NUNIQ
Raised in the biting blizzards of Iqaluit, Inuk revolutionary Nuniq turns the battlefield into her fortress. Her defensive abilities transform areas into fiercely guarded citadels; if you dare to tresspass, you'll have hell to pay.
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EDIT: nuniq's official wiki doc is out! read here:
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meet nuniq; an inuk sentinel from nunavut, canada. she's a radiant with snow and ice-based abilities.
(hello!! this is the original masterpost for all things nuniq. formatting and consistency is messy here since this is a wordvomit post. i suggest you read her wiki for a better understanding of her character. this does have some basic oc stuff and remnants of her character in early development. feel free to have a look!
EDIT nov 2025: hey i put her wip splash art bc i need yall to know she DOES NOT look like that anymore 😭😭😭takes me forever to pick it back up but shes getting there . wtv . also included her new ref sheet below im sick of the old art blah)
codename: north
profile:
callsign: nuniq
real name: nauja (pronounced now-ya) keenainak
role: sentinel
spoken languages: inuktitut, english, french
29 years of age, nunavut native and member of a vigilante group aiming to drive kingdom away from her home and several other affected territories. she joins the protocol shortly after they catch wind of the growing protests in nunavut + obtain footage of her using radiant abilities in an attempt to storm one of kingdom's many power plants.
turnaround/art reference:
abilities:
passive ability: FROST
All of Nuniq's abilities deal FROST damage. After 1.5 seconds of being slowed, players affected by her utility will begin to take damage.
(frost damage is 1hp per tick. good luck trying to get out of the molly field while slowed lol)
C cast: COLD FEET
INSTANTLY silence Nuniq's footsteps and gain a speed boost. Nuniq will leave behind footprints that linger in her path.
(15% speed boost for 6 seconds, so she’s a lil bit slower than neon in that regard. cold feet applies a status effect instead of sprinting, so player can use all their weapons. footprints last for 3 seconds and are a big giveaway, could be used for deception if you're a pro lol)
Q cast: CRYOTROP
EQUIP a bundle of ice crystals. FIRE to place a sheet of ice that is invisible from afar. ACTIVATE the Cryotrop to raise a field of ice spikes that slow and deal instant FROST damage.
(utility starts to shine with northern lights when approached and has a distinct crunching/shattering sound effect when walked over, similar to sage’s slow field. spikes lasts for 8 seconds.)
signature ability/E cast: SNOWPILE
EQUIP a snowball. FIRE to throw a snowball that detonates upon landing, forming a lingering field that slows and deals FROST damage. Throwing a second snowball at the field turns it into a snow pile that blocks vision and doubles FROST damage. Throwing a third snowball turns the pile into a solid wall.
(three charges, replenishes after a 40-second cooldown. snowpile is half the height of sage's wall, fully covers a crouched player. snowpile can be walked through, snow wall cannot.)
ult/X cast: AVALANCHE
EQUIP a kakivak. Fire to plunge into the ground, sending bursts of snow outwards in all directions around Nuniq that freezes all enemies caught in her radius.
(FROZEN enemies, unlike detained enemies, cannot move away into safety. they are frozen in place for 6 seconds until status effect melts away.)
(imagine if like . kj’s ult was instant, spread like viper’s ult, and moved like breach’s ult)
(rotoscoped from:)
lore:
CHILDHOOD:
nauja keenainak is descended from a long line of skilled harpoon fishers, who use the technique to this very day despite the conveniences of modern technology. her father is one of these practitioners and taught her as early as 10 years old.
she's a strong survivalist; she can swim, hunt, and sew her own clothes, an important skill in iqaluit's winter.
though her father offered his knowledge on many basic survival skills, nauja was closer to her mother— an artist who creates and sells sealskin jewelry.
nauja was homeschooled for most of her life, meaning she didn't quite have many friends her age. what she lacked in social skills, she made up for with service to her community. she helped her father with transporting and selling fish in outdoor markets– which is where she would eventually meet her lifelong friend amaruq ipellie.
amaruq was older than her by four years, and similarly he was helping his mother sell her goods. since their stalls were close by, they grew close quick and would spend time together during their free hours. nauja begin to view amaruq as her older brother, and would soon find herself spending time with his friends. she would get into trouble a lot because of their rambunctious nature.
when nauja was 14, amaruq moved away to ottawa to pursue his education. she wouldn't see him for a while outside of the occasional visits.
