Harlow's abilities have never really risked her exposure, for they are far too easy to hide. They come and go with those she encounters, as she 'steals' the abilities of others. She need only be in generally close proximity to replicate another's abilities, although accessing them through touch tends to allow her a longer amount of time to use them, as increased exposure to the source inevitably results in a greater possession of it. Her access to powers tends to vary in time, sometimes lingering for a week, sometimes a couple hours, sometimes only several minutes. Regardless, she appreciates the boost. What she does not appreciate, however, is the clairempathetic abilities that sometimes come along with the abilities. When she picks up powers, she sometimes unwittingly stumbles into the psyches of those she is 'stealing' from, peeking into their memories or thoughts. A side effect of this is sometimes picking up their fears, or insecurities, or even aspects of their personalities for varying amounts of time. More often than not, these side effects disappear when the powers do, but other times, they linger around for a little longer. Rarer still, psychic connections are formed, giving her random bursts of access into the mind of whom she stole from in the past, but also opening the door the opposite way, bringing the occasional unwelcome visitor into her mind as well.

Harlow is... selfish. She's a woman born and raised in a world of self-prioritisation. She is animalistic in the most elegant of senses, her survival instinct portraying itself as cleverness and shrewdness, rather than beastliness and ferocity. She has yet to be in a predicament that she has not planned ahead for, so organised is she in maintaining her own welfare. The only thing that sometimes puts it at risk is her pride- something that even she, as determined to live as she is, will never put on the line.

This tendency to put herself first sometimes, perhaps even often, leaks into Harlow's capacity for kindness. She is not incapable of empathy (her powers give her no choice in the matter) but she is something arguable worse: she understands how other people feel- she just doesn't care. At least, she doesn't care enough to risk herself. She is brutal in much of what she does, which is what makes her such a brilliant lawyer- she takes no prisoners, and mercilessly cuts down whomever she must to reach her goal.

Harlow would argue that she's better than other villains in this sense- she does not excuse her bad behaviours with tragic back stories or vendettas that must be fulfilled- she knows that she is far from a good person, at least in the socially acceptable sense, and she has come to terms with it without excuses.

That isn't to say she doesn't have moments of softness. But they are few and far between, sealed beneath the cutthroat lawyer exterior, and the icy smirk, and the condescending snark that oh so often spills from her lips. Her biting intelligence comes forth in bouts of pettiness, which only occasionally distract her from her overarching purposes. She's only human, after all, and even she receives satisfaction from overcoming others, and getting the last word.

In fact, she rarely accepts anything less.

It's ironic, almost, that Harlow is at her most humane after committing her most inhuman actions- her powers, which enforce upon her the traits of others, leave her expressing things she would not otherwise. For a brief moment, she is soft, expressing inner feelings she would otherwise mask, or felicitous, eagerly expressing delight at things she would otherwise snidely dismiss.

Suffice to say, she hates this element of her abilities.

Harlow began her life enveloped by privilege. Her parents, Eugene and Jane Ford, supplied her with a life of luxury, as some of the country's most in demand surgeons in their respective fields. Despite their material prosperity, however, there was little warmth beyond that among the Ford family members. Eugene and Jane's marriage has long since felt more like obligation to their respective images and values that something built from genuine love and intimacy, and Harlow's own relationship with her parents always felt dependent on her successes. She grew up with a constantly rising standard, and as a result, has grown to become a dangerously dissatisfied perfectionist. She was put on a pedestal from birth, whilst at the same time lived with constant fear of everything being pulled out from underneath her. The disappointment of her parents was a threat forever looming, and their refusal to accept anything but the best from their daughter arguably led to her intense success... as well as her self-obsession and deep-set resentment.

Despite her parents' insistence on her improvable, it's decidedly hard to say such a thing was even possible for Harlow, considering how, throughout her school years, she consistently ranked top of the class. From her youth, she exhibited a natural acumen, and a natural brilliance that enamoured professors and had many an Ivy League university throwing scholarships her way.

Studying law was not quite a rebellion against her parents- although they expected her to follow them into the field of medicine, they considered a lawyer to be an equally acceptable position, although even now they are reluctant to compliment Harlow on her success. Instead, they as always search for weaknesses, adding to a biting insecurity that only parents can set in place.

Her true rebellion came with her abilities, as she discovered them at fifteen, when she made physical contact with a fellow student, and accidentally picked up their mind-reading abilities. Naturally, this was an alarming experience, and, for a brief moment, Harlow figured that her parental pressures had finally broken her. However, upon realising the extent of her abilities, she came to revel in them. They gave her an escape, a rush of freedom that she'd spent her lifetime yearning for without hope of achieving. She has found that she enjoys her privileged life, and of being not a good lawyer, but the best lawyer, but inciting chaos ignites something within her- something she never got to experience in her carefully planned out childhood. And she's addicted to the feeling.