(no subject)

[quigonejinn]

Third time, apparently, is the charm for not being sucked in by Robert Downey Jr's utterly ridiculous charisma.

After watching this about eighty billion times on cam, I'd forgotten how much color there is in the real thing. It's gorgeous.

I still can't fucking believe that I missed out on Tony being the CEO. I mean, they describe him that way in the Apogee Awards. For my sanity while trying to make sense of the fucking corporate structure, I'm going to pretend that he resigned at 29 to focus on R&D and VVS1 grade and above poon.

When Christine Everhart runs up, Tony asks Happy whether "she's cute." Not hot. "Cute." I find this strangely endearing.

TONY HAS A FUCKING HUGE PIECE OF SHORELINE PROPERTY. It's more obvious during the night-time shots, but the camera has to pull out a long fucking way until you see another building on the shore. Tip: Tony Stark has a shitload of money.

Tony is so badly in love with Pepper. JESUS. RDJ is so good at conveying being totally and fuck-upedly in love.

Guys, I swear to you. Through the entirety of the movie, Pepper calls Obadiah by his first name more often than she calls Tony by his. This blows my mind.

When Tony raises up the Free With Purchase of $500MM or more Chest o' Scotch, there's already a pre-poured glass in there. Now that, guys, is planning.

WHO IS THE WOMAN. WHO SAYS TONY. IN MOMENTS OF CRISIS INSIDE TONY'S HEAD? IS IT HIS MOM? IS IT SUPPOSED TO BE PEPPER? SHIT MOTHERFUCK.

I'm fascinated by the relationship that Tony has with his company and the weapons. When he first wakes up in the cave and the Ten Rings guys walk through the door, Tony blurts out something like, "What are those guys doing with my weapons?" (Emphasis mine.) And when he describes the arc reactor to Yinsen, he says something like, "One of these powers my factory." But when Everhart confronts him, Tony says something to the effect of, "That's my company, not me." There's a disassociation. And then, when Pepper comes down to talk to him and quit, it's back to "my" weapons. "I've got to help the people that my weapons are endangering."

I'm not clear about the exact wording, but I'm dead positive about when he uses the my. Which suggests to me that pre-Afghanistan Tony thought of the weapons as being an extension of himself. He disassociates himself post-Afghanistan because he's had the revelation, but the crisis of having Obadiah STAB HIM IN THE HEART drives him back to old habits. I mean, you can think of it as Tony facing up to responsibility, but -- hm. There's an interesting line of fic arguing that Tony disassociating himself from his company in that way is a good thing. He's trying to think of himself as more than Tony Stark, Weaponsmaker. And at least in the rush of post-first flight, he really thinks of himself as that. And then. Nope. Mental health moment OVER.

Tony also says something like, "It powers my factory." Which is singular. Suggesting that Stark Industries only has the one plant in SoCal.

When Yinsen and Tones are almost done building the suit and Bad Guy comes stalking in and picks up the plans, Tony's reaction is to look over at Yinsen. And Yinsen is like, "Stay cool. Stay cool." With the little hand gesture. And Tony stays cool. And then Bad Guy puts Yinsen down on the anvil, and Tony quietly FREAKS THE FUCK OUT.

Seriously. I love it. I love it so much. Yeah, we've just seen Yinsen being like >:0 CHRIST, TELL ME WHAT YOU'RE DOING, but then, we see the balance of power shift. Yinsen has the wisdom. Yinsen has the calm. He really is Tony's anchor in that cave, and when he's suiting Tony up and they're going over the plan with each other and Tony is worrying about Yinsen. Oh man.

OK. So I would go and post a fic on the very day that I go see the movie for the third time, and it would turn out that I got the fucking letters wrong. I'm pretty sure that it's the FH-22. Not the YH-22. As in the legendary F-22 Raptor. Sigh. Let's just pretend there was another major model. Or, like. A predecessor. Yeah. THE PROTOTYPE MODEL THAT WON THEM THEIR FIRST JET CONTRACT. (It's supposed to be a reference to the plane in front of Stark Headquarters that you see when Tones comes back for the Press Conference o' Doom #1.)

When Tony goes to the hangar to ask Rhodey to prom, there's a glitch in the footage on the right side. It's in the cam version, and it's in the version I saw tonight. I don't remember if it's in the other versions, but I assume so? Let us hope that it's just a transfer issue that'll be fixed for the DVD.

