Application
Mun
Name: Ash
Livejournal Username: willowslament
E-mail: Willowslament1@aim.com
AIM/MSN: Willowslament1
Current Characters at Luceti: gaijin_ninja
Character
Name: Anung un Rama aka “Hellboy”
Fandom: Hellboy (Comics)
Gender: Male
Age: 58
Time Period: Beginning of Volume 7: “Strange Places - The Third Wish”
Wing Color: Red and bat-like
History: Hellboy Wiki and a timeline
Personality:
Hellboy was born a demon, summoned from the abyss by an evil mystic and birthed in a ball of fire to bring about the ending of the world. And though he knows nothing can change what he is, nothing will stop him from fighting to prove who he is, both to himself and the world around him. In his heart, he knows he’s nothing like what his so called “destiny” dictates. Ever since he can remember, he’s wanted to be nothing but human, to be a kind, respectable person, to be a hero, and to make a difference in the world.
Since the day he was summoned to the ruins of a church in East Bromwich, England, December 23, 1944, Hellboy has lived a fulfilling, albeit very dangerous life. This is mostly thanks to Professor Trevor Bruttenholm, the young paranormal scholar that soon became his adoptive father. Bruttenholm constantly advocated for Hellboy, encouraging others to accept him and treat him kindly. And when he grew old enough to doubt himself, Bruttenholm was the first to reassure him, to tell him he is not a monster, and to feed the boy’s dreams of becoming a hero. He raised Hellboy with all the values and beliefs of a decent human being, and was the loudest voice of protest against the people who would see him destroyed.
Hellboy spent most of his short childhood living with Bruttenholm on an Air Force base in New Mexico, surrounded by staunch military men and scientists who both feared and saw him as a novelty. But as some of the initial shock wore off, and Bruttenholm put an end to the scientists’ experimentation, they came to treat him more like a mischievous human child than anything. As he grew, he became a fast celebrity, meeting the likes of Einstein and Babe Ruth, and earning the title of “honorary human” given to him by the United Nations in 1952.
By the age of eight, Hellboy was physically full-grown, and his mind not far behind him. He was still naïve and impressionable, but he did well to mimic the stern nature and beliefs of his father along with the lewd and sarcastic ways of the young soldiers that constantly surrounded him. It was then he had decided to follow in his father’s footsteps; joining the organization he had founded several years prior, the B.P.R.D. (Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense), as a field officer. Hellboy became the Bureau’s primary force on the battlefront against the occult, and later came to be known as the world’s greatest paranormal investigator. For decades, he fought on the front lines in the war against paranormal threat, battling everything from ghosts to elder gods and demons. But being a demon himself, despite his human nature, lead to a massive identity crisis that was constantly being forced down his throat no matter how much he denied it.
Though his confusion and self-doubt never ceased, Hellboy’s search for his place in the world went dormant during his years working with the Bureau thanks to the encouragement and validation of his father, friends, and coworkers. They allowed him to completely immerse himself in his work and drown out all those conflicting thoughts and emotions. So he kept himself busy, traveling the world and doing as much good as he possibly could. But though he was content, and enjoyed his job to some extent, all those unanswered questions continued to niggle in the back of his mind, building in his subconscious like a corked bottle under pressure.
Internally, Hellboy feels as though he is very much human, and it’s hard to persuade him otherwise. Upon various encounters with gods, fellow demons, and other creatures of the dark and mythos, many ancient beings chastise him for denying his true purpose, and rant for ages about the prophecies surrounding his existence. To them, his right hand holds the key to not merely the Apocalypse of the human world, but to the doorway of a new Eden, the rebirth of the world where the creatures of old can reclaim what is rightfully theirs, beginning with the elimination of mankind.
When these creatures see how human Hellboy has become, they’re struck with blind rage at the injustice, and will do whatever they can to persuade him, or physically control him into executing rituals which may fulfill their dark prophecies. But by now, Hellboy’s heard it all. For the longest time he claimed to live his life with his head stuck in a hole, stating that “I’m better off not knowing. I sleep good not knowing.” But after enough lectures, warnings, and omens bombarding him from all directions, he starts to get a pretty damn good picture of the real reason he was put on Earth. And eventually, he reaches a point in his life where he just can’t hide from it anymore.
Hellboy loses a healthy portion of his self-confidence shortly after Brutteholm passes away in ‘94. Though his friends back at the Bureau have an amazing amount of faith, respect, and admiration for him, without his father, Hellboy has lost his guiding light and much of his strength to resist the temptation of knowing what he refuses to believe. So finally, after sixty some odd years of living in self-imposed darkness, Hellboy strikes out on his own in search of the one thing he fears most - the truth. He leaves the Bureau for Africa, and then, as he puts it, “Wherever the wind blows.”
