[ooc] HEADCANON TIEM.
So, there isn't much about on Pep's background, so I dug a bit in my own head and figured out some stuff about her childhood and family.
Born to Helen and Walter Potts on the 16th May, 19... 19something, Virginia always knew that she was born into a loving family. She had a good childhood- she knew her parents loved her, and she got along with her sister Amelia, who was two years her senior, uncannily well, given that they were sisters. She did well in school, getting above average grades- but she never did spectacularly well in anything. She never minded that her sister got just a little more attention for being brighter than her. It wasn't as if her parents treated them very differently; they never compared them to each other. They never told Virginia that she needed to be more like Amelia, nothing like that.
Everything was just fine until after college. Virginia left with a BA in accounting, and then she told her parents that she had been scouted by a modelling agency. At this point in her life, Virginia didn't know what she wanted to do, where she wanted to go with her life. She wanted to try something... different? She wasn't sure why she agreed to become a model, why she signed any contracts, why she did it. But because she did it, all that her parents had bottled up for years suddenly came rushing out.
Why couldn't you do something useful with your life? Why couldn't you try harder in school? Did we raise you well so that you could go and become some model? We tried so hard to accept that you weren't like her- this is how you repay us?
Why can't you be more like Amelia, Virginia?
The confrontation very definitely broke Virginia Potts away from her family from then on. Slowly, she fell out of contact with Amelia. She only occasionally spoke to her parents, at Christmases and birthdays. It was one hell of a fight, and though Virginia never broke away from her parents entirely, she had to admit that she resented them a lot. Her childhood had been happy only because she'd found her bliss in her ignorance, in not knowing that her parents thought all the things that she was so sure they didn't.
She never let it get her down, though. Sure, Virginia came to hate modelling quick enough; smiling emptily with glazed eyes lost its charm around three months into the job. As soon as she found that she could get a job at Stark Industries, she jumped at the chance to leave modelling behind. It wasn't as though the low level administrative job was particularly better than modelling- it didn't really pay all that much better, and it was just as boring and lifeless, but Virginia felt more comfortable around numbers than she did around cameras now.
And then, suddenly- Virginia became Pepper. It was, in some respects, an act of courage that she didn't really have. Oh, Virginia was confident enough around other people, generally-speaking, she'd been a model after all, but she wasn't the sort of people who... well, who stormed into the office of a very, very powerful man who could potentially ruin any chances she had at getting other jobs in the future, brandishing numbers around. She told Tony Stark he was wrong; she knew at the time that either that was going to ruin her life, or suddenly make it that bit better. She expected it to be the former-- but it turned out to be the latter, thankfully.
After becoming Pepper Potts, she had to admit that life suddenly got a bit exciting at times. Tedious as well, Tony quickly showed himself to be a ten year old in disguise, but still a little exciting. The new name caught on surprisingly fast; after a week, Pepper stopped telling Tony over and over that her name was Virginia, and after two, she stopped being surprised by other people calling her Pepper. In fact, when her father suddenly called her, out of the blue, and called her Virginia, that startled her more than anything else had ever done.
The story changed there; oh Virginia, dear, we're so proud of you. Working as Tony Stark's PA? We're so glad that you got back on your feet!
Pepper resented her parents more and more as time wore on. Since her father got promoted to... something high up in a company, the year after Pepper faded out of their lives, the Potts' normal, middle-class standing became a picture of Californian country clubs and richness. Pepper didn't care, generally. She didn't have to spend much time around them- only once a year, essentially, at their wedding anniversary. She always had to go to their silly get-together, with all their silly friends at their silly country clubs. There was a major difference between the wealth that Pepper's family had and that she lived through by being Tony's PA. Somehow, Tony's felt a lot more casual, and in some ways, real. Pepper had grown too accustomed to it, and the stiffness, the properiety that her parents had felt far too unnatural.
Either way, if you really want to see Pepper Potts stressed, catch her somewhere between the 5th and 20th of March. The whole anniversary deal-io happens around then, and she awaits the days with dread and discomfort, and some cattiness.
Subject to addition/change, etc. This is all for now. lol I know all the names are random, but I suck at making up names for people without faces. 8|a;;; and idek know if there are country clubs in California, but there are now.
