anunluckypenny | Entries tagged with curse

[This is not a curse that Penny has experienced before (as far as she can remember). She has no excuse to skip work for the day since she lives directly above a stockpile of clothes for all sexes and sizes, so the Welcome Center is open as usual on Saturday. Should anyone come in, they may find themselves talking to a short, slight man who looks nothing at all like Prince Harry.

Penny is tempted to post to the network to see how everyone else is faring but, halfway through the morning, she decides against it. If she doesn't let everyone in the world know that she's a guy today, she can do something that she's always wanted to do after the Center closes: go to the gay bar.

And so she does, putting on some of the nicer clothes folded up in boxes in the closet and heading for the Wolf's Den that evening. Nothing was preventing her from going to the bar as a woman, of course, but this is better. Penny frequently finds herself attracted to men who turn out to be gay; maybe, as a man, she can make this work. Not that she's looking for a hookup with a stranger or anything, she just--

Okay, she's totally open to it, but surely it's not bad to use a curse to assuage some of the crippling loneliness that comes with going to bed alone basically every night. (Oddly enough, the only times she doesn't end up alone in bed are all, to some extent, curse-related. This is not a pattern that Penny has failed to notice.)]

[COMMENTS]

[It's dark inside Penny's room above the Welcome Center. The dim light from the network device is enough to illuminate Penny, who looks even more frazzled than she usually does when the Centers are understaffed. In fact, she looks outright panicked.]

Hey, City? I know I'm not the only seeing things in the mirrors, but is it getting worse for anyone else? Like, are the images getting more... I don't know, vivid? Like they're getting ready to crawl right out? Or am I going crazy?

I mean, if I'm going crazy, I'd really like to know about it. And I'm not totally ruling it out, either. I've just been freaking out all month and nothing's even happened.

[She pauses, turning to her right as if there's something there. Whatever it is encourages her to turn her attention back to the device.]

Okay--um. If... I don't mean to sound totally needy, but is anyone free? I get that it's Saturday and you all probably have plans, I just... you know, if you don't--

[Penny interrupts herself with a terrified squeak. She glances off to the right again, and... off goes the device.]

[COMMENTS]

There's a lot of love going around today and I'm all for that. The thing is? I can't tell you what to do to get someone to love you back. I know I'm always saying that I'm completely happy to help anyone who needs it, but I'm not exactly qualified to help out here. Seriously. I've never, ever been able to keep a boyfriend, and most of my relationships have been pretty disastrous. So if you're planning on swinging by the Welcome Center for help of the romantic variety, you might want to rethink your options.

What I can do is tell you what not to do, okay? Here you go:

First, don't ask Penny for relationship advice.

Second, don't stalk whoever it is you're into. I'm serious about this. Even if you're a really sweet person, whoever you're stalking is gonna think that you're creepy if they catch you.

Third, don't be a total jerk. That should probably go without saying, but I've met a lot of guys who could use the reminder. Don't talk about yourself all the time, listen, and keep the conversation appropriate. So, like... don't talk about your sex life in a super-public place. That's important.

Last, don't act like someone you're not because you think you'll be more impressive that way. If the person you like can't love you for who you are, then you're probably not the best match, right?

That's all I've got. Wait--no... one more thing. Don't throw yourself at some stranger just because he stopped a runaway van from mowing you down or whatever. No one makes good decisions right after a near-death experience. Get to know people a little before deciding that you're in love with them. It'll make life a whole lot easier, I promise.

[COMMENTS]

SOMEONE TOOK ME FOR A PROSTITUTE AGAIN!! IM WEARING LEG WARMERS!! THAT IS LIKE THE LEAST HOOKERISH THING TO WEAR!!!!

[Penny is unaware of this text post. She will remain unaware until someone brings it to her attention because, thanks to a certain someone's evil tea, she's spending the day being... not at all like Penny. Feel free to bump into her at the Welcome Center or in the City Square. Also feel free to hear her say any of the following to hapless NPCs:]

[WELCOME CENTER]

Why should I help you? You've been here for months. Try getting a job.

Geez, cry more. So your boyfriend broke up with you, whatever. The last time I had a boyfriend? I died. Perspective.

[CITY SQUARE]

Why don't you watch where you're going instead of apologizing? Like whatever you're texting is that important.

Maybe I'm tired of people like you walking all over me! Seriously, get out of my face or I'll go get a stepladder and punch yours.

[ooc: Nastiness brought to you by the sinister tea plot; responses will come from Penny's curse journal because she doesn't make mean faces. Ever.]

