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maya-chirps · 9 months

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Simbang Gabi: The 9 Days Before Christmas

An image of a red parol from Peakpx.com

The Philippines is well-known for its extremely long Christmas celebration that a lot of foreigners often look at with confusion. Traditionally, Filipinos may start putting up their trees, playing festive songs, and counting down to the 25th as early as September in a season that's colloquially called the "ber months" or the "ber months season" (Petrelli, 2021). This period often lasts up until January or February where some houses may still keep their trees and decor pushing as far as March.

Even with this technicality, however, you'd be hard-pressed to find Filipinos truly celebrating from the very beginning of September genuinely ending it by the end of February. Most often, actual celebrations start after Undas, a period encompassing All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day on the 1st and 2nd of November respectively to commemorate the dead, similar but a lot more subtle than other Catholic countries own Day of the Dead like in Mexico's Dia de Los Muertos and Italy's Giorno dei Morti. This time period is often the start of people doing more Christmas-y things such as Kris Kringle activities leading up to the main Christmas party.

The main markers of the true start in itself is the Advent season, which starts on the Sunday nearest to the 30th in Western Churches like Roman Catholicism and leads up to Christmas ("Advent", n.d.). This is where Catholics would go to Church every Sunday leading up to Christmas to light the Advent Wreath until the final candle on its center on Christmas day on the 25th. As the Philippines is heavily influenced by Roman Catholicism, Filipinos follow the Western start of Advent and most celebrations often fall in the middle of this time period. Even the middle of Advent, however, Filipinos have a waiting period to count down before Christmas - Simbang Gabi.

What is Simbang Gabi?

Simbang Gabi (en. night mass; going to mass at night) is a Philippine Christmas tradition wherein Roman Catholic Filipinos would attend mass nine days every single morning or night before the actual Christmas celebration. Traditionally, the masses were held every morning at 4:00 AM from the 16th to the 24th which would then be capped off by Christmas Eve Mass at night or Christmas Mass on the 25th with its early schedule earning it the name Misa de Gallo (en. mass of the rooster) (Lazaro, 2020). In most dioceses, however, they often have an anticipated mass schedule that start a night earlier than the morning masses (Hermoso, 2022).

Besides being called Misa de Gallo, I had also heard the celebration being called Misa de Aguinaldo (en. mass of gifts) in some places. This shares the same name as the similar Puerto Rican tradition Misa de Aguinaldo which is also a nine-day mass held in the morning, typically at 5:00 AM which is also deeply-rooted in Puerto Rican Christmas traditions (Álvarez, 2018).

History

A vintage greeting card posted by the Facebook group Vintage Philippine Islands 1920-1959 (2020)

Being a Christmas tradition, it is not surprising that Simbang Gabi could trace itself back to the Spanish colonial period.

A common misconception of its origins states that the practice first started in Mexico. Hermoso (2018) states that it started on the year 1587 by Friar Diego de Soria of the Convent of San Agustin Acolman when he requested the Vatican to allow church service to be held outdoors because of an overflow of attendees during the Christmas time. Pope Sixtus V later approved of this request and even decreed that these kinds of masses be held in the Philippines at the dawn of the 16th of December. What this doesn't account for was that the practice of going to church for the Eve of Christmas dates back to even earlier than the 16th century.

The cover for an English translation and compilation of Etheria's writings by M.L. McClure and C.L. Feltoe, D.D. (1919)

The first recorded instance of Christians celebrating Christmas by going to early mass leading up to the actual date was first written by Egeria (also called Egeriae, Etheria, or Aetheria), a Christian Galician woman who first recorded it during her travels to the Levant where she notes the early morning masses and festivities from the time of the Epiphany to the Nativity. She writes in her letters later called the Itinerarium Egeriae (en. The Travel Guide of Egeria; The Pilgrimage of Etheria).

"Octave of the Festival. On the second day also they proceed in like manner to the church in Golgotha, and also on the third day; thus the feast is celebrated with all this joyfulness for three days up to the sixth hour in the church built by Constantine (...) And in Bethlehem also throughout the entire eight days the feast is celebrated with similar festal array and joyfulness daily by the priests and by all the clergy there, and by the monks who are appointed in that place (...) and immense crowds, not of monks only, but also of the laity, both men and women, flock together to Jerusalem from every quarter for the solemn and joyous observance of that day." - Egeria, 381-384; The Pilgrimage of Etheria (trans. McClure & Feltoe, 1919):

The practice of attending early morning masses up until the main festivities of the Nativity was later adopted by more Western Christian communties during the time of Pope Sixtus III when he celebrated what is widely considered the first Midnight Mass at the Basilica of St. Mary Major in Rome, not only stemming from the popularity of the Christians from Jerusalem but also the popular belief that Jesus was born at midnight (The Pillar, 2021).

The prayer spoken within the midnight vigil was then called the "mox ut gallus cantaverit" which translates to "when the rooster crows", aptly named because of the early hours the vigil tended to last which then coincided with the crowing of roosters ("Misa del Gallo: origen, historia y por qué se celebra en la madrugada del 25 de diciembre", 2022). The practice was continued by the Spanish with the name Misa de Gallo (also called Misa de Aguinaldo)which later spread throughout the Spanish Empire and could now be seen practiced in countries like Bolivia, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, and of course the Philippines.

There seem to be two variations of this: the nine-day series of masses before Christmas (found in the Philippines, Puerto Rico, and Venezuela) and the single early morning mass before Christmas day (found in Spain and Bolivia). It isn't clear if Spain and Bolivia simply dropped the nine-day tradition or if the nine-day tradition was restarted in these other colonies, however.

In the Present Day

An image of crowds outside a church during Simbang Gabi uploaded to Wikimedia by Erwin Malicdem

Today, the Simbang Gabi continues to be a popular tradtion for most Filipino Roman Catholics, even those who aren't typically as religious most parts of the year. This is given the fact that a popular belief is that when a person completes all of the nine days, they may receive a wish to whatever they desire. This is such a common belief that Bishop Broderick Pabillo, a Manila auxiliary bishop, had to remind people that the point of the tradition is to remember Jesus and his nativity (Punay, 2016). Besides this, it is also a common challenge among Filipinos to try to complete it as is or see how many days out of the nine could they actually attend.

