2014-03-02 - Advice on Girls

Tony soon steps into the sitting room after being summoned by Jarvis. "Nathaniel? Hey, what's going on?" He sounds a little concerned. The young man is highly independent, private, and not very talkative. As a result, to be actively searched out has Tony a little concerned that something is wrong.

Nathaniel has been rather scarce at the Academy, that is true. When he joined he wanted to be a model student and learn to be an Avenger. He didn't plan to meet this young woman and get involved in this plan to save the world from certain nasty historical events. Or maybe just some probable historical events. Oh well. Plans, who needs plans?

"Mr. Stark, hello," happening? Nathaniel is briefly confusing by the question. "Do you mean if my presence here is related to Avenger issues? No, not at all. I just... need some advice. About... Twenty First century women. You are an expert on those, I hear."

Tony freezes, he stares, yes, he STARES, and then he starts cracking up laughing! A little on the hysterical side. He then face palms and moves to have a seat, a little breathless. "Oh...Nathaniel, if only you /knew/. Maybe you do." He then shakes his head, "I'll do what I can though, but honestly, I can likely mostly give you advice on what /not/ to do. Such as not use a condom."

"The news feeds seem to indicate otherwise," mentions Nathaniel, looking baffled at Tony's admission he is not good at something, anything. "Ah, we have not progressed that far... she is, well... I suppose she is clueless in some regards. People this age still have a large number of sexual hang-ups and taboos. Although to say the truth, she spent most of her life on the run, in strange places."

"Great, a woman with many issues. I'm familiar with this," Tony states. "Honestly, good sex is damn good and fun, but it comes with a lot of drama and complicates. It isn't a bad thing to wait, but that's something only you and her can decide. I'm assuming though that isn't the advice you are looking for or asking for," he comments.

"It does?" Nathaniel offers a smirk. "See, that is something I haven't experienced. Mixing sex with drama and complications. Sounds unpleasant. And wasteful." He sighs, "and likely to happen. But I was not going to ask for sexual advice; I am from the Fortieth century. We might be somewhat jaded about it, but not uninformed."

"Ya, sex gets a bit boring if it's not messy though." Tony shrugs at that. "But in either case, ask away. I may get flabberghasted, but that's about the worse reaction you will get from me Nathaniel," Stark promises. He smirks a bit lopsidedly and motions the chair near him from where he lounges on the couch.

Nathaniel sits down with a sigh. "It is not about sex. I am sure it is going to be amazing when it happens, but that has little to do with my... asking advice. I am trying to have a serious relationship with this woman. Serious relationships, with deep feelings, are not something I have any experience. I mean, my parents have one, but they are not common anymore where I come from."

A nod at that, "For whatever flaw my parents had, they were in love and happy together. I was kind of an afterthought, but they adored each other." Tony shrugs a bit at that. "I understand though." There is no laughter, no teasing at all. "Emotions are tricky things, and there are always going to be road bumps. You may not want the same things in the long-term or the future, there are arguments and disagreements, and sometimes you don't know how to communicate with each other. Sometimes, love can be wonderful and precious, and other times destructive and cutting. It's a double-edged swords with risks." The way Tony talks, is definitely someone that has been in love before. "And sometimes, it's for the better to walk away no matter how much you don't want to. Or maybe that's just the coward's way."

Tony then looks over at Nathaniel, "No two relationships are identical. It's not just an issue of the people being different, but also their reactions to one another. The key is getting to know that person, understanding their ideology, their likes and dislikes, what they want from life, what they want from you, and often that's the most difficult thing. But once you figure those out, then you got to figure out if you are able to be the person they need you to be, and they have to go through all the same thing. Understanding you deeply, understanding what you want from them, and deciding if they can be the person you need them to be. It's a two-way street. It only takes one to break up a relationship, but it takes two to make one work."

"Hmm, this has certainly driven me towards a road I did not expect to take," admits Nathaniel. "She wants to save and protect the world. So much it makes the typical Avenger to seem lacking conviction. Her intensity and passion are incredible. I find them... irresistible, I suppose." He seems amused. "They used to tell me I was too driven. They had no idea of what is to be truly driven."

"It it sounds like we lost something precious in the future," Tony states. "Not that the future is bad, the lack of famamine, war, and such is definitely nice, but with the bad, there also comes some good things. But humans I hope will always evolve, so another thousand years in your future Nathaniel, things could be very different yet again," he says with a hint of humor. "Now, I will give you a warning Nathaniel," he advises. "If she's like that, than her 'mission' will likely always be first, even before you. That will be something you will have to come to terms with, it will likely be something you two will fight over as well. When you find someone that passionate, other things get set to the wayside. I should know...I get like that over Iron Man, or my research, or this or that, and everything else falls apart while I'm concentrating on that one single thing. That puts extra weight and responsibility on you to hold the relationship together."

Nathaniel frowns. He hadn't considered that. He would always be secondary to Hope's quest. Perhaps. Then again, if he helps her achieve her goal, she will be his forever. So it will be alright. What she wants is merely almost impossible. "I think... I can handle it. She is worth the effort."

A nod at that. "Only you can really know that," Tony states. "Least now you have a choice, and that's the important thing. Having that freedom to chase after your happiness, don't waste it," is his advice.

