#After all it's only because he left Amestris was protected and Father stopped

[dragontamer05]

Just had a thought of Pinako at least trying to tell Ed and Al about Hoenhiem- Al potentially more open and willing to listen to stories about their dad.

Not necessarily expecting or even in any way telling them not to be angry or feel whatever is they may be feeling about everything. Him going off their mom passing away ect but at the very least perhaps hoping that in time maybe one day they'll come to understand/realize the kind of person their dad is,

Sure she won't stop Ed for being pissed at him for not being around nor force him to you know care but that doesn't mean she's going to let these bois grow up without at least you know trying - if only because Trisha probably wouldn't have wanted them to grow up hating him.

--

Although I think my biggest thing that kind of could have made for an interesting reaction would be like, Ed screams at their dad for not even being at her funeral only to get hit in the face with

"I didn't know,"

Or something there of.

And it just suddenly clicking to Ed that whether because no one tried or no one could contact him after he'd left he had no idea what had even happened (and while mention of the epidemic might reach papers anything that specific for a small farming village likely ain't hitting news papers for him to find out that way)

I mean sure that just might make Ed more frustrated while at the same time I think it could add an interestingly layer with all these conflicted feelings and emotions kid has going on and trying to sort through about his dad.

Still so very much angry and hurt at his leaving without so much as a goodbye, never even so much as trying to send a letter or call to keep in contact either but after learning the truth about him (while hardly sympathetic to the man exactly) like now some of that anger also becoming direct at Father because had it not been for him Hoenheim would never had needed to leave home anyway- it was still technically his choice but when you boil it down sure what he's doing is to save the country but at a much much more basic level he was doing it to protect and save THEM his FAMILY (and hey is he/Ed so different wanting to protect and help the people he cares and loves)

And perhaps even frustrating him the Hoenhiem/they're dad ISN'T quite the awful, deadbeat, uncaring, unloving person whom he'd come to paint a picture of in his anger and hate and would make it so much easier to just blanket hate him if he was just some dirt bag like Tucker, when really he's just... flawed for sure and no way can or will he forgive that man for what he put them through but like as much as he wants to deny it it's hard to cling on to the idea that this man doesn't care about them when he seems so happy to see them. Is trying so hard wanting to know them

(Not to mention the look on his upon delivering their mother's final message- Ed probably didn't quite know what kind of reaction to expect out him but he sure as hell wasn't expecting to see the man cry/ on the verge of tears)

[isnt-it-pretty]

I love Ishvalan Ed & Al, but consider, Ishvalan Mustang.

Mustang, a half Ishvalan, half Xingese boy who was raised with the knowledge of Ishvala. Who went to live with his Xingese aunt when his parents died, and his entire world was turned upside down. 

Mustang, who decides he wants to learn alchemy because why would Ishvala give them that power if it wasn’t meant to be used? If it wasn’t meant to help people. Who goes to the door of Bertholdt Hawkeye and convinces this Amesterian man to teach him alchemy. Mustang who eagerly learned everything because he’s seen the worst of the world and wants to change it.

He joins the military for the same reason as Heathcliff. He wants to make a difference, he wants to end the systematic prejudice against Ishvalan people within the military.

Mustang, who becomes the very first Ishvalan State Alchemist in history  He is the Flame Alchemist. The fire of the desert, the heat of the sun, the determination in the heart of every Ishvalan. 

And then the war getd worse. And then more people die. And then there is talk of stripping soldiers of their rank, of how they’re traitors. And Mustang looks at one of his friends, the only other Ishvalan he knows, and they run.

He runs before order 3066 comes along, before Ishvalan soldiers are arrested for treason, before State Alchemsits, Mustang’s friends, are sent to murder his people. 

So him, hiding in his aunt's bar, follows.

In this universe, Mustang still fights under the heat of the desert sun. He still listens to the screams of dying men as he snaps his fingers, only this time, its Amestrian’s he's sending home in coffins. He is the Flame Alchemist, the heart of all Ishval. He is a sinner, but people look up to him because they’re desperate.

He meets Hughes on the battlefield, and both of them just... stop. They were best friends once, but now Hughes is an Amesterian Soldier and Mustang is a terrorist, a traitor, the reason so many men will never see their families again. They don’t kill each other. They talk. Even on the battle field with the sound of bullets ringing through the air, they find the way to share words. It's a risk, but eventually they smuggle letters. Mustang learns of Gracia, of Hawkeye. How his masters daughter followed him into a war he’s now fighting on the opposite side of.

In the end, they send Kimblee after him. It's a brutal fight, with bullets and fire and explosions. Kimblee ends up with burns coating his body, Mustang ends with a useless arm, laying on his back in the hot sand. He would have died, if not for the sniper who was supposed to kill him.

Hawkeye takes a shot at Kimblee. She takes Mustang and runs, because her father is dead, she has nothing left but this boy barely older than her. Hawkeye, who stands against her country to fight alongside her friend. Hughes, who commits treason quietly by letting them go, by smuggling letters and supplies, who works alongside Madam Christmas to protect her boy. 

Mustang, who tracks down Ed & Al to protect them, because he knows that the military will come for them sooner rather than later, who looks at Winry and knows who she is, because he knew her parents. He had the utmost respect for the doctors who risked their lives (and paid with them) to keep his people alive.

Just. Ishvalan Mustang. Born from two countries, and Amestris hating both sides of him. The way that would change the world, his character, and his story.

[worryinglyinnocent]

Fic: Forged Through Fire (3/13)

Summary: Amestris. Once democratic, now a military dictatorship. Prohibition is strict; personal freedoms curtailed. All alchemists must be state-licensed or face imprisonment. Foreigners are met with suspicion. It’s a grim place and a grim time, but there are some people able to bring a little light to the world. Behind an innocent-looking bookshop, speakeasy proprietor Chris Mustang has formed an unlikely alliance with unlicensed alchemist Van Hohenheim to provide alcohol to those who want it and medical care to those who need it. When Riza’s newly complete tattoo becomes infected, Roy brings her into this underworld, little knowing the way it will change their lives in the future – uncovering the secrets of the mythical Philosopher’s Stone and the schemes of a Fuhrer hell-bent on achieving immortality, all whilst navigating what they mean to each other.

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Rated: T

[One] [Two] [AO3]

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Content warning for this chapter: Self-harm.

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Forged Through Fire

Three

Riza didn’t think she’d ever been in so much pain. Not even when her father had first put the tattoo on her back. Not even when it had got infected and she’d first trusted Roy with her secret. This was pure and utter agony, and she knew what Roy had meant when he’d said that burning away her tattoo completely would kill her. She felt like she was about to pass out; the cold water was the only thing keeping her in the moment, and even that wasn’t doing its job as much as she would like.

She rested her forehead on her knees in the tub, letting the shower continue to trickle down over her back. She didn’t even know if it was the right thing to do anymore, or if she was making the damage even worse. She grew up surrounded by fire and flame alchemy, but she was being eaten alive by pain and all her knowledge on how to treat burns had completely gone from her brain. It was miraculous that she’d even had the presence of mind to call Roy and ask him to help. Well, it wasn’t as if anyone else could really help; the emergency services wouldn’t be much use in this scenario.

She had known that she was making a mistake even as she’d started bringing together all the tools that she would need. She had known that she was going to regret it, and yet she hadn’t really been able to stop herself doing it, the roiling anger in her veins that she’d been feeling ever since her father had died reaching boiling point and taking over.

Even though she couldn’t see it, she wanted that tattoo gone so badly she was willing to do anything to get rid of it, and if Roy wouldn’t do it – and she could completely see why he didn’t want to do it, she wasn’t blaming him for refusing – then she would simply have to do it herself. It wouldn’t be as easy, but she could do it.

Riza had no skill in flame alchemy. For all he thought her worthy to be the canvas of his masterpiece, her father had never given any thought to actually teaching her about the array he’d inked on her. But she didn’t need flame alchemy. As long as she had a flame. The alchemy was useless without a spark to get it going, so sources of ignition were always plentiful in the Hawkeye household. Find a spark, find some fuel, and she was away.

She was never going to try setting fire to her own back again, that was for sure. The pain was blinding and yet it put everything into sharp focus at the same time. If this was the price that needed to be paid to get the tattoo off her skin then she’d live with it and find a way.

Riza wasn’t sure how long it had been since she’d called Roy and then settled down in the tub to try and perform damage limitation until he arrived, but she knew it couldn’t have been very long before she heard a car pull up outside, running footsteps and doors slamming, before a fist pounded on the front door.

“Riza! Riza!”

She couldn’t move, let alone get all the way downstairs to let him in, and she groaned, closing her eyes. Please let him remember where the spare key was hidden under the long-dead pot plant outside. Actually, she wouldn’t even mind if he just busted the front door down at this point, although it might make trying to sell the house harder.

“Riza!”

The front door was obviously open somehow because Roy’s voice was now inside, and she could hear his footsteps racing around the house.

“Riza, where are you?”

“Bathroom.”

The bathroom door opened and Riza looked up, surprised to find Hohenheim standing there.

“All right, let’s take a look.”

He reached across and turned off the water, leaving Riza shivering in the tub. She hadn’t felt the cold until now.

“How bad is it?” Trisha had followed him in carrying a holdall; Riza could hear the clinking of glass jars inside and she wondered how much of the dispensary she’d brought with her.

“Well, it’s not good, but I’ve seen worse.”

“Riza?” Roy finally appeared, and Riza realised that she couldn’t even bring herself to be embarrassed. She’d been so self-conscious when she’d first shown him her back, but now she was in too much pain to care that she was naked and there were three people in the bathroom with her, two of whom were men.

“Roy, I’ll need you to get some things for me, I assume you know your way around the house.” Trisha was already sorting through bottles. “I’ll need some dishcloths, and some vinegar, and a large mixing bowl, and some salt, and some rubbing alcohol.”

Roy stayed transfixed in the doorway for a few moments; Riza knew that he could see the extent of the damage on her back as Hohenheim’s fingers gently probed her burned skin, every touch feeling like fresh fire.

“Roy.” Trisha’s voice was gentle but persistent, and he left the room with a nod.

“That should keep him occupied.” She turned to Riza. “OK, let’s get you better.”

“You only sent him to get that stuff to get him out of the way.”

Trisha nodded. “He’s frantic, bless him, but he’s not going to be any help in that state. What’s the verdict, Van?”

“I can heal it, but it’ll scar badly; it’s not going to be my prettiest work.”

“I honestly don’t care.” Riza closed her eyes. “I just want it gone. Can you do that?”

“Get rid of the tattoo completely?”

Riza nodded, and Hohenheim shook his head.

“No. The alchemy involved would be too traumatic for your body to handle, even if you weren’t already injured. The burn scarring will obscure it, that’s all I can do. My main concern is stopping it hurting.”

Riza nodded. Stopping the pain sounded like a good first step.

“Can you stand up? It’ll be easier if we get you lying down flat.”

She got to her feet shakily, leaning on Hohenheim, and Trisha came over with a towel to protect her modesty, holding it loosely at the back so that it didn’t touch her damaged skin. Once she was sitting on the edge of the bathtub and he was convinced she wasn’t going to keel over, Hohenheim started rifling through the holdall until he’d evidently moved enough jars to dislodge a sheet.

“Where’s your bed, Riza? I’ll go and get the array ready.”

“Second on the right.”

He left the room and Trisha gave her a small bottle, settling on the edge of the tub beside her.

“Drink that. It doesn’t taste great, but it’ll take the edge off the pain. Enough to get you down the corridor, at least.”

“I couldn’t find any vinegar.” Roy returned with the items Trisha had requested and he set them down in the sink for want of a better place.

“That’s all right. I think we’re all going to need a cup of tea after this, though, so maybe you could put the kettle on.”

“Right.” Once again, Roy hovered in the doorway, and now that the pain from her back wasn’t consuming every fibre of her being, Riza could see just how scared he was. Calling him up in the middle of the day and telling him what she’d told him must have thrown him for a loop, but he’d dropped everything and had not only come to her aid, but also realised that there wasn’t anything he could do to help her on his own and had brought along the people who could help as well.

Something in the back of her mind felt guilty. She wanted to tell him that she’d be ok. She had no idea whether she’d be ok or not, but she trusted Trisha and Hohenheim to know what they were doing. It did make her wonder what Hohenheim had seen and treated that was worse, though.

The pain flared again, bright spots dancing in front of her eyes, and all other thoughts were chased out of her head.

“She’ll be all right, Roy, I promise,” Trisha said.

Roy didn’t look convinced, but he gave a little nod nonetheless and went to make the tea as Trisha helped Riza down the corridor towards her room. Hohenheim was putting the finishing touches on the array as they got there; it was far more complex than the one he’d drawn for her infection.

