4080/Do You Want to Play a Fairy

Do You Want to Play a Fairy
Date of Scene:	06 May 2016
Location:	New York-199999
Synopsis:	Toph decides to join the ALO craze, but first decides to drag her dad into the mess.
Cast of Characters:	20, 204, 301

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Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    It's been a busy spring for the Stark family, which of course leads to Union field work not being the main focus for some weeks. Besides robbing an Imperial ship along with Juno Eclipse, going on exploration trips to expand her ever-growing metal and dirt collection, Toph has been taking it a bit easy the last weeks. Perhaps it's to help Pepper out somewhat so she doesn't have to stress out about stuff around the house? Either way, it appears that the usually dirt loving teenager in the house knows how to clean laundry. If only she cared more about sorting them according to colour...

    With her focus more on actually keeping up with stuff at home, she's also not been behind on lessons this year. Surely Jarvis would celebrate if he were able to. A reason for this might be hat Toph has opted to pick up books that she actually does find interesting; geology.

    And of course she likes reading around either Tony or Pepper, just silently lounging somewhere in the same room. The couch down in the workshop, a chair or on the floor in the office, wherever she can find a somewhat comfortable place to sit or lie down goes. And today while Tony was working on whatever caught his engineering fancy, Toph has occupied the couch, lying on her back with her feet tossed up over the back of the couch in a typical teenage fashion. Her expression is intent as she moves her glove covered left hand over the pages with only taking a few breaks here and there to simply close her eyes and listen to music that Tony plays.

    During one of these quiet moments, and when the music isn't too loud, she speaks up however. "... do you wanna try playing that Alfheim Online game with me sometime?" she asks in just a slightly hesitant tone as she jumps right into something she's never talked about before, turning her head slightly.

Tony Stark (301) has posed:
Tony, hunched over one of the new holoemitters he's been working on to enhance Jarvis's 3D modeling capabilities, doesn't respond right away. His brain automatically files the question, of course, but it's queued behind his focus on the nanocircuitry under the large magnifying lens on his desk. Yes, he thinks, if I route through this junction I can save at least .25ps per cycle. He taps a series of intricate commands into the keyboard by his right hand and watches critically for a moment as the needle-like nanoprinter lays down the new circuit on the silicon.

Then he looks up and blinks. "Alfheim? Isn't that where Loki got that flying cat thing?"

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    By now Toph knows better than to expect a quick answer when Tony seems to be in the flow of working on something. Give him a minute or two to finish his thought process or whatever he's working on. It helps that Toph is patient, and well... he does answer in his own time. So when he does answer she's just started on a new sentence in her book, though she instantly turns her attention back to Tony. "Never heard of Loki playing that game... it's that virtual reality game that Kirito, Duchess and the other guys are playing. Where you log in and create a fairy avatar or yourself or something. Never heard of any flying cats, only flying fairies..." she responds with a casual shrug before closing her book.

Tony Stark (301) has posed:
"Oh, that." A smirk tugs at the corner of Stark's mouth as he checks the readouts on his screen. "I thought you didn't like flying. Or did you mean for me to be the fairy?"

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    The young earthbender drums her right fingers on the hardcover of the book as Tony speaks, a calm look on her face. "Well, of course I don't like flying, you know that." She only accepts flying when she has to. "And I'm sure you would be a lovely fairy too."

    After a few seconds she speaks up again. "I tried virtual reality earlier this year, by the way. To see if it would work. Alfheim Online, I mean." Her tone is a bit hurried. "Since it kinda works differently than other games by sending signals directly to your brain and all."

Tony Stark (301) has posed:
"I would be," Tony agrees. He is, after all, a dashingly handsome man so it stands to reason he'd be a fucking gorgeous fairy. He blinks his eyes hard to relieve some of the strain of focusing on such minute work and sits back in his chair, his spine popping audibly as he stretches. "Yeah?" he inquires, casually interested. "So how did that work, did it tell your brain to send signals to your feet of what was going on?" He smiles as he reaches for his bottle of tea and takes a swig. "Did you kill some large rats and level up?"

