[Eden Zahn, sandbox debut]
Eden had always despised the aesthetic of Starbucks. It felt disingenuous to her that a multi-national coporation run by a lot of very important-sounding sounding men in suits disguised itself as a friendly Seattle coffee shop. Eden liked small businesses and things that felt authentic, not the manufactured atmosphere of overpriced shortcakes, greasy hipsters and Sarah McLachan CDs Starbucks had carefully focus-tested their advertisements to foster. Ambience was what Eden thrived on, however manufactured it was, and she was willing to endure the gaudy facade if having the sounds of other people around her brought about even a temporary reprieve from the silence and loneliness she felt at home.
Eden hated being alone.
Even before the accident, she had only ever felt comfortable in her own skin when she was surrounded by other people. In the wake of her father's death, that became her most powerful coping mechanism. It was easier for her to shut everything out when she was lost in a crowd. Eden tried to keep herself busy. Besides her podcasting and her BJJ, Eden would spend her free time scouting out filming locations for her youtube series or training at the gym until her whole body ached. Recently, Eden had found herself unable to focus for long enough to write schoolwork at home. When she had spoken to her therapist about it, he had suggested attempting writing at the coffee shop, to see if the sound of people around her helped or hindered her productivity. It had helped enough that Eden subsequently continued to do it.
So despite her distate for the corporations and their implict support of the bloodsport she refused to acknowledge even in passing, Eden smiled genuinely as she ordered a skinny latte from a surprisingly enthusiastic barista who asked her about her day- mostly harmless, Eden had responded- and laughed raucously when she discovered that the barista had signed her name on the cup with a smiling face next to it.
She realised she was still chuckling to herself as she sank into a faux leather chair, opening her laptop and signing into the store wifi.
The Fragrance of Dark Coffee
Starbucks in Whittree. Open!
The Fragrance of Dark Coffee
This is an archival account used by staff to port posts belonging to the former handler Macha.
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delicateMachine
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((Anzu Sakamoto: Continued from Rock On.))
Praise the heavens, that one fucking barista wasn't on duty today. Anzu would be able to get a drink of coffee without being infuriated by incompetence! She could, instead, be annoyed by the current barista's insufferable cheerfulness. At least he was tolerably good at his job. Variety in stuff to hate was always good. Kept things from getting too stale.
It was always a pain when waiters or clerks or whatever tried to be too cheerful. Sure, it was better than those shitheads who outright glowered at you like "How dare you make me do the job I was hired for!", but there was a limit. Neutral politeness was the best, since it made it very easy to just forget about the worker completely once you were done with them.
Anzu smiled politely, made the standard small talk with the barista, thanked him, then turned around and walked away as quickly as possible without it being obvious that she was fleeing. He had made one last effort to piss her off, however. A smiling face on her cup of hot chocolate.
Fuck you and your corporate-supplied happiness.
Her mood only got worse as she walked to the back of the store and found Eden sitting in her favorite spot.
Ugh. Speaking of insufferably cheerful...
Not only was Eden exactly the type of person that grated on Anzu almost 24/7, she was also a vocal hater of SOTF-TV, another group of people that always pissed her off. Christ, what was the big deal? SOTF-TV had always been around, and it was always going to be around, so what was the point in getting all worked up over it? Anzu wasn't even a particularly huge fan of it, but she still enjoyed watching it every once in a while!
Some people really needed to stop being judgmental pricks.
Seeing as she probably couldn't get away with completely ignoring her classmate, Anzu simply nodded at Eden, said "Heya", and walked past, settling into a comfy chair that was a safe distance away.
Praise the heavens, that one fucking barista wasn't on duty today. Anzu would be able to get a drink of coffee without being infuriated by incompetence! She could, instead, be annoyed by the current barista's insufferable cheerfulness. At least he was tolerably good at his job. Variety in stuff to hate was always good. Kept things from getting too stale.
It was always a pain when waiters or clerks or whatever tried to be too cheerful. Sure, it was better than those shitheads who outright glowered at you like "How dare you make me do the job I was hired for!", but there was a limit. Neutral politeness was the best, since it made it very easy to just forget about the worker completely once you were done with them.
