Route 29 app
Jun. 5th, 2014 04:39 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
notcominghomePlayer
Name: San
Personal Journal:fanfictionming
E-mail: mingrps@gmail.com
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fanfictionming
Timezone: GMT +8
Current Characters in Route: The BLU Sniper
Character
Name: Maes Hughes
Series: FMA: Brotherhood
Timeline: After Episode 10
Canon Resource Links: Maes Hughes at the FMA Wiki. The 2009 anime / manga section applies to this version of Hughes.
Personality:
Cheerful, loud, easily excitable and friendly to a fault, Maes Hughes is certainly a man that leaves a very strong first impression. When first introduced in the 2009 anime Hughes throws open a door without knocking, letting out a very enthusiastic "YO!" to greet his best friend Roy. His friendly enthusiasm extends to strangers as well; he gives Alphonse a hearty handshake and happily introduces himself to the brothers, clearly excited to finally meet the famous Elric brothers. Some might find his approach over-bearing and maybe even irritating at times, especially with how overly chipper Hughes can be, but he's really just a very friendly guy who likes to meet up and chat with people. He even seems a little oblivious to the fact that some people might not be as family-crazy as he is or that normally people wouldn't drag the ones they're trying to help out the door with him, but really he's just very enthusiastic about things and it's reflected in the manner that he speaks and acts with.
And of course, every casual chat with Hughes will definitely revolve around the two most important people in his life: his wife Gracia and his daughter Elicia. Hughes carries with him a few photos of the two of them which he will very happily shove into people's faces to show off, and he can definitely talk a person's ear off when it comes to gushing about his family. He's extremely proud and protective of the two, and has shown a very jealous side when he thinks of Gracia potentially being courted by other men back in the days before they were married. During the Ishval war he cites Gracia, his then girlfriend, as his sole reason for fighting and staying alive. I do believe that it was the thought of being reunited with her that allowed Hughes to continued taking lives, even as he recognized the senseless slaughter of the Ishvalans. His family really is the sole, powerful motivator that keeps him going. And I do believe that it's the hope for a better world for Gracia and for his children that causes Hughes to throw in his lot with Roy. The war had dashed Hughes's idealism to the ground; he no longer carried with him his naive ideals on why he was fighting or why he was in the military. He knew that in Ishval he was no longer fighting for the glory of Ametris or even for Gracia's safety anymore, because how was the senseless murder of innocent civilians supposed to protect her? He realised that he had become what he had despised; a person who abused their power to hurt others, and that he wasn't fighting a war. He was assisting in a massacre. However he wants Roy's idealistic world for his family; he wants a world where they'll be safe and can live in peace and happiness, protected by a Fuhrer that cared about the lives of the people under him. Despite his own pragmatism and the 'naive' nature of Roy's goal, Hughes is still willing to risk his job and possibly his freedom and life to manoeuvre Roy to the Fuhrer's seat for the sake of his family.
His extremely strong bond with his family is repeated to a certain extent with his friends. As mentioned above he's willing to engage in possibly treasonous actions to place his friend Roy onto the ruler's seat. He's also very caring towards his friends and shows concern for them when things look bad. Despite how goofy he can get, he does make a very serious request to Roy to be careful in regards to Scar, adding that he was making his request both as the chief investigator of the case, and as a friend. After making friends with the Elrics and Winry he also extends his care towards them; he visits Ed every single day when the latter was stuck in the hospital despite how much work Hughes had, and like the Elric brothers he also offered his home to Winry when he found out that she hadn't found a place to stay just yet. In fact Hughes takes on an almost fatherly role to Winry and the Elrics. His death leaves a huge impact on Roy, nearly causing him to lose himself to revenge while Winry, Ed and Al continue to remember Hughes for all his help two years after the end of the series.
