HALLE BAILEY, CIS WOMAN, 20, SHE / HER ⟨ ✽ ⟩ hey, you haven’t bumped into nia williams lately, have you ? they have been living here for the past two years ( during the school semester ) and during that time, locals have gotten to know them as quirky & charming. a little birdie told me they can be quite vain & devious though. explains why they’re an architecture major at whitby university. they really remind me of field time at six am and still making your eight am looking flawless, spandex shorts under short skirts paired with high heels you can run in, && impeccably manicured hands handling any power tool with ease. if you’re ever looking for them, i bet you can find them around the retro room.
HIGHLIGHTS...
the daughter raised by a single father, a former nhler, though also with the help of his teammates’ wives and girlfriends — a unique situation that shaped her life ; a lover of beauty, no matter what it may be, but a little obsessed with it when it comes to herself ; tiny but with a nose for scoring, speed, and elusiveness on the field that’s made her a two time women’s soccer mvp and she’s only a junior ; sometimes comes across as a little ditzy and airheaded, but though she has the look of a girly-girl, looks can be deceiving and certainly don’t underestimate her ; has an incredible knack for turning old things into new and desired items, mostly with regards to furniture and knicknacks.
THE STORY...
— cole harbour, nova scotia, the birthplace of sidney crosby the next one, eight years later — nathan mackinnon, and six years after that : nia williams. her birth was unplanned, however ; her mother only twenty and working towards med school. her father a halifax mooseheads player just having fun at her conception, now twenty-two and playing out his dreams in the nhl with the montreal canadians.
— things always work out in the end, though, and at twenty-two her father became her sole guardian and growing up quite a bit in the process, her mother vanishing from her life at that point and never re-entering.
— she was technically raised by a single father, but she was also perhaps raised by the veterans on the team and most importantly, the wives and girlfriends of her father’s teammates whose care she was left in the care of during games. it was them that taught her the things that her father couldn’t, and nia never wanted for her mother, that space happily and willingly filled by almost two dozen women who were older sisters, mothers, aunts... they were family.
— but even with all the make up and fashion advice, nia was very much her father’s daughter as well : crawling around the outdoors, going one-on-one on the ice, swimming in the ocean and still looking flawless while doing it. michael williams was a good father in the end, and grew into the role.
— she play hockey and soccer growing up, seeming to have a nose for offense, as elusive on skates as in cleats. nia could’ve been great at both sports, was great at both sports, but in the middle of high school she made the switch to focus on soccer full time. her passion for the ice remained, but the opportunities in soccer were stronger — and she loved the outdoors, loved the field in the early hours of morning.
— it was in the summer after grade 11 that she was offered a scholarship from whitby university to play women’s soccer ( amongst others ), but whitby fit the bill for what she wanted, and port briar reminded her a lot of home in cole harbour with the chilly sea. so after graduation, she was off to whitby to play soccer.
— on the college scene, it became obvious that nia simply put, was a star. a small but ever elusive forward who had speed that didn’t seem possible with her stature and an ability to score like no one else. the campus loved her, the team loved her, and opposing teams loved to hate her on the field. she was named mvp of the team as a freshman, a feat she would repeat her sophomore year as well. she’s currently gunning for her third.
MISC...
— architecture feels like an odd choice for those who don’t know nia well. she tends to come across as a little bit of an airhead, ditzy, not always the greatest with common sense. but she is actually quite book smart and sometimes, the ditziness is just a bit of an act. she had fostered a bit of FASCINATION with arenas having been in so many growing up, she began to harbor a desire to design one ( and to do it better ). sketching had been something that held her attention when she needed to be seated and still, and that fit in perfectly. after entering whitby undeclared, nia found herself drawn to the architecture department and program, officially declaring at the end of her freshman year.
— nia is hardly ever still : tapping fingers, jumping knees, sitting and then standing. she was diagnosed with adhd when she was seven. she is medicated for it now, but it also still manifests in attention deficient for her, leaving a wake of unfinished projects in her wake. sports had been one of the few things that held her attention, kept her occupied, and one of the few things she worked to hone her skills in.
