Application
Mun
Name: Shira
Livejournal Username: some_scribbles
E-mail: given!
AIM/MSN: given!
Current Characters at Luceti: markofthebrave; touchofrogue
Character
Name: Gracia Hughes
Fandom: FullMetal Alchemist: Brotherhood
Gender: Female
Age: 28
Time Period: After episode 55, in the middle of the mess at Central
Wing Color: soft pale gold
History:
Gracia's very tiny wiki entry is here: http://fma.wikia.com/wiki/Gracia_Hughes So with Dani's permission, allow me to supplement it with some headcanon.
Gracia was born in the country, only ten months before her younger brother. The two were extremely close, and brought only closer by the death of their father who was killed in the line of duty. Her father's death was a source of extreme distress for their mother, and as a result she reviled any form of 'man in uniform,' steering her children strongly away from military and policeman alike. This didn't stop Gracia's brother, who felt it was his duty to follow in his father's footsteps, and when he came of age both he and Gracia left their mother in the country to pursue their heart's desire - Gracia in training to become a teacher, her brother enrolling in a military academy.
They spent several happy years in the city together before the Ishbalian war broke out and her brother was suddenly no longer 'playing soldier,' but among the first recruits shipped out. During this time a young man she had been seeing more or less casually (from her point of view) shipped out as well - Maes Hughes. He requested that she write him, and so she did, and gradually through their letters the two opened up to each other and learned to love.
The war was not without its high cost. Her brother was killed in action. Her mother - utterly distraught. Gracia finished up her contract at her school and then moved back home, though her mother was never the same and became increasingly bitter and ill. When Maes proposed and Gracia accepted, her mother was so furious with her for disregarding her advice and continuing to endanger her heart by marrying a soldier - and one who would remain a soldier - that she disowned Gracia.
She married Maes Hughes in a small, extremely joyful ceremony, and having nothing of her old life left devoted herself to building a new one with him. And build they did - it was a good life. If he had secrets (and she knew he did), she didn't ask. If he had nightmares, she held him. If she began to drift into sadness - well, he was more than capable of distracting her with the joy of living. There was always something new to discover, something familiar to appreciate all over again, and Gracia loved every minute of it.
With the news that she was pregnant, her joy was a quiet undercurrent to Maes' many loud expressions of rapture. She was excited to have a family again and determined not to repeat her mother's mistakes. When Elicia was born, she left her job as a teacher and took on a new job - full time mom.
But world events did not stop around her - and the conflict surrounding them began to press harder and harder on Maes until finally... it took him away completely. No one could tell her how he'd died in a way she would believe it. He'd made it through the war. He was strong and determined - what could have killed him? Who could have killed him?
She couldn't dwell on it long. There weren't any answers. Gracia was determined not to allow grief to rob her of her life and her loves as it had robbed her mother. She didn't have Maes' arms to hold her up anymore... but she still had her own two arms, and she had a daughter who needed to be held. Elicia wasn't the only one who had been robbed by Maes' death. There were others who her husband had touched as well, others who she loved, and Gracia was determined that her home - their home - would always be opened to them.
Personality:
Gracia's distinguishing characteristic, especially in contrast with her exuberant husband, is her calmness. While Maes is off spinning in circles and throwing out sparkles, Gracia is seen off in the distance - smiling. This isn't because she's unaffected by the same things that send her husband into raptures, but because she has a different way of expressing her feelings. She enjoys watching the enjoyment of the ones that she loves, and enjoys making opportunities for them to enjoy themselves.
Another distinguishing characteristic is her openness. When (in the first anime) Maes brings Ed and Al over on Ed's birthday, pregnant and about to give birth or not, she smiles and makes them dinner and pie. There's not a word of protest - you get the feeling this is not the first time Maes has brought home unexpected dinner guests. While there's no overt mention of this, it's my belief that Gracia does more than just tolerate her husband's trollish tendencies - she enjoys them and covertly supports them, especially if they're done with the pointed intention of bettering someone's life. And there's a hidden streak in her that just plain enjoys harmless mischief and encourages wild imaginations.
She's the kind of person that makes a stranger feel comfortable, or a friend like he or she could tell Gracia anything, simply because she listens when you talk with a concerned focus and remarkable lack of judgment. That's a lesson she learned painfully, through exposure to her mother's lack of understanding, and it's made its mark on all of her interactions.
