n o r a

He took the box passed to him, swopping up the danish quickly once he’d balanced it in his hand. “Yeah, let’s not put you on the phone in the next hostage situation we get into.“ Joey joked, kidnapping and hostage situations on his mind from the taken trilogy that played in the background as he fell asleep. While waiting he took a bite, she was a bit nervous about what she was asking, but to be fair she was always a little nervous seeming when she asked for favors. He didn’t pick up on every detail, but he picked up on enough and he’d known her for so long, he’d have to be blind not to know that about her now. He laughed as she buttered him up, they both knew she was the more responsible one, and she didn’t need to add the theatrics to convince him, but they did amuse him. If he were planning to say no how could he now. 

Every bit more he heard about the request had him intrigued, the science made sense, and if you knew her the slightly illegal also did. In the name of science he’s seen her get up to somethings, but if he was there for it , it was for the fire not the reasoning behind it. “ Oh, is that all? I thought with all the lead up we might be doing something more dangerous.” Joey said nonchalantly,  “ Is it really illegal anyways if they give us the keys to the lab, I think thats like your dad and my uncle saying take what you need.” He asked, looking over to her just about the same time she’d looked at him. He gave her a smile before taking a few big bites to finish off the danish, offering his pinky to her once he was done. “ If you thank me in the dissertation am I allowed to be there for it, or do I have to hide behind some curtains to get my thanks?”

...

“Dang it,” she smiled at him, kind of wishing she’d gotten a danish for herself now.  But she could stop on the way home, once she secured the potassium.  She was fully away this was the sort of rich people nonsense she’d heard people mention -- that most people didn’t have keys and access to potentially dangerous elements.  But she used it wisely most of the time.  She’d only broken in one time before.  “there goes my number one career choice.  Guess I’ll have to settle for robot death match champion instead.” “I think maybe it’s still a little illegal, but I think we can probably feign ignorance.  We can also say we’re just looking for my dad or your uncle if we get caught, you know?  I really think it’ll be okay as long as we don’t accidentally drop anything.”  She linked her pinkie with his, giving him a serious nod.  “You can be there as long as you don’t ask any questions.  Oh, or maybe we plan a few really thought provoking ones in advance.”  She shrugged.  “Let’s go before Florence pops up out of the floor or something.  She’ll frown about our lightly illegal plans.”  She was surprised it hadn’t already happened, really.  She seemed to always be around.  Maybe she was a little in love with him, she wasn’t sure.  But she could see it.  Joey was the best.

Joseph lounged across the couch, phone in hand as he watched this minnesotan grandmother sponge paint her holiday cards on live. She was one of his more obscure mutuals, but she almost exclusively posted content about crafts, grandkids, and recipes so she was at least artsy enough to make sense on his list. He was meant to be studying for math, some prerequisite class he’d pushed off for classes that appealed to his interest. However, what you push off catches up to you and he was in the class and suppose to be preparing for the midterm. It wasn’t his fault that Ina went live though, and he rarely misses those, so a break was due. 

The weight shifted next to him, drawing his attention from the enthusiastic description of the newest technique of sponges to Nora who was just as passionately opening a box. Joe couldn’t help, but let out a laugh at the sight as he perked up listening to the offer that came along with the baked goods. “ A bribe in a pink bakery box? I think you mistook me for Gwen.”He joked, while he exited the live and flipped his phone giving his full attention to Nora. “ But still, i’m not opposed to it, go on what do I have to do for this danish? I won’t kill a man, but I haven’t eaten lunch so pretty much anything else is on the table. ” Joseph knew she had a favor to ask, Nora was pretty giving all around and it’d been left at a treat instead of a bribe , even if that was a bit of a joke. He’d probably do whatever it was, he wasn’t one to say no especially when it came to friends. 

...