Born to Helen and Walter Potts on the 16th May, 19... 19something, Virginia always knew that she was born into a loving family. She had a good childhood- she knew her parents loved her, and she got along with her sister Amelia, who was two years her senior, uncannily well, given that they were sisters. She did well in school, getting above average grades- but she never did spectacularly well in anything. She never minded that her sister got just a little more attention for being brighter than her. It wasn't as if her parents treated them very differently; they never compared them to each other. They never told Virginia that she needed to be more like Amelia, nothing like that.
Everything was just fine until after college. Virginia left with a BA in accounting, and then she told her parents that she had been scouted by a modelling agency. At this point in her life, Virginia didn't know what she wanted to do, where she wanted to go with her life. She wanted to try something... different? She wasn't sure why she agreed to become a model, why she signed any contracts, why she did it. But because she did it, all that her parents had bottled up for years suddenly came rushing out.
Why couldn't you do something useful with your life? Why couldn't you try harder in school? Did we raise you well so that you could go and become some model? We tried so hard to accept that you weren't like her- this is how you repay us?
Why can't you be more like Amelia, Virginia?
The confrontation very definitely broke Virginia Potts away from her family from then on. Slowly, she fell out of contact with Amelia. She only occasionally spoke to her parents, at Christmases and birthdays. It was one hell of a fight, and though Virginia never broke away from her parents entirely, she had to admit that she resented them a lot. Her childhood had been happy only because she'd found her bliss in her ignorance, in not knowing that her parents thought all the things that she was so sure they didn't.
She never let it get her down, though. Sure, Virginia came to hate modelling quick enough; smiling emptily with glazed eyes lost its charm around three months into the job. As soon as she found that she could get a job at Stark Industries, she jumped at the chance to leave modelling behind. It wasn't as though the low level administrative job was particularly better than modelling- it didn't really pay all that much better, and it was just as boring and lifeless, but Virginia felt more comfortable around numbers than she did around cameras now.
And then, suddenly- Virginia became Pepper. It was, in some respects, an act of courage that she didn't really have. Oh, Virginia was confident enough around other people, generally-speaking, she'd been a model after all, but she wasn't the sort of people who... well, who stormed into the office of a very, very powerful man who could potentially ruin any chances she had at getting other jobs in the future, brandishing numbers around. She told Tony Stark he was wrong; she knew at the time that either that was going to ruin her life, or suddenly make it that bit better. She expected it to be the former-- but it turned out to be the latter, thankfully.
After becoming Pepper Potts, she had to admit that life suddenly got a bit exciting at times. Tedious as well, Tony quickly showed himself to be a ten year old in disguise, but still a little exciting. The new name caught on surprisingly fast; after a week, Pepper stopped telling Tony over and over that her name was Virginia, and after two, she stopped being surprised by other people calling her Pepper. In fact, when her father suddenly called her, out of the blue, and called her Virginia, that startled her more than anything else had ever done.
The story changed there; oh Virginia, dear, we're so proud of you. Working as Tony Stark's PA? We're so glad that you got back on your feet!
Pepper resented her parents more and more as time wore on. Since her father got promoted to... something high up in a company, the year after Pepper faded out of their lives, the Potts' normal, middle-class standing became a picture of Californian country clubs and richness. Pepper didn't care, generally. She didn't have to spend much time around them- only once a year, essentially, at their wedding anniversary. She always had to go to their silly get-together, with all their silly friends at their silly country clubs. There was a major difference between the wealth that Pepper's family had and that she lived through by being Tony's PA. Somehow, Tony's felt a lot more casual, and in some ways, real. Pepper had grown too accustomed to it, and the stiffness, the properiety that her parents had felt far too unnatural.
Either way, if you really want to see Pepper Potts stressed, catch her somewhere between the 5th and 20th of March. The whole anniversary deal-io happens around then, and she awaits the days with dread and discomfort, and some cattiness.
Subject to addition/change, etc. This is all for now. lol I know all the names are random, but I suck at making up names for people without faces. 8|a;;; and idek know if there are country clubs in California, but there are now.