Canon:

We first meet Prudence Moody when she and Ellowyne are in high school at Briermier Academy, although the canon implies that they’ve been friends for a while. Prudence is Ellowyne’s confidant, partner in crime, shopping buddy, and best friend. In many ways, the canonical Prudence is Ellowyne’s opposite. While Ellowyne suffers through Dark Days, Prudence sets her sights on Bright Nights, Big City. While Ellowyne is Falling to Pieces, Prudence is Picking Up the Pieces. Twice! And while Ellowyne Wallows in White, Prudence says, “C’est La Vie!”

Prudence is exuberant, always ready for an adventure. However, she needs to cajole Ellowyne into doing things that might lie out of her comfort zone. One time, Pru takes Ellowyne shopping and Ellowyne is appalled by the colorful, bright, cheerful outfit Prudence picked out for her. (Then again, the first Prudence was dressed in a funky, offbeat outfit, so Ellowyne should’ve known what to expect!) Pru takes Zumba classes and hopes that someday Ellowyne will join her but so far, she hasn’t.

Prudence’s most unique characteristic is her psychic abilities. She was born on Halloween in the middle of a séance. The first Prudence doll in the Ellowyne Wilde line was ESPecially Prudence, an allusion to her extrasensory gifts. One of the last Prudence dolls is Possibly Clairvoyant, which is an homage to that first doll’s paranormal prowess. Possibly Clairvoyant even has dark pink streaks in her hair.  

Headcanon:

It’s easy to overlook Prudence because she is the Midge, the sidekick, the one who just isn’t as pretty, wise, popular, or important as the main character. I build on the canon—particularly her dual nature–and develop it in perhaps unexpected directions.

First off, I envision Prudence as an athlete. She has so much energy that it’s easy to see her participate in sports. In https://exclusively-ellowyne.com/2023/01/16/transcending-the-pandemic-prudence/, we learn that Prudence takes Zumba, circuit training, and hot yoga classes. From that story, as well as this one https://exclusively-ellowyne.com/2022/12/29/festivus-for-the-rest-of-us/, Prudence is on several sports teams including women’s hockey, softball, and rugby, and sometimes she fills in for missing roller derby players. Also, she was the first girl on her high school wrestling team. Pru is the captain of her rugby team, the She-Devils. She brags that she laughs at pain, but when she suffers a bad injury in https://exclusively-ellowyne.com/2021/03/25/prudences-lucky-break/, she cries. Her friends and teammates are worried about her, but she does well with surgery and physical therapy and has a special someone help her with recovery. Speaking of that particular individual, sometimes he takes her to college or professional games. Prudence loves hockey and occasionally she and the mystery man call each other during televised games if they couldn’t get together to watch them in person. (Okay, the unnamed gentleman is Penn, who sometimes is romantically involved with her, other times with someone else.)

Prudence is said to have psychic abilities but instead, she is an empath. She is keenly attuned to the emotions of others and readily discerns any hints of distress like facial expressions, body language, tone of voice, or choice of words. In https://wordpress.com/post/exclusively-ellowyne.com/2189, Pru has a feeling that there was something amiss with Ellowyne and Rufus, only to find out that they weren’t breaking up but that their relationship was being challenged because his parents died. But before we learn Amber’s secret, Pru gets a horrible headache because Amber is an emotional vampire who sucks all the energy out of empaths who feel overwhelmed with negativity. Of course, when Amber reforms, she no longer reeks of negativity and morphs into a real friend to everyone in their social circle. And Prudence becomes headache-free.

Pru doesn’t belong to any organized religion, but she engages in several spiritual practices. She meditates, does Tai Chi, and takes a variety of yoga classes. Sometimes she adds aromatherapy to her meditation session and lights incense or candles. She owns several sets of singing bowls and Tibetan finger cymbals, known as Tingsha bells. Prudence makes jewelry of semiprecious stones that purport to promote healing in the body, unblock chakras, and protect from any kind of spiritual malevolence. 

Career-wise, Prudence is in exactly the right place. Her involvement with athletics gives her an understanding of the human body, and she is accepted into a Doctor of Physical Therapy. Satisfying her spiritual sensibilities, she can incorporate her interest in holistic therapy into her bachelor’s degree or her DPT program at San Francisco State University.

Canonically, Pru was born on Halloween, but with her dual nature, she is a Gemini, the sign of the twins. It might seem like she flits from one interest to another, particularly in her athletic and spiritual pursuits, but that’s the nature of an air sign. (Full disclosure: I am a Gemini but I don’t believe in astrology. Doesn’t that sound like something Prudence might say?)

Don’t overlook Prudence. Sometimes the sidekick is more fun than the main character!