29 (text with links/audio version available)

[horrible_penny]

So what's new?

Tohru left--I visited her picture today just to make sure.  I'm glad she and Kyou left together, even if I'll miss them.  Tohru's so, so sweet.  She definitely deserves to be happy at home.

No sign of Billy coming back to stay.  I got Babbage--that's Billy's guinea pig--a rabbit to keep him company, and that's going pretty well.  The

Comments

[freckleddoll]

Maybe they all just need to get used to each other a bit more. 's quite a group you've got to look after there, Penny!

...what's a cell phone?

The sign's lookin' real good, by the way! I think more people are 'earin' 'bout the Center when they get 'ere. 's a good thing.

[horrible_penny]

I'm hoping so! And I like having them around. It's seemed really empty without Billy around. Filling the apartment up with animals isn't quite the same as getting another roommate, but it's close.

Oh! It's a--well. It's tiny, and you carry it around with you all the time so people can call you. ...Unless you don't want to talk to anyone, then you leave it at home. But it's handy.

Thank you! I think so, too. Everyone's really helpful about spreading the word.

[freckleddoll]

Yeah, company is always good. D'you think Tiger'd get along with the ones he ain't met yet?

Oh...'ve never seen anythin' like that. Seems like it'd be useful though!

[long pause because she was still thinking about the first thing Penny had said.] You don' want to share an apartment maybe, do ya?

[horrible_penny]

Sure, I think Tiger would be fine with them. Cabbage is pretty mellow and Masha's a sweetie.

[Penny's mind skips to the last bit, because it's important!]

Of course I'd want to! ...If you wouldn't mind, I mean.

[justcautious]

What makes it "cell"?

[horrible_penny]

Being small, I guess? It's still not cell-sized, so I'm not sure why they call it that.

[justcautious]

Alright, so, y'got a really small phone, then? How small is it?

[horrible_penny]

A little smaller than my hand? And it's thin, so it's pocket-sized. Very nifty.

[backseatangel]

Wow, that's a big update, Penny.

[horrible_penny]

They get bigger the longer I put off mentioning them. It's been a good time to be busy, anyway.

What've you been up to lately?

[backseatangel]

My life has been pretty boring lately, actually. Just... wrestling with some news from home and doing some copyediting.

[horrible_penny]

So staying busy?

Are things okay at home? ...Not that you have to tell me if you don't want to talk about it. But if you do and there's anything to talk about? I'm all ears.

[trollomancer]

Enough indeed...what of other worlds' alphabets? In my world, we would use entirely different characters to spell out "welcome."

[horrible_penny]

I thought about that, but there's no way I could ever make a sign big enough to include all the languages everyone here speaks.

Do you think I should make another one to put in the window? One with more languages and alphabets? I don't want anyone to feel excluded just because their language wasn't on a sign.

[trollomancer]

Certainly not, since the City does the work of translating for you. That would be a foolish project.

[horrible_penny]

But it could mean something to someone. Just seeing something in a familiar language might be kind of comforting.

[horrible_penny]

That's just because I've been doing a lot of impressive not-updating.

Sure. What's up, Ferris?

[horrible_penny]

I bet they do. Some accomplishments just don't show as much as others.

That's a great idea! People come in here asking what the best places to see are all the time... a tour would be awesome. And if you wanted to, you could use the Center as a kind of home base. It's in a good place--right in the middle of everything.