[COMMENTS]

[In spite of the relatively late hour, Penny is at the Welcome Center. The Center is decked out in a strictly secular but seasonally appropriate fashion: colored lights running along the edges of counters, tinsel draped here and there, paper snowflakes hanging from the ceiling with fishing wire. There's a small artificial tree by the desk; it's a wonder that the flimsy thing hasn't collapsed under the weight of the numerous handmade decorations hanging from its wire boughs. The pile of presents, all wrapped in different papers (all recycled, upon close inspection), that surrounds it is almost bigger than the tree itself.

All of this is visible in the background of Penny's video. She doesn't match the scenery; there's nothing bright or festive about her. Maybe she's tired.]

Happy holidays, anyone who's celebrating any of them. I think I'm too late for the winter solstice and Hanukkah and I know it's too early for Kwanza and Christmas. I hope that you've been having a good time, even with all the curses.

Thanks to everyone who came to the City Solutions party, and double-thanks to all of the people who helped make it happen. It was pretty incredible. Pepper Potts, you did an amazing job organizing the whole shebang, too.

[She pauses to rearrange the garland on a mini tabletop tree.]

So... do you think the curses are over for a while? We got through all twelve days of Christmas, and then there was the kissing. [Ahem.] Today's curse was kind of sneaky and I might think about finding someone else to deliver groceries to the Center. Seriously, I had no idea that the pears the guy who does that for me now brought in this morning weren't normal. You know, until I had them sliced up and served with breakfast.

[And now the miniature tree's ornaments need to be rearranged. Obviously.]

A lot of people celebrate Christmas around here, so I suppose there'll be plenty of parties and gatherings and friends hanging out. That's always seemed like the most important part of Christmas, at least to me--having someone to spend it with. It's hard sometimes, being alone. Back home, I've been spending Christmases with the people who don't have anyone there for them or even places to go or holiday dinners to eat. Some of them have the saddest stories... not much in the way of happy endings. They seem to like having somewhere to go, even if that somewhere is just a homeless shelter. Everyone has to belong someplace, right?

What I'm getting at is that, if you don't have anywhere else to go, the Center's going to be open all of tomorrow and Christmas Day. I've been working on food between curses, so even if I can't promise you super-amazing company, I can promise chili and some different fruit salads and dessert. Go ahead and stop in for a sugar cookie even if you have plans.

[She finally stops harassing the tree and pushes it aside.]

Just don't feel like you have to be alone if you don't want to be, okay?

[Penny looks like she has more to say, but decides against it and ends the video feed.]

[ooc: Penny caught two memories: Chase being alone and unnoticed in a church and Mao being human. Chase's managed to get to her.

She will physically be inside of the Welcome Center through the end of Christmas Day, so feel free to come back to this post and action it up while she's holding down the fort. Backdate or forward-date to your heart's content, but please indicate a time hop if you do either of these!]

[COMMENTS]

[This is a thrilling video of... the floor. No, wait! The camera moves to show a pair of feet--specifically, feet clad in yellow heels that are either fearlessly expressive or hideously tacky.

( ooc cut; click with caution )

The camera turns and--oh, there's Penny.]

Is this seriously a curse? And if it is, can we do ones like this more often? I mean, not only were these free--and completely adorable--but I've been walking around in them all day and my feet don't hurt at all.

City? Thank you.

[COMMENTS]

Hey, everyone who's new! Don't freak out, okay? You're in the City and it's a weird place, but you probably won't be here for very long and almost everyone's really nice. Oh, and time stops in your world when you leave it, so it's completely okay if you were in the middle of something. You should plan on being here through tomorrow sometime, so if you can find some friends who'll lend you a couch, that'd be a good idea. If you don't have anyone, look for the buildings with the signs that say "The Welcome Center" or "The Youth Center." We have some beds in both places, and no, you don't have to be a kid to stop by the Youth Center. Curses're special that way.

Both buildings'll be offering free food and drinks for as long as possible. Sorry for anyone who was waiting early this morning; these curses don't exactly come with warnings, so it took a while to get everything together.

Anyway! My name's Penny and I'd be happy to help you out if you have any questions or need anything. You can either talk to me by using the video-thingy you're watching this on--there should be a button that says record reply or something like that--or, if you see me around, give me a shout. I hope you have a good time!

[text; unfiltered]

PEOPLE WHO LIVE IN THE CITY: Thank you so so much to everyone who's been stepping up and helping out! Quadruple thanks to you restaurant and cafe owners. You guys are the best. But even with all this help we're still completely swamped so if you feel like helping and you're not already signed up with one of the Centers, we could really use you.