— because of her tendency to jump from one thing to another, it’s no surprise she had a litany of hobbies that she’s tried : you name it, she’s likely tried it once. everything from yoga, to sewing, to painting, to rock climbing. in some ways it’s made her a bit of a jack of all trades, though she always comes back to soccer in the end.
— however, one of thing did stick, kinda. in high school she took a woodworking class and from that spawned a hobby of furniture upcycling. her father had always been good with his hands and she knew her way around power tools, still does. she takes great pride in being able to fix things to be usable again, and loves to shop around the retro room or drive around port briar looking for things left at the curb. it can’t be a huge project though, like anything, if it’s not done in one go, chances are she may never return to finish the project.
— she lives in an off-campus apartment this year after spending the first two in dorms. she’s looking forward to having her own space and kitchen ( even with roommates ).
— rigid schedules help her to keep organized when her natural tendency is to fall back into messiness and chaos. living with a neat roommate has helped her in some ways, because though messiness is her tendency, she finds that neatness helps her to keep focused and on track. being reminded to clean every week has been good for her.
— her favorite color is red and she has a penchant for red nails and red lipstick.
— her father is now an assistant hockey coach in the ncaa, but not at whitby. she sees him when that school in in town though she’s always rooting for whitby. her summers are spent back in cole harbour and she is still in touch with some of the wives and girlfriends who she’d been so close to.
— she’s an early bird, as odd as it is. she’s always loved sunrises over the atlantic ocean. you can find her either on the field or out for a run in the early hours, and then when the snow flies, likely doing yoga.
PERSONALITY...
— on the surface nia is very much a pretty girl. always looking flawless, a little ditzy, a little shallow. her smile is her weapon and she uses it to get people on her side. she likes people to like her, though one might hesitate to truly classify her as a nice girl or a mean girl. she ends up falling somewhere in the middle as most people do, never mean without cause but not friends with anyone. her enemies aren’t always obvious, something kept under wraps with petty glares and muttered comments. she doesn’t go looking for trouble, but if it crosses her path she meets it head on. her soccer star status has endeared her with some and made her just as many enemies, especially on their rival teams. she’s generally sweet to everyone she meets, but wrong her and she’ll be the first to be shit talking behind your back.
— men and women alike find her charming, something that suits her tastes. she’s been in a fair number of flings, though nothing that she ever saw as longterm. nia in general doesn’t look at the big picture, which has frustrated some who saw something more with her. but people still love her all the same. it’s a power she pretends to not know she has, but she’s more devious than her lipsticked smiles portray her to be.
— she has a thing for looks, rarely looking less than pristine herself, even in the middle of practice on a hot pre-season day. beauty, she’s been told, starts on the inside, and she does believe that, but helping along the outside never hurts either. she likes to feel good about herself, and comfort doesn’t always take precedence.
— nia always has a schedule, but at the same time, she’s almost always late. time management is a thing she’s still working on, and the only advice is to tell her anything is fifteen minutes earlier than it is.
— she’s a pretty girl, but has never felt like she had to stick to that box. instead, she has a way of just looking flawless no matter what that does. people judge her from her appearance and she knows that, but she also relishes in being able to prove people wrong. she knows her way around a math class and almost every power tool there is, she’s not afraid to get dirty --- just looking bad, so she’ll find a way to make mud look flawless. she’s obsessed with beauty, just not always the most conventional forms of it.
APPEARANCE...
— 5′0″, built lithe and fast.
— style : cute and cottagecore on the daily, but isn’t afraid to toe the line into edgy for nights out. a bit of “hardness” can make its way into her outfit in blacks and faux leathers matched with flowy silks and puff sleeves. she can make the switch from “good girl” to “bad girl” as quickly as she wants, depending on how she’s feeling that day.
— jewelry : an absolute sucker for jewelry. often is on esty too often despite her already extensive collection of bracelets, necklaces, and rings. her style is often dainty jewelry, though she doesn’t discriminate.
— tattoos : a small butterfly on the back of her left shoulder
— scars : several small nicks and almost invisible ones
OOC...
hiiii. it’s ollie again ✌️😎... and bc i normally play hockey bois... here’s my self-indulgent tie to hockey via nia whoops.
