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[writethatdown]

Player Information:
Name: Em
Age: 21
Contact: thedoktah
Game Cast: n/a

Character Information:
Name: Howard Stark
Canon: Marvel Cinematic Universe (specifically Captain America: The First Avenger)
Canon Point: Post-movie, while on the Disney Cruise for Steeb's frozen six pack
Age: 28
Reference: Wiki!

Setting: Basically your average Earth during the 1940s. There's World War II happening, people going to war, Nazi's in New York, weapons powered by a glowing blue cube, a guy who's actually a skull- oh. Yeah, uh. It's your basic Earth just with a little... twist. Basically there are superheroes in the world, injected with serums that push them past human, and little mystical blue cubes that actually belong to a race of alien vikings.

It's not too different from the real world, at this point. History hasn't progressed much differently. Sure, Howard and Stark Industries are spearheading the technology push of the time, and yeah, he might be working on things like flying cars and arc reactors at a time where that kind of technology isn't really supposed to have been thought of, but that's just how Stark minds work. They push into the future and try to drag it into the present.

As far as key players go, at the end of the War there are still a few Hydra agents left-over (the super evil group of Nazi's who actually surpassed Hitler and went straight to utter world domination), the Strategic Scientific Reserve (who would later become the founding members of SHIELD, an organization that works in 2012 as a sort of high-tech UN version of the FBI/CIA), and the people who knew of Steve Rogers - Captain America - and the fact that a serum had turned a scrawny, asthmatic kid into over six feet of gorgeous muscle that could bend metal with his bare hands.

To further elaborate on the Strategic Scientific Reserve - primarily Howard's role during the war - in this setting they were the actual driving force through the decimation of the Hydra threat, sending men on operations that helped change the course of the war in their favor. Howard also personally helped push the Manhattan Project (the atomic bomb) to completion, in the final phases of the war. Basically, they were the scientific and intelligence backing that allowed World War II to end favorably.

Personality:
Better Living Through Technology. A statement that really should be just that, a statement. A logo, a motto for one of the best electronics and manufacturing plants in the modern world. But, really, it's the entire basis behind the man that Howard Stark is.

First and foremost, Howard is an inventive genius. Perhaps not quite to the level of his son - at least not in robotics - but he is far beyond the scope of the technology in his time. Given that, his mind functions on a level that's usually a bit beyond those of average intelligence. He speaks in a language all his own, the language of mechanics and metals and electronics and the inner, delicate workings of weaponry. He thinks in a roundabout way, he makes conclusions faster than most, and he can look at a situation in a logical way above an emotional one. When weighing emotional reactions to a situation against logical ones, he will always go with logic. And because he can quickly think through a situation? That's usually the best way to go. However, just because he is a bit smarter than the average bear doesn't mean that he does too much to rub it in.

It's an assumed thing that Howard Stark is an inventive genius, so he goes in on the assumption that people already know who he is and what he can do. He might act upon that assumption, but he doesn't throw his intelligence in everyone's faces. He doesn't expect any special treatment for his intelligence and money, namely since he's worked hand in hand with the military since the beginning of America's involvement in World War II. He has an understanding that he's richer and smarter than most people, but he also knows his place in things. He has the patience to play the waiting game, the slow climb up the ladder of respect. Sure, sometimes he shows a hand of force, but more often than not Howard will smile and pull back in social situations. He won't go in guns blazing and fling himself at the top in the first five minutes, he'll make his allies, gain a foothold, and start playing a slow but powerful climb to the top.

To further express this Stark's intelligence and patience, Howard Stark loves puzzles. He can't resist something new and shiny, can't wait to pick it apart and find out everything he can about it. To reverse engineer anything that's "beyond" him. As soon as they got the hydra weaponry delivered to his lab? He took it apart, isolated the single, unknown mechanism, the power the Tesseract gave the weapons, and he started poking at it with a stick. He instantly devoted himself to finding out what it was, how it worked, and what it could do. And this is just how Howard works with everything. Anything he doesn't know, anything that doesn't make sense... anything interesting and new he has to figure out. He has to be a part of, he has to learn. Regardless of the moral ambiguity of it. Which is also how Howard became a part of the Manhattan Project. The atom bomb. The thing that ended the war, after Cap went down in the ice. A weapon of mass destruction, something horrible that Howard helped create, helped unleash upon the world. A power he gave to the government, the power to kill millions of people in a single blast. But it was new technology. A new idea. A puzzle to figure out. And as such, Howard just couldn't resist.

But Howard isn't from the Shining. Nor is he Jack Nichelson. He isn't all work and no play. Hell no. There's a large part of Howard Stark that is entirely devoted to play.