And if anyone's interested in helping to run either the Welcome Center or the Youth Center, please please please let me know! Thank you! ♥

[action]

[Penny is all over the City's main square, trying to oversee both centers while running errands and trying to be helpful. She may or may not be carting meals, bedding, or other sundry goods. Tumbles, a half-collie mix, might be following her around. Whatever she's doing, though, she's genuinely eager to lend a hand to anyone with a question.]

[COMMENTS]

[From the dark, dusty city streets, the brightly lit windows of a particular building might look exceptionally inviting. It's not the biggest tavern or the most luxurious boarding house or even the only place in town to offer both (and other services, although those do cost extra, mind) under one roof, but it has a certain hominess to it.

Inside, it's not so different from everywhere else in town: tables and stools that have seen better days, a scratched-up but well-polished bar, an old piano that's seldom left unmanned, walls and floors that are scarred from scuffles and shoot-outs. There's a fine selection of alcohol--the finest in town, a faded sign says--and, upstairs, some good, sturdy rooms where a fella can either enjoy a good night's sleep or a night of play. The atmosphere tonight and most nights is friendlier than that in similar establishments. Whether this is due to the place's no-nonsense hired muscle who usually manage to put down trouble before it starts, the patient and ready-to-listen barkeep, or the good-natured lady companions waiting to escort the paying customer to his bed is hard to say. Maybe it has something to do with all three.

Miss Penny is one of those aforementioned lady companions and very likely the best-natured of the bunch. She's not young enough to be either innocent or new to the job; nor is she old enough to be crass and cynical. If anything, Penny enjoys her occupation. The board's free, she's treated well, and there are few things she enjoys more than listening to the stories and woes of the tavern's patrons.

(Maybe being paid to sleep with patrons isn't quite so glamorous, but she prides herself on being sexually-liberated enough to do her job without much in the way of shame.)

Pull up a stool, if you're so inclined, and enjoy the tavern's drink selection. Just don't be surprised if a cheerful redhead in moderately risque attire joins you for a chat.]

[COMMENTS]

[Penny, currently seventeen and rocking a pixie cut, digging frantically through a pile of papers (just off screen, but the odd piece of wrinkled notebook paper goes flying by). Judging from the background, she's sitting in the hall at Westerberg High.

And talking to herself.]

You know when people tell you to prioritize the stuff you should get done? I think I did it wrong, so I'm basically doomed for finals.

[Or maybe she's talking to the network. She shuffles papers for a few more moments before giving up, putting the papers down in favor of the network device.]

But you know what's worse? I'm too busy freaking out about finals to freak out about anything else like the twenty-four people who starve to death every minute or the seven trees an average American goes through each year or anything relevant. [pause] No, I guess I'm still worried about the usual stuff. But seriously, finals on top of that? I'm never going to need to know this stuff in real life.

[She pauses again, rethinking this.]

Unless, you know... you're a teacher and you're listening to this. Teachers, you're an invaluable part of the American workforce and it's completely not your fault that the high school students in Finland test way better than students in the United States. [If Penny didn't sound so sincere, that might have come off as sarcasm. It's not.] That'd be my fault. Not by myself, I mean--not even I can blame me for that--but students like me who could do better and never get around to it. Motivation issues.

[A sigh.]

Okay. I'm calm now. Ranting's good for the soul.

[And with that nugget of wisdom, she ends the feed.]

[COMMENTS]

I know I probably don't post to the network like I should--keep up with things, tell everyone what's going on in my life, things like that--but the City's just so weird that I can't ever think of anything to say if I'm not replying to someone else.

What do you post after a ship sinks and people who're really important to you kind-of-die? "Hey, sorry you guys froze to death and drowned. That totally sucked. It's cool that you're alive, though!" Or when there's a crazy Shakespeare serial killer running around? "So I heard that a couple more people were murdered in really awful ways. I even knew one of them. Bummer, right?" What about when you spend the weekend being a completely disgusting... rotting... thing? "Sorry for not coming out of my room. My body decided to go all zombie today and I thought it'd be better to stay in. I would've posted, but a couple of my fingers fell off. It's okay, though, because everything went back to normal at midnight on Sunday."

I mean, what do you even say?

Also, that zombie-rotting thing was completely true. I don't know if that curse is supposed to make us dead people think about how we're not really alive or if it's just meant to gross us out. The grossing out was a complete success... not so much the first one. I don't know about anyone else who's dead, but I'm pretty okay with it. It happens to everyone, right? I'm pretty lucky, I think--I get to hang out here instead of going wherever it is people go when they die.