OR MAYBE THE CAM WAS MADE IN MY SHITTY, SHITTY LOCAL THEATRE. DUN DUN DUNNNNN!

OK. Guys. When Tony goes to ask Rhodey to prom, he's wearing an MIT shirt, I swear. Subtle as hell with the black-on-black printing, but. OMG. Way to pull on the heartstrings, you manipulative old bitch.

Also, my version of an answer to the why-does-Tones-have-a-hole-in-some-of-his-shirts: my pet theory is that it has something to do with whether he goes out in the suit or not. His shirt, post-flight-out-of-cave has a hole like that. His Gulmira tank has that, I think, too. I don't think any of the shirts we see him tinkering around in the lab have it.

Also. I love the idea of Tony wearing two layers of shirts in order to keep the arc reactor from showing. Which is what he does when he asks Rhodey to prom.

When Obadiah plays the Salieri, it looks like he's playing from sheet music. At the very least, he's got it in front of him. The idea, OK, of Obadiah playing often enough at Tony's place or Tony keep sheet music for Obadiah? IT BLOWS MY MIND.

Obadiah asks Tony to show him the arc reactor. Tony refuses. I wonder what Obadiah would have done if Tony was willing to do it, but insisted on spinning it to the Board himself. OIL-KILLER.

It's probably the handwriting of a production assistant, but Jesus fuck, Pepper has such girly, bubbly handwriting.

Tony. At the Fireman's Family Benefit. Is wearing the fucking hottest black onyx ring. JESUS FUCK. JESUS FUCK.

Also. When Obadiah and Tony meet up post Fireman's Family Benefit for the red carpet session of heart-tearing PAIN, there are two things that I must bring to your attention:

When Tony is in full Obadiah confrontation mode, he's standing a step or two above the step that Obadiah is on, so they're almost equal in height. He can look Obadiah in the eye. And when Obadiah wrangles him down for the photo op, Tony steps back down. o___o

I've always thought of that scene as Obadiah just totally kicking Tones to the curb, but holy shit, Obadiah's parting words? Something to the effect of "It was the only way to protect you." I WAS HAVING A LITTLE FUCKING DIFFICULTY BREATHING, OKAY. He's probably just fucking Tony and trying to cover his ass, but Jeeeeeeeeesus.

When Tones steps into the suit to go to Gulmira, he's not in normal sweats and shit. He's in some kind of modified wetsuit type of thing.

"No more art openings. No more benefits. There is only the mission." SORRY, MAY HAVE GOTTEN LAST HALF OF THAT LINE WRONG. AM HYSTERICALLY LAUGHING AT THE IDEA OF TONY AT AN ART OPENING. Yeah, he's got a lot of art in his house. But oh my God, oh my God, oh my God, it warms my heart to imagine him being the world's biggest douchebag at gallery openings and knowing that he's going to get away with it because he's rich as sin and willing to spend it and everybody groveling to him because of it.

This fandom is way too innocent. The bit with Obadiah putting his hand into the Mark I's chest cavity, lovingly. And then the comment about how temporary paralysis has so many applications. And then taking Tony's heart out. Christ, it's been said before, but do you know how much fisting fic we would have seen already in HP?

I wonder if they salt the FH-22 model in front of Stark Headquarters in order to be able to explain how Tones knows how to get the parachute thingy to open for that one pilot. 'Cause it's his plane and everything.

When Pep is running out of headquarters w/Phil while Obie LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMS, most of the models you see in the lobby are of planes. And there're a couple of tanks in the background during the part of the Iron Man/Ironmonger fight in the Stark parking lot. It's suggestive of the product lines.

OMG, lookit Phil vault over the barrier. I love him. I want him and Pepper to go on so many dates where they end up eating ice cream on the boardwalk and he kisses her on a bench and the ice cream falls out of her cone, onto his lap, which is horribly embarrassing, except when they fuck later that night and he's going down on her, Pepper puts her fingers in her mouth to keep from moaning and tastes ice cream from the afternoon. The flavor he had.

Stupid battle line that NEVERTHELESS GOT ME IN THE HEART: "You made your father proud! You finally outdid yourself, kid." (Or something like that. OH TONY.)

When Tony is getting touched up pre-press conference of doom, part II, and then Pepper tells him that she's already wearing Phil Coulson's pin, you can see the giant photos Tony has in the background from WWII. Presumably, they're of the factory back in the day. *____* Oh, Tony. NO WONDER YOU HAVE DADDY ISSUES.

