tushanshu | video; shortly after waking up this morning

[Open your eyes. Look up to the skies and TRY DESPERATELY TO STOP SEEING WHAT IS HAPPENING IN YOUR LIFE.

Good question. Words fail him. Which is. Unusual.]

I don't.

Hey, whoa!

[Now Bianca (Tony) has both hands up in protest, trying to protect her (his) armor from the inexperienced pilot.]

You do not want to do that. It's sensitive equipment.

[Fun and games over, sorry. He doesn't have any answers for the boys while he's defending his stuff.]

[It can't be that hard, Jaime's managed well enough as the Blue Beetle and this can't be too different, right? ~~Of course it's different.~~]

It takes this [gesturing at Tony's now armor-covered body] showing up to distract you from confusing two boys?

[And moving over closer to the console, ignoring Tony, since they do have two other participants involved here.]

Gene, Loki? Are you both okay?

[ Loki just makes a helplessly baffled sound. He should take advantage of this to further show others that this Tony Stark was a menace, but this body switching thing confuses everything far too much. ]

I had feared you wroth with us?

[ The inflection of the statement makes it sound far more like a question. This was weird, and Loki had seen a lot in his life. ]

[It takes Gene a second - and a couple false starts - to even get the right language. First Mongolian, then Mandarin, before he finally settles in English.]

...I have no idea what 'okay' even means anymore.

Confusing. Not hurting.

[Because he's not sure she differentiates between harmless fun and actual problems.]

And, yes, actually. That's kind of important to me. It keeps me alive. And you, while you're me.

[The humor is officially past. Tony speaks softly, which sounds strange to him coming out in Bianca's voice, but he rolls with it. Soothing is really what he needs at the moment.]

They're okay. It's not like weird things have never happened before.

[Impersonating someone to one teenager who she's fairly sure is emotionally disturbed and has severe trust issues and one she suspects has the similar problems, if not the same ones, doesn't really count as 'harmless fun' to her.]

Potential emotional pain is still pain. I know I'd be upset if I found out someone was pretending to be someone I thought cared about me, and I think the same would apply to you.

[She's not even paying attention to their main 'audience' right now.

Since Tony's being serious now, she's being serious in return, and even giving him respect.]

How do I get this to disappear without accidentally setting something off?

[ This is officially too weird for the tiny mischief god.

Loki was a crazy and often evil being given the nature and mindset of a teenage boy. This tended to preclude things like people legitimately caring for his well being, especially when he hadn't manipulated them into thinking they did!

He's just going to slink down out of sight and listen in. Carry on, good mortals. ]

[And this is Bianca's face looking unimpressed.]

Don't know what you're talking about. You generally need emotions before you can have any potential emotional pain. And one at least has never had any of that he couldn't afford to burn.

[He wants to affect a flippant tone, but it just comes out indifferent. It's hard to manage Bianca's voice properly.]

Trust me. They'll get over it.

[No question at all about that one. He thinks they're probably already over it.]

Try thinking about how flesh feels. Skin, and cloth. Don't forget cloth. You might have to think harder about it since you're not used to it.

Edited 2013-09-25 05:43 (UTC)

[Focusing on that first. It takes a bit, but sure enough, the armor disappears and is replaced by clothing. Which is a good thing, the network doesn't need public nudity. Once that's taken care of, however:]

Both of them have feelings, and they can definitely be hurt. [She remembers Gene's introductory post to the network, upset and angry, and far too bitter and distrustful of the world and people for a teenager, and Loki's surprise and confusion at still being invited even when her son pointed out that he was a god of mischief.

Whatever Tony knows, or thinks he does, doesn't trump that.]

Everyone acts on how they feel differently, and not always healthily, especially if they're hurting inside already.

[Gene has reacted similarly to Loki, in that he is sitting on the floor (mostly off-camera due to his new pint-size state) with his head in his hands, trying to ignore the episode of Dr. Phil playing out on his console and trying to de-fuck his brain.

It's not working.]

[At this point, Tony is exercising Bianca's face to make expressions that probably don't suit her. Her eyebrows raise in a doubtful, half-affronted stare with the right side cocked to a slightly higher degree. Her nose wrinkles in distaste, pulling disdain out of the expression as if that were the most ridiculous thing she had ever heard.]

