Maes Hughes Application
Player
Name: Batty
Livejournal Username: batty_chan
E-mail: battypichugirl@yahoo.com
AIM/MSN: AIM: battypichugirl Plurk: batty_chan
Timezone: PST (GMT -8)
Current Characters in Route: None yet!
Character
Name: Maes Hughes
Series: Fullmetal Alchemist (Brotherhood/mangaverse)
Timeline: Post-death
Canon Resource Links: http://fma.wikia.com/wiki/Maes_Hughes
Affiliation: Breeder
Personality: One of the first words that come to mind when thinking of Maes Hughes might be "pictures": Hughes is the very epitome of a family man and his abundant (some may even say excessive) pride and love for his wife and daughter are obvious at every turn. Caring, dependable, and open, he displays a brilliant zest for life and puts passion into all he does. That's not to say he can't be caught slacking, and in fact he's often seen calling up Roy Mustang on a military line just to gush about his wife and daughter, but when it's time to get serious, Hughes can be counted on to be doing what needs to be done.
As cheerful as his general demeanor is, only those who know him well or work closely with him in the military are liable to see much of this serious side of him; belying his easygoing and carefree attitude is the very grim reality of his line of work--being a soldier of the Amestrian military. He's seen humanity at one of its very low points--having been in the thick of the Ishbal extermination campaign, and he knows from experience that not everyone is well-meaning or particularly principled. There's a certain degree of world-weariness underneath the smile--"the eyes of a killer," as Mustang referred to it in "The Ishbalan War of Extermination" flashback episode of Brotherhood.
It is in fact likely, due to this awareness, that he exaggerates some facets of his quirky demeanor in order to bring levity to a profession that is otherwise quite grim and serious. His teasing is always harmless and even those that can get annoyed by it can't maintain the annoyance for long--more often than not, Hughes can charm those around him with his infectious smile and effusive attitude.
Strengths: Steadfast, loyal, and strong, Hughes is a man you can put your faith in. He'll go to the ends of the earth to protect his family and those he considers "honorary" family members of sorts--such the Elric brothers and Mustang. Being generally very patient and mild-tempered makes Hughes approachable and easy to talk to, and he's very good at giving non-judgmental advice. He's highly empathetic and has a bit of a knack at viewing situations from multiple points of view, able to explain behavior that might seem confusing or frustrating to someone in a way that makes sense to them, such as when he spoke to Winry about why Ed and Al might keep the details of their (admittedly dangerous) lives secret from her, reassuring her that she would be the first to know when they did need to talk. This also allows him to notice those that are bearing their burdens in silence and reach out to them--often without giving them a choice in the matter.
Hughes is also highly perceptive and possessed of a keen intellect, befitting a lieutenant colonel stationed in the Investigations Office. He has an eye for detail and is skilled at analyzing and synthesizing information, discovering the homunculi's plans long before anyone else in the military.
Weaknesses: Hughes' investigative skills are also a source of one of his glaring weaknesses--as his wife puts it after his death, he is a busybody. As part and parcel of his tendencies to do whatever he can to help those close to him, Hughes often gets himself involved in matters he might have been better off staying out of.
There's also the fact that Hughes' love for his family is not hard to exploit--when the homunculus Envy transformed into his wife, Hughes froze, despite the knowledge that there was no possible way it could actually be Gracia, and the moment of hesitation was enough of an opening for him to be fatally shot.
Hughes is also somewhat lacking in terms of actual physical strength--despite his military training, Hughes is neither heavily built nor muscled, and his skill lies more in using his weapons of choice: the push knives that he will no longer have when in Johto.
Pokemon
Starter: Growlithe
Password: Seasalt icecream
Samples
(Please note that both samples must take place in Route_29’s setting.)
First Person Sample: [The feed on the PokeGear starts off with a screen full of puppyface, and then a nice view of teeth and a pink tongue as the Growlithe picks it up in his mouth.
A man's voice can be heard offscreen.]
H-hey! Stay out of that please, I don't know what that's--
--Growl, growl!
[The Growlithe drops the device at his feet and stares up at the man, wagging his tail. Now both the man and Pokemon are visible onscreen, albeit at an awkward angle. Hughes's face comes into focus as he bends down to pick up and inspect the odd device, and his current expression is in equal parts distressed, wary, and confused.
The picture fades in and out now, as Hughes goes through the various functions--the crackle of static while he's on audio only--and blacks out out entirely for a few short stretches.]
--some kind of...radio? Or telephone maybe...
[Eventually, the original video feed returns, and Hughes squares his shoulders and pushes his glasses up, doing his best to center the camera on himself before speaking.]
Excuse me for the interruption, but...if anyone can hear me, I would appreciate some information regarding my current location and how I came to be here--particularly the latter, if such is available.
Should any Amestrian military personnel be listening, I request you contact me, on a secure line if possible.
[He's tempted to give out his name and rank right there, and in particular ask after Roy and his family...but considering what he's just been through, it's too much of a risk. He doesn't know who could be listening, after all, and just showing his face (when he's not sure whether or not he even would have made it if he hadn't somehow woken here) is potentially dangerous, especially now, exposed and unarmed as he suddenly is.
