Application for [gargleblasted]~

[xgreasemonkey]

OOC:

Name: Shyanne
Are you over 16?: Yes, sir/ma'am.
Personal LJ: theothardus
Email: certainavarice@hotmail.com
Timezone: US/Pacific
Other contact: My FF.net account — ebonyivoryy
Characters already in the game: None.
How did you find us?: Through another person.

IC:

Character name: Winry Rockbell
Fandom: FullMetal Alchemist
Timeline: Some time after the Briggs arc, Promised Day-ish
Age: 16
~*Magical*~ abilities and strengths: No magic here, but Winry is strong in the field of mechanics/engineering.
How would they use their abilities?: To fix anything, and I mean anything. From pipes, to cars, to leaks, to (her specialty) steel prosthetic limbs. Miss Winry can come quite in handy.

Appearance:

Winry has this light, almost innocent, sense to her physical appearance—one that may fool another at first sight, as if she was a typical teenaged young lady. Her blonde hair is often bright, obtaining a sunny hue. The ends dance at her hips, while her bangs are side-swept and vibrant. She usually keeps it up in a ponytail—with a loose curtain of hair framing her face—but occasionally lets it down from time to time. Her eyebrows match her locks, thin and faint. The girl's eyes hold a sapphire blue color, somewhere between an ocean and a bush of blueberries. Her complexion is pale, but more of a creamy ivory rather than being ghastly or sickly. She's of average height for her age, somewhere around 5'3". Currently, at the age of sixteen, she is much more developed in the body region than the year prior. I assume that a womanly figure is normal for Amestrian women, so Winry is definitely filling in her blood's shoes as time goes on (bust, waist, hips, bottom, etc).

As far as attire is concerned, Winry varies depending on what she's doing. In casual, country-girl clothing (in other words, when she is kicking back at home), she'll often wear light sundresses and sandals, amongst other laid-back things. When she travels, she is known to wear a small, black, ruffled skirt, dark boots at mid-shin, a white tank top and a thin, ebony, open-chest jacket. Once again, this does change; more recently (during the Briggs arc), due to the weather, she wore a white button-up cashmere (I'm assuming) coat, an orange scarf, ruffled, light gray skirt with black tights beneath, and heeled, knee-high boots. What throws many off, is the fact that she swaps out a suitcase for a full-on toolbox, slung over her shoulder.

When working and tinkering away, however, she sports a beige jumpsuit, heavy-duty gloves, and a green bandanna to keep her hair from her eyes. At younger ages, she sported a black tube top beneath the jumpsuit, but switched that out later for a black top with a large silver zipper, though it still exposes her midriff.

Of all the characteristics of her appearance, she comes off as a soft and supple young woman, but one factor sabotages that image. The silver studs and hoops that align her ears, giving off that rough edge. Winry had her earrings since she was thirteen years young, and continues to sport them proudly.

Background/Personality:

In the rural town of Resembool—lying south from the heart of Amestris (her home country)—Winry was born and raised. Born to surgeons Sara and Urey Rockbell in the year 1899, she lived a pleasant and peaceful childhood for the most part. She had a doting grandmother to look after her, the Elric family nearby—more specifically, Edward and Alphonse Elric, the two brothers whom she has been acquainted with since infanthood—and was able to indulge in many small town pleasures.

However, her comfortable countryside life took a blow when both her parents left to serve as emergency doctors on the front lines of the Ishvalan Civil War. Young Winry was disheartened by her parents' absence, but carried on bravely until 1909, when news came home to Resembool that they had both been killed in action. From then on, Winry remained in the solitary care of her grandmother, Pinako, who was an fine mechanic and crafted steel prosthetics for the people of the town.

Already familiar with medicine—having read her parents' medical textbooks like other children with coloring books—Winry became infatuated with automail—which are advanced metal prosthetics—and general machinery. This would prove extraordinarily useful when, in 1910, her childhood friends Ed(ward) and Al(phonse) attempted to transmute their dead mother back to life, using the alchemy—a form of science—they had practiced so dearly in order to fulfill this task. The result was catastrophic, leaving Al with no physical body ( in the last minute, his elder brother had bound his soul to a suit of armor) , and  leaving Ed with no right arm or left leg, bleeding to death on their basement floor. When Alphonse, with his disembodied soul bound to an empty suit of armor, appeared at the Rockbells' door, Winry and Pinako were surprised to see him clutching a maimed and bleeding Edward in his arms. They quickly administered an emergency surgery to save the boy's life.

