Little Bill — Roleplayer Guild

HEY YA'LL.

I've been working on a small arc with @nitemare shape for a while, and it's just about completed. Because my character is the son of an in-universe celebrity, I've included a bunch of information on him, his dad, his company, and other things that my character's introduction bring into the canon. I've also included a TL;DR version for those of you with better things to do than read a ten page report about the history of a fictitious company. 

If any of you are interested in participating in the arc, feel free to throw your hat in with a PM or a mention, though I'll be PMing a few of you to get the ball rolling. Fire away with any questions/comments/concerns.

The Beast in Eden

Several heroes in Lost Haven have received identical letters from a scientist in India who claims to have cured a little-known disease and is inviting them to his island for a showing of his medical breakthrough. Though it sounds like some sort of scam, the letters are addressed to the heroes by name, to their home addresses, and include first-class tickets to the island itself. Additionally, the letters are not sent from an unknown lone researcher, but the son of the late Julius Starling, who has lived in isolation for a decade.

Likened to a cross between Walt Disney, Steve Jobs, and Carl Sagan, Julius Starling was the host of Julius Starling's World of Science in the eighties, an extremely popular children's program. On the show, Julius taught science -- particularly engineering -- to a group of ethnically diverse children alongside his plucky son and their cast of robots on Julius's jungle island.

Julius Starling has been seen throughout history as one of the most skilled salesmen of his age by marketing his image. On and off the show, Julius was only ever seen in the same blue suit with a permanently unkempt beard and long hair, making him an instantly recognizable pop culture icon with an image synonymous with his work. Similarly, his son was only ever dressed in a blue t-shirt and black shorts until he was eleven. Aside from his show, Julius was known for being the CEO and founder of Starling Science, a high-end company that supplied the world -- though mostly Germany and Japan -- with some of the highest grade machinery, hardware, and robotics available at the time.

Aside from the durability and technological advancements Starling Science products held over most competitors, the company was known for its branding much in the same way that Julius was. The company's logo, a black outline of a bird's head on a blue shield, is front-and-center on all of their products, which are all painted Starling Blue, a specific shade of cyan Julius had copyrighted at the company's conception. All of the robots on his show displayed the infamous logo on their chests, and though his son was the only member of the children to wear a Starling Blue shirt, the rest wore solid color shirts with the company's logo. Even today in the advertising world, calling an ad pitch "Starlingesque" implies that it is too heavy-handed with its approach. Julius's philanthropy has also played a part in making Starling a household name, as most major robotics and engineering universities often use equipment donated by Starling Science.

Julius died in the early 2000's, though very little information was ever made public about his death other than his body having been recognizable only by dental records. His funeral was a televised event that made national headlines, drawing a crowd numbering into the thousands. Since then, edits to his Wikipedia page and all similar sources have been locked by order of Virgil Starling's legal team, drawing greater suspicion from conspiracy theorists and the general public alike. Aside from the suspicions surrounding his death, Julius Starling is the subject of several conspiracies.

Julius Starling's FBI record shows a strong possibility that during the height of his fame, Julius either sold or consumed massive amounts of Lysergic acid diethylamide, or LSD. His connections as a celebrity scientist allowed him to purchase large quantities of controlled chemicals with little suspicion -- most notably, the chemical components diethylamine, ergotamine, and ergot fungus, all of which are found in most psychedelics. Julius's estate Eden was raided by the DEA four times unsuccessfully, and after five years, his investigation was ended, though an additional investigation was brought up for a year following his death with similar unsuccessful results.

Julius was also at one point believed to be the member of the cult his longtime girlfriend Deepika Chowdhury had been born into, having been photographed with her at her home village, though this rumor is believed to be more of a conspiracy than the former.

1958 - Starling Science is founded in Eugene, Maine. Julius Starling makes a fortune primarily doing business with Germany and Japan, which are still reeling from the effects of WWII. Starling Science begins primarily selling industrial equipment, weaponry, and high-grade scientific equipment for government use overseas. Julius copyrights Starling Blue, and has all Starling products painted with it -- this use of branding quickly makes Starling Science a recognizable brand and household name. Starling Science's sole competitor, New York-based Global Technologies, runs a smear campaign against Starling Science for supplying two former Nazi-led countries with weapons and high grade technology. This lasts only a month, as the CEO's incarceration for a long-standing tax fraud investigation causes stock in Global Technology to plummet.