Underlying her character is a willful stubbornness that is simply - not seen in most of her interactions, because she's already gotten what she wanted, or because it's been tempered by circumstances into iron hard determination. But this is also a woman who left her mother and went with her brother to support him in doing something her mother would disapprove of, who married a soldier despite the risk and great personal cost, who quietly supported Maes in all of his maneuverings without saying a word and refusing to ask any questions she knew he couldn't answer. Her advice to herself, and to anyone who asks, is to live in a way which enables you to be content with yourself - content, at peace, confident that you've done the best you can, no matter what... this is a woman who is stubborn.
Strengths:
Physically, Gracia is a perfect specimen of human health. She's a single mom of an energetic young child and has the endurance to match her daughter, while doing everything that needs to be done, and do it all over again at the end of the day. Mentally, we don't really get very much of a perspective, however I don't believe Hughes would have married someone who couldn't keep up with him. For this reason, it's my interpretation that Gracia is extremely observant in an understated way - if you prepare your tea in a certain way, she remembers and makes sure that you have just that the next time you come over, if you take more carrots than asparagus at the dinner table, the next time you come there are more carrots, if her husband is distracted or her daughter is distraught, she know just what to do and just how to fix it. And she does this all quietly and unobtrusively, without drawing any attention to herself or making the other person feel awkward - it's just simply there.
Emotionally, Gracia is a woman who has suffered tremendous loss in her life and kept going, with graciousness and love - and even forgiveness towards the people she had a logical expectation of keeping this loss from happening. She makes a genuine effort to understand and appreciate the people around her, finding them valuable and is just as interested as Hughes is in making sure that those around her are happy and settled... even if their methods and definitions are very different. She's a single mom, raising a daughter who knows that she is loved while dealing with the loss of the person who made up the other half of her world. Her ability to keep going, to keep loving, and to remain open to those who are also hurting makes her an emotional rock.
Weaknesses:
Gracia has no special powers, no military training, and absolutely no way to defend herself if someone bigger and stronger than her comes calling. This is a fact that she's very much aware of, in that way that a woman is when her fiancee introduces her to someone war heroes who could incinerate her in a snap. She's grown accustomed to being around people who are much more dangerous than she is, and never made any effort to change that. She's not a soldier; she's a school-teacher.
Mentally, Gracia has no special defenses or training - and so despite being a very sharp woman, does not think militarily.
Emotionally, Gracia has scars and still opened wounds from the loss of practically her whole family. She doesn't walk in fear, but she's even more hyper-concerned about Elicia's safety than most mothers - and though she wants her daughter to get out there and try new things, it's a constant struggle to allow her daughter to take risks... And she misses her husband so much that sometimes, it's like a physical ache.
Samples
First Person: (Please make this a total of ten complete sentences or longer; a complete sentence contains at least one subject, one object and one verb. This does not include action text. Spoken dialogue only.)
Q&A please!
Third Person:
Gracia woke in a wood - and that was as good an indication as her dress than she was dreaming. The ache in her shoulders was surprisingly realistic for a dream, but she had done a lot of heavy lifting that day - those kitchen cabinets won't build themselves, after all, so she supposed the soreness was to be expected. She noticed, vaguely, when she stood that there was something off in her balance - and when she reached back to touch what was causing her such persistent pain, Gracia gasped.
"Feathers?" She ran the fingers of her hand carefully over the ridges up to the tip. She had... wings? That was certainly a strange manifestation of pain.
"What an odd dream." She twists this way and that, trying to get a better glimpse of them, but the dream stubbornly refuses to oblige by panning out. It is a very... realistic dream, though. There's a faint breeze rustling through her short hair, and it pricks at her skin. Goosebumps.
She stares into the distance almost expecting to see... but no, he's not here. Just the quiet of the glen, the luster of the trees and a small... book? She picks her way over to it carefully, bare feet surprisingly sensitive for a dream - it must be a dream, what else could it be? - and bends to pick it up. Gracia frowns in concentration when she sees her name emblazoned on it.
How odd.
She opens it. Of course she opens it. What else are you supposed to do in a dream when you come across a book with your name on it? But when she opens it, it's not like any sort of book she's ever seen before. What do all these buttons do? Why is there a picture of her face reflected in the corner?
Gracia turns the page, and hears a voice. She gasps, abruptly glancing up and around, because she didn't hear anyone come into the clearing, but... that's very definitely someone talking.
"Hello? Is anyone there?" She waits, and the voice continues as if she'd not even spoken. "Hello?"
No one responds. Gracia begins to feel a prickle of apprehension. This was starting to feel less and less like a dream, and more and more like a nightmare.
