The first step is the one you believe in

[handing]

Who: Pepper Potts, Tony Stark, and everyone who has gathered there today.
What: A wedding and reception
When: Sept 14, All Day
Where: Cherry Blossom Hill / The Battle Dome
Summary: Pepper and Tony are getting married finally officially finally.
Rating: PG/PG-13 max? There's at least one kid here.
The decorations on the hill are simple ones; they've chosen this spot because it's naturally beautiful without the need for embellishments. Chairs have been set up for the expected guests, with a clear path laid out for the wedding party. And of course up front there is a place for those people to stand, in sight of everyone gathered so Tony won't be able to tell Pepper "I told you so" as color commentary won't be necessary.

After the ceremony everyone will be invited to go to the Battle Dome for the reception. There Tony's programmed an expansive hall with tables and seating enough for everyone. There's also a dance floor, which everyone is encouraged to take advantage of. The atmosphere is warm and vibrant, clearly intended to help all in attendance have a good time. Dinner will be served, and there's an open bar, with rum by request of the officiant.

Just don't get too rowdy, okay kids?

{{ooc: Visual references and details can be found here. Link is very image heavy. There will be separate threads for before the ceremony, during, and the reception.

EDIT: Now with a sign up to catch the bouquet!}}

Comments

[chikaidestroyer]

Idly, Albert wondered if it was as strange for others to see him at social functions as it was for him. While he knew the groom and a fair amount of those involved in the event, sitting through a wedding ceremony and reception was still not something he found himself doing much of -- even back in his world.

He joins Raine as he sees her heading for the bar, nodding at her as he waits for a drink. "Enjoying yourself?"

[wise_maiden]

"Hm?"

Her mild distraction would likely not be lost on the strategist. "Yes, it's been a nice time, don't you think? Everyone seems relaxed. And the flowers turned out better than I thought they would..."

The ones she had been asked to provide for at the ceremony, anyway - anything in this hall that wasn't the bride's bouquet were all manufactured by the room itself.

[chikaidestroyer]

Mild distraction would be a kind description. He raises a brow at the particular focus of Raine's commentary. "You are at a wedding reception and you are thinking about the flowers?"

[wise_maiden]

"... Well, I did spend a lot of time on them."

Though her change in expression says enough. "Of course I'm thinking of other things, Albert. Getting married, here, and what it means. They both seem very happy."

[chikaidestroyer]

He allows for a slight smile at Raine's expression, though it's soon gone as he looks away to turn his attention to the rest of the party. "My understanding is that they were only steps away from that in their world. It doesn't seem like something they could postpone indefinitely, being here."

[wise_maiden]

"True. Even if they do go home at some point, right now it's their time here that matters. They have no reason to put their lives on hold..."

[chikaidestroyer]

"They are continuing something they had in their own world. Not something that everyone can do, with the way people appear here, but it seems to have worked in their favor, at least."

[wise_maiden]

"Yes. It's... good that they can do that. Even if something happens, here, they're still guaranteed a connection when they leave. Though their announcement seems to have lit the spark for others, as well."

[chikaidestroyer]

"Lit the spark." There's a wry note to the way he repeats that, and he turns his attention to the glass that he receives from the bar. "And you find yourself thinking about that as well?"

[wise_maiden]

"It's just a little strange to recall that the last wedding I attended here was my own, in a way."

She pauses, her gaze flickering to the happy couple and then back to the man in front of her. "Not that it counted. It's just something to wonder about. If I'd ever be in that position again ... in a real sense."

[chikaidestroyer]

He nods faintly. "There were no prospects back in your home world?"

[wise_maiden]

"No, there aren't."

And from what she had heard of the world's situation, she doubted very much that it would change within the next few years.

[chikaidestroyer]

"You are still young. I'm sure you will find someone."

He doesn't mean to sound flippant in his response, taking a sip of his drink. But from what he knows of Raine, it's very much the truth. "Being here in this world doesn't really offer any insight or hope on that matter, I suppose."

[wise_maiden]

"I'm not exactly in a hurry. It's just something to wonder about."

Jack had asked her the same question earlier, which hadn't helped either. "When we're here, it feels like we're living more in the moment. It's more of a given that things will change at any time."

And then there were the things that stayed the same a lot of the time as well.

[chikaidestroyer]

"Does it feel that way? Like you're living in the moment?" There's a wry note to his voice as he thinks about it. Thinking ahead had come so naturally, engrained into so many of his actions. He withheld from several pursuits with the future in mind, unaware of how beneficial it had turned out to be in the long run.

He felt he would somehow be disappointed to learn he had progeny in this world, knowing what seemed likely to happen to them.

[wise_maiden]

"Depends on the state of the village." She lifts her head with a half-smile, though it fades. "There are daily tasks, things to do in the downtime. Information to gather, study, reflect on. And sometimes there's waking up wondering just what will change today, or what might be gone tomorrow. And wondering how much time is spent feeling ... jaded. But that's a silly thing, isn't it? We can't live the full potential of our lives because we're here in this world. But we're still whole people here. Until we return."

[chikaidestroyer]

Despite himself, Albert finds himself laughing faintly as Raine comes to the word jaded. Yes, that was the best way to describe being in the village for so long; it was a word that came to mind when he thought of just how routine so many aspects of Luceti had become, despite how surreal they would be in the context of his own world.

"We are whole, entirely different people," he amends. "You could be free of your past and your future by being here. Is that what you mean by living in the moment?" Except for the part where it was all too possible for one's future or the past to become a problem when it appeared in some form in this world.

[wise_maiden]

Raine sips thoughtfully at her own drink when he speaks, and nods.

"Yes... that might describe it better. We're not limited by our situations there, in that sense; only by what limits we might place on ourselves because of them. And ... really, as long as you don't bind children to this world, there still are other aspects of life that can be lived. That hasn't stopped some people from living a little fuller than they might allow themselves. Even when knowing it could be gone the day after."

[chikaidestroyer]

"It's a rather harsh trap. Everything that happens to someone here can be taken away in a moment's notice, shifted or stolen away in some fashion. Then one is left picking up the pieces of having dared to dream."

He smirks then, a finger tapping against his glass. "We have seen that over the journals quite often, in only a handful of years."

[wise_maiden]

"Indeed."

Many lives, over and over again; always the same old story.

"Although then there is the remaining question: is it better to dare a dream, than to not dream at all? To observe the fates of others, while not indulging at least once?"

[chikaidestroyer]

"The payout would have to match or surpass the risks." Such was how things were with him. "But not everyone will think that way, of course."

[wise_maiden]

"Of course not. It's only practical thinking - you take a gamble only when there's more to gain rather than lose. And sometimes you'll sit there with that very same hand and wonder if you'll ever find the right card to obtain some satisfaction, or if you've been playing at the wrong table this entire time."

[chikaidestroyer]

At the extended gambling metaphor, Albert's smirk return, and he calls for another drink for himself.

"You sound as if you have been contemplating this for quite awhile. Has this been on your mind since that wedding?"

[wise_maiden]

"Mmm." She takes a considering sip. "It's not something I tend to focus on for myself, though when I run into other people who seem to have conflicted thoughts on the matter, I can't help but look at my own life and reason it out that way, while still leaving it open for them to make their own choice."

[chikaidestroyer]

"So you give advice on matters that you yourself have not made decisions on?"

With his very calm, neutral voice, it's easy for his words to the lose the faint upturn in tone that signifies it as a question. It's all that makes it sound polite rather than judgmental.