[application] aliunde
Player Information
Name: Lex
Personal LJ: scintillulae
E-mail: carpe.piscem [at] gmail.com
AIM: littlelovesparks
Time zone: EST
Character Information
Name: Anthony "Tony" Stark
Fandom: Iron Man (Marvel Movieverse)
Timeline Summary: post-Iron Man 2, before The Avengers
Background: It tastes like coconut...and metal!
Personality:
Everyone loves genius billionaire playboy philanthropist Anthony Stark. Or at least, that's what Stark Industries' PR department would have you believe. CEO of a highly influential and innovative company started by his father, Tony doesn't take any crap from anybody, whether they're a politician or a member of SI's own board, and he can bullshit like a pro. He prides himself on both his wit and his wits - Tony never misses an opportunity to crack a joke or dole out some sarcasm, and his intelligence makes him the driving force behind SI's technology development. On the surface, Tony is charming and brilliant, practically perfect in every way.
Those that don't love Tony Stark love to hate him. And the list of things to hate is a long one: he's frustrating to deal with, stubborn and set in his ways; he's arrogant and cocky, his presence overbearing and loud; his narcissistic tendencies make him seem rude and selfish. He doesn't take his work with SI seriously and he's excessive to the point of wastefulness in most things. And Tony doesn't deny any of this. He pretty much encourages it, because hey, any news is good news, right?
Underneath his self-aggrandizing confidence and clever tongue, Tony is a lot more vulnerable than he'd ever want people to know. Despite how well he schmoozes with the paparazzi, Tony Stark has very poor people skills. His closest friends, of which there are two, are his personal assistant, Virginia "Pepper" Potts, and Lieutenant Colonel James Rhodes; personal relationships tend to be shallow and short-lived. Tony's better with robots than humans, who are out of his comfort zone, who are strange and unpredictable and so far removed from the machines he knows so well. He can understand machines in ways he, for all his genius, could never understand people.
Tony likes to do things his way, on his terms, and that way can be extremely reckless. Alcohol, wild parties, working nonstop without eating and sleeping, it's all par for the course. When things get rough, Tony deals with them the only way he knows how. When others try to help, he blocks them out - after all, why would anyone care about Tony Stark anyway?
Going the Freudian route, one can point to Tony's past and blame it all on one little fact: Tony's dad never loved him. Or at least, could never express it properly. No matter how smart or impressive he was, Tony was always in the shadow of Howard Stark, legendary founder of Stark Industries and a man who was cold and distant most of Tony's life. Though he doesn't show it, Tony's self-esteem is held together by a very fragile thread. He needs to be seen as useful, and after the kidnapping incident, to Tony being Iron Man is the best way to do so. Here his stubbornness shines through - he doesn't ask for help and doesn't easily accept it when it's offered. His problems are his alone, and he'll solve them himself, thank you, so please go away and let him sit in the lab without sleeping for another twelve hours in peace.
Some people say that Tony Stark will never change, that he'll forever be an arrogant bastard who doesn't care about the consequences of his actions. But Tony's been showing signs of change already in his dedication to being Iron Man. Since his accident, he's realized what he wants to do is help people, to make up for the lives Stark Industries' war tech has ruined and to save those who can't save themselves. His flaws double as strengths when it really matters. He stands his ground, doesn't run from a fight. And he might be a pain in the ass a lot of the time, but he's a pain in the ass that, deep down, really cares. He's just awful at showing it.
Powers, Skills, and Abilities:
After the injury that caused shrapnel to become fatally embedded in his chest, Tony built a miniaturized arc reactor that powers the electromagnet protecting his heart. If the arc reactor is removed, the shrapnel moves closer. The original reactors used also gave Tony palladium poisoning, forcing Tony to search for a new element to replace the palladium. He eventually succeeds in creating a completely new element, allowing him to make an even stronger new arc reactor currently in use.
Without his armor, Tony has the physical abilities of a regular man of his build. His skill lies in his genius intellect and his Iron Man armor. Various versions of the armor exist, each with slightly different weapons and capabilities. Weapons on the armor include repulsors and missiles, and each suit is powered by a miniaturized arc reactor.
His most recent suit, the Mark VI, is similar to earlier versions in most aspects. The suit has a holographic HUD built in and can operate remotely with assistance from Tony’s AI, JARVIS. It’s extremely durable, able to withstand heavy combat, and gives the user superhuman strength. Flight boots allow quick and agile flying ability. In addition to the usual repulsor blasters, additional weaponry includes a small grenade launcher, shoulder-mounted anti-personnel guns, and a one-time-use hand-mounted laser.
Given the technology levels of Aliunde, it's only a matter of time before the Mark VII comes around.
Samples
First Person:
[The video feed's showing a dark-haired man groaning and rubbing his face. He swears under his breath for a bit before focusing on the screen and scowling at it.]
Pepper? Rhodey? What the hell's going on here? This is the worst hospital I think I've ever woken up in. And that's saying something. Rhodey, if this is a joke, this isn't funny. I said I was sorry that I smashed your car. I promised to buy you three new ones, what more do you want?
[He pauses, confused, as he squints at the communicator in his hand like he's just now noticed it.]
This isn't mine. Unless I've been inventing tech in my sleep again, which is possible, but unlikely given the amount of sleep I've actually gotten lately. What the fuck happened last night?
Third Person:
Tony stopped keeping track of how many shots he'd drunk after about the tenth one. All he knew was that there was still whiskey left in the bottle at his side, and he was morally obligated to finish it off. Or something like that. Alcohol was for drinking and if you didn't drink it, that was a waste, he concluded, topping off his shot glass and downing it in one surprisingly swift motion. Say what you will about a hammered Tony Stark, but his drunken coordination still beat plenty of people's. It wasn't fair how Pepper wouldn't let him near the armor like this. He could totally still fight crime in his current condition.
Angrily, he set his glass down on the table harder than he should have and picked up the bottle, taking a sip straight from it instead. It wasn't like anyone was sharing with him anyway. His phone beeped, but he ignored it and continued to slowly sip at the whiskey bottle.
JARVIS's mechanical voice filled the living room. "Shall I answer that for you, sir?"
Tony waved a hand at the air. "No, don't bother. Let 'em leave a message." JARVIS didn't comment that it could have been an important call, and for that Tony was immensely grateful. "Did I ever tell you that you're my favorite AI?"
"Several times, Mr. Stark, but a reminder never hurts."
Tony snorted into the bottle. Sometimes he wondered if he had programmed a little too much personality into the AI, but he immediately dismissed the thought. If JARVIS were like any of his other inept robots, he just might have to kill himself.
That particular thought was quickly sobering. Quietly setting down the whiskey bottle, he rubbed a hand over his face, groaning. Right now sounded like the perfect time for a very long session down in the lab, he decided. Getting up, he made it halfway across the room before pausing, turning around, getting the bottle, and continuing on downstairs.