🎂: Does your OC have any contradictory interests or traits to the first perception people have of them? How do they surprise people?
"Hmm? What an interesting question! I think what surprises people the most is, really, just how much in common I have with them."
OOC: Weeeell... She's a bit of a con-artist. Part of "the job" entails her trying to create a connection with people to get a reaction out of them. So, in many cases, they really will find themselves surprised by how much they have in common with her because she is completely making things up.
But to answer for the real, less performative, and slightly more honest Malika?
People often assume she cares about gil because she's a thief. It surprises them that she doesn't care about it at all. In fact, she actively avoids stealing gil for herself. She'll steal it to give to others, but she doesn't want it herself. She wants trinkets that remind her of the person she stole from instead.
Another misconception is that, because she can be so selfish, she must not like people very much. On the contrary, she is completely taken with them. She loves watching people, learning about them, and being near them. She will often give things to strangers, whether it be gil or actual items, because she wants to be as memorable to them as they are to her. This is a double-edged surprise! It might be very nice to realize you mean enough to her that she slipped an expensive item in your pocket before leaving. It's maybe less nice if you realize she also stole a trinket from you in the process to remember you by.
Finally, they might be surprised that she loves stuffed animals. Absolutely loves them. She is crazy about them! She often tries to hide this adorable, childish side of herself by hiding her collection of plushies where people aren't likely to look and she never ever tells people about this interest. But she would definitely notice if one of her one hundred plushies went missing. It's a little unclear if she'd notice much else did.
Thanks for the Ask!
