Application

[writethatdown]

About You - The Player
Name: Em
Age: 21
Contact: titsfortardis @ aim, thedoktah
Past Role Playing Experience: Four years worth of rping on LJ/DW, and two years before that on invisionfree forums. Currently playing at ataraxion, the last voyages, adstringendum, and siren's pull. You can check out aggravating and the entries in there as well!
New Players (completely optional), if you'd like tell us how you found BTR: SHAMELESSLY ENABLED BY THE MCU CAST

The Character
Name: Howard Anthony Stark
Age/Birthdate: 28; August 15, 1917
Species: Wanderer
Canon: Marvel Cinematic Universe
*Pre-existing powers: He's a regular human who maintains regular physical activity and is of genius-level intellect.
*Rift Change, if applicable: Learning Telepathy: when within a twenty foot distance from another person, he can pick up on skills and knowledge from them. These include knowledge of firearms, engineering, languages, self-defense. Anything that had to be taught and practiced he can pick up on. However, simply because he knows the mechanics of martial arts doesn't mean his body can react at the same speed his mind can. Just because he knows how to shoot a gun like a pro assassin, doesn't mean his arm can withstand the recoil. Also, as soon as the person leaves his "range" he loses everything he'd learned from them. With technology differences, also, his own unfamiliarity with how things are in 2012 as opposed to 1945 provides a frustrating gap between what he knows what to do with technology (regardless of if he suddenly has doctorate level knowledge shoved in his mind) and what he actually understands about the inner workings of it. IE: he can repair something, if working with someone of that same knowledge, but he can't think to improve upon it until he learns the information in a way that will stick. Meaning he can't be taught by anyone with that knowledge already in their head.
Dreamwidth: writethatdown
Played By: Dominic Cooper
Icon:

Appearance: Howard Stark is a rather handsome man, standing at 5'10" he's not the tallest human being in the world, but he more than makes up for his lack of height with the presence he puts out. He always walks around with a bounce in his step, a purpose in his eyes, his chin tilted up and his shoulder squared. He has jet black hair, brown eyes, and a well-trimmed and carefully tended to mustache. His hair is always slicked back and combed, and Howard himself always looks put-together. He's always wearing a suit and suspenders, a tie with a tie clip, even if he's going to be wearing a lab coat most of the day, he still dresses up. It's just a part of the whole 1940's style. Business formal is business casual.

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.

Events:
Project Rebirth
This was, pretty much, the defining moment for Howard's career. He was only twenty-five, and even if he was the top weapons contractor for the military, getting involved in something as top-secret and important as Project Rebirth was a big thing for him and his company. He already had plans for the secrecy, the organization that seemed to be forming in the shadows of the military. An organization that would, in a few years, gain the semblance of an early S.H.I.E.L.D. but that's neither here nor there. No, Project Rebirth and being involved in the creation of Captain America was kind of where his life really changed. He got to see the formation of the world's first super hero, his technology made it all possible, but more than that? He met Steve Rogers. He eventually befriended Rogers and his men. He got dragged into things such as flying the good Captain into an active war zone, poking at Hydra weaponry, outfitting Mr. American Hero with his shield, uniform, motorcycle. All in all, his life took a really interesting turn as soon as Rebirth hit.

Manhattan Project
But with Rebirth, came World War II. And with World War II came a little thing that would become widely known as The Manhattan Project. In other words, a gathering of minds and scientists for the simple goal of creating the ultimate weapon. The weapon that would become a war ender, now that the super soldier serum was lost. But with this project came the simple knowledge that he was the driving force, in their group, of putting a weapon out there in the world that could, in the blink of an eye, not only kill countless numbers of people, but could poison the very land for innumerable decades, could pass through sickness for generations. The weapon they were making could, in theory, kill the grandchildren of people exposed to the radiation. People who would, hopefully, never have even known the war in which the bomb was needed.

Writing Sample:
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.