Sometime after, Lieutenant Colonel Roy Mustang and his assistant Second Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye arrived in Resembool with the intention recruiting an unknown “Edward Elric”, who they assumed was in his thirties, into the military. They were shocked to find a handicapped ten-year-old boy, plagued with anguish. Though Winry expressed her dislike of soldiers and fear that Ed and Al would be taken from her by the military as her parents had, 2nd Lt. Hawkeye reassured the young girl that no one would be taking her friends by force and that even soldiers fight for good reasons, helping Winry to understand her ability to support her friends when her assistance is necessary. Swayed by Mustang's words, Edward  jumps out of his hopeless state and agrees to join the military. He then asks Pinako and Winry to build him an automail arm and leg to replace the ones he had lost. Using her expertise, Winry creates Edward's new arm from scratch, putting all her efforts into making it as perfect as possible and, after a year of recuperation, Edward left for his certification exam in Central City in late September of 1911. When he returned on October 3rd, the Elric brothers packed up their belongings and burned down their house as they left town in search of a way to restore their bodies back to normal. Of course, though the burning of the Elric home was supposedly a sign of abandoning their point of return, they would come home to Resembool several times over the next three years in order to touch base with the only family they had left—the Rockbells’, and to get service for Ed's automail limbs.

Now teenagers, Edward makes a phone call back home, asking Winry if she could travel out to Central for repairs. Little did she know, he was in no condition to travel, having been admitted to a hospital after an invigorating fight with two mass murderers the night before.  As she arrives, the fifteen-year-old sees his injuries and immediately blames herself for not attaching the correct screw, thus his automail malfunctioning, thus causing him to get so badly hurt.

Many things occur in this period—Alphonse questions his brother’s credibility, Winry meets Lieutenant Colonel Hughes (a man that had cared for the brothers loyally throughout their journey), and emotional bile rises up when Ed and Al get wrapped up in one of their most serious fights of all. At last, they make up, and afterward decide that they would like to visit their alchemy teacher in Dublith. Winry decides to tag along, and eventually convinces them to make a pit-stop in Rush Valley—the city of automail.

After being mobbed by a crowd of mechanics and engineers, Edward unpleasantly finds out that his pocket watch has been stolen. This leads the trio to a pick-pocket named Paninya, and after a high-speed chase to get his watch back, she leads them to a mechanic that lives deep in the desert mountains, Dominic. Winry begs him numerous times to become his apprentice, but no avail. Meanwhile, a storm was brewing up, which proved unfortunate for Dominic’s daughter-in-law, who happened to be nine-months-too-pregnant. With no way of transportation to the town due to the storm, Dominic flees to find a doctor, leaving his son, Paninya, Winry, Al, and Ed behind. Winry knew that their time was running out, so her only option was to help the woman give birth, now or never. The entire house relied on Winry to get a healthy baby out of the womb, and thank our lucky stars, she did. After this fantastic achievement, curiosity kills the cat when she finds Edward’s pocket watch, sealed, and realizes that something juicy may lie inside. However, she finds something far from controversial. Don’t forget, 3.Oct.11. She quickly closed the watch, pained and distraught. That was the date of Ed and Al’s house burning down. The day they left to become military dogs.
Confronting him about it, she began to cry, just as she did that fateful night. After a long talk, Edward urges her to return home, but she declines. She was inspired by his volition, and claimed that she wanted to stay in Rush Valley to be apprenticed, so that she could hone her skills and make him the best possible quality automail. This was her own way of trying to make the brothers’ journey a little easier, as well as her way of providing support.

The Elrics’ leave for Dublith, while Winry stays behind.  As a favor for Winry’s efforts in getting his grandson out alive, Dominic recommends her to Garfiel, an expert mechanic. She then began to work at his shop and became quite popular with the residents of the town, gathering quite a bit of clientele. Weeks pass, and all of a sudden, Ed and Al reappear, Ed’s arm busted, much to her dismay. It gets worse after Ed crosses paths with Ling Yao, a Xingese prince. In result of a tussle with one of Ling’s bodyguards, his entire prosthetic arm is torn off. Winry whips out the champagne and chainsaws.

Wanting to say hello to the Hughes family, Winry insists upon joining the boys on a trip to Central after she repairs Ed’s limb. In spite of the Ed’s disapproval, Ling and his two bodyguards—Fu and Lan Fan—insistently follow.

