OOC
GAME: Happily Ever After, Inc
DESCRIPTION: Nursery crime game based on Jasper Fforde's Jack Spratt series.
DATE: May 2009
PB: January Jones
JOURNAL: prudentia
IC
NAME: Prudence Goodwin
AGE & BIRTHDAY: 25 / September 22, 1983 (VIRGO).
PROFESSION: Employee at Happily Ever After, Inc. And not just any employee, Prudence is the model employee: a consummate workaholic and perfectionist. Her files on each of the nursery rhymes are in impeccable (alphabetised) order, and she's always making phone calls to make sure all of the circumstances are stacked up properly, making minute changes to ensure proper nursery working order. If a rhyme calls in with a problem, she falls over herself to fix it and make sure their day runs smoothly. If a fan calls in with a complaint, she possesses a willing ear and a perfectly professional attitude (while she's simultaneously covering her casefile with scathing red ink).
FAMILY:
Ernest Goodwin, father. Doctor.
Faith Goodwin, mother.
Temperance (23) and Grace (22), younger sisters.
HISTORY: Out of the three Goodwin girls, Prudence was the only one who lived up to her name — this is directly correlational to her role as the firstborn. While growing up, she operated more like a mini-mother to Temperance and Grace rather than an older sister; she was more likely to scold them for antics gone wrong rather than conspire with them, but as they all grew up, she eventually grew into the role of confidante, wailing wall, and source of comfort. In a household of rambunctious (Temperance) and overly-curious (Grace) girls, the eldest came across as the most prudent and level-headed. She shouldered all sorts of responsibilities and duties simply so that her younger sisters wouldn't have to — which, of course, only enabled the other girls' behaviour, since they had someone else to pick up their messes and bail them out of trouble. Prudence, on the other hand, spent her time living up to Faith and Ernest's most decidedly practical and dependable mentality.
And after the family already had one model child, it was easier for the others to act out — particularly whenever they failed to measure up to that awfully high (—and neurotic) standard set by Prudence. She spent her schooldays involved in a slew of extracurricular activities (from piano to violin to dancing, and she still keeps up with the latter), and aced her A-levels. And only had three breakdowns while doing so, too! Being raised in Reading, it seemed only natural for her to gravitate towards Happily Inc after graduation, despite Ernest still holding out a vague hope that his eldest daughter would join him in medicine.
But in fact, taking care of the nursery rhymes turned out to be the perfect job for Prudence. She was well-accustomed to a topsy-turvy household with noisy and unruly children — so what else could Reading toss at her, honestly? She settled right into her role as company den mother, and discovered that she even rather enjoyed keeping tabs on other people and making sure they behaved according to their preset roles. Again: it was the ideal job. That was about four years ago. She's still working there, and by now, she's honed her routines and techniques to a T — and even made a few friends along the way.
ROMANTIC HISTORY: Prudence is the incurable pragmatist to her best friend Nora's romanticism. She constantly balances out any and and all idealism with a few hefty dollops of… well, a very boring attitude about love. She doesn't believe in it. Prudence believes in convenience and practicality, and she knows exactly what's coming to her: she will find herself a resourceful man with stable career prospects, marry at age 30 on the dot (and not a minute sooner!), then experience 40 subsequent years of contented marriage, and raise 2.5 well-behaved children. With that in mind, she's only had a few relationships since she's incredibly picky about her choices; most of them last approximately six to eight months, then eventually combust in an inevitable conflict of interests between Prudence and the poor men. It's a bit unnerving to discover that, three dates in, she's already charted the likely progress of your entire relationship into her agenda and when she's willing to let you into her bedroom.
That said, there is always an exception to every rule.
FIRST IMPRESSION: "Who does she think she is? My mother?"
PERSONALITY: Prudence Goodwin occupies the very definition of "resourceful" — look up the word in the dictionary, and you'll find an illustration of Prudence Goodwin jotting recipes into an alphabetised notebook. She possesses a demure housewifely demeanour and a careful attention to detail, and despite being raised in the 80s and 90s, she still seems a bit of an antiquated relic of the nuclear 50s. Very well-rounded and down-to-earth, Prudence possesses an even keel and is always the one with the tissues and band-aids ready whenever calamity strikes. With her level-headed, pragmatic, and responsible attitude, she's practically the poster-child for sense and sensibility.