“Mmm,” she mused, passing the box to him.  “You can have the danish regardless.  I guess I’m not a great negotiator.  But I’d really like your help if you’re up for it.”  She looked at her nails, picking at a hangnail as she spoke.  She didn’t like asking for favors, even from Teddy, who was more like family than a friend.  “I’m having a science emergency and I left my keys to the lab at home last time I went.  And I know you’re way more responsible than me and probably have the whole ring of keys in your pocket right now.”  She reached out and poked at his pocket, hearing the satisfying jangle of keys as she did.   “It’s lightly illegal,” she admitted.  “but I’m pretty sure our families won’t press charges if we get caught.  But maybe we don’t get caught just to be safe.  Minus the press, I think my mom would think it was a little funny bailing me out of jail.  But I need some raw potassium for a project.  The school lab things it’s too dangerous for a student to use, but I’m not just a student.  I’m a scientist too and I need to know.”  She turned to look at him for the first time, smiling slightly.  “I’ll thank you first when I defend my future dissertation.  Pinky promise.”

*

The irony was not lost on Gwen of a ‘food drive’ gala, filled with plenty of fancy expensive food that would probably be tossed out at the end of the night.  But hey, they were fundraising so it was all justified, right?  The Nora she had come to know was someone who would much rather be home, watching a Disney movie or playing a board game than going to events like this, and Gwen was pretty sure that the irony wasn’t lost on her, either.  Hell, she knew that Nora would do some good in the world, by means of science or something else, and whether she was still assigned to her or not, Gwen knew she’d be on the sidelines cheering her on.  Nora was not a difficult person to befriend, whether she believed it or not, and she’d grown to be more a friend than assignment long before Gwen had officially been assigned as her guard.  The Nora effect, if you will.

Dressing up and going to parties didn’t bother her.  Gwen saw herself more as a chameleon, putting on whatever she needed to in order to get the job done.  Wherever Nora went, she went, and sometimes she had fun schmoozing, if only for shits and giggles.  She’d been around rich people for long enough, it wasn’t hard to fit in.  It was a very delicate balance between helicopter parent and making sure she had an eye on Nora, but as soon as she saw her friend pile her plate high with enough shrimp to feed a small army, she decided to step in.

“Are you planning on taking them out to the harbor and trying to put them back into the sea?  I don’t know how to tell you this, but I don’t think they’ll get very far without their shells”, Gwen joked, “Unless you’re planning on trying to reinstate the New York dolphin population.  If you’re planning on eating them though, can you at least save some for me?”  In case of emergency, she’d brought along a travel size jenga set.  Flashing her bag open so that Nora could see, she waggled her eyebrows at her friend, “Want to play a game?  It should keep us busy enough until we’ve stayed for the polite, appropriate amount of time.  We can head out after, if you want.  As much as I’m all for stress eating ten pounds of shrimp.”

...

There were precious few constants in her life.  Beyond the handful of friends she had had since birth, basically, it was hard for her to trust that people were going to stay.  Juliette’s reappearance at Teddy’s side, without so much glancing in her direction was enough to have her questioning even that -- it was a hard pill to swallow that one of her best friends, maybe her best friend, could be right in front of her and wanted nothing to do with her.  Although, maybe her disappearing for four years should have told her that.  Teddy’s actions hurt too, and she wasn’t sure why.  He was free to date who he wanted to date -- it just sucked that no one seemed to be thinking about how it made her feel.  But did it matter how she felt?  Maybe she was being selfish? But god, did she appreciate Gwen.  She had a hard time trusting people to stay -- but she believed Gwen would, and that meant a lot.  “They do seem pretty fresh though.  Maybe they’ll surprise us.”  She held the plate out for her to take one or two if she wanted as she craned her neck to see what was in her bag.  Her shoulders perked at the sight of Jenga.  “Yes!  And I’ll beat you this time.  Statistically, it’s surely my time to shine.”

She hated events like this.  It was too fancy, full of people who didn’t really care beyond the tax break that would come from opening up their wallet.  She had made a sizable donation herself, so maybe it was just a case of all rich people sucking and she couldn’t see clearly when it had to do with herself.  Honestly, that was probably true.  But at least she actually cared about the cause.

If people would actually dress like themselves, then maybe she’d believe it.  But the heels and dress her friends had all but wrangled her into her too much.  The dress cost more than some people made in a week.  It was all kind of gross, and she didn’t even think she looked that nice.  But she was here, and she’d make the most of the night.  Shifting awkwardly from one foot to the next she ​walked over to the snacks.  Maybe if she stuffed her face with enough shrimps she’d have to poop and could go home.  If it worked for kids it could work for her too, damn it.