Oh. Oh, right. So trying to destroy human cities because they were there was really just a cry for help. Wrecking lives and using people to get at others is just a phase.

[What she thinks she knows is based on such a short period of exposure that Tony can't help but raise his hackles at it. Sure, people can change. It's possible. But track records never just disappear. And being told by a stranger what he should know about a villain he's dealt with? That doesn't get far with him.]

Sorry. I didn't realize talking to them was going to permanently scar the super-villains. [Wait.] Well, I'll apologize for the one. That was just coincidence.

[ Loki pops his head up, eyes narrowed in annoyance. He'd been waiting for something useful, but that just irked him. Gene was his hobby, not a villain and not someone that needed caught in crossfire. The way that Stark was just associated the two of them was not something he was comfortable with. ]

Apologize better. Your total boner for me being evil shouldn't involve your fellow mortals, Stark. I certainly haven't struck out at those you entertain yourself with.

And I could.

[ A pause. ]

Ah, excuse the language, Mistress Bianca.

Edited (I had to rearrange icons, don't judge me!) 2013-09-27 00:42 (UTC)

So you resort to confusing and mocking? Are you trying to provoke something into happening? Haven't you ever heard that saying? 'An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind'? Even if someone's done wrong, or evil, it doesn't mean you just attack them in return just because you think they deserve it.

Nothing gets better that way.

[And directed at Loki, since he didn't deny what Tony said whatsoever:]

We're having a Talk later, Loki. After this is over.

[After the initial miniature heart attack that this Tony knew about his identity as the Mandarin, Gene's brain catches up with his ears and he realizes that he'd never tried to destroy cities for any reason. Wrecking lives and using people to get at others? That could be the title of his autobiography. If he were self-deprecating.

He climbs back up onto his chair, keeping his face utterly impassive. With Bianca's audible capitalization of the word 'Talk', he decides that he's not going to reveal his identity anytime soon.

He does not think he would be a particular fan of being on the receiving end of said Talk.]

Didn't ask your opinion-

[He starts to snap at Loki, but is cut off. Both by Bianca and by Loki himself, because unfortunately the point is a good one. Technically he did drag the other kid in. Maybe he meant to and maybe not. It doesn't matter.

Instead of starting up with Loki again, he keeps his eyes on Bianca. Which is totally weird, because he's looking at himself. It's one of the more creepy moments he's had.]

That's not what it is. If I was doing what I thought he deserved, I wouldn't bother playing telephone. I'm making it better. I was making it better. I can't really do that from here.

[He glances back at the console, but doesn't turn all the way around. No way do they get that satisfaction. They don't need to know if he feels bad.]

I didn't go in just to ruin their day, but considering one of them has a track record for attacking people "just for the fun of it", you'll have to excuse me if I don't feel all that bad about him getting a little confused.

[ Loki is still not entirely sure what to make of Bianca, much less Bianca being so very herself in his enemy's form. He's still bristling though it's pretty evident that she somehow managed to get him to rein in his ire. Another factor might have been that it becomes evident that attention was getting firmly redirected.

That's what he wanted, and paying for it with some loss of good will from that absurdly motherly woman would be worth it. Still, he wishes he could just magic this back into order, and do something about Iron Man's stupid mouth. ]

Don't speak of me like I'm not right here. Not unless you want me to give compelling reasons why.

[ The demand sounds more petulant than threatening, and there was never any way to really know if he was being genuine. ]

[There's no part of this whole body switch situation that isn't weird. Something like this was never what she expected would happen when she learned her son had become a superhero. Ending up on the back of a turtle wasn't included in that list of possibilities for that matter, either.]

Then what are you trying to do?

[Great. Now not only is Bianca lecturing him in his own body (Did he really make those faces?), but not Loki was trying to get in on the act. This is officially a bad day. Tony crosses his arms and rolls his eyes with as much petulant immaturity as the teenage god on the console screen.]

I'm not talking to you, Annie. Wait your turn.

[Which totally invalidates the point, because he is addressing Loki to say that. But he rolls with it anyway. More importantly, Tony has to get himself out of this hot water with Bianca. He raises both hands defensively in front of him.]

I'm not doing anything. I'm talking. It's not my fault that the Irregulars got caught off-guard. [He thumbs back in the console's direction as he says that.] I can't predict the future any more than you can. Less, now, thanks to this mess.

video; shortly after waking up this morning

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