It is not uncommon for churches these days to hold an "anticipated" mass the night before the actual date starting instead on the 15th and ending on the 24th with a Christmas mass, instead of starting on the 16th and ending on the 25th. This newer tradition had come from the reign of Filipino dictator President Ferdinand Marcos Sr. during the Martial Law years in the 70s, when Filipinos were not allowed to go out after a curfew until 4 in the morning (Macairan, 2023). This allowed more people and especially those who may not be able to start their day early or those who may have other obligations in the morning to attend masses at night time, typically at around 6 PM - 8 PM.

The only large controversy that I could remember about Simbang Gabi was back in 2011 when the event was banned from being conducted within the Philippine Center in New York City. The ban came about because of it supposedly violated Canon Law which prohibits religious worship in unconsecrated ground or in other words places that aren't seen as places of worship. In an article by Adarlo & Pastor (2014), Rev. Dr. Joseph G. Marabe, the at-the-time head of the Chapel of San Lorenzo Ruiz and a priest-in-residence at St. Patrick's Cathedral where the ban took place, explains in an interview with news site The FilAm:

"It’s not allowed by law to have Holy Mass in an unconsecrated place. Worship should take place in a sacred place. That was an explanation but not a decision. The Archdiocese decides." - Rev. Dr. Joseph G. Marabe, head of the Chapel of San Lorenzo Ruiz in Chinatown, New York (2011)

The ban was later lifted on 2014 after community leader Loida Nicolas Lewis wrote a letter to the diocese to reconsider the ban which led to the return of the almost 30-year-old tradition that year (Balitang America, ABS-CBN North America Bureau, 2014).

Besides being a huge part of current traditions, a lot of Filipinos, and especially Filipino youth, use the event as an excuse to go out during the night to hang out with friends and even go on dates with their partners. It is not an uncommon sight to see a group of teenagers, often wearing maybe less than typical church clothes, by the edge of the Church seemingly attending mass. Whether or not they're actually being attentive is hard to decipher. Either way, this has led to an explosion of memes almost every year just mocking these kinds of people or making fun of their own.

A screenshot of the "Simbang gabi starter pack" posted by user rhapido on 9Gag.com (2022)

Earlier versions of this meme could be seen posted throughout Filipino social media during the early 2010s

A meme posted by the Facebook page FEU Memes (2012)

The barkada (en. friend group) going to Simbang Gabi had been an older tradition that has found a lot more popularity in the contemporary era because of social media. My mother had told me that she used to use it as an excuse herself back in the 80s to hang out with her friends at night time. This may be a continued past time for especially younger people for years to come.

There's also many street foods associated with Simbang Gabi that may not be unique to the event itself but are nevertheless heavily associated with the event due to their widespread sale during this time period. Foods like bibingka, puto bumbong, kutsinta, and other popular rice cakes dominate the scene which definitely satisfy the hungry parishioners who had, most likely, not eaten breakfast or dinner before going to church. With their strong associations with Simbang Gabii and Filipino Christmas as a whole, I might discuss these on a later date.

Simbang Gabi, from my experience

Growing up and living in the Philippines and especially being raised Catholic within a Catholic town named after a Catholic saint and going to a Catholic school named after another Catholic saint, it probably won't shock you that I, myself, had tried to complete the nine days of Simbang Gabi myself. I had attempted it several times with only maybe trying seriously by myself once in my life. It was quite the experience to just try to dedicate yourself into completing a goal to do something for nine consecutive days straight.

My first attempt was when I was in Junior High and it was with my sister and two people who worked for my parents and had helped watch over us. It was something that I always wanted to try doing and especially since I was gaining a lot more independence at the time so what better to try it out without the rest of the family? With adult supervision, of course.

Since we lived quite away from the actual church, the place was already packed even an hour before the actual mass started. There was barely any seats left and even less standing room leading to a huge overflow of people stuck outdoors, only hearing mass from the outdated speaker system that they had erected in place of the old bell tower.

The mass in our church was often done in the dark during the night out of an deliberate and probably aesthetic choice with only the alter being illuminated by the lights. The rest was lit up by the scattered about Christmas decor throughout the church and the church patio. It always felt like going to some liminal space that other nights at church just doesn't give.

Once the mass has been concluded, people rush out of the doors in thick crowds to find their way into the footpaths leading on to the main town streets. Some opt to stay behind to enjoy the food stalls that had pop-up for the night to eat bibingka, puto, sapin-sapin, and palitaw among other things. Some of the teens had decided to raid the nearby small park and playground as a hang-out spot to talk the night away before they rush home for their curfews. Meanwhile others were just rushing to get home as soon as they can, with people lining up to go to the rudimentary parking space that the church created while the others who didn't own their own vehicles forced to compete for the very few commuter vehicles still riding through the night, hunting for passengers.

This was before we had our own car, so we were with the latter crowds of people, trying to peer through the dark streets only illuminated by the scant Christmas lights that still refused to turn off as the night progressed. Every so often, two headlights excite the crowd and a swarm of them start running in anticipation with not care or tact if they would crush children or separate families all to take a seat on the night jeepneys, some the few commutes left after 9.

My sister was an expert in finding her way through it, reaching out to the doors to form a barricade for herself and the rest of us to prevent others from taking our seats before letting herself in. I still think I would've been left behind if it weren't for her doing that out of sheer competitiveness with the crowds.

We settled into our seats and squeezed in tightly to allow other passengers in so we could all go home as soon as we can. It was a tight but otherwise uneventful commute every night with nothing but tired people waiting for their stops and slowly emptying the once packed vehicle. Since we live in the outskirts of the town, we were often the last few and at times, the drivers would transfer us to other jeeps just so they can go home themselves. This had sometimes instead left us to walk the remainder of the way there through unpaved highway sidewalks.

After a few nights of it, I became more and more reluctant to continue because of the frenzy that it had almost every single night and it was extremely inconvenient for my time and the time of those with me. I didn't complete it then and I hadn't seriously tried until 9th Grade, which honestly was more uneventful.

That attempt was mostly my siblings and I staying in Makati City and Taguig City and going to easily traveled to churches that we could walk to by foot, and high-end malls that have annual Simbang Gabi masses for their shoppers, facilitated by the local diocese and the local fancy church. I was able to complete those easily because I was often dragged either by my siblings or my grandmother who used to never miss a day of church when she was still more active.