1969 - Julius Starling is taken into custody and questioned in connection to a drug-trafficking investigation. The following day, Starling Science makes national headlines for vowing to cease all weapons development, turning the limelight from Julius's criminal charges. Julius quietly returns to the public eye weeks later, with a clean criminal record, releasing F.O.T.O, the world's first personal robot, capable of walking, taking polaroid pictures, and playing cassette tapes. Though only three are ever made and sold to wealthy buyers as toys, Starling Science cements itself as the first personal robotics company.

1972 - Julius Starling purchases Pamban Island, a small uninhabited island between peninsular India and Sri Lanka, renaming it Eden. After building a substantial compound, Julius begins developing new robotic prototype models. It is suspected Julius chose Eden for its location, far from the FDA and other federal agents eager to see behind Julius's closed doors. It is also suspected that Julius began manufacturing LSD in Eden, and sold it through one of India's many ports.

1978 - Julius Starling's World of Science is released on PBS. Several robotic prototypes are featured on the show, making it an immediate success and a precursor for the nation's upcoming decade-long obsession with technology. Starling Science experiences a 600% increase in sales with the launch of "B.U.D.D.Y", a personal robot capable of sweeping, playing chess, answering math problems, and reminding users of calendar dates. Though it is generally inefficient at sweeping and is the most expensive toy of the year, B.U.D.D.Y receives overwhelmingly positive reviews.

1980 - Virgil Starling is born, making frequent appearances on JSWoS as "The Baby" and later by his own name. Little information is ever given about Virgil's mother, save for one interview where Julius states that she was his longtime girlfriend who preferred to avoid the public eye, who had died in childbirth. In the same vein as Macaulay Culkin and Ralph Macchio, Virgil Starling is seen as one of the decade's iconic one-role child actors, known for his unchanging wardrobe of a Starling Blue t-shirt, black shorts, and black shoes.

1988 - Virgil is named "Child Prodigy of The Year" by L.R Magazine. Julius is diagnosed with Huntington's Disease, though it is kept private for several years. Starling Science releases "P.I.P.E.R", a personal robot capable of answering up to 300 questions, playing the flute, and feeding pets. Though Starling Science is still considered a luxury technology brand, "M.I.N.R", an automated drilling machine, is released this year as well.

1989 - Julius Starling's World of Science ends. Julius begins work on a serum designed to treat his Huntington's Disease, garnering some controversy for the number of rhesus monkeys seen by helicopters being tested on in Eden, which number well into the thousands. Little information is given about Julius's condition other than JSWoS ending due to Julius's health complications, as well as research and testing being done on Eden for Julius's unnamed condition.

1996 - Eden is raided twice, though no drugs are ever found. According to his seized notes, Julius discovers a "breakthrough" in his testing that requires a healthy human with a specific genetic makeup and bloodtype. Further notes indicate an unnatural muscle growth and fits of rage in Patient 10, but otherwise successful tests being performed on Patient X, who had only suffered "fits of fainting or weakness, excess glycogen storage, and increased metabolism". The rest of his notes are too difficult to have been deciphered and have since been abandoned, having been written in a seemingly random mirrored spiral pattern in Urdu. Inspired by his father's condition, Virgil enrolls at The University of Mumbai, majoring in biochemistry and molecular biology. At 16, he is the youngest in his class -- his status as a celebrity, a foreigner and a young prodigy make transitioning difficult, and he is seldom seen at Starling Science conferences or other public appearances.

2001 - Julius Starling is found dead on Eden, identifiable only by his dental records. Starling Science attorneys stop the spread of most information, though it becomes public knowledge that Julius's corpse was moved post-mortem and had been burned severely. Control of Starling Science and its subsidaries, Julius's fortune, and ownership of Eden are all given to Julius's sole beneficiary, Virgil. 

2004 - Virgil joins University of Mumbai's ongoing leukodystrophy research team, having all but abandoned public appearances with Starling Science. Additionally, Virgil begins transferring company control to several board members. In addition, it is made public by a Starling Science executive that Julius Starling suffered from Huntington's, causing a spike in Starling profits for the fiscal quarter. 

2006 - Virgil has a public meltdown known as the "Shut Up Speech". Shortly thereafter, he moves to Eden, breaking off all relationships and leaving the public eye for ten years.

