Post by Simon and Cyrus Ettinger on Nov 9, 2019 18:24:11 GMT -5
Simon and Cyrus identify as a set of identical twins, perhaps better explained as a set of conjoined twins in a unique situation, although few are privy to the circumstances surrounding their arrangement. Their psychiatrist, their prior trainer at Hammel, their current employer Dr. Neville, and any romantic relationship that either brother might form that warrants that depth and honesty.
Their situation is that they share a body, which contains their different personalities and minds and trades off between them as scheduled or as needed. Simon is the one who was born and thus the only one who exists as far as government paperwork is concerned. He also more readily fades into the background, eclipsed by Cyrus’s larger personality. Simon also is the one who has the day job, while Cyrus spends his time focused on social life and maintaining the daily tasks for the two of them, as errands are more draining for Simon than they are for Cyrus. Neither of them is interested in integration as an end goal.
For the purposes of this plotter, I will do each brother separately, and replies should tag either Simon or Cyrus. I am open to threads of all stripes with these characters from serious to mentoring to shenanigans, with a note that most of Simon’s threads will have the potential for either depression or possible suicide ideation and will be tagged appropriately.
To begin with Simon: He was born in Cleveland, Ohio and was a student at Hammel during late 1990s and early 2000s after his powers manifested. In his own words, he is nobody remarkable and in his darker moments, he believes that the wrong one of them has control of their body, a sentiment he doesn’t share with anyone, not even his therapist. After graduating from Hammel in 2003, he went to college and studied biology before pursuing a teaching degree. He has taught biology at a few different schools, finally settling at Hammel a couple of years ago. His powers consist of receptive empathy and receptive telepathy, meaning that he can feel other people’s emotions and hear their thoughts but is incapable of broadcasting his own, leaving him largely captive to the mercurial shifts in other people and which contribute to his feelings of passively going along for the ride. Simon slouches, mumbles, struggles to make eye contact outside of the classroom, and speaks with a Cleveland accent to which he is wholly oblivious.
In addition to the secret diagnosis of DID, Simon suffers from chronic Major Depressive Disorder which he manages between therapy sessions, medication, and attempts at self-care that range from nostalgic television to isolating in his apartment to sleeping too long to comfort foods that do nothing for his blood pressure or his cholesterol.
Family: Simon’s family still lives in Ohio and consists of his parents, his older sister, her husband, and their two children, neither of whom has shown any sign of manifesting. And some extended family as well. He is the only meta-human in his family thus far, and they don’t understand the ins and outs of psychic powers any better than they understand mental illness as more than an alien concept. As a result, he only travels to the Midwest occasionally for major family events, such as a Bar Mitzvah or school graduation, or if the holidays cannot be avoided.
Friends: Friend are difficult for Simon, not because he is grouchy or unpleasant, but because of his depression and introversion and the time constraints of sharing a body with Cyrus. Considering how many hours of the day are devoted to teaching or lesson plans and grading, he doesn’t have many left over for pursuing friendships. However, he is amenable to a patient person whose idea of fun involves eating pizza and watching movies together in silence, bird watching or stargazing in silence, or playing non-violent video games largely in silence and without gloating.
Current friends: James Fawcett
Lovers: Simon and Cyrus identify to the world as bisexual and biromantic because of their split orientations, but the fact is that Simon is completely straight. He is attracted to women, cis and trans, but his dating history is patchy because of his mental health, unique situation, and the shyness that results from that combination. He has not dated since moving back to Pilot Ridge but if a woman is patient and nerdy enough, he is amenable, as long as she can accept that while he is monogamous, Cyrus has a dating life of his own (and will be partnered soon).
Students: Despite his myriad complications, Simon is a dedicated teacher, knowledgeable in his field and devoted to helping the students. He is best able to hide his depression in the classroom, disguising it more as social awkwardness than anything else. He likes to incorporate nature into his lessons when applicable, and also tries to relate powers and genetics to keep the students’ attention. However, because of the mood shifts, there is also a rumor started by Chalina Noriega that he is demon possessed.
Current Students: Chalina Noriega (demon hunter); Elias Weber (has a crush and is in for a world of confusion and disappointment).
Coworkers: Simon, while not the newest hire, has only been at Hammel for a couple of years in a faculty capacity. Any teacher or staff member from his student years will be unsurprised to find how little has changed during the intervening decade and a half. Or rather somewhat surprised because during his student years, he and Cyrus traded off more randomly and Cyrus’s presence was mistaken as his good, more engaging days. Not he is permanently more isolated. He doesn’t often engage in staff commiseration about students and his sole contribution to the staff lounge is refreshing the coffee pot like clockwork when he comes in. His shielding is mediocre to the chagrin of other psychics.