The suit that Tony wears at Press Conference of Doom, part II, looks suspiciously like the suit he's wearing during the missile tests. *___*

Comments

[nextian.livejournal.com]

He's probably just fucking Tony and trying to cover his ass ... I would say "fucking WITH Tony?" but, uh, this version is better it's you.

Also re: the MIT shirt: ... ARE YOU SERIOUS. I -- I oh Tony and then it totally bombed. He tries so hard! He is the hardest little trier! Until he gets bored.

[quigonejinn.livejournal.com]

but, uh, this version is better it's you.

AHAHAHA. IT IS 1:44AM WHERE I AM. HUSH.

AND YEAH. I swear it is. I saw some kind of black-on-black print that looked like MIT, but he's wearing the same shirt when he's prancing around and doing the first round of blueprint fixes? I'll check when I get back on the computer w/the cam version, but it might be too dark to see subtleties like that.

ETA: speaking of me and my bizarre tastes, have you seen this comment in sadisticgrin's LJ? uglkjd;falkdjfgldjf. Holy bejesus.

[quigonejinn.livejournal.com]

Oh, fuck. I suck at HTML at this time of the day. here.

When the party's over it's just him, Obadiah and the mini grand in the corner of the hall, and maybe Tony's had too much to drink and maybe Obadiah's hasn't had nearly as much as he lets Tony think.

[obsession-inc.livejournal.com]

Guys, I swear to you. Through the entirety of the movie, Pepper calls Obadiah by his first name more often than she calls Tony by his.

I actually have stats on this from a prior attack of OCD, and... no, sadly, you are incorrect. She says "Obadiah" three times by my count, possibly four, and never to his face. She says Tony on ten separate occasions, although some of those occasions involve multiple repetitions. (That sounded kind of dirty.) I also have stats on how many times Tony says "Pepper" versus just "Potts". The Mr. Stark / Miss Potts thing happens three times, and the last time he actually cuts her off before she can say "Mr. Stark", so. Fanon liiiiiies.

Tony is so badly in love with Pepper. JESUS. RDJ is so good at conveying being totally and fuck-upedly in love.

Sweet fancy Moses, yes. I'm blown away by this every time.

I'm fascinated by the relationship that Tony has with his company and the weapons. When he first wakes up in the cave and the Ten Rings guys walk through the door, Tony blurts out something like, "What are those guys doing with my weapons?" (Emphasis mine.) And when he describes the arc reactor to Yinsen, he says something like, "One of these powers my factory." But when Everhart confronts him, Tony says something to the effect of, "That's my company, not me." There's a disassociation. And then, when Pepper comes down to talk to him and quit, it's back to "my" weapons. "I've got to help the people that my weapons are endangering."

There's a difference between the company and the weapons, and it's perfectly clear to me because it's TONY, who is first and foremost an engineer and only kind of accidentally a CEO (structure, schmucture, if they handwave it like that I'm handwaving just as hard). The company is... whatever, that's his father's, that's Obadiah's, Tony just shows up to look good sometimes and sign things. The weapons, though, those designs were born inside his head. He created those weapons. He designed them. Parts of him are in them, just by virtue of the creative process. They are his. Damn straight he's going to feel possessive of them.

I have just now realized that the giant meta I spent half the day writing is a) a huge mess and b) not posted yet. ARGH.

[catechism.livejournal.com]

Okay, can I say I love your attack of OCD? I keep seeing the Mr. Stark/Miss Potts thing in fic and thinking, "wait, I thought they only did that as a kind of jokey ritual thing, but maybe I am wrong." I was about to fire up my bootleg and count, but now I don't have to! So, uh, thanks. :D

And yeah, you said what I was trying to say about the "my weapons" thing, only better and also first. :)

[quigonejinn.livejournal.com]

OK, OK, revision of statement. She calls him Obadiah more consistently than she calls Meeestah Stark Tony. BEcause I swear, every time his name comes up, it's Obadiah. Until at the end, when Tony drops STANE like the hammer of a pissed off playboy.

[besyd.livejournal.com]

You are my new Hero of the Moment! [hands you a small plaque] Because I had an attack of OCD on the (really, really long) drive home yesterday and was going to count the number of times Pepper says "Mr. Stark" and Tony says "Miss Potts" and so forth. Then I wake up this morning to find you had taken care of that for me!

