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THE EARS

name: philomena "phil" harper concentration: textile arts gender+pronouns: femme, she/they age: 21 in 2008, 36 in 2023 faceclaim(s): onyi moss

OVERVIEW

You were the unwanted twin, the accidental plus one tagging along in your mother’s womb. It was all about your sibling all the time: their talent, their future. You were relegated to the background. Always expected to support, never expected to take anything for yourself. You drew inward, became quiet and out of sight, but always listening. Your parents were never going to do anything for you, your sibling was never going to offer you a hand, you had to do it yourself. So you listened when they discussed programs to send The Eyes to, and you prepared your own applications. Your wealthy background meant there was always money to spare, you just had to know when to ask for it. Working quietly in the shadows, surviving off bits and pieces of gossip and chit chat, you paved a path for yourself. When you were both accepted to such a prestigious university, your family seemed surprised. They’d never paid attention to you, but now they would have to. This was how you would finally step into the light.

WITH ERNEST

Ernest recognized your ability to listen almost immediately, before he ever thought to recognize any of your artistic talent. He set up little meetings, just the two of you, where he expected you to discuss your classmates with him. At first, he would ask direct questions. “The Nerves seemed particularly upset today, do you know what’s going on?” “The Hips has missed a few classes, have you heard anything?” And you would answer, thinking (perhaps naively) that he was genuinely trying to help his students. It eventually evolved to the point where you were just reporting things you’d heard to him. You knew he wasn’t using these pieces of information to help your classmates, quite the opposite in fact. It made you feel immensely guilty, but he threatened you with disciplinary action if you ever discussed your meetings or tried to back out of them.

WITH THE OTHERS

The Eyes- Your twin has never been your friend. Even after eighteen years of that, though, you still held out hope. When you were both accepted into Whitmouth, you thought this might be your chance to become closer, a chance to prove yourself to them. It quickly became clear that they had no interest in that, instead shunning you just as much as they did when you were children. The Mouth- Two sad, unwanted little rich kids. Of course you became friends as children, who else understood you like him? You’ve had all the beats of a saccharine childhood sweethearts story: bonding over your shitty families, getting proposed to with a candy ring on the playground, having your first kiss in his family treehouse. When you both got accepted to Whitmouth, you were overjoyed. No long distance, no having to break up. It was perfect. You know you’re not in love, neither of you are, but it’s still nice. It’s safe, it makes sense, even if it’s not true. And you do love him, in a way. Just not in that way. The Heart- Ernest uses your talents for evil, The Heart uses them for good. You listen to everyone, but they listen to you. You are kind of the secret sauce behind their ability to stay so in tune with the group’s emotional tenor. And you’re happy to tell them when it sounds like someone is having a bad time and needs some help. You’re always happy to be around them, you just wish you could do it more, take the relationship out of pure transaction and towards something more… but what would people say if they found out? Your whole charade with The Mouth would come crashing down…

#skeleton #the ears.#closed