It was less about the challenge at that point and more of an obligation which isn't a bad thing and honestly is probably closer to how it should be celebrated.

I hadn't gone to Simbang Gabi since 2019 and I don't have any plans to try this year either. Not really because I don't want to necessarily, but specifically because I physically can't. I still think its pretty fun to do and honestly maybe a good excuse to meet with my friends that I haven't seen in a while. Sadly, I just simply cannot do it now nor in the near future.

Maybe one day I could once again go out at those cold December night to meet my friends and maybe eat some bibingka on my way home but I guess I'll just leave every one else to it.

Sources

Introduction

Advent. (n.d.). In Britannica. Retrieved on 13 December 2023, from https://www.britannica.com/topic/Advent

In The Philippines Christmas Eve Includes A Late Night Street Food Feast, Filipino Christmas, HD wallpaper [image]. (n.d.). Peakpx. Retrieved on 15 December 2023, from https://www.peakpx.com/en/hd-wallpaper-desktop-wxdle

Petrelli, M. (2021, December 20). The country that celebrates Christmas for more than 4 months a year. CNBC. Retrieved on 13 December 2023, from https://www.cnbc.com/2021/12/21/philippines-the-longest-christmas-celebrations-in-the-world-.html

What is Simbang Gabi?

Álvarez, F. (2018, November 22). Una tradición matutina la Misa de Aguinaldo. Primera Hora. Retrieved on 13 December 2023, from https://www.primerahora.com/noticias/puerto-rico/notas/una-tradicion-matutina-la-misa-de-aguinaldo/

Hermoso, C. (2022, December 15). 9-day ‘Simbang Gabi’ begins on Dec. 16; anticipated masses to begin tonight. Manila Bulletin. Retrieved on 13 December 2023, from https://mb.com.ph/2022/12/15/9-day-simbang-gabi-begins-on-dec-16-anticipated-masses-to-begin-tonight/

Lazaro, J. (2020, December 11). The Christmas tradition of Simbang Gabi: After five centuries, this Filipino Christmas tradition lives on. U.S. Catholic. Retrieved on 13 December 2023, from https://uscatholic.org/articles/202012/the-christmas-tradition-of-simbang-gabi/

History

Hermoso, C. (2018, December 15). ‘Simbang Gabi’ a manifestation of the Filipinos’ strong faith in God, says bishop. Manila Bulletin. Retrieved on 13 December 2023, from https://mb.com.ph/2018/12/15/simbang-gabi-a-manifestation-of-the-filipinos-strong-faith-in-god-says-bishop/

Etheria (1919). The Pilgrimage of Etheria (McClure, M., & Feltoe, C. Ed. & Trans.). Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge. Retrieved on 13 December 2023, from https://www.ccel.org/m/mcclure/etheria/etheria.htm (Original work published 384 C.E.)

McClure, M., & Feltoe, C. (1919). [An image of the book cover of "The Pilgrimage of Etheria"]. Retrieved on 15 December 2023, from https://www.ccel.org/m/mcclure/etheria/etheria.htm

The Pillar. (2021, December 21). What time is Midnight Mass?. The Pillar. Retrieved on 15 December 2023, from https://www.pillarcatholic.com/p/what-time-is-midnight-mass

Misa del Gallo: origen, historia y por qué se celebra en la madrugada del 25 de diciembre. (2022, December 24). Marca. Retrieved on 15 December 2023, from https://www.marca.com/tiramillas/actualidad/2022/12/24/63a6c106268e3e7c468b45e8.html

Vintage Philippine Islands 1920-1959. (2020, December 25). A Vintage Greeting Card showing Philippine Christmas… Maligayang Pasko from Vintage Philippine Islands 1920-1959 [image]. Facebook. Retrieved 15 December 2023, from https://www.facebook.com/510513375695362/photos/a.1701322009947820/3595821097164559/?type=3

In the Present Day

Adarlo, S., & Pastor, C. (2014, November 3). Fr. Joseph Marabe breaks silence over Simbang Gabi ban (Part 2). The FilAm: A Magazine for Filipino Americans in New York. Retrieved on 15 December 2023, from https://thefilam.net/archives/16127

Balitang America, ABS-CBN North America Bureau. (2014, September 19). Simbang Gabi returns to NYC after a brief ban. ABS-CBN News. Retrieved on 15 December 2023 from https://news.abs-cbn.com/global-filipino/09/19/14/simbang-gabi-returns-nyc-after-brief-ban

FEU Memes. (2012, December 15). eto yung mga madalas ko makita sa gilid ng simbahan e [image]. Retrieved on 15 December 2023 from https://www.facebook.com/PIYUMEMES/photos/a.210778985704527/317211885061236/?type=3

Macaira, E. (2023, December 15). Simbang Gabi: It’s the mass, not the time. Philippine Star. Retrieved on 15 December 2023, from https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2023/12/15/2318980/simbang-gabi-its-mass-not-time

Malicdem, E. (n.d.) The Bamboo Organ Church or the St. Joseph Parish Church of Las Piñas City in the Philippines during "Simbang Gabi" or Night Mass on Christmas eve. Photo was part of Schadow1 Expeditions coverage of Las Piñas during Christmas season. [image]. Retrieved on 15 December 2023 from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simbang_Gabi#/media/File:Las_Pinas_Church_during_Simbang_Gabi.jpg

Punay, E. (2016, December 19). ‘Simbang Gabi’ won’t grant wishes – Bishop. Philippine Star Global. Retrieved on 15 December 2023, from https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2016/12/19/1654920/simbang-gabi-wont-grant-wishes-bishop

rhapido. (2022, November 30). Simbang gabi starter pack [Screenshot]. 9Gag. Retrieved 15 December 2023, from https://9gag.com/gag/a5Xnzgr

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ultradude13 · 5 days

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Fantastic Four She-Hulk by David Dias, in Kris Barton's Smithsonian West Comic Art Gallery Room

Fantastic Four She-Hulk by David Diaz

#pin up art #marvel woman #she hulk #david diaz

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butterflyplnk · 7 months

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um desabafo sobre minha vida aqui

eu tenho uma "amiga" Ana Clara, vou falar o nome porque ela não usa esse app e é um nome muito comum pra alguém achar ela, enfim, atualmente eu estou detestando a amizade dela.

