ye olde fade rift appe.

PLAYER

Name: Brooklyn
Age: Old enough to remember when viral videos looped.
Contact: withpanache @ plurk
Other Characters: N/A
Interests: Character-based plot, adventure, and network surveys.

CHARACTER

Name: Tony Stark
Canon/OC: Canon
Canon Point: Post-Avengers, pre-Iron Man 3.
Journal: propulsion
Age: 44

Canon World

Earth-199999 is very much like contemporary Earth as we know it, featuring the same historic events, same nations, same conventions. For the average person, there is no difference. However, the world of Marvel Cinematic Universe also has some very significant changes built into the fabric of its make that permits the likes of Iron Man and his friends.

To start on a cosmic level, it is understood that Earth is a planet in a dimension known as Midgard (although Earth can be called Midgard interchangeably, being the focal point/gateway), which is one of nine realms in a cosmic network, held together by inter-dimensional branches that permit some safe travel, provided you have the technology to enable it. Although these dimensions only very occasionally have anything to do with one another (with Midgard particularly isolated), their presence has impacted Earth history and contemporary times -- Asgard made such an impression some thousand years ago that the Norse culture believed their people to be gods. In recent times, a royal house conflict of Asgard saw advanced magical technology walk the Earth for the first time in a very long time.

The presence of this lore means that magic, in a way, is real, and sometimes graces Earth with its presence, but it is understood to be simply very, very advanced technology/science -- the line between hard science and mysticism is blurry. It is not widely or even exclusively accessible on Earth, but has influenced the development of technology.Speaking of technology, MCU Earth has made leaps and bounds in all science fields as compared to real Earth. These leaps and bounds are not widely accessible either, primarily exclusive to private organisations like Stark Industries, mad scientists, and the likes of SHIELD, but can range from interactive three-dimensional holograms through to biotechnology that turns people into supersoldiers. Or monsters. Stark has personally invented totally clean energy, not to mention innovations like his Iron Man suit. Much of these technological departures occur in and around World War II, involving a covert fascist order known as Hydra that began something of an arms race, harnessing the cosmic force known as the Tesseract.

At the same time, a group of military scientists and innovators who would go on to form SHIELD (involving Tony's father, Howard Stark) invented the first superhero in the form of Captain America, beginning a domino effect of continued scientific advancement until it culminated in Tony Stark who did the best job out of anyone, no citation needed.

History

AaaaaaAAAAA!!!

Born in 1970 to Howard and Maria Stark.

A charmed and privileged childhood was had due to the considerable wealth of his family, brought around by his father's company, Stark Industries. Developed daddy issues from the get-go, Howard being a man who drank often and treated him coldly and negligently.

Demonstrated genius from a very early age, tinkering with electronics since age four, and graduating from the MIT at age 17.

Howard and Maria died in a "mysterious car crash" when Tony was 21, at which point he also inherited Stark Industries.

Stark Industries would proceed to rack up billions through military contracting, with much business conducted by Obidiah Stane, a trusted advisor and business partner of Howard, and then mentor to Tony.

Then the movies begin.

After enjoying a lavish playboy lifestyle, Tony suffered a reality check when he was kidnapped in Afghanistan by terrorists known as the Ten Rings who wanted him to rebuild the deadly Jericho missile for them.

Relevantly to his whole shtick, Tony was hit by a blast of shrapnel that were, and are still, seconds away from shredding his heart. Fellow captive Ho Yinsen saved his life by installing an electromagnet in his chest to keep them at bay.

Tony used the Jericho missile parts to build an arc-reactor instead, so that he wouldn't be attached to a car battery forever. He and Yinsen also built a highly defensive suit of iron, equipped with guns and flamethrowers and rocket thrusters. During their daring escape, Yinsen gave his life to save him.

LONG STORY SHORT Tony realised he was not okay with his weapons being appropriated by evil people, or okay with even building weapons, realised Obidiah Stane had been behind the under-the-table dealings of his company, and steered both Stark Industries and his own self towards a better purpose.

Becomes Iron Man and tells everyone about it in a press conference. Suck it, Bruce Wayne.

