harper kim. twenty-five year old radio dj & northmount kid, muse g. forever up too late playing nonstop christmas music, forever sneaking in alt rock covers. she/they.
â ( yang hye-ji, twenty-five, muse g, non-binary, she/they. ) i just saw HARPER KIM in northmount. you know, the RADIO DJ? there they were, being their typical -REBELLIOUS and -ARROGANT self. iâve heard some say theyâre +DRIVEN and +ALTRUISTIC, but i donât know. they sort of remind me of AFFECTIONATE EYE-ROLLS, STANDING UP FOR YOUR FRIENDS, DANCING AROUND THE KITCHEN, but thatâs just me. if you see them around, let me know, okay? and happy holidays! ( maeby, 25, she/they, pst. ) â
hello hello !! my name is maeby and iâm so stoked to be here ⥠iâm 25, out here in the pst, and use she/they pronouns. i canât even tell you how excited i am to be bringing you my coolest lil pea, harper ! sheâs still fresh and new, so iâm way excited to plot & dig a little deeper into her character this holiday season! without further ado...
STATS
given name: harper eun-ji kim
nicknames: harp, harps, kim, harpsichord (if you dare)
hometown: northmount, ny
orientation: bisexual, biromantic
alignment: chaotic good
christmas playlist: click to listen on spotify!
hobbies: classic film festivals, summer roadtrips, karaoke nights, throwing themed parties, playing music with friends, adding songs to their endless christmas hipster playlist, songwriting in the snow, learning vintage mixed drinks, being a fucking hipster
favorites: movie dates, cozy nights, homemade french toast, mixed nuts (1994), gingerbread pancakes at the snowflake diner, reflective moments after a concert ends, christmas morning (white chocolate chai tea), christmas morning (the morning of december 25th)
BIOGRAPHY
born and raised right in northmount, new york to a former ballet dancer and a successful investor, both from high profile families in upstate new york. harperâs childhood was picturesque, softly-lit and snow-covered, but there was something that never sat right with her. it felt as though everything her parents did for her and her siblings was done to achieve the image of a âperfectâ family, rather than out of love. vacations were planned just for the holiday card photo opportunity and newsletter blurbs. every detail of christmas was fastidiously orchestrated with decorations that were never to be touched, presents piled high to prove they could afford the hottest toys and gadgets, the same bing crosby playing in the background year in and year out.
harper became the black sheep of the family when it became clear that she didnât give a damn about âperfectâ. what was the point of photo opportunities if she never got the opportunity to actually spend time with her family? they felt like strangers to her throughout her entire life, especially her parents. by the time she reached high school, harper decided that she knew better than them and that she would live by her own rules. the days of fake smiles and fake friends were over. when something bothered her, she made it known. when someone started to get a rise out of one of her friends, she went in swinging. when someone tried to put her into a box or tell her that things had to be one way, she found a new way of doing things.
rather than follow her mother into dance, like sheâd been hoping for since harper was a toddler at the northmount ballet center, or into business school like her father had hinted at from the moment she could think about the future, harper put all her effort into music and followed her dreams of hearing herself on the radio. rather than spend hundreds on christmas, she made gifts for the people she cared about and found that they were enough for the people who genuinely cared about her. rather than play the music she was told to, the same cooker-cutter carols her parents had touted her entire life, harper played the tunes that went against the stepford christmas she grew up with. that was, at least, when she could.
when her job was threatened, she forced herself to conform and play the uninspired, hackney carols that kept people listening to their station, but anyone who knows her hears her gripes about it every holiday season, all season long. but donât get her wrong â just because she believes in a low-key, sentimental christmas doesnât mean that she hates christmas altogether. there are things about christmastime that eclipse every other season; the falling snow, the warm nights with loved ones, the deep and romantic reflection of the year passed and the year to come. if she could be free of the artificial, consumerist image of christmas that has infected every part of her life, she might be able to focus on that. but life is never quite that simple, is it?
WANTED CONNECTIONS
regular listeners or fans of harperâs radio show, which isnât exactly the most popular or during the most coveted time slot, but is harperâs pride and joy!
employees and regulars of harperâs favorite haunts!
other natives of northmount, people she went to school with, people she grew up running into and/or annoying!
someone harper plays music with, since she was a musician long before she was a radio dj and her heart is still all-consumed by music!
former crushes, flings, fwbs, and exes in general!
friendly connects, considering harper sees a good time in almost everyone and is dearly loyal to her friends!
a less than friendly connect, since harper isnât everyoneâs cup of tea and not everyone is harperâs cup of tea!
when it starts snowing late at night and gets really, really quiet, and i can see the christmas lights under the snow in the town square from my balcony, where i have hot cocoa that's half marshmallows and everything feels peaceful. i don't think that happens everywhere. certainly not the city.
hey, this is randy! 42 years old, called in last week. look, i can't get my car to start. what do i do?