Ela me trata diferente quando Kris (nossa amiga) está perto, hoje eu tava conversando com elas e era minha vez de falar né, Ana Clara virou as costas pra mim e simplesmente começou a conversar com Kris e me ignorou, sempre que só tem eu e ela (Ana Clara), ela conversa comigo, me abraça, essas coisas, mas hoje ela ficou lá sentada no colo de Kris e nem quando a gente se encontrou ela me abraçou.

Além de que ela fica com raiva sem motivo nenhum, outro dia quando a gente tava no treino de vôlei ela ficou séria e foi grossa comigo, perguntei "o que aconteceu Ana? Tá tudo bem?" ela falou " nada não" e foi embora, que chata sério.

Ela sempre falava mal do MEU PRIMO PRA MIM, teve um certo dia que eu falei mal da prima dela pra ela e ela disse "não fala mal da minha prima, tô falando sério" eu apenas disse "ok" aí quando falei pra ela parar de falar mal do meu primo ela ficou tentando dá motivo pra falar mal dele(????

Várias vezes mando mensagem pra ela e ela ignora, sei disso porque tem um grupo no whatsapp para o vôlei e ela tava mandando mensagem lá, tava respondendo as mensagens e tudo mais, e enquanto isso eu tava lá tentando falar com ela.

Ela é grossa, ela vive falando que o que eu escuto, assisto e etc é ruim.

No começo da nossa amizade eu perguntei "qual cantor você escuta?" ela disse que gosta da Billie Ellish ( não sei escrever) eu apenas disse "ah sim, não curto não, não faz o meu estilo" ela perguntou qual era o cantor que eu escuto e eu disse que gosto de Lana Del Rey, amgs.... a menina surtou e falou "CREDO, VOCÊ TA FALANDO MAL DA BILLIE SENDO QUE VOCÊ ESCUTA ESSA PORCARIA" então só o que ela gosta é bom, e ela só faz isso comigo, com Kris ela respeita tudo, a opinião, a religião, o gosto musical, o que ela assiste e tudo mais.

Essa menina tá me cansando chata demais

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ffxivaltaholic · 5 months

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FFXIVMixedMay - Day 2: Family

When you bring your partner home to meet the family and your mother demands a new family portrait is painted to include them. ♡

#diarmune rhet-khas #Dia and Kris #ffxivmixedmay24 #ffxiv Prompt #He has twin sisters that love to harass him #From left to right: Elias Helina Sofina Myra Diarmune and Kristoffer #The oil painting filter was painful to work with #but I am happy with it

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diathadevil · 1 year

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Anyway this was a fantastic concert. My knees and arms hurt after this. 10/10 Would go there again.

#I think I can share one more video after this!#joker out #video #dia goes to concerts #bojan cvjetićanin #kris guštin #jure maček #nace jordan #jan peteh #dia irl

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friendcorp · 2 years

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Pinned Info Post!

Welcome to FriendCorp! Friend Corp is a Day 50 run of the game Lobotomy Corporation in which we only hire agents from the community! We're accepting submissions but please keep it to 1 nugget per person and please only submit nuggets who you made.

Submitted nuggets will always have the the owner/creator credited after the nugget's name. Example: Blorbo [BlorboMakerBlog]

This blog is Managed by: @northwest-cryptid

and @neapolitanrime https://twitter.com/neapolitanrime https://www.twitch.tv/neapolitanrime

The Blog Icon was made by: @silence-kris

The Blog Header was made by: @blahblahdummy All art is used with the permission of the artists.

If you want to submit your blorbo/nuggets we kindly ask you to include:

A name for the character

An image that shows generally which hair/eyes/mouth to use and which colors to use for the hair. Images using the in game menus are ideal however everything from drawings to Picrews are acceptable! Any image is better than no image.

Which department you'd like them to be in (giving a backup department would help too because we're actually starting to fill up some of the more popular early game departments)

The current list of all Agents is as follows and will be updated as we go:

Control: 1 - Randomly Generated Employee (Dia) 2 - Marx [@something-soup-something] 3 - Rain [@ordei] 4 - Geminiano [@peachymun-from-georgia] 5 - Kanna [@thatguyappreciator]

Information: 1 - Julian [@firebuug] 2 - Yuri [@polyydeucess] 3 - Tori [@northwest-cryptid] 4 - Archer [@supazupa] 5 - Merry [@anomaly-beans]

Safety: 1 - Reinhardt [@branch-wdk53] 2 - Maki [@pinchbee] 3 - Epsilon27 [@5thcloud] 4 - Xavier [EC] 5 - Lunas [@chesedwithacap]

Training: 1 - Foosball [@hydrojoy] 2 - Bella [@uniquezombiedestiny] 3 - Morrigan [@attack-viridiant] 4 - Maritza [@simikae] 5 - Kiminsung [@eepiest-malkuth]

Central Control: 1 - Remi [@notvess] 2 - Ray [@amystarrstuff] 3 - Gabriel [@almondes] 4 - Matty [@profoundpsychicfarmkid] 5 - Yuri [@eclectic-sunflower]

Central Control 2: 1 - Sergey [@chekuth-w] 2 - Asera [@yukitarei] 3 - Vanessa [@cryptice1kz] 4 - Maxine [@fluffralsei] 5 - Odelie [@venoshocked]

Welfare: 1 - Emma [@logirby] 2 - Kimhanseul [@mandorin-moranges] 3 - Lucas [@bestelf] 4 - Lychee [@enderpearlgurl13] 5 - Victoria [@ohmewhatsthis]

Disciplinary: 1 - Kimlek [@magician7] 2 - Poussey [@mistwolfdaumbreon] 3 - Nea [@neapolitanrime] 4 - Marion [@zombie-ladymacbeth] 5 - Alwina [@raincloud020604]

Records: 1 - Professor [@kira-moonrabbit] 2 - Goodie [@observancesys] 3 - Hannah [@okawarihappylife] 4 - Samuel [@p-o-3] 5 - Chicken Nugget [@chaoticalrequiem]

Extraction: 1 - OJ [@pascal-oswell] 2 - Avion [@cosmic-courtroom] 3 - Neville [@boneeatingbitch] 4 - Corbinian [@compleatedsadboy] 5 - Soccy [@apocalypsearsonist]

Architecture: 1 - POLYGON [@worivrst] 2 - Sergey [@tatonslice] 3 - Broski [@wanderinganywhere] 4 - Yoon-Hoo [@celestialiisland] 5 -

