#c: harper faraday

[the-insouciant-scientist]

Feast of the rose fashion tiiiiiiiime (feat. name reveal for a certain someone <3)

Had a lot of fun trying to create some seasonally appropriate outfits while working within their personal styles and color schemes!

[the-insouciant-scientist]

I don't have much actually typed up for Harper, but I do have art! Their tag is "c: harper faraday" if you want to take a look. :-)

Bag a Legend players, give me your OCs

[the-insouciant-scientist]

Self-soothing (alternatively: loneliness is a complicated thing when you're never really alone.)

[the-insouciant-scientist]

(inspired by lord-emerson!!)

[the-insouciant-scientist]

[the-insouciant-scientist]

its ass is Not escaping the cycles of trauma

(not yet at least.)

[the-insouciant-scientist]

This killed my wrist but I think it was worth it

[the-insouciant-scientist]

If you'd want to add Harper in that would be nice! :-)

(more refs can be found under the tag "c: Harper faraday" if need be!)

Okay, fallen london community. Show me your ocs.

The Six-finger'd Scrimshander got its camera working, and is going to take a picture of you all at the end of the month. Dress appropriately.

[the-insouciant-scientist]

An evening "Jam" session for @thedeafprophet <3 I just think they should get to play music together for fun

Lines and sketch under the cut bc I'm too proud of them not to post them

[the-insouciant-scientist]

Figured i should join the party and fill out the character sheet from @t6fs for Harper! This took me uh. Longer than I'd like to admit XD

[the-insouciant-scientist]

On the topic of characters with memory problems and Parabola, I wanted to talk a bit about how that works with Harper as both a system with memory loss and a Silverer.

One thing a lot of people know about Harper is that they're incredibly go-with-the-flow. They're known as Insouciant for a reason, after all. But not a lot of people realize just how deeply that's ingrained in them, or the fact it's its own coping mechanism. See something that doesn't make sense? They proceed as if it does, and don't think too deeply on it. Met the person whose body they've been living in for a few years now in the Waswood? They'll politely inquire as to how she's been and then allow themself to forget once she's moved on. Can't trust their own senses? They make no attempt to, then, simply put one foot in front of the other until they can see a way out. They accept the uncertainty, because to challenge it at the wrong moment would destroy them. Better to bend and recover later than break entirely.

That's also why they're so good in Parabola. Science and dreaming don't have to be diametrically opposed concepts, despite what Gebrandt seems to believe. They carry their own knowledge, but don't allow that knowledge to snare them. (Hence why they're able to pull all sorts of tricks behind the mirror, because they can use theories and facts as a springboard to then catapult themself full speed into the dream logic side of things.)

It all comes back to the idea that they already can't fully trust their own memory. Conversations happen with friends that they have no recollection of. Classes are taught, and they can only hope they happened as planned. Pens go missing and days are lost and sometimes they wake up on the rooftops of Spite with blood under their nails and no recollection of how they got there. They manage, because they must, because what's the alternative? It's easy for them nowadays to simply take it in stride and try to put the pieces together after the fact. And that in turn makes it very easy for them to accept the strange and the nonsensical as normal when they do their work as a Silverer.

So if someone else with memory problems needs help with Parabola, Harper would be very willing and able to provide guidance. They'd be happy to help work through things, if it's asked of them, but even moreso just… to help to distract. Easier to ignore the things that are best left forgotten if they're too busy talking about Parabolan botany, or showing off interesting shortcuts between areas, or what have you. But if something did slip through, be it unwanted memory or impossible-to-reconcile fact, there isn't a fiercer or more protective Silverer out there to have by their side. Because that's the thing: they understand firsthand what it's like. They have years of practice. And they will never, ever pass judgement on a desire to not face these things.

[the-insouciant-scientist]

OC Smash or Pass!

Rules: pretty self explanatory. include physical descriptions or pics, and propaganda. the “other” label can be used for “sexuality misalignment” (ie: oc is femme and you’re gay, vice versa or you aren’t into smashing but a specific thing you wanna do with them like perhaps hug or study them under a microscope idc).

tagged by @the-dye-stained-socialite, thank you!