She had mixed feelings about this time of year.  The decorations were pretty, snow made everything look magical, and she got to treat her friends without the ever-present eye rolls and claims of spending too much money.  No amount of money was too much when you cared about someone, in her opinion.  But before the holiday season could really kick off she needed to finish her midterms.  And since the labs were closed for Thanksgiving, she needed Joey.  It was dumb.  Joey wouldn’t need bribing, ​but she thought that a stop at the bakery might be the least she could do when she was about to ask a friend to do a potentially illegal, and at best unethical, thing.  She found him right where she thought that she might, plopping down next to him and opening the pink bakery box with gusto.  “I brought you a treat.  A present, if you will.  And if you allow it to be a bribe I wouldn’t be opposed.”

Birth date: September 12th

Physical appearance

Faceclaim: Auli’i Cravalho

Gender: cis female

Height: 5'3

Build: thin but super not athletic.  spaghetti arms that miraculously get 10xs more buff when she has to lift some machine part

Eye color: brown

Glasses or contacts?: not a thing

Distinguishing marks/scars: a long one on her right arm and a faint one on her forehead from her moped accident with juliette.

Hair color: black

Type of hair: thick, shoulder length.  It’s not quite wavy, but it won’t lay flat either.

Hairstyle: down or in a ponytail or braid.  she can’t be bothered to do too much

Clothing style: nice, fitted, expensive but super basic clothes.

Makeup: does chapstick count?

Personality

Good personality traits: generous, kind, smart, resourceful, accepting

Bad personality traits: anxious, insecure, naive 

Mood character is most often in: she will ask 10,000 questions if she needs to.  she is inquisitive, and she wants to understand what she’s looking at.  giggly, happy, curious

Sense of humor: she can’t get through a joke or a story without dissolving into laughter at herself.

Character’s greatest joy in life: when she’s in the lab or the shop building something.  when she knows she was helpful

Character’s greatest fear: everyone leaving her behind.

Character is most at ease when: when she understands.  the unknown stresses her out and it leaves her restless.

Most ill at ease when: she DOESN’T understand and she doesn’t feel like she has a path to getting the information she needs

Enraged when: i don’t think this happens very often, but we’ll see

Depressed or sad when: she thinks about juliette ghosting her.  why did her best friend leave without saying anything?  and why is she back?

Priorities: she’d like to make the world a better place

Life philosophy: knowledge is power

Greatest strength: she is resourceful.  she’ll find a way or she’ll make one.

Greatest vulnerability or weakness: she is kind of insecure, and someone could use that

Childhood

Hometown: nyc

Type of childhood: It was lonely at times.  She was the only child of two, wildly successful parents.  But she had everything she ever wanted, Birdie, and a whole lot of nannies who were kind of like friends.  And then once she turned 10 she had Juliette too.

Pets: She had a smattering of horses at their country home, but she didn’t get to see them as often as she wanted.

core childhood memory: When she was 8 at robotics camp when she managed to code her first robot to butter toast.

Dream job: She doesn’t really care, but she’d like to build stuff

Religion: catholic, but the kind that do it for show

Present

Current location: New York City, New York

Currently living with: Birdie, Gwen, and Cassie

Pets: A gecko named Edward

Religion: none

Sexuality: pansexual Politics: her parents are republicans, and she knows she doesn’t like that.  but she’s actively avoided politics for so long she’s not sure

Occupation/education: none/Mechanical Engineering Major

Mode of transportation: A sweet ass baby blue jeep she’s named Frankie 

Family

Parent one: Michael Thompson

Relationship with them: strained.  Nora will love anyone who shows her love, but Michael’s always been a bit busy with work since he won his Nobel Prize in Physics

Parent two: Malia Lee Thompson

Relationship with them: strained.  Malia never had time for Nora, not really.  Not since she was appointed to the Supreme Court when Nora turned 12 and Malia 48.

Siblings: None

Favorites

Color: mint green or baby blue

Music: she likes hip hop

Food: cup of noodles, sushi

Film: god why do i feel like some kid shit like the land before time

Drink: sprite

Form of entertainment: taking things apart and putting them back together, treating her friends, petting all the puppies she sees.

Most prized possession: a picture of her with her parents on a ferris wheel in her backyard for her 13th birthday.  it was one of the only times she could remember all of them being together.