Total: 54/55

#Friend Corp #Friendcorp

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etherealcaprifandoms · 5 months

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My OCs

Vanessa-Ophelia Ambrosia(Centre) Elizabeth-Zahara(Left) Elliott-Iṣkender(Right)

Lunaria(Left) Naomi(Centre) Dahlia(Right)

Gabriella II(Left) Sabrina(Right

Melodia

Stellar(Left) and Tallulah(Right)

Info about them

Full Names/Nicknames💙

Vanessa-Ophelia Ambrosia/Vee, Nessie, Nessa, Phee, 🩵

Elizabeth-Zahara Khalifa/Beth, Bethy, Eliza, Lizzy, Libby Lily, and Zara💜

Elliott-Iṣkender Khalifa-Ambrosia/Eil and Leo🩵

Naomi Helene Estrella/Nai, Mimi, Mia Hela, Ellie, and Esti💙

Dahlia Eden Estrella/Dali Dia Leah and Esther💚

Lunaria Astrid-Juniper Estrella-Gresley/Lu Luna Lunie Lou Ash Astra June, Juni and Star💙

Gabriella II Karoliina Laine/Gabs Gabby Bella Ella and Karrie🩵

Sabrina Kristiina Laine/Sab Sabby Brina Kris and Krissie💙

Melodia Ingrid-Wynter Hale/Mel Melody Mellie Lody Ingie and Winnie💜

Stellar and Tallulah Mirabelle Rosá/Stel Stella Ellie Elle Mira and Belle/Tilly, Tallie, Lula, Millie, and Belle💜💙

Birth Dates/Time/Place 💙

Vanessa-Ophelia: 25th September 1948/9 am/Kifisia, Athens, Greece🇬🇷🩵

Elizabeth-Zahara: 9th September 1971/3 pm/Kifisia, Athens, Greece🇬🇷💜

Elliott-Iṣkender: 23rd May 1982/2 pm/Kifisia, Athens, Greece🇬🇷🩵

Naomi: 19th October 1970/12 am/Östermalm, Stockholm, Sweden🇸🇪💙

Dahlia: 14th February 1973/11am/Östermalm, Stockholm, Sweden🇸🇪💚

Lunar: 9th December 1981/10 pm/Östermalm, Stockholm, Sweden🇸🇪💙

Gabriella: 19th February 1987/8 am/Eira, Helsinki, Finland🇫🇮🩵

Sabrina: 17th January 1997/11 pm/Eira, Helsinki, Finland🇫🇮💙

Melodia: 12th December 1999/7 pm/Bygdøy, Oslo, Norway🇧🇻💜

Stellar: 19th June 2008/11 pm/Palermo Hollywood, Buenos Aires, Argentina💜🇦🇷

Tallulah: 20th June 2008/9 am/Palermo Hollywood, Buenos Aires, Argentina🇦🇷🩵

Zodiac Sign/Elements/Planet Rulers

Vanessa-Ophelia: Virgo-Libra Cusp Of Beauty/Earth and Air/Mercury and Venus ♍️♎️🌎💨🩵

Elizabeth-Zahara: Virgo/Earth/Mercury♍️🌎💜

Elliott-Iṣkender: Taurus-Gemini Cusp Of Energy/Earth and Air/Venus and Mercury ♉️♊️🌎💨🩵

Naomi: Libra-Scorpio Cusp Of Drama and Criticism/Air and Water/Mercury and Pluto♎️♏️💨🚿💙

Lunar: Sagittarius/Fire/Pluto♐️🔥💙

Dahlia and Gabriella: Aquarius-Pisces Cusp Of Sensitivity/Water & Air/Uranus and Neptune ♒️♓️🌊💨💚🩵

Sabrina: Capricorn-Aquarius/Earth and Water/Saturn and Uranus♑️♒️🌎🌊

Melodia: Sagittarius/Fire/Pluto ♐️🔥💜

Stellar and Tallulah: Cusp Of Gemini-Cancer Cusp Of Magic/Air & Water/Mercury and Moon♊️♋️💨🚿💜🩵

Age

Vanessa-Ophelia: 75 years old🩵

Elizabeth-Zahara: 52 years old💜

Elliott-Iṣkender: 41 years old🩵

Naomi: 53 years old💙

Dahlia: 51 years old💚

Lunar: 42 years old💙

Gabriella II: 37 years old🩵

Sabrina: 27 years old💙

Melodia: 25 years old💜

Stellar: 16 years old💜

Tallulah: 16 years old💙

Species

The Ambrosia Khalifa's: Human/SEK Class Ky Steam Locomotive🩵💜

The Estrella's/Human/VR Class Sk3 Steam Locomotive💙💚💙

The Laine’s: Human/VR Class Sk3 Steam Locomotive🩵💙

The Hales: Human/NSB Class XXII Steam Locomotive💜

The Rosa:/Human/Rhaetian Railway G ⅘💜💙

Nationality

The Ambrosia Khalifa's: Greek-Cypriots-Egyptian/Greek, Cypriots, Italian, Turkish, Egyptian, and Israeli🇬🇷🇨🇾🇮🇹🇹🇷🇪🇬🇮🇱

The Estrella's: Swedish-Finnish/Swedish, Finnish, Estonian, Norwegian, Danish, German, and Russian🇸🇪🇫🇮🇪🇪🇳🇴🇩🇰🇩🇪🇷🇺

The Laine's: Finnish-Estonian/Finnish, Estonian, Swedish, Norwegian, and Russian🇫🇮🇪🇪🇸🇪🇳🇴🇷🇺

The Hale's: Norwegian/Norwegian, Swedish, Finnish, Estonian, Latvian, Lithuanian, and Ukrainian🇳🇴🇸🇪🇫🇮🇪🇪🇱🇻🇱🇹🇺🇦

The Rosa/Argentina-Italian/Argentinian, Brazilian, Uruguayan, Chilean, Italian, Syrian, Lebanese, and Israeli🇦🇷🇧🇷🇺🇾🇨🇱🇮🇹🇸🇾🇱🇧🇮🇱

#This took me forever #If anything is inaccurate about anyone's background or ethnicity I'm not being offensive I'm still learning #By the way Lunar is my Bittern fiancée

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tothelasthoursofmylife · 3 months

Text

Character Profiles: Main and some extras

Index: Cloudia, Cedric, Milton, Kamden, Newman, Lisa, Cecelia, Barrington, Oscar, Trudy, Simon, Penelope

(All character ages are as of the latest chapter, or when they died. All information as of the latest chapter too.)