Africa was mostly a reprieve into the past, and a way of trying to dig up some good old memories of when he’d traveled there with Bruttenholm as a boy. He tries to find some comfort there, possibly a vestige of happiness. But he doesn’t find the peace he’d been looking for. As always, questions only lead to more questions, and all these loose ends only add to his confusion. Sometimes, Hellboy regrets his decision to pull his head out of that hole, but he knows exploring his origin is inevitable. It’s about damn time he asked some questions instead of getting it shoved down his throat by some demon in the middle of a fight.
But still, he doesn’t intend to surrender to all this Apocalypse crap, and he refuses to believe the prophecies. He still has his inner fire, that burning desire to be the hero of his childhood dreams. And no matter how increasingly bleak his future seems, he’s still determined to find a way to keep it from happening, to prove them wrong, to save the world he was supposedly born to destroy.
Somehow, he will find his path again. But for now, he has a long way to go.
Hellboy is a very solemn man, outwardly quiet, but internally an extremely elegant thinker. He tends to be bluntly honest to the point of rudeness, though he doesn’t always intend to be. He’s loyal to a fault to those he cares about, quick to trust and hard to persuade otherwise. He has a soft spot for the underdog, the so-called “freaks” he identifies with, likes children and animals, and can be gentle and kind despite his strength and outward appearance. He likes telling colorful stories, smoking cigarettes, and indulging his incurable wanderlust and curiosity. He’s drawn to everything and anything out of the ordinary, and is thus a magnet for trouble. He hates witches and dark magic, tends to drinks too much when he can get his hands on it, and regularly files his horns with a belt sander in an attempt to look more human.
Strengths:
• Virtually indestructible - Being a demon born from the fiery pits of Hell has its perks. HB is 100% fireproof. His stone hand cannot be damaged short of someone trying to hack it off his arm, but good luck with that. Though Hellboy is tough, he isn’t completely untouchable. He’s vulnerable to bullets and blades everywhere but his right hand. He can and has been injured in battle multiple times, but it takes a lot more to bring him down than your average human, and he has a superhuman healing ability. He’s been thrown through buildings, bombarded with arrows, and has even been skewered straight through the abdomen with a lance the size of a telephone pole and survived, even after all the blood was drained from his body. It's been hinted several times throughout the series that Hellboy is "deathless", meaning he can't die until he gives up. So as long as he keeps on fighting and as long as he wants to be a part of this world, he's not going anywhere.
• Intelligent/Knowledgeable/Experienced - Even though he’s a simple speaker, he’s a very eloquent thinker. In short: Hellboy knows his stuff. If you’ve got an issue with the occult, he’s a walking library. Not only does he spend a lot of time studying old legends, charms, and incantations, he’s traveled all over the world to use them, study them, and experience them first hand. He’s very introspective, though he tries not to be, and often muses about his place in the world and the people around him.
• Excellent Memory - Hellboy has the uncanny ability to recall occurrences that happened decades ago in great detail. This goes as far back as happenings shortly after he reached his “adulthood” at eight years of age, over fifty years ago. The only things he has trouble remembering are events during his childhood, especially those surrounding his “birth”.
• Personable - You kind of have to be when you’re walking around looking the way he does. So over the years, he’s acquired himself some pretty awesome people skills. He may be the strong silent type, but his kindness and caring easily shows through if you can look past his intimidating exterior.
• Unwavering faith - Hellboy believes he’s a good person, no matter how many people (or creatures) tell him otherwise. His father raised him Catholic, and he tries his best to see no irony in adhering to those beliefs. He believes that he has a soul and hopes that God will help him make it through the trials and tribulations of his life, no matter how hard he has to fight through them. He carries his father’s rosary at all times, and finds great strength in his beliefs. Being what he is, there's more than enough reason to doubt God's really on his side. But he always tries to keep in mind that with all the evil he's seen, there has to be enough good in the world to balance it out. And when that fails, he has faith in himself. That's all he really needs.
• Brave- There are very few things Hellboy’s scared of. He has a tendency to mock even the most horrible monsters that crawl from the deepest bowels of Hell.
• Tenacious - Hellboy never stops fighting until the job is done, no matter what it takes. If he gets knocked down, he’ll just get up and keep on coming. Nothing can get in his way when he has a job to do, and nothing can stand between what he believes in.
• Supernatural Sensitivity - Hellboy is incredibly perceptive to supernatural activity. Whether it’s seeing an apparition no one else can, sensing the true identity of a shape-shifter, understanding a possessed person speaking in tongues, or drawing in psychic disturbances, it’s obvious his senses reach far beyond that of an average human. This isn’t always a good thing, however. Sometimes he just can’t get rid of the damn things.