Habits

Hobbies: taking apart the toaster or the phone, working on her car, traveling

Plays a musical instrument?: no

Plays a sport?: no haha

How she would spend a rainy day: either convincing someone to jump in puddles or going to the movies

Spending habits: freely and recklessly.  she has more money than she could ever spend, why not use it for the things she and her people want

Smoking/drinking/drugs?: nope

Extremely skilled at: mechanical things

Extremely unskilled at: reading social cues sometimes haha

Nervous tics: spending money probably hahaha.  hey i have finals lets go get macarons in paris 

Usual body posture:  sloucher

Traits

Optimist or pessimist? optimist

Introvert or extrovert? Introvert

Daredevil or cautious? in the middle honestly, she probably won’t propose the daredevil thing but she’ll definitely join

Logical or emotional? emotional

Leader or follower? follower

Disorderly and messy or methodical and neat? messy

Prefers working or relaxing? prefers work

Confident or unsure of herself? it depends on what we’re talking about honestly

Animal lover? yes!

Relationships with others

Opinion of other people in general: she likes people but she doesn’t think people like her much

Does the character hide their true opinions and emotions from others?:she tries but she’s not good at it

Most important person in character’s life: truthfully she sort of feels like everyone’s second choice, so she’d have a hard time picking just one

Best friend/s: tbd

Dating experience: minimal to none

Nora Annabelle Thompson

PREFERRED NAME/NICKNAME

Nora, Nor

APPEARANCE.

FACECLAIM: Auli’i Cravalho SEX: ciswoman HEIGHT: 5′3 BUILD: Thin.  Not athletic. HAIR: long, thick, black and wavy EYES: brown SCARS: There is a faint scar on her forehead and one on her wrist from the moped accident with Juliette.  She also has CLOTHES: She doesn’t dress up all the time, but she does wear nice, expensive, fitted clothes.

SPEECH.

ACCENT: No accent, maybe slight New York if you’re listening hard. VERBAL TICKS:  She talks FAST when she’s anxious LANGUAGE: English, French, Spanish, and a little Mandarin ARTICULATION: She gets excited or nervous and talks fast, stumbling over her words. EDUCATION: Not in every day conversation, but she’ll drop some big science words when the situation calls for it. LAUGHTER: She’s got this awkward, infectious laugh that sound like she’s wheezing. GRUMP: She’s happy most of the time, and when she’s not she’s sad.  Grumpy doesn’t happen all that often. BREATHING: She has asthma

MANNERISMS.

FACE: Her face is very expressive.  She’s not hard to read, you can tell exactly what she’s thinking by looking at her. HANDS: Yes, she talks with her hands.  She gestures and embellishes a lot. LEGS/FEET: Sometimes she’ll bounce her leg. EMOTIONAL OUTBURSTS: Not mad or sad.  She’d go in private for that.  But excited, sure. POSTURE: Not good, which pisses her parents off.  She’s a sloucher. WALKING POSTURE: She walks slow and likes to take pictures of random stuff with her phone.  If you look through her camera roll it’s all blurry shots of squirrels on campus and crumbled up papers and something in a lab she thought was a cool color. SITTING POSTURE: She always has to sit with her legs up and on the chair. PERSONAL SPACE: She’s pretty indifferent about personal space, but she’s not opposed to a nice cuddle.

HEALTH:

DIET: Not all that healthy.  Give her a cup of noodles or a spoonful of nutella. SLEEP: Girl loves a good nap. EXERCISE: She tried walking to this podcast that acts like zombies were chasing you, hoping it would motivate her but no.  Exercise is boring. MEDICINAL DRUGS: She has an inhaler that she doesn’t need all that often. NARCOTICS: No recreational drugs. ADDICTIONS: Like maybe mountain dew. ILLNESS: Asthma INJURIES: A could pretty sweet scars from her accident with Juliette.

PERSONAL.

