[ EVAN RODERICK, CISMALE, HE/HIM ] shh ! HOLLIS CARTER-HARRINGTON, the TWENTY-ONE year old THIRD year PHILOSOPHY major from PARIS, FRANCE, is known as a GARNET around here. HE was invited to join because HE’S A LEGACY AND IMPRESSED HIS PREDECESSOR WITH HIS FORWARD-THINKING, and now, they’re here to stay. HE reminds me of PEN INK STAINS ON HIS LEFT PALM, CIGARETTE SMOKE THAT OBSCURES HIS FACE, HUSHED DRUNK CHUCKLES AT FOUR IN THE MORNING.
what’s up noodles, i’m riley ( she/her, 21, est ) ! and … uh. i mean, needless to say i’m so, so excited to get this ball rollin ! srry i am incapable of creating a short intro post … but. ye. here is my mess of a mystery, hollis ! PLS hit me up w them plots … ! i’m here to wreak havoc but also have hollis cuddle all ur muses so rlly, i am game for anything !
THE BASICS.
NAME — hollis julien carter-harrington.
NICKNAMES — hol, h, holly ( to those close to him — he’ll glare down anyone who uses it, though ).
PRONOUNS — he/him.
AGE & DOB — 21 & may 29, 1999.
PLACE OF BIRTH — paris, france.
NATIONALITY — british-french.
MAJOR — philosophy.
EDUCATION — strathmore university.
CLUBS — none the opal society.
BACKGROUND.
i’ve got my whole biography up for hollis here, which hasn’t changed from my sample application if any of you read that ! but the important bits are:
hollis is a twin ( the younger of the two ), born to two mothers — one who works in the fashion industry, and one who is a lawyer. he is a legacy from strathmore thanks to his uncle, who himself has one of them cool opal pins.
their family moved around a lot because of their mothers’ work, never really settling down in one place for more than a few months. he made friends, but they were never close: the only constant that he had in his life was his twin sister. even his mothers weren’t really around that much.
it made growing up hard, never having people he could rely on, never having one place he could call home. but he never complained ( perhaps, yes, to amelia ). strathmore called to him because it was an elite institution, yes, but because it had some ties to his family — and for some reason, that made all the difference. he wanted to feel like he belonged somewhere, and his uncle’s stories made him feel like it was the place to find that home, too.
PERSONALITY.
a mystery, to most, a brother, to few. most people see hollis and view him as a stereotypical, rich kid who got into strathmore because his uncle had left a significant mark on its soil — which, to those who don’t see him in a classroom environment, seems completely true.
he parties, he goes out, he drinks an unhealthy amount of liquor — it screams privilege, and he doesn’t necessarily have the will to actively change anyone’s perceptions of him. but he’s damned smart, has read an insane amount of books. he’s got perspectives and opinions on everything, but mostly keeps quiet about them. after all, he was the quiet one, between him and mia. old habits never die, or something.
but in class — oh, in the classes he likes, he adores, he puts his heart and soul into dissecting every last reading his professor assigns, he counters every point with a salient question. he is thoughtful, he has mature ideas, he sees every question like a galaxy, with stars and space in between that is ready to be explored. it’s rather rare, though, to get him into this sort of zone. philosophy, psychology, human behavior — those are the things he could drone on and on about.
he is warm, extremely warm, to those he cares about. with mothers that never paid him attention, and growing up in twelve different cities, he has never been able to find close friends like he has in the society — and of course, he cherishes the fact that they are all able to intellectually stimulate him. he’s usually the type to linger on the sidelines, to watch and listen rather than to pounce into the spotlight, but when he needs to step in and say something, he most certainly will. he’s like an old, protective puppy.
TO THE OPALS & THE SOCIETY,
he has found his family — siblings that extend beyond amelia, whom he loves, but it is nice to finally know that you can rely on someone who doesn’t share your own blood. he was hesitant at first, to complete the instruction process. a lot of the teachings and meetings felt like wastes of time, at first, but the more he got to know his circlet, the more he bought into the ideas of the society. he of course, doesn’t agree with all of his circlet members on all their ideas, on all their opinions, but he respects the hell out of all of them. he'd step up and defend any one of them when it came down to it.
TO THE PRODIGIES,
he doesn’t make it a point to be an enigma, but he is — one with humorous interjections during meetings, who shows up thirty minutes late with a cigarette between his fingers. he is fun-loving, getting up to the same shenanigans that amelia pulls, of course, which makes him seem approachable — but then, the way he speaks to them sometimes feels like a riddle. truthfully, he feels a duty to make them feel close, like a family — just like the way he feel with his circlet. he looks out for them, for sure, like a reluctant dad ( think: steve harringotn ) but also knows that none of the benefits of the society are just handed down. he takes some of the instruction process incredibly seriously, others not so much — he kind of picks and chooses based on which ones are fun and will bring them together, and which are less so.
AESTHETICS.
stained tea mugs, unlit cigarettes between teeth, expensive watches that came from your mother’s boutique, walking through the campus grounds with soft jazz playing in his headphones, small books in his back pocket, writing in the margins, quoting old authors on a daily basis, incessant eye-rolling, empty bottles of liquor, rose thorn pricks, polished dress shoes, swearing in french instead of english, the sound of an uncorking a bottle of wine, perfectly-pressed collars underneath expensive cashmere sweaters,
HEADCANONS.
his favorite place to be on wednesday nights is the pub — for trivia night, of course. he’s gotten decently good at memorizing odd facts; some would say he’s got something close to a photographic memory, the way he remembers old quotes that stick with him.
he’s trying to learn how to play the piano, but to save himself and his housemates from having to hear the same basic songs throughout the house, he’ll sometimes rehearse at odd hours, when not that many people are in the house.
he’s left handed ! he curses the damn pen-ink stains he gets on his palm.
he can probably be found at two a.m. in the manor’s kitchen, eating some heated up soup with a book in his hands. like a dimly lit murder victim ready to happen.