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    The question earns a headshake in advance where she lies, and a somewhat amused smile crosses her lips. "Nothing. Seems the game isn't designed with bending in mind. It... was just so weird, before I logged in it was like it usually is... and then when Kirito began the virtual demo he had prepared, we were up on an island in the sky. I could /feel/ the grass between my toes and all, but I couldn't see through the earth there. Kirito thought it would be better to try a standalone demo to see if that worked as it should, and... it kinda did."

    Okay, if he hasn't figured it out by now she might as well jump into it. "Didn't kill any large rats or anything, but... we did figure out that the game is able to input all the sensory input as it should. Though... it was REALLY fuzzy and gave me one hell of a headache when my brain tried to process all of it." She swings her legs off from the back of the couch and sits upright. "Not that I can blame my brain for not being used to /see/ before."

Tony Stark (301) has posed:
Tony lowers the bottle from his lips slowly. "See?" he repeats, not sure that he heard her right. "You mean it sent visual input to your brain and your brain was able to /process/ it?" he purses his lips thoughtfully. "So..." he proceeds, a bit carefully, "Wasn't it, like, super freaky? I've heard about people getting ocular transplants and freaking the hell out because they didn't know what to do with the input." Okay not so carefully. He meant well though.

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    "I think so..." Toph responds a bit quietly. "And of course it was super freaky, I think you guys would freak out too if you could see with your feet and be aware of everything around you." She appears to not be traumatised by it either. "It was just really weird at the time, and I couldn't see properly at first. First it was just... not dark and fuzzy, and my head hurt more and more. Then it was like I was... feeling sand with eyes, if that makes sense. Just fuzzy stuff, with different textures all around. And Kirito was all dark fuzzy." Well, explaining new sensory input isn't easy, and fuzzy is a pretty descriptive word in Toph's opinion. "So... kinda scary, but most headache inducing. But... Kirito says that ALO can be modified to add Braille to the menus and all if I want to try the real game. I just didn't want to bring it up when you were busy with preparing for the wedding and all since that was way more important," Toph shrugs, as it trying to make it seem like no big deal.

Tony Stark (301) has posed:
Tony can certainly understand the appeal and temptation in wanting to experience something like that again. The talk of headaches is a bit concerning, but he supposes it's a hell of a lot better than the heroin cocktails he was into in his youth.

"Sure," he says abruptly, easily. "I'll play with you if you want. I mean it'd have to be pretty cool to actually be able to /play/ the game instead of just trash talking for me," he smirks. He's also thinking, if she's going to be getting into something that has such a potentially significant effect on her brain and senses, he wants to be there to detect any signs of harmful side effects. But the first part is true enough so it's not super obvious that he's withholding motives.

He has to admit, he's also curious about the boundaries he can push with avatar creation. For instance, if he made a female avatar, would he be able to feel his--

"As long as we're careful about the headaches," he cuts off his brain sharply. Be responsible, Stark.

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    A snicker leaves Toph, and she grins. "You gotta admit I'm pretty damn good at trash talking, though!" she points out. Ah, the joy of talking back to older boys who clearly don't know how to deal with girls, who refuses to believe they are playing against THE Iron Man himself, especially when the voice of a young girl is on the line. And well, Tony isn't bad at playing the game either, which makes it even more fun to listen to their cries of outrage.

    It's a good thing Toph doesn't know what her adoptive father is thinking at all times.

    Though it seems that she's been thinking about the headaches too. "Yeah... I don't think I can play for long periods of time, at least not in the beginning. I had a headache for hours afterwards, and we weren't playing for long. Just to see if things went beyond fuzzy," she explains. "I didn't really get a good look at Kirito, I think." There's a pause, and then she cants her head. "He said he looks a lot like his avatar in the game. Maybe you could make your avatar look like you too." The reason should be pretty obvious.

Tony Stark (301) has posed:
"Well, yeah," Tony states reasonably, although something in his tone suggests he might be considering otherwise. "I mean, when I can be ME, why would I want to be anything else?"

"So how does this work? Do I need to buy a new game system for the house or is this one of those things you have to go somewhere to play?"

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    That comment makes Toph smirk just briefly, especially when she hears the tone in his voice. Then again, Tony should be happy with who he is now, right? Especially since he finally got to marry Pepper. He does seem to have been in a good mood the last months!