STARTER FOR: @audrcyfern
EXTRA: some street... presumably somewhat between whitby campus and nia’s apartment
“ no no no, you just have to have an open mind about it — ” nia insists. they’re curbside in one of the residential streets that houses mostly rented student houses and a few apartment buildings. she’s currently enamored by a rather beat up and homely looking... cabinet. maybe it was once meant to be a bedside table or a small living room accessory, but it had obviously seen quite a few years at the not so gentle hands of college student, evidenced by the dinged up edges, the mysterious gashing at the top, and the paint job that left a lot to desire --- one particular deep scuff revealing no less than four layers of different colors. clearly, the last owner hadn’t seen it fit for their room, or perhaps it’d been left behind by a past tenant and now undesired. whatever the scenario, nia was immediately smitten with the piece of furniture ( as she often was with curbside hauls that bore of price tag of free ). “ c’mon, you don’t have to see my VISION to help me get it back to my apartment, do you ?? ”
STARTER FOR: @heavnfalls
EXTRA: waverly field // tuesday, 8:17 am
it’s with a satisfying thwack that nia sends her last ball sailing neatly into the goal, the ball bouncing in the grass before it comes to a stop with a dozen other of its friends. she gives a satisfied smile, a following glance to the slim athletic watch on her wrist shows her a predictable time — even after the long length of summer, it’s easy to fall back into this routine after a few weeks. her arms stretch briefly over her head, before she folds into a forward bend to keep her hamstring loose, nose impressively close to her shins. “ hart-sy — ” she calls out in a sing-song voice, straightening with a content sigh. a hand plants on her hip, voice all fond exasperation. “ hope you weren’t planning on practicing right up until your 9:30 because you know just as well as i do that breakfast is a critical part of an athlete’s day. ”
days off meant days spent on the town doing whatever peculiar task brain would think of first. this is what would lead us to her first stop: the retro room to find something to give her apartment flair before she would probably be evicted yet again ( just to waltz her way right back in of course ). nothing in particular had been in mind which would prove it to be a more tedious task —– yet not one at all for this place had been a favorite of hers for years now. a nice little escape to get lost in the hypothetical reasonings of how things wound up there. fingertips trail down aisles riddled with full shelves of knick-knacks as far as the eye could see. anything would yet to catch her eye until a fellow sufferer of higher stocked departments working her way around an unnecessary obstacle seemed to do the trick. supervising with her head tilt to keep anything from becoming wobbly, peripherals would also take note of any passerbys just in case. “ i don’t know what you’re talking about. if you ask me ? i didn’t see a thing, or hear it, either. ”
deciding that no, the woman before her isn't going to go off running to the cashier on shift ( currently not paying attention and very much engrossed with something on his phone ), nia flashes her another grateful smile before her gaze shifts to the floor. it's not far, but also, the season is just about to begin and rolling her ankle by jumping off a table in heels sounds about as stupid a way to injure herself as any. instead she carefully takes off one, then the other until she's standing barefoot on the table. grasping the shoes by their heels in one fist and tucking the box under her arm with the other, she makes quick work of getting back to the floor, not wholly worried if her skirt flutters up a bit — she has spandex shorts on, of course. " a girl's gotta do what she's gotta do — " nia says briskly, slipping her shoes back on with ease without reaching for any support — in the very least a testimony to her superb balance. " — so glad you understand. " she slips her right heel in and out of her shoe until it sits properly, smiling up at the other. " though i do think they're more forgiving here than at hannafords. " she gives a light laugh.