Enemies: Again, Chalina Noriega is convinced that he is demon possessed and is telling the world.
Neighbors: Simon and Cyrus reside in a two-bedroom apartment in Ridgeview Heights. Cyrus has made a lot of friends with neighbors which bring them by from time to time, and Simon can be called upon to help with minor repairs when the heat goes out or someone’s car won’t start once the cold weather begins. Each brother maintains his own bedroom and personal space.
Therapist: Simon regularly sees a therapist for his depression, and if you play a mental health professional not affiliated with the Hammel Institute, I would be interested in establishing this patient-therapist relationship.
Moving on to Cyrus: It would surprise many people to learn that Cyrus is not the dominant personality but instead an alter willed into being by Simon when his powers manifested. Unlike some alters, Cyrus is not frozen in time at a sensitive age, instead growing as Simon has, because they identify as twins. His dual roles in their lives are the manager and the protector, and among his duties are running errands and doing chores and ensuring that Simon doesn’t succumb to the darkness, no matter how much additional time “out” this would give Cyrus. They are a unit, and he considers Simon his other half. He was more skilled at their power training, and they primarily graduated because he was the one to take their clearance tests. Because of this, and how he does not shy away from their potential, his empathy is fully formed and he is capable of manipulating emotions as well as feeling them vicariously, like a normal empath. His telepathy is receptive only, a natural limitation of their powers. His shielding, unlike his brother’s, is excellent. Because he was not able to pursue a degree on his own, he can double for Simon during difficult days but is not qualified to hold a job in his own name, not that their split time would allow for this. He tells people that he is a life coach if they ask, which is close to the truth if not completely honest. Cyrus’s voice is a hair deeper than Simon’s and he speaks with a Standard American accent rather than a regional one like his twin. His posture is perfect, and he never fails to make eye contact or reach out for physical contact when socially appropriate.
Cyrus is extroverted, charismatic, and caring, who is equally at home in the limelight as he is sitting in the corner silently observing other people and commitment their every word and action and preference to his exceptionally strong memory. He enjoys baking as one of his primary hobbies, and is always the life of the party wherever he goes, making friends as easily as leaving a lasting impression. Despite this, he is more of a caretaker than the love them and leave them stereotype one might expression.
Family: Cyrus refers to Simon’s family as his own, although they would deny any knowledge of him. For more difficult visits, he is the one to emerge, and the other Ettingers are none the wiser.
Friends: Between his clean bill of mental health and his extroversion, friends flock to Cyrus from all walks of life. He doesn’t care about age constraints as long as a person is a legal adult, although they do tend to skew more towards his age, in part because of his propensity for flirtation. Some of his hobbies include playing tennis and racquetball, dancing at clubs, the aforementioned baking, LARP and table top roleplay, and, recently, he and James Fawcett have been looking to start a band. Cyrus plays the violin and can sing well enough; sometimes he does karaoke at clubs for that reason, but the band is more fun.
Current friends: James Fawcett (also a band mate)
Lovers[/I]: Like his brother, Cyrus identifies as bisexual and biromantic for convenience, but he is exclusively attracted to men (cis and trans alike). His love life has been more successful over the years, skewing their body’s track record towards men since college. He is more open to casual encounters than Simon and flirts, but he is a devoted boyfriend and he has his eye on someone. James Fawcett is so very intriguing, and such fun to be around. Their flirtation is more serious, although his friend seems oblivious. But Cyrus is willing to wait to see what comes to pass.
Students: Cyrus does not have students as such but because he fills in for Simon from time to time, he is familiar with several of them. They think he is his brother which has its drawbacks.
Current Students: Chalina Noriega (demon hunter); Elias Weber (has a crush and is in for a world of confusion and disappointment).
Enemies: Homophobes, people uncomfortable with psychic powers, anti-Semites, people who insist on vegan substitutions when baking, people who hold stereotypes about mental illness, Trump supporters.
Neighbors: Simon and Cyrus reside in a two-bedroom apartment in Ridgeview Heights. Cyrus has made a lot of friends with neighbors which bring them by from time to time, and he also drops off baked goods for birthdays or if someone mentions having a bad day. Additionally, he is a friend to all house pets and knows far more about his neighbors’ lives than they realize.