    "When we tried it at Njorun he said that you need some helmets... Amusphere, I think. You already got computers enough," she says and gestures to the workshop. "Kirito also recommended somewhere comfy to sit or lie down while you play so you don't get all stiff and achy when you log out. I can talk with him if you want. I did kinda promise that I would get back to him, but that I wanted to think about it first. He was kinda curious if it would work... though I think it would be more fun playing with you," she adds. "... and less scary since you know about computer stuff and such."

Tony Stark (301) has posed:
Tony can't help but smile a little smugly at this expression of faith in his tech savvy. "Not because I'm an awesome superhero?" he chides though, feigning wounded feelings. A beat. "You think we should invite Pepper, or..." it could be fun, making it a full family outing kind of thing. But given how wrapped up in her he's been lately it might be more fun to have this as something just for him and Toph. At least for now. "Eh," he decides dismissively, "she's probably far too dignified to play a fairy."

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    "I don't think being a superhero counts in that game," Toph shrugs. "I mean, it doesn't matter that I'm the greatest earthbender in that game... I'll be starting from scratch, having to deal with processing stuff in a totally new way, having to learn what everything /looks/ like. Even you." There's a slight pause before she narrows her eyes. "... I've never known what I look like myself. You think they could make my avatar look like me?" she wonders.

    There's a valid point there, and Toph drums her fingers against the book. "If we can drag her out of the office she might wanna try it? Let's see how it goes first. I don't wanna end up hating it and then having to deal with you two drooling away in chairs and being oogie while slaying monsters and hunting for treasure. I'd be all alone in the house and starving!" she mock pouts.

Tony Stark (301) has posed:
Tony laughs. "I have to fight too many monsters in the real world to get sucked into a game like that," he declares lightly, though his cheek twitches slightly as he reminds himself of some of the monsters he has fought. He shakes his head and rubs idly at the back of his neck. "Anyway I doubt she could come up with an avatar that'd make me more inclined to be /oogie/," he puts special emphasis on the word, teasing, "than any other time. But sure, I can help you make your avatar look like you. Assuming, I mean. I guess the character creation options must be pretty diverse."

Pepper Potts (204) has posed:
    "What am I trying now?" comes a familiar voice as Potts comes in, carrying a box of what must be fresh baked goods from some errand or another and two glasses of milk. She purses her lips, glancing over between Tony and and Toph with her eyebrows raised. "I'm not interrupting a meeting of the minds, am I?" she inquires, "Because these chocolate-chip-cranberry cookies won't eat themselves."

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    Cue Toph making a silly face at Tony's comment, though it's clearly teasing. Sure, she knows that the two love each other, she accepts that they are all over each other. Just as long as she doesn't have to 'see' it it's fine.

    "I doubt Kirito would be lying about his avatar looking just like him. Also, he promised to help me with a Braille version so I can actually read the menus... even if my brain is able to see in that game I wouldn't know how to read normal letters." And she's pretty damn quick to follow up on that with a sharp comment. "And NO, I'm refusing to learn to read and write with regular letters because I would never be able to use that outside of that game!" Just in case Tony gets any fancy ideas.

    It might be because her feet aren't on the floor, but Toph doesn't notice Pepper's entry into the workshop before she speaks up. Instantly the teenager beams, tossing her book aside on the couch as she gets up and hurries over. "Sweet!" Why should she say no to cookies? And she even reaches out to take one of the glasses of milk. "We're just discussing that Alfheim Online game," Toph says with a shrug, clearly trying to act casual about it.

Tony Stark (301) has posed:
Tony tilts his head backward over the back of his chair and grins unrepentantly. "Trying to see if you can make a virtual avatar any more gorgeous than you already are," he chirps innocently. "You know, the whole god paradox thing. Can he make a burrito so hot even he can't eat it. Also, Toph wants me to dress up in pixels and kill large rats with her."

Pepper Potts (204) has posed:
    "If you start making nuclear burritos I'm going to call Bruce for containment. You wouldn't like Bruce when he has to play babysitter." she leans over, and kisses Tony's forehead as Toph relieves her of one of the glasses of milk, and she sets the other done for Tony. Good Wifey is Good. She gives a small smile. "And I'm pretty sure there could be women more goregous than me -- but decently sure they don't qualify for 'Mrs. Stark' status."