“I have to warn you that this is going to hurt, but leaving it like this will hurt even more,” he said as Riza lay down. “Ready?”

“Yes.”

His hands suddenly felt like ice on her back, the alchemy so cold it burned in an entirely different way to the flame, and the crackle of the alchemic lightning raced around the edges of the array and over her skin, flashing bright even through closed eyes. Riza couldn’t help crying out with the sensation, and she felt Trisha squeeze her hand. It seemed to be taking forever, but then again, she’d managed to do a lot of damage in a comparatively short space of time.

“There, it’s done.”

There was still pain, but it was a lingering soreness rather than the blinding burn of before. As she sat up, Riza could feel the healed skin stretching awkwardly; the scarring would take a while to get used to.

“I’ll give you some more antiseptic.” Trisha had retrieved her bag from the bathroom and was lining up pots on the nightstand. “And this one is a lotion that will help the scars fade and keep the damaged skin soft.”

“Where do you get all these herbs?” She’d rather focus on that than on her own state at that moment.

“I grow them. It’s interesting doing it in an apartment in the middle of a city instead of a greenhouse at home, but it works.” Trisha packed everything else away. “I think that the tea is ready. If you need a hand with anything, just give me a shout.”

The other three were all in the kitchen by the time she got back downstairs, Hohenheim and Trisha sitting at the table and Roy failing to pretend that he wasn’t pacing up and down in a panic. He stopped in his tracks when he saw her.

“Are you ok?”

“Yes.”

“Are you sure?”

He wasn’t just talking about her back. Riza noticed that the kitchen window was open and the smell of the alcohol she’d used as fuel for her fire was fading.

“I don’t know,” she admitted. “Can we talk?”

“Of course.” He seemed almost relieved as he grabbed her cup of tea and handed it to her, following her out of the kitchen. Her first instinct was to go into her father’s study for privacy, but she paused with her hand on the doorknob, not wanting this to be the first time she went in there since he died and not wanting the reminders of him whilst she was talking about what she had done to try so hard to forget him in the most permanent sense. In the end, Roy steered her into the barely-used living room, ignoring the thick coating of dust over all the furniture.

“Thank you for coming to my rescue,” she said. “It feels like you end up doing this a lot. I’m sorry, I end up dumping you in these situations and you have to claw your way out. First it was the infection, then I made you come to the funeral, now I get you dragged into this.”

“It’s fine, Riza, honestly. I would have gone to the funeral even if you hadn’t asked me. And as for this, and the first time… If you hadn’t come to me then who would you have gone to? This isn’t the kind of thing that you can go through on your own, and if I’m the only person you trust with your back then that’s fine. I’d rather it was like that than something even worse happened.”

Neither of them needed to voice what would be worse.

“Still, it puts a hell of a burden on you.”

“It’s not a burden when it’s someone…” Roy trailed off, and when Riza looked up from her teacup she could see the colour rising in his cheeks. He coughed. “It’s not a burden. Riza, you’ve just been horribly injured; worrying about being a burden really shouldn’t be your first thought right now.”

“I don’t want to think about it. I’d rather think about you. Or literally anything else.”

“Seriously, though, are you going to be ok?”

“I’m never going to be doing that again, you don’t need to worry about that. But the thoughts and feelings that led me to do it are still there in the back of my mind, being ominous. I’m not going to harm myself again, I promise. But I just don’t know what to think anymore. I don’t know what I was thinking when I decided to do it.”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“I don’t know.”

“Well, I’m here when you figure it out.”

“Thank you.”

“Any time.”

How many times had he said that to her now? How many times had he picked up the pieces? It was getting to the stage where Riza didn’t think that she’d ever be able to repay him, but at the same time, she got the impression that repayment hadn’t even crossed his mind.

“Riza?”

Damn, now she was crying, and she couldn’t even tell him why.

“I’m ok. I’m ok. It’s just…”

“Yeah. It’s been a day.” Roy pulled the dust sheet off one of the sofas and they sat down on it. Even though it was still only the middle of the afternoon, Riza could feel exhaustion settling into her brain and limbs.

“I just feel like such an idiot.” Riza dried her eyes and sighed. “I don’t know why I did it. I can’t even claim ‘it seemed like a good idea at the time’ because it didn’t even seem like a good idea at the time. It’s like I had some kind of out-of-body experience and even though I knew it was a terrible idea, it was the only thing I could do.”

Roy didn’t reply. Riza wasn’t sure what he would have said even if there was an easy reply, but she didn’t mind his silence. It was his presence that she needed right now, reassuring her that despite everything going on in her brain, she wasn’t as alone as she had felt a few hours ago. She had people she trusted to help her. She had people who wanted to help her.

When she woke up later, it was dark, and she was stiff from sleeping in an awkward position. Peering through the gloom, she could see Roy sprawled on the other sofa opposite, and she fought her way free of the blanket that had not been draped over her earlier. There was a note on the living room door, and she padded over to read it.

Riza (& Roy since you’re still there)

We’ve had to leave as we have appointments at the clinic tonight. I’ve left some painkillers in the kitchen for you and if your back starts to bleed, weep or itch, call us at Madam Christmas’s. If we’re not there call us on the below number at home.

Trisha

(PS: Van alchemy-ed the front door open earlier. He’ll fix it on the way out but if it looks different to normal that’s why.)

Riza tiptoed into the kitchen – the teacups had been washed up and everything set to rights – and grabbed the pills next to the sink and the note in Trisha’s same neat handwriting with dosage instructions before returning to the living room. Roy had woken up too and was squinting at her.

“What time is it?”

“Just before ten.”

“Huh.” He eased himself up and stretched the cricks out of his neck. “Want to talk about it?”

Riza sighed, settling herself back on her sofa.

“I don’t know. I probably should. Most normal, well-adjusted people don’t go around intentionally burning themselves, but the more I think about it, the more I realise that there hasn’t really been all that much in my life that’s been normal and well-adjusted, and now I have the opportunity to try and make something normal, and I don’t know how.”

She looked around at the dingy living room. “Getting out of this mausoleum would probably be a good start. I can’t afford to keep it going anyway and it’s a complete dump, but really, it’s been like a prison for so long and I don’t want to stay in it willingly now that I have the chance to go somewhere else. I just don’t know where I would go.”

She thought back to her conversation with Roy in the bar after the funeral, when he had asked her about her plans. Her idea of joining him would never come to fruition, but the need that she felt to protect him and look out for him in the same way as he looked out for her still remained, maybe even stronger now after this latest happening. And with a secret like hers, trust didn’t come easily. Going out into the world and beginning to forge a new life among strangers was something that gave her a great deal of trepidation no matter how much she wanted to get away from her old life.

A thought struck her. It might sound like a desperate thought, but it was still a thought, and the only positive one she’d had for a while.

“Is there anything I can do to help at the bar?”

“Erm…” Roy scratched his head. “Well, Aunt Chris always needs people who are willing to work the front and act as security for us. That would be a good job for you, actually, we need people who are unassuming. Sorry, that came out wrong. What I mean is, we need people who aren’t suspicious. People who look like they could really be working in a bookshop rather than providing a front for a speakeasy. I mean, it would be great if we got someone like Alex Armstrong in front of house; we’d never have a problem with law enforcement, but it would be screamingly obvious that the shop wasn’t just a shop. And you know, it’s always handy for the person on the front to be well-skilled with firearms just in case any unwanted situations do arise.”

Riza nodded. “Yeah. That sounds good.” She’d still be helping out Roy, in a way, and she’d be keeping Trisha and Hohenheim and their work safe as well.

“You know, I think there’s an apartment over the shop. It’s empty and it’ll need a good clean before you put any furniture in it, but I’m sure Aunt Chris would be happy to let you have it. If she’s using it, then it’s only to store the good Drachman vodka in it.”

“I like how that implies there’s bad Drachman vodka.”

“Drachman vodka comes in varying qualities, especially when we’re importing it under the table and we only get it when one of the Briggs’ Fortress crew comes home on leave, but when we get the good stuff, we have to keep it safe.”

Riza gave a snort of laughter. She thought about Roy’s offer of a new home, how he was once again coming to her rescue, but she pushed it aside. She hadn’t asked him to help her in that sense, he had simply offered because he wanted to. At least, that was how she was going to choose to interpret it. He had the ability to help her, so he had offered his help, like any compassionate person would.

Compassion was not something Riza had a lot of experience with.

“That would be good, thanks. At least until I’ve got the house sold and I’ve got back on my feet properly.”

“Hey, even after then if you want, it doesn’t just have to be a stopgap. You’ll always have steady access to booze and gossip if you stay in the shop.”

“That’s true. Will your aunt be ok with it?”

“Yes. She knows you. She likes you.”

“Really? Because I find her terrifying, no offence.”

Roy burst out laughing. “Oh, I’ll have to tell her that.”

“Please don’t.”

“No, don’t worry. Everyone finds her terrifying. Apart from Trisha, because she’s so sweet that no-one can bring themselves to terrify her and she’s the kind of person who sees the good in everyone. Seriously though, Aunt Chris won’t have a problem with it. She’ll be happy to help, I know it.”

Riza smiled. It felt good to be smiling again. “Well, in that case, thank you. Again. How many times have I had to say that this week? I’m starting to feel like a damsel in distress.”

“You’re no damsel. I’ve seen you shoot. And you’re allowed to be in distress, all things considered. Your abusive father just died and you’re having trouble processing everything. You can’t be calm and stoic throughout that. It’s ok to need help.”

“I guess you’re right.”

Things weren’t going to be plain sailing, Riza knew that. There was so much left to go through and they had barely scratched the surface of everything that was going on in her mind, but at least there was a small flicker of hope now, a light at the end of this murky tunnel of grief and confusion.

[valorousowlart]

Classic Comics DC- HG Peter Marvel-Jack Kirby

 Marimashita Iruma-Kun

 Gravity Falls

 Death is The Only End for The Villainess

 Unfamiliar - Lavendertowne

 Nebezial

Full Metal Alchemist

 Miss Not-So-Sidekick

 Tangled: The Animated Series

 Daughter of The Lillies

First Post [HERE] Speedpaint [HERE]

Character explanation below the cut!

I like the idea that Alaric’s hero persona is this Wizard that keeps getting involved in absurd situations, constantly connecting with others and having to rely on his friends (and himself) while being absolute shit at really working cooperatively. His civilian identity as a model gives him a certain layer of separation that he can comfortably distance himself and act in a proper and professional manner but that goes out the window once his costume goes on. He’s not a bad or ineffective hero, but he has issues with the very team ups he’s forced into. 

I started with the sexy librarian and went from there, honestly. Alaric in MIK is the young son of a prominent demon family, however his wild youth led his father to send him to his strict but eccentric aunt for his own good. As an adult under her tutelage he’s exceptionally strong and talented, but ends up hiding his potential to run a library of hidden, lost and generally forbidden tomes in much the same way Good Omen’s Aziraphale runs his bookstore. You can look but don’t touch. I think if he ever met the main case his reaction would be to ditch the attention-aversion glasses and get involved because “who let these babies get in dangerous situations?” In general he spends most days tending his library, reading voraciously and seducing his various partners. 

Weirdmagghedon huh? It’s a good thing that they’re trapped in there, and we’re out here, and he’s Sixer, but he’s trapped in there and I just remembered that we’re in here but what I want to know is where is the triangle???? He’s a loner of a peacock demon, he’s probably just going to enjoy the solitude of the dimension while Bill and his crew are gone, or maybe sneak out and hide in the mall until everything blows over. He’s probably gonna steal some shoes though. 

Okay so this one was mostly stylistic, afaik there’s no demons or anything equivalent to Infernals in Death is the Only Ending. I guess it’d be an AU. Especially since there were versions of his backstory where his father and he were unable to properly express themselves and circumstances were set up so they both thought the other hated them to death, much like with the heroine and her father. Mostly I wanted to see him in a pretty dress with a sad expression.

I don’t actually know much about the comic proper, but I feel like Alaric here is like a teacher or a tutor, someone you could go to for a hand with mastering some obscure magic. He’s the type that would learn weirdly specific magic spells out of pure academic curiosity even though it’s not practically applicable in real life.

Nebezial, my guy. How do you do this? I really appreciate your work, you make it look so easy. Alaric here is an adventurer and a battlemage, he gives his all to protect those he cares about, even willing to shed his human form for that. 

Oh boy, you think you know a guy. Alaric Oran is Alexei’s foster-brother and the two of them are the latest recruits to Amestris’ alchemist program. Years have passed since the events that ended the terror of the homunculi. It’s no wonder that no one caught on that Alaric himself is a homunculus. It’s only once Alexei’s life is on the line that Alaric drops the facade and reveals the extent of his power. It may be extremely selfish, but when you’re a walking philosopher’s stone who chips away at your own life every single time you perform more than basic techniques it’s probably best to keep a low profile.

