InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "Van-sama!"

PEPPER P. (saltedand) wrote in rooms,
@ 2014-10-01 17:28:00

Entry tags:

*journal, bruce banner, jane foster, mary jane watson, natasha romanoff, pepper potts, steve rogers

Steve R, Bruce B, Jane F, Mary Jane W, Public
[Steve R]

That was one hell of an interview, Captain.

[Bruce B]

Please tell me you now have appropriate groceries.

[Jane F]

So how did the plan work itself out? There was a plan. Somewhere underneath the wine.

[Mary Jane W]

Holding up?

[Public]

If we could avoid all explosions, lack of provision of power or glass shattering in the building between two and four, I'd appreciate it.

(Read comments) - (Post a new comment)

	Re: Bruce B/Pepper P isalwaysangry 2014-10-01 05:27 pm UTC (link)
	I got the essentials, but I have an affinity for fresh fruit and vegetables. Also I like to support real farms, if I can. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	Re: Bruce B/Pepper P saltedand 2014-10-02 05:04 am UTC (link)
	You can have an affinity so long as said affinity involves regular acquisition. No living on tea. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	Re: Bruce B/Pepper P isalwaysangry 2014-10-02 01:06 pm UTC (link)
	I've remembered to eat at least a few times since getting here, that's a new thing. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	Re: Bruce B/Pepper P saltedand 2014-10-03 07:35 am UTC (link)
	Bruce, anyone would think you weren't a fully-grown adult. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	Re: Bruce B/Pepper P isalwaysangry 2014-10-03 01:01 pm UTC (link)
	I thought that would be more about my clothing than my food habits. [Smile.] I like it here though. It's a lot of space, but it's nice. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	Re: Bruce B/Pepper P saltedand 2014-10-04 01:57 pm UTC (link)
	It can be both. I'm glad you're feeling better about it all. I thought the only reason you wanted to stay was Tony. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	Re: Bruce B/Pepper P isalwaysangry 2014-10-04 03:31 pm UTC (link)
	After the toxin, I started to think what might have happened if I was off on a planet somewhere. The cure was a group effort, but I was a main component. If I wasn't here, more people might have died. People I care about, like you. That was the real reason I decided to try staying put. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

Re: Bruce B/Pepper P

saltedand
2014-10-04 03:36 pm UTC (link)

Bruce. You cannot make choices based on a desire to save the world. You have to make choices based on what you want, rather than what you want for other people, or you'll make yourself unhappy in the long run. Selflessness is an excellent virtue, but it's not the only virtue.

I would far rather hear that you wanted to be here because you enjoy the company - not just Tony, but the others, or that you were interested by the work you've got going in the company, or, I don't know, that you liked walks in Central Park and couldn't do that on an alien planet. That you'd be lonely elsewhere.

It worries me that you're trying to be here because of other people. You're not a superhero, you're a human being.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

Re: Bruce B/Pepper P

isalwaysangry
2014-10-04 03:45 pm UTC (link)

I'm not really selfless, just aware of what my priorities should be. [...] I do enjoy the company of Tony and other people here. You and Gwen, mostly, but I'm working on getting along with more people if I can. I am interested in the work I'm going to do with the company, and with the project Dr. Foster and I have discussed. The toxin was the catalyst that brought me back, but all the rest is helping me stay put.

I wouldn't be lonely elsewhere, but that's because I'm used to being alone. In the past I thought I always had to run, I never stopped and tried to settle anywhere, it was too dangerous. But even before the experiment, I was a solitary person. I could go months without talking to people. It's new, having friends, having people I care about. I had Betty before, but she was the only person. I'm still adjusting. I think this is a good thing, healthier long term, it's just difficult to stick to it.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

Re: Bruce B/Pepper P

saltedand
2014-10-04 03:51 pm UTC (link)

Bruce, you literally just said the reason you're here is because without you being here, people would die. And it's not remotely healthy to believe yourself to be the lynch-pin upon which the world's safety hinges. ~~God knows even Tony doesn't have that kind of ego.~~

Go out. Leave the lab. Leave the project, ask Doctor Foster for a drink instead of about the research. Being solitary ought by now to be an old habit, instead of a new one. You care about Selina, you care about Gwen, you care about Tony, you have an entire team of people who rally together. Natasha just quit SHIELD. Mary Jane is lost in another door. If the toxin, any of this taught us anything, it's that there is not enough time to be tentative about any of it. Get involved.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

Re: Bruce B/Pepper P

isalwaysangry
2014-10-04 03:58 pm UTC (link)

Sorry, I don't think I said that well. I'm definitely not the lynch-pin. The world gets along just fine without me and always had. If I disappeared tomorrow, it'd still be fine. It's more that I was thinking about being stuck somewhere unable to help and knowing that if I was around I could have helped.

[...] I like the lab and the project. Doing science instead of medicine is a relief. I am involved, I promise. I knew about Natasha and Mary Jane. Gwen and her people are looking for her now, I don't know if they've found her yet.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

Re: Bruce B/Pepper P

saltedand
2014-10-04 04:02 pm UTC (link)

Bruce, that's very different to what you actually said. And it worries me that you perceive your value to others to be your scientific capabilities. However strong they might be, you're not just a scientist. You're a human being and human beings? Don't do well with nothing but science and isolation.