Underneath his random goofy moments though is a very perceptive and shrewd investigator. Hughes has a sharp eye for the tiniest of details and he has the brains to connect seemingly unrelated dots together to form the big picture. These qualities makes him a more than capable in his work at the Investigations Unit in Central. And while he is slightly irresponsible when it comes to his paperwork Hughes does take his job seriously, especially when lives are being threatened. Hughes also thinks and reacts quickly to situations as well, able to make snapshot decisions within seconds. The best example of him showcasing his skills is, ironically enough, what led to his death. Just by reading the newspaper and taking a casual glimpse at a rough map, Hughes saw what could be a connection between the alchemy circle Ed had described to him and the locations of the bloodiest wars in Amertrian history. He quickly does some research and makes the horrifying discovery of the ploy to use the entire country of Ametris as a sacrifice to make a Philosopher's Stone. Narrowly avoiding a fatal injury from Lust, he comes to a realization about the military's role in all this just before he dials the Fuhrer. Refusing treatment for his wound, he concentrates instead on informing Roy first, aware of what's at stake.
Part of the reason why Hughes is as cheerful as he is is because he wants to cheer other people up. However his smiles are also used to hide his true feelings. Hughes has been shown capable of compartmentalizing his emotions when required. While this has helped him during his military career, allowing him to maintain a calm and occasionally emotionless front in dangerous situations, it's also helped him to use one face to hide another. As he told Roy back in their time during the Ishval War he would hide all his inner turmoil from Gracia behind a smile, and he would never let her know how torn up he was in the inside. He would bear it all by himself so that she would not be burdened by his sins. Later on when he meets Ed, Al and Winry, he understands that the boys are acting exactly like him when it comes to shielding those they love from the darker aspects of their journey, and he explains this to Winry to ease her mind about how distant the boys seem to be to her. Hughes takes special care to hide his anxiety and worries from those around him and it's very rare that he'll admit what's truly on his mind. But he does take comfort from the fact that he has support from his family and friends, and that while he may never fully open up to Gracia about the war and its horrors he appreciates that she's always there to help support him when he truly needs it.
Despite all he's been through and the rather gloomy nature of his work (he works with court martial cases and investigations, and he's definitely seen his fair share of nasty stuff both during the War and after), Hughes has a surprisingly optimistic outlook on life, and it's this outlook that helps strengthen him during moments of emotional and mental stress. His outlook stems partially from knowing that he's working for a better future for his family, and partly from his ability to see the joy in even the simplest and most mundane things in life. As he tells Roy, being able to find a woman to love and marry remains one of the most common joys in life, but because it's so common, that's what makes it so great. He doesn't need riches or power to be happy, and he's content with being at a lower station than Roy so long as Hughes can continue to support Roy's dream for a better future for his family. Even something as simple as his wife's smile, or his daughter's laughter, is enough to lighten up the darkest of his days and give him hope for a better tomorrow.
Strengths/Weaknesses:
Strengths
1. Hughes is very kind and helpful to those around him. Even if they're strangers he won't hesitate to offer whatever assistance he can give, and he won't take no for an answer! He doesn't operate on Equivalent Exchange either; his help is freely given, no strings attached. Making friends and allies will not be a problem for him.
2. He's also a devoted family man and very loyal to his friends. As proven in the canon, he's definitely the type to sacrifice himself if necessary to protect those who are close to him.
3. Despite his current dead status, Hughes won't be the type to let his death get him down. He's got an optimistic outlook on life and while he didn't manage to keep his promise to his family, he's confident that Roy will be able to figure out the Homunculus plot and stop them before it's too late. Knowing that he can never go back to his family stings but he's hardly one to let bygones pull him down; he'd rather take strength from the fact that his family will be safe and try to look for a new reason for living in Pokeworld.
4. Beneath his comical antics lies a sharp eye for details and an even sharper mind. Even when under great stress, Hughes is able to pick out the smallest of details to figure out the truth of the matter. He works in the Investigations unit of Central for a reason, and he's been able to subtly feed information to Roy to help the latter on his political ambitions.
