#fourfeng

Also I'm curious abt the thought process behind nikye 🙏🏽

For the peacock? Sure lmao

2. How long was the process before the character reached its final version? (or a version that would be clearly recognizable as the character?)

I never really counted? Cause the evolution happens every time I draw him. He was actually supposed to be a woman, but I changed it cause Fourteen was supposed to be one as well but his story changed and that doesn't make sense for him anymore but I still wanna keep homoerotic friendship so that's why. Anyway my aim for him is always to make a cheeky, confident character that is bubbly and bright, and also a bit of a freak. But him now is probably the final version.

6. What was the thought process behind their appearance? Did you go mostly for the aesthetic or are there other reasons they look the way they do?

He! Needs! To! Look! Swag!!!! Unfortunately I do NOT know fashion so I have to refer online. I mostly based his fashion off of xianxia/wuxia drama's costume since he's from Xianzhou Zhuming, who's known and seen to be more traditional. (His clothes are warm blue). He also have a white coat with blue linings on since he's a Nameless, it's to hold stuff and his tools. His earrings are from his mother, a set of bell earrings that chimes softly with the wind. It also makes it easy for Huaiyan to search cause this guy does NOT have a sense of direction. He also has a deep blue jade pendant which once belonged to his father, Xue Jingxu, who was a lieutenant of Zhuming before perishing in battle (his lore changed a bit).

10. What is their main character arc in the story? Where do they start and how do they develop? Do they get a happy ending or is their story a tragic one?

I would say that he has trouble letting go. I don't really know how to describe it, but his mother, Fenghua, was a short-live, while his father is a Xianzhou Natives. This resulted in him growing up much slower than others. His mother had him when shes 35, and he's only a young child, around 10 in comparison to normal people, when she died. It left a deep impression within him, taking care of his old mother at such a young age.

His mother told him one thing, never ressurect the dead, as she knows that her son will always be left behind in time, even by his own kind. He also tries to never cry in front of her because it would make her sad. So these two things stuck with him well into his life. He bid farewell to his mother, and organised her cremation, then head for Zhuming.

When he lived in Zhuming, he's very close to Huaiyan, Yingxing, and other craftsmasters on the ship as well. The lost of them during the Third Abundance War, along with Yingxing (he doesn't know what happened, simply that Yingxing has perished) it shattered him. He became a shut in, afraid to connect with others in fear of losing them again. It took him many years to heal himself, and Huaiyan pushed him to become Nameless, because Huaiyan knows that Xue Hongye at heart is a wanderer. And maybe by travelling he can heal himself one pace at a time. It worked very slowly, and he slowly build himself up again, this time cherishing people around him. He appreciates the cultures and the places he had been to, and in a way it mend his heart. So yeah that's his arc I think? It's not finished yet but it's happy ending :3

About Nikye: