ioduanlogs | Oh today I'm just a drop of water

Characters: Pepper Potts, Devin Parker, and you!
Date: Throughout April
Location: Around Aifaran
Situation: Pepper is enjoying shopping and some gourmet meals, and Devin is decidedly not enjoying a sudden flood of attention. Neither is especially bothered by the rain.
Warnings/Rating: None yet, will add as needed

A. [Pepper] Arts 5 | Throughout April | Open

Pepper will basically never say no to free food, especially food that is gourmet. Sure, there are some things that she's not all that familiar with as far as ingredients, but she's been assured that nothing being served can kill her (probably). With her skills in persuasion, she's also managed to let the cook bring a friend along each day, so long as they know they will be expected to give honest and helpful critiques. And there's no rule it can't be a different friend each day - this actually seems to delight the chef, who is getting a wide variety of testers without having to do the work of recruitment. Come join her for lunch!

B. [Pepper] Dreaming Bridge | Bakura

It has not escaped Pepper's notice that Bakura is a bit… distant? She's not quite sure that's the right way to describe it, but something is on his mind. Her insatiable curiosity is there, as always. Over the past two years of living in this world, however, she's learned it was sometimes better to be gentle and subtle about inquiries than acting like a battering ram. They'll be moving out of the Bridge soon, which is an event to look forward to in a number of respects, not the least of which is privacy.

"If you're not careful, I'm going to make all the decor decisions," she teased, waving her pencil at him. Her notetaking with Tony the previous month had only expanded beyond apartment features to budgeting for furniture and the like. The departure of the Bresilykians was an opportunity Pepper intended to take advantage of, too.

C. [Pepper] Renewal Festival | April 1-15 | Open

Anyone who knows Pepper knows that she loves shopping. The rain doesn't bother her too much; it isn't the torrential downpours New York got yearly, and the temperature isn't too bad most of the time. The festival reminds her of Keeliai, in some respects, and while she doesn't go diving in the vernal pools she does go shopping. Mostly window shopping, because budgeting is a thing that needs to happen, but the brightly colored rain gear and artistically decorated umbrellas are lovely to look at. She's got a decent coat to deal with the weather, but Pepper can be seen trying on a few different hats or chatting with merchants. Any chance she gets, she will definitely invite people out to the markets with her.

D. [Pepper] Metaphysics 3 | Miles

Pepper is no stranger to weird Dreaming shenanigans. They happen a lot. This, though, is new. All she was trying to do was go back to her room, but she gets about halfway into the lobby when she's suddenly yanked upwards. It feels a lot like she's just fallen, but fortunately Pepper doesn't hit the ceiling too hard. Enough that she may end up mildly bruised, no more.

"Ow," she grumbles, 'sitting' up and staring at the floor. "Okay, this is really freaky."

E. [Devin] Crime 1 | Kit

Devin swears he does not get into fights on purpose. In this case, he's not even remotely involved with how it starts, seeing as he's on the other side of the bar when the first punch is thrown. This isn't his favorite establishment by any stretch, but it quickly turns into an all-out brawl when others unsuccessfully try to resolve it and brawls are not fun for anyone. Sighing, Devin puts his drink down and dives into the fray, moving faster than anyone has a right to and separating people with what might be casual boredom.

F - 1. [Devin] Arts 4 | Open

There is a reason that Devin does not use social media, and that reason is so no one can find him who he does not want to. He also doesn't have time for flame wars and diatribe, and the sole reason he would ever consider an account on any platform is to keep an eye on other people. There are no vampires here to track, but he has a Xa Xa account with zero pictures or information on it just in case it could prove useful to access.

The sudden influx of messages and, disturbingly, offers to do things like model for more photos - when did he model in the first place? - has him grumpier than average. The written letters that arrive for him may be well-intentioned, but the fact that people know how to find him feels… threatening. He's going to find the artist and politely but emphatically tell them to stop.

F - 2. Closed to Leo

It quickly becomes clear that a candid shot Leo took of Devin with his new pet inan draped across his shoulders is the cause of this uproar. He's not thrilled. He's also aware that it's not actually Leo's fault, but given that the young man has such a large following on the network, perhaps he can exert some influence to make this attention go away. The knock on Leo's door is curt.

G. [Devin] Petrichor | Around Aifaran | Open

Devin is among those who take well to the near-constant drizzle over Aifaran. It reminds him more than a little of England. Though he claims nowhere as home, he has a certain fondness for the country that he belongs to whether he would want it or not. Trying to write notes about the city in this weather is nigh impossible unless he can find a different kind of paper, and so Devin wanders. It's nice, in it's own way, to just be in the city and the rain. Luthien occasionally joins him, but the inan usually ends up hiding in his coat to avoid the drizzle. He's not happy, exactly, but the pensive look he wears is less harassed than in previous months.

H. [Pepper] On kaa | Gene

Practicing with Shadow magic is something best done in open spaces, just in case, so a park on the edge of the city seems fitting. Pepper had previously assured Gene that his ka is still there and that they just need to work on getting him to this plane. She is not an expert by far, but at least she can provide advice and moral support and her own ka to give a little guidance.

OOC note: Let me know if you want a specific starter or feel free to make your own!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Pepper isn't averse to talking with strangers, either, and her smile is curious as she turns it on Ilda. She looks to be about the same age as Pepper, and evidently shares her outgoing nature.

"Thanks! I don't usually wear hats, but it seems like a good idea with all this rain," she replies, gesturing to the skies. "Umbrellas always seem to break, and this is cuter anyway." She has seen so, so many mangled ones in the trashcans of New York City. She offers a hand. "I'm Pepper. Are you new to Aifaran?"

Ilda hasn’t bothered shielding herself from the rain, so when Pepper brings it up, it occurs to her that it is a good idea. She steps up beside the other girl, looking at the other hats on display. “You’re right. Including the part about it being a good idea. I should get one, too!”

But first she shakes Pepper’s hand. “I’m Ilda. Nice to meet you, Pepper! Yes, I haven’t been in the city long. Just a couple of weeks. I’m from a tiny fishing village called Mellifera. I may have been washed ashore here in a storm, but I’m not really sure. How about you?”

"A few months in this city," Pepper replies, looking at Ilda with mild curiosity. The Dreaming snatched people amid all sorts of circumstances, and she recalls that if Tony and Gene hadn't been there in Keeliai, she wouldn't have fully accepted the explanation she was given for a while. It's still weird to think about. "But about two years in a different one a really, really long time ago. Everything's new here, including the rainy season," she adds with a laugh.

Tu Vishan moved around a lot, so the seasons weren't terribly consistent. "This must be a huge change for you, if you're from somewhere small. How're you adjusting?"

“I’m... okay, I guess.” Ilda pokes at one of the hats that’s caught her fancy, but she’s not really paying that much attention to it, thinking over Pepper’s question. “The city’s huge, but I like it. There’s so much to see and explore and there’s all sorts of people everywhere! It’s like having that massive Festival back home on a daily basis, instead of yearly.”

Then her smile turns sheepish as she admits, “But I don’t really get why we’re here. Or how we got here. And there was this guy who sent pictures of himself in a suit of metal armor, and he said that we can’t go home...”

It’s been much easier for her to think that she got caught in a storm and washed adrift, but every day she sees something that reminds her that she’s somewhere else entirely, and she’s not sure how long she can keep lying to herself.

"Metal armor...?" There were only two other people she knew of that had armor, and one did not send pictures of it around. Pepper half grimaces, but she looks amused at the same time. "You must have talked to Tony, then. He's my best friend, we're from the same world."

And not always the most sensitive about explaining things to people. "Well, we can go home, just not deliberately. No one's been able to figure out how to control when we come and go yet. The person who created the spell has been dead for more than five centuries." She pauses, considers where best to start as she adjusts where the hat has fallen on her brow. "Do you have magic where you come from? Not everyone does, sometimes it's harder to explain when you don't."