[catechism.livejournal.com]

(Hi, I'm creepily stalking IM fandom.)

Tony also says something like, "It powers my factory." Which is singular. Suggesting that Stark Industries only has the one plant in SoCal.

Could be, but I took it (well, it plus the conversation he has with Obadiah, later, when Obie says the arc reactor was a publicity stunt to shut the hippies up) that there is only one arc reactor powering any factory, anywhere. Clearly they have lots of factories, and I like to think they are in places like Michigan and Pennsylvania, but who knows. I can't really think of any reasons for or against more than one factory in SoCal.

Also, I think the fucking hot ring is an MIT ring? I think Rhodey has one too, at some point.

Also also, um. Shit, I can't remember. Oh! "My weapons." My pet theory on that one is actually that anything he refers to has "his" is something he designed and had something to do with. So those are his guns and he's making up for destruction that his weapons caused. But when Everheart makes her accusation about shipments, he's able to distance himself because he does not have anything to do with ordering or shipping, really. He shows up and plays pet genius and then goes back to his lab. So that's just his company, and not him. BUT I have not actually memorized the movie, so I don't know how well this bears out.

I still cannot get my head around Obadiah. Like. What? Any of it. I can't even.

[katanath.livejournal.com]

Reasons against, #1: ridiculous California property prices. You're probably right about multiple plants nationwide, with the SoCal plant being likely just for R&D and administration, and hence it's "my factory" to Tony because those are his roles in the company (and maybe also because it's the original factory his dad built).

(this fandom too has swallowed my brain)

[quigonejinn.livejournal.com]

Also, I think the fucking hot ring is an MIT ring? I think Rhodey has one too, at some point.

I have difficulty thinking of them as hot. Because the first time I really saw a brass rat up close, it was, um. On the hand of my 50+ year old boss who looks like Gonzo. But yeah, I'm almost dead certain that Rhodey has one on in the scene where he hangs up that dude's phone.

when Everheart makes her accusation about shipments, he's able to distance himself because he does not have anything to do with ordering or shipping, really. He shows up and plays pet genius and then goes back to his lab. So that's just his company, and not him

That is, in fact, a sensible, reasonable explanation that I totes failed to think of in my screaming enthusiasm for manpain. XD

[katanath.livejournal.com]

So, uh, I left a comment on your fic that specifically cited YH-22 as one of the bits that really struck me, even though I knew prototype fighters are designated YF-XX (being an ex-aerospace student and all), and I just figured it was YH on the boat because Howard had a massively possessive ego about his own creations, but now that you say it was a typo I have been sort of thrown for a loop...

Also: the Stark Industries logo is remarkably similar to those of Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman. One wonders whether there is a graphic artist somewhere in LA who got hammered one night and submitted the same design to three defense companies.

Also also: Stane's piano playing sounded a lot like very good sight-reading rather than something he'd already learned - I have no idea if that makes a difference though, I'm still trying to sort out all the implications of his playing at all.

[quigonejinn.livejournal.com]

now that you say it was a typo I have been sort of thrown for a loop...

This is something that happens a fuck of a lot with me. DETAILS, I AM NOT SO GOOD WITH THEM. AT ALL. It wasn't so much a typo as my brain failing, really. Please pretend whatever does me more credit. XD

(Though ahahah, dude, I can totally imagine Howard being a jackass and naming his prototypes with a different convention. Also, since you've come out of the closet as an ex-aerospace student, can I pick your brain about the industry and plane design and so forth sometime? All I know is Wiki and what I picked up from my military gear-crazed cousins as a kid.)

One wonders whether there is a graphic artist somewhere in LA who got hammered one night and submitted the same design to three defense companies.

HAH. Apparently, this artist knows the market very, very well. POINTY THINGY WITH BLOCK LETTERING UNDERNEATH. It'll convey menace and stuff.

I'm still trying to sort out all the implications of his playing at all.

Porn, basically. (In other words, what tipped you off that it was very good sight reading? I have no musical gifts. Whatsoever. Please enlighten?)

[amonitrate.livejournal.com]

ooooooo. So much to chew over. Later, when it's not 3 am, I will do more commenting.

Tony is so badly in love with Pepper. JESUS. RDJ is so good at conveying being totally and fuck-upedly in love.