Upon arriving to Central City, the trio is naïve of Hughes’s death, which occurred not too long after their departure. When they crossed paths with Colonel Mustang and Lieutenant Hawkeye,  Mustang simply lied about the man’s passing, in order to ‘protect’ them from knowing, having the thought of them as children in the back of his mind. The Lieutenant reminds him that it’s not kindness, it’s just plain cruel. Edward, Alphonse, and Winry scamper along their merrily way, without a care in the world. It doesn’t take long for them to find out the hard way. Skimming over a newspaper article, Ed and Al hurriedly rush out of the hotel, and are confirmed of Hughes’s fate. Winry visits his wife and three-year-old daughter, who, as she was pained to see, were still grieving from their loss.

More angst is to come. Sometime later, after visiting Hughes’s grave, she is mortified to see her parents’ killer, right before her very eyes. Scar. In desperation, she drops to her knees in tears, fingers reaching for a gun. He acknowledges that she has the right to kill him, but if she were to pull the trigger, he would immediately consider her his enemy. Edward begs her not to shoot, and quickly thinking, jumps in front of her, body facing Scar, who was ready to attack. After this, Scar flees, with Alphonse chasing close behind. A tearful Winry is confronted by Ed, who gradually pries the gun from her hands, saying that her hands were not meant to kill. This moment becomes a large bulletin in Winry’s life.

Saying salutations to Ed and Al, the young lady packed her bags, and hopped on a one-way train to Rush Valley. With the brothers still on her mind, she spent the next few weeks with Garfiel, happy to be back nonetheless. This period of nirvana came to an end, however, when she received a phone call from the military. Ultimately, she headed north, toward Briggs fortress, which protected the Amestrian border.

Extreme hostility was the first thing noticed when Winry made it to the north. Here, she met Kimblee—a former veteran of the Civil War, recently released from jail. He appeared to be a gentleman at first impression. Being as light-hearted as she was, she gained the wrong thoughts and values of Kimblee, lacking to see the true danger of the Crimson Alchemist. It wasn’t until after seeing Ed and Al behind a jail cell, upgrading Edward’s automail, and waiting patiently that she received the information of the Fuhrer and Kimblee holding her as a hostage to make them bend at will. She was told that they wanted the brothers to commit mass murder, and, in spite of being directed to stay at the fort, she decided to join them in Baschool—an abandoned mining town, and where they could possibly find Scar.

At first, Edward and Alphonse are discouraged when they realize that looking for Mei Chang will be just about as easy as a needle in a haystack (Mei Chang, p.s., is a Xingese—alternate of Asia—alkahestrist they had been searching for, wanting to know her secrets of “alkahestry”, which might help Al get his body back. Fortunately, she appears out of thin air. As does Dr. Marcoh and Yoki (fugitives), with notes that combine alchemy and Xingese alkahestry.

Alas, they all meet face-to-face with the dreaded Scar. In result of combat between Ed, Al, and Scar, they eventually contain the ‘antagonistic’ man, during which time Winry confronts him. In this round, she is calm and collected. According to her words, she doesn’t ‘forgive’ his wanton murder, but can abide by it.

With Kimblee quickly approaching, everyone must make a choice. Much to their surprise, Miss Rockbell is the one plot a risky, but brilliant idea. She must convince Scar to pretend to take her hostage and run off, then escape through the underground tunnels. Edward absolutely disapproves of this plan, not trusting Scar with his childhood friend’s life, but doesn’t have much time left to decide. Winry then points out that she’s a hostage either way, so she might as well choose her captor. He reluctantly gives in.

Winry, Scar, Mei Chang, Dr. Marcoh, Yoki, and two chimeras—a man transmuted with an animal—safely make it to the mining shafts and outside, where the winter storm has relaxed. They shockingly find Alphonse, buried beneath the snow, who tells them that they can’t return to the fort, since Central troops had overrun Briggs. Because of this, they travel to an Isvalan slum where they could take refuge. There, they began to decode the Alchemy-Alkahestry notes. Following this time, they find out that Ed has gone missing. Al urges that he and Winry keep moving, and that his brother wouldn’t want rumors to slow them down. Henceforth, they voyage to Lior—a town re-building itself in the southeastern region.

While Winry has a chance to befriend Rose—a girl that fell victim to a cult, in which Ed and Al put a stop to—in Lior, Alphonse reunited with his father, Hohenheim, for the first time in years. The group stays in Lior for quite a while, awaiting the infamous Promised Day, which was when the antagonists planned to sacrifice the nation’s population for the sake of perfection and immortality. Winry helped out the healing town, doing simple work, such as handing out food, for the community. When winter evolved into spring, thus enlightening the new year, sixteen-year-old Winry headed back to her home in Resembool.

