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 Posted: Mon Nov 12, 2012 7:44 pm
Harm's favorite time of day was quitting time. She folded her apron nicely once she finished her shift and cleaned the counter one last time. It wasn't a bad night, all told. Espresso Yourself had steady business and she'd had a lot of fun playing around with her regulars. They liked her and she liked them. It worked out well that way.
Most people knew the staff and each other. The owner, Mr. Marcello, specialized in Italian espresso and imported the stuff from all over Italy. That and art were what they were known for…well, and Harmony herself. She brought a fair number of people in, her photography habit nearly infamous. The bulletin boards were plastered with autographed photos she’d taken of customers. Nearly all of them flattering or revealing in some sense. They were as varied as the artists they brought in and other work adorned the walls, too.
She often took to experimenting behind the counter, mixing up drinks with the leftover coffee and syrups and handing them out to random customers to taste and critique. That’s how she came up with her triple chocolate espresso drink and how she came up with some of the others she’d concocted over the years. It made her happy to experiment and the customers were grateful and honest in their appraisals.
It wasn't a closing shift so she had time leftover at the end of the night. She grabbed herself a cup of tea and moved from behind the counter to take a seat in the main part of the building. Her bag was in her lap, camera nearby.
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Posted: Mon Nov 12, 2012 9:18 pm
Zia groaned like a bear. She couldn't get used to a productive schedule of patrol and haul a** to work every night and morning. She had started a coffee habit at night to stay awake, only to be jittery all night long and dead tired in the morning.
So she tried the stay up all night thing without coffee.
And ended up here. It wasn't her usual place, but she didn't care, the exhausted girl flopped her head on the counter over dramatically. "Coffee. Black. No, wait," Okay Zia was a toned, monster fighting machine with no superpowers with little more a her disposal than her fists and a baseball bat. Clearly, at this point, she should've toughened up enough to tolerate black coffee. She was not.
"Um... actually, the white chocolate double mocha espresso sounds good. With whip. And sprinkles."
Clearly she could not drink it until it had more sugar than coffee in it. Zia was a baby when it came to her tastebuds, sue her.
And then she glanced over her shoulder, quirking a brow at a girl with a camera. "Are you taking people's pictures?"
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Posted: Tue Nov 13, 2012 8:55 am
Ironically, for a girl that works in a coffee shop Harmony didn't actually drink the stuff. That's why her experiments were usually given to customers to critique. But she did drink tea and in that she was a connoisseur. The cup she had in hand was hand blended and smelled like apples and faintly of flowers. She looked up and smiled at the girl that spoke to her, her eyes flicking to her camera on instinct. It certainly got a lot of attention.
"Sometimes I do. That bulletin board in the corner is all my work."
The bulletin board in question was full of candid shots she'd printed in her basement studio/dark room. Everyone loved them and many people liked to see their own pictures hanging up and autographed them. The photographer also had several scrapbooks of favorite shots she'd collected over the years. And, of course, her portfolio which was what she was working on now to try and get into the arts program at DCU in the following autumn.
"Are you interested in photography?"
If she was it would certainly be a talking point but the princess of cute (not her nickname, of course, cause who gives themselves a nickname? Lame!) could blend in with just about every kind of a crowd there was. So even if she didn't like photography there were probably a million and one things they could talk about. Fashion, maybe, though you couldn't tell Harm was a budding fashionista in her work uniform. Really, anything.
Harm motioned to the seat across from her for the girl to come and join her.
"I'm Harmony."
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Posted: Tue Nov 13, 2012 6:45 pm
"...Sort of?" Zia answered the question about being into photography while glancing over the bulletin board she had been too distracted to bother noticing earlier. It was at least a selfless mission she was on, in her opinion, even if she had stopped into a coffee shop dragging a bat behind her sneakers covered in dusted youma bits. A mission to rid the world of an uncaffeinated Zia Connolly was always a noble pursuit considering how cantankerous she could get.
The sort of was really not at all, she didn't think about artsy things. But she half counted the fact she flounced around the city streets taking snapshots of knights.
Zia herself was not deterred by this.
Grabbing her ridiculously sugary drink by the time it was done, she flounced over to take the seat, needing to pull up one side of the zip up hoodie that had fallen over her shoulder. "I'm Zee!" She said, extending a hand in greeting. Zia was usually very fashionable and appearance driven, evidenced by a fresh French manicure and long, glossy curls that were obviously high maintenance. But she had been monster hunting so those curls were tied back and she was wearing a baggy hoodie over a ribbed tank top and ripped jeans. She learned the hard way monster hunting was not for expensive clothes.
"So do you always spend your time lurking in coffee shops taking photos or do you have other hobbies?" She joked with a grin before knocking back her drink in a series of chugs.
