ofzahras

[ofzahras]

She might have mistaken the tap on her shoulder for just another celebrant making their way out of the crowded bar had it not been so determined. She looked down at her feet, immediately realising she was indeed standing on the poor woman's very impressive Ella Enchanted costume. "I'm sorry," she half-shouted over the music, immediately taking a quick step to the side and releasing the fabric from under her feet. Hoping she hadn't caused any damage, Zahra glanced at the dress as if inspecting it for holes and tears. "I didn't ruin it, did I?"

who: anyone! ( @aurorabaystarter ) where: sharky's monster mash

With a drink on her mind, Aylin walked in her heeled boots down the few steps that separated her from the rest of the crowd and beelined straight for the bar. Once she had a drink in her hand, she would attempt to find higher ground - not wanting to deal with anyone she knew just yet. But as she shuffled on her feet impatiently, her long dress was caught under someone’s shoe at the bar. Tapping them on the shoulder, she spoke without looking up from their foot placed on her costume. “Excuse me,” she said loud enough to yell out the DJ’s Halloween tunes. “You’re standing on my dress.”

[ofzahras]

While she had always been independent and quite happy to do things by herself, going to a Halloween party alone had felt quite wrong. Well, she mostly didn't like the idea of entering the party alone and didn't mind the group had scattered within the first ten minutes. Apparently she hadn't been the only party-goer left to their own devices. Finishing the drink she had been nursing for quite a while, she nodded at him in acknowledgement. "The best," she agreed, trying to spot her own group of people. It was a pointless task with the amount of people packed to the venue and she soon gave up, coming to the conclusion she would find them later. "Sure, why not. Sounds like a good idea right about now."

Open Starter For: Anybody @aurorabaystarter Location: Sharky's Monster Mash

Oliver wasn't feeling like himself lately, but that's when his siblings had shown up into town and they surprised him. He was glad that they were able to come for Halloween so that he could party with them. He hadn't partied much with his younger siblings since he was always worried about taking care of them. But as usual, they took off with someone random and Oliver, dressed as Harry potter, found himself alone. He ordered himself a drink at the bar and he looked around while he waited. He looked to the person who was closest to him and he smiled, "It's so nice when you're deserted by people who came to town to see you." He chuckled a bit. "I was going to take a shot, are you interested in joining?"

[ofzahras]

Scanning the space with a positively neutral look on her face, Zahra didn't necessarily look like she was enjoying herself. However, she loved Halloween and was having an absolute blast people-watching. "Oh, it is creative, that's for sure," she commented as the other posed her question. Truly, she had no idea what she was looking at but it was obvious the costume had taken some time and effort. Zahra could definitely appreciate that. "Love the multiples, um, heads? I guess those are heads."

open - @aurorabaystarter

where - sharky's halloween party

Celeste wasn't really one for dancing (at least not while sober) so she happily stood to the side, leaning against the wall as she people watched, sipping on whatever bright red 'blood' drink she'd been given at the bar. "What the hell do you think that costume's supposed to be?"

[ofzahras]

zahra hamed as ellen ripley from alien

i got you, you son of a bitch.

[ofzahras]

[cis woman and she/her] Welcome to Aurora Bay, [ZAHRA HAMED]! I couldn’t help but notice you look an awful lot like [AIYSHA HART]. You must be the [THIRTY FIVE] year old [ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF RELIGION]. Word is you’re [RESOURCEFUL] but can also be a bit [RESTLESS] and your favorite song is [MY GIRLFRIEND IS A WITCH BY OCTOBER COUNTRY]. I also heard you’ll be staying in [OCEAN CREST APARTMENTS]. I’m sure you’ll love it!

