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Harmony Trup (83)
Project: Film (Four Part Harmony)
Known as: No nicknames
Real name: Harmony Trup
Group affiliation: None
Physical description: Harmony was tall and willowy with long amber hair. She had an ethereal quality and a quirky fashion sense.
Personality: Harmony saw the joy in nearly every situation. She found the world to be a wonderous place and discovered something new and exciting every day. She loved people and had a knack for seeing their hidden potential. She was a true free spirit and did what she thought was best whether it followed the rules or not. A muse made flesh, she tended to inspire people to try new things.
History: Relatively little is known about Harmony’s past as she didn’t share overly much. She neither thought much of the past nor worried about the future. She often shared stories from her mother (e.g., that they were descended from the fae) but would then point out her mother was delusional and living in an institution. Her father was a mild man who loved his daughter and would take her on any adventure they could afford (which was quite a bit, since Harmony could find adventure in about anything).
She was never a serious student but was beloved by all. Her recommendations from her teachers made up for any shortcomings in her academic record. She went to Ohio State with a thought to be an art teacher but that was just a moment in time. In the course of her first semester she also decided to be a doctor, botanist, and fashion designer. The challenge was that she was being exposed to so many different things at university and found wonder in them all.
She decided to join Angie’s singing group despite never having seriously tried to sing (it turns out she was good at it). To her, it wasn’t about the singing anyway. She just intuitively realized that this group of women needed one another. And once Harmony realized something it had a way of happening. She was a cheery sort of tenacious and simply believed what was obvious to her would be manifest to others. If that meant she had to challenge their assumptions a bit, so be it.
She honestly loved all the women of the group. She was impressed with Angie and knew Angie would succeed at whatever Angie put her mind to. She though Sara Jane was a dam of unrealized potential just waiting to break. She was fascinated by Adria and wanted to understand why one of the more blessed of people thought she needed to wear a mask. She was not surprised when Adria made a pass at Harmony but was sadden when Adria couldn’t see they wouldn’t be a good match (not because Harmony was not gay but because they each needed someone more grounded).
When the group fell apart it was the first real challenge to Harmony’s view that something she thought was meant to be would be. Impulsively (as if she had another mode) she began touring with a band as a backup singer (she never finished school). Through a series of many adventures she saw the world and touched many people. After a while she found herself drawn home, met Casey, and they had a great life together.
As little as Harmony thought of the past, her three friends from her singing group were often on her mind. When she was diagnosed, she decided that she would bring them together again. This led to her funeral and unusual requests.
Two more surprises. First, her request to Angie will just be a reassurance that Angie is OK and she always has been. So Harmony’s request to Angie will be a “selfish” one: that the ladies sing together one more time and scatter her ashes from the top of the dorm (they will hit some students and get some “what the hell is this?” comments).
The last surprise is that one portion of Harmony was reserved for Casey. Minimally Casey and Adria will become friends.
Role in the narrative: She’s the hub the whole wheel turns on.
Abilities: She’s pretty good at whatever she tries. She is extremely intuitive and insightful and good at motivating people.
Inspirations: I suppose there is a bit of the “magical person helps the protagonist” trope here (Spike Lee had one term for this that I won’t mention here; and Harmony would not be African American to avoid that negative version of the trope).
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