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Posted: Fri Nov 16, 2012 10:35 am
"Nice to meet you."
You couldn't tell Harmony was somewhat into fashion herself in the uniform she wore for work. But beneath the cream and chocolate colored shirt and pants was a budding fashionista that knew how to look like a million bucks while sticking to all the best thrift stores in town. She made twenty bucks scream and looked good doing it mostly cause her family was always on a budget. Yep, she was a crafty one.
Though perhaps her new friend took it a bit too high maintenance for her tastes.
"Well, I do work here." As evidenced by her uniform. "But when I'm not here I do go out and work on my portfolio and I like to shop. And flirt. And dance."
Harmony felt like she was a typical run of the mill teenager. No matter what happened in her past she'd worked hard to put it behind her and start over again as a normal girl. She was normal and deserved normal. No one could say she didn't.
"Gotta do what you love, you know? With all the weird things that happen in this city it kinda teaches you to live in the moment."
And that was a lesson she knew all too well and it showed.
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Posted: Fri Nov 16, 2012 7:02 pm
"Oh, wait, so you're like, trying to do it for real?" Zia managed to get out, Even if it was seriously lacking in eloquence. Portfolio sounded serious. Like going to school serious. Zia ended up just chugging her overly sugared coffee.
She grinned when flirting was included as a hobby. "Oh baby," She said in what was clearly meant to be a joke since she couldn't manage to keep the laughter out of her voice. But she nodded in agreement. "Yeah, Destiny City will ******** you up," She said, making a small gesture to the crescent moon burned into her chest just below her collar bone. "But getting out there and cracking a few monster skulls is incredibly therapeutic if I do say so myself."
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Posted: Mon Nov 26, 2012 7:33 pm
"Why not?"
The surprise in her tone had Harmony slightly worried because she'd heard far too many lectures from her mother about how photography and being an artist was not going to pay the bills or give her a steady income. She wasn't sure why so many people liked the arts but were so unsupportive of artists.
"I want to do pin ups in the style of Betty Page or the Vargas Girls."
Burlesque, striptease. It was all fascinating to Harmony. The art of it made her giddy to see woman so confident with themselves and willing to show it all in a tasteful way. That was sexy. That was classy. Not some new aged teeny bopper celebrity in a tight skirt famous for being famous. Or being a slut. Giver her elegance any day.
She froze, however, when Zee so casually happened to mention monsters. Worse when she happened to mention beating them up.
"What do you know about monsters?"
The teen was instantly wary.
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Posted: Mon Nov 26, 2012 7:46 pm
"No, I mean, it's cool, it's just rare you see people say 'photography' and are more serious about it than posting snapshots of puppies on DeviantArt or something," Zia said, furiously trying to make up for any insult that might've been perceived. She hadn't meant it that way, though the fact she was severely socially retarded wasn't doing much for her trying to figure out how to fix it, if it even needed to be fixed, though. "I have pretty much zero artistic talent, so. Yeah, I think it's pretty bitchin'."
She blinked stupidly when the girl tensed at the monster talk, though. "You mean other than the fact I am pretty much covered in youma dust from the knees down?" She asked with a boisterous laugh and chugged her coffee down a bit before shrugging. "Eh, I got roped into the whole Senshi vs. Negaverse game about two and a half years ago when I bought a Moon Queen lunch. No powers, though. Which would be super nice, b the way, Universe," She paused to look upwards as if there was some all powerful being around to hear her complaint, but then she remembered her audience. "Oh, you know what senshi are?" She asked legitimately, wondering if her complaints would be lost on a lesser informed civilian.
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Posted: Thu Nov 29, 2012 10:09 am
Youma? That was a word Harmony didn't know. Senshi and Negaverse, yes, and knights and planets and things. She could still remember being out there with space whales and her rib sticking out of her skin. She remembered dying and being able to see the battle raging in front of her between the Senshi and the Negaverse and being ineffectual in any way. A ghost...she shivered.
"I know what senshi are. And the Negaverse. Those guys were the ones that killed me last year."
But in Harm's mind the war was a secret thing that nobody talked about. She thought it was that way with everyone so why was this girl talking about it like it was nothing more than a class assignment or something? The very idea that it could be so casual made the color drain from her face and made her tap her foot nervously. Being dead wasn't something she liked to remember.
"You know more about it than I do it looks like. I'm glad I'm not fighting."
But knowing about the war and being unable to fight wasn't exactly a good thing, either. As much as she pretended not to pay attention she noticed. She noticed it in the news and expected that one day she could be kidnapped from her very room again. It wasn't often she woke up with nightmares anymore but sometimes.
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Posted: Thu Nov 29, 2012 9:58 pm
"Seriously?" Zia asked like Harmony announced she had concert tickets. This was the jaded girl's reaction to being told by someone they'd been killed.