Anzu smiled politely, made the standard small talk with the barista, thanked him, then turned around and walked away as quickly as possible without it being obvious that she was fleeing. He had made one last effort to piss her off, however. A smiling face on her cup of hot chocolate.
Fuck you and your corporate-supplied happiness.
Her mood only got worse as she walked to the back of the store and found Eden sitting in her favorite spot.
Ugh. Speaking of insufferably cheerful...
Not only was Eden exactly the type of person that grated on Anzu almost 24/7, she was also a vocal hater of SOTF-TV, another group of people that always pissed her off. Christ, what was the big deal? SOTF-TV had always been around, and it was always going to be around, so what was the point in getting all worked up over it? Anzu wasn't even a particularly huge fan of it, but she still enjoyed watching it every once in a while!
Some people really needed to stop being judgmental pricks.
Seeing as she probably couldn't get away with completely ignoring her classmate, Anzu simply nodded at Eden, said "Heya", and walked past, settling into a comfy chair that was a safe distance away.
((Sarah Bourne continued from Rock On))
Sarah had decided to take a walk through town because yet again the SOTF Champions servers were down and she needed to get out of the house at some point in the day, otherwise she'd end as the palest person at school and that was never ever a good look. Unless you were a ghost or vampire or something along those lines and then it was probably a point of pride to be the palest person in the room.
Sarah however was not a ghost the last time she checked. She even found herself checking her pulse for no real reason because she clearly wasn't a ghost. The boredom of just walking around town must have been getting to her, since she tended to think her stupidest thoughts when she was bored.
Luckily the bright white Starbucks sign saved her from any more debates about ghost society and hierarchy, something that severely needed to happen.
As soon as she walked in the smell of coffee hit her in the face and it wasn't great. There always seemed to be something off about the way Starbucks coffee smelled, granted it tasted fine but it always smelled weird in a Starbucks. As long as the coffee was nice Sarah could put up with the smell; for as long as she needed too.
As she stood in the queue Sarah scanned over the people in the Starbucks. There always seemed to be someone from school in the place.
She hit the jackpot.
Not only was Anzu in the place but so was Eden. It meant Sarah was left with a moral crisis. She could either attack hug Eden or attack hug Anzu because she'd only be able to get one of them without alerting the other. The deadlock was broken when Sarah remembered that Eden did BJJ which was some sort of combat based thing and if Sarah startled her there was a good chance she'd end up with her legs behind her head like some sort of puzzle box.
Anzu it was.
Sarah stepped out of the line and made sure to take a path around the tables that gave her a clear shot. She was like some sort of ninja or something. Once she was close enough she initiated Operation AHA or Attack Hug Anzu to give it its proper name.
"Anzu!" She yelled as she latched onto Anzu from behind.
Complete and total success.
Sarah had decided to take a walk through town because yet again the SOTF Champions servers were down and she needed to get out of the house at some point in the day, otherwise she'd end as the palest person at school and that was never ever a good look. Unless you were a ghost or vampire or something along those lines and then it was probably a point of pride to be the palest person in the room.
Sarah however was not a ghost the last time she checked. She even found herself checking her pulse for no real reason because she clearly wasn't a ghost. The boredom of just walking around town must have been getting to her, since she tended to think her stupidest thoughts when she was bored.
Luckily the bright white Starbucks sign saved her from any more debates about ghost society and hierarchy, something that severely needed to happen.
As soon as she walked in the smell of coffee hit her in the face and it wasn't great. There always seemed to be something off about the way Starbucks coffee smelled, granted it tasted fine but it always smelled weird in a Starbucks. As long as the coffee was nice Sarah could put up with the smell; for as long as she needed too.
As she stood in the queue Sarah scanned over the people in the Starbucks. There always seemed to be someone from school in the place.
She hit the jackpot.
Not only was Anzu in the place but so was Eden. It meant Sarah was left with a moral crisis. She could either attack hug Eden or attack hug Anzu because she'd only be able to get one of them without alerting the other. The deadlock was broken when Sarah remembered that Eden did BJJ which was some sort of combat based thing and if Sarah startled her there was a good chance she'd end up with her legs behind her head like some sort of puzzle box.
Anzu it was.
