tushanshu_logs | I will not bow, I will not break

Entry tags:

I will not bow, I will not break | June Catchall

Characters: Pepper Potts, Devin Parker and you!
Date: Throughout June
Location: Keeliai
Situation: Pepper is busy with police work, Devin is being Devin.
Warnings/Rating: Mentions of blood because vampire. Others will be added as needed.

A. [Pepper] KPD | Throughout June | Open

Pepper is busy. Very, very busy. After the attacks, she seems to spend more time away from home than ever. She can't just go full tilt the whole time on her own, though. There's a department to run and people are turning to them for assistance, so when she's not helping with recovery she's organizing shifts and crews and coordinating logistics with some of the gangs that have called a truce and offered their help, as well as other groups across the city.

She doesn't sleep as much as she probably should, and it may occasionally be possible to spot her snoozing at her desk.

B. [Pepper] Jade Dojo | Early June | Bakura

Despite positively throwing herself into work, Pepper still made a point to visit the dojo when she could manage it. The last week in May and the first week of June don't give her much time to practice, but she would drop by to see Bakura and maybe help with weapons maintenance if she was there around sunset. There had been enough scolding attempts that Pepper had in fact gotten a few hours of sleep every night, but at some point even that wasn't enough. She reached the dojo a bit after dark, intent on curling up next to her favorite thief and unwinding over dinner, but only made it as far as the couch before she fell asleep almost immediately.

C. [Devin] Water Sector | June 1 | Heather

While Devin was not exactly thrilled by the arrangement that he'd made with Heather, but having multiple donors in a city where Foreigners have a tendency to vanish at the drop of a hat is the smart choice. There are a great many things and a great many people more important than his ego. The Healers Guild seemed the safest place for the experiment, and after an initial taste test doesn't send him careening into a frenzy, he's satisfied that her blood will do.

As requested, Devin goes to meet with her not long after. Unlike their previous meeting he's not quite so composed; there's something wild at the edges of him, and a sharpness in his gaze when he spots her and crosses to where she's sitting.

D. [Devin] Metal Sector | Mid June | Open

Keeliai isn't huge, but it's large enough that it's going to take some time for Devin to learn every street and alleyway. The act of memorization gives him something to do when he'd not at the police headquarters and keeps him busy enough that he doesn't stay at the Hotel much. Eventually, he'll move out, but he needs enough money for things like furniture. The Metal Sector has his interest currently, and the vampire winds up and down each street, occasionally stopping to take notes in a small journal. He looks pensive most of the time, and can usually be convinced to chat.

E. [Pepper] Turtle's Head | Mid June | Valdis/Gene

So, the past month or so has kind of sucked, and Pepper rarely found herself needing peace and quiet but... well, she needed some now. Jade Dojo and Bakura usually fit the bill there, but the serenity that the turtle's head offered was tempting enough that she took a hike out there a few times. Pepper brought her deck with her, as had become her custom, and was working with Vee to summon her in a smaller size. It wasn't too difficult, but getting into a habit of it seemed like a smart idea. The ka also consented to sit with Pepper after a certain point, sans much of her armor, and discuss deck orientation and strategies, remarking that the calm of the turtle was evident to her as well. It was a little easier to breathe here.

F. [Devin] Sky Sector | Early June | Valdis

In anticipation of her home becoming a potential cultist target, Devin had warded Valdis' house so that only she could come and go. Recent events - namely Valdis getting mildly possessed - suggested that having access to her home in the event of a similar emergency might be wise. The sword, Revelations, could have been useful to assist her and instead he ended up warding her into a room at the Healers Guild (although that might have been necessary anyway). All told, it's made him realize that he might want to alter the wards at her house somewhat; Devin has zero interest in handling Revelations ever again, but he can't deny that if he needs to use it, he ought to be able to reach it.

The vampire arrived at Valdis' house a little before sunset and knocked sharply on her door to announce his presence.

G. [Pepper] Earth Sector | Early June | Raine

Pepper has been working really hard since the attacks, and has had to be reminded to slow down (which she doesn't always listen to), and she knows that Raine and the other healers undoubtedly have been going near non-stop as well. Raine in particular has a way of spreading herself thin at times like these. So, if Pepper is going to get nudged by those around her to take a break, she's going to pass the nagging on. It's not as though she hasn't already made a habit of appearing at Raine's apartment or work with treats in hand, and today is much the same. The difference this time is that some of her tiredness is showing, even though she's smiling broadly when she knocks on Raine's door.

OOC note: let me know if you want a specific starter or add your own!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

The Metal Sector is particularly nice for canvassing for temp work since it was so much faster paced than the other sectors. Always room for progress and progress meant lots of liquid labor needs. Oh, hey, is that Devin?

"Hey Em-" Emo Boy. Nope, can't say it. Chicken out!. "-Devin! What are you scribbling, there?"

He would just ignore her if she'd worked up the nerve to say it.

"Notes," the vampire answers without looking up. "Street names, primarily. I'm memorizing the city layout."

"Pretty sure they have maps around."

Seems like the hard way, is all.