5. He's definitely not lacking in bravery either. He's faced death in the eye quite a few times and while he didn't manage to get away with the last one, that doesn't negate the fact that this is a man who won't cower and hide when the situation calls for it.
6. Sharp reflexes. He's damn good with throwing knives, and was successful with temporarily crippling one Homunculus long enough to make it to a phone booth to call Roy.
Weaknesses
1. Ultimately Hughes's biggest weakness are his family. Any threats to them leave him rattled and for a man who's able to make tough calls quickly in hostile environments, he's briefly unsure how to handle the situation if his family gets dragged into it because he values their well-being over everything else. Hughes would take any harm towards them as a personal failure even if he had done all he could. Even a few seconds from death, his last thoughts were of his family and he spends his final moments regretting that he couldn't fulfill his promise to come home to them.
2. While I did mention that Hughes would try to move on it's still going to be hard for him to know that unless he figures out how to bring them here he'll never see Gracia and Elicia ever again. Given how close he was to his family and how they played such a huge role in his life and motivations, Hughes will be going through a period of loneliness and aimlessness that he will mask with his normal gung-ho attitude. He won't admit it but he might need a little help from others to help him out.
3. And speaking of getting help that's going to be a bit difficult given how he likes to hide his feelings behind a jovial mask. Hughes isn't one to bottle up his feelings and let them explode at others; instead he'll just bottle them up and never reveal them to anyone.
4. Post-mortem issues aside he's still going to be that too happy guy at 8am in the morning at the office who shoves pictures in your face. He'll talk about your love life whether you want to have that discussion or not and he can get quite over-protective of the people that he cares about, sometimes to a ridiculous extent. It's very likely he would've been the worse father-in-law in the whole of Central if he had lived to see Elicia start dating. Overall, Hughes can still be very irritating and annoying to people who would prefer some space and not want him to get involved with their personal matters.
5. Hughes is also pretty thick-skinned and while this can come off as a plus because it'll be rare for him to feel flustered when asked uncomfortable questions, it's also a negative because he won't stop embarrassing a person about their romantic prospects even if asked to. It's not that he's dense, but he does have very strong views on family and he can come off as pushy with his opinions.
Pokémon Information
Affiliation: Team Rocket
Starter: Cyndaquil (level 15), Woobat (level 5)
Password: Swedish Fish
Samples
First Person Sample:
[Hello network, you probably have a beef with the person who taught Maes Hughes how to use the broadcast option to address everyone in Route, given that he's been practically spamming the network with pictures and videos of his Pokemon. He can't help himself though and it shows on his face as he's practically shaking with excitement.]
Listen up everyone! I've got good, no, great! I've got great news for all of you! Today is a wonderful day because my beloved pal Roy's has become a papa!!
[And by Roy, he's referring to his Typlosion who is currently hiding his face behind a paper bag somewhere offscreen while the mother looks on, amused. His trainer is completely oblivious to how embarrassed his Pokemon is, showing more than enough joy and elation for the two of them combined. Hughes picks up an egg and shoves it at the Pokegear, unaware that all the audience can see right now is the eggshell pattern. But really one doesn't need to see Hughes to know he's practically dripping with happiness.]
Ah, can you see how precious this moment is? I'm so proud of the two of them. There's six of these cute ones too, so it looks like Roy's been quite active behind my back! I always knew he had it in him-
[Whoops, what was that Fire Blast that came out of nowhere? That sure is Hughes being confronted by a highly embarrassed and seething Typlosion. With a sigh, Mommy Pokemon heads over and gently shuts the feed off, capturing the last few moments of this lovely family scene.]
Roy you can't have such an ugly look on your face, otherwise your babies are going to start crying the moment they see you-GWWAAAARRRGGHH!!!!
[Yeap. That's certainly Hughes blasting off again.]
Third Person Sample:
"I'm really not lying to you Roy! Where I come from human beings could shoot fire out of their hands, just like you! My friend back home could just snap his fingers and 'FWOOOOOSH'!"