Sarah stepped out of the line and made sure to take a path around the tables that gave her a clear shot. She was like some sort of ninja or something. Once she was close enough she initiated Operation AHA or Attack Hug Anzu to give it its proper name.
"Anzu!" She yelled as she latched onto Anzu from behind.
Complete and total success.
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delicateMachine
- Posts: 295
- Joined: Tue Aug 07, 2018 6:26 pm
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((Skipping to deal with Operation AHA))
Anzu, having successfuly traversed both insufferable barista and insufferable classmate, had just set her cup of hot chocolate down and was about to sit down and get settled in when she was suddenly overcome by a sense of foreboding, followed quickly by the breath being knocked out of her as she was violently hugged from behind.
Freaking hell, what is it with coffeeshops and people not respecting my personal space? Was there a sign or something I missed that said "HEY, ANZU WOULD REALLY APPRECIATE A VIOLENT HUG RIGHT NOW"?
At least the culprit's yell hadn't left any doubt towards their identity. "Hello, Sarah." Anzu said, clenching her teeth slightly as she tried very hard to avoid saying something unkind. Sarah was one of her best friends, yeah, but christ the girl had way too much energy.
Anzu managed to get a slight smile on her face as she untangled herself from Sarah. Getting mad at Sarah was like getting mad at a puppy, really. You just felt bad afterwards. "Ha, you sure got me. Have you been teaching Caroline your stealthy ways? She got a good sneak attack in on me, too."
Anzu, having successfuly traversed both insufferable barista and insufferable classmate, had just set her cup of hot chocolate down and was about to sit down and get settled in when she was suddenly overcome by a sense of foreboding, followed quickly by the breath being knocked out of her as she was violently hugged from behind.
Freaking hell, what is it with coffeeshops and people not respecting my personal space? Was there a sign or something I missed that said "HEY, ANZU WOULD REALLY APPRECIATE A VIOLENT HUG RIGHT NOW"?
At least the culprit's yell hadn't left any doubt towards their identity. "Hello, Sarah." Anzu said, clenching her teeth slightly as she tried very hard to avoid saying something unkind. Sarah was one of her best friends, yeah, but christ the girl had way too much energy.
Anzu managed to get a slight smile on her face as she untangled herself from Sarah. Getting mad at Sarah was like getting mad at a puppy, really. You just felt bad afterwards. "Ha, you sure got me. Have you been teaching Caroline your stealthy ways? She got a good sneak attack in on me, too."
As it happened, checking her emails on the Starbucks Wifi was nothing but a great way for Eden to make herself feel emotionally dead inside. Caught between a deluge of Spam emails- apparently there were still people out there who fell for Spanish Prisoner cons from illegitimate Nigerian princes and who still believed that there was a miracle pill from Thailand that could cure both morbid obesity and erectile dysfunction- and the well-meaning but heavy-handed and incredibly annoying heartstring-tugging emails from the various anti-SOTF mailing lists she had signed up for, Eden cringed and drank a mouthful of coffee as she deleted another page of unread emails only to discover that were sixteen-hundred more left unread.
It was at this point that Eden slammed her laptop closed and decided that whatever she had taken her laptop with her to do probably wasn't worth the trouble. Eden just sighed and sipped at the edge of her coffee, watching the entrance and waiting for someone she knew to walk in. Whittree was a small enough town with little enough to do in it that she could reliably bump into someone she knew basically anywhere she went.
Like Anzu! Anzu was great! Eden knew her from... somewhere, she wasn't entirely sure. Regardless, when Anzu greeted her with a nod, Eden replied with a genuine smile.
“Hiya!” She said, with sincere enthusiasm. Anzu walked past her without response.
Eden frowned at the lack of a reply but figured that Anzu was just too concerned about not spilling her drink to notice her. She shrugged and opened her laptop back up, scratching at the back of her head as she waited for her laptop to resume. Eden decided that she would finish the work she was supposed to be doing on her laptop before she said anything else to Anzu. If she could remember what it was she was supposed to be doing, that was.