"Oh! So you're from that world with 4 billion people and you use the internet to get mad and talk bad about your rulers?" Ilda asks, as those were among the things Tony said that struck her the most. And, since Pepper mentioned that they were best of friends: "Do you have your own metal armor, too? Is that something you all have in your world?"

She picks up the hat she likes and puts it on her head. It's pretty cute, Pepper's too... maybe they should take pictures!

But then Pepper starts explaining, and Ilda sets her selfie-infested thoughts aside. At the question, her expression turns a little more serious, and she absent-mindedly tugs on the ribbon on her hat. "Magic exists where I'm from, if that's what you're asking. But only the queen can use it, since she's the goddess incarnate or something." She clearly doesn't sound pleased with the idea.

"Uh, closer to 7 billion, and we use the internet for more than just being mad about stuff," Pepper says with a laugh. She is not at all surprised that Tony gave a slightly warped perception of things. "At least in the country we're from, we're allowed to criticize our leaders - most of them are elected, so they're not 'rulers', exactly. In some countries they are. I have armor, but only me, Tony, and our friend Rhodey have our own personal suits."

Ilda reminds her of herself, with all the questions and the rapid-fire words. Her assessment of the magic in her world has Pepper tilting her head to the side, studying her new friend.

"Ah. Well, that at least means you know magic isn't just some hoax. Some people who come from worlds without it have trouble accepting that it's real, even when it's in front of their faces," Pepper elaborates. "Which is fair, it's kind of hard to believe if all you know is technology or whatever. Originally, the spell was supposed to bring warriors here to fight some big bad evil that was trying to take over all the worlds connected to this one. Since then it's... kind of gone off on it's own with no one to direct it, so it seems like it's changed a little bit."

Seven billion? Ilda boggles at the number. She doesn't even know how large that figure is, exactly, only that it's very big. "So many people! Is there really room for everyone? And are you all heroes? Your friend said he rescues damsels, although not all the time. He has a schedule for it."

At the further talk of magic, the blonde starts to get uncomfortable. Not that she doesn't think magic is real; she just isn't a fan, with the way magic works (and is distributed) in her world. "That must be a lot of warriors, if it's a big bad evil. Did they have a choice? Or were they brought here like we were, just... like that?" It unnerves her to think, in all honesty, that there's someone powerful enough to cast a spell and do just that.

"There's more or less room. Not everyone is a hero - there's only a few of us," Pepper answers patiently, still smiling. She rolls her eyes slightly at Tony's poor description of earth. "If Tony ever actually stuck to a schedule, he wouldn't have almost failed all of his classes." More admiringly: "He rescues a lot of people, though."

Pepper offers a sympathetic look to Ilda, her smile more somber. "They were just brought here without being asked," she confirms. "Tony was one of those people, actually. I mentioned we were here before - that was when. A couple of my friends are from when they were still fighting. And it did take a lot of people to defeat, but they did it." She brightens. "So we're safe from world-devouring demons, at least. Now we mostly have to deal with Dreaming potholes and rainy seasons."

Ilda doesn't miss the admiring tone in Pepper's voice, but she starts to feel it, too. Because, seven billion? And Tony the armor guy rescues a lot of that? That's quite a feat. Now she wants to know what he really looks like...

But her expression then turns somber, matching the other girl's own, both at the thought of people being taken from their worlds without their consent to fight a war that's not their own, and the fact that great evils really do exist in the... worlds. She purses her lips together, frowning. "But, don't you think..." she starts to say, then shakes her head. If she doesn't say it out loud, it's not real, not gonna happen. "Nevermind."

She changes the subject. "Hey, do you like that hat? I wanna buy it for you, since we're friends now and all!" It's a quick switch, but her cheer doesn't sound forced in any way.

Oh today I'm just a drop of water | April Catch-all

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