Hughes flung his arm out and snapped his fingers, just like how he'd seen Mustang do it. Of course nothing appeared; bar the fact that alchemy just did not work here in Johto, Hughes was never an alchemist to start. Still, he found it interesting that the chimeras, no, Pokemon, that the Pokemon in this world were capable of manipulating the elements just like an alchemists. The laws of Equivalent Exchange didn't apply to them either; fire and water spewed from their mouth, almost naturally.
The Cyndaquil he named for his best friend rolled his eyes; clearly, the idea of humans capable of performing Fire Blasts was ludicrous to him. What was more important was getting back to work; Roy pointed at the broom nearby. "Cynda, cyndaquil!"
Hughes laughed; he couldn't help it. He knew it would make his Pokemon scowl, possibly even have his pants set on fire (maybe he should've named him after Edward Elric instead, they both seemed unable to take jokes), but he just couldn't help himself. From the indignant rise of his little head to the accusing tone, the eye rolling and the exasperation, his new little buddy reminded him too much of Roy Mustang. Yeah, Roy was a much better name for the Cyndaquil. That, and both of them had an affinity with fire anyway.
He'd rather not be set on fire again though so he probably better take his Cyndaquil seriously, or as seriously as Hughes can anyway. "Alright, alright, I get the point! You really need to lighten up a little. I mean, you're never going to find a good Mama Pokemon to have babies with if you're going to be so serious and grumpy all the time." That was a deliberate tease from Hughes; Roy the second's reaction was equally as humorous as Roy the first's; with lots of angry hot denial and flusters. Hughes snickered and petted his Cyndaquil's head, ignoring the furious squeaks as he finally settled down to finish cleaning the corridor. It's been awhile since he's been at the bottom of the military chain of command; he'd almost forgotten how much it sucked to be a grunt. Still, he'd already been yelled at for skipping duty thrice this week and while he didn't see the point of getting mad over a passageway that was probably swept multiple times during the day (what else would they let all these starter Rockets do anyway? They were stuck at base till they finished their compulsory two weeks training), he could at least appreciate the notion of instilling discipline in the rookies through mundane tasks; it's similar to his old military academy days, he mused, running the broom around a corner. Except instead of digging holes (which was even more pointless), he was pushing his broom about.
He worked in relative silence, not really focused on his work. Once he started thinking about the past, it always made him start to look for the similarities in his present. His Cyndaquil who was like his best friend, the manipulation of the elements, just like alchemy, an evil, maybe not-so-undercover, maaaaaybe not-so-dangerous organization that worked somewhat from the shadows but everyone knew about them-
...so maybe not everything was similar. Hughes frowned slightly and leaned on his broom, ignoring the stick's creaky protest. He found himself doing this quite often, actually, especially when he was bored and he didn't have anything to occupy himself with. Comparing two worlds, comparing the people, the Pokemon, comparing what he could have here and what he has at home. But no matter how much peace and sunshine this world could offer him, it could never really replace what he had left behind. That was a hole in his heart that he would have to carry, maybe till...well, not to death, but to the end of his time here.
Hughes let out a loud sigh and stretched his arms. "Heh, I should stop thinking too hard about things, right Roy?" Roy glanced upwards, surprised to finally hear a drop of melancholy in his trainer's voice, but Hughes had already affixed a smile back on his face and resumed his cheery tone. "Let's finish this quickly so that we can go to dinner early. It's spinach quiche tonight; that's my 100% favourite dish! I don't want to miss it for anything!"
Roy inclined his head quizzically but then shrugged off that one brief second as him mishearing his trainer. And that was exactly what Hughes wanted. He was no longer part of the military but he'd soldier on nevertheless. He shouldn't burden his new friend with his problems. Gracia and Elica would be safe back home; he had confidence that the real Roy Mustang would be able to figure out the truth eventually. He could move on knowing that they are in good hands. Or at the very least, he could try.
