theatrical-muse: What is it you like about yourself?
It's not a simple answer. He'll make it look simple by smiling that charming smile of his, the one that could almost be patented as the Tony Stark smirk, and he'll answer with superficial things. Like the fact that his charm is a very good quality to have. Or his sense of humor. Or his amazing taste in vehicles, motorcycles, clothes, and 'toys' in general. Maybe he'll even add in the good looks, because, well, why lie? There will be a tone of playfulness, but so sure of himself that he'll answer without even blinking. If pressed for a serious answer, he'll insist he's serious. He'll use his charm to try and sway the conversation elsewhere.
But it's not a simple answer. What does he like about himself?
There are very few people he'd allow to be close enough to him to press for a serious answer, and there are even fewer people he'd actually try to find the answer for, but some days there just isn't an easy answer. Hell, some days, when he's so exhausted and in a bad mood that he doesn't even realize he actually is exhausted and in a bad mood, there isn't even an actual answer. In those days the things he hates the most about himself are more obvious. Like his irresponsibility in the past, and how it made it easy for so many men and women to be killed because of him. How it was his mind that created those weapons. How he could have stopped it. How he's so damn helpless sometimes to really fix it, no matter how much he tries.
Other days, though, it's different. What does he like about himself? The fact that he doesn't give up no matter how much he may want to on those bad days. Because no matter how many times he gets shot to hell and back, no matter how little sleep he gets and the danger he puts himself in, he knows he has a job to do and he does it because he is Iron Man. He made a promise to fix things, so he'll do his absolute best to try and carry out that promise. He likes that his mind can come up with the inventions that will help him accomplish that goal.
Maybe one day all those things will erase the ghosts and the guilt that make it hard to answer honestly.
Yeah. Maybe.
But it's not a simple answer. What does he like about himself?
There are very few people he'd allow to be close enough to him to press for a serious answer, and there are even fewer people he'd actually try to find the answer for, but some days there just isn't an easy answer. Hell, some days, when he's so exhausted and in a bad mood that he doesn't even realize he actually is exhausted and in a bad mood, there isn't even an actual answer. In those days the things he hates the most about himself are more obvious. Like his irresponsibility in the past, and how it made it easy for so many men and women to be killed because of him. How it was his mind that created those weapons. How he could have stopped it. How he's so damn helpless sometimes to really fix it, no matter how much he tries.
Other days, though, it's different. What does he like about himself? The fact that he doesn't give up no matter how much he may want to on those bad days. Because no matter how many times he gets shot to hell and back, no matter how little sleep he gets and the danger he puts himself in, he knows he has a job to do and he does it because he is Iron Man. He made a promise to fix things, so he'll do his absolute best to try and carry out that promise. He likes that his mind can come up with the inventions that will help him accomplish that goal.
Maybe one day all those things will erase the ghosts and the guilt that make it hard to answer honestly.
Yeah. Maybe.