#psupenny

PENNY SUE SYLVESTER

AGE: 31

BIRTHDAY: April 20th, 1993

RELATION: Full sibling

TYPE: Solo

GENDER: Cis woman

PRONOUNS: She/Her

ORIENTATION(S): Pansexual

FACE CLAIM: Madison Iseman

JOB/SCHOOL

JOB: Nurse-Midwifery Program Director at PSU

ALUMNI?: Alumni

ABOUT

Despite enjoying the company of men in her bedroom, pregnancy was never something Sue Sylvester envisioned for herself. Unfortunately for Sue, sternly telling her eggs not to allow anybody inside wasn’t quite the successful contraceptive method she hoped it would be, so when her belly began to swell too far to pass it of as just a big lunch, she had to admit to herself that her golden womb was invaded by a child. An independent woman with no desire to have her parenting style questioned by a second parent, Sue made no effort to inform the father—not that she knew exactly which one he was, but he got away easily, all things considered. Sue has been known, after all, to mysteriously “lose” partners since.

It wasn’t necessarily love at first sight when Sue first held baby Penny in her arms, however a rush of excitement did occur at the realization that this was a mini her—what could be more Sue than something literally grown within her body? “Penny Sue, we are going to create an army that is so Sue”, she whispered to the minutes-old baby, before climbing from Will Schuester’s dining table as if she hadn’t just birthed an entire human in the middle of his wife’s baby shower, and swept away to get to work on her plan of Sue-domination. Fortunately for Sue, Penny really would go on to emulate some of what she was trying to create: clever, hard-working, strong-minded. The makings of the perfect Sylvester child.

A direct product of the Sue Sylvester, as Penny grew, so did the pressure from both herself and her mother to fill the big shoes she came from. There was a lot of “Penny Sue, some day this will all be yours”, whenever Sue’s growing empire was mentioned—it was likely she said this to all of her children, and while Penny had no interest in the family business, she was quick to take the family under her wing in an attempt to pick up Sue’s slack—after all, parenting was only her fifth highest priority, so as the eldest girl, it became one of Penny’s first. In an effort to help her siblings become well-rounded people, Penny tried hard to lead by the example Sue hadn’t set.

Maybe it was because she took over that parental role, or maybe it was because she was a product of Sue—or, maybe it was both—that Penny developed a thick skin, and for as nice as she was, when it came to her family especially, she took absolutely no prisoners. That attitude aside, extroverted and approachable, Penny had plenty of friends, and quickly became the “Mom friend” who people came to for advice and guidance, especially if they wanted someone to be straight up and real with them. She had big opinions and wasn’t afraid to make them known, which to some was seen as empowering, whereas to others, they simply saw a mini Sue Sylvester. Sure, Sue was…Sue, but Penny was proud of her accomplishments and proud to be her daughter, though she wasn’t trying to be her.

It had never been a secret to her that Sue hadn’t planned her pregnancy with Penny, that her conception was entirely accidental, so faced with a positive pregnancy test of her own at the tender age of sixteen had her feeling more like Sue than ever. Penny didn’t have a boyfriend, just a guy she would hook up with here and there, and she certainly didn’t want a baby—maybe not ever, but especially not in her teens. She was already parenting her siblings, after all. So, a baby was out of the question, and as far as she was concerned, she had two options: abortion or adoption. It took a bit of thought before she made her final decision, but given how prevalent adoption had been within her own family, she eventually landed on that route for the baby growing in her womb, too.

It wasn’t like handing over the baby she grew and nourished for nine months was exactly easy, but Penny has never and will never regret the decision she made to choose adoption, and a closed adoption at that. The baby, who would be nearing the age she was when she fell pregnant with him now, went to a sweet, eternally grateful couple who she has never had any inclination to check up on or contact; all she knows is they named him Jordan, and whenever she hears the name, she’ll think about him, but not in a wistful way. Penny is not much a believer of “everything happens for a reason”, but she does believe she was meant to carry Jordan for his parents, just like she believes she was meant to labor him in that exact hospital, with those exact staff members who made her experience what it was in comparison to how much more traumatic it could have been, because thanks to them, Penny figured out what she wanted to do with her life after high school.

Midwifery was a far cry from anything Sue-PerStar-related, but moved by the excellent care she received from her own midwives, she began to explore the career further, then applied to PSU’s nursing program, where her Sylvester resilience helped her fare much better than some others in her classes. She would’ve liked to have stayed at PSU for the next part of her qualification too, but unfortunately they didn’t offer a Nurse-Midwifery program, so Penny began to research other highly-rated institutions—highly-rated only because she wanted the best for her education, not for status—and found herself applying to Yale, her acceptance coming as a shock to her. Not more shocking, however, than meeting the man who would go on to become her now-husband out on the east coast. Fiercely independent and focused on her degree, a serious relationship was never in the plan, but both fell hard and fast, and when Brody proposed to Penny at the end of the first year of the program, the two were wed quickly after.

Unfortunately, they were young and in love with the idea of one another at that time, and as time has gone on, it has become apparent that the two want different things: among other differences, Brody would like to be a parent, whereas time, her teenage pregnancy and mothering her siblings has shown Penny she can think of nothing worse. This, added to them simply growing apart as they’ve grown up, has led to loss of love on both parts, and while nothing bad has happened, no scandals, no issues outside of their different desires, and he truly is a lovely man, they’re now just…not in love anymore. Cutting the ties may seem like the smartest option, especially for someone like Penny who has never quite lost her independence, but somewhere deep down, the fear of being compared to her mother, cycling through failed relationships, has her rooted into her marriage, and for whatever reason, Brody is clinging onto their now loveless union, too.

Hello. I wish I had picked up the phone to my sister Penny about ten years ago and said hello. @pennysylvester

I'm so glad you're okay. I've missed you so much.

Now all this shit is over, got to get back to the important stuff. I need to tell the Schuesters. I mean I need to speak to Haley and Brin too, but after all that with Cassie... They need to know what's going on. I need your help.

@pennysylvester