Alaric is a wizard who works under Arwin in the mage’s tower. They don’t like each other for the most part, a bit too much of similar personalities. But the work speaks for itself and neither wants to seriously fight the other. So there he remains. 

Archmage Alaric is a researcher and archeologist with a special interest in magical runes and secret languages. He’s been living in solitude for years after totally not turning a guy into a horse the same year Rapunzel was kidnapped. He’s taciturn, moody, and really just wants to be left to his research. Mainly he’s just covering for anxiety that he’ll mess up again and ruin someone’s life like that horse guy. He literally saw the Moonstone crisis starting, said “Nope” and went back to his tower for months. Most people that meet him don’t realize who he was until after he’s gone.  His research is the only thing that brings him joy anymore.

I love Daughter of the Lillies. The world building is so beautiful and just the story is satisfying but it hurts too. Alaric in this verse was a Wizard, some centuries ago. By the time canon starts, he would have been dead for centuries. He was someone who was almost more comfortable in a form resembling his dragon-form (assuming that’s an ability all wizards share) but sacrificed his life to stop a drath outbreak after they were freed by a beloved friend (however unwillingly). 

[anthropwashere]

our indestructible days ch 5

ch 1 | ch 2 | ch 3 | ch 4

All Ed can hear is screaming—hundreds of souls all tangled together in a deafening, incomprehensible choir. He's got no idea how Ling dealt with this shit for so long without totally cracking up. Either he and Greed get along a lot better than it shows, or Ling was just that crazy from the start. Never mind. Now's not the time to theorize. He's gotta get in the fight. They have to stop Father now or not at all.

He claps, intending to transmute the cracked and scorched concrete into spikes aimed for that weird energy shield, but freezes at the first glimpse of alchemical discharge around his hands. Red. Right. Better to hold off transmuting until he figures out if there's a way to avoid using Pride's goddamn Stone. Instead he shakes his hands free of any tingling and closes the gap to hurl his automail fist at the shield as hard as he can. The impact nearly winds him, as it nearly does anytime he puts that much effort into through the automail around. It sure as hell feels like he did more damage to his arm than to the shield, but whatever. Better he pay out the nose for a new arm when they all survive this rather than risk using the Stone. Winry'll understand.

[What are you doing?!]

The razor edge of Pride's—self? awareness? what do you call the part of a homunculus that would be called a soul in a human?—batters at his mind like gale force winds. It's a headache and heartburn and something so much worse than either. He trips over his own feet, or maybe his feet trip over him? He's not the swirl of shadow and gnashing teeth catching at his heels but it's still a part of him somehow. He doesn't know how the transference from Pride's Stone to outside his body happens but he can feel the ground beneath their shadow and he can feel the shadow pooling in his chest. He's got a fucking Philosopher's Stone grafted to his heart and a homunculus oozing around his cardiovascular system. No wonder Greed calls Pride a monster. The Ultimate Shield's a goddamn party trick compared to this.

He shakes his head, squinting through pain that's migraine-adjacent. Not now. He's got bigger things to worry about.

"Forcing you to pick a side!" He hollers, pummeling at the shield again and again, and once more for good measure. Some piece of his hand goes flying. Something grinds in his elbow; scarcely heard, felt through his port like an electric shock of warning. Too bad. He rears back and punches that scrabbling inch harder that really does wind him, at least for a moment.

[You're insane!]

Ed's grin is all teeth. Like he hasn't heard that one a hundred times before?

Teacher swings in startlingly close, bloodied but focused and furious and sprinting faster than he's ever seen her move. Blue light arcs between her hands, stone twisting like clay with a thought into a pair of swords. Ed has to push down a stupid twinge of jealousy at the display. Her eyes meet his as the light dies. "It's about time you showed up, Ed!"

Ed tries to warn her but Pride steals back control before he can do more than inhale. "Not quite," Pride calls out in an absurd, echoing sing-song. The shadow at his feet arcs out and up, a jagged wing that slams between the bristling shield and Teacher's blades before she can land a hit. She barely skids to a halt in time, spinning on her heel to gawk outrage at him. Ed feels his face twist in a crazed grin, then his vision goes stupid as even more eyes fan out across the shadow.

She's gonna kill him if they survive this.

Ed wrestles back enough control to stagger back, dragging the shadow like so much dead weight with him. "Damn it, don't do that!"

Pride doesn't answer but most of the eyes wink out. He trips over his feet-shadow-something again as his own watering eyes struggle to focus while five other eyes he can see through roam every which way but where he's trying to look. He blinks and finds himself on his hands and knees with no memory of falling down. Eyes meet eyes and there's no his-versus-Pride's, it's just their perspective. If he moves he will puke, and he has no idea if it'll be the meager breakfast he had at dawn or chunks of the soldiers Pride's shadows minced that'll come up. He really doesn't want to find out.

Major Armstrong and Teacher are doing their utmost to beat through Father's shield. Reactionary light from their every attack stabs his vision, damningly red. He swallows, and swallows again. He's gotta get up. One of them's gotta get up. They're sitting ducks right now. If Father takes an opening he'll definitely try to take Pride's Stone again, and he has no idea what that'd do to him, and there's no way in hell he's gonna leave Al in a million pieces let alone still stuck to that stupid fucking suit of armor—

Greedling jumps in out of nowhere, throwing a carbon-coated punch that lands a neat blow not against the shield but against Father's suddenly raised forearm—and sticks. Ed thinks Hohenheim shouts something but can't make it out over the screaming in his head-heart-Stone. Instead he just kneels there, dumbstruck, as Greedling is almost literally absorbed by Father and then subsequently knocked aside when Lan Fan leaps in to raise some hell. Something about that brief connection—conflict?—seems to have hurt Father in a way all the other attacks haven't yet, because right after that he curls in on himself like a dying spider with no sign of recreating that shield of his.

Pride hisses. [Oh no.]

Father screams, a guttural and senseless bellow of pain that rings throughout the parade field. More red alchemical light lashes out of him, a blinding burst of humming energy that chews through their shadow before the backlash bowls Ed over. He musters half a scream before he's—they're—sent flying. He knows there's pain, more than the there-and-gone scrape and bruise of his body as it's rolled and dragged along bare concrete and sharp-edged rubble. He feels their shadow burn in the light of this strange explosion. His skin burns too, maybe. His arm makes a splintered squeal that feels like a knitting needle's been jammed deep into his port which means something crucial just broke. He hears the souls of who knows how many dead Xerxesians groaning and crying and screaming, and Pride's screaming too, and maybe that's Kimblee laughing? What about Major Armstrong? And Teacher? What about Al and Mei? Donkey Kong and Piggy? Lieutenant Hawkeye and Mustang? All those Briggs soldiers? He doesn't know if they're okay. For all these fucking eyes he's got now he can't see. 

Please, don't let it be only him that survives this. Please, don't let anybody else die because he fucked up.

=

His Stone, despite having been reduced to a handful of guttering embers, can still muster up the power to heal this body's broken ribs and myriad contusions. Edward has fled, intentionally or otherwise, into his Stone and so this body is his to do as he pleases for the moment, and for the particular moment he has no intention of doing anything more than staying prone and catching his breath. His true self had burned to ash in the wake of Father's startling loss of control, and so he's reduced to viewing the battlefield through this body's stinging eyes alone. He can't see. He doesn't know where Father's gone. He doesn't know who will attempt to attack Father next. He doesn't know if he has the speed or strength left in him to protect Father even if he did. 

Even if he did. Even if he did, it's clear to him now—Father is losing control.

Father is losing.

Without the souls of all of Amestris to power his Stone and with all these living Amestrians doing their damnedest to wear him, Father's had no choice but to waste his own Stone on protecting his new body rather than make any progress toward regaining what power Van Hohenheim had dared steal from him.

How strange it is, to see how little it's taken to wear Father down to desperate measures.

Edward demanded he choose a side. Fight with Father, or against. What can he do? He must choose, and now, before either side recovers. The meanest glimpse of the battlefield is enough to determine who the victor will inevitably be. Still, Pride is nothing if not cunning. He has spent centuries in the shadows, calculating odds, gambling on the corruption inherent in all mortal men. A glimpse is all he needs.

If Father wins this battle, killing or absorbing every last human soul, he's already shown his true colors. He'll take Pride's Stone to save his own skin, never mind centuries of loyalty. It wouldn't be a true death, but it would be a death of the self all the same.

If Father fails today, then Pride and Greed will be the last of the homunculi. They've survived this long solely thanks to the human bodies they've bound their Stones to. Greed, the humans might well deign to spare; he's been a coward and a turncoat since the day Father excised him. But him? Pride has been nothing but faithful. If Father fails today then so too will Pride. If he runs then the humans will hunt him down purely for Edward's sake. They'll kill him truly, burn him out of this flesh as Edward has tried to do already. They've already killed most of his siblings. True deaths. Final deaths.

What kind of choice is he left with?

When the dust settles and Pride's Stone has finished healing Edward's body, Pride dares to grow tendrils of himself again. He strains in every direction, disoriented and unwilling to trust this body's senses any more than he must. His nose finds Father before his eyes, and when his eyes hone in on the still-strange shape he stills. Father is staring right at him. Not at Edward's body but at him. Father knows, somehow, that he's taken Edward's body for his own, and knows too that he would benefit from killing them both. He watches Father lurch toward them, black smoke dribbling from his slack mouth. Not smoke. Himself. He's clinging to control of God's power, and he's slipping.

"A Stone!" Father groans, wide-eyed and staggering. "A Stone! A Philosopher's Stone!"

He's become a shadow of himself; a pitiable shell of a god, hollowed out and scoured raw. Pride stares, unable to discern whether this turmoil knotting his new organs is pity or disdain.

"Edward!" Van Hohenheim shouts across some great distance. "Get out! Now!"

Easy enough for the old fool to say. He's not the one Father's after anymore. 

He feels the rebar pierced neatly through their left arm, his Stone healing the wound just so it can open again with his every twitch. It hurts. It hurts. His Selim container could feel echoes of sensations, enough to cheat convincingly, and human adults always made presumptions when it came to children's feelings anyway. This body has startled him with its capacity for pain at every turn. Even with the rest of its injuries healed he feels—echoes. Phantom sensations. Nerves throbbing with the memory of hurt. His skin itches; from sweat and dirt, yes, but from something more than that too. Their lungs are strong, their ribs healed, and still Pride chooses to sit where the crooked rebar has pinned their arm. He shies away from further pain even as their cardiovascular system throbs concern. 

He hears Alphonse Elric shout, though the boy's shrill voice is snatched away on a gust of wind. He hears panic, not the individual words. Whatever he's saying hardly matters. It's some familial concern, as if one explosion could possibly be enough to kill Edward anymore. Disregard the other boy; he'll only matter if they survive this damned day.

Pride shifts, wincing when he feels the rebar tug in their arm. Their automail arm is limp at their side. Not in pieces, but broken enough that even the minute responses he's managed before this would be a welcome change of pace. He doubts Edward would have much better luck manipulating it. At a glance he sees less a mechanical prosthetic and more an arm-shaped heap of scrap metal. He feels too, Edward stirring in his Stone, consciousness not so much fumbled for as bullied. He concedes control mostly so to avoid this strange burning-tingling sensation in their shoulder.

Edward groans, shaking their head and blinking rapidly, squinting further when Pride inches out a coil of shadow to gain a better angle on the state of the automail. Edward seems sluggish, disoriented, and so Pride ignores him for the few seconds he can spare. The arm is what's important. If Edward—if they—are to fight Father, then Greed has already proven how dangerous direct physical contact is. The automail seems exempt from that and Edward has proven infuriatingly reluctant to transmute anything at the risk of their Stone. The arm's their one sure weapon, and it's so much limp metal grafted to their shoulder now. 

Edward shifts, trying to force the arm to cooperate. The shoulder twitches, and creaks for its effort. The sound it makes is strangely muted; a dulled clunk that nevertheless seems startlingly loud in the silence after Father's inadvertent explosion. The fingers attempt a fist well enough and the shoulder hunches when he tells it to do so, but everything in-between remains frustratingly, terrifyingly inert. 

Pride peels himself off the ground, curling serpentine to better direct his glare. "How did it break?!" He demands through a mouth in his shadow alone despite knowing the answer. Steel alloys are strong, but Father has dragged God Himself down from his lofty perch; even his defenses are sturdy enough to tear metal asunder. Never mind the how, they're running out of time. He has three eyes watching Father's approach. He wishes it were more, too used to working with and from a dozen different angles at a minimum, but for the sake of urgency he's conceding to this body's infuriating nausea and minimizing where he can. As if the boy will ever thank him.