Name: Harper Faraday

Age: Body-wise, 27 (will be 28 in like a week oh boy I forgor)

Gender: Nonbinary, somewhere on the neutral/slightly masc side of things

Sexuality: Not typically? (aroace-spec and bi)

🧪 Pro

Eager to please, considerate, loves being helpful. Very conscious of others' needs

Non-judgemental to a quite frankly impressive degree

Decently good on both cello and violin, will play music for you if you like. Also you can unlock their singing at higher friendship levels

Will help with nightmares. Also would show you all sorts of neat Parabolan shortcuts and plants

Good for quiet company, they love parallel play

Would nap with you. They're a very good big spoon

Talented scientist and teacher who will happily show you around their lab and run experiments with you

Pretty scars and wiggly ears

They blend their own teas in their spare time and will gladly make something new for you if you want. Also good at baking

Honestly really cute when they get excited

🔬 ???????

So many weasels. Like. So many weasels

Not just them in there. Buy one get [REDACTED] free

Teeth. Mobile and mischievous teeth

Stone-adjacent service top, kinky

Extremely dense, you will have to actually tell them you're into them. Also does not move quickly in regards to this kinda thing

Has only been around as themself for three years

Conflict averse, which makes them very good at diffusing tense situations but very bad at speaking up when something's bothering them

Not traditionally romantic, although they will make an attempt if it's important to you

Usually has some prisoner's honey stuck to them somewhere. Could be a little treat for later if you're so inclined

⚗️ Con

Good luck finding them outside the lab (or the library) (or parabola)

Allergic to actually feeling good (hedonophobic) so probably don't hold them too tenderly--

Can be forgetful (or Someone will remember but not them)

Tends to be withdrawn, genuine vulnerability does not come easy on their part

Very little regard for their own safety. or desires, for that matter

Haunted by the hat man pretty much always (high nightmares)

Really bad at having strong opinions or convictions

Does not handle spontaneity or last minute plan changes well

50% guilt by volume even if they're thoroughly repressing that. They don't even have a good reason for most of it, it's just There

Drinks poison for fun just to see how it feels. Would offer you a sip to be polite

Their reflection can get really weird and intense about people and Will want to say hello the next time you're in Parabola without them

i'm a little too spaced to @ specific people right now (esp bc this has been going around so much), but if you have an oc you'd like to do this for then consider this me tagging you!

[the-insouciant-scientist]

Finally, after long last, I'm done! A character lineup for @the-dye-stained-socialite's fic Take a Bow, written during the Fallen London Fic Swap! I got very inspired by all the descriptions of characters and costumes and went uh. A little nuts. Can't say they're all accurate as historical stage costumes go, but I think they look cool as hell, so!

Characters and who they belong to under the cut! Because there's quite a few of them.

Jamie Awnings, @thedeafprophet

Elias Leroux, @the-dye-stained-socialite

Rook, @moonstruck-stormy

Irving Merritt and Harper Faraday, (me)

Jules, @thedandy-detective

Orsinio Elderwood, @house-of-mirrors

And finally,

The Ex-Disgraced Academic, @alexis-royce :-)

[the-insouciant-scientist]

5 for everyone??

5. How did you choose their name and why? Was it simply based on vibes or is there any specific meaning behind the name? Are the reasons behind their name different in- and out of universe?

Oh wow, hope you're ready for a very long explanation because I have a Lot to say about this and a lot of characters dhfgdjafdgj. Including some ~secret never before seen middle name lore~ just for fun! Under a cut because this got very, very long.

(Most of these were chosen by scouring lists of Victorian era names, so I probably don't have to mention that every time. Just take it as a given!)

Harper (Middlename/Theory/Marten/Russula/Twillbert/etc.) Faraday

Since Harper was made as a slightly different character before getting Flondon'd, I don't actually remember the details of their first name specifically! I think I was just angling for something reasonably gender neutral and around the right era, and Harper just stuck. Faraday came when I realized I needed a last name for them and just panic googled Victorian-or-earlier-era scientists and realized that Harper Faraday sounds absolutely delightful to the ear. So, named after Michael Faraday! Which is, ironically enough, about what happened in character too. They do not have a defined middle name because they (and I) forgot they needed one for way too long, so now if asked they usually just say the first thing that comes to mind, which is not usually a name that normal humans have. They will never live "Twillbert" down for the rest of their days.