(The original illustrated character sheets)

Name: Cloudia Phantomhive

Nickname(s): Dia, Clou, Cloudie, Lulu, Claudette, Aunt Lou

Birthday: April 5, 1830

Age: 18

Physical description: black/dark blue hair, dark blue eyes (with some faint specks of green)

Affiliation: Phantomhive family; Aristocrats of Evil; Miss Peregrine’s School for Fine Ladies (former)

Occupation: Countess of Phantomhive; Watchdog to Queen Victoria

Base of Operations: Phantomhive Manor; Phantomhive townhouse

Favourite Colour: blue

Favourite Flower: lily (particularly white ones)

Favourite Dessert: small cakes, biscuits

What is in her bag? a book (usually Dickens), dagger + sheath, skeleton key, perfume bottle, notebook, pencil, hairpins, pistol, necklace

Random fact(s):

Much to her chagrin, she can neither sing nor draw; she has, however, mastered playing a musical instrument and has exceptionally lovely handwriting.

Cloudia, as her son will be, doesn’t have the best naming sense. (She named Cedric and Newman.) Still, she will be the one who names her children (with some input though).

That’s why, while she possesses acting prowess, she cannot come up with any good fake names. (Like “Lady Varanda” in the “Mistletoes and Misfits” bonus, but that was also a reference to Winx Club.)

Background info: I considered giving her a middle name (after her grandmother Genevieve), but decided against it, as she does not seem to have one in canon. (Otherwise, I guess, she might have been listed with an initial like Cedric.)

First appearance: The Countess, Encounter (Chapter 1)

----

Name: Cedric K. Rossdale

Nickname(s): Ced, Ceddie, Undertaker, Kris, Not-Kristopher, Uncle Rapunzel

Birthday: March 25, 1???

Age: ??

Physical description: unwashed grey hair, phosphorescent chartreuse eyes, glasses

Affiliation: Grim Reaper Dispatch; Cloudia Phantomhive

Occupation: Grim Reaper; Duke of Underwood (disguise only)

Base of Operations: Grim Reaper Dispatch; Underwood Manor

Favourite Colour: cyan

Favourite Flower: bluebell, Sterling Silver Ros

Favourite Dessert: all of them! (even fruitcake)

What is in his bag? sack of sweets (biscuits!), biscuit cutters, destroyed earphones that shouldn’t be here, sometimes a banana (with disastrous results!), loose change, emergency 2nd bag of sweets, mourning hair lockets chain

Random fact(s):

He is rather clever with his hands and learned pottery and basketry; his favourite childhood game was cat’s cradle.

Now that he is the owner of a huge manor by the seaside, he’s been considering redecorating it.

He does not like fairy tales much because they remind him of someone. He cannot stop thinking about them for the same reason.

Background info: I picked “Kristopher” at random (it was the first name that came to my mind) and “Underwood” without much extra thought except that it’s sort of “similar” to “Undertaker.” I later thought that Cloudia might have rather given him “Sowerberry” as a surname because that’s the name of the undertaker in Oliver Twist. Now, I’m happy with my choices because they worked out decently in the end for various reasons.

First appearance: The Reaper, Encounter (Chapter 2)

----

Name: Milton Salisbury

Nickname(s): Mil, Milt, Millie, Sonshine, Sonny, Mor

Birthday: June 27, 1823

Age: 24

Physical description: gold-blond hair, hazel eyes (they are a bit more green than brown)

Affiliation: Salisbury family

Occupation: Baron of Salisbury; Director of Salisbury Trading

Base of Operations: Salisbury Villa (former); lives here and there due to his frequent travels but has an apartment somewhere in London too; he owns Salisbury Manor too but does not and has never stayed there

Favourite Colour: loves them all

Favourite Flower: chrysanthemum

Favourite Dessert: apple cake

What is in his bag? tinderbox, shawl, armband, gloves, flask with water, key, pencil, notebook, letter opener

Random fact(s):

Perpetually bored and severely insomniac, he learned various skills to pass his time, but he is too humble to say that he has mastered most of them.

He has a hyphenated surname as his mother was a rich heiress. He does not use it but wishes he could or could, at least, only use his mother’s surname.

He sleeps only four hours a day in two-hour stretches. (He cannot sleep longer because of his nightmares.) Wentworth also has to persuade him to sleep at all.

Background info: I regret a bit giving him “Salisbury” as a surname because “Earl of Salisbury” and “Marquess of Salisbury” are actual titles.

First appearance: The Countess, Scary (Chapter 5)

----

Name: Kamden Sainteclare (born Kamden Emyr Llywelyn-Bonham)

Nickname(s): Kam, Kammie, Bookstore Boy; he also goes by Emyr Bonham on occasion

Birthday: April 5, 1830

Age: 18

Physical description: messy black hair, dark blue eyes (although he looks just like a male version of Cloudia, his eyes lack the specks of green)

Affiliation: Cloudia Phantomhive; Weston College (former)

Occupation: Bookseller

Base of Operations: Sainteclare Bookstore

Favourite Colour: yellow

Favourite Flower: passionflower, begonia

Favourite Dessert: Charlotte russe

What is in his bag? book (usually a handbook), handkerchief, pocket knife, all the scary medical tools (why though), a sack of bonbons, first-aid kit (how does it even fit???)

Random fact(s):

Cloudia’s opposite in almost every way, he can sing and draw, though he seldom draws and only ever hums to himself while working; on the other hand, his handwriting is awful.

He had many crushes throughout his life but has never acted on them and never kissed anyone either yet. He’s set to have a terrible first kiss with someone he likes.

Kamden was in Weston College’s Blue House. Barrington was a bit disappointed that he could not get into Green House. He was also someone’s fag at Weston.

Background info:

He is based on the “astrological twins” concept mentioned in Erich Kästner’s Lisa and Lottie (Das doppelte Lottchen).

His surname was picked as a “opposite” to “Phantomhive,” and taken from Melancholia St. Clair from Skulduggery Pleasant. (The same applies to his birth surname “Bonham,” though I got that one from Behind the Name.)

