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[manofiron]

[ Finding out that Pepper's stocks in Stark Industries have been transferred to him - and because she'd been running it, he can only assume that it's the lion's share - and that that means she's presumably gone is not the way he wants to start the day. But it is what it is and there's nothing he can do about it.

He's wearing the suit, though the helmet's off, and the expression on his face is as professionally detached as the matter-of-fact tone of his voice when he speaks. ]

It's come to my attention that Pepper Potts may no longer be in residence in the city.

[ That covers that and he's not lingering on it. If he does, he'll wonder what that means, if some piece of her has gone back to the world she remembers or if she's dead and her body is being recycled or whatever it is they do with clones when they're gone. It isn't something he needs to worry about right now. Not in front of an audience. So he moves right along to business. ]

I've been informed that per her request, her interests in Stark Industries have been transferred to me. For those of you don't know, I'm Tony Stark, and if you work for SI, it means you're working for me.

[ May whatever aliens people consider gods help them all. ]

If you do, I want to know who you are and what you do for the company. If you don't, and you want to, talk to me.

And be prepared for change. It's coming.

[ What that change is, he doesn't know yet. But once he finds out what the company's been doing, he'll figure out the right path for it to take under his leadership. And this time, it's going to be a damn sight better than the last time he was at the helm. ]

Comments

[alphatar]

[Korra fit into that small pool of people that really liked Tony, and she's very ready to put her foot down.]

He should have an assistant. You needed one, so does he. It's Stark Industries, right?

So shouldn't that be up to him?

[manofiron]

[ And just like that, his voice and his expression gets icy cold. ]

Staff decisions are the purview of management.

[alphatar]

[That just makes her give up trying to keep her voice even and she snaps out:]

Meaning just you, right?

[manofiron]

That's right.

[alphatar]

[Under her desk, off screen, she has to force herself to unclench her fists. Punching her console won't do any good, and it's thanks to Banner's instruction on easing her temper.]

If there hasn't been any problems with Mako before, why is there one now?

[manofiron]

Did I ever say there was a problem with your boyfriend?

[alphatar]

No. But you implied it.

[manofiron]

I said I was going to find him a job properly suited to his skills. Since I have no idea who this guy is or what his skills are, that's not derogatory.

[alphatar]

[That actually gets her to stop entirely for a couple of moments.]

...Oh.

[What she simply took from that earlier was he's fired. End of story. Which of course makes her go into unhappy girlfriend/Avatar since she did her best to get Mako working there in the first place.]

Sooo... resume, right?

[She feels like a complete ass right now.]

[manofiron]

[ Eyebrows rising, he nods. ]

Yep. Resume. Doesn't have to be fancy. I just need to know what he can do.

[alphatar]

You mean with technology and stuff, right?

[It's really hard to hide her ignorance in regards to any scientific knowledge.]

[manofiron]

[ Is she saying what he thinks she's saying? They are talking about her boyfriend... ]

I mean skills appropriate to anywhere that's not a bordello.

[alphatar]

[The Avatar is officially flustered and sputtering.]

TH- No- I didn't-

TECHNOLOGY.

[She's clinging to the word like a lifeline.]

Skill with technology was wha- HOW WOULD I KNOW ABOUT THOSE SKILLS?

[manofiron]

Because everybody does?

[ It's 2012 where he's from, not 1920. Of course, there's a more obvious answer too. ]

And he's your boyfriend. Oh, and there are actually brothels here, so really, there are a multitude of educational avenues a curious young woman can take.

[alphatar]

Well- we're. working on it. Maybe not. I mean-

[She's so ready to go back to fighting over anything that would get them off this subject right now.]

I am NOT that curious. [Her face is almost magnetically drawn to her desk in order to become one with it.]

[manofiron]

Why not? It's a lot of fun. I mean, I've found some things that are more fun. But not many.

[ He knows that there aren't many people quite so loose and fancy free as he is about sexuality, but encountering embarrassment about the subject still seems so strange to him. ]

It's fine. Seriously. Have fun with it. Expand your horizons.

