She was happy to have him follow her to her room. It wasn't like the last time or any of the times she had wanting to drag him up there. For once, she wasn't just telling herself that.

She unlocked the door and waltzed in not really making a production of inviting him in. He had a free pass now. She was busy doing what she did everytime she came to her room, whether at home or here. She was slipping out of her clothes, humming as she did so. This was not a strip tease or anything this was just what she did.

She turned around almost forgetting he was there.

"Ya gonna come in or not?"

she smiles at him.

Penny sits in her room. She has homework. It's her last week of Night classes. Then she has exams. Her bed is covered with text books and the odd college application. She is looking through a brochure for Berkley when the phone rings. Her mom is at work, so Penny races to the kitchen. She answers the phone and is completely shocked at the voice on the other side.

"Miss Penny Lane, I presume?" the voice said in a very pronounced accent. It's clear that the accent is put on...

"Yeah, that's what they used to call me." Penny replied in her own put-on accent. "Hello, Denis." she held back a squeal. "What do you need, darling?"

"David was curious if you were interested in a postion in the tour entourage." Denis said

"Oh?" Penny asked, as if she got asked to tour with David Bowie, all the time.

"Yes, he asked for you specifically."

"Well, I am retired. For real this time. I am in school. Besides I doubt my boyfriend would approve." Penny replied, dropping the accent.

"You talking about that kid you brought to the show? He's beneath you, sweetheart." Denis said, his voice oozing with attitude.

"No, that was my dear close friend, Connor. And, he is hardly beneath me." Penny's grin permeated her voice. "I think I'll set this tour out, Denis. Thank you for asking."

After that Denis spouted niceties and promised to send David her love then they hung up.

Penny chuckled and went back to her college stuff and homework. It was much more important than all the tour and rock stars.

Character Name: Penny Lane
Origin: Almost Famous
Word Count:371
Character?s LJ: moroccofor1year
Rating: G
deviant_muses

Character Name: Penny Lane
Origin: Almost Famous
Word Count:371
Character?s LJ: moroccofor1year
Rating: G
deviant_muses
Topic #1
Who do you miss the most



I never met my dad. I used to always envision that a god or a superhero had been my father, mom could never tell cause it was a taboo thing. As I got older it was rock stars, I never got the balls to ask Mick. Besides, by then I knew the truth. He didn't stay long enough to find out about me. She never told me his name or much about him. All I knew was she never expected him to stay and she didn't intend on getting knocked-up. He was a fling, she was seventeen and they talked about running away together. Before they had even made plans, he was out the door. He was a traveler, a man of the open road. He couldn't stay tied down long. So, he left and I came 8 months later.

I used to beg mom to tell me things but she'd always get really upset and say she didn't know much.

She always told me that we were both better off without him. I didn't care all the other little girls in school and dance class had Daddies. I hated it. I didn't like getting whispered at cause 'Lady doesn't have a dad'. I just wanted to be normal.

So, I had my fantasies. Most kids have these pretend worlds with witches and goblins and all this neat stuff. Me, I just had a daddy. He was smart and he could play anything and everything on every instrument. He'd take me to Disneyland and we'd ride the rides and he'd call me 'his little lady'. It wouldn't sound stupid like when mom said it. I would be his little lady. I would be a good little girl for daddy. But he never came and I never knew anything.

Everything else was just silly. I don't miss all the guys that stopped needing me. I don't think much about all those in the past. That whole father thing is the worst though. I just wish I knew who he was. At least, if I knew who he was bad news, I could be satisfied with that. No, I'd still wanna meet him. Just so he'd know, I missed him for 18 years.

Character Name:Penny Lane
Origin:Almost Famous
Word Count:203
moroccofor1year
Rating: G

deviant_muses

I danced myself into the tomb.Is it strange to dance so soon?