I mean it about letting the lab and the project not be all you do. You can have more. People have more. Go show Doctor Foster your favorite place for tea, talk to Natasha about why on earth she's taking a hiatus from SHIELD. Broaden your horizons a little bit. Mary Jane isn't found yet, or she'd be communicating.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

Re: Bruce B/Pepper P

isalwaysangry
2014-10-04 04:23 pm UTC (link)

That's why I should think before I say things. The toxin scared me. A lot of people died, a lot of other people almost died. [...] Selina and Bruce were trapped in another door when Carnage was happening. I know how frantic they were to get back when all of their loved ones were in trouble. I would have felt the same way if I wasn't here for the toxin. I know Tony was out of his mind in Asgard. So to me that meant this is my home, and I want to be here. It's a different feeling then where I was at only a few months ago.

I know why Natasha is taking a hiatus, but I can't say if she's not saying. [...] I volunteer at a soup kitchen and homeless shelter. I talk to people there. But I know what you mean. Do you want to get tea? [He's already comfortable with Pepper.]

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

Re: Bruce B/Pepper P

saltedand
2014-10-04 04:46 pm UTC (link)

~~That's still not~~ If it's your home and you want to be here, make it home instead of a lab. Building family, building relationships takes more than a project on the hotel.

I'm not asking to know why Natasha is taking a hiatus, I'm saying you should talk to her about it, because if she's taking a hiatus something is wrong and you're her friend. A soup kitchen and a homeless shelter is you trying to be selfless, unless you're telling me you routinely know the people you're handing out soup to, and they know about your life and your problems as well as you knowing about theirs?

We can get tea. Or you could try branching out. Tea with me isn't branching out.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

Re: Bruce B/Pepper P

isalwaysangry
2014-10-04 05:22 pm UTC (link)

I don't know that I've ever really had a home in that sense, but it sounds good. I'll work on it.

I do know the people at the shelter and kitchen, I've been volunteering there for almost a year. They don't know me though, I'm under a false identity. And I don't talk about myself. It's not really about being selfless. I've been homeless before, it was a good way to stay under the radar, but I know how tough it can be. They're good people. [...] I guess I could talk to Dr. Foster about something that isn't science. Tea with you is nice, branching out or not. I like being around you in general, Pepper.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

Re: Bruce B/Pepper P

saltedand
2014-10-04 05:26 pm UTC (link)

No one's too old to learn new things.

If they don't know you, they're not connections, they're passing ships in the night. They might be good people, but they don't know what you like on your pizza, that you cannot physically acquire clothing that is unwrinkled or that you're an absolute ass when you're being stubborn. Talk to Doctor Foster, look after Natasha, how is Thor these days?

That's nice to know.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	Re: Bruce B/Pepper P isalwaysangry 2014-10-04 05:33 pm UTC (link)
	[...] Thor's tried to reach out a few times and I wasn't [...] great about it. I could try to fix that, he doesn't seem the type to hold onto a grudge. It's true. [...] I saw the public part, what's happening between two and four? (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	Re: Bruce B/Pepper P saltedand 2014-10-04 05:36 pm UTC (link)
	So go and fix it. Task one. Task two is to get Doctor Foster - whose name is Jane, by the way - to have tea and talk about something that isn't science. What public part? What do you mean? (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	Re: Bruce B/Pepper P isalwaysangry 2014-10-04 05:40 pm UTC (link)
	Okay, I sent them messages. And the Avengers Mansion people. I can be taught. You mentioned something on a public post about avoiding explosions between the hours of two and four before, what was that about? (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	Re: Bruce B/Pepper P saltedand 2014-10-04 05:44 pm UTC (link)
	Good. But it'll need to be sustained. Not just when you're told or taught. Oh, that. A smaller technology company is coming to present. We might acquire them. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	Re: Bruce B/Pepper P isalwaysangry 2014-10-04 06:13 pm UTC (link)
	I can do that. It helps I genuinely like all of the people involved. I find the people from the other world very interesting, even if their background seems [...] intense. I'd say I think we can make it two hours, but that feels like a dare, and I'm knocking on wood. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	Re: Bruce B/Pepper P saltedand 2014-10-04 06:17 pm UTC (link)
	You mean their world where Tony is evil and the world isn't saved? Honestly, the one most likely to cause trouble is the one I have the greatest hold over. I'm less worried about you causing structural damage than most. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	Re: Bruce B/Pepper P isalwaysangry 2014-10-04 06:22 pm UTC (link)
	I think it seems very gray zone there. He can't be that evil if they're all still friends with him. But they do seem to have non-stop drama, that's for sure. He's wrapped up in his work, he probably wouldn't even notice. [Laugh.] Explosions aren't really my thing, the less noise the better. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	Re: Bruce B/Pepper P saltedand 2014-10-04 06:24 pm UTC (link)
	Oh please. We have non stop drama. This is the least drama we've had in a year. He's not that wrapped up and I've not seen panic. He's just making up lost time. And the day you start enjoying explosions is the day I require you to undergo a mental health examination. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	Re: Bruce B/Pepper P isalwaysangry 2014-10-04 09:29 pm UTC (link)
	Knock on wood twice. It's good to see him working again like that. I know he has a very active mind, it was probably hungry for something to do that wasn't staring at a ceiling. [Head shake.] That was never my style. I know a lot of other people enjoyed that sort of chemistry lesson. I don't even like fireworks. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)