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    "To be honest," Toph begins as she dips a cookie into her glass of milk, "you are married and thereby biased. And kinda screwed if you said anybody were more gorgeous than her." It's obvious to anybody that Tony is all gaga over Pepper. And well, it's kinda nice that they /are/ happy now. "You seeing people care too much for appearances anyway." Though... will she care about that in ALO? Better push those thoughts aside for now.

    "... why would a god want to eat a burrito anyway? It's a stupid paradox if you ask me." Let's focus on what really matters. Like cookies. Which reminds her about this upcoming Sunday...

Tony Stark (301) has posed:
"Not a chance," Tony agrees with a little growl in his voice. Possibly just to annoy Toph, but the appreciative look he rakes up and down at her isn't feigned. "So what do you think honey? Can I play Dungeons and Dragons with Toph?"

Wearing an impish smirk he rolls his gaze back to the blind earthbender. "Because," he explains calmly, "burritos are delicious. Anyway how do you know /you/ won't turn all obsessive about appearances in a game where you can actually see people?"

Pepper Potts (204) has posed:
    "Looks are pretty trivial when you know that half the girls are being played by guys who want to look at butts all day." Pepper replies, half jokingly. "And yes, dear, you can play ALfheim Online with Toph, just be careful you don't trash-talk the wrong kids." she warns playfully.

Tony Stark (301) has posed:
"I only ever trash talk the right kids," Tony declares innocently as he reaches for one of the cookies to dunk it in his glass of milk. "Which is everybody, yes, but only because I'm the best. At everything." His lips purse determinedly as he tries to force the cookie past the rim of the glass. It doesn't fit. He smashes it in, breaking off chunks to litter the desktop around the glass, and dips the remaining center portion in the milk with a satisfied smile. See? He wins.

"Maybe /I/ should play a female avatar to look at my own butt all day," he counters with a challenging stare as he slowly pushes the broken cookie into his mouth with one finger.

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    "Oogie warning number one," Toph comments to Tony, though it sounds like it's just a teasing warning. Leave that for later once she's got her feet up, sheesh! One would think they were still on their honeymoon or something. Ew.

    "Of course burritos are delicious, but why would a god eat? Aren't they perfect beings?" Quite a silly topic that is better left alone for now... As for being obsessive. "Okay okay, if I start acting like you and chasing pretty boys in the game you're allowed to drag me out and beat some sense back into me. If I don't, then I get to trash talk people and hide behind you until I learn how to kick ass in the game. Deal?"

    Though she frowns when Tony talks about playing a female Avatar, stuffing the cookie in her mouth and then proceeds to talk with her mouth full. "You look at yourself in the mirror enough as it is, and I don't really care what you would look like as a lady. It would make more sense for me to play as a guy considering I'm tougher than most guys to begin with."

Pepper Potts (204) has posed:
    "All you'd have to do is look in the mir--" Pepper begins, but Toph already has the thought out of her mouth, and she gives a bit of a laugh.

    "All right, apparently I'm a terrible influence on Toph. I've got to get back up to the office and check on a few things for New York." she smiels, running her hands through Tony's hair -- and then ruffling Toph's lightly before she heads back upstairs. "Have fun storming the castle!" she calls backwards, and hums lightly as she goes.

Tony Stark (301) has posed:
"I only look in the mirror so I can look my best for /you/~" Tony singsongs after her. "Just you wait, I'm going to loot the /best/ collection of shoes."

As he scoops up the crumbs of his broken cookie into the palm of one hand he adds to Toph, "You know I'll be a level one whatever too. But sure, you can hide behind me. I'm sure my innate superhero skills have to translate over in some way."

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    It's good to know that Pepper's on her side in this, and the blind girl grins. "It's about time that /you/ get to be the terrible influence for once, you can't let Goldie hog all the glory!" Of course Pepper has office stuff to deal with, but it doesn't seem like she's all stressed out about it. And hopefully she doesn't have anything planned for this weekend that classes with her own dastardly ideas. "We will, don't work too hard on a Friday night!" Toph calls after Pepper before she takes another sip of milk.

    As for being a beginner at the game, Toph does look serious. "You are /used/ to seeing though. And once I figure out how stuff works I'll probably run in front of you. Maybe I can be a tough fairy!" Oh yes, she sounds hopeful at that. "Like... tank or whatever you call it in those other games."