Name: San
Personal Journal:
fanfictionmingE-mail: mingrps@gmail.com
AIM/Plurk/Etc.:
Timezone: GMT +8
Current Characters in Route: The BLU Sniper
Character
Name: Maes Hughes
Series: FMA: Brotherhood
Timeline: After Episode 10
Canon Resource Links: Maes Hughes at the FMA Wiki. The 2009 anime / manga section applies to this version of Hughes.
Personality:
Cheerful, loud, easily excitable and friendly to a fault, Maes Hughes is certainly a man that leaves a very strong first impression. When first introduced in the 2009 anime Hughes throws open a door without knocking, letting out a very enthusiastic "YO!" to greet his best friend Roy. His friendly enthusiasm extends to strangers as well; he gives Alphonse a hearty handshake and happily introduces himself to the brothers, clearly excited to finally meet the famous Elric brothers. Some might find his approach over-bearing and maybe even irritating at times, especially with how overly chipper Hughes can be, but he's really just a very friendly guy who likes to meet up and chat with people. He even seems a little oblivious to the fact that some people might not be as family-crazy as he is or that normally people wouldn't drag the ones they're trying to help out the door with him, but really he's just very enthusiastic about things and it's reflected in the manner that he speaks and acts with.
And of course, every casual chat with Hughes will definitely revolve around the two most important people in his life: his wife Gracia and his daughter Elicia. Hughes carries with him a few photos of the two of them which he will very happily shove into people's faces to show off, and he can definitely talk a person's ear off when it comes to gushing about his family. He's extremely proud and protective of the two, and has shown a very jealous side when he thinks of Gracia potentially being courted by other men back in the days before they were married. During the Ishval war he cites Gracia, his then girlfriend, as his sole reason for fighting and staying alive. I do believe that it was the thought of being reunited with her that allowed Hughes to continued taking lives, even as he recognized the senseless slaughter of the Ishvalans. His family really is the sole, powerful motivator that keeps him going. And I do believe that it's the hope for a better world for Gracia and for his children that causes Hughes to throw in his lot with Roy. The war had dashed Hughes's idealism to the ground; he no longer carried with him his naive ideals on why he was fighting or why he was in the military. He knew that in Ishval he was no longer fighting for the glory of Ametris or even for Gracia's safety anymore, because how was the senseless murder of innocent civilians supposed to protect her? He realised that he had become what he had despised; a person who abused their power to hurt others, and that he wasn't fighting a war. He was assisting in a massacre. However he wants Roy's idealistic world for his family; he wants a world where they'll be safe and can live in peace and happiness, protected by a Fuhrer that cared about the lives of the people under him. Despite his own pragmatism and the 'naive' nature of Roy's goal, Hughes is still willing to risk his job and possibly his freedom and life to manoeuvre Roy to the Fuhrer's seat for the sake of his family.
His extremely strong bond with his family is repeated to a certain extent with his friends. As mentioned above he's willing to engage in possibly treasonous actions to place his friend Roy onto the ruler's seat. He's also very caring towards his friends and shows concern for them when things look bad. Despite how goofy he can get, he does make a very serious request to Roy to be careful in regards to Scar, adding that he was making his request both as the chief investigator of the case, and as a friend. After making friends with the Elrics and Winry he also extends his care towards them; he visits Ed every single day when the latter was stuck in the hospital despite how much work Hughes had, and like the Elric brothers he also offered his home to Winry when he found out that she hadn't found a place to stay just yet. In fact Hughes takes on an almost fatherly role to Winry and the Elrics. His death leaves a huge impact on Roy, nearly causing him to lose himself to revenge while Winry, Ed and Al continue to remember Hughes for all his help two years after the end of the series.