Then Eden heard someone get tackled and heard Anzu's name being shouted by a familiar voice and things suddenly got a lot more interesting. Eden pulled her legs up and swung herself around to get a better look. Someone had latched onto Anzu- Was that Sarah? Had Sarah been there the whole time? Eden had no idea how she could have missed her walking in. Eden was friends with Sarah though and decided to announce her presence to her to protect herself against any surprise attacks.
“Hey Sarah!” Eden shouted, waving. A major faux pas in any coffee shop, or restaurant, or cafe, or whatever you wanted to classify Starbucks as, but Eden was beyond caring. "What's up?"
It was at this point that Eden slammed her laptop closed and decided that whatever she had taken her laptop with her to do probably wasn't worth the trouble. Eden just sighed and sipped at the edge of her coffee, watching the entrance and waiting for someone she knew to walk in. Whittree was a small enough town with little enough to do in it that she could reliably bump into someone she knew basically anywhere she went.
Like Anzu! Anzu was great! Eden knew her from... somewhere, she wasn't entirely sure. Regardless, when Anzu greeted her with a nod, Eden replied with a genuine smile.
“Hiya!” She said, with sincere enthusiasm. Anzu walked past her without response.
Eden frowned at the lack of a reply but figured that Anzu was just too concerned about not spilling her drink to notice her. She shrugged and opened her laptop back up, scratching at the back of her head as she waited for her laptop to resume. Eden decided that she would finish the work she was supposed to be doing on her laptop before she said anything else to Anzu. If she could remember what it was she was supposed to be doing, that was.
Then Eden heard someone get tackled and heard Anzu's name being shouted by a familiar voice and things suddenly got a lot more interesting. Eden pulled her legs up and swung herself around to get a better look. Someone had latched onto Anzu- Was that Sarah? Had Sarah been there the whole time? Eden had no idea how she could have missed her walking in. Eden was friends with Sarah though and decided to announce her presence to her to protect herself against any surprise attacks.
“Hey Sarah!” Eden shouted, waving. A major faux pas in any coffee shop, or restaurant, or cafe, or whatever you wanted to classify Starbucks as, but Eden was beyond caring. "What's up?"
This is an archival account used by staff to port posts belonging to the former handler Macha.
((Pia Malone continued from Rock On))
Pia arched and stretched and groaned and in general wasn't very dignified as she made her way into Starbucks. She'd taken a different route than usual on her morning run, and Starbucks seemed like the perfect stop to unwind and stave off the munchies. She'd just have to keep it from Uncle Adrian that she was eating any pastries that he hadn't baked himself.
Even better, she spotted a few familiar faces as soon as she walked in. "Eden! Eeeeeeden!" Pia waved enthusiastically. "Hey Sarah, Anzu!"
Once she'd gotten her smiley coffee and bagel, she made a beeline for Eden's booth and plopped down in front of her. "Hey girl!" She gave Sarah and Anzu another wave too, just so they'd know they were welcome to come over if they felt like it.
Pia arched and stretched and groaned and in general wasn't very dignified as she made her way into Starbucks. She'd taken a different route than usual on her morning run, and Starbucks seemed like the perfect stop to unwind and stave off the munchies. She'd just have to keep it from Uncle Adrian that she was eating any pastries that he hadn't baked himself.
Even better, she spotted a few familiar faces as soon as she walked in. "Eden! Eeeeeeden!" Pia waved enthusiastically. "Hey Sarah, Anzu!"
Once she'd gotten her smiley coffee and bagel, she made a beeline for Eden's booth and plopped down in front of her. "Hey girl!" She gave Sarah and Anzu another wave too, just so they'd know they were welcome to come over if they felt like it.
"I haven't been teaching Caroline." Sarah said as she let Anzu untangle herself. "But I guess you learn a lot from hanging out with a ninja master." She laughed a little at the thought of Caroline creeping around to get the drop on Anzu. It was a shame she hadn't been there to see it. People were looking at the pair of them but then again people always did look when Sarah was around, it was just because she was a loud person. Anzu was smiling though so it was all good; sometimes people didn't appreciate her humour.