"If I wanted a map, I would have bought one," he points out dryly, only raising his head to arch an eyebrow at her. "Maps can't teach you even a fraction of what you learn by walking the streets yourself. They're barely useful, unless all you're after is knowing how to get from one place to another."

"No, a map gives you a wealth of macro data, far more than you could gain from a whole day of walking. Walking around only supplements that data with more detail. You're working backwards."

She's not backing down this time, she's not gonna be talked down to about area knowledge.

"You're assuming that my method of learning works well with that kind of overview." Devin scribbles something else - whatever language he's using, it's not English - and peers down the street to the nearest corner. He sounds bored. "All maps are biased, no matter what you do. It's the central flaw of cartography, and an interesting study on it's own. Besides, it's hard to really get to know a place by staring at paper. One sees nothing of the people in it."

"So use multiple maps." Although it's pretty obvious they're just coming at this with different philosophies. People-focused priorities were always Sonja's weak point. Raw data made so much more sense, tended to fit into boxes easier. Didn't have as many uncertainties- or at least, had uncertainties that were quantifiable and possible to prepare for.

She suspected that Devin was already learning more about her from this exchange than she was learning about him. Being people focused didn't tend to be viewed as a flaw, while being data focused was. And he was a jerk and would use it against her in conversations too. Bad start :/

Maybe if she tried to compensate? Throw out some of these amazing people skills she's been hammering on.

"Yes, people are important." Mmmmmmm. Okay, let's use that area knowledge to figure out the nearest hole to hide in.

"I'll use maps when it suits me, and not because you say I should." The words are more amused than critical. Although he's hardly looked her in the eye, her body language says a lot, and her insistence on using paper rather than memorizing the city first hand - the sounds, the smells, the colors, and so many other critical details that no map could ever provide him - perhaps even more so.

"Consider, if you will, Sonja, that I wouldn't be memorizing the layout this way if it didn't work well for me. It's neither wasteful nor inefficient, based on my particular requirements." Devin gestures to a shop across the street. "For example, can you think of any map which would tell me whether the entrance to that shop is closer to the left side than the right, or what the door is made of? Whether the shop has a back entrance that's easily accessible? How about one which details the gradient of the street, or identifies places where the pavement is especially cracked?"

"But why is any of that information relevant? Do you work in that shop? Do you live there? Are you even going inside?"

Was he gonna stand here and tell her he had the mental capacity to memorize every single building in the city to this nitty gritty degree?

Given enough time, it would become muscle memory. He sincerely hopes he won't be here that long.

"I might, if I need something they sell," Devin returns, the corners of his mouth turning up into a wry smile. "When you've been fighting in streets like this for as long as I have, young lady, you learn that every second, every step, every breath saved can be the difference between life and death. Just because it fails to make sense to you does not mean it's wasteful."

"Isn't that really just a sad commentary on your life?" Ouch, that maybe came out more arrogantly privileged than she really intended. But to be fair, Devin really made you want to be as ugly as possible. (maybe that's just her)

The vampire laughs mirthlessly, his eyes cold. "And isn't it a sad commentary on yours that you'd rather stare at a piece of paper than engage with real people? You still have much to learn if you want to succeed in politics."

That didn't take her by surprise since she'd been expecting it. She narrows her gaze and snipes back. "I didn't see you being the life of the party before I got here, scribbling away in your notebook like a weird bank robber casing a place."

"One should never enter battle without doing proper reconnaissance," Devin chimes pleasantly, waving the notebook back and forth. "Be that in a political arena or otherwise. I'm social when it suits me, and I pick those moments carefully."

"No! I get to do battlefield metaphors! That's my thing! Have you commanded real armies??" She was so m a d!

Oh, this is just beautiful.

"You don't get to lay claim to metaphors unless you originate them," Devin scolds. "Not that my military experience has any bearing on whether I can use certain words to make a point, but I have commanded men. I've fought through two world wars, so perhaps the question you really ought to ask yourself is whether or not you truly understand the horrors of a pitched battle from the ground. So, you've commanded armies - have you held a dying friend in your arms as mortar shells went off around you? Have you had to watch your compatriots fall like leaves around you and have you seen the vicious damage done by chemical assaults?" The vampire's tone was far, far too casual for the subject matter.

"Until you know what that feels like, Sonja, do not speak to me of expertise in warfare. If you're a respected commander, start acting like it instead of behaving like a petulant child," he adds darkly.

"Stop teaching me things!" she huffed. The most frustrating part of all these stupid immortal people was how they actually knew things that she could actually stand to listen to. It was exhausting.

She crossed her arms and pouted. "Have you once in a hundred years just tried to be friendly to people?"

"Hm." Devin made a show of giving this some considerable thought, too grave to actually be serious. "No, not to my knowledge."

Lie, but it didn't show in his face. "I don't have time for friends. They're all just moving targets."

"What is it about your life that's so dangerous</i?" she asked. "It's not just the vampire thing, is it? Are there like vampire hunters and things?"

"There are vampire hunters," Devin confirmed. He was among them. "My life is dangerous by virtue of my existence, and not theirs."

He basically made enemies for a living.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I will not bow, I will not break | June Catchall

D Metal Sector Fun

Yes good

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject