[Gene's an A-hole, but he's not 100% a dick, is that what you're saying, Tony?
If Gene had had a childhood even approaching the same universe as normal, he would probably be making a sarcastic crack about Jiminy Cricket right about now. Alas, Pinocchio was not part of the VHS rotation in the Mandarin's house. He's pretty well acquainted with Bob Ross, though. Happy little trees. It's okay, Gene. Someday you'll be a real boy.
Instead:] No, I'm...pretty sure I don't have one of those. [Or if he ever did, he's been taught to squash it, keep it silenced in the face of his quest for power. He'd have said, a few weeks ago, that he'd only been doing the right thing, but now he's pretty sure that no, he hadn't. His ideas of the 'right thing' are completely skewed and confused; he doesn't know if he's even capable of doing the 'right thing', let alone recognizing it.
But he had pushed Pepper out of the way of the dragon. He had sacrificed himself then. He had saved his friends from the Firebrand in the fourth temple (and, unbeknownst to him, the entire Earth as well). He had fought the Overlord with nothing but his wits and a Makluan sword, and he'd been trying to fix his mistakes.
Is that - is all that - the 'right thing'?]
I did do some things right, [he admits at length. Even if he'd done some of them for the wrong reasons. A for effort, F- for execution?] So maybe I'm not entirely a failure?
[It's a question, Tony. He's asking for validation and for the love of God you'd better say 'yes'.]
that's one small step for a nerd, one giant leap for nerdkind
Gene's an A-hole, but he's not 100% a dick, is that what you're saying, Tony?If Gene had had a childhood even approaching the same universe as normal, he would probably be making a sarcastic crack about Jiminy Cricket right about now. Alas, Pinocchio was not part of the VHS rotation in the Mandarin's house.
He's pretty well acquainted with Bob Ross, though. Happy little trees.It's okay, Gene. Someday you'll be a real boy.Instead:] No, I'm...pretty sure I don't have one of those. [Or if he ever did, he's been taught to squash it, keep it silenced in the face of his quest for power. He'd have said, a few weeks ago, that he'd only been doing the right thing, but now he's pretty sure that no, he hadn't. His ideas of the 'right thing' are completely skewed and confused; he doesn't know if he's even capable of doing the 'right thing', let alone recognizing it.
But he had pushed Pepper out of the way of the dragon. He had sacrificed himself then. He had saved his friends from the Firebrand in the fourth temple (and, unbeknownst to him, the entire Earth as well). He had fought the Overlord with nothing but his wits and a Makluan sword, and he'd been trying to fix his mistakes.
Is that - is all that - the 'right thing'?]
I did do some things right, [he admits at length. Even if he'd done some of them for the wrong reasons. A for effort, F- for execution?] So maybe I'm not entirely a failure?
[It's a question, Tony. He's asking for validation and for the love of God you'd better say 'yes'.]