App for scorched

[sculpted]

Out of Character
Information

player name: Typhie
player journal: typhie, but I don't use it all that much.
playing here: N/A
where did you find us? Enabled Recommended by a friend (Dal) who is currently apping Solf J. Kimblee!
are you 16 years of age or older?: I am 21, so yes.

In Character
Information

character name: Major Alex Louis Armstrong
Fandom: Fullmetal Alchemist
Timeline: Manga; right after he delivers the letter of recommendation to Ed in the library, also known as Chapter 63.
character's age: 29-30

powers, skills, pets and equipment: Armstrong is a man of many canon talents, including cross-country running, portriature, tracking and flexing martial arts. His main power, however, is his Alchemy, passed down in his family for generations (and I promise that is the last time I will use that catchphrase in this app, my apologies...). Armstrong's alchemy is one of the most powerful types in the series, and appears to be powered by the force of his punches, which produce it. Through (what some assume is) manipulation of the Earth's crust, he can create walls many stories high, along with deadly spikes and even projectiles. In order for him to perform his alchemy, he needs to wear his metal gauntlets, which have his alchemical circles enscribed on them. The gauntlets are quite deadly even without the added power of alchemy; both of them have spikes across the knuckles. Along with that, he's also ridiculously strong; those muscles are for more than just show. And to make matters worse if you're unlucky enough to face him in battle, he's also incredibly quick.

As I mentioned above, these are all canon abilities. Please tell me if you would like him weakened a little, he's a bit of a bruiser!

canon history: From what we canonically know of Armstrong (which is fairly little), he's the fourth child (and only son) of Phillip Armstrong and his wife, and has four sisters; three older and one younger. He's the only one of the children to use the Armstrong alchemy (assumed; since we don't actually know if his sisters Amue and Strongine can use the Armstrong alchemy, since we know...next to nothing about them sans appearances and names) in the series, and is very proficient at it.

When he was younger he participated in a civil war that quickly turned into a genocide; the Ishval massacre. Armstrong's task was to create massive walls within the city to prevent people from escaping as the soldiers gunned them down; death traps, basically. Throughout the flashback chapters it's obvious that he's in great emotional pain, at one point leaning his forehead against a wall he's created, sweating and trembling with wide eyes as he listens to the dying screams of the citizens behind it.

The main catalyst for his breakdown is his encounter with Solf J. Kimblee, the Red Lotus alchemist; Armstrong discovers two women hiding and breaks open a hole for them to escape through, but Kimblee promptly kills them (by causing them to literally explode right in front of poor Armstrong's eyes). While the action itself is traumatizing it is what Kimblee says afterwards that really drives it home for Armstrong; if anyone else had seen him do that, he could have been court martialed.

Not long after that, Armstrong has a breakdown and is dishonourably sent home from the battlefield, with the effects of the war to linger in his mind long after the fighting ceases.

That's pretty much all I've got, since anything involving Armstrong after that is set in the present of the FMA canon. For more detailed information, his wiki page is here!

personality: At first glance, Alex Armstrong cuts an intimidating figure, standing head and shoulders above the average man. Approach him, however, and you'll probably see a rather friendly twinkle (sparkle?) in his eye. He is a kind and compassionate man prone to bouts of overdramatic emotions complete with rivers of tears, dazzling displays of masculine flair and spontaneous removal of his shirt. All for the benefit of you, the viewer, of course! Why wouldn't you want to gaze upon his magnificent physique? The Major firmly believes that a beautiful mind should be hosted within a beautiful body, and if his bulging muscles are any indication, things are looking rather pretty.

Armstrong is an unusual specimen for both a military officer and a State Alchemist; he prefers not to use violence whenever possible, and cannot stand the murder of innocent people. It brings him to tears, to the point where he had to be dishonourably sent home from the Ishval frontlines due to the fact that he couldn't bring himself to obey the genocide orders any more. This retreat, despite having occurred close to a decade ago, still burns at him. Armstrong is a man who sticks to his values, and the fact that he couldn't bring himself to fight for what he believed was right stings quite badly.

Despite his soft heart, Armstrong is an excellent soldier, a firm but caring boss and a loyal subordinate. His fighting techniques and alchemy (passed down through generations of his family!) are incredibly powerful, and he possesses both the ability to strategize whilst in combat, and light and quick movement on his feet despite his heavy build. He enjoys a good sparring match, particularly against an equal and worthy opponent; he gains no joy from defeating those too weak to stand against him. The major part of his alchemy is based around the linked concepts of creation and destruction; he cites them as two sides of the same coin, and it is reflected in his work. Whether this is a true mantra or just an excuse for the rather destructive nature of his technique remains to be seen, but you can guarantee that he'll stand behind his opinion! This beautiful and artistic technique has been passed down in his family for generations, you know (if you didn't get that the first time)!

