↪ brief introduction to samantha nawaz.
BASICS
full name: samantha kaina nawaz. nickname(s): sam, sammy. age: twenty-eight. date of birth: 7 april 1994. zodiac sign: aries. place of birth: brighton, melbourne, victoria, australia. ethnicity: pakistani, white. nationality: australian. gender: demigirl. sexual orientation: pansexual. romantic orientation: panromantic. religion: islam — though it tends to come as a surprise to most people who know her sam is a practicing muslim; perhaps not the most rule abiding but she still finds some importance in her faith. education: bachelor of arts in archaeology from the university of western australia, masters in museum and heritage studies from the university of sydney. occupation: research assistant at providence peak university; freelance archaeologist; treasure hunter ( not something resume worthy, in her experience ). language(s) spoken: english ( primarily ); she knows some urdu from her paternal grandparents but largely doesn’t speak it for any reason-- truthfully, out of spite. accent: sam has an incredibly thick, incredibly obvious australian accent-- it usually takes people about three seconds to glean where she’s from and that’s always suited her just fine.
PHYSICAL APPEARANCE
face claim: sophia taylor ali. hair color: black. eye color: dark brown. height: 5′8″. weight: 122 lbs. build: athletic. tattoos: sam has american traditional style tattoos on both of her legs ( reference ), she also has a nature inspired sleeve that goes along her right arm and up to her neck ( reference ). piercings: she has a stud in her right nostril, her belly button pierced, lobe piercings in both ears and a helix piercing in her right ear. distinguishing characteristics: her accent, the tattoo on her arm if she’s wearing anything that shows it off at all, the sheer amount of energy she has on any given day.
PERSONALITY
label: the explorer. positive traits: adaptable, adventurous, articulate, charismatic, charming, clever, compassionate, confident, creative, eloquent, intelligent, passionate, resourceful, witty. negative traits: competitive, sarcastic. argumentative, decadent, haughty, hedonistic, impulsive, obsessive, possessive, rowdy, vindictive. goals/desires: to make a discovery that will make her famous in some capacity, to discover things no one ever has. fears: athazagoraphobia ( fear of being forgotten ). hobbies: anything that will let her get an adrenaline fix— rock climbing, sky diving, dirt biking, etc., surfing, swimming, reading, researching for future trips she wants to take, watching indiana jones movies ( the temple of doom is her favorite even if she knows it’s pretty problematic ), trying to teach her cat tricks ( he isn’t interested ), going out with friends, flirting with literally anyone who gives her attention, sex, watching documentaries, learning new things, talking about archaeology, playing video games ( tomb raider is her favorite ), cooking, baking. quirks: she always buys a guidebook or something of the sort for whatever country she’s interested in studying-- she makes maps of places to visit and tacks them on a wall in her apartment for reference, she always has a cigarette tucked behind her ear, she’s always fidgeting with something around her-- her clothes, bracelets she’s wearing-- she can never quite sit still, she has a running knowledge of major archaeological discoveries of the last fifty years and would happily rattle any of them off if someone asked-- and be embarrassed about it for the next ten hours afterwards. likes: making people blush, adrenaline rushes, the feeling of discovering something, complicated research, puzzles, getting tattoos, hiking, being outside in any capacity regardless of the weather, crappy rom-coms, b-horror movies if she’s in a bad mood, bollywood films, biryani ( her grandmother’s is the best as far as she’s concerned but she’ll take what she can get ), tim tams, sweets of all sorts. dislikes: people who take themselves too seriously, anyone who looks down on her profession or interests, people who think what she does isn’t serious or worthy of praise, spinach, wet socks, the fact that she loses her keys at least once a day even when they’re clipped to her jeans, having emotional conversations, being underestimated, feeling like she has to dumb herself down for any reason.