Iron Man 2 happens. He almost dies from poison, alcohol, and whining. He makes Pepper Potts CEO of his company. Nick Fury and Natasha happen. Tony discovers his dad really did love him. He invents a new element. All in a day's work.

He's brought on as a """consultant""" for the Avengers Initiative.

FuCKING ALIENS INVADE New York, and the Avengers assemble. Tony makes new friends, kinda -- Bruce can stay, but Cap is on thin fucking ice -- and commits to the new brand deal after a near death experience and a well-memed meal of shawarma.

Aaand canon point.

Personality

Tony is the result of a world class education, a near infinite fortune from which he can exercise his impulses, a natural and insatiable intelligence, and bad parenting. He has spent most of his life stepping into the role of his father's legacy as CEO of Stark Industries, a company that had a heavy tilt towards weapons development, with some satellite projects that did not nearly fill their coffers as building bombs did. He enjoyed his fortune and fame in a haphazard and careless way, forever pushing the limits of what he could and could not do (everything and nothing, respectively). Prior to Afghanistan, this was largely done in non-constructive ways, losing and gaining friends sometimes in the same conversation, pouring money into the latest gadgets, into private jets, into mansions scattered across the globe, and rolling through women.

It wasn't until he had the ramifications of his life's work shoved in his face, his life seriously threatened, and building Mark 1 of Iron Man, that Tony broke out of this particular pattern. This is a common trend even after he's grown and changed -- building Iron Man and flying for the moon on his first test drive is-- well, coddled by his own confidence in his engineering and the testing he'd already done, naturally, but a pursuit of knowledge and testing boundaries defines the choices that he has made and does make both in minor social interaction through to saving the world. It's almost like bravery, in that heroism has given it an outlet.

His arrogance and extroverted all-consuming personality is not really a smokescreen -- he is, in fact, a remarkably honest sort of person in this way, because he's never had to nor wanted to hide who he is. But who he is is not always frequently seen, as long-lasting friendships and relationships have been deftly avoided for most of his life. He careens in and out of people's spaces to take what he needs or wants before booking it out again before attachment can be formed, because while he is an expert at machinery and information technology, he is not as good at people as he thinks he is. And these days, he doesn't think he's that great at it to begin with.

He is also suffering from untreated PTSD following the events of The Avengers -- specifically, the Chitauri invasion, the psychological impact of acknowledging unknowable intergalactic power, and his near-death experience. This manifests as panic attacks, control issues, night terrors, and so on. He's fine, don't worry about it.

Strengths & Weaknesses

Tony Stark is a tinkerer, inventor, engineer, etc. He invents impossible things, sometimes in impossible circumstances. A passion for robotics swung a hard left into building really good bombs, and he cruise controlled on weapons design until his conscience caught up with him, unlocking the immense potential he was otherwise squandering. He builds Iron Man suits, lots and lots of Iron Man suits, but also green energy solutions, and cool smartphones, and interactive holograms, and artificial intelligences that turn into supervillains.

He keeps himself in shape for the inevitably taxing physical aspect of his in-suit combat, but his skill in martial arts doesn't compare to a Natasha Romanoff or anyone with lifelong training.

Suggested Nerfs

All his superpowers come from machines that he won't have access to, in a world without the infrastructure for him to develop them without close mod approvals, so None Beef.

Arrival Inventory

He will arrive in plain clothes, with shattered pieces the Iron Man suit he was wearing in his horrific nightmare about dying in space! Note that I am very fine with these pieces being altered or rendered utterly unsalvageable, or simply vanishing in the Fade.

He will also have an arc-reactor installed in the gross hole in his chest, and this I would like to keep and have function the way it normally functions. Instead of electricity, however, I'm imagining something made of iron and stone, engraved with runes, and powered with lyrium, transformed through his transition into Thedas.

Also, a pair of Ray Bans.

Humanization

As the closest version of his species, Tony Stark will transform into a dwarf.

I'm kidding he's a humanman.

Fit

Tony Stark does not fit in at all. This will be part of the charm.

Something I'd like to explore is how he can adapt his skills to a world of powerful magics and rudimentary technologies, with his new lyrium-based arc-reactor as a springboard. All potential innovations would go through mod approval before he even conceives of it IC.

SAMPLES

Thing the one and a second thing.