#don't get up my ass about being a stupid tony stan

[winteriron-trash]

I Might Be Crazy But

So I was talking to my best friend @starbucksforabreak on the phone this morning, and like all friends do, we were discussing Tony and just talking about a lot of meta concerning him. We, of course, came across the topic of Howard Stark and our hatred for him, and @starbucksforabreak said something that was absolutely mind-blowing to me and I just wanted to share it with yall.

It’s obviously no fucking secret that Howard was an asshole and a generally shitty parent to Tony. “He was cold, he was calculating. He never told me he loved me, he never even told me he liked me. [...] You’re talking about a guy whose happiest day was when he shipped me off to boarding school.” (Iron Man 2) I could cite the comics and so on, but you get the point. We all know Howard was a shitty father who fucked Tony up in endless ways.

So it’s always fucking irked me the redemption arc he got in Iron Man 2. Suddenly this man who we’d been conditioned to dislike throughout the rest of the MCU in every instance he’s been brought up is now given a 180 in his character and shown as this caring father who just didn’t know how to express his love for his son. And that’s always pissed me off. First of all, it’s just out of place and doesn’t fit Tony’s entire character arc. When Howard is brought up later in the MCU -such as in Captain America: Civil War- we revert right back to the demonizing of his character. Which is understandable considering who he is as a whole both in the MCU and in the comics, but that once scene felt so out of place. I never understood it, I always detested and ignored it, just because I didn’t get it.

But then my lovely, lovely friend pointed something out that was just strange to her from a cultural perspective, but fucking blew my mind when she brought up. And I haven’t seen it brought up anywhere else in any other Tony or Howard meta, so here we go.

Something that Star pointed out was Howard’s exact language when he was praising Tony in his little speech. Specifically, the line “[...] my greatest creation, is you.” (Iron Man 2) Notice the wording here. Creation. As in something that is made or invented, according to its’ definition. It’s a weird word to call a human being, even in that context. I get it was supposed to be all symbolic and deep, but the way Star explained it made so much more sense to me.

Simply put, Howard saw Tony as a tool. He saw Tony not as his son, but instead as something he had built, something that would further his Stark legacy. Tony Stark was not Howard’s child, he was his invention. His creation. “[...] you will change the world.” (Iron Man 2) Howard saw Tony’s purpose as only furthering and expanding on his work, rather than working on his own inventions and whatnot. Tony existed merely as yet another part of the great Howard Stark rather than his own person. So many of Howard’s traits, especially the bad, are encapsulated in Tony being stuck in the legacy Howard forced him into as not his son, but his creation.

And honestly, to me, this narrative makes so much more sense. It wouldn’t be the first time that a human being was a literal creation of Howard’s. Howard Stark was one of the key scientists in creating the super soldier serum and Captain America. Not only did Howard help with the serum, but he also designed the face of Captain America, with the suit and the iconic shield. Howard had experience with making people inventions, creations.

The whole fanfiction idea of Howard being obsessed with Steve Rogers even after his death is more deeply rooted in canon than a lot of people realize. “You two knew each other? He never mentioned that, only a thousand times. God, I hated you.” (Captain America: Civil War) Howard constantly brought up Steve to Tony, never letting Tony forget about Howard’s prize creation. Tony could never be Captain America, no matter how hard he tried. He could never be as good as the man Howard wouldn’t let him forget, always bringing up. Just a reminder, that Howard was bringing this up, constantly saying this to a kid. A young, impressionable child who just wanted to impress his father and be as good as a literal superhero.

So not only does it make sense for Howard to view Tony as a creation, but it also makes sense for that brief moment in which Tony seems shocked and even a bit happy by that revelation. Because that meant he was finally on the same pedestal as Captain America in Howard’s eyes. He was a great creation of his father, the same way he would’ve viewed Steve Rogers. So as fucked up as it was, to Tony, that would’ve been all he ever wanted. Maybe he was only a tool to Howard, but at least he was that. It makes sense that that speech would be an inspiring point to Tony, pushing him to look harder and try to be better. Even after all this time, Tony still wants to prove he’s good enough, be enough for Howard to notice him.

TLDR, this is just something that I think adds an interesting spin on that scene from Iron Man 2, and helps put it into a perspective of what was probably really going through Howard’s mind during that ‘heartfelt’ moment.

[wasp-coffee]

1, 2, 3, 4, 15, 16 for the top gun asks!

1. hard tie between Iceman and Maverick.

Mav has the feral energy of a disturbed racoon on coco puffs and i GET HIM like I understand. Also, short people represent! /hj you just want to pick him up like an angry kitten sometimes. Hes such good friends with Goose and Carole and even Wolfman and Viper, hes so genuinely likeable. Jeans... to play volleyball? (been there done that) Babygirl you are so stupid ❤️

Iceman, baby, bastard (affectionate) Tony Scott was right he is playing the main character in his life and just like any lead in a high school show he's not happy to be upstaged by a brat. He's simply an icon; fashion? check. skill? check. ability to carry THE most homoerotic scenes? check- We don't see a lot of him in comparison to Mav but when we do this bitch is a rockstar. Pretty and smart! Wish we'd've seen more of him :3

2. In Top Gun '86? No one. Everyone is iconic and there are no notes to be given.

In TGM? ... Penny (STOP THE PITCHFORKS LET ME EXPLAIN) - the screenshots are from an earlier ask

wasn't a fan that Penny got her own theme. She was a few throwaway lines in the original and I don't think she held as much emotional significance as Joseph Kosinski tried to give her. She was... fine. I've seen the movie at least 7 if not more times and I can honestly say I remember 4 things about her:

•Her dad was an Admiral

•she has a bar

•daughter

•boat?