( If the world was going to end, what would you do with your last hour? )

Penny Lane
Fandom: Almost Famous
Word Count: 504
Rating: PG
deviant_muses

(  Who is the one person in the world you have never told how you felt about them? And how would you tell them? )

"Disciple of the music"
Work Count- 455

It always came so easy to me. The guys loved me. Whether they were a roadie or member of the band, they all knew Penny Lane. It was both wonderful and scary. They would call me by name as I walked around backstage. I loved being so well known.

I had given my soul to rock and roll. That one fact ruled everything I did. I could fall in love, I could spend the night with many different men. In the end, I was property of the music and that was just the way it went.

The music had saved me. I was stuck in a life I couldn't control. Mom was never around and I didn't get the boys in high school. They were into sports and cars and sex and I just wanted to go see the Stones.

Mom surprised me with Rolling Stones tickets. I freaked out. That seemed like the right thing to do. They were incredible seats. It was back when I was still going to school and being a good little girl. I even went by my real name, Lady. I went with my mom. I knew that this was a sign from the gods of rock and roll. They were seated up in the great beyond, with Brian Jones and Mama Cass and all the great who came before sitting around them. They were looking down on me and saw the love I had for the music. I knew they saw my faith in the music. Rock and Roll had saved my soul. Then, it saved my life.

Everyone was sitting and squealing innocently when the Stones took the stage, then the place changed. Little teenyboppers were throwing their panties on the stage and I never had been so fascinated in my life. I took off towards the stage; I needed to be close to them. The rock gods demanded it. I was their devoted disciple. I rushed the stage, but so did a lot of other people. I was being crushed. I couldn't breath and more importantly, I couldn't see the band.

I heard voice and the sea of girls parted and a hand reached out to me. The gods were taking me home, I thought. I looked up and Keith Richards stared back at me. He told the horde off, before a roadie ushered me backstage. I sat in a green room drinking coke with lemon for a while. Then I wandered out to the wings of the stage to watch the rest of the show. Keith looked back a few times and grinned at me.

Rock and Roll had saved my life and I was determined to live from that point on for the music.

Penny has been at home for three months and things are going amazing. Every day is the same though.

She works three days a week at the record store, she has learned how to shelve and price and sell records and she loves it. She eats lunch with Danny in the back, on the days she works. He is a high-schooler from there in town. She tells him all about her life and he rolls his eyes enviously and asks if David Bowie is well hung. Penny laughs and doesn’t answer. He asks every day.

School isn’t as fun as work but it’s easy. At first it was horrible, she hated it but now she is getting very close to being done. She was ahead of everyone, so she works on her own. She has classes from 6 to 10 Monday, Wednesday and Friday. She usually goes out for a beer with her classmates on Fridays. They talk about class, and what they plan to do after it is over. Penny doesn’t know. She goes by Lady there cause it’s her name. They tease her about being too good for them and she laughs. She tells the if she was privileged she wouldn’t have to work in a record store. She does not tell them she would anyway. They do not know Penny Lane the rock groupie. They only know of Lady, the smartest girl in class. She likes that.

It’s the same thing ever night when she gets home. She gives a longing look to the house next door. She figures she’ll go back soon. But, she never even goes in the yard. She goes in the house and helps mom cook dinner. She’s learning how to cook. She can make hamburgers and a few other things. She really wants to show off to Gil. Her and her mom talk about their days and then Penny goes off to her room and her iPod and her ninja turtle and the thoughts of the boy she misses. She sleeps with the iPod on and hides it again every morning. One day, as she’s getting ready for work she sneaks it in to her purse.

She gets ready for work with her little apron and her little nametag and starts out the door only to see Millways in her living room. She giggles and grabs the turtle from her closet. She’s obviously needed.

Penny was very glad to be home. She needed a break. As she walked out of the cellar and toward the house, she made a list in her head.

Gotta call the community college see if they have night classes...
Gotta go see if I can find a normal job...
Gotta stop thinking about Nathan, I’ll never get anything done if I keep seeing him smiling at me.