Name: Shira
Livejournal Username: some_scribbles
E-mail: given!
AIM/MSN: given!
Current Characters at Luceti: markofthebrave; touchofrogue
Character
Name: Gracia Hughes
Fandom: FullMetal Alchemist: Brotherhood
Gender: Female
Age: 28
Time Period: After episode 55, in the middle of the mess at Central
Wing Color: soft pale gold
History:
Gracia's very tiny wiki entry is here: http://fma.wikia.com/wiki/Gracia_Hughes So with Dani's permission, allow me to supplement it with some headcanon.
Gracia was born in the country, only ten months before her younger brother. The two were extremely close, and brought only closer by the death of their father who was killed in the line of duty. Her father's death was a source of extreme distress for their mother, and as a result she reviled any form of 'man in uniform,' steering her children strongly away from military and policeman alike. This didn't stop Gracia's brother, who felt it was his duty to follow in his father's footsteps, and when he came of age both he and Gracia left their mother in the country to pursue their heart's desire - Gracia in training to become a teacher, her brother enrolling in a military academy.
They spent several happy years in the city together before the Ishbalian war broke out and her brother was suddenly no longer 'playing soldier,' but among the first recruits shipped out. During this time a young man she had been seeing more or less casually (from her point of view) shipped out as well - Maes Hughes. He requested that she write him, and so she did, and gradually through their letters the two opened up to each other and learned to love.
The war was not without its high cost. Her brother was killed in action. Her mother - utterly distraught. Gracia finished up her contract at her school and then moved back home, though her mother was never the same and became increasingly bitter and ill. When Maes proposed and Gracia accepted, her mother was so furious with her for disregarding her advice and continuing to endanger her heart by marrying a soldier - and one who would remain a soldier - that she disowned Gracia.
She married Maes Hughes in a small, extremely joyful ceremony, and having nothing of her old life left devoted herself to building a new one with him. And build they did - it was a good life. If he had secrets (and she knew he did), she didn't ask. If he had nightmares, she held him. If she began to drift into sadness - well, he was more than capable of distracting her with the joy of living. There was always something new to discover, something familiar to appreciate all over again, and Gracia loved every minute of it.
With the news that she was pregnant, her joy was a quiet undercurrent to Maes' many loud expressions of rapture. She was excited to have a family again and determined not to repeat her mother's mistakes. When Elicia was born, she left her job as a teacher and took on a new job - full time mom.
But world events did not stop around her - and the conflict surrounding them began to press harder and harder on Maes until finally... it took him away completely. No one could tell her how he'd died in a way she would believe it. He'd made it through the war. He was strong and determined - what could have killed him? Who could have killed him?
She couldn't dwell on it long. There weren't any answers. Gracia was determined not to allow grief to rob her of her life and her loves as it had robbed her mother. She didn't have Maes' arms to hold her up anymore... but she still had her own two arms, and she had a daughter who needed to be held. Elicia wasn't the only one who had been robbed by Maes' death. There were others who her husband had touched as well, others who she loved, and Gracia was determined that her home - their home - would always be opened to them.
Personality:
Gracia's distinguishing characteristic, especially in contrast with her exuberant husband, is her calmness. While Maes is off spinning in circles and throwing out sparkles, Gracia is seen off in the distance - smiling. This isn't because she's unaffected by the same things that send her husband into raptures, but because she has a different way of expressing her feelings. She enjoys watching the enjoyment of the ones that she loves, and enjoys making opportunities for them to enjoy themselves.
Another distinguishing characteristic is her openness. When (in the first anime) Maes brings Ed and Al over on Ed's birthday, pregnant and about to give birth or not, she smiles and makes them dinner and pie. There's not a word of protest - you get the feeling this is not the first time Maes has brought home unexpected dinner guests. While there's no overt mention of this, it's my belief that Gracia does more than just tolerate her husband's trollish tendencies - she enjoys them and covertly supports them, especially if they're done with the pointed intention of bettering someone's life. And there's a hidden streak in her that just plain enjoys harmless mischief and encourages wild imaginations.
She's the kind of person that makes a stranger feel comfortable, or a friend like he or she could tell Gracia anything, simply because she listens when you talk with a concerned focus and remarkable lack of judgment. That's a lesson she learned painfully, through exposure to her mother's lack of understanding, and it's made its mark on all of her interactions.