He has an indomitable fighting spirit, and won't give up a fight until he's completely incapable of returning blows; in the latter part of the manga he continues to fight the Homunculus Sloth despite having a dislocated shoulder and being constantly beaten. But in his sister's words, he's well trained enough to handle it; it would be disgraceful if he wasn't! On the battlefield, he watches out for his allies and will gladly put himself between them and danger, even if it means injuring himself in the process.

Despite what can appear to be a silly and and overbearing nature, Armstrong is very capable of becoming serious and focused if the situation calls for it. Many people make the mistake of assuming that the Major is a shallow character only there for comic relief, and only take his chest-baring, sparkly outbursts at face value. In reality, Armstrong (like most FMA characters, really) is quite complex, and carries deep within him a painful, biting guilt. What he did during the Ishval massacre has left him traumatized, and his shameful exit from the war has left him humiliated. But if there was ever an example of his indomitable spirit, this would be it; he uses his failure at Ishval as inspiration to keep himself in uniform, to prevent himself from running away. The next time he is caught up in a battlefield, he won't let cowardice or fear stop him from fighting for his morals. He owes himself, and his colleagues, that much.

Overall, if you manage to befriend Major Armstrong you can rest assured that you've got a friend for life. His kindness, loyalty and gentlemanly nature will always be extended to those around him, and should you ever need anyone to fight for you, or with you, you need only give him a call and he will be there, standing right by your side, fists raised for battle. The Fuhrer may call his penchant for mercy a weakness, but he refuses to see it that way; he will stick to his goals and beliefs as much as he sticks to and supports his friends. With him around, your life will always have a little sparkle to it.

Just be prepared to become very familiar with the sight of his beautiful, naked torso.

OK, I LIED ABOUT THE CATCHPHRASE.....

why do you feel this character would be appropriate to the
setting?
Armstrong is a soldier who has spent time in a brutal warzone, along with being from a canon that is fairly similar to Scorched, what with the steampunk elements of automail. FMA is quite a brutal series that doesn't hesitate to kill characters left and right, and even though Armstrong may cry a lot and seem soft-hearted, he's no coward. He's killed people, he's seen terrible things and he's an officer in the Army from a military state; the setting will not bother him in the slightest. If anything, it will pump him up; one of his major goals in FMA is to ensure that he never flees from a battle ever again, and he will not be changing that mentality any time soon. Scorched is a challenge and he will rise to it.

Writing Samples

I am currently playing Armstrong in route_29, and will be providing samples from there; he's made a fair few posts, so feel free to have a scroll through his journal (this one!) if you'd like to see how I play him! I'm yet to have any complaints, so I must be doing something right, orz. I'll link some of the threads that I feel are him at his best, for both his jovial, THIS X HAS BEEN PASSED DOWN IN MY FAMILY FOR GENERATIONS BRB RIPPING OFF MY SHIRT side, and his more subtle, guilt-ridden side.


Network Post Sample:

1 - Feat. a very traumatic meeting from his past, and the effect it had on him. Also an example of how his alchemy is used!

2 - This is far more light-hearted, and how he would normally behave around most people.

Third Person Sample:

I think that first thread up there would count for this, since so much of it is based in the action brackets, but since I like this big guy so much I'll throw a proper one in too:

~~

He didn't need to scan the room to know he was no longer in the Armstrong mansion; it was far too modest.

Not that Armstrong minded all that much, really. He did enjoy the glitz and glamour of the estate, but sometimes it was good to experience life on the other side. He did, at times, feel guilty about....well. Having such a beautiful home, being constantly well-fed...did he really deserve such luxuries after all the things he'd done? It didn't seem far. Alchemy was all about equivalent exchange, a perfect balance. He had taken so much from so many...and yet, had lost nothing. Not really. Not enough to justify it.

He sighed, then, fists tightening on the windowsill from which he was viewing the city before him. It certainly wasn't Central; that much was obvious. How on earth had he ended up here? He vaguely remembered passing through some sort of....door, with swirling colours, lights...a place filled with dangerous beauty. Oh, he could appreciate the beauty in most things, and that passageway hadn't been exempt, but something about it made him shudder.

The Elric brothers had mentioned passing through a 'gate' in order to gain their method of transmutation; was that what had happened to him? If so, could he....?

Frowning slightly, Armstrong clapped his massive hands together and touched the wood of the sill. Nothing. Scratch that theory, then.

He turned away from the window and went back inside the room, gazing at the small pile of food sitting on the table. He was hungry, he had to admit, and the food looked fresh, if plain. Selecting an apple, he went over and sat on the bed.

Perhaps this was his penance, coming to this world, stripped of his luxuries and wealth. Biting into the apple, he almost smiled.

Well, then. If that was how it was to be, he would gladly do his time. He owed the people of Ishval that much.


Anything else? ............................................dazzle