Gracia Hughes

[The first nice day after a slew of rain, and Gracia is finally able to get out and run some errands. After making a big breakfast for the family, she leaves Elicia with her papa, since there is no school on Fridays, and heads into town.

Once there, Gracia has decided it's time to update her wardrobe for spring. She'll be looking through the official Clothing Shop first, but then check the All Passions out as well. Although she does find the official Clothing Shop a bit... dusty... so she may get distracted from her shopping long enough to give it a quick clean with a feather duster. She doesn't work there, but if you mistake her as an employee, then she'll still try to help!

After her shopping, Gracia decides to stop in at the Tea Shop. It's a good day for a cup of tea. And, away from her home with the bustle of all these people from other worlds around her, with the pressure of the last underground Malnosso announcement, Gracia has a question for the general populace. Speaking into these journals is still something strange for her, so after attempting a laughable filter and then disregarding it, she simply writes.]

Out of all the worlds you've heard of here, if you could pick a new one to start over in, which world would it be?

[The morning was beautiful in its normalcy. She'll look back on it and wonder at the fact that she ever let Maes go. She should have been holding onto him. She should have spent every minute with him - it is somehow impossible to her that he would be gone while she was there. She wouldn't think anything could separate them. This was twice she'd been proven wrong. Part of her, an embarrassing large part, only wishes that she could have gone with him, wherever he was going.

...but then who would be here for Elicia?

Elicia.

Breaking the news to her daughter was the hardest thing of all.

Now there's one more thing she has to do for him. Maes wouldn't want people wondering where he was or disappointed or--]

I'm sorry to have to announce that my husband, Maes Hughes, is now [the barest pause, the slightest sound of someone swallowing] gone. He left behind pictures for all of his many friends here. When you would like to get them, please feel free to come by.

I want to thank you all for filling his days here with warmth and laughter. I know that he deeply appreciated and cared for each one of you.

[Filter, 40 percent]

Miss Gelda, Miss Raine, Elicia may miss the first few days of school. When she comes back, I'd like to speak with you more about her - our - situation. Thank you for understanding.


[OOC: Gracia will not be answering voice replies, those will be handled by crytearsofjoy. But both Gracia and Elicia (and also Winry!) will be at home if anyone wants to stop by and see them/gather their photos, ect. If there's someone you particularly want to speak to, a heads up in the subject header wouldn't hurt!]

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.

[Gracia had prepared for the day when she was no longer able to care for her daughter - the impermanence of this place terrified her. And as much as she didn't want to think of that day, she made herself face it head on. Long months before, even before Maes had left them the first time, she had sat down and composed two letters.]

Dear Ed,

I write this with the sincere hope that you never have to read it. I know that if something happens to me, or to Maes, I won't have to ask you to take care of Elicia. But please, please take care of my baby. It's an unfair responsibility to place upon you, but so has many other responsibilities that you've taken on, and shouldered with such grace that I am not afraid to ask this of you. I know that the circumstance of this place make it difficult, but if you promise that you will do all that you can, then no matter where I am, I won't worry.

- Gracia Hughes

Dear Winry,

You were taking care of Elicia long before I arrived, and if you're reading this, I'm afraid that the responsibility for caring for her in full may have fallen upon you. If I'm allowed to be selfish at a time like this, I couldn't wish the care of my daughter into anyone else's hands. You have an open and loving heart, and so much strength. You've been like family to Elicia since you met, and I know that you love her. I also know that this is not fair, that you're a young lady with your own hopes and dreams, and you should be free to pursue them. And that's why I still have to ask - please, if you're reading this, my daughter will need you. Please, please be there for her. You won't need to be anything other but yourself, and I know that it will be more than enough.

Thank you, Winry. Thank you.

-Gracia

[There was one other letter that Gracia had written, and added on to a little more every week. Different letters and notes, scraps of drawings and photographs, and all stuffed neatly into a shoebox in her closet, where Gracia kept her fears. Each letter holds love, advice, and little things about her daughter Gracia appreciates, or has seen. Each letter contains observations about Luceti and life, some of them speculating into advice for her daughter as a teenager. Some letters hold stories about herself and Maes when they were young. Some include recipes. But the letter on the top of the box is brief.]

My dearest adventurer,

Elicia Hughes, if you're reading this, I know you're scared, and I know you're sad. You've had to learn a lot of hard lessons far before your time, and lessons learned from loss are the hardest ones of all. But I also know that even though it won't feel like it, one day, as you continue to love and be opened, you'll smile again, and you'll laugh, and you'll bring joy to everyone who sees you. It's okay to grieve, dearest, but don't stay there long. What I and your father want for you, more than anything, is for you to be happy and safe. Journey on whatever adventures take you to a place where you can smile again, and know that if is any way we can, we'll find you again.

I love you, I love you, I love you. Always and forever. I'm so proud of you. I love you, I love you.

Thank you for your thoughtful commentary on how I play Gracia! I appreciate the time you took for critique. Anonymous commenting is on, and I've forgotten how to take off IP checking, but by that same token it won't be used maliciously.