nora milkalsen and mason reyes hakimi for frostbornhq.
beneath this snowy mantle cold and clean, the unborn grass lies waiting for its coat to turn to green. the snowbird sings the song he always sings and speaks to me of flowers that will bloom again in spring. when i was young, my heart was young then, too. anything that it would tell me, that's the thing that i would do. but now i feel such emptiness within. for the thing that i want most in life's the thing that i can't win. spread your tiny wings and fly away and take the snow back with you where it came from on that day.
After a long shift on patrol, Nora was freezing. Night always seemed at least a little colder than the day, although there truly couldn’t be much of a difference considering it was always below -50 out. Tugging her hood lower over her face, she gazed briefly up towards the sky, willing the sun to actually warm them up for once. When nothing changed, she gave up and continued on her trek back to her home. She was tired, though, and the cold had seeped deep into her bones, making her want to warm up sooner rather than later. Knowing the layout of the city like the back of her hand by now, Nora decided a detour by Oli’s office was in order since it was closer than her home. It was morning now - he should be there, assuming he hadn’t stayed late and finally gone home to sleep now.
Knocking on the door, Nora pushed her way inside without waiting for a word from her older brother. “If you’re thinking about getting me a gift any time soon, a new coat would be great.” Nora remarked, stepping closer to the fire to warm herself up. “You better not have slept here. You’re too old to be up all night working.”
⌈ anthony keyvan, he / they, nonbinary ⌋ have you seen MASON REYES HAKIMI walking around recently ?? you know, the TWENTY-THREE year old WORKER ?? i have a question i wanted to ask but i haven't seen MASE around. have you noticed they tend to be DISTRUSTING and SNARKY ?? but i guess they make up for it by being RESOURCEFUL and DETERMINED. i've heard they're often found PLAYING CARDS. anyways, if you see them let them know to come find me.
stats.
FULL NAME: mason reyes hakimi
NICKNAME(S): mase, hakimi
AGE: twenty-three
BIRTHDAY: april 3rd
HOMETOWN: clayton, california
CURRENT LOCATION: jericho, wyoming
GENDER: nonbinary
PRONOUNS: he / they
ORIENTATION: gay
OCCUPATION: worker in the cafeteria
bio.
tw: parental death, non graphic injury, mugging
mason reyes hakimi was born in northern california, a land that used to be fairly sunny but was a frozen tundra during mason’s youth. their parents were survivors who had met when they’d found their way to mountain’s peak settlement, a small group of about fifty located on mount diablo near san francisco. his family hadn’t had much, but they had had one another. mason’s childhood was pretty happy - he had two loving parents, food in his stomach and a somewhat warm bed. sometimes they all fought over stupid stuff, or food was a little harder to come by. sometimes the cold crept in too much and he spent all night shivering. but for the most part, mason had a great life.
when they were sixteen, one of the scouts for their group returned infected. they hadn’t noticed at first - they’d all thought that it was normal frostbite. by the time the scout had reached stage three, it was too late. he managed to infect most of the settlement before he could be put down, mason’s parents included. with few survivors left and most people now icebergs, mason had fled.
he tried making it on his own for awhile. mason had learned basic survival skills just like everyone else who’d grown up after the volcanic eruption, and they were smart. what he lacked in brawn, he made up in intelligence. mason was successful for about two years, living on his own, tracking and hunting his own food and doing his best to stay away from anyone and everyone. after losing his parents, he was scared of other people.
one day, though, they let their guard down a bit too much. scavengers found him while he slept and stole everything from him, injuring him and leaving him for dead. and with the subzero temperature and lack of food, mason would have been, if someone hadn’t stumbled upon them.
the stranger was about his age, and far kinder than the scavengers had been. mason still struggled to accept his help or let down his guard, but he didn’t have much of a choice. the stranger helped patch mason up, shared some of their food with him, and waited for him to recover. by the time mason was back to full health, he couldn’t imagine not staying with him.
they traveled together, eventually stumbling upon a cabin in the mountains. they lived together for the next few years, surviving off the land and what they had found in the cabin. eventually, though, another group found the cabin as well, and as they outnumbered mason and his friend by a lot, the two of them decided to leave and take their chances elsewhere.
eventually, they heard about a place called jericho in wyoming. it wouldn’t be an easy trip from the cabin in oregon, but there were lot of people there. a real city. mason wasn’t originally sold on the idea, but they were persuaded by their partner wanting to go. after everything he’d done for mason, how could they say no? so, they made the grueling journey together.
mason’s been in jericho for only a matter of months. it’s hard being back in a big group - he doesn’t really like it. there are so many people, how does he know who to trust? mason’s having a hard time letting people in, but maybe he just needs time to adjust.
more info.
mason really doesn’t trust people easily. they grew up in a post-apocalyptic world where they were screwed over several times, so he just really doesn’t find it easy letting people in. it’s definitely possible and i’d love for him to learn to let his guard down, but he’s still distant right now.
they’re very snarky and sarcastic. chronically unable to keep their mouth shut. truly half of their troubles could be avoided if they just learned for stfu. stiles stiliniski levels of snark and dumbassery for sure.
he works in the cafeteria in food prep ! mason’s great at cooking, especially with random things that are found or grown. he’s met a lot of people through that, i would imagine.
mason just is not the strongest guy around. he’s gotten tougher over the years of living on his own or with just one other person, but he’s not buff by any means. i think he might work on training more now that he has access to an actual place to do it.
he misses his parents a lot so watch out older muses, if he trusts you, you may become a parent figure to him.