INTROVERT/EXTROVERT?: Somewhere in the middle OPTIMIST/PESSIMIST: Optimist GENDER: ciswoman SEXUALITY: i don’t think that nora would know how to describe her sexuality -- i think we’ll get to pansexual in the end, but she’ll tell me when the time comes. ROMANTIC: she’d like to be romanced haha, but she’s also super awkward and kind of dorky so who knows if it will happen to her. MEMORY: she has a great memory.  science, school, stem type things... they all come easy to her. PLANNING: she is not great at planning.  she gets excited and ends up on too many side quests. PROBLEM SOLVING: sure but she’s not super fast.  problem solving is a strength, but it’s a sloW one. GOALS: she just wants to keep taking stuff apart and making robots with her friends. INSECURITIES: juliette leaving threw her for a loop.  does everyone leave in the end?  maybe, but she wouldn’t have thought her best friend would be the first to leave her. ANXIETY: she is pretty anxious a lot of the time, but she uses it to drive her.

THE PAST.

PARENTS/GUARDIANS: It’s *fine*.  Are they her favorite people?  No.  But does she know they love her?  Also no.  She had everything she needed though, and she knows she was better off than some of her friends so that’s nice. SCHOOL: school was always easy for her :) LEAVING HOME: going to college was like breathing for the first time.  she wasn’t right in her parents’ gaze for the first time ever and she could get closer to figuring out who she was. FURTHER EDUCATION: she’s in college!  mechanical engineering. FIRST JOB: she has never had a job, but she’s interested in the concept.

RELATIONSHIPS.

FAMILY: she has two parents and is an only child.  she would have considered juliette like a sister at one point. FRIENDSHIPS: she has friends, but she doesn’t keep a massive circle. FRIENDS IN NEED: i think she’s probably the distracting type.  “hey, want to get on my jet and go to japan for some authentic sushi?  doesn’t that sound fun? NEEDING A FRIEND: she would rather die than inconvenience anyone.  hopefully her friends can tell when she’s sad. ANNOYANCES: loud eating, sniffling (blow your nose!!), ghosting people ROMANCE: a few cute little dates but never anything serious ENEMIES: i can’t really envision this happening, but i do know she’d get there quicker if it were about her friends. DATING: take her to a bookstore or a cute little hands on museum or to one of those pottery painting places BEST FRIEND: juliette was the last best friend she let herself have

INTERACTIONS.

OPENNESS: she can be very open about the stuff that doesn’t matter.  but the big stuff that does matter she’d keep bottled up until she died. GENEROSITY: so like yes, she’s very generous, but it doesn’t mean as much when you have more than you ever could possibly need. JEALOUSY: i think she’s jealous of people who seem at ease constantly because she’s usually anxious and wound up. TEMPER: she is very patient AFFECTION: acts of service is how she shows love to other people.  quality time and acts of service are also how she’d like to be loved. DISTASTE: she would rather die than let someone know she doesn’t like them. SELF ESTEEM: medium.  she’s not super insecure, but she goes through waves where she struggles with liking herself. CONFIDENCE: medium.  she for sure cares what other people think about her, but it doesn’t usually stop her from doing what she wants. HONESTY: she doesn’t lie often, but she also probably won’t directly tell people how she feels. LEADER OR FOLLOWER: follower in life, but she’d like to lead in the classroom or lab PARTY TRICKS: she is the BEST at flip cup PRAISE: she is horrible at accepting public praise.  if you give her a compliment she’s going to overthink why.  do you like her jacket because you hate her normal jacket?  are you saying she’s doing a good job to make her passively aggressively realize she sucks most days? CRITICISM: she can take criticism if she thinks that the person believes she can do better. INSULTS: *sad eyes emoji* FLIRTING: ahahaha none.

LIFE.

CAREER: She’s working on her BS in mechanical engineering.  She’ll probably get a masters or phd and take whatever job gives her the opportunity to do the coolest stuff. TECH: Technology is her strength POLITICS: she honestly probably has never voted.  her parents are republicans, but that feels off to her. COMBAT SKILLS: none.  negative one million. HOME: she’s not exactly organized, but she’s not messy either.  she’s somewhere in the middle. COOKING: she cannot cook to save her life.  she uses the coffee maker for hot water to make her cup of noodles and the toaster is a touch screen so its easy. BUILDING: her tool box is extensive, and most things are a pretty mint green. SHOPPING: she isn’t the type that’s going to go shopping on a whim, but she likes that she can buy whatever she needs or wants.  she also likes being able to treat her friends. DRIVING: she’s indifferent about whether she likes driving or not, but she has a jeep that’s custom painted in this mint green color and she loves it.