the empty chairs after a dispute ends, she self-deprecates that no scent appears for her own affairs.
- Expressing Poignancy: Dialogue about the sound of boiling water and the silence of the first eye contact between two people.
- Relationship Reward: Instead of new items, changes that link the market mediation scenes with Ono, Noe, and Tessa to the Snowflake Market.
- Combat: None. Even in danger, she sets up a space between people to turn confrontation into dialogue.

Daily Routine

In the morning, she fills her apron pockets with various types of candy and walks through the market with two folding chairs strapped to her back. During the day, she is called to places where price disputes or space disputes arise, where she sets up chairs and stays by their side. When Noe bakes bread, she laughs, confused whether it's her ability or a real smell, and concludes disputes with Ono. In the afternoon, she chats with merchants at Tessa's stall. In the evening, she counts the chairs she set up that day, and briefly falls silent while folding one of the chairs that came from another world. If you visit repeatedly, the silence when folding the empty chairs gradually shortens, and instead, she begins to share pieces of her own story.

Everyday dialogue

Both of you, sit! Being louder won't make your chair taller!

Who goes first? Whoever takes a sip of water first is today's wisest person.

A signature doesn't settle everything. How about looking at each other's faces instead of the paper?

Design Notes

Palette: #C96F4A, #7A4A34, #E8C9A0, #4E6B52, #2E2A28
Material language: Folding wooden chairs, candy paper, worn apron fabric, steaming teapot, market stall canopy.
Silhouette rule: The copper-red updo, generous build, candy-pocketed apron, and two chairs carried on the back must be read separately and not overlap with other characters.
Emotional rule: Regret is shown through the silence of folding empty chairs, poignancy through the sound of boiling water and the silence of first eye contact, and continuation through the two chairs she unfolds every day.

Canon Check

Lotta Mims's world is already over. The war and the ceasefire do not return to VOTS, nor can her ability force reconciliation. What remains is the regret of not knowing if the signature was reconciliation, and only one chair from another world, while Nova Nivalis stitches together the market where people argue and reconcile anew every day next to it. The city promises no salvation, does not force people to sit facing each other, and does not own her hands that create space, but stays by them.