full name: zahra hamed

date of birth: 11 july 1989

gender & pronouns: cis woman, she/her

sexuality: bisexual & biromantic

family: mother, father

pets: a black cat called circe

occupation: assistant professor of religion @ aurora bay college

place of birth: st. cloud, minnesota

time in aurora bay: around a year

height: 5′10′’

hair colour & style: dark brown, wavy, a bit past her shoulders

eye colour: dark brown

tw: infertility, mentions of religion, smoking

despite her status as somewhat of a miracle child - her parents had already come to accept they wouldn’t be able to have children of their own due to a host of fertility issues - zahra grew up knowing a lot was expected of her. both of her parents had grown up with very little and had been able to use education as their way out of difficult home situations. she doesn’t resent her parents in the slightest, but sometimes wonders what her life would now look like if she been given just a bit more space and freedom to discover and make mistakes. still, she’s grateful for the drive her parents instilled in her as it has helped her to keep going even during times of distress. that being said, she has unfortunately picked up a host of rather unhealthy coping mechanisms for said stressful situations.

while the household didn’t necessarily seem all that outwardly pious to outsiders, religion was always a big part of the family dynamic and something that was discussed often and at great length, partly due to the interfaith nature of the family. zahra was a curious child and loved getting involved in these conversations, even when the concepts seemed far too complicated for her. she loved lingering in doorways when her parents had friends over, keen on sharing her opinions and the facts she had so meticulously taught herself.

she was a bright student. however, despite doing well academically, zahra often struggled with the social aspect of high school. she was kind of an awkwardly intense, gangly teen who spoke too little or far too much and couldn’t really figure out what her crowd was for quite a while. she eventually befriended a group of girls, some of whom she’s still in contact with to this day.

zahra moved to minneapolis at the age of 18 to attend university of minnesota. she went on to receive her bachelor’s degree in religious studies before completing her master’s in philosophy.

unwilling to give up studying just yet, she decided to pursue a doctorate degree, still unsure what she actually wanted to do in the future. she was accepted to princeton and later completed her phd in philosophy and religion.

while her life hasn’t always been easy or uncomplicated, it has been rather streamline. she has struggled and put in an enormous amount of hard work to get where she is now, but things have generally gone well for her. however, she has recently gone through something of a personal crisis and is really struggling to find her feet again. to put it simply, zahra has become wildly disillusioned with the academia and is suddenly really not sure she’s entirely happy with her choices in life.

she accepted a job at aurora bay college before coming to terms with the emotional and professional conflict she was having. she enjoys her job but is certainly very conflicted and is questioning whether or not she made the right decision.

zahra is bilingual and grew up speaking arabic with her father. she’s also fluent in french, can read german fairly well and studied hebrew, ancient greek and latin during her studies. her streak on duolingo is over two years long, but she doesn’t take it all that seriously. she just really likes mobile games and this one just happens to teach her languages, making it just a little more productive than candy crush.

an avid collector of all sorts of trinkets, zahra does not vibe with the minimalist aesthetic. her bedroom is full of knickknacks and keepsakes. she also collects books and dreams of being the sort of person who actually reads the books she buys. to be fair, she does read a lot, but it’s mostly stuff related to her research or the lectures she’s planning. all the new, exciting fiction books have gone unread for years. this fact has not slowed down her buying habits, though.

can be seen chain-smoking and cursing to herself at all hours of the day. when does she sleep? does she sleep? who knows.

some super vague connection ideas!

the stress has led to a lot of sleepless nights, resulting in her becoming a real night owl. she can be spotted frequenting places that are open late, and can be found chain-smoking and scrolling endlessly on social media. she would’ve undoubtedly run into some folks with similar schedules and habits.

any people with fun, interesting hobbies. after forming some sort of a connection, she would undoubtedly pester these individuals to teach her stuff. your girl needs to be distracted from her own thoughts.

zahra enjoys noisy music. so, a person willing to accompany her to gigs around the area. she’s happiest when it’s so loud she can’t hear anything at all.

friends/acquaintances/flings from minneapolis and/or princeton. would especially love to have some of her besties from high school.

people she has dated/hooked up with during her time in aurora bay.

she would have definitely been the sort of teen who had a pen pal. so, one of those would be super duper fun!

a neighbour who is trusted to watch her cat when she's busy or out of town!