For either Ettinger brother, all other plots are welcome. I’m always up for plotting and posting. Regarding posts, I try to reply quickly, and I do not believe in matching rules or word counts.
Their situation is that they share a body, which contains their different personalities and minds and trades off between them as scheduled or as needed. Simon is the one who was born and thus the only one who exists as far as government paperwork is concerned. He also more readily fades into the background, eclipsed by Cyrus’s larger personality. Simon also is the one who has the day job, while Cyrus spends his time focused on social life and maintaining the daily tasks for the two of them, as errands are more draining for Simon than they are for Cyrus. Neither of them is interested in integration as an end goal.
For the purposes of this plotter, I will do each brother separately, and replies should tag either Simon or Cyrus. I am open to threads of all stripes with these characters from serious to mentoring to shenanigans, with a note that most of Simon’s threads will have the potential for either depression or possible suicide ideation and will be tagged appropriately.
To begin with Simon: He was born in Cleveland, Ohio and was a student at Hammel during late 1990s and early 2000s after his powers manifested. In his own words, he is nobody remarkable and in his darker moments, he believes that the wrong one of them has control of their body, a sentiment he doesn’t share with anyone, not even his therapist. After graduating from Hammel in 2003, he went to college and studied biology before pursuing a teaching degree. He has taught biology at a few different schools, finally settling at Hammel a couple of years ago. His powers consist of receptive empathy and receptive telepathy, meaning that he can feel other people’s emotions and hear their thoughts but is incapable of broadcasting his own, leaving him largely captive to the mercurial shifts in other people and which contribute to his feelings of passively going along for the ride. Simon slouches, mumbles, struggles to make eye contact outside of the classroom, and speaks with a Cleveland accent to which he is wholly oblivious.
In addition to the secret diagnosis of DID, Simon suffers from chronic Major Depressive Disorder which he manages between therapy sessions, medication, and attempts at self-care that range from nostalgic television to isolating in his apartment to sleeping too long to comfort foods that do nothing for his blood pressure or his cholesterol.
Family: Simon’s family still lives in Ohio and consists of his parents, his older sister, her husband, and their two children, neither of whom has shown any sign of manifesting. And some extended family as well. He is the only meta-human in his family thus far, and they don’t understand the ins and outs of psychic powers any better than they understand mental illness as more than an alien concept. As a result, he only travels to the Midwest occasionally for major family events, such as a Bar Mitzvah or school graduation, or if the holidays cannot be avoided.
Friends: Friend are difficult for Simon, not because he is grouchy or unpleasant, but because of his depression and introversion and the time constraints of sharing a body with Cyrus. Considering how many hours of the day are devoted to teaching or lesson plans and grading, he doesn’t have many left over for pursuing friendships. However, he is amenable to a patient person whose idea of fun involves eating pizza and watching movies together in silence, bird watching or stargazing in silence, or playing non-violent video games largely in silence and without gloating.
Current friends: James Fawcett
Lovers: Simon and Cyrus identify to the world as bisexual and biromantic because of their split orientations, but the fact is that Simon is completely straight. He is attracted to women, cis and trans, but his dating history is patchy because of his mental health, unique situation, and the shyness that results from that combination. He has not dated since moving back to Pilot Ridge but if a woman is patient and nerdy enough, he is amenable, as long as she can accept that while he is monogamous, Cyrus has a dating life of his own (and will be partnered soon).
Students: Despite his myriad complications, Simon is a dedicated teacher, knowledgeable in his field and devoted to helping the students. He is best able to hide his depression in the classroom, disguising it more as social awkwardness than anything else. He likes to incorporate nature into his lessons when applicable, and also tries to relate powers and genetics to keep the students’ attention. However, because of the mood shifts, there is also a rumor started by Chalina Noriega that he is demon possessed.
Current Students: Chalina Noriega (demon hunter); Elias Weber (has a crush and is in for a world of confusion and disappointment).
Coworkers: Simon, while not the newest hire, has only been at Hammel for a couple of years in a faculty capacity. Any teacher or staff member from his student years will be unsurprised to find how little has changed during the intervening decade and a half. Or rather somewhat surprised because during his student years, he and Cyrus traded off more randomly and Cyrus’s presence was mistaken as his good, more engaging days. Not he is permanently more isolated. He doesn’t often engage in staff commiseration about students and his sole contribution to the staff lounge is refreshing the coffee pot like clockwork when he comes in. His shielding is mediocre to the chagrin of other psychics.