Much to her surprise, the boy that had gone missing was in her own room—Edward, along with two chimeras and a man who she thought was Ling. Catching up with the details that had happened in the past few months, she also told Edward of Lior building itself back up again, and that Alphonse was going to travel with Major Miles, while his father was currently in a slum named Kanama. After performing maintenance on his automail,  he instructed her to take Pinako and leave the country. Winry blatantly refuses, practically tearing his head off for saying such a thing. Alas, their fight drives him out of the room. At midnight, he and the men that he brought along with him set off to leave. Ed tells Winry to have an apple pie waiting for when he returns.

Miss Rockbell is a very emotional, strong-willed and emphatic person. Putting all her heart and effort into everything she does, she is very sympathetic toward other people, whether they be close or a mere acquaintance. Enthusiastic about machinery, Winry is usually at home near cranking gears, whirring bearings, and the smell of oil, becoming absolutely giddy when given the opportunity to interact with and learn about anything mechanics. The fact that she doubles her mechanic career with being an engineer deems her intelligence; y’know, ‘cause being an engineer requires excelling at math, amongst other things, despite her not finishing grade school.

Just as every other character in Arakawa’s manga, Winry holds flaws. For example, she is stubborn and straightforward, often calling others out for their weaknesses and delusions. Moreover, she can be rather naïve, possibly due to her innocent upbringing, and only wants to see the good in people (Kimblee, for example), which can lead her into fatal trouble. Known for being a “crybaby”, even in Edward’s eyes, she is very sensitive to the pain of others, therefore often sheds a tear on behalf of others, and isn’t afraid to show her emotions, though she fears that she’s too weak and can only wait rather than act. 

Winry's stout heart allows her to make difficult and dangerous choices very easily so long as they coincide with her strong sense of duty and morality. As one who values family (immediate and extended) above most other things, Winry is a bit of a worrywart and concerns herself with the welfare of people she cares about. It is likely this care that makes her so popular with her clients in Rush Valley, all of whom are greatly moved by the attention to personal detail that she willingly gives to each of them.

Overall, she is the type of person who believes in evolving, advancing, and working on being a better human being, which she practices every day.

Have you read up on how the game works?: Yes, I have. The guide plug-in's name is Flaming Ferret. A character can make money by doing missions, stealing, or bumming off of someone else.

1st person sample: [The first thing that she consciously notices is the sound of static, rustling though her eardrums, plowing at the back of her skull. She doesn't understand this noise—it's much too pitched to be a radio, after all. Her eyelids flapped open.]

What in the world...?

[Mecha junkie + advanced technology before her eyes = a riot that may take place.

...No. There is no time for that.

Why? Well, maybe it was the guide in her hands that just informed her of her planet ceasing to exist. Her heart skips a beat. She finds herself having to re-analyze the information. Again.]

....

[Her lips part, but no sound. Okay. She is convinced that this is a dream.]

3rd person sample: Red swarms of... what were they, bodies?... darted around her, moaning, whimpering. She felt as if she was knee-deep in a hive of bees, or drowning to death in a sea of wasps. Instead of fear, only one emotion penetrated her: anguish. The lowest kind. The kind that absorbs you, makes all seem lost, makes all seem untouchable. Her chest ached at the sadness shed upon her. She didn't know where this sadness came from, not in the least. Her forehead tightened, brows quivering as she fought back lamentable tears.

The cries, the sobs, the moans. They almost sounded like... people. Men and women, coming from those blobs of red. She even heard a few coherent sentences...

Give me back my baby...

Please! Please, it hurts!

Help us!

I've finally become... the perfect being...

"Stop it..." the blonde murmured beneath the howls, unable to listen any further. "S-Stop it..."

She wanted slap her hands on her ears, but her body was fluid. It was as if she were a ghost, or some sort of spirit. All was crimson. Like a river of blood, with no promises of mercy.

And then it occurred to her. She stared down at her palms, taking one good look at the translucent figures.

Winry also noticed that she stood naked, hair swaying blissfully over her breasts and back. When she was able to eye other people, she realized that they hadn't an article of clothing either.

'Am I... one of them?'

That thought had her choking on self-pity. Confusion. Angst. A naive feeling, twisting her intestines into bile.

Suddenly, a light at the end of the tunnel. Or vortex of souls, to be accurate. Somehow, she found herself floating toward it. No one else followed. Why didn't they follow? If they were in misery, why didn't they follow? She wanted to take them with her, to set them free, but she had no power over her legs. Alas, she continued down the path until an eerie red paled into an ominous light. An infant's cry was the last lullaby heard until it converted into static.

Questions?: Just how much information does my character receive—besides their planet being destroyed—when they arrive to the Thor? I couldn't find much info on the guide, and I looked all over the site.
Did you put your characters name and fandom in the subject: Surely.