Oh! Totally unrelated, but what do you guys think about cards for City-related occasions? I know I've talked to a couple people about this, but what do the rest of you think? Do we need sorry-about-what-I-did-during-that-curse, thanks-for-taking-care-of-my-body-when-we-body-swapped, congratulations-on-living-here-for-so-many-years-without-going-crazy, or I-heard-you-died-and-that's-horrible-but-I'm-glad-you're-better cards? I don't want to make the stuff that happens here any less important, but there're just some occasions that call for cards. Tacky? Inspired idea?

Seriously. I think this could be a thing.

[COMMENTS]

Okay. I think he's asleep...

[Penny's speaking in a whisper, network device held close. She looks unusually high-strung and--is she wearing a purple pajama top? At this time of day? Yes, she is.]

I need someone who can pick locks.

[She turns the camera. There's a silver cuff around her wrist... attached to a silver chain...attached to another silver cuff that happens to be on the wrist of Peter Vincent. Peter appears to be in a drunken stupor. Penny directs the device back towards her face.]

Okay. This is the first time he's been quiet since I woke up--next to him in his bed! Not that--I mean, of course I wasn't there on purpose, so this has to be a curse, but he keeps saying all of these things and I can't change my clothes because I know he'll look! I'm all for giving people second and third and fourth chances, but this is crazy and I need someone to save me before he wakes up and I... I don't even know. I don't think anyone can hold me responsible for anything I might do.

[Penny glances back over at Peter to make sure he's still out. Her whisper might have risen slightly above a whisper there.]

If you reply to this, please reply quietly, okay? And not with text. My typing's awful with one hand.

[COMMENTS]

Current Mood: aggravated

Okay, City. Question time.

Say this is the second time you've been in the City and you have no idea what happened the first time around, although there are some awesome people who remember you. Now say it's, you know, one of their birthdays, and you want to give them something special and thoughtful, but you haven't really gotten to know them as well as they know you and you have no idea what you might've given them for their birthday before. What do you do?

Also, for anyone who was following that rainbow a couple days ago--did you find anything? Dumb question, but stranger things've happened.

I hope everyone's still doing okay. If anyone ever needs anything, I'd like to help. If you can't reach me on the network-thing--sometimes I forget to turn it on when I'm running around--I'm usually hanging out around the Welcome Center. This is absolutely not aimed at anyone specific.

( Filtered to Peter Vincent // Ridiculously Hackable )

[ooc: Ever-so-slightly forward dated to the morning of March 20th when I have no intention of being awake, so open to anyone cursed with The Worst of Me.]

[COMMENTS]

[Penny--still in the desert, if her surroundings are any indication--looks a little worse for the wear. Her sunburn is peeling, she's not terribly clean, and her cheery expression has an unmistakeably stained look about it.]

Hey. Just checking in... you know, so no one's worried, although I don't know how many people're still over here to worry. Which is good! I hope things're looking better on the other side.

It's actually not too bad over here, now that the slugs've let up. I'm getting to be useful--always good--and the whole lack-of-hygiene thing stops mattering after a few days. My shoes're totalled, though. Figures I'd get zapped to a desert wearing heels.

[She sighs.]

So! Anyone know if this is a permanent thing? The desert and the glass?

[ooc: Still in the desert with the doctors (just Wilson and House by now, I think?) playing (a not very glamorous) Florence Nightingale. Video, audio, or action as you like!]

[COMMENTS]

[The feed begins with static of both the visual and audio variety. This gives way to a nice shot of sand--as if everyone isn't tired of seeing that--and Penny's voice.]

--need you to work, please? I'm not Survivor material and this seriously isn't going to end well if you're broke--oh! You're recording?

[A dizzying spin and Penny comes more-or-less into focus. Her expression is difficult to see, darkened as it is by the diffused white light behind her. She's sitting cross-legged in the sand, a white blanket over her head forming a makeshift (and uncomfortable) tent. It's better than being baked to a crisp.]

Hey! I'm hoping someone sees this because I could use some help. I woke up yesterday in this building that definitely wasn't the building I went to sleep in, but that wasn't so bad because there was some water and food and... you know, a couple of walls. I couldn't get this dumb video phone to work, but I didn't start freaking out about that until this morning when the walls decided to turn into sand and--and I swear I'm not making this up--I heard growling.

[A shadow passes outside, just behind Penny and her sheet tent. She stays silent until it leaves and continues in a whisper.]

Did I mention the things? There're things out there. Growling things. So if anyone's getting this and knows what to do, I'd really, really, really appreciate help. I think I saw the carousel a ways off yesterday, but other than that... no idea where I am.

[Bright light comes streaming in from a hole in the blanket; sand falls on the device's lens.]

Oh no. Nononono...

[More sand falls and the feed ends abruptly.]

[COMMENTS]

Current Location: Desert City

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Penny

July 2020

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every color can be found

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Entries tagged with curse

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