Video

[thefuzzyguy]

[As he speaks he holds up what looks like a clunky digital watch from the late nineties with too many buttons that don't do anything. It is slightly smashed.]

So this is probably kind of dumb, since I barely use it anymore, but my image inducer broke... back in one of the other timelines. Not important. It's a pretty weird piece of technology und I totally have no idea how it works, but I know there are techy people here. Sometimes from the future in space. I know back home the professor can usually fix it, but once in a while he sent it back to... whoever made it for him? I don't get all the secrets. I just get a hologram that can sometimes keep me from looking like Satan started a line of plushies.

Comments

[djinnigenie]

[Yes, Elissa is using the com more of late in order to try to learn how to use the Maker-damned thing. Thus, she replies to complete strangers like Wes and now Kurt.]

I fear that I know nothing of such devices, but... What is a plushie?

[thefuzzyguy]

[He may find it harder to laugh lately, but he can't resist a little snort. It's not intended to ridicule. Just a really funny question.]

Um, a mass-produced cutesy stuffed animal.

[djinnigenie]

Like... the head of a deer over a fireplace?

[Elissa's question is genuine, but even she is looking amused.]

And what is an 'image reducer'?

[thefuzzyguy]

Uh, nein, it's a toy. Made of cloth. Usually to look like an animal, though. Und an image inducer is a thingy that makes me look like a normal human instead of me.

[djinnigenie]

Ah, like a doll. I understand.

Admittedly, I had never met any living person with blue skin until I came here, but I am not sure why you would find much need to change your looks except not to alarm others by your skin color.

You have quite a nice face. When you are older, you might be as dangerous to women - or men - as a certain suave Antivan that I know.

[thefuzzyguy]

[He'll just ignore that last part and be glad the fuzz hides almost all the evidence of blushing. Though the very observant have been known to notice that the very thin fur at the tips of his ears lets a little touch of purple glow through.]

Mostly to not get torn apart by mobs or kidnapped for dissection back home. Stuff like that.

[Actually, being embarrassed about the weird compliment kept him from immediately withdrawing or getting panicky in thinking about it. There's that.]

[djinnigenie]

[Elissa can definitely be outspoken, but she was genuine in trying to tell Kurt she thought he was cute instead of scary. She just didn't go about it very well. Cute is not a word used often to describe people in Ferelden - unless they are very young.]

Have you faced such danger here?

[video]

[hypospraying]

Kurt? I hope you stayed safe after it broke.

Oh, and Tony Stark could probably take a look at it. He made a special battery adapter for me.

[thefuzzyguy]

...Not really.

Uh, anyway. Maybe. Actually, come to think, there's a stark logo on it, though that might just be the watch part. Wonder if there's any relation?

[This whole infinite universes thing trips him up a lot.]

[hypospraying]

[She gets the sense he doesn't want to talk about it from his hesitation there. Fair enough.]

Huh, it would be a pretty interesting coincidence.

[thefuzzyguy]

[And he much appreciates that.]

Well, I wouldn't be surprised if a big tech company existed on a lot of versions of earth. I don't really follow business news, so...

[hypospraying]

Even with the variables that can create alternate realities, plenty of things stay constant.

[Why, it's almost like she knows about this sort of thing. Fancy that!]

[thefuzzyguy]

I wish one of my responsible friends was around, though. Or maybe someone who reads tabloids. They have, like, pointless rich people sections.

[He's seen them at the grocery store. This is the extent of his information.]

[Video]

[nodavinci]

[The backdrop of Tony's reply is - surprise, surprise! - the ship.]

I know you. Airship pirate, right? Bring it by tonight, I'll take a look.

[thefuzzyguy]

Ja, me without my makeup. Can do.

[nodavinci]

[The next reply is text, and just the address of the converted warehouse this timeline's Tony had apparently been using as a workshop before - disappearing? being replaced? better not to think about that too much.]

[Text] >> [Action]

[thefuzzyguy]

Kk

[It's about as good as Kurt texting gets. His fingers are not amenable to little buttons.

He waits for evening before he heads over, knocking politely when he arrives.]

[Action]

[nodavinci]

[The doors open onto a space that at first glance probably seems an unnavigable maze of tools, workbenches, and half-completed projects. There's a logic to the setup, but it's particular to Tony's own methods. He tips his head towards a nearby workbench, with a stool that is - amazingly enough - not being used to hold anything.]

Have a seat. Let's get a look at the damage.

[thefuzzyguy]

[The room's almost reassuring. It could be any number of rooms in the basement of the Institute, and very possibly the garage after Scott had gone on a car kick.]

Uh, pretty bad. It got smashed between me und a brick wall.

[Kurt holds out the broken watch a little sheepishly. He knows it wasn't his fault this time, but the image inducer acts up constantly, and always to the effect of near or total disaster.]

[Video]

[genoshas_general]

...[Wanda turns on the video feed, but she doesn't actually say anything. She's caught between her usual impulse to tell him he doesn't need it and the memories of what happened to him when he lost it.]

[thefuzzyguy]

[He just assumes it's lecture time.]

Ja, ja, I know. It's just it's super useful sometimes, und why shouldn't I get it fixed if I can?

[genoshas_general]

[Wanda's quiet another few seconds, with absolutely no eye contact.] No, I know. It could've helped with...

[thefuzzyguy]

Kind of something I've been expecting... you know, always.

[genoshas_general]

I know, and I should have listened. I almost...

[Confession time. Rationally, it might make more sense to confide in Kerra, but this is based much less on rationality and much more on guilt.] I was ready to kill everyone who had hurt you.

[thefuzzyguy]

Ja, that's... [Yeesh. Sometimes he forgets he's not talking to the X-men and all, but that's way beyond Brotherhood nastiness as he knows it. But she didn't do it, so he tells himself she's just venting.] Not such a useful impulse... Anyway, it happened because my inducer failed, not because I didn't wear it at all...