 Edward's physical eyes are riveted on Father too. "Rebound off his little meltdown," he says, matter of fact. "I'm surprised the whole thing didn't shatter."

Down an arm then, and Father's only yards away. "Get up! Run!"

Edward proves how insane he is once more by laughing, then jerking hard on their left arm. Red light crackles, hair raising along their skin. "Can't."

"My Stone can heal that easily. Get up!"

Edward does try, in his insipid, human flailing way. All he earns them is a hot rush of pain that leaves even their shadow gasping for breath. Metal scraping against bone is a uniquely awful experience Pride dearly wishes he had no context for, but here he is and here they are, and Father has now lurched that much closer. Pride spasms, growing teeth. "We don't have time for this. I'll cut the automail off—"

"Don't you dare."

Alphonse is still screaming, high and desperate, but the words aren't worth attending to. Pride sinks some, eyes on Father who is so, so close. Still croaking his desperation for another Stone. There's no trace of the cunning creature he's deferred to all these years. This thing is scrabbling and stupid. This thing is shameful. He averts their eyes, focusing wholly on Edward. "We'll die otherwise," he says.

Edward, stubborn as he is, grits his teeth and yanks on his left arm harder. Pain lances through the port and deep into their chest. They gasp equally, fingers and toes curling. "You do that, I'll hand us over to him," he says.

Pride gawks. They're running out of time but he has no choice but to gawk. "You wouldn't."

As answer Edward only throws him a crooked grin. Try me.

Fuck.

Fucking goddamn motherfucking shit.

Kimblee laughs. It's good to know somebody's enjoying all of this.

"Don't fight me this time!" Pride takes control before Edward can waste time with stupid questions. He grits their teeth, tensing despite knowing tension will make this all the more painful. Coward, Kimblee called him. That inaccuracy, his derision, chafes. Pride has no capacity for fear. He is, and has always been, pragmatic above all else. He tenses and strains and rips their left arm free. Steel dragged against bone and muscle and veins that scarcely bleed before healing perfectly. In his head-Stone Edward screams; he ignores it and runs.

Father must die today. This is a fact that chafes despite its logic. Centuries of loyalty—well. It's only right that it chafes now. But Pride is a pragmatic creature, and Edward has always put Alphonse's safety above his own. They can at least agree that dying now would be an infuriating waste of time. Father must die, and here Pride must aid that sentence. Fine. Fine. It's only fair. One good turn deserves another, doesn't it?

He'll worry himself with what might come after if they make it that far. Until then, it's time to take the offensive.

[by-nina]

For auld lang syne, my dear (Coda)

AO3 | FFN Part III of For auld lang syne, my dear Rating: K+ Genre: Romance Word Count: 1,796

A/N: While it’s still January, it’s still a new year. So here’s the end of this story about dancing into a new year! Thanks to everyone who has followed this series, and special thanks to @megthemighty for having old Royai on her wishlist. I couldn’t not do it.

Roy turns quickly to Riza; the sight of her is enough to answer all of his questions. Her hair is more silver than blonde now, and her face has earned wrinkles for all her trouble of working with him all these years, seeing each plan through until the end. More importantly, it is a face that has never left his life.

The years pass one after the other, a decade lapses into the next. Then, the day comes for Roy Mustang to welcome one final new year as the Führer of Amestris.

It passes like every New Year’s Eve that has come before. The streets come alive with high spirits at the stroke of midnight, the sky blooming into brilliant red and green and gold against deep black. Friends come together in an embrace, children are lifted onto their fathers’ shoulders so they could watch the fireworks over the crowd, lovers kiss. Lovers dance. The music is as it has always been; throughout Central, the same traditional song of many New Year’s Eves past echoes down every street and in every citizen’s voice. An accompaniment for memories gone by and new beginnings yet to come.

This all goes on for fifteen minutes before the Führer’s men usher him forward to deliver a message to the public. Without an introduction, the revelers fall into a reverent silence, gazing at him upon the stage at the head of the plaza. There it is for one last time, that quintessential image of Roy Mustang at the podium, sure to be armed with words that are all at once soothing, inspiring, rallying, and most of all sincere. The crowd waits in awe and melancholy.

“My dear fellow Amestrians…”

His voice has kept the verve of his youth, albeit roughened by the years gone by.

“… I am filled with many emotions as I stand here before you tonight. First, I am delighted to join you in celebration of New Year’s Day, even more so to see you with your loved ones on this joyous occasion, safe, healthy, and hopeful as we begin another year of traversing the road we have built together for our great country.”

He pauses, his next words catching in his throat. He allows himself a moment’s glance to his right where she stands at attention, the people’s beloved Lieutenant Colonel Riza Hawkeye. As always, she is quick to catch his hesitation and subtle about her response. She meets his gaze, gives a small, imperceptible nod, seeming to everyone else like she didn’t move at all. He sees it, of course, and so he offers her a smile for barely even a second before he looks out to the plaza again.

“At the same time, it is with a heavy heart that I am welcoming the new year with you as your Führer for the last time.” Even the air seems to have turned still. “These twenty years have been devoted to shaping Amestris into a country whose heart beats with its people and for its people. With your unwavering support and belief in a future that belongs to you and not to one single institution or person in power, we have made this possible, and in the spring, you will be electing your very first President as a democratic nation.”

He stops for the thunderous applause that erupts throughout the crowd. There is hollering, triumphant exclamations, fists pumped in the air and arms linked together. It lasts for a minute or two before gradually but not completely fading into silence, and he continues. “And though I long to serve you for many more years, I take comfort in the knowledge of what I leave in your hands to protect. An Amestris that stands for what is just and right, where man and woman, rich and poor, black and white may stand together. Living equally, studying equally, eating and drinking equally… and loving equally.” Another pause. “And this can only be nurtured through you, the upstanding servants that you will soon choose to lead you, and we cannot forget the Ishval Tribunal by whose hard work we shall soon truly mend our country’s wrongs.

“My deepest, sincerest thanks to you all, and a happy New Year.”

Roy makes his way home quietly two hours later, after the festivities have died down. It’s the quietest drive he has been on, and the first he’s had with Riza in a very long time. Being the Führer, he sits in the back, as was their arrangement for a time when she had just become his adjutant many years ago. From there, he watches her drive, her eyes clear with focus, her hands firm on the wheel.

“I hope I haven’t kept you from a good night’s rest,” he says.

“I’d appreciate your concern, Sir,” she replies, “if you had asked me that four decades ago.”

Their eyes meet for a moment in the rear-view mirror, sharing a knowing, laughing look. Riza turns her attention back onto the road, and Roy continues staring at her reflection long after. He pairs it with a fond smile.

“I’ll drop you off at the front steps.”

After a moment, he responds quietly, “The garden, please, Lieutenant Colonel.”

Her fingers flex on the wheel in recognition of the invitation beneath his order. Riza says nothing other than, “Of course.”

The Führer’s palace is largely surrounded by lush orchards that hide the estate from public view, but “the garden” is an open expanse of flowering shrubs over a well-manicured slope behind the palace. It offers a view of part of Central and has served as a hideaway for Roy on nights when he has been stressed about politics as well as bothered by other, more personal things. For the former, Riza has accompanied him as his confidante, an adviser, a friend. For the latter, Roy has needed only to think of her.

Alighting the car, they walk quietly into the garden, steps perfectly synchronized and the distance between them constant. Riza remains behind him, her eyes surely watching him as they always have—Roy knows exactly how her gaze feels on him, even when he isn’t returning it. He is tempted to, but he walks on, searching for a word to describe the feeling and how it relates to the shiver running through him, the warmth blooming in his chest, and then he stops in his tracks. Riza follows suit. He looks up at the view stretching up to the horizon, the city still aglow with the remnants of the night’s celebrations, and he lets out a breath of disbelief.

“I can’t believe how far we’ve come.”

The words, uttered barely under his breath, give Roy release and clarity. It’s as if it were much earlier in the night and he were more awake.

“This is all we have worked for,” he continues. “All these years… all the plans we made, the dreams we’ve had for this country… it’s what all this time has been for. All our work, all our…” His voice begins to quiver, and he sounds most like his younger self now. “… promises.”

Roy looks down, away from the view. “Is it true, Lieutenant Colonel?”

“What is?” Riza whispers.

“Have we really done all that we’ve meant to do? It’s just… it’s all too good to be true, isn’t it? Everything happened so fast, these twenty years as the Führer are all a blur. Have I done enough for our people? Will they be happy with all of it? The reforms, the tribunal, the elections, the…”

He trails off, the words sinking into him as something of a revelation. Roy turns quickly to Riza; the sight of her is enough to answer all of his questions. Her hair is more silver than blonde now, and her face has earned wrinkles for all her trouble of working with him all these years, seeing each plan through until the end. More importantly, it is a face that has never left his life. There he sees the twirling girl from Cameron, his young adjutant, the first woman he ever loved, and the most devoted Lieutenant Colonel in Amestris, his right hand, the only woman he has ever loved.

Riza looks at him with an understanding he has only ever known from her. She nods, smiling. “It’s true,” she says. “I should know. We’ve been together long enough.”

She could never lie to him, not after all this time.

“Lieutenant Colonel Hawkeye.”

“General Mustang.”

Roy steps forward, closer to her.

“Riza.” He whispers her name as though he were being careful with it.

“... Roy.”

He extends his hand to her.

“Will you dance with me?”

When she takes his hand, when they pull each other close, it feels natural, easy even without any kind of rehearsal. Roy moves as she does, following her steps and letting her follow his. Riza no longer hesitates to touch like she did in the past. It's a dance of mostly swaying and turning in place, perhaps because it's all their tired bodies can allow at the moment, or because it's all they need to make of it. The rhythm isn't any different from any of the other things they've been able to do together, anyway, like taking their places at the same table or walking side by side. They know each other in this moment just as well as they have in any other.

They dance quietly until he begins to sing the Amestris holiday song in her ear. It’s far from the rendition he first gave her all those years ago—his voice breaks off quite a bit, underscored by breaths and a rumble that wasn't there at seventeen—but the circumstances are so different that it feels like the first time once again. Then, he falters at the last note and fades back into silence, because by now he can only continue the song one other way.

The first kiss, he leaves on her hand, which he brings easily to his lips from their positions as they dance.

The second, he places on her cheek, almost like a whisper, even though there is no secret they need to keep anymore.

And the third—the third dissipates in the scant, delicate space between them, because he is overwhelmed just by being near her. All they do instead is face each other, foreheads touching, lips close but still apart. For the first time, they are physically close enough not to yearn to get closer, close enough to melt by a flame they cannot even see or touch.

Neither of them knows how long they dance or when they stop. It ends with them standing perfectly still and embracing each other under the deep blue sky between late night and dawn. They’ve always understood each other even without words, but for the first time they are quiet because there is nothing left to say, no more unkept promises—not to their country, not to each other.

Nothing, at least, except, "Happy New Year."

The words hold a new promise: a dance that will go on for the rest of their days.

[lotusthekat]

Promise

Fandom: Fullmetal Alchemist (2003)

Rating: T

Relationships: Scar & his brother

Characters: Scar, Scar’s brother; MENTIONED - Scar’s parents

Summary: "Y-You’re…” the younger sniffs. “You’re not going to leave me too, right?”

“No,”— Brother pulls him even closer —“absolutely not.”

“Do you promise?”

“I promise, in Ishbala’s name, that I will look after you the best I can.”

--

The cruelty of man, however, is far from Ishbala's reach.

*Takes place in the 2003-verse. Pre-canon.

Word count: 759

AO3

A/N: I’ve been having feelings for Scar and his brother in FMA 2003... as far as I’ve seen, they have no parents or any other relatives with them in the first anime. Then I thought, what if their parents were gone when Scar was still young?

And yeah. I made myself sad.

This is my very first time writing Scar (and his brother), so I hope this is good enough. Enjoy!

TRIGGER WARNINGS - implied (canonical) character death, racism and genocide.

--

He hates the night.

He’s never quite liked the dark, but at least Mother would sing him to sleep. At least Father would check everywhere to find bad spirits.

And then his parents were gone. They’d said they would be back home soon.

It’s been weeks.

Brother said they got lost, simple as that. But the young boy knows he’s hiding the truth.

Every night as of late, the red-eyed child cries himself to sleep in his lonely bedroom, aching for his mother’s mellow voice, his father’s protection. Wondering every minute why they left. What took them away. He whispers to Ishbala and hopes for an answer.

Tonight though, he can’t sleep at all. The night is colder than anything else, biting ice against his skin. Not even the many blankets he has grabbed with him help much. The young Ishbalan sits on his bed, pained, eyes burning with so many tears…

And finally, the boy leaves his room and searches for another.