She made it to her door, right as her mother was walking out of it. Her mother looked at her and down at the suitcase in her hand. She just nodded and frowned like she had every time it had happened before. Penny hated that reaction, she had actually tried this time and it blew up in her face. She’d try to explain it to her mom when she had the words, but all she could do now was shrugs.

“I think I am gonna stay here for a little bit.” Was all she could bring herself to say.

“I have to get to work, but we will talk about this when I get home.” Her mother called over her shoulder, as she raced to her car and off for work.

Penny decided not to let it bother her. She was here to get over it, not to dwell. She slid through the door as her mother raced out, locking it behind her. She had to unpack. She went to her room and slipped her iPod out from the clothes it was hidden beneath. She hit the button and let it pick a random song. She stored her turtle in her closet, so glad that her mother had not noticed it. Then, she went about putting clothes away. It was a quick job, most of her stuff was still at the bar and she didn’t bring any of her records since she had the iPod. She didn’t plan to be gone very long since she did still have her job in the kitchen and Nathan in the bar.

But, she wasn’t supposed to be thinking Nathan. Thinking of him was bad, yet it happened at all the wrong times. While sleeping, while attempting to have meaningless sex with someone who other than being a friend, didn’t really matter, and now here at home. Sure she was listening to the kind of music he had told her she needed to listen to, sure, she was really quite fond of him, but there was too much to do. Besides if she thought about him too much she’d get attached and would never be her own person.

Penny had always been something to someone, not her own person. She was Lady, daughter of Diana Goodman. She was Miss Penny Lane, groupie to a Rock & Roll’s finest. She was Penny, Raph’s girl, Ares’ fiancé... But, she was never just Lady or just Penny. She wanted people to describe her with things she had accomplished not with the company she kept. Penny Lane could not be a hanger-on forever.

She listened to a few songs on her iPod and hid it in her drawer. Then she made a call to the community college. They offered high school proficiency courses at nights. She got an appointment. She made sure all of her things were put away before she headed out.

She drove to the record store. At first they figured she was there for the new releases. They showered her with the normal praise they always gave ’Miss Penny Lane’. That was until Penny asked if they were hiring.

“You’re joking right?” one of the guys said, nearly laughing.

“No, I need a part-time job for a little while. I could try another store.” She knew it was the right thing to say. Any record store would be an idiot to pass up have Penny Lane as an employee.

“Oh no, don’t do that.” A man said. He was coming out of the back. He looked managerial, but still he wasn’t much older than Penny. “We’d loved to have you and Vinyl Village.” He said with smile. Then he shook her hand.

“Great” Penny said, holding in her excitement. “Can I start tomorrow?” she asked.

The man nodded. She walked out of the door and to her car before she burst into giggles. She looked down at her clothes, making sure they were okay for a college interview. She drove to the interview and it went quicker than the job one did. So, she had school and a job all in one day she was very happy.

Penny drove home, crying tears of joy and sadness. She had to stop herself from heading for the house next door and the door to Milliways, when she got home. It would have been cowardly and she was doing so well. So, she locked the door of the car and went into her room to wait on her mother and whatever might lie in the future.

So much she wants to do that it would be impossible to do in the bar and even if she hasn't said anything to Gil she assumes that she can miss a few days of work if she has to. She thought about getting one of her magic-using friends to charm the dishes clean or whatever it is they do... She packs her suitcase, then sits debating whether to take like Raph in his little cage. All she can see is the little moving action figure breaking out and wreaking havoc on her room and the bar, if he could find way out. Her iPod is stashed under all of her clothes... she'd leave it but there is some new stuff she has developed a fondness for and she has gotten used to sleeping with her headphones on, She decides she can hide the caged toy in her closet. It wasn't like her mom would search.

So, she was packed, she could go home visit Mom, get the night school thing straightened out and come back to the bar. She figured with the time shift she could be gone for a while and not really be noticed. It wasn't like she'd be gone long enough for everything to change completely anyway. She just needed to get away.

