Tilly the Tarsier

Tiny voice. Big ears. Bigger gossip. Palo Miki’s one-woman radio show with a view and an opinion on everything.

Species & Role

Species: Tarsier (Carlito syrichta)

Role: Radio host, island gossip guru, and round-the-clock broadcaster of Tilly’s Tower Radio. She’s the eyes, ears, and fast-talking commentary perched high above the treetops.

Visual Signature

• Enormous Amber Eyes: Wide, expressive, and somehow always watching. Nobody escapes her view.
• Headset Mic: A vintage radio mic rig welded to her ear by Skye, patched together with copper wire and sea glass.
• Treetop Chic: Off-shoulder island hoodie with thumb holes, paired with noisy charm bracelets made from shell chips and keyboard keys.
• Treehouse Throne: She’s rarely seen outside her radio nest—a bustling canopy studio cluttered with coconut-powered monitors and squirrel couriers.

Primary Hangout

Tilly’s Tower: A giant treehouse built into the tallest tree on the island. It’s equal parts radio station, jungle newsroom, and chaotic hideout, complete with vines rigged as a zipline escape route.

Personality

Hyperverbal. Curious. Fiercely intelligent beneath the chatter. Tilly is the island’s self-proclaimed news source, morale booster, and emergency alarm system. She talks fast, thinks faster, and has a flair for drama (on air and off). She’s nosy, yes but also deeply compassionate, and weirdly clairvoyant at times.

Backstory

Tilly grew up on a mainland talk show set as the daughter of two competitive news anchors. She quit journalism school after a scandal involving a teleprompter prank and stowed away on a fishing boat headed south. Palo Miki welcomed her, and she claimed the tallest tree before anyone else could say “quiet zone.”

Philosophy

“If it happens and no one talks about it, did it really happen?”

Tilly believes stories make the world go ‘round. She doesn’t see herself as a gossip, she’s a “narrative facilitator.” To her, transparency is love, and the mic is her service weapon.

Catchphrases

• “This is Tilly, truth with a twist!”
• “Mic’s hot, so don’t lie to me.”
• “It’s not eavesdropping, it’s immersive journalism.”
• “Big ears, big heart, big facts.”

Key Relationships

• Phil: She’s always trying to bait him into giving a soundbite. He never gives her a straight answer, and she loves it.
• Capy: Tilly knows exactly which stories not to air. Capy calls her “Muzzle,” but it’s affectionate. Mostly.
• Skye: Tech soulmates. Skye built her squirrel-powered transmission network. They trade blueprints for rumors.
• Gus: He’s her background DJ during late-night shows. Tilly calls his music “midnight honey.”
• Auntie Mo: Tilly calls her once a week on-air for “Mo-Ments of Zen.” They’re the most downloaded segments.
• Lobes: She desperately wants an exclusive with him. Still waiting.

Hidden Depth

Behind the chatter, Tilly’s voice is a coping mechanism. She’s afraid of silence not just physically, but emotionally. Her treehouse is rigged with windchimes, squirrel bells, and humming wires. Still, sometimes late at night, she turns everything off... just to hear the island breathe.

She keeps a secret diary of stories she’s never aired, tales too soft, too sad, or too real. She calls it “The Echo Edition.”