"randy, randy, randy. how could i forget you? and i'm here for you! we just had the first snow of the year, but you know itâs about to start piling up here in northmount. what you need to do is call ernie over at harrisonâs garage and tell him that harper from 103.5 wmas told you sheâs calling in a favor. heâll get you all fixed up before we hit snow-mageddon this year. and never be afraid to ask your neighbor for a jumpstart, weâve got good people in this town! folks, remember to keep your gas tanks half-full this holiday season so it doesnât freeze, because itâs about to get cold. next caller!â
"shit, could you imagine? i think my family life would've been a lot easier if i stuck with it, but nothing else would've been. and that's the least of my worries, now. ballet was never really me. i danced until high school and my mom still teaches ballet at the center, but just because it would be easy to continue something doesn't mean you should continue."
"not to sound like a scrooge-y fucking hipster, but jesus, the holiday season feels fake as fuck most of the time. it has since i was still a kid. am i the only one who looked up one year and saw everybody on their ipads and taking selfies with their presents, and realized that nobody actually gave a fuck about each other during the holidays? no, just my family? got it."
who said i hate anything about mateo? who could actually hate anything about that face? it can be hard to keep up with him. he's so spirited and purely good, and i can't always convince myself that i deserve him. that can wear on a person, yâknow?
constantly annoying the station manager, perseverance until i was in the right place at the right time, and sheer, dumb luck. i did a whole two semesters of communications classes at ncc before i was hired as an intern at the station. i'm pretty sure they were more impressed by how often i skipped class to be on air at the community college station than my actual education.
â iâm sure thatâs gonna be my experience in january once i finally get out of this place. it canât come soon enough, though. â ariela sighed, before remembering she was speaking to a local, one who she would most likely be leaving behind. as the songs shifted from frosty to feliz navidad, ariela felt the irritation only build within her. they could barely pronounce spanish, and here ariela was, forced to write things down to praise their gibberish as âtalentedâ and âprofoundâ. â i feel for you. i really do. i mean, i just have the one-and-done thing, but you ?? you get to do that and then advertise for local pool companies. â ariela pouted, rubbing her friendâs back as she sympathized. â do you want to see the schedule of all the things they have me doing this season ?? i doubt the people behind us care, and if they do, really ?? â
âcanât come soon enough for either of us. god, just take me with you,â harper begged, despite knowing full well that the little nest theyâd made for themself was comfortable and new enough that they didnât dare give up on it so soon. not when things were going so well with mateo. well, besides the christmas stuff, but they hadnât exactly brought that up to him yet. a groan, admittedly pretty whiny, escaped harper. âdonât get me started. if i have to tell people to âcome on down to mccartneyâs all-seasons landscapingâ one more time, iâm going to scream into a pillow,â they declared. a pause. âi might have a pillow at the station to scream into every time i have to play mariah carey. it... gets a lot of use.â harper shuffled closer. âlet me at that list, iâm dying to know what torture awaits you. to commiserate, of course.â
when max saw harper approaching, she lit up, beaming at the other as she did a dramatic little bow. âalways happy to see an adoring fan,â she remarked with a wink, but quickly dropped the playful bravado when she saw the coffee in their hand. âoh, thank you, you absolute godsend,â she praised, taking one cup eagerly from harper. she took a long sip, letting the warmth flood through her, and smiled. âi am totally freezing, dude.â max was a new york native, so itâs not like she didnât know how to dress - itâs just, sometimes fashion came first, and she refused to button up her jacket, âcause her outfit was damn hot. âyâknow, itâs actually pretty sick. i love the commitment towards the holiday, right? i mean, you guys know your thing. gotta respect that. plus, hey, pretty lights, and all that,â she waved an arm around in emphasis. âiâm half-tempted to stay here once the assignmentâs done and let ariela fly back without me,â she joked. well, that was one way to get away from their constant bickering - let herself be left behind completely.