Note: Unless your character lives under a rock or is a literal alien, they'd know this. Think Bob Ross fame levels -- Even if your character doesn't know his name, they've probably heard the name Julius Starling or knew of Starling Sciences, and they'd probably recognize him as "The blue suit science guy".

Julius Starling was the host of a children's science show in the late 80's as well as the CEO and founder of Starling Science, a famous high-end technology company that paints all their products a really specific cyan. They mostly make industrial machinery and research equipment, but they're also one of the longest-standing robotics companies.

Julius himself is recognizable for his blue suit and crazy beard/hair, and his show is the subject of occasional parodies for the super diverse cast of kids. He dated this weird model from India for most of his life and they had a kid, but she died in childbirth. There were rumors that he was constantly doing a crazy amount of drugs because he got arrested once in the sixties and bought a lot of weird chemicals for research, though that's mostly the kind of thing conspiracy nuts discuss on forums nowadays.

He died in the early 2000's and very little information was given about his death. His son Virgil, a medical prodigy and former child-actor on his father's show, went into biochemistry and inherited his father's company. The pressure got to him (He was already known for fainting and stuff like that) and Virgil famously freaked out on a bunch of reporters ten years ago, and has lived alone on his father's island ever since.

With all that out of the way, here's Virgil's sheet! Still technically incomplete because I don't have a writing sample up yet, but I wanted to let people know about the arc I have in mind sooner rather than later.

Character
Virgil Starling

Speech Color
Starling Blue

Character Alignment
Hero

Character Personality
Virgil is a quintessential bookworm. Even before his isolation on Eden, he was a shy and quiet child who avoided the limelight whenever possible, preferring to study or read alone rather than accompany his father to press conferences and similar ordeals. Though his social skills and knowledge of pop culture have rusted after a decade of isolation, his youth spent as a child actor has left him polite and well-spoken -- it can be said that his worst feature is that he is something of a know-it-all, which he usually justifies by knowing it all. 

Virgil has a strong desire to leave the shadow of his father, and though he does not remember him especially fondly, he still regards him with a great deal of respect. Additionally, the combination of his mother's death during his birth, his father's world-famous death as a teenager and his decade of isolation have all made Virgil a pragmatic, self-sufficient loner.  Aside from purely academic hobbies, Virgil is an avid outdoorsman.

Origin Info/Details
Virgil Starling was born in 1980 to Julius Ulysses Starling and Deepika Palash Chowdhury in Chennai, India. Though his mother died in childbirth, Virgil was brought back to Oregon by his father after a month, gaining duel citizenship in America and India. His childhood was mostly spent on the set of Julius Starling's World of Science, his father's wildly successful program. Eager to break out of his life as a child actor, Virgil went on to study biochemistry at the prodigious age of 16.

Before Virgil was able to finish his degree, his father was found mysteriously dead on his island estate, catapulting Virgil into the spotlight. Being an anxious young man who was known to faint, this did little to help Virgil's mental state. Virgil was famously quiet about his father's death and company, going as far as leaving interviews or going completely silent if asked about things like company assets or mourning the loss of Julius. Five years after his death, at a press conference held when a team of scientists Virgil was working with had discovered a possible cure for Leukodystrophy, Virgil had a televised breakdown, known colloquially as the "Shut Up Speech".

Though there is only one video, which has widely circulated the internet since then, Virgil's mood visibly changes throughout the course of the events when it is clear that all of the questions reporters are asking are aimed at him about the recent firing of a Starling Science executive. Near the end of the video, Virgil clears the table of the papers and diagrams covering it before flipping the table entirely, punching a reporter, kicking a chair at his cameraman, and storming out of the room shouting profanities.

Following the incident, Virgil quietly paid a settlement to the reporter, and has lived on his father's secluded island estate known as Eden, which had served as the setting of his late father's show and housed his childhood home. It is suspected that Virgil shares the island with groundskeepers, though other than them, Virgil has only ever made contact with the outside world through phone calls at Starling Science press conferences.

Attributes
Strength Level: Normal Human
Speed: Normal Human
Endurance: Normal Human
Agility: Normal Human
Intelligence: Genius
Fighting Skill: Untrained

Resources
Extreme
Virgil has all the wealth and resources accrued by his father, a billionaire and cultural icon. This includes control and ownership of Starling Science and all of its subsidaries, profits from Julius Starling's World of Science, and ownership of Eden.
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