Word. This I got from the very first scene they had together the very first time I saw it. Wow. Just, he's totally, totally smitten, and has no idea what the fuck to do about it.

[quigonejinn.livejournal.com]

Wow. Just, he's totally, totally smitten, and has no idea what the fuck to do about it.

HIS EXPRESSIONS, OKAY, DURING THE WHOLE "IT'S MY BIRTHDAY." IT SLAYS ME. SLAAAAYS ME. THE MICROCHANGES IN EXPRESSION.

And I love how obviously he is totally, totally, full-body, all-soul smitten. And yet still doesn't know her birthday. Or at least plays like he doesn't know her birthday (although I think he honestly doesn't). It pleases my soul.

[godspoodle.livejournal.com]

Hee! This list is very endearing, you know :D I sort of want to see Iron Man again now. Yes indeed.

I also totally noticed the 'my' weapons thing the first time, and thought it was interesting, and made total sense that it's an extension of his ego... ahem. A guy at the helm of a company that.. makes (bigger and better) missiles. It would take a big(ger) man not to take it... like that. Probably. lfakjsflkajflsa. Also uhh I think he has difficulty really seeing other people, really paying attention, whichhh is probably partly why they fuck him over later and/or he gets surprised (by the pretty much obvious), take your pick. On some level he'd probably have preferred to literally do everything himself, but probably learned at some point to allow other people to do things he doesn't really want to do anyway (administration, paperwork, actual maintenance or mass production or whatever, and overseeing ethical ramifications is just one of those things that don't need that much attention, right? it's all good, the gov't is on top of that).


I'm happy you see the fucked-up Pepper love :D I'm sort of :-? about it since I've read that comic!Tony never does develop a relationship with Pepper so I don't want to get too interested or invested, but then again this is movieverse so why not. :> The thing I noticed between them immediately is a sort tiny echo chamber where they don't say things to each other. It's there right in the first scene. Though the things Tony doesn't say aren't as articulated as Pepper's; he clearly functions on two levels at least, only one of them conscious. There's always that sense with him, that something else is going on-- a sense I don't get with any other character to this degree. Especially in the cave, he's just got this powerful inner/outer duality and both are blaring. I don't know if that makes sense.

I think to some extent it doesn't matter if he's 'in love' with Pepper 'cause there's just this hidden cache of feeling, whatever that feeling is, and he really wouldn't know what to do with it if it saw sunlight. Like, he's like that with everyone-- 'this is how I relate to you', and he just... relates that way, can't seem to change even when things drastically change. Like, on the surface he changes, processes what he needs to do, but deep down he doesn't. And at the same time, as a person, I do think he changes... though it's like, maybe it's more like he jettisons detritus he didn't really need/believe in anyway. He realizes the bugs in his code, and he fixes them insofar as that goes, but it's more of a revealing of 'true nature' than change. fasljfakjlk I don't know. I think there's a sense of relief to him that must come from being more natural and more aware, but it's more like he goes back to his roots with the whole superhero/suiting up thing. Finally doing everything his way, by himself, according to his own rules/perceptions/ideas. In the end, having to compromise and be business-minded and a team player, etc, that never really suited him anyway, because he wants to have a) more control and b) more fun than that. :-?

[quigonejinn.livejournal.com]

Especially in the cave, he's just got this powerful inner/outer duality and both are blaring. I don't know if that makes sense.

See, this is interesting because the cave is one of the few sustained scenes where I read Tony as being, y'know. Tony. Where he does express that cache of feeling. Sure, he doesn't talk about it much, but it's not filtered through his TONY STARK: BILLIONAIRE PLAYBOY AND WIT persona. It's just a dude. In a cave.

I'm sort of :-? about it since I've read that comic!Tony never does develop a relationship with Pepper so I don't want to get too interested or invested, but then again this is movieverse so why not. :>

CHRIST ALMIGHTY YES. I mean, I ship just about everybody and everything. You may have noticed that I love Pepper/Phil. And I do love Tony/Christine. And Rhodey/Pepper. And Tony/Rhodey. And Tony/Obadiah. And, it occurs to me, I would even dig Obadiah/Pepper. Or Obadiah/Rhodey.

But I still do love it. If only because RDJ sells us on it so good and so hard and with so much gorgeous, gorgeous ass.