Her personality is as steady as her hands are, and the woman's always trying to avoid the biggest, well, badness for her family. Prudence can get very, very, very uncomfortable with Big Problems, and doesn't quite like talking about them — "That isn't very pleasant. Could we please change the subject?" And while she can always logically assess the most rational and healthy option for action, she can be deeply unhappy whenever she has to choose between people — she hates playing favourites, hates making a person feel inconvenienced or disappointed, and she cannot ever, ever choose between duelling social obligations. And so more often than not, she'll just… stay home. Or doggedly go with the first person who proposed an outing with her. She's fiercely polite and wouldn't dream of insulting someone or making waves.
But while she can be very friendly, she is also largely characterised by her capability and professionalism — Prudence might be unfailingly polite on the phone, but she refuses to let people step all over her, and in particular, she helps stand up for Nora whenever possible. She always gently cushions her best friend her whenever her latest Prince Charming doesn't work out.
Being the perennial elder sister, she hates, hates, hates it when people are being stubborn or can't see her way in things — because her way is, of course, as always, the sensible one! Ahem. At such times, Prudence is more than capable of losing her temper; when angry, she has a tendency to treat others (even her elders!) as if they're misbehaving children. At her worst, she can be be condescending and distinctly talk down to others, laying out the entire situation and patronisingly over-simplifying it, like the most overbearing of mothers. She takes a personal interest in most of the company's nursery rhyme charges, particularly after the Muffet murders, and instinctively treats some of them like her own wayward children or younger siblings. As hinted by her name, she has the unending patience of a fuse a mile long.
Prudence also constantly holds herself to a strict and exacting standard. She almost always meets her own (and others') harsh expectations, but on the flipside, will practically fall apart if she fails them. She can obsess over the most quotidian details in an effort to make all of her work perfect, and so failure can, unfortunately, send her into anxiety attacks and nervous breakdowns.
APPEARANCE: A light strawberry blonde with pale skin and blue eyes, Prudence honestly looks like the classic Hitchcock female. Her hair is naturally wavy, and she keeps it around shoulder-length. She dresses conservatively and uses sparing makeup; her main concession is a vivid red lipstick, and the occasional pearl necklace to offset her admittedly-rather-bland clothing. Both her appearance and her personality convey an unusual mixture of fragility and severity; with her delicate features and vulnerable feminine looks, Prudence looks immensely breakable, but a few extended conversations with the woman reveals that she's anything but. Even when she's looking perfectly coiffed and smiling politely, it's quite likely that she's gritting her teeth somewhere inside and looming on the verge of an OCD explosion.
PLAYED-BY: January Jones
WRITING SAMPLE: Possibly recipes to try after work today:
1) Blueberry crumble,
2) Apple tart,
3) Chocolate and cream cheese brownies,
4) "Apple pie cake thingy".
I'm still taking other suggestions, if you have any. If it sounds delicious enough and I end up making it, you're welcome to have a few samples for free! Office colleagues get priority, but I'm sure I can make time for the rest of you. :)
WOULD YOU BE WILLING TO HAVE YOUR CHARACTER DIE IN A PLOT? As usual, yesssss, though I see less ~compelling reason~ for Pru to get offed. :D
IS THERE ANY EVENT YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE THAT WOULD HELP WITH YOUR CHARACTER'S DEVELOPMENT? I WANT HER TO HAVE A WHIRLWIND DAREDEVIL ROMANCE TO BREAK ALL OF HER OLD HABITS. :'( oh, and tons and tons and tons of sisterly and coworker interactions, of course. :>
CONCEPT BLURB
PRUDENCE GOODWIN: AGE TWENTY-FIVE. Prudence Goodwin lives up to her name. The entire Goodwin family have lofty names Faith and Ernest called their three daughters Temperance, Prudence, and Grace and of the three children only one has lived up to their name. Temperance is not good at restraint of any sort, and Grace is far from graceful, but Prudence is careful, sensible and resourceful. Prudence is one of Happily Inc’s model employees - she tries her best to get along with everyone. Prudence doesn’t like to play favorites but it’s clear to most people at Happily Inc that her best ‘office friend’ is Nora Wood. The two women always seem to lunch together.