The Growlithe whines slightly and brushes up against his leg, and before disconnecting, Hughes adds one more comment.]
...I...seem to have found a dog, as well. But there's no collar, so please let me know if he's yours.
Thank you.
Third Person Sample:
It's almost a feeling like being pulled under water--the initial rush of pain and then slow loss of consciousness as the pain ebbs away, taking awareness of the senses with it. As his vision goes dark he can feel his breaths getting shorter, choppier before he loses track of it, slips further into the void...
--And then it all comes rushing back.
Sensation and consciousness flood back through him and Hughes awakens with a jolt. His most immediate memories have him nothing short of alarmed in the first moments, but then he begins to relax. The comforting thought that he must have somehow survived the gunshot (maybe he really did get through to Mustang, after all) crosses his mind and he smiles tiredly, allowing himself to enjoy the ease with which breath comes again, and the soft, rhythmic thudding of his heart that he can feel against his fingertips.
But it's not to last for long before he starts noticing things. Things that don't add up to the theory he'd like to believe. For one, this isn't a hospital. It's a house (a child's room, if he's to guess), and it doesn't resemble any that he's familiar with.
Second, he...doesn't feel any pain from the wound and he's far too lucid to be on painkillers of any significant strength.
The third is by far the most absurd: he's still in his military uniform, but...there's no blood. Hazel eyes widen and then narrow in succession, and a somewhat morbid curiosity drives him to slip a hand under his shirt and search for the wound.
All it finds is a fully-healed scar. On his shoulder, too, where that other homunculus had stabbed him--the scar is only trace of the injury so fresh in his memory.
It doesn't make any sense.
Gingerly, he pulls himself upright and out of bed, testing. His legs don't offer the least resistance in holding him up.
That's about when he notices the music, too. Which would have been less confusing...were there some visible sign of a radio or cassette player somewhere.
It's no more so than anything else, though, and it's all but out of mind by the time a strange woman calling herself his mother of all things hands him a backpack and practically shoos him out the door.
--At least, until he actually gets outside, when he finds the music has changed, and suddenly there is a puppy sitting at his heels that he's pretty sure wasn't there when he was in that house.
It barks and wags his tail, and Hughes finds himself bending down to pat its head just for the sake of calming his nerves.
His mind flits back to his earlier theory for a moment, and Hughes can't help but think this is either a highly vivid fever dream, or he really has died and found himself in the oddest hell imaginable.
(Truly, he'd been expecting something far more virulent.)
Name: Batty
Livejournal Username: batty_chan
E-mail: battypichugirl@yahoo.com
AIM/MSN: AIM: battypichugirl Plurk: batty_chan
Timezone: PST (GMT -8)
Current Characters in Route: None yet!
Character
Name: Maes Hughes
Series: Fullmetal Alchemist (Brotherhood/mangaverse)
Timeline: Post-death
Canon Resource Links: http://fma.wikia.com/wiki/Maes_Hughes
Affiliation: Breeder
Personality: One of the first words that come to mind when thinking of Maes Hughes might be "pictures": Hughes is the very epitome of a family man and his abundant (some may even say excessive) pride and love for his wife and daughter are obvious at every turn. Caring, dependable, and open, he displays a brilliant zest for life and puts passion into all he does. That's not to say he can't be caught slacking, and in fact he's often seen calling up Roy Mustang on a military line just to gush about his wife and daughter, but when it's time to get serious, Hughes can be counted on to be doing what needs to be done.
As cheerful as his general demeanor is, only those who know him well or work closely with him in the military are liable to see much of this serious side of him; belying his easygoing and carefree attitude is the very grim reality of his line of work--being a soldier of the Amestrian military. He's seen humanity at one of its very low points--having been in the thick of the Ishbal extermination campaign, and he knows from experience that not everyone is well-meaning or particularly principled. There's a certain degree of world-weariness underneath the smile--"the eyes of a killer," as Mustang referred to it in "The Ishbalan War of Extermination" flashback episode of Brotherhood.
It is in fact likely, due to this awareness, that he exaggerates some facets of his quirky demeanor in order to bring levity to a profession that is otherwise quite grim and serious. His teasing is always harmless and even those that can get annoyed by it can't maintain the annoyance for long--more often than not, Hughes can charm those around him with his infectious smile and effusive attitude.
Strengths: Steadfast, loyal, and strong, Hughes is a man you can put your faith in. He'll go to the ends of the earth to protect his family and those he considers "honorary" family members of sorts--such the Elric brothers and Mustang. Being generally very patient and mild-tempered makes Hughes approachable and easy to talk to, and he's very good at giving non-judgmental advice. He's highly empathetic and has a bit of a knack at viewing situations from multiple points of view, able to explain behavior that might seem confusing or frustrating to someone in a way that makes sense to them, such as when he spoke to Winry about why Ed and Al might keep the details of their (admittedly dangerous) lives secret from her, reassuring her that she would be the first to know when they did need to talk. This also allows him to notice those that are bearing their burdens in silence and reach out to them--often without giving them a choice in the matter.