Underneath his random goofy moments though is a very perceptive and shrewd investigator. Hughes has a sharp eye for the tiniest of details and he has the brains to connect seemingly unrelated dots together to form the big picture. These qualities makes him a more than capable in his work at the Investigations Unit in Central. And while he is slightly irresponsible when it comes to his paperwork Hughes does take his job seriously, especially when lives are being threatened. Hughes also thinks and reacts quickly to situations as well, able to make snapshot decisions within seconds. The best example of him showcasing his skills is, ironically enough, what led to his death. Just by reading the newspaper and taking a casual glimpse at a rough map, Hughes saw what could be a connection between the alchemy circle Ed had described to him and the locations of the bloodiest wars in Amertrian history. He quickly does some research and makes the horrifying discovery of the ploy to use the entire country of Ametris as a sacrifice to make a Philosopher's Stone. Narrowly avoiding a fatal injury from Lust, he comes to a realization about the military's role in all this just before he dials the Fuhrer. Refusing treatment for his wound, he concentrates instead on informing Roy first, aware of what's at stake.
Part of the reason why Hughes is as cheerful as he is is because he wants to cheer other people up. However his smiles are also used to hide his true feelings. Hughes has been shown capable of compartmentalizing his emotions when required. While this has helped him during his military career, allowing him to maintain a calm and occasionally emotionless front in dangerous situations, it's also helped him to use one face to hide another. As he told Roy back in their time during the Ishval War he would hide all his inner turmoil from Gracia behind a smile, and he would never let her know how torn up he was in the inside. He would bear it all by himself so that she would not be burdened by his sins. Later on when he meets Ed, Al and Winry, he understands that the boys are acting exactly like him when it comes to shielding those they love from the darker aspects of their journey, and he explains this to Winry to ease her mind about how distant the boys seem to be to her. Hughes takes special care to hide his anxiety and worries from those around him and it's very rare that he'll admit what's truly on his mind. But he does take comfort from the fact that he has support from his family and friends, and that while he may never fully open up to Gracia about the war and its horrors he appreciates that she's always there to help support him when he truly needs it.
Despite all he's been through and the rather gloomy nature of his work (he works with court martial cases and investigations, and he's definitely seen his fair share of nasty stuff both during the War and after), Hughes has a surprisingly optimistic outlook on life, and it's this outlook that helps strengthen him during moments of emotional and mental stress. His outlook stems partially from knowing that he's working for a better future for his family, and partly from his ability to see the joy in even the simplest and most mundane things in life. As he tells Roy, being able to find a woman to love and marry remains one of the most common joys in life, but because it's so common, that's what makes it so great. He doesn't need riches or power to be happy, and he's content with being at a lower station than Roy so long as Hughes can continue to support Roy's dream for a better future for his family. Even something as simple as his wife's smile, or his daughter's laughter, is enough to lighten up the darkest of his days and give him hope for a better tomorrow.
Strengths/Weaknesses:
Strengths
1. Hughes is very kind and helpful to those around him. Even if they're strangers he won't hesitate to offer whatever assistance he can give, and he won't take no for an answer! He doesn't operate on Equivalent Exchange either; his help is freely given, no strings attached. Making friends and allies will not be a problem for him.
2. He's also a devoted family man and very loyal to his friends. As proven in the canon, he's definitely the type to sacrifice himself if necessary to protect those who are close to him.
3. Despite his current dead status, Hughes won't be the type to let his death get him down. He's got an optimistic outlook on life and while he didn't manage to keep his promise to his family, he's confident that Roy will be able to figure out the Homunculus plot and stop them before it's too late. Knowing that he can never go back to his family stings but he's hardly one to let bygones pull him down; he'd rather take strength from the fact that his family will be safe and try to look for a new reason for living in Pokeworld.
4. Beneath his comical antics lies a sharp eye for details and an even sharper mind. Even when under great stress, Hughes is able to pick out the smallest of details to figure out the truth of the matter. He works in the Investigations unit of Central for a reason, and he's been able to subtly feed information to Roy to help the latter on his political ambitions.