[bellebonnesage.livejournal.com]

I can't believe I haven't made it to a theater to see this film again yet. I am jealous: I don't think I'll manage three viewings! But when I go again I promise to pay more attention to creepy Obie stuff.

I loved reading your observations. I really like your image of Pepper and the ice cream. I very much like your hypothesis about the shirts with holes in them, that actually makes sense!

[quigonejinn.livejournal.com]

I very much like your hypothesis about the shirts with holes in them, that actually makes sense!

ON RE-READING THIS MORNING, VERY FEW OF MY OTHER OBSERVATIONS DO. So I'm glad that did. XD

Breaking this down, unnecessarily.

[ferricent.livejournal.com]

WHO IS THE WOMAN

It's Pepper's voice, definitely.

weapons possession

FASCINATING. Totally makes sense for Tony's character. Also, his distancing himself from "Tony Stark, Weaponsmaker" is logical as well. But post!Tony would absolutely, silently, flip the FUCK out and drive away really really fast in the R8 if he ever hears "The Merchant of Death" again. 'Cause, it wouldn't (didn't) bother him before Afganistan, and Yinsen, but that nickname is in a deathmetal league of horrifying and Tony never ever wants to hear it again. He thinks of how he accepted it, once, brushed it off and it disgusts him.

Tony and Rhodey go to Prom (paraphrasing dialogue)

"Say, speaking of 'manned' or 'unmanned,' how about you tell them about Spring Break of '87, huh? huh?"
"I--"
"What was her name again? Ivan?"
Rhodey dropped his eyes, looking hurt, and brought them up in a way that Tony understood meant that he had just stepped into a horrible trap. Rhodey took a tender step forward, the students watching.
"Her name was Tony."

When Obadiah plays the Salieri, it looks like he's playing from sheet music.

He's not actually playing from sheet music. He knows that song. He's just pretending to read sheet music, because when Tony will try to peer over his shoulder to see the title of what Obie's playing so that he can remember to buy it later, Obie will notice and then show him what he was really scrutinizing: Pictures from Spring Break of '87.

Jets!

I think it is the YH-22, actually. Or, it is in my head, because you wrote that fic. You know. The one with the homes. The one I'm going to refer to as "Iron Man Monopoly: Kidz Edition" ("hotels" = stripper poles).

temporary paralysis

Oh goodness. The cocaine of my head is not pure.

ice cream

THIS HAPPENS IN TONY'S GUEST BEDROOM. It is the worst night of Tony/Javis's life.

Re: Breaking this down, unnecessarily.

[quigonejinn.livejournal.com]

Oh goodness. The cocaine of my head is not pure.

DUDE. DUDE. I KNOW THAT YOU HEAR WHAT I AM SAYING. And you know Obadiah would love having that kind of control. And the sex would be so wrong. And so hot. And Obadiah can't take his time because it's only fifteen minutes and he wants to spend as much of it with his cock inside Tony as possible, and it's not total paralysis because Tony is still breathing after he takes the hit. It's just something to do with conscious control from one part of the brain, and glkjdfadf. Obadiah sitting in that black leather chair Tony has in the corner of his bedroom or the corner of the bed, glass of Scotch in his hand, watching Tony come out of it afterwards.

Dear God.

"Her name was Tony."

HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE.

[jamaillith.livejournal.com]

Ohhh, how I love waking up to Iron Man meta. Okay, so.

WHO IS THE WOMAN.

Pepperrrrr. It sounds exactly like her when she's yelling it (presumably?) at the plant at the end, and I think it's pretty much something they'd do, you know, link Pepper to Tony's heart right from the beginning. Which makes me wonder if the name-calling is a part of Tony's psyche, when has he heard Pepper yell his name like that pre-Afghanistan?

when he's suiting Tony up and they're going over the plan with each other and Tony is worrying about Yinsen. Oh man.

I know right. And the fact that Yinsen becomes quietly jumpy and Tony has to calm him down, all 'just get it done, just get it done' to him, like he's talking to a spooked horse or something.

He can look Obadiah in the eye. And when Obadiah wrangles him down for the photo op, Tony steps back down.

askfsjgdf;; I want to make a mix or something for them and call it 'power play' or 'control freak' or something. That whole scene is just. Gah. Oh, Tony.

most of the models you see in the lobby are of planes.

There are little models of planes in the office, too, on the desk and in the bookcase.