She thought it was amusing that she was going home for a vacation. After Ares left and after Raph gave her hell for sleeping with an asshole, she didn't really wanna stay and make tons more mistakes. Besides War was in the bar now and Penny didn't wanna have to be friendly too much. She knew War had no clue about any of it, but she was still War. It was hard enough sleeping alone in a bed she shared with Ares. It was almost too much dealing with the jewelry that she argued with her self about taking off. She'd take off the ring and the bracelet and slip them in a drawer but in less than five minutes, she was wearing them again. She didn't feel dressed or complete without them. Even if the ring had changed fingers, she was still supposed to wear it.

So Penny was going home. She didn't feel it necessary to tell Raph because he had enough to worry about. She'd write a note to Nathan. He was the only reason she didn't want to leave. It wasn't a big enough reason to stay though. She had to go home and figure stuff out on her own before she could go back to loving someone.

Her bag was packed and she left the room locking it up and wandered down the stairs.

*Penny walked up the stairs and to her room, almost a little too eagerly.  Her mind was torn.  Part of her wanted to bypass the guilt completely and go staright to enjoying herself and part of her wanted to run back down to the bar and sleep in a nice safe booth.  She didn't outwardly show the insane thoughts though.  She just unlocked the door and stood there.*

Go on in.

 

*she grinned and waited for Eri to go in*

 

Penny is angry at herself, downright furious in fact. Cause she lead herself right into getting chewed out by that April girl. If she'd been in April's position she would have done the same thing. She should have shut her mouth after the woman glared at her the first time. She just kept trying to talk herself out of it and only made it worse. You try to be a big person and be honest about what really happened and it just gets you in trouble. And that April-girl probably thought that Penny was a heartless little tart now, or something equally horrible. And Penny couldn't even say what made her keep going if it was the girl questioning her motives or if it was just cause the girl was obviously jealous. Because Penny was jealous right back. She'd been hearing April's name mentioned since not long after she met Raph. April knew them before all the bad stuff happened and April got to spend time with them. and that made Penny sad. She was over Raph as much as she was ever going to be. And she was working on her mistakes. She was hurt and humiliated at how she probably looked to April because she just went over to say hi. Next thing he knew she was babbling like a jealous girlfriend... She didn't like it one bit and being anywhere where the turtle or their 'friends' were was not the place Penny wanted to be.

It seemed really funny that she was going home to get her head together but it would be nice to actually be away from all of it for a bit. She could be somewhere that wasn't her room without worrying about someone seeing her cry cause she was too upset to stop crying, but that shouldn't mean she had to stay in closed quarters. Too Much Milliways is probably bad anyway.

So she packs a bag and head downsatirs and out of the front door. Hopefully only for the weekend but more if she felt like it.

Penny has some stuff to think about. So she heads back to San Diego. She has a car and just driving around might do some good. She drives, not even stopping to shop or anything. She turns up the radio and just drives. She drives aimlessly down the streets. She passes William's street. She's sure he's not home. But still she stops. She grabs notebook and pencil out of her purse. She scribbles a quick note.

William--

Really wish I had you to talk to right about now. You know, some used to tell me it would take the end of the universe before I settled down with a man. Maybe they were right. Called your house a while ago, but you weren't home. Talked to your mom. Anyway, William, I just wanted to say I miss you. Hope you are doing well. I have so much to tell you, but you wouldn't believe me if I told you.

Your dear close personal friend,

Penny (Lady).

She slipped it into the mailbox in front of William's house and drove off. She suddenly really missed William. But, it was okay, she'd be with Ares a lot more soon and that would be good. It was all in the past. She drove back home, put the car back and went back to the bar.

It's very hard to sleep when you have been told that a friend is dead and others have been hurt in a war. War always connected back to Ares cause even if it was a different world, war still made Penny think Ares. Penny tried her best to sleep but the best she could do was an hour or so of sleep before war and pain and stuff entered her dreams. Crying children and widows and bombed out buildings and she was back awake, sweating and trying not to cry. It didn't bother her that Ares had a hand in this stuff,that's just what he was supposed to do. It was a delicate balance cause if things weren't destroyed they couldn't begin again. She could close her eyes and see the children, even little babies who were left alone and couldn't possibly survive. It broke her heart. She wished there was some way she could help any of those left in the aftermath but there was no way since Ares was very adamant that she not be near all of it. She couldn't really help that she was mortal, that wasn't her fault anymore than it was Ares' fault that he was a war god.