A shouted greeting drew Sarah's attention. She turned around to see that Eden had noticed her following the attack hug on Anzu. "Hey Eden!" Sarah shouted back, stepping out of Anzu's way as she did so. She noticed that one of the barista's along with some of the other customers were giving her a dirty look. It made sense, she had disturbed their peace and quiet with her loud arrival and the shouting she had caused. Sarah had to admit that she was really good at being noisy and she played the drums. It all linked together nicely.
"Not much! Just decided to go for a walk." Sarah purposefully missed out the part where it was because SOTF Champions wasn't working. She remembered that Eden hated SOTF so bringing up Champions wouldn't have been a good idea by any stretch. "I love your hair by the way!"
Pia then walked in all excited and happy. It was almost like looking at a reflection of herself for Sarah, except a calmer reflection. Granted everyone was calmer. Pia was close to matching her though, very close.
"Hey Pia!" Sarah shouted in greeting. Sarah almost grabbed Anzu's hand to drag her over to where the other two but stopped herself. Anzu had never been big on the whole touching thing.
"We should go sit with them and hang out." Sarah said to Anzu, a smile plastered on her face. "It'll be fun."
A shouted greeting drew Sarah's attention. She turned around to see that Eden had noticed her following the attack hug on Anzu. "Hey Eden!" Sarah shouted back, stepping out of Anzu's way as she did so. She noticed that one of the barista's along with some of the other customers were giving her a dirty look. It made sense, she had disturbed their peace and quiet with her loud arrival and the shouting she had caused. Sarah had to admit that she was really good at being noisy and she played the drums. It all linked together nicely.
"Not much! Just decided to go for a walk." Sarah purposefully missed out the part where it was because SOTF Champions wasn't working. She remembered that Eden hated SOTF so bringing up Champions wouldn't have been a good idea by any stretch. "I love your hair by the way!"
Pia then walked in all excited and happy. It was almost like looking at a reflection of herself for Sarah, except a calmer reflection. Granted everyone was calmer. Pia was close to matching her though, very close.
"Hey Pia!" Sarah shouted in greeting. Sarah almost grabbed Anzu's hand to drag her over to where the other two but stopped herself. Anzu had never been big on the whole touching thing.
"We should go sit with them and hang out." Sarah said to Anzu, a smile plastered on her face. "It'll be fun."
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delicateMachine
- Posts: 295
- Joined: Tue Aug 07, 2018 6:26 pm
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Ugh, why the hell was everyone being so shouty and loud? Anzu had apparently chosen exactly the wrong time to stop by for a cup of coffee, finding herself trapped between three girls who didn't know the meaning of "seriously, calm the fuck down", now that Pia had walked in. Anzu returned her wave, with a smile that was now just a tiny bit strained.
If Anzu had any choice in the matter, she would have found a nice, dark corner to take shelter in and let Sarah deal with Eden and Pia by herself, but unfortunately that probably wouldn't go over well, especially after Pia had politely waved an invitation to them.
That bitch.
Sarah seemed to be enthusiastic about it, at least. Well, Anzu wasn't quite sure that Sarah had ever been not enthusiastic for a single moment in her life, but she seemed especially energetic today. Sadly, it was too late to abort now, with any luck Anzu's standard "smile and nod a lot so you don't have to talk" plan of attack would work out.
"Yeah, sure, sounds great." Anzu said, smiling back at Sarah. They made their way over to the booth where Team Energy was sitting, joining them. "Heya Eden, Pia. How's it going?" A standard salvo of small talk had been launched. Anzu could only hope that it would suffice.
If Anzu had any choice in the matter, she would have found a nice, dark corner to take shelter in and let Sarah deal with Eden and Pia by herself, but unfortunately that probably wouldn't go over well, especially after Pia had politely waved an invitation to them.
That bitch.
Sarah seemed to be enthusiastic about it, at least. Well, Anzu wasn't quite sure that Sarah had ever been not enthusiastic for a single moment in her life, but she seemed especially energetic today. Sadly, it was too late to abort now, with any luck Anzu's standard "smile and nod a lot so you don't have to talk" plan of attack would work out.
"Yeah, sure, sounds great." Anzu said, smiling back at Sarah. They made their way over to the booth where Team Energy was sitting, joining them. "Heya Eden, Pia. How's it going?" A standard salvo of small talk had been launched. Anzu could only hope that it would suffice.