Some nights he checks on it to make sure he’s not actually alone at home, but he never actually entered the room. He never wanted to alarm the peaceful, sleepy breaths despite his grief. But now he can’t take it anymore.

He sneaks inside the room and hesitates. Brother sleeps facing the wall, breathing in and out, in and out… the boy quietly climbs on the bed and lies down by the corner. Desperately wanting to wake his older brother up, but fearing the worst, for some reason. Brother would never hurt him… he would never leave him, right?

The confusion makes him sob again, even as he tries to swallow it, as silently as possible. But he’s very much unlucky, as Brother turns around.

“Mm… huh?” The young man says in relative alarm.

At that, the boy clings to the other. Brother doesn’t reject him like he feared. He doesn’t hold him the same way Mother did… but he soothes the younger’s hair with calmness; the solitude they are now facing.

Brother covers him with his blankets, the latter only then realizing he’s shaking.

“You couldn’t sleep?” Brother wonders.

The other shakes his head under his chin.

“It’s alright, now… it’s alright. You can stay.”

The crying boy sobs until there’s nothing more he can let go; for Brother seems to take the pain for himself to give care.

Still, the questions persist.

“Why did they leave us?”

He almost expects Brother to use the same excuse as before… and yet…

“Sometimes… there might be no answer to our questions. Not even He knows.”

“Why then?! It’s not fair, brother! I-It’s not…”

Brother gently hushes him. “I know. Oh, do I know...” he sighs.

The boy still mourns, mourns all the moments, when the sun could be seen even at night. Now there is none. There is no guiding star for him, for either sibling, in this cold place.

“Y-You’re…” the younger sniffs. “You’re not going to leave me too, right?”

“No,”— Brother pulls him even closer —“absolutely not.”

“Do you promise?”

“I promise, in Ishbala’s name, that I will look after you the best I can.”

The boy lets out a deep, relieved breath.

“Now, you can close your eyes,” Brother instructs him. “I’ll be right here.”

Even though it hurts, the young Ishbalan finally falls asleep at peace.

--

Years later, he still dreads the night.

All he has now is Ishbala by his side. Because something terrible, out of his reach, has come down to him and his people. The military. The Amestrian men, with the sinful alchemy. The same his right arm uses to destroy all around.

Scar… Truly, it is his name.

Maybe given by Amestrians themselves, yet Scar is forced to commit the same crime, to learn their path to stop them with their own power. Because Amestris will not stop if no one interferes. It does not matter what they do, if Ishbalans run and avoid conflict. Man will destroy them. Man will destroy whoever differs even from their skin and eye. Man will even go lengths to destroy families.

Alchemy, the weapon of man. Scar’s only resource.

(And what had him lose his brother.)

(His everything.)

Even now, Scar lies alone.

He looks up at the sky.

(The promise...)

(The promise was not kept. And yet it was somehow?)

(Does he hate his brother for it? For leaving? For betraying Ishbala? For saving the younger man despite everything?)

At this point, Scar knows nothing.

Nothing but that he needs to ensure justice.

(Perhaps, make Brother’s wish come true.)

[fullmetalscullyy]

the way it was - chapter 22

summary:  what if riza never went to war?  riza hawkeye has just married the man she loves. six months into their marriage, an unexpected surprise stops her from following roy to the military. a canon divergence au that explores what might have happened had riza been unable to join the military. there will be plenty of family fluff, angst, and royai.

rated: m | warnings: no archive warning apply

read on ao3

1914

but you're a king and i'm a lionheart

When Chris had invited Riza and Mia around to the bar for dinner, Riza didn’t expect her daughter to be whisked away immediately by Vanessa as soon as they set foot inside the bar. Chris approached with determination.

“We need to talk.”

Anxiety settled in Riza’s stomach. What was all this about? There was no room for argument as Chris turned on her heel and walked away, expecting Riza to follow.

Riza wondered if this had something to do with Roy. He’d suddenly called shortly after arriving at work that morning to say that he wouldn’t be home until late that night. He had some work to do, but he was sorry, and he loved them both. She didn’t think much of it, just told him to be safe and got on with her day. Then, Chris called shortly afterwards, encouraging Riza to come for dinner. While she thought it would be lovely to spend the evening with her mother-in-law, there was a tiny niggle in the back of her mind that something was happening behind the scenes.

Chris led the way through to the backroom of the bar, into her home. She led Riza into her kitchen without any kind of indication of what the topic of discussion would be, and that made the wait worse. Was this something she needed to worry about? Riza’s thoughts were interrupted by Mia’s happy squeal from somewhere in the house, followed by Vanessa’s laugh.

Uncertainty clawed at Riza’s heart. She wanted to ask what was going on but knew better. Everything Chris did was for a reason, so if she was leading Riza away from Mia then it was something their daughter shouldn’t overhear. Riza bit her tongue.

Once inside the kitchen, Chris gestured for Riza to sit.

“Roy will be working late tonight, but I’m sure you already know about that.”

“He called this morning,” Riza confirmed.

Chris nodded. “He’s going to do something tonight, and wanted you brought here as a precaution.”

“What’s he doing?” Riza asked. Her stomach tightened at the serious look on Chris’ face.

“He’s going to fake someone’s death using his flame alchemy.” There was no hesitation, she stated it as bluntly as she could.

“Oh…" Riza's heart thudded inside her chest at the revelation. "Wait.” Riza paused, something clicking inside of her mind. “Does this have anything to do with Maria Ross?”

It had been all over the papers for a few days. Apparently the soldier had killed Maes Hughes. Initially, Riza had scrutinised the photo and wondered how that woman could have taken someone else’s life. She’d been an exemplary soldier, according to the news, so why would she murder one of her own? The story didn’t quite add up for Riza, and it didn’t for Roy either.

They hadn’t spoken much about it. They didn’t get a chance really when Mia was around. However, he’d spent more time in his study in the evenings after Mia had gone to bed. Riza would pop her head in and ask if he needed anything, only to be greeted by a tired smile and the reassurance he was all right. She’d spotted Maes’ name on the papers in front of him, alongside Maria Ross', which Roy had quickly scribbled down then scored out. Riza knew he was investigating his friend’s death and was worried for him. Roy explained he couldn’t do it at work, so would spend an hour or two looking over things. Sometimes Riza offered her own input but couldn’t do much. She had a good eye for details but wasn’t in investigations. Still, she could be someone he could talk to about it all.

Chris nodded. “It does. He’s going to fake her death tonight.”

“How though?” Maria Ross was in prison. What was he up to?

“He’s staging a prison break and will “kill” her.” Chris used finger quotations to explain herself.

Riza swallowed.

“It’s all staged though, don’t worry. He has a dummy at the ready that I helped procure the ingredients for. Breda came to me with some things he needed, and I helped the operation along. Havoc will protect Ross and help get her out of the country.”

“So, why bring Mia and I here?”

“Roy asked if I could invite you for dinner, partly as a precaution but also because he probably felt guilty he wouldn’t be home tonight.”

Riza nodded, things falling into place. He had sounded regretful on the phone earlier when he said he wouldn’t be home.

“Why is us being out of the house a precaution?”

Chris shrugged. “Beats me, but I have a pretty good theory.”

“What is it?”

She regarded Riza quietly for a long moment, which only caused frustration to build.

“Chris, please. If my daughter is in some kind of danger then I deserve to know what it is.”

She eyed Riza once more before nodding. “There’s dangerous people roaming around Central right now. They each bear a matching tattoo. An Ouroboros tattoo. They’re tied to the military somehow, but we don’t know why yet.”

Ouroboros… Riza had seen that word mentioned before, years ago in an ancient history book. She was sure it had been in her father’s study. “What does the tattoo look like?” At the mention of a tattoo, her back tingled lightly as a reminder. She hadn’t discussed any form of tattoo with anyone in a long time. They weren’t popular around Amestris, so weren’t a regular topic of conversation.

“A snake eating its own tail.”

That definitely sounded familiar to Riza. She was sure she’d seen it on Roy’s desk at home, half-hidden by other pieces of paper.

“And these people pose a threat?”

Chris nodded. “We don’t know who they’re targeting, but yes, they do. Just be cautious, all right? Know that if you ever need anything, I’m just a call away as well.”

Riza sat back in her chair.

“I have no reason to believe they will contact you personally, however, just keep an eye out," Chris warned.

“I will,” she swallowed. She was still in a daze from all this new information. It was weighing on her heavily. If Roy was targeted by them, who was to say they wouldn’t use her or Mia to get to him? She shuddered at the thought.

“Roy Boy asked if I could at least fill you in on what was going on tonight, and promised he’d answer any questions you had as soon as possible,” Chris added. “He sent me a coded message earlier and then a quick call. I have the letter if you want to see it?”

Curiosity got the better of her, and Riza nodded.

As Chris left the room Riza remained in place, processing the information she’d been given tonight.

This was… big. Riza knew of his plan to get to the top and was well aware of everything that entailed now, but… Now it was real. He was taking steps here that, if found out, could get him court-martialled. Her stomach twisted. But she knew him, and she knew his team. They were smart as hell. And if Chris was on their side too, helping them along, it eased Riza’s worries a little bit.

“I also have this, if you could pass it onto him?” Chris handed her an envelope along with the piece of paper. The front was blank, giving nothing away. “More information for him.”

This was usual practice between them both. Over the years when Riza and Mia had gone to visit Chris and Roy’s sisters, messages in letters had been passed onto Riza to be delivered to Roy. Riza knew he’d been overreacting when he insisted on not getting her involved in anything. And she’d been right. What was so dangerous about picking up a handful of envelopes to hand over to her husband?

“I will.”

“I’ll get us a drink.” Chris excused herself and left Riza with Roy’s coded letter.

It was a story. There were various names on the paper, each one starting with a specific letter at the beginning. Those letters were used to spell out the words of his message. Riza didn’t bother to read the story he’d crafted. The message itself was all that held her attention at that moment.

 Jailbreak MR. Get Riza and Mia for dinner. Love both.

 She smiled at the last part, her finger stroking over the paper.

Sometimes Riza would read the story just to see how he managed to fit it all together. Riza had tried it too in her spare time, leaving little notes for him in his office at home. Then he'd started doing it as well without a word of warning. His were far cuter than hers, with a message of ‘I love you’ left all over the house. Soon, it was common practice and they’d shown Mia how to do it too. Her messages weren’t long or complex, but it was just a bit of fun for the small family.

“He’s a dramatic one,” Chris snorted. “Jailbreak,” she muttered. “I don’t know where he got that flair from.”

Riza laughed. “He used to always tell me it was from you and wondered how I couldn’t see it.”

Chris shook her head and lifted her eyes to the ceiling. “He’s a strange one, that’s for sure.”

“He certainly knows how to keep us on our toes,” Riza murmured, turning her focus back to his letter.

“He didn’t want to speak to you about it over the phone, is my guess. Too many people potentially listening in.”

“I know,” Riza reassured her. “I just hope tonight goes well for all involved.”

“That fake corpse was perfectly constructed,” Chris replied, sipping at her water. Her cigarette was absent from her lips. “And Roy, having a flair for dramatics, will make sure it’s well presented.”

Riza’s stomach turned. “Where are they taking Maria?” she asked, trying to turn the conversation away from the “corpse”.

“No idea. That was need to know only.”

Humming in agreement, Riza took a sip of her own water.

“I had another reason for bringing you here tonight, Riza.”

“Oh?”

“You’ve expressed interest in the part of becoming a part-time informant.”

She nodded. “I have.”

“Have you ever been interested in working the floor? You can absolutely say no,” Chris added, lifting her hands in front of her to placate any objections. “All you’d have to do is sit and talk to people.”

Riza cocked her head and considered it. Then grimaced. “No. The whole reason for me to come and collect the messages from you and the girls was to stop people thinking Roy was cheating on me by going out on “dates” with them. What would happen if word got out at his place of work that his wife was cheating on him?”

“A fair point, and a very good answer,” Chris chipped in. “However, I suppose I worded that incorrectly. Let me rephrase that, would you be interested in talking to people to gather information rather than simply collecting messages?”

“In what way?”

“Military wives love to gossip. They come in every Friday night. While their husbands sit in the bar, we have a space for them to catch up and basically moan about their partners for a couple of hours. It’s in the back of the bar, in that room just off to the right as you go out.”

Riza had noticed the door there but hadn’t thought much more of it. She’d never been through there.

“Your upstart Colonel husband would be a good talking point for those ladies,” Chris ventured.

“Are you asking me to gossip about my husband?” Riza frowned.

“Not at all, but you would be welcomed into their social circle openly. Roy Boy is certainly making a name for himself, especially after coming to Central, and he’s a hot topic of conversation.”