"It is not what I was looking for when I came to this era," admits Nathaniel, "but it is what I want more than anything." Haha, not much of a choice! Not for him. It is his first love. He looks thoughtful for a few seconds. "By the way, I might do some legally questionable things soon. I am not out to conquer the world, and neither is she, but she is going to make some very powerful enemies with vast political influence sooner or later. I might have to take some steps. I will try to be discreet and not to do anything an Avenger would not do. But... I will protect her. She comes first."

Tony seems to seriously consider Nathaniel's words, really consider them. He weighs them carefully, showing them the respect they deserve for the young man. When he speaks, it is only after he weighed the options, "If it gets too tense, or too questionable, come to me or one of the other mentors for advice. Sometimes, a new perspective can provide a solution you didn't think about. That's the good thing about having a team, is multiple perspectives, different specialties, they can open new doors for you. Don't let yourself feel as if you are trapped. We are here as an asset for you, and it isn't your responsibility to protect our reputation, but it is your responsibility to know when to ask for help or advice."

Nathaniel nods. Surprisingly good advice from Tony Stark. Sometimes the old man surprises him. "I will keep an open channel. In fact I suppose I can tell you already. We are going to prevent the incoming Dark Age." It might be impossible, as some events are inevitable. But Nathaniel is nothing if not self-confident. And Hope seems to have enough energy to do the impossible every day.

A nod at that, "That is something I can get behind. I work everyday to try and stop that from happening. Let me know if you need anything of me or the Avengers." Support from Tony? This is something Kang the Conqueror could never get, and perhaps Nathaniel will realize that Tony really doesn't see him as the man he will become, but the man he is, and apparently that is someone he respects. After all, whenever Kang is brought up, he generally spends a lot of time mocking him.

Tony is very quiet for a moment, thoughtful, before he asks, "You mentioned you had access to some historical database information before, correct?"

"Er... well," Nathaniel frowns, shifting uncomfortably in his seat. "There has been a problem with my historical database. I am still working on the theories. The modifications Kang made in the armor to enable time-travel have caused the corruption of the information. It is no longer reliable except for data from before 20##. And the information keeps shifting. I believe it has been struck out of phase with the current timeline."

"So before our current time," Tony states. "Your arrival may have caused some shifts, along with other dimensional and time activities," he states. He then runs a hand through his hair and sighs. "Man, I hope I don't regret asking this...does it mention my kids, the twins." Wait, what?! Well, they aren't born YET.

"You should know better than to ask me about those details," replies Nathaniel. Of course he goes to check, donning the helmet for the heads-up display. "Well, there is Arno Stark. He was very openly Iron Man for a time." Not always in the side of angels, but he will spare Tony of that bit. "Er... so twins? You have kept that quite quiet."

"I...don't know an Arno, and really don't like that name.. It sounds egotistical. Jarvis freak if I use his, so thought of trying something with my Father's and Steve's if a boy, or if a girl....not sure yet, though maybe to use Stevie? I guess that could be a middle name." Tony hrms quietly. "Don't have any surviving relatives. Gawd, what if Nat likes the name Arno? Ugh." He doesn't know what gender the children are yet.

Tony then sighs, "Anyway, yes. I...found out the day Cap died," the words a little difficult to get out, "That Nat is with child. I only found out yesterday that it's twins. We don't know gender yet." He looks a bit tired, "Just worried. But it really sounds like you coming here might have created an alternative timeline at this rate, or your database is really corrupted. I'd offer to check it out, but if it's that corrupted, I'd be worried about that it do to any system I hook it up to."

"Nat... as in Nathasha Romanova? The Widow!" Wait, what? That shows how badly out of the loop is Nathaniel. One can't trust modern media, sheesh. "Redheads..." he mutter idly. "Uh, the database? No. All the computers in the world put together could not have contained it. Still could not, it is as large as ever, just it stopped making sense. Besides... genie and lamp. It is bad enough Dr. Doom has been mapping the timelines already. But at least his magic-tech databases are basically un-hackable."

"Magic-tech?" Tony winces a bit, "Ughs...magic. I think Dr. Richards maps the timelines and dimensions as well, but he doesn't talk about it very much. It isn't really my thing. Actually, there is this virtual reality chat room. It has been a while since we gathered, but you should check it out. We used to gather there and chat or share e-mails, but life has been a bit...awkward lately. It really should get started up again."

Suddenly Nathaniel's Avengers Academy Holo-PDA gets an alert. There is an encrypted E-Mail that he can break with only some effort that has the location of the VR Illuminati chat room. "It might be good for you to chat with other intellects. Just try not to say anything like: 'Barbaric minds or technology', it generally makes people think 'supervillain' and feel insulted," Stark advises with a bit of a roll of his eyes.

"You are banning him from my best comebacks," notes Nathaniel, looking amused. "Brain-tank, uh? Very interesting. But yes, Dr. Doom merging of science and magic in his best creations, like his armor, will puzzle scientists for centuries. I understand he is one of the most dangerous super-villains in the world, but he also left an impressive legacy to the future, in my timeline at least."

"Yes, even evil can contribute something to society at times," Tony does agree. "In either case evil masterminds are banned from that chat room, but you are welcomed." A bit of a smirk. "In either case, do you have anymore questions or concerns? Believe me, I got a bunch I wish you could help with," and Tony chuckles at that. Oh boy does he! But Nathaniel isn't going to be able to answer when it would be best to announce the twins to the public.

"No, not really," it took some efforts for Nathaniel to open up even for this. Well, particularly for this. Being in love is confusing and he is not used to confusing. Stuff like science and strategy makes sense. "Looks like you have your own worries. Or will very soon. Thanks for listening."