I got that she was friends with Maverick but like... didn't pick up on the romantic beats at all - the "sex" scene slapped me in the face like a frozen fish. She could've stayed an old friend imo. An instrumental version of hold my hand is used as her interlude and her and Mav's romance theme - which plays at the end to tie the film together.

This really bugged me for a few reasons, mainly that (to me) Ice was the emotional core of the movie. Stay with me, this rant does lead somewhere:

The guardian angel motif runs throughout the movie, even in the hard deck where Mav sits under a VFA-25 poster (ICE'S SQUADRON). The same patch can be found in Mav's hangar with the VFA-25 emblem.

Ice brings Maverick back to Top Gun, saving his ass from grounding (yet again)! Without Ice, Mav wouldn't be at TG. Its Ice who we see with Mav as he looks for reassurance. ITS ICE'S DEATH THAT MOTIVATES HIM TO PROVE TO CYCLONE THAT HE CAN FLY THE MISSION PARAMETERS. It's after Ices death that (im paraphrasing) Bradley says "there's no one left that will miss you"

THEN we get all the stuff with Penny as if to say all of the above is just... good ol' buddy buddy friends nothing gay here no sir–

Penny + Mav's love theme playing over the end as they fly into the sunset seems to make the relationship between Mav and Ice secondary.

I like Jennifer Connelly, I liked the way she played Penny but the character's stressed importance made no sense to me (and it might just be me)

The repeated use of said theme made it seem like the movie was about Mav and Penny... which it wasn't. First and foremost the film was about family and connection with Rooster and Mav and Ice being integral to those themes.

ask me about my opinions on the soundtrack (sarcastically)

You can't help but smile (nearly) every moment that he's on screen. He's larger than life and a multi talented king. We stan dressing sensibly for the regular oiled up homoerotic volleyball tournament.

4. Ice/Mav they make so much sense together and by TGM its clear they care so much about each other. Ice's funeral is heartbreaking because of it - Mav's wings- (sobbing)

15. hmmm I haven't read many TG/TGM fics but I'll get back to you if I do!

16. (Headcanons)

Hollywood/Wolfman were in a relationship for all of TG - those bitches gay I tell you!

Ice, Slider, and Sundown are around the same age and are the oldest in their Top Gun class which is why they look so tired™ at Mav's shenanigans.

Maverick cant drive. He owns vintage cars, fixes them, sure but he never learned because he always had his bike.

Hence, it was most likely one of many other uncles that taught Bradley to drive.

Bradley's speech is absolutely riddled with awful 90s slang because he grew up in southern California - underutilized imo because everyone migrates to phonetically use Hangman's Texan accent.

Bradley + Mav Green Lantern and The Flash Halloween costumes from ages 8-12.

Hangman's anthem is Red Solo Cup (not that he will admit it to ANYONE) link

Maverick still got asked for ID in bars well into his 30s

If Mav had died during project darkstar, Bradley is his next of kin - and would have been presented with Mav's flag at the funeral

Slider is a dog person off vibes alone but so is Bradley. Maverick would be but if we're being honestly he can only just take care of himself

Bradley listens to much of what Mav and Goose did - stuff from the 60s and 70s that they heard while growing up

(Rant Over)

Thank you so much for the ask <3

[graylu]

civil war discourse time

Tony ignored the threat of zemo until after the airport battle.

Steve said: hey that guy is threatening to release more super soldiers into the world of and tony ignored that. Meanwhile:

Clint rolled his ass out of retirement to stop said soldiers, not fight with Tony. They continue to misinterpret clint's intentions as if he just got out of bed to say fuck you Tony. (which is a mood but not what happened) Obviously, he discussed this with his family and Laura's probably not happy about it, but I doubt Clint would be there if she asked him to stay. She understands what he does (like holy shit how do you mischaracterize a Whedon OC.)

Scott came along because they did tell him of the threat (tony stans don't like looking at context). He has a child too so I'd imagine he'd want to keep the world as safe as possible..

Side note: Tonka stans really do fucking treat tony like the be all father figure while trashing characters who are actually parents. It's so stupid to me oh my god! Clint and Scott are actually parents who know how to parent. Tony can barely pass as a mentor so they can sit down.

Wanda and Bucky, both former villains, are going along to prevent more casualties, to stop more bad guys. Not just because Steve or Clint said so. (And theyre both going thru a new batch of guilt in this movie so that's something that needs to be mentioned).(Can I just say like everything's happening at once and there's no time to really dwell on it so Steve kinda tries to alleviate those train of thoughts rather than intensify them? Guilt and Doubt leads to bad decisions or indecisions which is what we see in various characters. We saw it in Steve up until the Bucky breakout.)

Steve was not just fighting for Bucky. Yall watch that post-helicopter scene and say he wass compromised. The accords became a backburner issue because of the impending threat. Bucky was the priority up Until the zemo attack and then he switched gears. Toto stans are truly stupid. They just so aggressively twist everyone's character and reasons in this movie to make him look like the hero.

Even Sharon who wasn't going to wholly jump ship on, took Zemo seriously enough to jeopardize herself and get everyone their gear.

If we're being real, basically all of team drunk ignored him.

Tony, because he felt guilty

Rhodey, who genuinely believed in the Accords.

Natasha, because she thinks it's the best option given the circumstances.

T'challa, for obvious reasons

USB drive, because tonki hacked him to.

Peter didn't know. Peter didn't know the details of the accords. His existence and presence is breaking both accords and laws.

The airport fight happened because of team tinkers refusal to listen and team caps refusal to compromise the worlds safety over some politics. team cap may have been wrong about the threat but their intentions and morals were right. also tony stans seem to forget that tony set these accords in motion the moment his murderbot sprung to life, the murderbot he didn't tell the rest of the team about.