Penny

Penny Zuckerburg is the sole major female character in Coming Out On Top. Penny is roommate to Mark and Ian since they started at Orlin University. Phil is her cousin.

Penny is a computer science major whose ambition is to create an app that will make millions, however her apps she developed so far, "Campus Mapper" and "Tanning Spray" were buggy and still in beta stages. Mark gave her the idea to create "Brofinder," a casual dating app catered for gay men.

Character Summary
Penny is a typical nerd and the tech guru of the apartment. She is sassy and sarcastic, but a very supportive friend to Mark, helping him and offering advice during his various romantic routes. She is the more sensible friend compared to Ian.

She is also hot-headed and determined, and willing to work long hours coding her app at the computer lab.

Even though she is helpful, she often does things with her own personal agenda, such as taking Mark out to a gay bar to check out the bathroom and going to the fundraiser to mingle with successful people.

Appearance
Penny has a slightly shorter build with shoulder-length dyed purple hair with hair pins at the side. She is often seen wearing a white hoodie. In formal occasions she wears a yellow dress with a necklace.

Mark
Penny and Mark are roommates since they started college. They met when Mark warned her that she will step into the gutter when she was testing out Campus Mapper. She took Mark out to Charlie's, a gay bar in Orlin right after Mark to commemorate his coming out. She often teases Mark about his romantic encounters and asks Mark to test her apps.

Ian
Although Penny and Ian have been roommates for years, their divergent personalities clash often and they get into quarrels and tease one another. Ian annoys Penny by leaving his stuff around, using her toothbrush, and hogging the bathroom. Regardless, they still often hang out and take time on the weekends to have fun together with Mark. Penny does care for Ian, as she spent quite a bit of money on his birthday gift from off his wish-list.

Phil
Phil and Penny are cousins and they are very close. Penny wanted to inroduce Mark and Phil soon after Mark come out and sought chances to let them know each other better.

Although Phil prefers to be called just "Phil", she still calls him Philbert.

Alex
Although Penny and Alex do not directly interact, Penny plays a great role in helping Mark investigate the sabotage and clearing Alex's name in the university. Penny referred to Alex as a Norse god who stooped down to teach.

Jed
Before Mark goes upstairs to confront Jed for making noises on Tuesday nights (thus she refers him as T-Rex Tuesdays), Penny went to complain to him and planned to give him a negative rating. However, she quickly returned as "there no check boxes" for what she saw. Jed and Penny briefly met when he stopped by at their apartment and called her "Purplelady."

Brad
Penny and Brad are only shown interacting if Mark is pursuing him. Penny is dismissive and suspicious of Brad, believing that he a typical dumb jock who is just using her friend to write his papers for him. Penny regards Brad with a slightly superior and condescending tone. This alleviates somewhat after she sees him putting in effort towards his own work. She even goes out of her way to increase his laptop's efficiency. If Mark and Brad end up together, their relationship becomes a bit more playful and the condescending quips turn into more playful banter.

Trivia

 * She has a number of nicknames, such as "Penster" and "Purplelady."
 * She has a blog called "MyLifeIsAwesomerThanYours."
 * She is known to "squee" if she gets really excited, such as when meeting game developer Theo. Her roommates have made common spaces of the apartment "squee-free zones."
 * Her last name is likely a reference to Mark Zuckerberg, who created Facebook.
 * Her family is known as a melting pot of various races and cultures. Her family tree intimidates Ian and Mark.
 * She is a huge fan of the fictional book series about vampire romances Dusklight. Which is the Orlinverse version of the Twilight series.
 * She has a dislike for rats, and wonders why there are so many rats in RPG games.