Underlying her character is a willful stubbornness that is simply - not seen in most of her interactions, because she's already gotten what she wanted, or because it's been tempered by circumstances into iron hard determination. But this is also a woman who left her mother and went with her brother to support him in doing something her mother would disapprove of, who married a soldier despite the risk and great personal cost, who quietly supported Maes in all of his maneuverings without saying a word and refusing to ask any questions she knew he couldn't answer. Her advice to herself, and to anyone who asks, is to live in a way which enables you to be content with yourself - content, at peace, confident that you've done the best you can, no matter what... this is a woman who is stubborn.
Strengths:
Physically, Gracia is a perfect specimen of human health. She's a single mom of an energetic young child and has the endurance to match her daughter, while doing everything that needs to be done, and do it all over again at the end of the day. Mentally, we don't really get very much of a perspective, however I don't believe Hughes would have married someone who couldn't keep up with him. For this reason, it's my interpretation that Gracia is extremely observant in an understated way - if you prepare your tea in a certain way, she remembers and makes sure that you have just that the next time you come over, if you take more carrots than asparagus at the dinner table, the next time you come there are more carrots, if her husband is distracted or her daughter is distraught, she know just what to do and just how to fix it. And she does this all quietly and unobtrusively, without drawing any attention to herself or making the other person feel awkward - it's just simply there.
Emotionally, Gracia is a woman who has suffered tremendous loss in her life and kept going, with graciousness and love - and even forgiveness towards the people she had a logical expectation of keeping this loss from happening. She makes a genuine effort to understand and appreciate the people around her, finding them valuable and is just as interested as Hughes is in making sure that those around her are happy and settled... even if their methods and definitions are very different. She's a single mom, raising a daughter who knows that she is loved while dealing with the loss of the person who made up the other half of her world. Her ability to keep going, to keep loving, and to remain open to those who are also hurting makes her an emotional rock.
Weaknesses:
Gracia has no special powers, no military training, and absolutely no way to defend herself if someone bigger and stronger than her comes calling. This is a fact that she's very much aware of, in that way that a woman is when her fiancee introduces her to someone war heroes who could incinerate her in a snap. She's grown accustomed to being around people who are much more dangerous than she is, and never made any effort to change that. She's not a soldier; she's a school-teacher.
Mentally, Gracia has no special defenses or training - and so despite being a very sharp woman, does not think militarily.
Emotionally, Gracia has scars and still opened wounds from the loss of practically her whole family. She doesn't walk in fear, but she's even more hyper-concerned about Elicia's safety than most mothers - and though she wants her daughter to get out there and try new things, it's a constant struggle to allow her daughter to take risks... And she misses her husband so much that sometimes, it's like a physical ache.
Samples
First Person: (Please make this a total of ten complete sentences or longer; a complete sentence contains at least one subject, one object and one verb. This does not include action text. Spoken dialogue only.)
Q&A please!
Third Person:
Gracia woke in a wood - and that was as good an indication as her dress than she was dreaming. The ache in her shoulders was surprisingly realistic for a dream, but she had done a lot of heavy lifting that day - those kitchen cabinets won't build themselves, after all, so she supposed the soreness was to be expected. She noticed, vaguely, when she stood that there was something off in her balance - and when she reached back to touch what was causing her such persistent pain, Gracia gasped.
"Feathers?" She ran the fingers of her hand carefully over the ridges up to the tip. She had... wings? That was certainly a strange manifestation of pain.
"What an odd dream." She twists this way and that, trying to get a better glimpse of them, but the dream stubbornly refuses to oblige by panning out. It is a very... realistic dream, though. There's a faint breeze rustling through her short hair, and it pricks at her skin. Goosebumps.
She stares into the distance almost expecting to see... but no, he's not here. Just the quiet of the glen, the luster of the trees and a small... book? She picks her way over to it carefully, bare feet surprisingly sensitive for a dream - it must be a dream, what else could it be? - and bends to pick it up. Gracia frowns in concentration when she sees her name emblazoned on it.
How odd.
She opens it. Of course she opens it. What else are you supposed to do in a dream when you come across a book with your name on it? But when she opens it, it's not like any sort of book she's ever seen before. What do all these buttons do? Why is there a picture of her face reflected in the corner?
Gracia turns the page, and hears a voice. She gasps, abruptly glancing up and around, because she didn't hear anyone come into the clearing, but... that's very definitely someone talking.
"Hello? Is anyone there?" She waits, and the voice continues as if she'd not even spoken. "Hello?"
No one responds. Gracia begins to feel a prickle of apprehension. This was starting to feel less and less like a dream, and more and more like a nightmare.