ALSO ALSO did you notice, before the Press Conference of Doom, part II, Tony refers to Obie as 'Stane'? Not 'Obadiah', just 'Stane'.

[quigonejinn.livejournal.com]

Which makes me wonder if the name-calling is a part of Tony's psyche, when has he heard Pepper yell his name like that pre-Afghanistan?

DSKJG:LDJf. "TONNNNNNYYYYYYYYYY, THE OLSENS ARE STILL SIXTEEN."

And the fact that Yinsen becomes quietly jumpy and Tony has to calm him down, all 'just get it done, just get it done' to him, like he's talking to a spooked horse or something.

Oh man. Yes. I love that they're both kind of calming each other down at that point. With Tony reminding Yinsen of the plan. And Yinsen going over the number of steps with Tony. Oh Jesus, that gets me so hard. SO HARD.

Tony refers to Obie as 'Stane'? Not 'Obadiah', just 'Stane'.

YES. YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS. HE DID. AND I ALMOST STUFFED MY FINGERS INTO MY MOUTH BECAUSE HOLY SHIT. Tones loved Obadiah so much. Even if you don't go into the fucking-on-the-piano thing that I totally don't, oh my God. MAN.

[amonitrate.livejournal.com]

He's trying to think of himself as more than Tony Stark, Weaponsmaker. And at least in the rush of post-first flight, he really thinks of himself as that. And then. Nope. Mental health moment OVER.


Yeah. Totally. Which makes me start to wonder when he began weaponizing the suit for real. I mean, yeah, the first suit had some rough weaponry, but with the second his focus seemed to be more on YEAH, I CAN FLY more than on blowing shit up.

I find this a little sad, because I think immediately post first press conference he really did want to think of himself differently, just didn't know where to go, because he's always been a weapons maker, his entire adult life. And his childhood was shaped by weapons makers. Obie's line about them being Iron Mongers resonates here: he's basically saying *why else would you want to be anything more?* Which totally feeds into those father/son issues, where the son is trying to break free from the restrictions of what his family expects of him. Only his family here is his company.

And then in order to set things right he feels he has to make himself into a weapon. I find that rather tragic, actually, because I think there was a short window of time where he saw there could be other possibilities for himself, but just didn't know what they could be. And then was left with what he sees is no choice.

[quigonejinn.livejournal.com]

Obie's line about them being Iron Mongers resonates here: he's basically saying *why else would you want to be anything more?*

Which aligns Rhodey in an interesting way, doesn't it? We think of him as totally being a good guy, but remember the speech he gives Tony on the plane? It's just that the uniform in Tony's case is a $10,000 charcoal suit with Italian lines but Savile Row construction. And when he starts to warm up to Tony again in the hangar only to be like, "What, you a humanitarian now?" Sure, he rides to Tony's rescue in the end, and for all we know, he and Tony made up with sake and roses and blowjobs the night after hangar scene, but.

The more I think about Rhodey, the more interesting he gets. And I wonder if that nasty confrontation w/Rhodye over the military could teach Tony that good people can have opinions different from his.

Obie's line about them being Iron Mongers resonates here: he's basically saying *why else would you want to be anything more?

And that is such a crisp, concise way of putting it. Jesus.

[byzantienne]

-- I'm totally stalking Iron Man fandom and the meta makes me happy -- especially the idea that Tony had these ever-so-brief moments of mental health and then lost that, inside the necessity he sees for himself. Love that. It's the other side of redemption-style superhero origin narratives -- Tony's not suddenly a Good Man just because he's had a revelation. He's almost overshot that, actually, and ended up somewhere out beyond.

(Might I friend?)

[quigonejinn.livejournal.com]

Knock yourself out. :D No need to ask, in fact, though I may not friend you back if only because I suspect we don't share an active fandom? I'll lurk around, though.

And. I don't know if you've seen her already, but amonitrate has a pretty heavy dose of IM meta right now.

[amanuensis1.livejournal.com]

Christ, it's been said before, but do you know how much fisting fic we would have seen already in HP?

*laughs and laughs and laughs and laughs until wets self* We've so totally been channelling since seeing that film. And, like, yes, HP is my fandom and there would have been SO MUCH NON-CON SMUTFIC ALREADY. WHERE THE HELL IS ALL OF IT.