[alphatar]

[Right now she’s just trying to figure how in the world this suddenly popped up and re-evaluating her network-life choices. After a few moments, she manages to peel her face off her desk and is thankful that she turned on that custom encryption.]

That’s pretty much the advice my friend gave me. He’s, well, he knows a lot about it. [So if two people are giving her the same advice, that means it must be true.]

We’re good right now, but it’s kind of awkward whenever that subject is- around.

[Why is she talking to her boyfriend’s boss about this? What is her life…]

[manofiron]

Awkward how? He pushing you?

[ Tony may think about sex a lot. He may use it as a substitute for meaningful social interaction. But he doesn't have any patience for anyone who doesn't understand what no means. ]

Don't take that shit from anybody. You aren't ready, you're not ready, and no one can make that decision for you but you.

[alphatar]

Wha- Mako? No, no. We just- it’s just going slow. Because of me.

[And the fight they had, what that fight was about, and how they were still picking back up the pieces and why was she talking to his boss’s boss about all of this??

She smiles at that last part though, it’s echoing Jim’s words and that carried weight.]

You know a lot about this stuff, huh?

[manofiron]

I know everything about this stuff. I've been dealing with it since I was, I don't know, eighteen? Seventeen? Something like that.

[ His lifestyle isn't for everyone. It's barely even for him, and hasn't been for the last three years. But he isn't ashamed of it and won't make excuses for it. He just won't talk it up and act like it's the best thing in the world either. ]

And here's the biggest lesson I learned from it all: You do what you want to do. Other people, society, their opinions don't matter. It's your life. Live it how you choose. The people worth being part of it will be there with you and the people who aren't won't be. So don't sweat it so much. And don't let anyone tell you what to do.

[alphatar]

I’m seventeen.

[All she can wonder is if this means she’s going to end up being like Tony.

What?]

You mean with the whole…sex thing, not just in general, right? Because I’m the Avatar and I have to consider other people and their concerns. [And living it her way has been hard. since. age. four.]

[manofiron]

I don't know what the Avatar is, but yes. Generally speaking, I'm talking about sex. But it applies to the rest of your personal life too. See, that's the difference.

[ This is a subject he can talk about forever. ]

When you're doing your job, yeah, you care what people think of how you do it. You want to get it done. You want it done right. And presumably, you don't want to hurt anyone while you're doing it. But your personal life? What you do when you're not at work? That's up to you. It's not up to the public or anyone else.

[alphatar]

[This has pretty much convinced Korra that she just needs to have sex with her boyfriend so she’s not awkward about the sex issue coming up. But there’s a topic she can relate to, so she heads over to it like a lifeboat.]

Work’s kind of an ‘all the time’ thing when it comes to the Avatar stuff. [It takes a minute for her to figure out how to explain it without having to explain everything about her world.]

Imagine that you’re the Iron Man all the time and you never get to leave the suit. It’s just always on and the world needs you, all the time.

[manofiron]

[ The way she says it makes the corner of his mouth twitch. It's not really a smile, it never gets fully formed, but there's the ghost of one there even if it isn't the most humorous.

The world doesn't need him all the time. Some days, he would argue that the world doesn't need him at all. This one certainly doesn't. But he is the Iron Man, and just because he can take the armor off doesn't mean he can ever leave the suit. ]

I can imagine that a little better than you might think. Way I found around it is to carve out a little time for you so you don't get lost in it. It'll happen if you're not careful. And I'm thinking the Avatar won't be as effective without you giving it life.

[alphatar]

Hey, I’m working on it. [She says with a chuckle. This is unfamiliar territory, not too many people had advice for her from experience, especially on a world-saving level.]

But for right now, I’m just trying to make things work with me and boyfriend. [Because it simple, or it should be simple, compared to all the responsibilities and duties she had.] Which means I need to make sure I don’t have to tell him I just lost his job.