Enemies: Again, Chalina Noriega is convinced that he is demon possessed and is telling the world.
Neighbors: Simon and Cyrus reside in a two-bedroom apartment in Ridgeview Heights. Cyrus has made a lot of friends with neighbors which bring them by from time to time, and Simon can be called upon to help with minor repairs when the heat goes out or someone’s car won’t start once the cold weather begins. Each brother maintains his own bedroom and personal space.
Therapist: Simon regularly sees a therapist for his depression, and if you play a mental health professional not affiliated with the Hammel Institute, I would be interested in establishing this patient-therapist relationship.
Moving on to Cyrus: It would surprise many people to learn that Cyrus is not the dominant personality but instead an alter willed into being by Simon when his powers manifested. Unlike some alters, Cyrus is not frozen in time at a sensitive age, instead growing as Simon has, because they identify as twins. His dual roles in their lives are the manager and the protector, and among his duties are running errands and doing chores and ensuring that Simon doesn’t succumb to the darkness, no matter how much additional time “out” this would give Cyrus. They are a unit, and he considers Simon his other half. He was more skilled at their power training, and they primarily graduated because he was the one to take their clearance tests. Because of this, and how he does not shy away from their potential, his empathy is fully formed and he is capable of manipulating emotions as well as feeling them vicariously, like a normal empath. His telepathy is receptive only, a natural limitation of their powers. His shielding, unlike his brother’s, is excellent. Because he was not able to pursue a degree on his own, he can double for Simon during difficult days but is not qualified to hold a job in his own name, not that their split time would allow for this. He tells people that he is a life coach if they ask, which is close to the truth if not completely honest. Cyrus’s voice is a hair deeper than Simon’s and he speaks with a Standard American accent rather than a regional one like his twin. His posture is perfect, and he never fails to make eye contact or reach out for physical contact when socially appropriate.
Cyrus is extroverted, charismatic, and caring, who is equally at home in the limelight as he is sitting in the corner silently observing other people and commitment their every word and action and preference to his exceptionally strong memory. He enjoys baking as one of his primary hobbies, and is always the life of the party wherever he goes, making friends as easily as leaving a lasting impression. Despite this, he is more of a caretaker than the love them and leave them stereotype one might expression.
Family: Cyrus refers to Simon’s family as his own, although they would deny any knowledge of him. For more difficult visits, he is the one to emerge, and the other Ettingers are none the wiser.
Friends: Between his clean bill of mental health and his extroversion, friends flock to Cyrus from all walks of life. He doesn’t care about age constraints as long as a person is a legal adult, although they do tend to skew more towards his age, in part because of his propensity for flirtation. Some of his hobbies include playing tennis and racquetball, dancing at clubs, the aforementioned baking, LARP and table top roleplay, and, recently, he and James Fawcett have been looking to start a band. Cyrus plays the violin and can sing well enough; sometimes he does karaoke at clubs for that reason, but the band is more fun.
Current friends: James Fawcett (also a band mate)
Lovers[/I]: Like his brother, Cyrus identifies as bisexual and biromantic for convenience, but he is exclusively attracted to men (cis and trans alike). His love life has been more successful over the years, skewing their body’s track record towards men since college. He is more open to casual encounters than Simon and flirts, but he is a devoted boyfriend and he has his eye on someone. James Fawcett is so very intriguing, and such fun to be around. Their flirtation is more serious, although his friend seems oblivious. But Cyrus is willing to wait to see what comes to pass.
Students: Cyrus does not have students as such but because he fills in for Simon from time to time, he is familiar with several of them. They think he is his brother which has its drawbacks.
Current Students: Chalina Noriega (demon hunter); Elias Weber (has a crush and is in for a world of confusion and disappointment).
Enemies: Homophobes, people uncomfortable with psychic powers, anti-Semites, people who insist on vegan substitutions when baking, people who hold stereotypes about mental illness, Trump supporters.
Neighbors: Simon and Cyrus reside in a two-bedroom apartment in Ridgeview Heights. Cyrus has made a lot of friends with neighbors which bring them by from time to time, and he also drops off baked goods for birthdays or if someone mentions having a bad day. Additionally, he is a friend to all house pets and knows far more about his neighbors’ lives than they realize.
For either Ettinger brother, all other plots are welcome. I’m always up for plotting and posting. Regarding posts, I try to reply quickly, and I do not believe in matching rules or word counts.