Riza wasn’t sure she liked the sound of that. “Only good things, I hope?”

“Of course. Mostly because he’s a breath of fresh air with all the old stuffy military officials that usually frequent their company.”

She still wasn’t sure she liked the sound of that. “And I assume these conversations are all innocent?”

Chris shook her head. “Riza, all those women are old enough to be Roy’s mother,” she chuckled. “They dote on him because he’s a kind kid who's friendly and polite to everyone. Always the charmer," she snorted. "Vanessa very quickly put an end to any possible… not so innocent thoughts. She went in there one Friday gushing about Roy’s beautiful wife and his adorable daughter.”

She laughed when Riza’s cheeks turned pink at the compliment, and Riza coughed to hide it.

“I’m not jealous,” Riza assured Chris. “I just don’t want pointless gossip to ruin his reputation.”

“If anything, they love your little family even more now. They ate it up. It’s the truth, of course, but they really do say nothing but good things, I promise. The girls covering the party make sure of it.” Chris sat back in her chair. “It was just an idea,” she relented. “Some other way for you to help. Military wives on a Friday night can be very animated, and I thought you stopping by would get them to open up even more. It’s completely up to yourself," she relented. "It can be a onetime thing or a regular occurrence. It was just something to try."

“I’ll consider it,” Riza stated carefully. She’d need to weigh her options and if she could find someone to look after Mia if Roy was working.

“That’s all I ask. Roy told me a while back you were interested in being an informant, and the idea occurred to me after that last Friday night.”

“What happened last Friday night?”

“Lots more oohing and ahing over your perfect family,” she smirked. “Honestly, they eat it up Riza. You should come and see it for yourself someday.”

“Are you suggesting we’re not perfect,” Riza quipped, smiling over the rim of her glass.

“No one is perfect,” Chris replied with her own smirk. “But they are correct. You are a beautiful woman and Mia is extremely adorable.”

Chris guffawed while Riza mumbled her thanks at another compliment from her. She was sure Chris only did it because she got a kick out of it.

“Every word of that is the truth,” Chris stated assuredly. “Come on, let’s go and see what Mia’s up to. See if she’s tired out Vanessa yet,” she chuckled.

*          *          *

Mia was half asleep as she walked up the stairs to her bedroom. The offer to remain at Chris’ for the night was there, but Mia had school tomorrow morning so it would be easier for Riza to just take her home. Her mother-in-law had also offered Roxanne’s protection. While Riza appreciated it and welcomed the determined and eager look on Roxanne’s face, she politely declined the offer.

Riza had only been in bed for fifteen minutes or so before she heard the front door opening. Her body tensed in its half-asleep state, but relaxed when she heard Roy sigh from downstairs. Lights were turned off as he climbed the stairs. With heavy footsteps, he reached the top of the stairs but stopped outside Mia’s bedroom door. Riza heard it creak open as he checked in on her. The house turned silent as he did so.

Their bedroom door opened and Riza looked up. Like his footfalls suggested, he looked exhausted, but he still offered her a smile.

“Hi,” he greeted. Roy’s voice sounded a little hoarse as he spoke, discarding his military jacket over the back of the armchair on his side of the bed.

“Hey,” she smiled. “How did it go?”

“Everything went well. The plan went off without a hitch.”

Roy kicked his trousers off and placed it over his jacket on the chair. His shirt however was discarded into a pile on the floor, so he remained in only his boxers. Climbing into bed, Roy wrapped his arms around Riza tightly, giving her a squeeze. A kiss was pressed to her forehead and Riza sighed into it, her body relaxing now she knew that he was home.

“Maria is safe?”

Roy nodded. “On her way to Xerxes.”

“Xerxes? That’s quite a distance,” she commented, racking her brain to try and think how far through the desert that was.

“We’ve determined that whoever is behind it all is working throughout Amestris,” Roy yawned. “I wanted to be safe. I have some associates from Xing, and they’ll escort her there.”

“And are you okay?”

“Yeah,” he mumbled tiredly.

“Chris told me what you had to do with the… corpse.” Riza grimaced. Her tired mind couldn’t think of a better or more tactful way to word it.

“It was fine. I saved someone’s life tonight, that’s what matters,” he yawned again, but his expression quickly turned pained. “I did become the villain for doing it though.”

“How come?”

“Edward always seems to be in the wrong place at the right time,” he mumbled. “He saw me ‘killing’ Ross. I had no idea who was tailing him or if he was compromised so I had to go with the murder story.”

“I’m sorry, Roy.”

“It’s all right,” he sighed. “But thank you. The kid hates me for sure now,” Roy chuckled. “But he’ll be on his way to Xerxes soon enough too so he can find out the truth.” His eyelids fluttered closed.

Riza looked up as his eyelashes splayed across his cheeks and his face finally relaxed. The day’s events had been weighing on him, and she was loath to take up any more of his sleeping time.

“Get some rest, Roy,” she breathed, pressing a kiss to his lips.

He grunted softly in response, deepening the kiss for a moment. “Just what I needed to feel better,” he grinned. It was that dopey smile that he only showed when he was tired, and Riza loved it. “Plus, I’ll need it. Tomorrow will be another long day.” Then, she felt him pause. “There’s… something coming up in a few days. I anticipate we’ll need to go after one of the people with the Ouroboros tattoo. Can you go to my mother’s that night?”

“Is this something I should be concerned about?”

Roy shook his head. “No. And I mean it,” he added earnestly. “I really don’t anticipate anything like that coming your way, however, it would give me peace of mind to know you’re all together.”

“You know I can handle myself,” she quipped lightly.

“I don’t doubt it for a second,” he replied, pressing a kiss to her forehead again. “But until I know exactly what I’m dealing with and how to handle it, it would let me breathe easier if I knew my pregnant wife and my daughter were under my mother’s protection. She has a whole labyrinth of tunnels underneath her bar. If the wrong people come knocking then you can hide under there and I’ll come when it’s safe.”

“The wrong people, huh?”

He nodded. “The Ouroboros gang,” he drawled. “Keep an eye out for anyone with that tattoo by the way. I have a picture of it in my office. I’ll show you it tomorrow.”

“Don’t worry, your mother already explained it to me.”

His eyelids drifted closed again and Riza smiled. She lifted a hand to caress his face lightly with her fingers. He flinched in fright but turned his head to press a kiss to her palm.

“Get some sleep,” she prompted.

“You said that before then distracted me,” he grumbled.

“I can take that kiss back,” she joked, moving out of his hold. This caused him to latch onto her torso even tighter.

“Please don’t,” he begged. “I’m sorry,” he gushed dramatically.

“Go to sleep, Roy. I love you.”

He hummed with a smile. “Love you too.”

[problems-of-immortality]

Greed the Avaricious, Homunculus

GREED - POST-BROTHERHOOD VERSE

V:MONSTER WITH A PULSE

Height: 5'8 

Eyes & Hair: Wine Red, Black 

Age: Over 200

Race: Human-based Homunculus

Canon Character: Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood

DEFINING TRAITS

HEDONISTIC

POSSESSIVE

EXTRAVAGANT

SARCASTIC

IRREVERENT

PASSIONATE

LOYAL

CONFIDENT

CHARISMATIC

FORTHRIGHT

The Greed I write is actually separated from Ling, and post-Brotherhood. Thanks to the Elrics and their studies involving the alchemy and alkahestry of various countries in the East and West, he now has a body to call his own, and he retains his shield, his unnatural features and the Ouroborus tattoo, but his regeneration is slow and has it’s limits, as he is dangerously close to human after his resurrection. 

In my older accounts he was single ship, but now I’m open to ships of varying kinds, as long as the chemistry’s right and you warn me first. He’s canon in personality, with a bit of a personal twist. 

 Greed, as his name implies, is filled with and motivated by his avarice. It could be said that the reason why he wanted all that life has to offer was because Greed didn’t knew exactly what he wanted, which fuels his desire to have it all. He is the only homunculus to defy Father, and the only one to openly taunt him. He has an easygoing charismatic arrogant personality and tends to do what he wants. He is also somewhat narcissistic, claiming part of the reason he doesn’t use his ultimate shield to his fullest extent is because it masks his attractive face. He claims to not hurt women and (to an extent children). In addition, he states he never lies. While he normally possesses a calm, confident nature, when angered he can be rather impulsive and ready to go into a fight with those he feels have wronged him but shows some capacity for adapting to his fights and is willing to protect his allies. On a side note, he seems very charismatic and has shown good leadership skills, first with his chimera friends and later with Edward, Darius, and Heinkel, which he attributes as to how he earns and deserve their loyalty in the first place. In addition, while he seems to see humans as weak and powerless, he never had sociopathic tendencies or even hatred towards humans the way the other homunculi were. In the end, he even grows to respect their power and tenacity.

Since his resurrection he mostly wanders from place to place, as now he has no roots to settle into with Amestris having moved on from the Promised Day, and he figures that Ling has his hands full in far-off Xing.

Sexuality: Demiromantic Pansexual

SUBVERSE - ALL I EVER WANTED

V: ALL I EVER WANTED

Greed finally goes to Xing, about two years after his resurrection and a year or so after the events of the Promised Day. While Ling was clearly pissed at him for lying and dying, he was very happy to see Greed again. And when Greed realized how much the kid had on his plate, he couldn’t very well leave again. While he stays in Xing, he comes to realize he’s way over his head when it comes to being human and what that means.

GREED THE AVARICIOUS- FULL CIRCLE AU



V: FULL CIRCLE

Height: 6'2

Eyes & Hair: Violet, Black.

Age: 200+

Race: Homunculus

What if Ling had come to Amestris a few months earlier and got of the train just a little bit further south? An AU with ALMOSTEMPEROR in which this happens- and in exchange for information regarding the Philosopher’s Stone, Ling joins the Devil’s Nest! First Greed icon credit goes to Almostemperor!

Sexuality: Demiromantic Pansexual

GREELIN “GREED” KINTSUGI - MODERN/REINCARNATION AU

V: Hey, It’s You 

Height: 5'8 

Eyes & Hair: Wine Red, Black and short.

Age: 27

A tattoo of an ouroboros in an infinity sign is wrapped around his left arm. He’s the same height as Ling, but his shoulders are broader.

Greed grew up the third oldest child of a crime family. It’s been expected of him to work within the family business, and he has a love/hate relationship with the reputation his family name gives him. In reality, he’s got no interest in what his family does and dreams of one day opening a bar/nightclub. For now, he just works as a simple bartender, lives in a cluttered apartment, and he’s estranged from his family to some extent. It doesn’t stop them from dropping into his life and harassing him, though. All his life, he’s had some sort of mental connection with a man he’s never met. They share pain sometimes, and dreams, and all this time, Greed’s been raised to avoid the call of that connection- until that man finds him. 

[scentedbygunpowder]

Moms Made Fullmetal Week, 2019 Day 2: Birth/Death/Everything Changes Word Count: 2,241 Author: Katie/Ally (scentedbygunpowder) Rating: PG Characters: Gracia Hughes. Minor/Mentions: Elysia Hughes, Maes Hughes, Alex Armstrong, Roy Mustang, Riza Hawkeye, The Elric Brothers Summary: Birth, death, changes in life, Gracia has been through them all, and she knows the pain that they bring with them. But just because something is painful doesn’t mean it’s bad, and it doesn’t mean that you can’t keep going. She will always push forward for the sake of her daughter.

~*~

Birth/Death/Everything Changes

Life was such a precious thing. It was such a wonderfully, beautifully, precious thing. It started through pain, but then again Gracia wasn’t sure of anything worthwhile that didn’t involve some pain when it came time to achieve it. The same was true of life. She held onto Maes’s hand, gripping it hard as she bore down and pushed, a yell working its way out of her. Maes didn’t complain once, just kept saying encouraging things to her, such as telling her how beautiful she was, how strong, how wonderful, how perfect. Even when she threatened him within an inch of his life, he didn’t stop encouraging her.

Her labor had been long and hard, her water breaking early that morning and it being well into the night by now. Her contractions had been intense and the pain was more then she had imagined it would be. She was certain that she would not want anything touching her for a good long while, and if Maes even thought about—well. It wasn’t happening for a long time. She would need to heal and feel like everything was back like it was supposed to be.

“We’re almost there, Mrs. Hughes. Your baby is crowning. Just a little more. Big pushes for the head and shoulders, come on now you can do this! Push!”

Gracia let out another yell as she did what the doctor said, hearing Maes encourage her as she did. She felt something almost pop in a way, like a partial relief of pressure, but the doctor was encouraging her to push again, and she did, feeling something else come loose, and then something else, and then, finally, the pressure was gone and she was collapsing back into the bed from where she had arched up, breathing hard.

