tushanshu_logs | Now this is my time

Characters: Pepper Potts, Tony Stark, Gene Khan, and you!
Date: Throughout November
Location: House Spicy Iron Dragon, KPD, Jade Dojo and around Keeliai
Situation: Pepper turns 19 this month, and there is a birthday party! Serious discussions with housemates, running the police department, Just another day at the office.
Warnings/Rating: None, will be added as needed

A. House Spicy Iron Dragon | Early November | Tony and Gene

So. Pepper has something important to tell Tony and Gene about and it's probably going to be awkward. She's really not sure how this conversation is going to go, actually. In the hopes of having everything go smoothly, she's made tea and has cookies and other snacks laid out on the coffee table in the living room. There's a lot of pacing while she waits for Tony and Gene to get home.

B. Jade Dojo | Backdated to October 25 | Bakura

As the sun had started to set, Pepper made her way back to the dojo with a basket on her arm and a small bag over her shoulder. Pepper and Tony had done due diligence in celebrating Gene's birthday, much to his chagrin, and she wanted both to be able to celebrate Bakura's birthday and give Gene and Tony some time alone. She enters and leaves her shoes by the door, peeking into the office and then going to knock on the door frame that leads to the apartment where Bakura lives.

C. Welcome Center | Early November | Zatanna

Given recent developments around Bakura, it's probably time to update Zatanna on things, especially since the other young woman has had a not insignificant influence on Pepper where the thief is concerned. Zatanna is also possibly one of the only people on the turtle who will be immediately happy about the news she has to share. As has become something of a habit, Pepper brings treats with her when she comes to visit the Welcome Center, although this time it's spiced muffins instead of gelato.

D. KPD | Throughout November | Open

As per usual, Pepper can be found at the police headquarters when she's not at the dojo more often than not. She's a bit harried during the first part of the month while Valdis is indisposed, but she's done this before when Valdis fled to the mountains. This is her wheelhouse, and she can often be seen happily handing out patrol assignments. Her schedule, while laid out on paper, is still erratic both because she likes working different shifts but also because it helps her keep an eye on people.

E. Jade Dojo | November 12 | Open

It's time for a party! Pepper is turning 19 this year, which is kind of amazing and weird all at once. On the one hand, she loves parties and birthdays are great and she gets to use the dojo again and a year and a half has gone by startlingly fast. On the other, not everyone who was here last year will be here this year, and her father is still perpetually missing. On the other, other hand, there is the quiet joy that is Bakura. She'll make no announcement about their unlabeled togetherness, but attendees at the party may notice that her gaze will wander over to him and she'll grin almost without realizing it.

But! Back to the party. There's a table of food, drinks and desserts, another with games. The Rescue armor is set up in the corner acting both as a disco ball and music player, just like before. The decorations are a little different, a smattering of paper and ribbon collected over various holidays and celebrations over the past two years. It's simple enough, and in any case it's more about the people than anything else. Pepper tries to play the good host and talk to most of the people that are able to come, and despite missing some faces she's still smiling and laughing most of the evening.

(OOC note: Feel free to hit me up if you want a specific starter, or feel free to make one of your own!)

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Smiling just enough that she was able to look more mischievous than wistful at the memory...Zatanna raised a hand.]

Well...more or less. It hadn't happen exactly then, but it...definitely helped.

Oh.

[Oh. Jack. Right. Yet another example of how getting into a relationship with someone from a different reality would end with some heartache, but Pepper still maintained that was no reason not to try.]

Well, events are always a good time to get people together in the same place. They're great excuses for not-dates. [Bakura is also not the most social of people, though she barely meets resistance whenever she asks him to come with her somewhere.] I didn't mean for things to end up this way but... well, here we are. I guess traditions helped.

[For what it was worth, Zatanna was in total agreement there. If she had a chance to go back and do it all again, knowing she'd be alone now? Yeah, of course she'd still do it. That had been her attitude from day one, after all. Live in the moment. Don't spend too much time worrying about the future, or else you'll miss out on the present.]

[And while the future was a little less pleasant now...she did have all those past memories to cherish. But not dwell on. She was so over dwelling.]