"Well!" She laughed and elbowed her side lightly, "Let me say, you look fantastic for a dead chick." Though the easy belief might've implied sarcasm. Zia knew that, but really, she had no idea how to correct it. She'd been killed once or twice herself. Or at least remembered it.
"So how'd it happen? Starseed ganking? Surrounding fiasco? Or are you involved in something else?" Part Zia desperately hoped for third option. Great universal powers were relevant to her interests and unique affliction.
"Well..." The 'glad she's not fighting bit' garnered a shrug. "I mean, I know some people aren't fighters but... can I ask why? If someone killed me I'd be pissed enough to get out there and take a bite outta them, you know?"
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Posted: Tue Dec 18, 2012 11:55 am
Why had she announced that? Aloud? It was the first time she'd spoken so frankly about what happened to her. Tony she'd told on accident shortly after it happened. No one else really knew but those that has been there and among those, well, Grant was the only one she'd really seen again.
"Yeah, I guess I do. Was brought back somehow, put back in my room like it never happened. Like the whole painful ordeal was a trip through wonderland."
From there Zia had her completely lost. Starseeds? Surrounding? No, wait, she remembered Camelot mentioning something about where they were being the Surrounding and was unable to simply send her home. She supposed that's what it was, then, a Surrounding fiasco and indicated that choice to her companion.
To the question Harmony only stared blankly.
"Why? Why would I do that? So they can know who I am and try to kill me all over again? No thanks. It's not a matter of not liking to fight it's a simple matter of self preservation."
Sure, she was mad about what happened and hadn't really felt normal but for a handful of days afterward. Something inside still didn't seem right, to sit right with her and there was usually an itch to find out why even though she was mostly scared of the answer.
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Posted: Thu Dec 27, 2012 12:15 am
"Whatever, man," Zia shrugged. "Some people are just meant for different ways of handling s**t. But just because you ain't born with powers isn't an excuse. I have like, zero powers to speak of," She held out her arms like it was a challenge to some unseen force she paused to glare upwards at and ended up shrugging and going back to nursing her overly sugared coffee.
"And it is totally unfair, but eh, whatcha gonna do? Better than just being passive cattle in their hunting ground." Though now she seemed to be ranting about other grievances. "Epic destinies, powers they were born with. Man, ******** destiny, ******** it all." It seemed like everyone was born with a set of powers except her, and she was only a little bitter about it.
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Posted: Mon Jan 07, 2013 9:17 am
Was she really being chastised for not fighting this stupid war? She was, wasn't she? For a moment Harm's temper flared. Who did this chick think she was for telling her to go out and fight the good fight or whatever? Didn't she understand? They kidnapped her from her room, practically from her damn bed and this ******** space whale broke one of her ribs. What part of that was supposed to make her all gung ho about fighting these lunatics?
"The senshi and the knights fight this war, like Camelot. Not people like me. Besides, you might be a little gunshy too if these people killed you."
The one sentiment they seemed to share. <******** destiny." She repeated, saluting Zee with her cup. "Destiny's just a name they give to things you can't change. It's all chance, anyway."
Like who your parents are or the random events of life that seem to take shape whether you want them to or not. Harm was a big believer in making her own things happen but some things, clearly, would always be out of her control. Her anger seemed to dissipate thinking about it.
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Posted: Tue Jan 08, 2013 6:56 pm
Zia watched Harmony with a lazy smirk before shrugging. "Who says I haven't been killed?" She asked after a long pause and went back to her coffee cup. "I just got axed in round one, that's all."
Well, Zirconia did. But damn it, if she had to remember dying then she was going to take credit for it.
She tapped the side of the cup, watching the slightly separated cappuccino swirl with pursed lips. "Well. Sometimes the dice are loaded. Either way, it's not like they care who gets caught up in the war. Well I guess some do," She flippantly waved a hand. "Camelot seems okay, I guess. Most are too preoccupied with other soldiers to care who slips through the cracks, though."
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Posted: Thu Jan 17, 2013 10:39 am
"Not him." Harmony shook her head. "When I was up there he had my back, passed messages to my mom so she'd know I was safe. Kind thought he should marry her. He didn't, though. She married this librarian instead."
She shrugged though she liked Tony well enough. He just wasn't the dashing knight Camelot was and hadn't been there like Camelot had been there for them both. Of course she saw Tony a lot more than she saw Camelot so there was that.It was her mom's life and Harm was just in it. She didn't really have much of a say so.
She knew all too well that the dice were loaded, though. She just often wondered what they had in store for her.
"I really don't know. I try and stay out of it as much as possible. I'm trying to be concerned with getting into DCU and living my dream. That doesn't include any of this nonsense."
She just wanted to finish the school year, graduate, and finish her portfolio in time to go to college.
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