His adopted parents’ names (Phyllis and Frederick) are taken from a Skulduggery Pleasant fanfic I wrote a long time ago (they were the fake names I gave to two canon characters). His biological parents’ names (Linette and Edmund) come from The Infernal Devices. Linette Herondale in that series is Welsh, as was Kamden’s mother.

Kamden’s birth surname was “Glendower-Bunker” (“Glyndwr-Bunker”) for a while before I changed it. I thought giving someone the surname “Glendower” was just too much, but “Llywelyn” is also a regal name.

First appearance: The Lady, Bonding (Chapter 12); The Countess, Restless (Chapter 15; present)

----

Name: Alfred Newman

Nickname(s): Al, Alfie

Birthday: 1818

Age: 30

Physical description: dark blond hair, light blue eyes, very tall and broad-shouldered

Affiliation: Phantomhive family; Miss Peregrine’s School for Fine Ladies (former)

Occupation: Butler

Base of Operations: Phantomhive Manor; Phantomhive townhouse

Favourite Colour: green

Favourite Flower: camellia

Favourite Dessert: blancmange (especially with berries!)

What is in his bag? bag with bird food, hair ribbon, dagger + sheath, pocket watch, muff pistol, light read for breaks (Gamiani; his fondness for such literature stems from sentimentality)

Random fact(s):

Aficionado of romance novels; used to live in an abandoned part of a mysterious all-girls school after fleeing from a workhouse.

He does not know how he ended up at the workhouse or what his real name and background are.

Because he lived in hiding for years, he learned to move around very quietly despite his large physique.

Background info: He was originally called Albert; his name was changed to avoid an overlap with Prince Albert’s. He was instead named after Alfred Pennyworth (though he still overlaps name-wise with a member of the BRF: one of Victoria and Albert’s children, Prince Alfred).

First appearance: The Countess, Fearsome (Chapter 4; in italics text); The Countess, Frightening (Chapter 6)

----

Name: Lisa Greene

Nickname(s): Li (only one person is allowed to call her that though)

Birthday: January 13, 1829

Age: 19

Physical description: light brown hair, dark green eyes

Affiliation: Phantomhive family

Occupation: Maid

Base of Operations: Phantomhive Manor; Phantomhive townhouse

Favourite Colour: grey

Favourite Flower: anemone

Favourite Dessert: bread and butter pudding

What is in her bag? sack of herbs (sewn by Newman!), toy soldier, poison-laced hairpins (of course, usually wrapped in a cloth!), roll-up sewing kit, deck of playing cards

Random fact(s):

Besides squeezing Thomas’ money out of his pockets at their weekly game nights, she loves to sew by a window on a lazy rainy day.

Lisa generally dislikes and mistrusts all boys and men. She only likes/tolerates three: Newman, Kamden, and someone else but that one is dead.

She likes borrowing Newman’s romance books. It horrifies him a bit, but he still lends them to her.

Background info:

Lisa was set to be a talented pianist, but I forgot about that aspect early on. Maybe this will find its way back into the story one day?

I wished I had made her a bit older. (But not too old, as I wanted her to be close-ish in age to Cloudia.)

First appearance: The Countess, Celebrating (Chapter 7)

----

Name: Cecelia Williams

Nickname(s): prefers to be called by her full first name

Birthday: August 24, 1817

Age: 30

Physical description: wavy honey-blonde hair, dark brown eyes; she has a rather “angelic” appearance; since her husband Michael’s death, she only wears black clothes

Affiliation: Williams family; Aristocrats of Evil

Occupation: Dowager Marchioness of Williams; Aristocrat of Evil

Base of Operations: Williams guest house (by the Williams townhouse)

Favourite Colour: violet

Favourite Flower: heliotrope, centaury

Favourite Dessert: soda bread pudding

What is in her bag? fan, handkerchief, a few letters and notes, sleeping draught, purse, smelling salt, little booklet with a pressed flower

Random fact(s):

Generally, she dislikes every form of physical exertion, but, when she was younger, she enjoyed walking through fields for hours whenever her father wanted something from her.

Her mother died not long after giving birth to her. Her father began considering remarrying a few years later; however, Cecelia shooed everyone away, and he eventually gave up.

Michael liked spending a lot of time outdoors, and for the few years they were married, Cecelia did as well. Michael’s clumsiness and unluckiness often resulted in some minor disasters which sometimes rendered him injured and forced them back indoors anyway.

Background info:

I wished I had given her and Michael either a better surname or a proper title. “Marquess/Marchioness of Williams” just seems oddly casual.

I considered making her a fat character but scrapped the idea because it did not work with her backstory. (I also wanted to avoid the “of course, the character that doesn’t like exercising/moving is fat”-thing.)

First appearance: The Countess, Captured (Chapter 16)

----

Name: Barrington Weaselton

Nickname(s): Barry

Birthday: March 31, 1804

Age: 44

Physical description: greying brown hair, light green eyes; has a moustache

Affiliation: Weaselton family; Aristocrats of Evil; Order of the Garter (former); Weston College (former)

Occupation: Aristocrat of Evil; Head of the British Knights (former); Prefect of Green Lion (former)

Base of Operations: Weaselton Manor (his mother is still alive and lives there; Barrington owns the place, but seldom stays over; he has another manor house elsewhere)

Favourite Colour: blue

Favourite Flower: edelweiss

Favourite Dessert: tarts (particularly lemon)

What is in his bag? sword, ring on a string, metal box with candy, kaleidoscope, paintbrush, comb

Random fact(s):

His middle name is quite embarrassingly “Arnfried” as his mother is German (he does not speak German though).

Simon’s mother Genevieve set up a “playdate” between Simon and Barrington after Simon beat Barrington in a fencing tournament. While Barrington’s mother Wilhelmine agreed to the get-together, she later regretted her decision because she thought Simon was too much trouble. (And he and Barrington did get into a lot of trouble, even before Simon became Watchdog.)

Barrington and Samantha were an oddly matched couple as they are complete opposites. (They did, however, have a very happy marriage.)

Background info:

He was named after two villainous characters (Barrington Whelk from The Raven Boys and the Duke of Weselton) simply because I liked the names.

Barrington is a secretive character, and one I haven’t fully cracked yet.