She wondered what it would take to help. She had been looking for something to do now that being a bandaid was over and done, but this was a very big thing. She thought about ways to bring it up to Ares. She didn't figured he'd go for it since it was kinda the opposite what he did. But, so was Penny. She had never minced words on her feeling on war. She knew it had a place but she also knew that some wars were never meant to happen. Most wars weren't about helping people and making a difference, they were about stealing things or land or women from other people. She couldn't support that.

She just wanted something to do. She loved Milliways but Ares was always away and she didn't really have ties at home except for her mom. Something that somehow kept her close to Ares was ideal. Maybe this was what she was looking for. If there was someway to get past the bits where she could get hurt it would be a fantastic idea. she could help out.

She thought about other things she could do that would keep her close to Ares. There seemed to be a lot of things she could do while he did what he had to. It would be a way to work side-by-side but remain true to themselves, if nothing else. That was the nicest part about the thoughts, they somehow involved being near Ares,not stuck somewhere else. Also, thinking it all out reminded her that she was tired and that she had no reason to have nightmares. She curled up in her bed and went to sleep.

I wonder if it really counts as my birthday here. Penny wondered to herself. It is very close to April 19th in the bar but still February or March at home. If she has her birthday at milliways she would technically be 19 for another few month. Some things were just too confusing. Either way she had a birthday coming up and she was freaking out. Not because she was getting older. Birthdays just seemed like a much bigger deal now that she was engaged to an immortal. It was not a nice reminder that she was getting older and would one day die. As much as she said it didn't matter, it did bother her. But birthdays were nice for lotsa reasons. She thought it was an awful shame that Ares probably didn't have a birthday cause she would be very happy to help him celebrate but she figures they can figure something out. She decides she needs to find out if he has a feast day or anything cause that's probably as close as she's gonna get and the idea of doing something special for Ares sounds really good. Especially with him being back now. She didn't really expect him to come back so she's pretty happy. He gets special treatment because she very much doubted he would come back. She's giddy that he proved her wrong to be perfectly honest. It was the best early birthday present ever!

Penny was born on April 19 1955.

Her real name is Lady Goodman, but only a small percentage of the world knows that or will ever know that.

She has a very close knit relationship with her Mom. She was raised by just her mom. They tend to behave more like best friends than like Mother and daughter. This usually worked fine except when it came to her mother's boyfriends. It got to the point that 15 year old Lady was having fend off advances. She went to a Rolling Stones concert with her mom and in all the excitement of the show and the crowd, she got swept away. She nearly got trampled by the crowd. She was saved by keith richards in a miraculous feat and was whisked backstage. Backstage with the music surrounding her made her feel safe. It felt like home, a home where you don't have to worry about who's gonna want what. She might have lived at her Mom's apartment after then but it was no longer home. She started going to more concerts. Her personality got her backstage. It wasn't about her being a girl she would just smile and the door opened. She didn't understand it at first but she was happy. She got more involved with the bands and as far she was concerned she was in love once or twice but something always went wrong. That's when she got the idea to start the bandaids. she saw girls doing the same thing she was having their heart broken by rock stars. It was about the music not the rock stars so Penny began preaching her message of music and platonic love. But you can't tour with a band and not get caught up in it.

She thought she was in love with the rock stars but at the time that was all she knew.

She never had a real boyfriend until she got to Milliways and she has never had a normal relationship. She doesn't know anything bout dating and stuff cause she just liked a guy and went on tour with him, back home.