5. He's definitely not lacking in bravery either. He's faced death in the eye quite a few times and while he didn't manage to get away with the last one, that doesn't negate the fact that this is a man who won't cower and hide when the situation calls for it.
6. Sharp reflexes. He's damn good with throwing knives, and was successful with temporarily crippling one Homunculus long enough to make it to a phone booth to call Roy.
Weaknesses
1. Ultimately Hughes's biggest weakness are his family. Any threats to them leave him rattled and for a man who's able to make tough calls quickly in hostile environments, he's briefly unsure how to handle the situation if his family gets dragged into it because he values their well-being over everything else. Hughes would take any harm towards them as a personal failure even if he had done all he could. Even a few seconds from death, his last thoughts were of his family and he spends his final moments regretting that he couldn't fulfill his promise to come home to them.
2. While I did mention that Hughes would try to move on it's still going to be hard for him to know that unless he figures out how to bring them here he'll never see Gracia and Elicia ever again. Given how close he was to his family and how they played such a huge role in his life and motivations, Hughes will be going through a period of loneliness and aimlessness that he will mask with his normal gung-ho attitude. He won't admit it but he might need a little help from others to help him out.
3. And speaking of getting help that's going to be a bit difficult given how he likes to hide his feelings behind a jovial mask. Hughes isn't one to bottle up his feelings and let them explode at others; instead he'll just bottle them up and never reveal them to anyone.
4. Post-mortem issues aside he's still going to be that too happy guy at 8am in the morning at the office who shoves pictures in your face. He'll talk about your love life whether you want to have that discussion or not and he can get quite over-protective of the people that he cares about, sometimes to a ridiculous extent. It's very likely he would've been the worse father-in-law in the whole of Central if he had lived to see Elicia start dating. Overall, Hughes can still be very irritating and annoying to people who would prefer some space and not want him to get involved with their personal matters.
5. Hughes is also pretty thick-skinned and while this can come off as a plus because it'll be rare for him to feel flustered when asked uncomfortable questions, it's also a negative because he won't stop embarrassing a person about their romantic prospects even if asked to. It's not that he's dense, but he does have very strong views on family and he can come off as pushy with his opinions.
Pokémon Information
Affiliation: Team Rocket
Starter: Cyndaquil (level 15), Woobat (level 5)
Password: Swedish Fish
Samples
First Person Sample:
[Hello network, you probably have a beef with the person who taught Maes Hughes how to use the broadcast option to address everyone in Route, given that he's been practically spamming the network with pictures and videos of his Pokemon. He can't help himself though and it shows on his face as he's practically shaking with excitement.]
Listen up everyone! I've got good, no, great! I've got great news for all of you! Today is a wonderful day because my beloved pal Roy's has become a papa!!
[And by Roy, he's referring to his Typlosion who is currently hiding his face behind a paper bag somewhere offscreen while the mother looks on, amused. His trainer is completely oblivious to how embarrassed his Pokemon is, showing more than enough joy and elation for the two of them combined. Hughes picks up an egg and shoves it at the Pokegear, unaware that all the audience can see right now is the eggshell pattern. But really one doesn't need to see Hughes to know he's practically dripping with happiness.]
Ah, can you see how precious this moment is? I'm so proud of the two of them. There's six of these cute ones too, so it looks like Roy's been quite active behind my back! I always knew he had it in him-
[Whoops, what was that Fire Blast that came out of nowhere? That sure is Hughes being confronted by a highly embarrassed and seething Typlosion. With a sigh, Mommy Pokemon heads over and gently shuts the feed off, capturing the last few moments of this lovely family scene.]
Roy you can't have such an ugly look on your face, otherwise your babies are going to start crying the moment they see you-GWWAAAARRRGGHH!!!!
[Yeap. That's certainly Hughes blasting off again.]
Third Person Sample:
"I'm really not lying to you Roy! Where I come from human beings could shoot fire out of their hands, just like you! My friend back home could just snap his fingers and 'FWOOOOOSH'!"