See, the benefits of being one of the richest people coaxing through and out of the Great Depression meant that Howard wasn't quite as touched by the struggle of the economy as others were. He invented and succeeded through those years, enjoying the economy as much as was possible. Howard was no stranger to sneaking into the underground for alcohol during the Prohibition years. As a teenager, he started in with social parties under the guide of his father. He learned social drinking, dancing, found pleasure in the company of female dancers and performers, of the looser women he met at the lower class speakeasies and the higher class ballets, operas. But more than the comforts of the flesh, the drink, Howard found fun in other things as well. Weaponry was his main profession, during the war years, and in order to make perfect weapons, he learned the use of them himself. In addition to shooting, though, Howard took a shining to driving as well. And not just a casual ride with the top down, taking in the scenery. Oh no. This Stark might not have raced much, but he sure as hell loved pushing his cars to the limit. And, uh, modifying them as well. Seems it's a Stark genetic tradition to tinker in their spare time.

Semper Fidelis. The motto of the Marine Corps of the United States. Always Faithful. The Army's motto, This We'll Defend. Things every soldier lives by, a motto for each and every section. Navy, Air Force, Marines, Army, National Guard... each one of them has a motto, but they all really come down to the same thing. Pride, determination, and loyalty to their country and their people. And while Howard might not be military trained, he started his life born into a company that supported the military, and by the time the first hints of war in Germany came to US shores, he found himself pulled right into a secret subset of the military. A group that would, one day, become the SHIELD as the Avengers knew it. So while Howard wasn't military. While he hadn't gone through the training soldiers had, from the time he was only twenty two, as the drafting in the United States started, Howard threw himself face first into development of weapons and armor for the army. And soon enough, he was recruited by Colonel Phillips to be a part of what would be called Project Rebirth, the super soldier program. From there, Howard basically turned away from the majority of his American life. He worked underground in New York, followed Phillips and Agent Carter to Europe, flew Captain Rogers into enemy territory in a plane... he might not have gone through military training, he might not have a rank, but Howard fought alongside everyone as best as he could. He was on the radio with Steve during his missions with his team. He developed weapons, put his life on the line, and he went through just about everything the soldiers on the line did. He has the heart of a soldier and the mind of a civilian.

That being said, it's important to note that Howard is brave. He has no problem challenging people if he has to, standing up and talking people down. It's what allows him to have that edge up on business competitors. But this inventor takes things a step further. Howard shows no fear in the face of certain death. Be it driving along a cliff face in a custom convertible, being shot at by Hydra operatives, or be it flying a small plane into the middle of German airspace, determined to press forward despite explosions being triggered just a few feet from the wings of the plane... Howard never once showed an ounce of fear. As soon as adrenaline kicks in, he's lost in what he's doing. He pushes on with a grin and a fierce determination, moving with extreme practice (the best civilian pilot Peggy Carter had ever seen) and a sure hand and eye, analyzing outcomes as he presses on. That's the good thing about Howard. In a crisis situation, he doesn't panic. He keeps a level head and he sees things through to the end.

Now, loyalty was mentioned earlier, as an offset of the fact that Howard is, in his heart, a soldier. Let's expand on that, shall we? Howard Stark is an extremely loyal person. When he makes a friend, an ally, he will stand by them. When people impress him, when he is touched by the way a person goes about their life, by how they do things, he will stand by them through thick and thin. He will risk his life and he will search for them for the rest of his life. Case in point? His friendship with Steve Rogers. A man who changed the entire outcome of the war, who saved the entire world in a handful of selfless acts. A man who wanted peace more than he wanted to kill. He had a hand in Captain America's creation, but even after just knowing Rogers from a handful of encounters, he still piloted a plane into enemy territory for him and Peggy. And later, after Steve crashed into the ice, after he'd worked with the man more, when he knew exactly how good Steve was at the core of things, he refused to give up. He refused to leave his friend for dead, underneath the Arctic. He financed countless expeditions, kept pushing and probing, slowly mapping out the Arctic in a desperate attempt to find him.

Just keep looking. No matter how impossible Rogers' survival was, no matter how long it had been, Howard remained loyal.

Just keep looking.

Now, arriving in Tu Shanshu? That'll be something for Howard, at least. He won't believe it for a second at first, will think it's a trick, some elaborate kidnapping set-up by the hands of Hydra or some other wannabe terrorist group. He'll get angry, paranoid, suspicious of everyone he meets for a long while. However, in the end, curiosity will trump his anger. The new technology he's being shown will catch his eye, the possibilities will calm him down and he'll be deathly curious about everything. Will probably spend a few weeks wanting to study just about everything, taking anything he gets his hands on apart and just generally waving people off unless they have something interesting to tell him. All in all, he'll be a self-centered asshole, as is the way of Starks.

Appearance: here!