Hughes is also highly perceptive and possessed of a keen intellect, befitting a lieutenant colonel stationed in the Investigations Office. He has an eye for detail and is skilled at analyzing and synthesizing information, discovering the homunculi's plans long before anyone else in the military.
Weaknesses: Hughes' investigative skills are also a source of one of his glaring weaknesses--as his wife puts it after his death, he is a busybody. As part and parcel of his tendencies to do whatever he can to help those close to him, Hughes often gets himself involved in matters he might have been better off staying out of.
There's also the fact that Hughes' love for his family is not hard to exploit--when the homunculus Envy transformed into his wife, Hughes froze, despite the knowledge that there was no possible way it could actually be Gracia, and the moment of hesitation was enough of an opening for him to be fatally shot.
Hughes is also somewhat lacking in terms of actual physical strength--despite his military training, Hughes is neither heavily built nor muscled, and his skill lies more in using his weapons of choice: the push knives that he will no longer have when in Johto.
Pokemon
Starter: Growlithe
Password: Seasalt icecream
Samples
(Please note that both samples must take place in Route_29’s setting.)
First Person Sample: [The feed on the PokeGear starts off with a screen full of puppyface, and then a nice view of teeth and a pink tongue as the Growlithe picks it up in his mouth.
A man's voice can be heard offscreen.]
H-hey! Stay out of that please, I don't know what that's--
--Growl, growl!
[The Growlithe drops the device at his feet and stares up at the man, wagging his tail. Now both the man and Pokemon are visible onscreen, albeit at an awkward angle. Hughes's face comes into focus as he bends down to pick up and inspect the odd device, and his current expression is in equal parts distressed, wary, and confused.
The picture fades in and out now, as Hughes goes through the various functions--the crackle of static while he's on audio only--and blacks out out entirely for a few short stretches.]
--some kind of...radio? Or telephone maybe...
[Eventually, the original video feed returns, and Hughes squares his shoulders and pushes his glasses up, doing his best to center the camera on himself before speaking.]
Excuse me for the interruption, but...if anyone can hear me, I would appreciate some information regarding my current location and how I came to be here--particularly the latter, if such is available.
Should any Amestrian military personnel be listening, I request you contact me, on a secure line if possible.
[He's tempted to give out his name and rank right there, and in particular ask after Roy and his family...but considering what he's just been through, it's too much of a risk. He doesn't know who could be listening, after all, and just showing his face (when he's not sure whether or not he even would have made it if he hadn't somehow woken here) is potentially dangerous, especially now, exposed and unarmed as he suddenly is.
The Growlithe whines slightly and brushes up against his leg, and before disconnecting, Hughes adds one more comment.]
...I...seem to have found a dog, as well. But there's no collar, so please let me know if he's yours.
Thank you.
Third Person Sample:
It's almost a feeling like being pulled under water--the initial rush of pain and then slow loss of consciousness as the pain ebbs away, taking awareness of the senses with it. As his vision goes dark he can feel his breaths getting shorter, choppier before he loses track of it, slips further into the void...
--And then it all comes rushing back.
Sensation and consciousness flood back through him and Hughes awakens with a jolt. His most immediate memories have him nothing short of alarmed in the first moments, but then he begins to relax. The comforting thought that he must have somehow survived the gunshot (maybe he really did get through to Mustang, after all) crosses his mind and he smiles tiredly, allowing himself to enjoy the ease with which breath comes again, and the soft, rhythmic thudding of his heart that he can feel against his fingertips.
But it's not to last for long before he starts noticing things. Things that don't add up to the theory he'd like to believe. For one, this isn't a hospital. It's a house (a child's room, if he's to guess), and it doesn't resemble any that he's familiar with.
Second, he...doesn't feel any pain from the wound and he's far too lucid to be on painkillers of any significant strength.
The third is by far the most absurd: he's still in his military uniform, but...there's no blood. Hazel eyes widen and then narrow in succession, and a somewhat morbid curiosity drives him to slip a hand under his shirt and search for the wound.
All it finds is a fully-healed scar. On his shoulder, too, where that other homunculus had stabbed him--the scar is only trace of the injury so fresh in his memory.
It doesn't make any sense.
Gingerly, he pulls himself upright and out of bed, testing. His legs don't offer the least resistance in holding him up.
That's about when he notices the music, too. Which would have been less confusing...were there some visible sign of a radio or cassette player somewhere.
It's no more so than anything else, though, and it's all but out of mind by the time a strange woman calling herself his mother of all things hands him a backpack and practically shoos him out the door.
--At least, until he actually gets outside, when he finds the music has changed, and suddenly there is a puppy sitting at his heels that he's pretty sure wasn't there when he was in that house.
It barks and wags his tail, and Hughes finds himself bending down to pat its head just for the sake of calming his nerves.
His mind flits back to his earlier theory for a moment, and Hughes can't help but think this is either a highly vivid fever dream, or he really has died and found himself in the oddest hell imaginable.
(Truly, he'd been expecting something far more virulent.)