Hughes flung his arm out and snapped his fingers, just like how he'd seen Mustang do it. Of course nothing appeared; bar the fact that alchemy just did not work here in Johto, Hughes was never an alchemist to start. Still, he found it interesting that the chimeras, no, Pokemon, that the Pokemon in this world were capable of manipulating the elements just like an alchemists. The laws of Equivalent Exchange didn't apply to them either; fire and water spewed from their mouth, almost naturally.
The Cyndaquil he named for his best friend rolled his eyes; clearly, the idea of humans capable of performing Fire Blasts was ludicrous to him. What was more important was getting back to work; Roy pointed at the broom nearby. "Cynda, cyndaquil!"
Hughes laughed; he couldn't help it. He knew it would make his Pokemon scowl, possibly even have his pants set on fire (maybe he should've named him after Edward Elric instead, they both seemed unable to take jokes), but he just couldn't help himself. From the indignant rise of his little head to the accusing tone, the eye rolling and the exasperation, his new little buddy reminded him too much of Roy Mustang. Yeah, Roy was a much better name for the Cyndaquil. That, and both of them had an affinity with fire anyway.
He'd rather not be set on fire again though so he probably better take his Cyndaquil seriously, or as seriously as Hughes can anyway. "Alright, alright, I get the point! You really need to lighten up a little. I mean, you're never going to find a good Mama Pokemon to have babies with if you're going to be so serious and grumpy all the time." That was a deliberate tease from Hughes; Roy the second's reaction was equally as humorous as Roy the first's; with lots of angry hot denial and flusters. Hughes snickered and petted his Cyndaquil's head, ignoring the furious squeaks as he finally settled down to finish cleaning the corridor. It's been awhile since he's been at the bottom of the military chain of command; he'd almost forgotten how much it sucked to be a grunt. Still, he'd already been yelled at for skipping duty thrice this week and while he didn't see the point of getting mad over a passageway that was probably swept multiple times during the day (what else would they let all these starter Rockets do anyway? They were stuck at base till they finished their compulsory two weeks training), he could at least appreciate the notion of instilling discipline in the rookies through mundane tasks; it's similar to his old military academy days, he mused, running the broom around a corner. Except instead of digging holes (which was even more pointless), he was pushing his broom about.
He worked in relative silence, not really focused on his work. Once he started thinking about the past, it always made him start to look for the similarities in his present. His Cyndaquil who was like his best friend, the manipulation of the elements, just like alchemy, an evil, maybe not-so-undercover, maaaaaybe not-so-dangerous organization that worked somewhat from the shadows but everyone knew about them-
...so maybe not everything was similar. Hughes frowned slightly and leaned on his broom, ignoring the stick's creaky protest. He found himself doing this quite often, actually, especially when he was bored and he didn't have anything to occupy himself with. Comparing two worlds, comparing the people, the Pokemon, comparing what he could have here and what he has at home. But no matter how much peace and sunshine this world could offer him, it could never really replace what he had left behind. That was a hole in his heart that he would have to carry, maybe till...well, not to death, but to the end of his time here.
Hughes let out a loud sigh and stretched his arms. "Heh, I should stop thinking too hard about things, right Roy?" Roy glanced upwards, surprised to finally hear a drop of melancholy in his trainer's voice, but Hughes had already affixed a smile back on his face and resumed his cheery tone. "Let's finish this quickly so that we can go to dinner early. It's spinach quiche tonight; that's my 100% favourite dish! I don't want to miss it for anything!"
Roy inclined his head quizzically but then shrugged off that one brief second as him mishearing his trainer. And that was exactly what Hughes wanted. He was no longer part of the military but he'd soldier on nevertheless. He shouldn't burden his new friend with his problems. Gracia and Elica would be safe back home; he had confidence that the real Roy Mustang would be able to figure out the truth eventually. He could move on knowing that they are in good hands. Or at the very least, he could try.