“Gracia…” Maes breathed out, his eyes glued not on her anymore but on what the doctor was holding.

“Congratulations,” the doctor said with a smile. “You have a daughter. Would you like to come cut the cord, Dad?”

Maes squeezed her hand before he practically scampered over there, glee and love in his eyes as he did this first act for their daughter. Gracia watched for a moment, watched as the nurses took their baby to get cleaned up, and Maes followed. She grimaced as the beginnings of afterbirth hit her, and the doctor prepared for that, but she didn’t fault Maes for staying with their daughter. After all, he hadn’t been able to feel her like she had. She’d let him have this moment.

The afterbirth, mercifully, didn’t take long and the nurses were quick to have her cleaned up and settled as comfortably as she was going to get at the moment. Maes came over with their daughter, a new love shinning in his eyes brighter than anything she had ever seen before, even for her. Gracia smiled. That was exactly how she wanted it.

“Gracia, look,” his voice was hushed as he stared down at the baby in the mass of pink blanket. “Look how perfect she is.”

Gracia held out her arms, he passed their baby to her, and she held their daughter in her arms for the first time. The connection was instantaneous. Her little fuzz of hair, her big, sleepy looking eyes, her upturned noise, pursed lips, perfect little fingers and toes—she was perfect, and Gracia knew instantly that she would do anything she could to protect and care for her daughter.

“Welcome to the world,” she said softly, her voice shaking, and the little ones eyes moved towards her, as if recognizing her voice. “Maes, she’s perfect.”

“She sure is,” he said, sitting on the edge of her bed and managing to get an arm around her. “Our little girl. Our little Elysia.”

“We’ll give her everything,” Gracia said.

“Everything,” Maes agreed.

“We’ll keep her safe and happy and she’ll be so loved.” Gracia continued.

“She’ll be loved by everyone,” Maes said.

“Our precious little daughter.”

Maes leaned over and kissed Gracia on the head as Elysia yawned and their world narrowed down to the three of them. “We’ll give her the world.”

And Gracia knew he was right. They would both love her and protect her. They would make sure she grew up happy and healthy and with her parents standing strong beside her.

~*~

Life was such a precious thing. It was such a wonderfully, beautifully, precious thing. It started through pain, and it ended through pain. Gracia wasn’t sure of anything worthwhile that didn’t involve some pain. The same was true of life. When you loved, when you cared, you risked pain. She held onto Elysia’s hand, gripping it firmly as she tried not to break down and pushed a yell that wanted to work its way out of her down. Elysia didn’t complain about how hard Gracia was holding her hand, but she was confused and Gracia didn’t know how to explain it to the little girl. A part of her had hoped that she would remain quiet throughout the service, but Elysia had never been one to be quiet, or to keep her questions to herself.

She was so much like Maes in that.

Finally Gracia couldn’t hold it in anymore, and she bent to hold her daughter, using that to cover the way she wanted to collapse. Elysia was crying for her father, and Gracia was crying for both of them and herself. The little girl finally buried herself in her mother’s hold, and Gracia held her tightly as the three-year-old sobbed for her father, for the father she loved so dearly, her playmate, her best friend. She was still crying when they left the gravesite, Major Armstrong being kind enough to insist on driving them home. Elysia finally fell asleep on the way home, having cried herself to sleep in her mother’s arms. The Major stayed only long enough to make Gracia a cup of tea, and to make sure that she was alright. Gracia thanked him with a smile, and saw him out. Only then, finally alone, did she break down as she had been wanting to do all day.

Maes. Maes. The love of her life. He was gone. And all she had to comfort her were her tears that now flowed down her face, and the sobs that forced themselves from her body. She didn’t even make it back to sitting on the couch, instead sitting in the space between the couch and the coffee table, a throw pillow in her arms. It gave some strange sense of security, like when she was a child and would lay under tables to read, or hid under her desk in her room when she was upset. She held onto the pillow and sobbed into it, trying to stifle her tears as so not to wake Elysia.

“Why? Maes, why?” She sobbed out. “What was so important that you had to leave us? What did you do? What did you learn? Why did you have to go?”

She didn’t even know why he had been killed—no one did yet—so she didn’t even know if it was for a good reason or not. All she knew was that he wasn’t here with her. He wasn’t here with her and Elysia.

“You promised! You said we’d give her the world! I can’t give her the world on my own, Maes, because you and her were my world! I gave you to her and now you’re gone! How can I give her the world when you’re gone now?”

She shook as she cried, curling into herself, her head burying itself in the pillow she held in her arms. Her grief was almost over-powering. The only thing that held it back from over taking her was a small girl that was lying asleep upstairs.

“I’ll be happy every day if I have to. Even if it means that I have to pretend, Gracia, I’ll be happy for you every day. For you and Elysia.”

Gracia jerked her head upright with a slight gasp as Maes’s words came into her mind. He had told her those after he had been a victim of some particularly bad nightmares after Elysia’s birth. He had seen so much, but he was willing to live on, push, and be happy for his family.

“I’m not as strong as you, Maes,” she whispered out as her face crumpled again, but she knew what his answer would be.

“Nonsense! I married the strongest, bravest, most beautiful woman in all of Amestris! Maybe we don’t face things exactly the same way, but that doesn’t mean you aren’t strong, Gracia. It just means your strength shows in different ways.”

She trembled again, clutching the pillow to her as she curled up around it, trying to wrap her heart and mind around a decision that she knew she had to come to in her mind.

“I’ll be happy, Maes. Even if I have to pretend. I’ll do my best to be happy for Elysia. And I’ll never let her forget you.”

~*~

Life was such a precious thing. It was such a wonderfully, beautifully, precious thing. It started through pain, ended through pain, and pain was how it changed. Gracia wasn’t sure of anything worthwhile that didn’t involve some pain. The same was true of life. Sometimes the pain was just the pain of a change you weren’t ready for, even if you should be. She held her hands together, gripping them firmly as she allowed a few tears to come to her eyes and pushed down the desire to declare once again just how beautiful this was. She tried not to grip her hands too tightly, thankful that the gloves she had on would prevent any of that from showing on her hands. Everything had changed, and it had changed over and over again.

The plot her husband had died trying to reveal had been discovered, and it had been ended. Her husband’s murder had been killed. The government had been overthrown and replaced with one that had more checks and balances, and more protections to limit its power so nothing like that could ever happen again. The Elric boys had gotten their bodies back and moved on with their lives, traveling and learning, and now with wives and children of their own. Her husband’s best friend had finally come to peace with many things, had pushed for the dreams both he and Maes had talked about. Ishval was a restored country, and there was much peace with the nations that surrounded Amestris now. He had become Fuhrer and had changed even more things, even eventually marrying his adjunct and the woman everyone knew he loved, and he and Riza even had kids of their own.

The changes that had swept across the country had been immense, although Gracia hadn’t been involved in most of that. She had heard it second or third hand, and was often on the sidelines of things. She worked hard to raise Elysia by herself, although she had plenty of help with the number of people that liked to drop by and check on them and talk to them. Elysia had only a few dim memories of her father, but she had enough stories that she knew what he was like. Through it all, Gracia had done her best to stay firm and steady for Elysia, and Elysia and her had been happy together. But Gracia knew enough to know that everything changes in life, and although it’s often painful, that didn’t mean it was bad.

Just like this change, and, although it made her joyful, it made her heart hurt in a myriad of ways.

The music played, the people stood, and with Roy Mustang, the Fuhrer himself, walking her down the aisle, Elysia came walking, resplendent in her wedding dress and with eyes only for her soon-to-be husband. Gracia watched, made eye contact with Roy, and saw the same mix of joy and hurt in his eyes that she felt. In fact, as she watched the service go on, and the reception afterwards, she saw it in many people’s eyes. They were overjoyed for Elysia and her husband, but they couldn’t help but think that Maes should have been here.

He would have loved all the changes that had happened, Gracia couldn’t help but think, and at her getting sentimental over this, he would have been the first to tell her that everything changes, but it’s okay, as long as we keep moving forward. And so Gracia took the change of pain, acknowledged it, and then set it aside to be happy for her daughter as she moved forward into this change.

~*~

Life was such a precious thing. It was such a wonderfully, beautifully, precious thing. It came through pain, it ended through pain, and it changed through pain. Gracia knew that sometimes the pain was a good pain, sometimes the pain was a bad pain, and sometimes the pain was simply the pain of change. But everything that was worthwhile had pain attached to it: Birth, death, change. Gracia Hughes had been through all of them and weathered them for the sake of her daughter.  She would be through them yet again at some point for her daughter. But that was alright. Because this wonderful, beautiful, precious life was worth all the varied kinds of pain it brought.

[lessonsfrommadamexmas]

30 from the prompt list with Riza and Roy

Thank you! For prompt 30 - just remember, if we get in trouble, you’re deaf and I don’t speak English. 

Jesus Christ, this turned out huge! 2k words alert. I hope it’s not boring. I changed English to Amestrian, ‘cause, you know, not sure what language Amestrian people speak but probably not English. ;) 

- - - -

As a state located next to the desert, the East had the hottest summer in Amestris. The days could often be uncomfortable while the nights were pleasant, with cooler temperatures and occasional rain. Riza didn’t like summer because she had to face a long walk to school in the morning and return when the sun was up high. Today, however, the weather was not unbearable, and the girl was surprised by her father’s apprentice waiting for her after class. 

Mr. Mustang had started his alchemy lessons a couple of months ago, and so far he’s only spent the weekends in her house. It was an initial test her father required to see how a student would adapt. However, it seemed that her father’s interest in the boy was growing, for this time Mr. Mustang came to spend the week. Considering that the sixteen-year-old was always in the house and constantly studying, and considering that he had only been outside when he followed her to the lake nearby and the grocery store, she didn’t expect him to pick her up in school by himself. Even if the path leading there was a straight line. 

When asked, the boy said his master suggested he went out to enjoy the day and taught him the way. Riza concluded her father had also noticed how energetic the boy was, and how a place dull and quiet like theirs didn’t offer a city boy enough stimulus. 

— Hey, have you been to that cascade somewhere close to your home? Maybe a mile away  — he asked when they deviated from a dense tree standing in the way.

 She tried unsuccessfully to decipher what he was talking about. 

— There’s nothing like that on our way home. Besides, we’re already about a mile away. 

 — Then we must be close! — he replied, scanning his surroundings. — It may not be an exact mile, and it’s not literally on our way, it’s in the forest. But I saw it, I’ll show you. 

 — Okay, but what about it?

 — I’ve never been to one. 

 — Neither have I — she realized. 

 — You haven’t? But it’s right there! — His frown showed disbelief. 

 — I’ve been to the stream, it’s close to school, so I think the cascade you’re talking about may come from it. However, that would be in Mr. Swanson’s area... — she concluded. 

 — Mr. Swanson? Does everybody in this town have an animal in their names? 

 Riza stared in deep thought into nothingness for a second.

 — The Franklins don’t.

 — We should go take a look, what do you say? — he suggested excitedly.

 — Don’t you get it? We’re not allowed to trespass. 

— Why? 

 — It’s a private property. Mr. Swanson is an evil man. He will surely call the police on us. 

 — An evil man? — he smirked, clearly mocking her. 

 — I swear he is! I heard he controls two dogs that could tear a person apart. — she insisted nervously. 

 — He wouldn’t kill two kids, would him? I thought water bodies were nature’s property. — Mr. Mustang sighed. — C’mmon, I’m sure he won’t coincidentally find us if we just stay for a while. He won’t even know. But if we get in trouble, just remember, you’re deaf, and I don’t speak Amestrian. 

 She giggled. 

 — You kind of look like you could be a foreigner. 

 — My mother was a Xingese princess.

 — Really? 

 — No! — he laughed. — Not quite. Come on!

 There were still several things she didn’t know about the alchemy student. This was the first time they were spending actual time together, instead of the brief exchanges of word they often had and a few attempts to talk coming from the boy. Riza wasn’t good at conversation, so she always ruined it with her short replies. On the other hand, Mr. Mustang seemed to have a natural ability to draw people in, like someone who was willing to befriend everyone he met, even an aloof kid like her. 

 She wasn’t supposed to trust him so fast, but she already did. Her father trusted him enough to leave them alone, and even if there was any doubt left in her, she knew she had the upper hand. That was her town and he had proven to be a dumb city boy. Dumb and curious enough to reach places she had never considered before. Riza wanted to try that, too. And to be his friend. 

 Riza knew her town very well. Like the palm of her hand, she would say. She walked a few miles everyday to school and back ever since she was a little kid. Her mother and father homeschooled her until six, but her mother always said that it was important for her to get out there and make friends. Once the woman passed, her father no longer had the energy to teach her, so he sent her to school. 