• Loyal- Hellboy is ferociously loyal to his friends, especially Abe, Liz, Kate, and Roger, along with Bruttenholm, which should be obvious by now. Hellboy constantly makes great sacrifices for the ones he cares about, and will do almost anything for them. He watches over them, though isn’t exactly overprotective. He’s mostly just a quiet onlooker, ready to jump in when the going gets tough, or offer guidance when he can. He will always stand up for his friends no matter what the circumstance, defending the good he sees within them with all his might, even when other people might think differently. He’s the one who saved Abe from becoming an experiment, Liz from becoming a mentally insane ward of the government, and Roger from being eliminated all together. He has a soft spot for the outcasts, and may put more trust in them than he should, but despite all the hardship that’s come of this, he would never regret that decision.
Weaknesses:
• Identity crisis - Hellboy’s “true nature” in itself is a battle all on its own - Heaven, Hell and human come together as one. And his so-called “purpose” as a demi-god destroyer of Earth deeply conflicts with his self-image. More than anything, Hellboy wants to be human. He wants to live among and be accepted by them as an equal. He loves humanity, and doesn’t care what those jerks say. The world’s gonna stay just the way it is if he’s got anything to say about it.
• Need for the approval of others - Hellboy starves for humanity’s approval. If you call him a horrible monster, he won’t be surprised, but it will definitely put a dent in his mood. He tries hard to earn the right to be considered a good person and yearns to prove to the world that he’s nothing like the demon he was born to be.
• His True Name-- If someone commands him with it, he has no choice but to obey. He also cannot break any kind of restraints with his true name inscribed into them.
• “Lonely Hero” complex - HB likes to work alone. It makes him feel special. If you try to compromise that, he won’t be happy. But sometimes he knows there’s a need to work with a team, and he’ll allow it on those occasions. Even then, he’s likely to break away from the group and do his own thing.
• No formal combat training - Hellboy’s fighting style is more along the lines of “Beat the crap out of it until it’s dead.” But when your right hand is practically a giant sledge hammer, it’s pretty affective.
• Stubborn -Hellboy loves to be stubborn for the sake of being stubborn. If he doesn’t like you, he’ll probably give you a hard time before he listens to a thing you say. HB’s also used to being scolded by gods and fellow demons for living the way he does. A lot of them try to destroy him for betraying his true potential as the harbinger of the Apocalypse. This is when it comes in handy. He’s just too damn stubborn to listen.
• Horrible aim - Hellboy will admit this himself. Though he totes around an oversized revolver as his primary weapon, he prefers hand to hand combat. He claims that the Torch of Liberty - one of the Hellboy universes’ resident “super heroes” - who had gifted him the gun said he was the worst shot he had ever taught. Often in battle, he’ll completely ignore his gun in favor of metal rods, swords, rocks, or whatever else there is on hand. Sometimes he just needs something simple to get the job done.
• Quick to trust - Hellboy grew up being looked upon by others as being nothing but a novelty and a weapon, and a lot of times, he’s content to act as such. If you have a name, rank, and notable reputation, he will most likely follow your orders. Then again, even if you aren’t anybody of status, you could probably persuade him into doing your dirty work if you play your cards right. This often lands him in a lot of bad situations, because blindly taking orders from untrustworthy people is never a good idea. Then comes into play his soft spot for the underdog. He tends to feel sorry for anyone with a tragic backstory and will cut them a lot of slack if he feels sorry for them. Sometimes that compassion pays off, sometimes it comes back to bite him in the ass, because he winds up defending some very dangerous people. Often, he gets stabbed in the back for it but is more than willing to clean up his own mess. But there have been instances where his willingness to trust has paid off. His relationship with Liz, Abe, and Roger, for instance. Though they are all perceived as highly dangerous people by the Bureau, he fought tooth and nail for their right to be treated decently. And though their powers and mental instability have cost the Bureau a lot of grievances and a hell of a lot of money over the years, all three of them have become extremely valuable and irreplaceable top agents. This trust is obviously stemmed from Hellboy’s own experiences, and the faith that Bruttenholm put in him for all those years. Hellboy is determined to treat other people like him with the same faith and kindness.
• Bad temper/impulsively violent - He won’t hesitate to punch you in the face if you really tick him off, no matter who you are. He once creamed a frail old man he didn’t even know because the guy said he was a Nazi. HB is also one to charge head-long into battle without a plan if he gets angry enough. Again, indestructibility pays off.
• Mental Sensitivity - The guy’s a walking trouble magnet, and for some reason, he just can’t keep people out of his head. Be it ghosts, psychics, demons, whatever. If they’re trying to speak to him or hack into his mind and dreams, he has little to no mental barrier. In fact he seems to attract that kind of probing, and is very sensitive to any kind of psychic links. This’s probably the major reason why he thinks psychics are a pain in the ass.