Abilities: Howard Stark is a regular human who participates in moderate physical activity on a fairly regular basis. He has no alterations to strength, speed, or endurance, and is overall healthy. However, he is of genius level intellect, his forte being in weapons development, mechanics, working with electronics, and engineering. He enjoys modifying just about everything around him (from everyday items to things that can even remotely be considered a weapon to cars, back home) in order to make them more... luxurious. With the added Stark touch. After all, not everyone has an automatic, retractable minibar in their car. And, you know, machine guns near the headlights.

Inventory: The clothes on his back, a pocket watch, a few papers with ship charts and various S.S.R. orders/telegrams shoved into the inside pocket of his jacket.

Suite: Metal Sector, two floors!

Howard Stark is used to nothing but the best, really. He's an inventor, rich, used to living in the lap of luxury. Which is why the metal sector will suit him. It's on the richer side, smack dab in the middle of technology he's never seen before and definitely wants to keep and pick apart. Which is where the whole two floors comes in. After all, you always need one floor to entertain and live in and another floor to devote to the magpie mind of an inventor seeing futuristic technology for the first time ever.

In-Character Samples:
Third Person:
Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.

The clock was always going, second hand ticking past with a finality that felt like the edge of a dagger being pushed deep into the skin on the back of his neck, carving deep, scouring the bone, freezing every one of his nerves as it dug down. A pain and pressure in his joints, his muscles, weighing him down, making him feel so much older than he was. Than twenty eight. Every day went by and Howard felt as if he had aged ten years between them. Twenties went to thirties after a week, thirties to forties within a month, forties to fifties, sixties, seventies... until finally, two months after Captain America's plane went down, two months into an expedition to the north, he felt as if he was stepping into the bridge as an eighty, ninety year old man. An aged, broken man shoved into a younger man's body.

There was so much silence on the ship. He would wake up in the middle of the night not to the sounds of shouting, of alarms. The footfalls of patrols, of a roommate getting out of bed to take over his shift. He wouldn't wake up to explosions in the distance, of the methodical rifle fire of practicing troops. The scream of bombs in the distance, the roar of planes cresting into enemy territory miles and miles away. No, he woke up every night to silence. To the creaking of metal, the peace hanging heavy in the air. Nothing but the faint sound of footfalls on the deck above, the waves lapping against the hull.

Distantly, Howard found himself thinking. If he was adjusting this badly, a civilian who'd inserted himself in the middle of a war zone, then how were the soldiers on the front line? How could they possibly get to sleep at night? How could they go from charging forward, holding a gun and taking lives, fighting every second to keep their own to waking up and reading the paper, going to a baseball game... fishing. He couldn't imagine, it hurt to imagine.

But then again, as he stared down at the paper on the desk in front of them, carefully inked words stretched across the Stark Industries letterhead, drying streaks of black against a wrinkled, grey background, he wasn't really adjusting, now was he? His name was still tangled so intricately with the military, it always would be. Until the moment he died he would have a hand in war, in battles, in fighting and weapons and the deaths of thousands, that's just how it would have to be. For him to keep close to the military he had to keep his contracts, to keep it from looking suspect for him to keep close contact with Agent Carter, Colonel Phillips, the remainders of the Howling Commandos. The beginning of their little pet project, what started in Manhattan what seemed to be a life time ago. SHIELD, they wanted to call it. Ironic, considering the man who'd pushed them all together in the first place. Even if he'd never meant to.

"Agent Carter. We found the Tesseract, but still nothing on the America Project... no, that's not--" with a sound of frustration torn from high in his throat, he scrubbed a hand through his hair, falling back in his chair, ignoring the shrill ringing of the phone linked up to the bridge. He already knew what would be said. Another section of the grid covered, and still nothing. Absolutely nothing. No sign of wreckage, no Captain America. Three rings, and it stopped. Didn't start up again, and Howard was left to lean forward against the desk, his head in his hands. Another day, another failure. Nothing but water and ice for miles upon miles in every direction.

They'd lost him, everyone knew it was official, now. But damn if that would keep Howard from looking.

Network:
[The man gracing your video feed with his presence today looks none-too-happy with what's happening right now. In fact, he looks absolutely livid. His hair's in slight disarray, his clothes rumpled, and there's a scowl pulling at lips underneath facial hair Starks just can't seem to be complete without.]

Alright, see here. [Oh, yeah, he's pissed.] I don't know what you people here are thinking, but landing on the back of some turtle in the middle of some spirit world doesn't really pass as normal back home.

[He leans back a little, narrowing his eyes at the screen in front of him.]

If I'm to actually believe this isn't some sort of scam or elaborate, drug induced plot, I'm guessing I'm here for the long haul, huh? Living on the back of a turtle.

[He scoffs, but the anger is fading back a bit, as it has been the more the looks around at this place, sharp eyes picking up sights of things that seem like something straight out of his imagination. Hell, the console in front of him is enough to have him almost thoroughly distracted.]

Right, well, cut a new fella a break, would ya, Keeliai? Could use a drink and a bit of a run down on the tech you're working with, here.