FAMILY
father: rusul atfat nawaz. mother: florence evelyn nawaz née frazer. sibling(s): theodore arham nawaz ( older ), caleb hamza nawaz ( younger ). pet(s): a grey norwegian forest cat named kenyon, after kathleen kenyon, a famous archaeologist. financial status:
BIOGRAPHY
Idyllic was a word people had used to describe Sam’s childhood often— Hell, Sam would have described her childhood as idyllic until the precise moment it wasn’t; but that was the kicker, wasn’t it? Hindsight was always twenty-twenty and Samantha Nawaz– a knobby kneed tomboy with an overbearing big brother, parents who doted on her during every waking moment with the expanse of a too-large Victorian home in the astronomically expensive suburb of Brighton– well, she had never had any reason at all to doubt that her childhood was the sort that people would dream of in their dizziest daydreams. Sam’s parents– one a professor and the other boasting a career in pharmaceuticals that more than paid for the Nawaz family’s life– adored their children in spite of the fact that they would find themselves away on business sometimes for weeks at a time with their children in the care of other family members or nannies– their love was still genuine and for Sam’s part she never batted an eye at how busy her parents were– if anything, it made it far easier for her to get into trouble– her fondest escapades of her childhood often involved sneaking out of their home with her brothers in tow and their nanny– Josephine– none the wiser.
A child perpetually obsessed with adventure it was no surprise at all when Sam, after a sleepover with some school friends, declared to her parents– quite seriously given the fact that she couldn’t have been older than seven or eight– that she was going to be just like Indiana Jones. An adventurer, an archaeologist, someone who would discover wonderful and mythical things unlike anything the world had ever known before; her parents, for their part, supported her interests– buying her countless books on the subject of archaeology, allowing her to go to camps during her summers and generally immerse herself in something she was clearly deeply passionate about. All of that passion culminated in the most brilliant way when Sam had the great fortune to discover a jeweled statue of the Hindu god Ganesha on a family vacation in Bali— the immense pride the teenager felt cementing, in her mind, that she would never do anything else but become an archaeologist.
Her excitement, unfortunately, was short lived— her father took the statue– promising to look after it until they could find something to do with it– the last conversation the pair would ever have when Sam’s father, without a word, sold the statue and left his family altogether. From that moment on, much to her mother’s dismay, Sam began to write her father off as dead to anyone who asked or had even an iota of curiosity. The ordinarily bright girl curled in on herself in some respects after that– still a bright presence in the lives of those she cared for but equally prepared to flicker away altogether– never quite settling as a friend to anyone long enough to develop real connections– it was, as far as Sam was concerned, the easiest way to guarantee no one could devastate her in the same way her father had.
The restlessness that seemed to have developed overnight in the young woman made itself known when Sam refused to accept any offers of enrollment from universities in her state– instead accepting a full ride scholarship to the University of Western Australia where she hoped she would be able to continue to make a life for herself without the ghost of her father hovering over her shoulder in everything she did. And, truthfully, Sam adored her time at university— she was an immensely dedicated student– perhaps a bit more reckless in her social life and extracurriculars than she ought to have been but easily one of the most passionate people in any department she found herself in. After completing her bachelor’s in archaeology she moved on to the University of Sydney to earn her masters in Museum and Heritage studies.
When her schooling drew to a close Sam accepted work as a curator at the Australian Museum– remaining in Sydney for three years before her partner at the time– an American paleontologist convinced her to move out to the States, to Colorado, more specifically. Sam agreed almost immediately knowing she was only half in love with her partner but nonetheless eager for a new adventure and a new environment. Their relationship fizzled out within six months of her arrival in Providence Peak but Sam shrugged off any latent heartbreak that might have caused by burying her attention into helping plan an expedition of the Asian continent with the rest of the archaeology department. Work as a research assistant was never the most glamorous or the most exciting– something Sam supplemented with adventures of her own to keep herself entertained– but Sam’s still eager to follow the planning to its end– always hoping to make another discovery like the one she’d been lucky enough to have as a teenager. Still, she knows it’ll be a small miracle if she sticks around long enough to see the project through but she’s made it this far, right? What’s a little more?