the little bow that came with maxâs appreciation made harper roll their eyes, but the smile that perked up alongside their eye-roll gave them away immediately. âyou absolute fucking dork,â they laughed, grinning even as they crossed their arms. they gave max a quick once over and a knowing look. âdude, you at least need gloves or something,â they insisted, uncrossing their arms to unravel their own scarf and wind it loosely around maxâs neck. âiâm probably gonna bail soon anyway.â whether that was the truth or not didnât matter. max was new in town and harper had been there their entire life, they had a whole drawer full of scarves. but they groaned, looking around the space that max had gestured to. âoh, we know our thing, alright. iâm less embarrassed to live here during the rest of the year, but iâm pretty sure this is what makes us special, or whatever,â they conceded. a little glint of something took up residence in their eye. âyeah? more trouble in paradise? i thought the two of you mightâve kissed and made up by now.â
ariela gave a knowing grin when she saw one of her only friends in northmount. at least harper understood her lack of christmas spirit. i mean, someone in this little town had to, right? as harper sidled up to her left, ariela took a quick glance at what she had. they had better lattes in new york. they had better talented kids in new york. hell, they had better everything in new york. one day, maybe ariela could show them that. she gave an eye roll at her friendâs taunts. â i think between the high elevation and these cute little performances, i havenât been able to hear a thing for the past hour, if that answers your question. â ariela groaned. â besides, iâm only here because my jobâs making me. i have to do a special report on it tomorrow as part of our ânew york local hotspotsâ segments, especially since max is one of the hosts. if i didnât need to be here, believe me, you wouldnât catch me dead in these chairs. â
it was impossible for harper to avoid snorting out a laugh at arielaâs intonation on the word cute, slapping a hand over their mouth as if it would keep another laugh from coming. âthatâs either awful or a godsend, depending on how you look at it,â they teased. âyouâll get used to the elevation. eventually,â they promised through a slight wince. most people who came from the big cities struggled with the elevation, something harper themself had been born into. âif itâs any consolation, iâm a whiny fucking baby when i leave the mountains and depressurize,â they assured ari. for a moment, harper turned their attention to the performers in the gazebo and had to hold back a grin as the kids shamelessly made fools of themselves. âi think new york gonnaâs get more than they bargained for. i canât believe your bosses think this is news. actually, considering iâve been advertising it on air all week, i guess i can.â
âwell, well, well. if it isnât the lady of the hour,â harper jested as they approached the gazebo during what seemed to be a break from maxâs hosting duties. they held out one of the coffee cups from coffee corner in her bemittened hands, still steaming from the little hole in the lid. âi figured youâd be freezing, out here for so long,â she explained, as if her kindness needed justification. âare you just having the best time?â the tone of her voice may have been a little sarcastic, but there was no heat behind her eyes. the christmas tree lighting itself was worth all of the trivial celebrations that served as precursors to the main event.
âstop me when iâve had twelve,â harper requested, stuffing another bite of christmas cookie from grandmaâs kitchen between her lips. the sweets were so prettily decorated and she swore they melted in her mouth. was that their bias showing, considering their boyfriend was a baker himself? maybe. âactually, a bakerâs dozen,â she added, covering her mouth to hide the crumbs that escaped her when she laughed at herself. yeah, she was definitely biased, but she certainly wasnât mad at it. âyou need to try this. pick your poison, on me,â she insisted, gesturing to the spread of holiday themed cookies at the bakery stand. call it the spirit of christmas.
ariela was sitting near the gazebo with a notebook on her lap, a pen in her right hand, and a powdered donut in her left. on her face was a blank, unimpressed expression: not elated, not disappointed, just blank. granted, she had no emotional attachment to any of these kids, so itâs not like she had any sort of investment in their performances tonight. she took another bite of her donut before she heard a buzz in her pocket, right in the middle of the elementary schoolâs performance of âfrosty the snowmanâ. putting her pen down on top of the notebook, she figured that it was probably important. â no, ricky, park across the street !! ricky, oh my god, do i have to come get you ?? we went through this. parking in the city is not like parking here. you canât just park wherever you want and pray they donât fine you. look, iâm trying to get a good analysis for my report tomorrow morning. i have to be here. itâs a required thing for my job, so if you could justâ hello ?? hello ?? â she called out, giving complete disregard to the childrenâs little song. hell, itâs not like anyone would care, but she figured sheâd just come up with a good cover just in case. â men, right ?? your kids are so good, though.â she smiled to the people behind her, feigning sincerity.
the shout caught harperâs attention and launched her eyebrows straight up, admittedly more amused than scandalized, but seeing who it came from quickly set her features in a tickled smile. âgood save,â she said, sidling up to arielaâs left. the mittens on her hands had the fingers buttoned back, making it easy for her to sip from her chai latte. it was freezing, which was wholly unsurprising, but she gave her latte credit for keeping her sane that night. not to say harper wasnât prepared for the tree lighting or didnât enjoy the ceremony, but listening to a gaggle of children sing christmas carols that she was forced to listen to on repeat everyday was... not their idea of a good time. âenjoying the âconcertâ so far?â she asked, using air quotes over the word concert and sticking her tongue out at a kid of about ten who dared to give her quite the offended look. she sure as hell didnât know the kid, so manners werenât exactly her priority. âi wouldnât have pegged this as your scene. you here for the news station?â