absolutely so fucking loyal. once he lets you in, you’re stuck with him unless you betray him. but mason is undeniably extremely loyal to the people he cares about and would do anything for them.
mason is good at card games. they used to pass the time when they were alone playing solitaire, but then got better at games when they met up with their travel buddy. now, if he isn’t working, hiding somewhere, training, or spending time with his friend / boyfriend, he’s probably in the communal area or bar playing a game with whoever’s up for it.
i think he definitely can be found in weird areas hiding from others when it gets overwhelming. he’s definitely an introvert now, although he probably would have been an extrovert if he had grown up in a normal world.
sad, broken, sarcastic, SMART, and scrappy truly.
wanted.
his travel companion / partner / boyfriend ( wc, feel free to ask for more info ! )
tentative friends or allies
people who find him irritating
someone who’s helping him train
a mentor figure
a neighbor
someone who’s trying to be good friends with him despite him pushing them away
Today was Nora’s day without a patrol shift, which meant she’d gotten a lot of errands done. She’d gone to the marketplace to pick something up for her mother’s birthday, and had been a bit clumsy as she’d come back down the stairs to the building. Nora had tripped, and in her effort to catch her self, had landed on her wrist a bit oddly. While she was pretty sure it wasn’t broken, she knew it would be a good idea to get it looked at before her next shift with security.
Entering the medic bay, Nora glanced around to see if her sister was working. With no sight of the blonde, she went to the next familiar face - Ava. “Hey,” Nora smiled, approaching the former bartender she’d befriended over the years. “Any chance you could check out my wrist? I think I might need it wrapped.” It was already beginning to swell, though there wasn’t much bruising thankfully.
⌈ ANNABELLE WALLIS, SHE / HER, CIS FEMALE ⌋ have you seen ELLINORE MIKALSEN walking around recently ?? you know, the THIRTY-EIGHT year old SECURITY ?? i have a question i wanted to ask but i haven’t seen NORA around. have you noticed they tend to be OVERLY CAUTIOUS and RESERVED ?? but i guess they make up for it by being SPIRITED and RESILIENT. i’ve heard they’re often found TELLING STORIES BY THE FIRE. anyways, if you see them let them know to come find me.
nora was born two years after the supervolcano erupted. she’s never known what the world was like before, except through stories her parents told her and oli growing up. nora fell in love with these stories - as well as the ones she read in books her parents had.
without any other means of entertainment, she quickly became the designated storyteller due to her passion for putting on a show. after a long day of hunting, growing what food they could, and scavenging for what they couldn’t, nora liked reading ghost stories to the others, or making them watch her act out the fairy tales she had picture books of. she was an energetic, optimistic child who always seemed to have a big smile on her face, especially once brenn and matty came along.
when she was a bit older, the family made the decision to travel to a new community that was developing - jericho. it was a hard journey for all of them, but they made it through together. she had never been as adept as oli or her parents at the nature side of survival; nora wasn’t the best at identifying plants or tracking wildlife. but she had a keen eye for detail, and a steady trigger finger. nora had already learned to hunt by this point, but this trip made her into a truly dangerous marksman.
her skills with a crossbow were precise, and as she grew older at jericho, it became obvious that she should consider going into either hunting or security. nora picked security in the end because she’s a protective soul - she wants to keep what they already have safe, and she doesn’t want to go back outside if she can help it.
as time went by, nora found herself falling for one of the scouts at jericho. elijah was a sweet guy - steady, dependable, and always had a smile on his face, just like nora. he could make her laugh more than anyone she’d ever met. he was smitten with her too, and eventually, they decided to get married. they were deeply, truly in love with one another and for a few years, nora thought that she had found her own happily ever after just like the princesses in the fairy tales she’d read to her parents and siblings growing up.
then one trip, he didn’t make it back. he’d gotten hurt, and the conditions had been too dangerous to move him quickly back to jericho. he died from complications before he’d made it back within the walls, leaving nora a widow. she hasn’t quite been the same peppy, excitable person ever since. while nora’s still social and friendly, her spirit has dulled some in the last five years since his death. her father passing away recently didn’t help either. now, nora just wants to protect the people she can, and keep taking things a day at a time.
more info.
nora pretty much exclusively goes by nora. her family might call her elle, ellie or ellinore sometimes but she’s really known around jericho as nora.
nora used to be a social butterfly. she was the one to remember everyone’s name, always have some sort of joke to share, and always spent her free time hanging out with someone. she grew a bit more reserved after the death of her husband five years ago. she’s still kind and will talk to others and reach out, but she’s not quite as bubbly anymore.
she’s definitely a right brain kind of person. very creative, into reading, history and storytelling. if things had been completely different, she probably would have gone into theatre or creative writing. instead, she’s definitely the one found telling the little kids stories to keep them entertained, or trying to wrangle together a production of some play they could put on for jericho.
nora’s at a place where she’s probably ready to start dating again, but that’s not the number one thing on her mind right now.
she likes her job with security because she wants to keep everyone safe. nora’s a great shot, and she doesn’t mind patrols or being the person people come to when they’re worried about something.
wanted.
a best friend / ride or die
drinking buddies
a partner on security
a rival of some sort
former hookups
a book club
someone she’s developing feelings for
someone on the scouting trip her husband died on that feels guilty
maybe.... her ex-husband.... didn’t die after all and has been with a diff group this whole time ?
snowghoul
pixelskylines
tangentwithtanner
dailybridgerton