Phileas Emrys Clarke

Phileas was a combination of Jules Verne reference, it being slightly reminiscent of a recurring family name, and just being objectively fun to me. Clarke fit the vibes more than anything else, plus I liked the idea of it being a name picked up from his time working in Irving's shop! It was initially a job related surname, after all. Emrys came way later and definitely reads to me as one he would have chosen himself (as opposed to his first name, picked up as an urchin, and his surname, received as an older teen), and means immortal, which really loops into his whole "I will never die there's too much cool stuff to do and trouble to get into while I'm alive" very nicely.

Irving Basil Merritt

Hers was extremely vibes based/just names that sounded nice with each other I'll admit! I was going for the sense of like, this is the name of a very stereotypically proper Victorian Englishman, except no this is a very gender-nonconforming tailor/dressmaker who is so very gentle and friendly to literally anyone who comes into her shop and not that at all. Basil, however, is a loose reference to the character of the same name in The Picture of Dorian Gray. Not in a way that means you should be concerned for her own safety! Just. That artistic touch and devotion and queerness really resonates I think.

Caoimhe Ann Coledoc

I knew from the get-go that I wanted her to have a Very Irish Name, and I wanted something that could sound nice alongside her twin (who also needed a Very Irish Name), and who I was naming at the same time. Caoimhe was the one that caught my eye the most, and I especially liked the softer sound of it compared to the rough and tumble butch I was sticking it on. Cian suited her brother pretty well, so together it just worked. Fun fact, Coledoc is not their real last name! It's a derivative of their mother's maiden name, Colloc, or rather the word that was derived from. It's an old Breton word that means beloved, at least according to the sources I've seen. Idk, I'm running with it. Either way, it was a bit of a secret password between the twins, so when Caoimhe descended to the Neath alone and needed a new surname, she kept that close as a reminder of why she had gone. Ann was honestly a bit of an afterthought, just needed a one-syllable name to bridge the gap and it was relatively popular in her region of Ireland around when she was born, so!

Agnes Maria Day

Her entire name has so many layers to it. Baseline it's a play off "Agnus Dei", but it's also a reference to St. Agnes of Rome, who has a very sad story even by saints' standards. Maria is technically her confirmation name, not a middle name, the Italian version of Mary. So her entire name is uhhh extremely Catholic, which makes sense based on how she was raised on the surface! But really that pun kinda took on a life of its own.

Geneviève Blackwell

Another vibes-based name! I knew I wanted something incredibly dramatic sounding, and just kind of picked though name lists until I found some that fit! Still haven't decided on a middle name for her yet, hard to get something to fit alongside the others sdlkghfgklhd.

Hyakinthos Athanasiou

I put waaaaay too much effort into this guy's name I'll be honest. Hyakinthos (also known as Hyacinthus) was the name of a Spartan prince, beloved by both Apollo and Zephyrus, and in some stories killed out of godly jealousy and others by accident. Turned into a hyacinth flower after that. I really loved the contrast between the softness of the floral name vs the whole "was murdered" thing, drawing a line of death through his entire character, and then additionally some victorian floriography assigns the meaning of "sincere care" to hyacinths, which! Yeah!! And then Athanasiou is a really fun one, because given the time period he's from it literally means "son of Athanasios" rather than being like. A family name? But the kicker is that Athanasios means immortal. He's the son of immortal and he can't die. Running around in circles and kicking my feet up about this guy I had a Blast figuring out a name for him that was both thematic and actually historically accurate! This literally could have been a name back then!! Sorry I'm just so excited about that.

[the-insouciant-scientist]

Some close ups of a stimmy little sketch page! It's so important to me that Harper is both openly autistic, AND a respected scientist and professor. They're eccentric, sure, but that doesn't mean they aren't capable.

[the-insouciant-scientist]

🎲may I offer harper a kiss from pembroke or vincent? whichever you'd prefer! refs are in pin :3

(tho slight caveat of nothing too romantic if you pick vincent 👉👈)

40. An impulsive kiss