[ofzahras]

[ofzahras]

AIYSHA HART

[ofzahras]

Zahra had always been a night owl and even more so since she had moved back to the city. Back home she had enjoyed how quiet everything had been when the whole neighborhood slept, had always been thrilled by the thought of being the last one awake, while the opposite was true in New York City. There were always people out and about and Zahra felt a special kind of comradery with the other sleepless wanderers. It could still be loud, yes, but there was also a certain kind of peace that felt familiar and even comforting.

She glanced to the side at the stranger and nodded at her words. She hadn't meant to strike up a conversation, not really, but she also didn't want to move from the spot she had picked for herself. It was surely one of the better ones. "I know," she agreed, dark eyes directed towards the sky. "No wonder people find symbolism and write poetry about it."

status: open (@bhqextras) location: Full Harvest Moon Viewing Party ; Prospect Park

if given the choice, olivia would've travelled to the country for this. perhaps she would have rented a car and driven until she was in the middle of nowhere, and then just parked on the side of the road and watched the moon. it wasn't that the view of the moon from here wasn't fine - it was, decent at least. up north where there was no light to drown out the stars? now that was spectacular.

but olivia didn't like to travel like that alone. she was small, after all, and had done enough research for the next twenty lifetimes that told her how she should avoid rural areas at night, and certainly don't go alone. as she didn't have anyone that was willing to go on an impromptu evening roadtrip, she found herself at the park. it would be good enough from here, the moon was still worth the late night for sure. so she laid back on her towel, arms crossed beneath her head casually.

❝ you know, ❞ she started, pretty much assuming that the person settled on the towel within reach of her own - god, was nowhere in the city no longer crowded? - would no doubt respond. ❝ no matter how many times i watch a full moon rise, it will always blow me away with how pretty it is. ❞

[ofzahras]

She should have expected it, and in a way she had done. Still, she hadn't exactly prepared, too engrossed in her work or at least in avoiding it to the best of her ability. She had planned a relatively easy day for herself, a few hours in the archives going through the records for the Center for Religion and Media, something she could certainly find some joy in even on the worst of her days. Apparently the universe had other ideas and Zahra's simple day took a turn just as she was reaching the steps of the archives. She stopped, took a look around as if trying to figure out where the voice was coming from even though she had absolutely no doubts. At least it bought her some time. "Azhar," she replied, involuntarily amused by the anagram of their names once again. She was sure her voice shook ever so slightly but hoped it would simply seem like a sign of being out of breath. "It's me. I'm, uh, just heading in."

closed starter for @ofzahras , on campus at new york university near the library / archives.

sighing,  azhar  ran  a  hand  across  his  head  before  adjusting  his  beanie.  although  the  autumnal  weather  had  yet  to  hit  the  streets,  and  the  leaves  were  not  changing  except  for  slight  yellow  and  orange  tints  at  their  edges,  he  was  prepared  for  the  brisk  wind  that  promised  a  temperature  drop.  deep  in  thought  about  that  thesis  he  had  begun  reading,  having  been  asked  to  proofread  it  by  one  of  his  students  for  their  presentation  upcoming,  and  his  head  ached  in  the  place  that  he  couldn't  knead  out.  reminded  him  of  so  much  agony,  really.  how  he  spent  too  much  time  on  it.  or  not  enough.  but  he  didn't  want  to  be  held  down  by  his  past,  intending  on  heading  home  and  relieving  devi  of  her  watching  -  duties  earlier  than  intended  as  a  surprise.  that  was,  until  azhar  himself  was  surprised.  dressed  in  the  dark  brown  suit  jacket  and  casual  blouse  of  his  lecture  earlier,  he  paused  when  he  spotted  a  familiar  visage.  slowly  blinking.  (  am  i  seeing  things?  )  “zahra?”  too  old,  and  exhausted,  to  waste  much  time.  (  not  to  mention  his  heart  ached.  in  a  strange  way.  right  there,  in  his  throat.  )  “did  i  fall  'sleep  back  there  or  is  that  really  you?”

[ofzahras]

“i am afraid that if i open myself i will not stop pouring. (why do i fear becoming a river. what mountain gave me such shame.)”

