~ Penelope Moriarty ~
Penelope is a bit of a tragic woman- she had no intention on settling down into family life, especially not this young, but life takes everyone by surprise. She is the mother of Charlie, whom she accidentally had with Machiavelli. In the past she dreamed of performing and living a traveling life- but now those wants will simply remain dreams. For now, at the very least, she attempts to find some beauty and happiness in the life she has found herself in.
Penelope was born to her single mother, Iris Moriarty, who had Penelope due to a one-night stand with a man named Grozny Alekseev. Penelope's early years were constricting: she grew up in a household where she was often under the thumb of her controlling mother, whom reacted negatively to most signs of individuality. Despite this, Penelope dreamed big, desiring to go out into the world where she wanted to perform, to sing, to do anything pertaining to the arts, even on a planet like Gunsmoke. As she grew older, she fought worse and worse with her mother, until she eventually abandoned the woman, going off on her own to make her own path.
Penelope traveled for some time on her own then, but reaching her dreams proved a bit harder than she thought: Penelope struggled to get by entirely on her own due to the lack of money she was bringing in, leading to her having to take side jobs as she traveled, such as waiting tables and serving drinks. Despite this, she at least got to sing and perform in some bars, though it was never enough to launch her into the career she dreamed of. Regardless, she was at least enjoying her time writing songs and the small times she did get to perform.
Time passes and Penelope longs more and more for the attention she craved when she set out on her own. Money woes, her lack of reaching the goal she left everything behind to achieve, and the fact that she is still utterly *alone* through all of this leads her into a slump one fateful night in a bar located on the outer edges of July. And it was in this bar she met Machiavelli.
Machiavelli was in a similar slump, when they met one another. Both of them were looking for distraction, and... found that in one another. Penelope had taken lovers before, though it never led to anything more than a night or two- with Vel, it was no different. They found a room above the bar and pleased themselves, then the next morning bid one another ado. But, in contrast to her other lovers, this would not be the last time Penelope would see Machiavelli.
A couple weeks later, Penelope began experiencing sickness in the mornings. Symptoms grew until... she came to a terrifying conclusion. Their night together had led to a pregnancy. To her luck, both Machiavelli and her were still in July at the time- so she searched for and confronted the man, explaining what he had done to her. She knew she couldn't take care of that kid alone, nor had she even wanted it- but, abortion wasn't exactly something that had been developed in Gunsmoke. Machiavelli, horribly guilty, agreed to remain with her and support both her and the child to remedy his mistake.
Following this, the two of them begin traveling together. Their early days are composed of Penelope's anger and fear and Vel's self-loathing guilt, but they stick together. As her pregnancy grows, they eventually settle down on the outskirts of a richer town with a Geoplant called Paradeisos. It isn't amazing, but it's a home. Penelope has the child, whom she names Charlie.
Their relationship does at least improve from this point: Machiavelli doted on Penelope, but never asked anything more of her. Despite not wanting her, Penelope does care for Charlie and maintains a good relationship with her: she never wanted to become her own unsatisfied, controlling mother. Charlie grows up with a decent life, despite the family's money woes and the nature of how she and Machiavelli wound up together. Penelope and Vel never come to experience any romantic feelings for one another, choosing to maintain just a simple friendship as they raised their accidental child. She and Vel even had an agreement: if Penelope fell in love with any other man, Machiavelli would let her go- though, she never really does find anyone else. Well... Actually, that isn't the correct phrasing.
See... A year after Penelope has had Charlie, she happens across a woman in a store in Paradeisos who is panicking about something Penelope can sympathize with: a pregnancy of her own. The woman's name is Ctimene, and she laments that her husband is missing and she is having to take care of this kid and pregnancy- her first- all on her own. Pitying her, Penelope decides to help her: Ctimene winds up becoming a very close family friend to Penelope and Vel. They spend years together, raising their kids beside one another and becoming closer- however, in this time, Penelope begins to... catch feelings. Ctimene is perfect in every way to her, and Penelope finds herself pining for her. However, Ctimene is convinced that one day her husband will return, that he loves her and would not leave her unless something happened, and that she would know if he had died. Penelope does not stand a chance against that- leaving her to simply want with no hope of recieving. Penelope spends years utterly pining after this woman, with no chance or hope of having Ctimene see her the same way.
She confides in Vel about it, who offers comfort, but cannot offer much else.
Alongside this pining, Penelope also experiences health issues: her pregnancy had had some complications, mostly in her birthing of Charlie. These complications had lasting effects on her body: she never fully recovered. As the years pass by, she grows weaker, and Machiavelli finds doctors to help treat what was done to Penelope's body. The two of them never made much money to begin with- leading to further income issues as they have to start paying for doctors.
Over the eight years she and Machiavelli spend together, Charlie grows while Penelope's physical and mental condition worsens. She and Vel grow very close in this time, but that isn't enough to heal her: Penelope struggles with genuine depression, formed from the fact that her dreams were ripped from her and that she cannot have anything she ever hoped for. Sure, she loves her daughter and Vel and can find some happiness in this life, but... that doesn't fix what was taken from her. Her life, her health, her aspirations. She is trapped, just a songbird in a cage. It grows worse, and the combination of her developing depression and worsening physical health finally begins to develop into a lack of desire to want to leave her house. This grows into a fear of doing so, of going back out there, until... Penelope develops a condition that is not understood nor recognized as what it was: Agoraphobia. She never leaves the house in those final years. Machiavelli is convinced it was to do with her medical problems, and, desperate, he takes out loans to help pay for more expensive doctors, who also do not understand the mental battle Penelope is facing. Ctimene even tries to help, but nothing really works. All of this eventually comes to a head in the ninth year...
Charlie turns eight this year. Penelope is, as usual, tucked away in the house, watching over Charlie when around sunset, men from the town come to their small house and ransack it. They are connected to the people Machiavelli took loans from- the two's failure to pay it all in a short amount of time lead the men to take absolutely anything of value in the house. Both she and Charlie are held back as men take everything and begin to burn whatever is left. A fire starts and the men even threaten Charlie- so Penelope, in a burst of strength, attempts to fight back. This results in Charlie's face and neck being burnt, and them very briefly knocking Penelope out and leaving her locked in the house as they exit. She discovers when she returns to consciousness that they took Charlie with them.
When she tries to leave, she finds the doors locked and men at the windows. Outside, she sees Vel- whom returned later to find this gruesome scene- begging on his knees, but the men do not listen to him. The house is already beginning to fill with smoke- and Penelope is forced to watch as the house is lit further aflame, her still inside.
Penelope's life began with large hopes and ambitions, was crushed by a unexpected child, and now is left as nothing but ash: at just thirty years old, Penelope burns down alongside the house that acted as her cage. She is murdered gruesomely, burnt down beside her ransacked home, not a thing she dreamed of to her name.