First appearance: The Lady, First Training (Chapter 10); The Countess, Captured (Chapter 16; present)

----

Name: Oscar Livingstone

Nickname(s): don’t even think about it (though that did not stop Trudy’s best friend)

Birthday: December 24, 1798

Age: 49

Physical description: greying black/grey hair, pale blue eyes; has a beard

Affiliation: Livingstone family; Aristocrats of Evil; Scotland Yard (former)

Occupation: Lord/Laird; Captain; Inspector/Detective (former)

Base of Operations: Livingstone Manor (former); his officially sanctioned house

Favourite Colour: gold, blue

Favourite Flower: rose

Favourite Dessert: cranachan, honey cake

What is in his bag? pistol, dagger, knife, piece of wood, flask of water, a book (usually Paradise Lost)

Random fact(s):

He does not mind if someone keeps him company when he is reading; he only wishes for silence.

It is a Livingstone family tradition that the first son is given his father’s name as his middle name. His grandparents wanted Oscar to have his legal father’s name as his middle name (Ranald) because of that, but his mother protested. Oscar ended up without a middle name as a result.

Oscar used to have auburn hair as a child, but it darkened to black as he grew older.

Background info:

Very early on, Oscar was set to be 70 years old, a former police commissioner, and missing a few fingers.

I considered Charles Rowan’s military career while settling on Oscar’s.

Oscar was named after Oscar from Sesame Street (whose German name translates to “Oscar from the Trash Can.”)

First appearance: The Countess, Captured (Chapter 16)

----

Name: Trudy Ashdown

Nickname(s): /; she was known socially as “Trudy Livingstone” though she never legally took Oscar’s surname

Birthday: /

Age: /

Physical description: she had the appearance of a true “English rose”

Affiliation: Livingstone family; Ashdown family

Occupation: Lady

Base of Operations: Livingstone Manor

Favourite Colour: red, orange

Favourite Flower: rose

Favourite Dessert: apple cake, strawberry cake

What is in her bag? /

Random fact(s):

While Oscar is inwardly very restless and outwardly quiet, Trudy was inwardly very calm and outwardly lively.

She liked disguising herself and introducing herself by false names. (In part to conceal her relationship with Oscar.) For that reason, Barrington does not realise he met Trudy; he knew her by another name and was unaware that she was Oscar’s wife.

Trudy and her best friend instantly became friends upon their first encounter. Many thought they would get married, but they never had any romantic interest in each other.

Background info: /

First appearance: Mentioned only (first: The Countess, Clockmaker – Part 4; Chapter 24)

----

Name: Simon Phantomhive

Nickname(s): Si, Sissi

Birthday: August 15, 1804

Age: 29 (at time of death; April 10, 1834)

Physical description: messy/unruly black/dark blue hair, emerald green eyes

Affiliation: Phantomhive family; Aristocrats of Evil; Weston College (former)

Occupation: Earl of Phantomhive; Watchdog to King George IV and King William IV (1823-1834)

Base of Operations: Phantomhive Manor; Phantomhive townhouse

Favourite Colour: storm grey, sea green

Favourite Flower: forget-me-not

Favourite Dessert: had no sweet tooth

What is in his bag? notebook, pen, paintbrush, more pens, pencils, random papers, old bread, a diary that wasn’t his, cat treats, his dagger

Random fact(s):

Simon was close to his uncle, the Marquis. The Marquis was never fond of Simon’s father Percival, so Simon was his favourite Phantomhive.

He was the fag of Sapphire Owl’s prefect, but never succeeded him as dormitory leader. (He made sure that his upperclassman would drop him as his fag when he became prefect to prevent becoming prefect himself. Barrington wondered why Simon didn’t just decline to be the dorm leader when it was time.)

He had the tendency not to carry around any umbrellas, even if it was very clear it would rain, or when it was raining. (And they do live in England too.) It frustrated both his mother and Barrington. (Penelope was taken aback by that bad habit, but Simon did always carry an umbrella with him when she was around.)

Background info:

He was named after Simon Harley-Dickinson from The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place (he is the love interest of the protagonist Penelope Lumley after whom Penelope was named).

Simon is an artist because of Simon from The Wolves of Willoughby Chase. (Simon Harley-Dickinson is also an artsy character, but he’s a playwright, not a painter.)

I wished I had written him better in “Festivity and Fear”; I hope I can rectify this one day.

First appearance: Three Times Christmas (Part 1): Festivity and Fear

----

Name: Penelope Phantomhive (née Houghton)

Nickname(s): Penny, Lopey

Birthday: October 10, 1810

Age: 37

Physical description: long blonde hair, dark blue eyes; she looks just like a blonde version of her daughter and has a cowlick like her future granddaughter

Affiliation: Phantomhive family; Houghton family; Theatre Royal, Covent Garden (former)

Occupation: Dowager Countess of Phantomhive; Actress/opera singer (former)

Base of Operations: Phantomhive Manor (she has not left it since Cloudia became the Watchdog)

Favourite Colour: silver, blue

Favourite Flower: yellow carnation

Favourite Dessert: biscuits

What is in her bag? She doesn’t leave the house; why does she need a bag?

Random fact(s):

She was very close to her father before he passed away when she was a child. On the other hand, she has a very strained relationship with her mother, and by extension with her sisters too.

Penelope was friends with Trudy. (Unlike Barrington, Penelope knew about Trudy.) They hoped their children would become friends too.

Animals like her, and she likes animals. She currently does not keep any pets though and also did not have any growing up.

Background info:

She was named after Penelope Lumley, the protagonist from The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place.

Her parents’ names (Hortense and Edward) were taken from that series too; they are the names of her namesake’s employer’s parents. Unlike Hortense Houghton, Hortense Ashton is a nice person though, and Edward Ashton decidedly is not, whereas Edward Houghton was.

First appearance: The Lady, Invited (Chapter 11); has not appeared in the present yet

#character profiles #character sheets #I'm doing them in batches!! here's the first one #some old stuff some new stuff #also I think I'll keep updating them when things change/get revealed/etc.#(I've been rotating Penny and Simon more in my mind lately so you get a bunch about them* (when there's not much in wotq itself so far))#*(I just reread/finished the incorrigible book series and <3 wanted to make a post about that heh)#cloudia #cedric #milton #kamden #lisa #newman #cecelia #oscar #barrington #simon #penelope

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