I gotta admit, insecure Tony is one of my cups of tea. But its immediately followed by the person he's in a relationship in/the team helping show that he is amazing and deserves all of the love(I will forever love Tony Stark)
Nah, I like it when Tony is In Character, and a very essential part of him is his guilt/self-loathing/insecurity....and I relate to that part of him. I do.
But there are lines, you know?
Because Tony deals with his issues in a very specific way, he draws attention to them to hide them not to show them off. It's the magician's trick, slight of hand. It's all there in front of you, arranged in a way that draws your eyes to something else.
THAT I get. But it becomes too much when he just keeps repeating, "Oh if only I had a heart".....which is idiotic, because that was a joke from Pepper. And Pepper of all people knows that Tony's issues aren't from lack of caring, but due to an abundance of it. And there is a reason she gave him that in the first movie. Because that movie was when he first started directing that part of himself into something that benefited people.
The self medicating, the long stints away from civilization, the repartee.....it's the genius equivalent of secreting yourself away and watching movies.
It's escapism. (Mind you that doesn't mean he was an irredeemable asshole pre-Iron Man)
So, for authors to go around writing shit like STEVE showing TONY how to treat his bots! ("Dummy has feelings too", TONY has an epiphany) is obscene.
He has a support system, he chooses to ignore it.
BUT it's HIM choosing to ignore, that doesn't mean the Support System follows his lead.
He is loved and cherished and important. He might not remember this all the time, but that doesn't mean you can ignore it when you're writing it.
This whole things started because recently all my FF is of a teary eyed Tony begging a unforgivable and cruel God.
Steve isn't doing Tony a favor by sleeping with him. The opposite isn't true either. They are two human beings exquisitely suited for each other. Their partnership is so brilliant, not because of the unequal give and take, but because they balance each other.
So for Pepper/Rhodey to go "Steve is too good for you.".......this is ridiculous.
I read this book ages ago, it shows this man repeatedly saying "I love you" to his wife, while wanting her to kneel and apologize and accept his superiority, he took away/fired all her friends and made sure she had no one in her team.
This is starting to remind me of all the Stony fics being updated.
If after 10 years of marriage, your Tony is still unsure of whether or not he deserves Steve, you need to evaluate yourself.