well, this was more than benji bargained for. cocking his brow, he continues to watch as the small frame carefully navigates the tables and cabinets that seem to (or not) be in her way. “ that depends… “, he trails, “ … what’s in it for me? and what’s in the box? has to be something good if you aren’t even gonna ask someone for help retrieving it. i think you’re even willing to damage the store’s property too, “ he clicks his tongue. “ shame. “
-
“ maybe i just don’t like asking people for help — ” nia suggests innocently. it’s not meant to be a barb. her smile still hasn’t faltered and it won’t as she tucks the wooden box under one arm and crouches down, carefully grasping the end of her skirt to her thighs, sits briefly on the edge of the table she’d been using as a temporary step-stool, and then drops the rest of the short distance to the ground. she brushes off imaginary dust from her skirt before peering up at the other : ah yes, of course, benji matis. she soldiers on, unphased. “ besides, the table’s fine — ” her fingers run delicately over the wood surface, mindful of the far deeper gorges that were left long before her to not give herself a splinter. “ — whoever buys it will need to take a belt sander to it and repaint it anyway ; if they don’t completely decide to cover the top. ”
as soon as she said she wasn’t here for the movie, bandit couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief. the last thing he wanted to do at this time was to put up with someone screaming in his face. “ lost something?” bandit’s gaze moved from her, to the lost and found box resting on the other side of the counter, he knew it to be rather empty. “ i don’t think so, but you’re welcome to look” bandit indicated over at the box. “ when were you in here? there’s a chance it is still in the room, but you’ll have to wait until the film is over”
-
a delicate frown of thought crosses nia’s face as she stands on tip toe to peer over the counter — not an easy feat considering she’s already in heels, but she gains an inch, maybe even an inch and a half. some of the box remains out of sight but she can see most of the scarce contents --- none of which even comes close to resembling her ring. it hadn’t been that expensive ( try $35 on etsy ) and part of the reason she’d lost it was because despite being incredibly cute, it was a fraction too large for even her middle finger. “ i was here for the matinee, ” she settles back down, heels meeting the floor with a quiet clink. “ — and i already checked the bathroom. ” more than likely, it’s gone, but really it’s the principle of the thing. nia’s gaze fixes itself back on the boy behind the counter. she’s no longer frowning, a sweet enough smile back on her face though she had hoped to find her lost jewelry. “ — how long until the movie’s over ?? ”
thankfully it was not too long until closing time, one more film and he could get out of here. it wasn’t that he didn’t like his job, he did, but he was just not feeling it today. there had been a bunch of kids who had come in and spilt popcorn everywhere, and now he’d just had to clean up a load of coca cola that had been dropped down the back of one of the seats.
with a hefty sigh, bandit leaned against the counter, not really expecting to see anyone else considering the last film had started ten minutes ago. “ you’re running a bit late?” bandit couldn’t help but smirk , as he faced the other. “ sorry, the doors are closed now, i can’t let you in”
-
“ you really think i’d ask you to do that ?? ” it’s not quite said with a pout because she isn’t overdramatic, but it’s there in spirit. she probably would, is the thing, on a different night perhaps with a different movie — but that’s not important right now. for once she is not running late for something — at the movie theatre at least. nia keeps careful track of the favors she asks, otherwise that’s how you get people real mad at you and confrontation always makes her feel uneasy inside.
“ i lost something, ” she adds in way of explanation, her bracelet jangling against the counter as she puts her left hand flat on the surface. a thin band of slightly lighter skin betrays her missing ring as she wiggles her fingers to make her point. “ anyone turn it in ?? it’s gold. ”
STARTER FOR: anyone
EXTRA: the retro room, any time
even with the generous four inches that her heels provide her, nia can’t reach the top of the cabinet that sits innocently in the retro room. not being gifted vertically is something she’s long made her peace with ( along with the help of an extensive heel collection that brought her to almost scraping average height ), but the small wooden table she’s been eyeing remains far outside the length of her stretching fingertips. a devious glance around her surroundings provides her with no less than four ways she can get to the top of the cabinet. a split second later and she’s climbing atop a different table next to the high cabinet that provides another three feet of height. there are already plenty of scars of wear on the table top, evidence of a healthy life it once held, and so she’s not too worried about the tips of her heels scuffing. maybe when she has help she’ll come back to retrieve it as well, but for now she happily reaches for the small wooden box that she’d been eyeing. item in hand, she turns then to clamber back down only to find herself looking down at someone. her small o of surprise morphs quickly. “ so — our little secret ?? ” she offers, smile wide and charming. signature. “ what’d’ya say ?? ”