— Erosion // Jamie Oliveira

[ofzahras]

"I wouldn't dare to try. You're evidently much braver than I am," she chuckled in agreement. "I know. I used to think I was pretty good at all that stuff, knowing what's new and hip. And now I'm the sort of person who uses the word hip unironically." She waved her hand flippantly at Violet's compliment. "You're one to talk. I am sure all the heads turned when you walked in." It didn't seem like an overestimation by any means, and Zahra had never been good at giving out meaningless words of praise.

She could feel her cheeks warm up as Violet inquired about her dating life. "Not a chance. Not that I'm against it, but I just haven't even thought to consider it," she admitted. "Oh, no, can't have you do that. How about you? You have your eyes on anyone?"

"God, and then you try to explain landlines to them. Oh do I feel old then! I like being in my thirties honestly but with the way tech moves sometimes I feel older. Still, we look beautiful, you especially." Violet said as the day unfolded around them with pleasant chatter. "So anything else new? You seeing anybody? Or is the thesis your one and only right now? I have some people I could introduce you to if you're interested."

[ofzahras]

"It does sound nice, and I'm glad you liked it. I don't think I'm much of a beach person myself," she admitted with a shrug, "not that I've really tried being one." She wasn't entirely sure when she had decided she didn't care for lounging around in the sun but apparently she had done just that at one point in her life. "Luckily there are some beaches not too far from here. So, you know, you can still enjoy that even if it isn't quite the same."

"Well, this is my second time around living here. I first moved here to do a PhD program ages ago. Finished that and worked elsewhere for a bit. Now I'm back." She looked down, almost embarrassed for sharing something that felt both meaningless and hugely important at the same time. "I guess you could say I liked the city enough to move right back."

As they sat down, Matt picked up the menu as well and looked over the pasta section of it. "Can't go wrong with a good pasta, right?" he gave a small nod and chose what he was going to eat before he looked up, putting the menu down to answer her questions.

"Honestly, I loved LA, yeah. The weather is great and living near the beach is not half bad." He chuckled. "And I loved my house there too. I never imagined moving back to the East Coast but a really big work opportunity came up so I was happy to take it." Matt trailed the edge of the menu with his fingers, lost in thought for a moment before he looked up again. "What about you? Why did you move to New York?"

[ofzahras]

"But wouldn't that be a beautiful way to go? Being flattered to death. That being said, I would very prefer if you were to stay alive." While making friends had always been somewhat of a daunting task to her, Zahra valued the friendships she had immensely. Yes, she still struggled to open up and share, but that didn't mean she actually wanted to push people away. She was making a conscious effort and luckily Vismaya seemed to appreciate it.

The undeniably delicious smell of the pizza reminded Zahra that while seeing Vismaya was definitely her main priority, she was also quite eager to eat. Having come to realize she hadn't remembered to do a real grocery shop in days, she had raided her snack cupboard earlier in the day, but the pizza in front of her certainly seemed far more appealing than the Goldfish and trail mix she had inhaled. Her head snapped up as Vismaya informed she would paying be paying for the evening. "No way. Can't allow it," she replied with a firm shake of her head. Her father had taught her many important life skills, and somehow fighting over the bill was certainly at the top of the list. Admittedly he was far more creative, often faking toilet breaks in order to pay when others least expected it. "But if you insist, you will have to let me pay for the next two times we go out to eat or have drinks," she added, not wanting to draw out the conversation when they were about to have a good time. Not that Zahra was all that eager to talk about herself.

"I'm okay. Having kind of a writer's block," she admitted with a sheepish smile, "but I'm sure it'll pass. Has happened before." It was true, she had struggled with inspiration before, but somehow this time felt different, more final in a way. "Honestly, haven't been doing anything too exciting stuff since I moved back. But I'm happy to be properly back in New York." That was at least true. "How are you? Hopefully your life is more thrilling than my current existence."