[quigonejinn.livejournal.com]

GOD. I was watching the scene where Obadiah is in the tent, feeling up the Mark 1, and he SLIDES HIS HAND INTO THE CHEST CAVITY. And those big hands. And the piano playing. Adn the suits. Up above, jamaillith linked to this photo. Which. Ungkjdlfkj. Rocking velvet and the white scarf and the manhandling of Tony.

I cannot explain to you how much I want obscenely detailed fic about Tony, face down in bed, with four fingers of Obadiah's hand in him up to the second knuckle, and the noises Tony makes when Obadiah starts working that last finger in.

[gabby-silang.livejournal.com]

I'm fascinated by the relationship that Tony has with his company and the weapons.

So, okay, I had to work again today (never be a barista. just don't do it. just don't ever. wtf wtf wtf) but then I came home and have already had two beers on an empty stomach. DUE WARNING FOR MISSPELLINGS.

Okay so here's my theory on this thing. My theory is that Tony says MY when he's talking about the PRODUCTS which he's had a hand in or outright invented. Like the Jericho, with its "proprietary repulsor technology" (how hard did I squeal when I first heard that? SO HARD.), uh, and. Others. And then he's all about "I'm not my company" when it's all about the business end of things. WHICH jives with amontrite's worldview in Sentinel, where Obie had been the deal-maker and Tony had been the brains. He dreams it, he builds it, Obie sells it. THEREFORE if it's not related to the dreaming or building, it's not his. So the WEAPONS are his, but the DIRTY DEALS aren't. Make sense?

Man, I need to eat something.

P.S. I love Agent Caulson so much more with every viewing. I wanna see him sucking on a lollipop. I dont' even know why.

[quigonejinn.livejournal.com]

So, okay, I had to work again today (never be a barista. just don't do it. just don't ever. wtf wtf wtf)

I made a joke once about quitting my job and becoming a barista. My barista friend beat me upside the head with a 10 pound sack of roasted beans, then held my head in the toilet for fifteen minutes. (I exaggerate. Only slightly.) I swear. Never again will I make that mistake.

And yeah. That explanation of Tony's relationship with the company got raised upthread by, I think, amonitrate. And it makes perfect sense. In fact, I can't imagine SI being run any other way at all. Tony is a fantastic salesman, but he's shit at the kind of drudgery that running any business, let alone a major corporate empire, requires.

As perrrrfect sense as it makes, though, the answer doesn't entirely satisfy me after last night's re-watch, and I've been thinking about it all afternoon, trying to figure out why. I think it's because it goes against some of the language that Tony when he talks to Obadiah about Stark Industries -- we own the controlling share, are we double-dealing. They're in this teogether, and I'm not sure that Tony ever suggests, in canon, that even if there's a divsion of duties, there's a division of identity. And it doesn't play so well with the hint that we get that Tony identifies very, very deeply with this company that his father (and Obadiah) built. It lessens the degree to which Tony is fully invested in it.

Which, of course, is not possible, but perfectly likely.

At the same time. If Tony really, really thinks that he's 100% clean of the distro, why is he so pissed off about Gulmira? As amonitrate has pointed out, yeah, him flying off isn't entirely a rational reaction. We can put it down to PTSD. But is that the only explanation? Or does some of his vehemence come from the fact that it's HIS company, as well as HIS weapons, OBADIAH hijacked ALL OF IT and is fucking up YINSEN'S HOMETOWN.

[besyd.livejournal.com]

WHO IS THE WOMAN. WHO SAYS TONY.

As answered above, it's definitely Pepper. Pepper's always there in his head, especially at his worst times. And now it's blended with his "heart" even more after she put in the arc reactor. As she walked away in that scene, how he turned to watch and tapped the reactor. How at the very end when it looks like the arc reactor is ready to fizzle, there's Pepper's voice, and there's the arc reactor, coming back to life.

[besyd.livejournal.com]

OMG, lookit Phil vault over the barrier.

Yes! I'm actually hoping they take the Pepper/Coulson route instead of the Pepper/Happy route (you know, before they finally solidify the Tony/Pepper in the third movie). Because Phil is hot. And definitely has a thing for Pepper. And that whole cute scene at the end where she runs over to thank him. He may be a bit short, but he makes up for it in many other ways.

[besyd.livejournal.com]

you can see the giant photos Tony has in the background from WWII. Presumably, they're of the factory back in the day

Yes! The giant, old Douglas Aircraft assembly line photo made me all giddy happy, since I worked for McDonnell Douglas once.