She went to Morocco for a year after she finally retired from being a bandaid. She lived witha tribe and basically just became that. It was easy, she didn't have be anything. She had plans to start life over when she got home. She was gonna let Penny Lane fade away but then she ended up in Milliways and there were people and she felt like she needed to be the bubbly girl who everyone loves and so Penny remained. Cause even if it was all her Penny or not she couldn't go back to being Lady and she had no other name picked out.

She never got over what happened with Russell. She lies and says it doesn't matter but it still hurts.


There is the smallest bit of her that think it would have been easier if William hadn't saved her, she would have become another Rock and roll legend and it wouldn't hurt anymore.


[More to come]

Penny sat in the middle of the bed, guilty at the fact that this was not the case a few hours before. Being lonely is the worst thing to ever happen to her short of a bottle of 'ludes but she knows she can't have the later. So, she sat feeling lonely and guilty and like the little bit of tenderness she allowed herself to have the night before was more harm than good. She slide the engagement ring off of her finger. Part of her knew she would never love anyone else but she didn't wanna fight. She wanted her wargod back and instead of waiting she got impatient. So, she'd just give up. Go home. She didn't want to deal with it. Something happened something that would never happen again but she just wanted to forget so she would give up go home, and forget. Better than trying to convince a war god that she was lonely and miserable and wasn't meaning anything she did. she cried and then realized it would be hard to let go than if ver would to argue her case. She slipped the ring back on her finger and fell back on the mattress. crying herself to sleep, but the tear were now tears of bitter loneliness instead of guilt. She could live with loneliness.

Ask Penny a question.

Penny slipped out of the front door not long after she got off work and finished her talks with people. Her mind was half made up when she got off work and was much more sure after she talked to Raph. She had done a pretty bad thing and if Ares chose to break up with her over it she would understand. she was pretty convinced it was just the reason to push them out of it for good. It was not what she wanted and she intended one making that clear.

She walked out the door and back onto her street in San Diego. She could tell that mom was at work, so she grabbed her keys out of her purse and went to her car. She drove a bit fast than she had intended to but luckily there were no cops. She was paying closer attention to the song on the radio and the very loud thoughts in her head. The song was Rain Song by Led. She didn't know whether to cry or dance. That, she decided, was the power of really good music. It could make you feel many things at once. She remembered discussing that with Charlie, how a good singer can make you feel it as they sing it. Thinking about Charlie, also made her want to cry. She was sure something was being done about that so she decided not to let it bother her. Those who prayed were praying, she needed to be, as she always was, one who sang and danced through the maddness. She had too much to worry about without breaking down over Charlie.

She got to the shops and parked the car. She almost went to the comic store and baought it out for Mike. It was a nice idea but this was a special mission. She walked into the shop and looked around. She didn't know a damn thing about jewelry. It wasn't her job to know about jewelry, she was a girl. She found a sales person and asked questions.

"Do you have rings for men?"
"If he doesn't want it can I bring it back?"

She was scared out of her mind. She knew this was what she wanted to do but still it was a terrifying thing. She had known for about a month an a half she wanted to be with Ares and that was it. She had to get over Raph but once she had she didn't want anyone but Ares. She told him she was his and she meant it. She was scared he had just chased her till he got what he wanted. She felt like a broken toy, she thought he had grown tired of her and went back to his first love. She knew she would always be second to war and she could handle that, if she ever saw him.

She knew there were some that would say ' but you kissed someone else' and she knew that was an issue. She had been sad and drunk and Delia had been just what she needed. She wasn't gonna be a bitter girlfriend and blame him for not being there. She figure her and Delia was the least of her concerns.

She found a simple gold band, she didn't know what men wore, but she knew a big fancy diamond ring was out of the question. She couldn't afford a big fancy diamond anyway. She told the sales man that if everything went well she would come back to have it engraved. if it went poorly she'd return the ring. She drove around town for a while trying to think on what was going on. She stopped at the record store it calmed her jangly nerves and she saw some good 'friends' there.

She drove back home and snuck back through the extra door in the abandoned house next door. milliways was loud and crowded but she had her little bag and her jangly nerves so she really didn't care.