Few people made the cut of occupying Vismaya's extremely limited free time as of late, and Zahra would always be one of those people. Though, Vismaya didn't entirely consider her own company a treasure as of late, feeling like she had formed a habit of monopolizing the conversation just to talk about workplace fusses and, as always, her mother. However, tonight, she wanted to truly catch up with her friend, as she thought of Zahra often and fondly, and had a vested interest in the girl's wellbeing. "Z, I swear you are going to flatter me to death one day. My blood will be on your hands. My beautiful, beautiful blood," Vis teased, her nose scrunching as she giggled at her own lame joke. "Pizza is always the perfect place to start. And it's damn good, too." At that, Vis gingerly placed one of the small ceramic plates in front of her friend, and then helped herself to another slice. "So, firstly, order whatever you want, tonight is on me, and I'll be having no arguments about that, so, shh. Secondly, please tell me how you've been doing. I know I saw you a few weeks ago, but it still feels like it's been a full calendar year."

[ofzahras]

If there was one thing Zahra excelled at, it was listening. Sure, her neutral expression could make her seem indifferent or not all that engaged, but she truly did listen, intently and without the need to interrupt. "You're good. Don't worry about it," she assured. It was clear they were going through something and she didn't want to pry. She would've hated it if she had been in their position. "I hope you find what you're looking for. That feeling of home." She had always been good at adapting to her surroundings and finding little things that made her feel like a part of something bigger than herself but that didn't necessarily mean she knew what made a place feel like a home. Still, New York City had treated her well and now that she was back, she couldn't imagine leaving any time soon.

"We're here," she announced once they reached their destination. "I think it's more of an Irish place, but certainly closer to a British pub than the last place. Good beer, too."

Theo blew smoke away from her after sucking in some from their cig, listening to her carefully, their eyes trained on her as she talked. "Home can be a lot of things. Not necessarily a place. Something or someone you want to come back to. That can be a house, your family, a significant other." They shrugged as they explained. "For me, it would be a person but right now, I don't feel like I have a home to go back to." Theo paused for a moment before they let out a chuckle. "Shit, sorry, that got too deep. Anyway, I'm here for work and yeah, I don't particularly like it, honestly."

They took another drag from their cigarette as they walked next to her, their other hand slipping inside the pocket of their jeans, looking around the city around them that people seem to fall in love with so quickly. They weren't that impressed by it.

[ofzahras]

[ofzahras]

"I don't know, could be both," she pointed out, eyes nailed to the balloon as she thought through her strategy, "plenty of relaxing things are also real dumb. That being said, you could win a record."

who: open (@bhqextras)

where: early after noon, any day, aura music festival

what: doing an activity at one of the vendor tents (making rave sprouts, laying in hammocks, palm reading line, sitting inside the giant parachute, playing balloon darts, making signs, or face painting - pick your muse's favorite!)

Sherri sighed, scrunching her nose at her current task. "I can't tell if this is relaxing, exciting, or just — dumb." She blurted to the person nearest her.

[ofzahras]

"I can imagine. Did you like LA? I mean, I feel like it would be vastly different from New York. Never been," she admitted. While she had nothing against he West Coast, California or even Los Angeles, she had never had any real reason to visit. The family she had in the states lived mostly in the Midwest, and she had spent her adult years in the Southeast and East Coast. "Different vibe, right? I guess you could say the weather is nicer."

Zahra didn't have to open the menu to know what she wanted. She could be a creature of habit, often frequenting the same restaurants she had once deemed good. Still, she took a look as if trying to make recommendations. "All of the pasta is pretty great. Can't say a lot about the meat since I don't really eat it."

They took a turn around the corner and he followed her to the place she knew as they continued chatting. He found it really easy to talk to her even though she seemed very serious and wanted to shake him off at the beginning, she warming up to him apparently and it felt nice. Uncomplicated. "I've lived in LA so I'm pretty used to having options of things to do. Too many options actually. When I first got there at eighteen, I wanted to do everything all the time. The last couple of years I was in bed by ten." He laughed at himself. Thirty-nine hit pretty hard.

Once inside the place, he rubbed his hands together, looking around. "Okay, what's good here? I'm actually starving." he chuckled.