Philomela Towerbird

Philomela Towerbird is a 2017 introduced and all-around character. Philomela is destined to fill the role of the nameless princess in a tower from The Canary Prince, written by Italo Calvino. Largely due to her nihilistic attitude and upbringing, Philomela sides with the Royals in the destiny debate, unable to see what rebelling will actually achieve.

Personality
Philomela is a very wistful girl. She can often be found in a pensive mood, melancholically minding her own business and keeping to herself. As sad it is, Philomela is a sad person but seems at peace with that, accepting that this is how, she supposes, her life is meant to be.

Because she dislikes making a scene and shaking the boat, Philomela is likely to go along with other people and the status quo, even if that means she’s less than happy. In times where this isn’t the case, like her love life, Philomela will keep her actions quiet and small, not wanting to be seen breaking that norm (and hence ‘upsetting’ people). When confronted, she tends to react “like a canary in a coal mine”, freezing, crying and becoming overwhelmed.

Philomela can be described as somewhat of a nihilist, but this can be tied more to her depressive mindset than anything else. She chooses not to side with the rebels and fails to see what it will change in the long term, which only becomes reaffirmed after the events of Dragon Games and Epic Winter.

She is a naturally introverted person and is definitely not against the idea of spending an undisclosed period of time in a tower. She loves reading and finds that imaginary worlds keep her company just fine (they are much quieter than other people too, which is a bonus). The only drawback to her tower life is that it prevents her going outside. While she loves quiet, the serenity of a forest is the perfect kind of quiet for her, though she has barely witnessed it in person. You're likely to find her in the Enchanted Forest of Ever After High, up a tree, reading.

Hobbies
A vast majority of Philomela’s hobbies are things she can do from the confines of her tower room. She spends a large amount of her time reading and studying, drawing, and playing her flute, all of which she enjoys just fine. She will also admit to enjoying reality TV a lot more than she would like to admit.

She enjoys the family camping trips the Prince and Towerbird family would often take together as she loves the outside, though she wouldn't consider camping a hobby. Philomela just enjoys walking in the outdoors.

Abilities
Philomela is a well-educated girl who has a knack for furthering said education. She enjoys reading and is easily able to retain a wide range of facts and figures.

Most notable is her studying of several languages. She is able to speak Italian, Korean, as taught to her by her parents. She learned sign language and English from a tutor, reading books and dictionaries about these languages in her spare time, and taught herself French in a similar manner.

She is also artistically inclined and plays the flute to a high level, having been practicing since she was a small child.

Appearance
Philomela has pale skin which flushes easily. Her hair is fine and black, which she usually wears pushes behind her ears and in front of her shoulders. She has large monolid eyes which are brown in colour. Due to how easily she blushes, she nearly always looks like she is about to cry. which isn't far from the truth

Fairy Tale – The Canary Prince

 * Main Article: The Canary Prince

How does Philomela fit into it?
The Canary Prince is a fairly recent fairytale, published in the 50s, resulting a family that is very determined to see their story last and, hence, one that puts a lot of pressure on their only daughter.

Philomela doesn't have any strong feelings about the story herself. Her problem resides in the relationship she is expected to have with Canary Prince, who she does not love in the manner she is supposed to. This would be manageable, but her family expectation (especially while being surrounded by another successful relationship) has turned Philomela completely off her destiny while she is simultaneously unable to see a way to resolve the situation.

Family
When not attending Ever After High, Philomela lives in a 'ruined' castle with her mother and father. They are genuinely kind and loving people, just ones who put their own interests first. They encourage Philomela, arguably to an uncomfortable degree for her, and only want to see her be the best that she can be.

Still, her relationship with her parents is distant, both physically and emotionally. Physically, she was put in a high tower from a young age, hoping to get her used to that situation, and Philomela wasn't totally unhappy with being left to her own devices in the tower room. Emotionally, while loving, her parents can shut down Philomela in favour of encouraging her to do things they think would be best. For example, when Philomela saw Canary go into the scouts as a child Philomela also asked to join, keen to spend time with her friend. Her parents were quick to label it 'inappropriate' and rush her along to flute practice, thinking it more beneficial. Over years this has led to her becoming 'sneaky', as she would rather avoid her parents and do the thing she wants to do anyway, even if such makes her feel guilty.

Friends
Philomela doesn't have many friends. She could, if she wanted, but as an introverted girl who doesn't entirely mind tower life, only having a few friends suits her just fine.

Canary Prince is Philomela's closest friend, without a doubt. The two grew up together and came to see the other like a sibling, despite their 'dating' status. They both care for the other a great deal and would hate to see anything bad happen to the other, which is part of the reason their relationship is the way it is: a mess.

Still, they enjoy being each others space (despite the mess of books Philomela leaves behind her) and are very supportive of the other's endeavors. She finds Canary's photography great and hopes he pursues it seriously in the future, though perhaps without her being the subject so often.

Philomela wishes she was closer to Opaline Glass but finds herself jealous a lot of the time they are together. They used to be close as kids, but Philomela distanced herself after seeing how easily Opaline fell into a relationship with Obsidian Tunnel. That being said, the girls don't have dissimilar destinies and do get along. Opaline is considerably more practical than the other people in Philomela's life and has been known to call her out for her less than stellar behavior in the past.

Obsidian falls into a similar position as Opaline. They used to be close but aren't as close as they were, though things seem to be on the mend now. Obsidian is good at holding a conversation and is pretty extroverted himself, which means conversation flows well between the two of them.

As a group, the four hung out as children and grew up in close proximity. They can all play an instrument or sing and it wasn't uncommon for them to perform for their families when they were younger.

Romance
As mentioned several times, Canary Prince is Philomela's destined husband and current boyfriend, though neither of them enjoy that fact. Philomela is hopelessly desperate to love Canary but such is not the case, a fact which results in a lot of guilt. Their relationship is filled with empty kisses and "I love you"s that are meant to convince the speaker and not the recipient.

Philomela has been known to date other people on the side to try and fulfill her romantic needs but considering the further guilt this produces, she is often quick to dump them and go back to her 'relationship' with Canary.

This is not something that has been healthily acknowledged in their relationship, as Canary has only ever provided comfort when these romantic endeavors have failed, telling her that "It's not right, but it's okay.".

Outfits
{| border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" class="article-table" style="float: left; width: 700px;" ! scope="col"|Art ! scope="col"|Doll Line

Signature - Royals
Philomela's signature dress is a light grey dress with poofy sleeves, featuring several details at the bust, which is sequined, and netting around the waist. Though usually hidden by hair, her dress collar has a line of pearls and white feathers.

Her lower arms are covered by bandages which are in turn partly covered by grey arm/wrist cuffs. Her tights are a transparent white with solid white 'brick' details.

Philomela's shoes are white featuring heels that look like bird cages, not dissimilar to the small one she wears attached to a mini-crown. Said mini-crown is fashioned after a birdcage headpiece, so her crown features similar white netting hanging to the left of her head. She carries an over the shoulder bag in the shape of a book.
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All of the above art (c) me.

Class-ic Schedule
TBA

Trivia

 * Philomela was named after the Philomela in Greek mythology. This is not because she turns into a bird, like the original Philomela, but because people in her surroundings do.