💸 - What does your muse think of wealthy people? Do they resent them, or do they believe they earned what they have?
HOW THOUGHTFUL. | accepting
Tony’s never felt much at liberty to talk about it--what with being born with a silver spoon in his mouth, and even without that he wouldn’t be able to distance himself from the irony--but if anyone’s believed he’s ever actually enjoyed those tennis matches with Musk and megarich dinner banquets for the sake of having his ass sit beside asses of the other megarich, then they’re believing in the con.
Good God, he hates the bastards.
If there was ever something Tony would thank Howard for, it’s for drilling into him that wealth for the sake of wealth is worthless. It either means something, or it wastes away in a bank. What it meant for Stark Industries was a whole lot of weapon cargo and the promise that they wouldn’t hurt the innocent (maybe the most easily broken promise in the history of the military) and what it means now for Stark Resilient are phones, cars, computers and of course, Iron Man.
But there’s the rub, right? Tony can rename his company, diversify its offerings, finally cut out the military contracts for good, but that doesn’t erase what’s already done. Only way out is through. And yet they still descend on him like a gaggle of harpies--”Tony Stark! Where’s your Rolls-Royce? Tony Stark! Why haven’t you gone golfing? Tony Stark! I got a nose-job so you’d sleep with me!”--and for the sake of the former, he has to grin and bear the latter.
Even before Afghanistan, Tony didn’t enjoy the lap of luxury. Oh, sure, he put on a real horse and pony show of it, but he didn’t have a choice. He had to live up to being a Stark.
And now, tens of years later, well... the cracks are beginning to show.