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FIRST LIGHT, RADIANCE, AND RELOCATION:
nauja was 18 when first light occurred. two years later, its effects would change her life permanently. while ice fishing, she became exposed to a raw ore chunk underneath the ice of the surrounding lake. scientists from out of town drove over to investigate, and when the extracted ore was identified to be radianite, researchers from kingdom took over. kingdom took the initiative to seal the site off until it was determined to be safe.
nauja fell very ill in the days that followed, experiencing nonstop fevers and chills. this led the people of iqaluit to question the health effects of radianite. kingdom's public statement released that it was most likely a reaction to raw radianite, whose qualities may have changed under extreme temperature. eventually it was discovered that traces of radianite were lodged deep beneath the city itself. considering the concerns and safety of the residents, kingdom ordered the immediate evacuation of the city until the excavation and research operations were over. locals were paid not to speak about radianite's health effects, for the sake of their business.
while the relocation was in motion, nauja discovered she had obtained supernatural abilities. she could freeze water and manipulate the texture of snow just by touching it. she had her papers updated to officially recognize her as a radiant.
the people of iqaluit were moved to a more remote campsite further up north, and it was there nauja would train to control her radiance. she discovered that what she needed to help her was in front of her the whole time— her harpoon, which had also absorbed radianite from her initial exposure. by tuning in to the radianite traces in the harpoon and using it to stabilize the radiance in her body, she could devise a safe way to use her abilities at will.
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a year had passed after the relocation. kingdom promised them that their estimated return would be at least six months after the excavation. delays kept occuring due to "unexpected reactions and complications." by the second year, nauja began to have doubts.
the mining equipment within and around iqaluit was an understandable sight— the numerous research tents and new laboratory structures were not. before she could even question what had taken place, it was already too late- kingdom had purchased the residential land to be turned into a radianite refinery. this naturally enraged the residents, who would soon make demands for kingdom to give their homes back.
UPRISING:
the commotion was enough to bring amaruq back from ottawa. fueled to act, and with nauja sharing his sentiments, he decided to band together the homeland reclamation movement.
the movement was initially a diplomatic organization, requesting audiences with both kingdom and canada’s government. receiving nothing but empty promises from both, they turned to more unconventional methods.
they would protest, go on strikes, vandalize kingdom property, and put on demonstrations to get their message through.
fed up with the inaction, amaruq proposed something more extreme– a direct attack on the radianite refinery itself. he knew contacts back in ottawa who could smuggle weapons and incendiaries. though nauja was hesitant about extremist violence, she decided it was a necessary sacrifice to drive away kingdom's operations once and for all. for a long time they planned, gathering supplies and willing militants to carry out the attack. nauja took inspiration from a similar uprising in bahia, and partially directed the operation.
the day came when it was time to strike. amaruq and the hrm's militants stormed the radianite refinery, only to be met with the retaliation of heightened security that led to a clash. in the middle of combat, amaruq was nearly killed, prompting nauja to use her radiance. using her kakivak, she directed a gust of snow to blow away kingdom security, forming a permanently frozen wave of devastation in its wake.
it was here that nauja realized she was no longer an activist, but a criminal. with the small window of time she had created, amaruq ordered the team to flee.
as they began their escape by motorboat, they were shortly followed. amaruq, deciding that his position as leader puts him at high priority, sacrificed himself for the safety of his crew. the last thing nauja witnessed was the searchlight on him before he dove into the icy waters below. it was unknown if he ever survived.
nauja quietly led the crew to one of the hrm's remote hideouts. amaruq's absence meant her immediate promotion to the stand-in leader. as the new leader, she had much to manage. she had to figure out how to tend to the wounds of those who participated in the attack, replenish the food supply, and devise plans for what to do if they were discovered. tensions were high as her face and name, along with the others', were on the news; returning to the campsite wasn’t worth the risk.
amaruq's disappearance weighed heavily on her mind. her lifelong friend was either dead, or arrested. if he was alive and in hiding, he would've figured out how to contact her. she began an investigation of her own, determined to learn of his fate.
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RECRUITMENT [WIP]:
as news of an attack on the iqaluit radianite refinery involving a radiant became mainstream, many were divided. some saw the HRM as heroes, some called them terrorists. it wasn't long until the word reached the VALORANT protocol as well, in need of a new recruit. with cypher's help, sova and brimstone were able to find the exact location of agent 17*. the two took flight for nunavut.
extras:
nuniq has a pet named aputi (or just aput, for short.) he's a northern inuit dog that she brings along with her everywhere she goes. it’s a pet peeve of hers when they call him a husky/malamute.
she has trouble adjusting to heat. maps like bind and breeze take the soul out of her, she has no idea how sova does it
she can throat sing, her mother taught her how and it was how they bonded when she was much younger
her favorite food is muktuk/mattaq, but it's harder to find when she's away from home so she settles for sushi
she wants to stay far, FAR away from reyna. something about working with a real-life vampire puts her off.
she absolutely loves gossiping despite appearances,,,,get on her good side and she'll dish out all the dirt shes got
the duelists make her sing let it go. She Refuses.
nuniq used to cut her own hair and is really bad at it. it looks really choppy when it's not held together in braids. she’s been growing her hair out but it doesn’t take the choppiness away
killjoy, as per usual, made her snow-pack. she fashioned it from her snowball launcher design. (aka a bastardized molly launcher) it's self-replenishing and can keep nuniq's snow at freezing temperatures even in maps like bind and breeze.
nuniq is shorter than jett, but taller than neon. essentially in between them.
playlist:
agent dynamics:
oc interactions:
quotes:
voice claim:
miscellaneous noony content:
agent contract:
blackmailer dossier:
oc x canon things...hehe





