I only ever meant for things to happen once, and that was because he and I were from the same world anyway. We'd been flirting before we got here and just...didn't see a reason to stop. [Until things got complicated because Secret Identities were SO MUCH FUN when you weren't allowed in on the secret.] I guess you could say the rest of my time here has been a series of happy accidents.

Happy accidents is a good way to put it, [Pepper agreed, nodding.] We get chances here we don't get anywhere else, you know? Not just making up for mistakes. I mean, Tony and Gene are from the same world but the likelihood that they'd end up together back home isn't all that high.

[She paused and took a bite of muffin, looking thoughtful.] Thanks, by the way. For all the nudging.

Thank you for going along with the nudging.

You're definitely a better sport about it than most. [Including a certain white-haired thief spirit.]

I've never really been afraid of risk. Except with relationships, actually, so now I think I can cross that off the list.

[Which emphasized that Pepper was far more cavalier with her physical safety than her heart - she'd kept her feelings from Tony for two whole years, and Bakura for one.]

Plus-- well, we never know when we're going home. Unknown deadlines are kind of an extra motivator.

Preaching to the choir, girl.

[Even now, Zatanna knew she could up and disappear at any time. After all...she'd been in Keelai longer than anyone else she knew.]

Yeah, I guess you don't have to be here long before you learn that lesson, huh? [And Zatanna has been here a long while.] We talk a lot about getting second chances when people come here, but not so much about the first ones we only get by coming here, getting to meet people we never could have anywhere else. I miss a lot of people from home, sure, but this place is special.

[She nodded.]

It definitely has its downsides, but you're right. I doubt there's many other worlds out there like it.

The only thing that would make it better is if we could control who comes and goes. That's one of the most common questions I get here, and one of the only ones I can't answer.

[Pepper sighed at that, looking down at her hands. Bakura is going back to non-existence when he's pulled to his home world. Gene will be an enemy.]

Yeah. Not having any choice about it sorta sucks. [She perked up after a moment.] But that just means it's more important to enjoy things while we're here. Take risks.

[It's not as though she'll remember any of it, no matter how much she wants to.]

[Zatanna...didn't have quite so depressing thoughts in her farewells. Jack was still an immortal Guardian of Fun. Dick would be her teammate. Korra would still be the Avatar and do great things. Annabeth was probably gonna go marry Percy the first chance she got. Kyle...may or may not exist in her world, though he wouldn't be the same Kyle she knew, and would still be a Green Lantern in his own right.]

Any recent risks worth sharing?

[She saw an opportunity to change the subject and took it. Pepper wasn't the only one seriously lacking in girl talk lately.]

[Pepper knows who to come to when she has romantic details to share about things, then.

She smiled, thinking. Bakura was obvious, but they'd covered him.]

Aside from telling my housemates about who I'm dating and risking becoming homeless... well, I did go try to play almost-friends with China Sorrows, which went weirdly okay. She's not exactly a sharer but wow what she did say was super interesting.

[She couldn't help it; she laughed.]

Wow. How brave of you. [The sarcasm was layered. In truth, she didn't think here was anything that wrong or weird about China, or making friends with her, and was really moreso teasing the labeling of such an endeavor as a 'risk'] What exactly did she say? If you don't mind my asking.

[Pepper giggled, too. It wasn't the riskiest thing she'd done by far, but China was dangerous. Pepper seemed to have gotten on her good side.]

She and Skulduggery Pleasant have history. Like, not just know each other - there's some serious something that went on between them. She doesn't like people and she practically admitted to liking him. [Not in the romantic way, but there was an undercurrent of an echo of a possibility there.]

[Taking all the mental notes here.]

Are we supposed to know she practically admitted that?

Well, I didn't exactly get it out of her under duress, but I wouldn't bring it up with her out of nowhere.

[China probably wouldn't appreciate being taken off-guard, even if she would remain visibly unflappable. Pepper would also prefer not to be the subject of her ire.]

She's not usually that open, but she seemed sort of... off when I went to see her. Not all calm and icy like normal.

Now this is my time | November Catchall

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