Phoebe and Her Unicorn by Dana Simpson for March 30, 2023

Tell me more about the pixies and Phoenix queen, Marigold. Like, are they pretty?

Almost like British English and American English: aubergine/eggplant, bonnet/car hood, lift/elevator, and much more.

Words have no meaning between the mouth and the ear. The abstract concept of language invented cryptography.

Does the magic ball prevent the queen from exploding or does it help her to be reborn like a phoenix?

Must be one of those new rules like the pitch clock.

Gotta watch those Singing Pixies!

You will need a translator it seems, Phoebe!

Not even an Exploding Phoenix Queen could make baseball exciting.

The twist is that they’re both boring to watch.

Ah yes. The sinister, painfully off-key who lurk between second and third. I understand The Bambino had issues with them.

Their Hey, Batter-batter aria was especially hurtful.

Exploding would be bad, but maybe less-so for a phoenix. Still, that can’t be comfortable. Maybe foosball would be a better game to play.

I wanna play Marigold’s version now.

But what if I bunt, and the dragon guardian of the Crystal Valley overthrows the ball to first base?

Metaphorically it’s pretty accurate.

I like Marigold’s version of baseball/whiffleball!

If that’s unexpected, Marigold, beware of humans talking with each other. They do that much MUCH more often than you’d expect. “The greatest barrier to communication is often the assumption that it has taken place.”

This is exactly why I’ve suspected that Ferny isn’t nonbinary in the usual human sense.

I’ve been enjoying P&herU for awhile. There is a sly sweetness to it that doesn’t get saccharine, Marigold’s self-absorption somehow never becomes annoying, and Phoebe’s parents have allowed her to be much more self-aware than I ever was as a child. Kudos!

Wow! That EXACTLY describes so many of the conversations my husband and I have.