 Thus, the girl knew every path and most properties located on her surroundings. It was often that she strained from her path to explore, aware that it didn’t make a difference to her dad whether she arrived half or a full hour later than usual. Yet, she had never crossed a private property. She had never tried to see up close the ducklings following their mothers across the lakes or the tree houses behind the fences. Nor Mr. Swanson’s cascade.  

 Roy crossed the fence but waited for her to lead the way. It seemed he recognized he could learn something from her. They walked for a few minutes, keeping the cascade in sight until it was fully visible. 

 — It surprises me that you’re worried about coming here. I mean, you’re twelve and you walk miles by yourself to go to school. Isn’t that dangerous? — he asked, as if reading her mind.

 — That’s different from doing prohibited stuff. Besides, I have my slingshot to protect myself. — she said confidently. 

 The cascade was only about 25 feet tall, but gorgeous. Several rocks created a stairway, challenging the water to flow down aggressively before it found peace once more in shallow ground and continued its journey. On the margins, the trees all branched towards the translucent surface, like they bowed humbly to their provider. The sultry scent was amplified in that spot, but the streams added freshness to the mix. That might be Riza’s favorite smell.

 — I thought this remote place would be so boring, but I guess I was wrong. 

 He seemed amazed. 

 — Nature can never be boring, Mr. Mustang. Not when you see it from an insider’s point-of-view. 

 — Right… One is all…

 The girl could barely hear his whisper or see the realization on his face, as she took advantage of his distraction to kneel down and splash water on him. 

 — What are you doing? — he shouted annoyed before a grin appeared in his mouth. — I’ll get you! 

 — I’m not afraid of water! — she shouted, crossing the stream to the other side, feeling the water on her ankles. 

 To her surprise, he followed behind without a blink, so she continued to follow a trail in the woods. 

 Nevertheless, she didn’t go far. Old man Swanson was at a distance, with both his dogs by his side. The man’s eyebrows dug their way down his long nose and his sharp mouth curved in contempt.

 — What are you two troublemakers doing here? — he shouted as soon as he spotted them. — I’ll call the police on you and don’t think you’re gonna get off easy just because you’re kids! 

 Riza waved her arms fearfully and started to move her hands in very specific ways, mixing her poor knowledge of sign language with random shapes. She wondered if the boy was willing to play the game he had proposed, because she was about to put up with the best act of her life. 

 Her answer came the next second, as he started to speak in a language that might be Xingese after all:

 — I… love you? — She had no idea what meaning his words carried, but he made them sound confused and desperate. — I love you so much! 

 — What the hell kinda language is that?! GET OUT OF HERE! OUT!

 They were counting on that to disarm the man and buy some time, but it didn’t last long. Mr. Swanson was taking none of it. Instead, he sent both his dogs in their direction. Was he truly willing to attack, or only to scary them? Riza had no time to wait and see. She ran without looking back. Swiftly, the girl tried to put as much distance between herself and that furious dog, she kept running with a grin from ear to ear, feeling more rebellious than she had ever been. 

 Until the only stomps against the dirt came from her own feet. 

 Caught up in the moment and feeling the adrenaline in her veins, it took her too long to realize Mr. Mustang wasn’t following her anymore. 

 — Mr. Mustang? — she called, looking around in all directions, all of them, even up in the trees, for a sign of him. — Not funny. 

 The whistle of leaves caressed by the afternoon breeze was the only response she got. She could spot the fence a few feet ahead of her. The boy had long legs. He was probably there already, awaiting and playing a prank on her. 

 — Mr. Mustang! — she shouted as loud as she could, running back to the road and hoping he could still hear her bustle. — Mr. Mustang, I’m here! 

 Not a sight of him.

 Riza wondered if he had run in the opposite direction, or if the old man had caught him. The second option was starting to feel inviting. Roy knew nothing about the country, he wouldn’t be fine by himself in a forest.

 She stopped on the road and waited for several minutes, attentive to every move, shouting his name every other time. 

 The girl heard the hiss of boots against grass coming from the curve on the road. She turned her head to the right and called for her father’s apprentice once again, unable to wait. 

 — Mr. Mustang! Finally, you…

 It wasn’t him, however. A man appeared with a curious look on his face, apparently searching for the source of the unexpected call. He was tall and ginger, and his sharp eyebrows gave him a menacing look. The only family of gingers she knew around were the Haddocks, and he wasn’t one of them. Although that path would lead to their house.  

 — What is a little girl doing all by herself in the middle of the road? Are you lost? 

 He didn’t seem malicious, the girl thought, but she wasn’t allowed to trust strangers in any scenario. Thus, Riza grabbed her slingshot and slipped one hand into her pocket in search for the pebbles she kept there. 

 — Just waiting for my friend. We’re going to hunt some birds, you know? — she said, nonchalantly pointing her weapon at the man’s lower body. 

 — Hey, careful where you point that — he replied through a nervous laughter. — I plan to have more kids one day. But I wouldn’t want my girls alone in a desert place like this, so watch out.  

 — I am, sir — she said, still with her weapon in hand.

 He waved and walked away. He seemed like a nice guy, after all, and she urged to ask him for help. On the other hand, she had already found herself enough problems for a day and didn’t plan to disobey her father any further. Besides, if the man was a visitor, he would be as helpful as going back home and telling her father everything. 

 Roy Mustang, if you’re making a fool of me, I’ll kill you. 

 It was decided, she would return. There wasn’t much she could do in the moment, but more importantly, there was absolutely no way he wouldn’t find his way back to the cascade. Even if he was dumb enough to run the opposite direction, it couldn’t be so hard to come across the stream again. And her house was only half a mile away. 

 There was also a chance Mr. Swanson caught him but what was the worst that could happen? His dogs eat him alive? For now, she would ignore that possibility. The old man would also be in trouble if he killed a kid. Instead, he would likely call the police, which was probably deserved, since Mr. Mustang coerced her to invade a private property. 

 Yes, no mercy for him. As Riza’s footsteps hurried, raising dust on the midday hot air, she thought of the smug look of someone who shouldn’t be underestimated the boy would be wearing when she opened the door. She plotted her revenge. She could slap the smirk out of his face, or she could take him to the lake someday and throw him in there, considering he couldn’t swim. 

 Her mind didn’t have time to reach grimmer depths before she reached the old place she called home. 

 — Dad, is Mr. Mustang with you? — the daughter shouted eagerly before she looked into the room. 

 - - - - 

Humm, what about I just leave it hanging like that? I never write cliffhangers, so this time I decided to give it a try, leave it to the reader’s imagination to decide if this would have a humorous or angsty outcome. Do I know what happens next? Yes. Am I gonna write it? I won’t make promises. 

[weirdoldmanhoho]

Hey, happy fma day! Could you please do a prompt or like headcanons ideas of what would have happened if Ed and Al and the homonculi were siblings/cousins? (whichever inspires you more) it would be wonderful and funny, sure as hell

Happy FMA day! OMG yes this is my favorite ridiculous, silly au. Prepare for some ridiculousness.

Okay, so Father shows up randomly at the Elric (Hohenheim?) house a couple years into Hoho living there and is just like “hello, my dearest, oldest friend, so good to see you.” (Hoho is like, yeah, I’ve been rethinking our relationship ever since you literally committed genocide in front of me.)

Father tells Hoho he’s turned over a new leaf. No really, he says, no more murder. He’s content to live out the rest of his life with the one Philosopher Stone he already made and definitely has no plans whatsoever to make another one – what? How could his dearest, oldest friend – who he NAMED and cared for before anyone and helped gain him his freedom – doubt him? What is he talking about that the map of Amestris looks suspicious? Does he really think he could control how an entire country was built? His oldest, dearest friend (“seriously, stop calling me that”) has too high of expectations for him.

Anyways, Father says he showed up because he ended up with 7 kids somehow (“totally an accident. Just happened.” “…uh-huh.”) and he has absolutely no idea how to handle them and they’re all driving him absolutely crazy, and he heard that Hoho has two boys of his own (congrats, by the way, didn’t know you had it in you, your wife is lovely, good job) and maybe he’s managed to figure out this whole fatherhood thing better than he has, so can he bring the family and stay for a while? Just a bit?

And because Hoho is ultimately a sympathetic sap, he says yes. (Trisha literally might kill him. She won’t talk to him for two days. She threatens to take Ed and Al and run away. “This might be good for him, Trisha. He might actually learn to be better and care for people if he lives around humans for a while.” “If any one of his ‘children’ touch our children, I WILL find out how to kill an immortal and after I’m finished with them, I’m coming after you.” “I love you so much.”)

So the family moves in. Ed and Al meet their “cousins”. The homunculi meet the Elrics under strict orders not to hurt them. It goes about as well as you can expect.

Envy really likes screwing with Ed and Al. Their favorite hobby is transforming into one of them and trying to get in as much trouble as possible (pulling Winry’s hair, throwing things at Den, hitting the other real Elric brother, etc.) Jokes on them, though, because Trisha has gotten REALLY good at figuring out when it’s Envy in disguise and just happens to “accidentally” hit them with things. Like, she “accidentally” trips when Envy is in the kitchen as Ed and drops a metal pot on their head. (“Oh no! Edward, honey, I’m so sorry. I didn’t see you there!” She definitely did. She definitely aimed for the head on purpose.)

(In secret, all the Elric/Hohenheims have come up with tells to let each other know they’re not Envy. They might be putting up with them living here, but damn it all if Trisha is just going to passively let them torment her family.

Greed and Envy hate each other, so Greed teams up with the Elrics to help harass his sibling, and ends up actually becoming a big brother figure to them. And somehow, damn it all, he’ll deny it until his dying breath, he’s actually grown a little fond of the tikes. He lets Ed try on his ugly fur vest once. He puts on the invincible shield and lets them hit him with things (look just because he actually tries to play with the kids doesn’t mean he knows anything about appropriate games for human children. Envy and Lust and him hit each other all the time – and usually with a lot more blood and death involved – surely that’s fun for his little “cousins” right?)

Trisha walks outside once and sees her sons just beating on Greed with any weapon they can find and just…walks away. She doesn’t even care anymore. As long as it’s her sons beating one of the homunculi and not the other way around, she’s not going to stop it. She considers that this might be teaching her children bad lessons for the future – such as its okay to just beat people with sticks – but considering it’s also teaching them it’s okay to beat up homunculi, she thinks the pros outweigh the cons.

Lust tries to act like she’s above everything, but she usually gets dragged into arguments. She just kind of randomly flip-flops between helping Envy screw with the kids and teaming up with Greed to defend them like a guard dog, with no apparent rhyme or reason to which she’s going to do on any given day. Ed and Al are both terrified and slightly in awe of her. It’s pretty much exactly how Envy and Greed feel too.

One of their “cousins” looks suspiciously a lot like the former Furher of Amestris (who randomly disappeared a couple months ago, stating “family emergency” before vanishing). Wrath wears a whole bunch of ridiculous disguises every time he takes the boys into town. I’m talking like fake moustache over his real moustache and sunglasses. Really ridiculous hats. Hawaiian shirts. A fake nose once. (“This is just sad,” Envy tells him. “I’ve seen humans disguise themselves better than this.” “I’m not taking advice from someone who willingly walks around looking like that.” Envy has to be held back from trying to maul Wrath by Lust, because Envy has already lost FIVE LIVES since living here – one of them might have been from Trisha, but she won’t confirm or deny anything and only cackles quietly to herself when she looks at Envy sometimes – and if they keep it up they’re going to actually die FOR REAL by next year. “DO YOU THINK PHILOSOPHER’S STONES GROW ON TREES?” Father booms, then goes immediately to Hoho and is like, “That was the right phrase, right? I also tried grounding like you suggested.” “You’ll get this fatherhood thing in no time. Also, you can’t end the grounding no matter how sad they look. That’s what Trisha says.”)

Side note: Mrs. Bradley definitely moves in with them too and now she knows exactly what her husband and son are and still loves them just as much. Pride is confused and slightly mortified, but also touched – he’ll never admit it. Wrath just really loves this human woman he chose. He and Hoho trade stories about their adventures wooing strong-willed, slightly scary mortal women. They get drunk together once and cry into the night about how wonderful their wives are and the fact that their children are growing up before their eyes – “I don’t grow, Wrath, what are you talking about?” “My son sounds so grown up!” Both men sob harder.

Trisha and Mrs. Bradley become fast friends. They run a So-You-Married-an-Immortal support group. Currently they’re the only members. Meetings basically consist of them exchanging stories of the weirdest things they’ve ever seen their husbands do.

Pride becomes weirdly protective of the baby Elrics. Mostly because he believes Father wants to keep them safe and he’s the most loyal devoted son who will do anything Father wants, so he takes great pride (ha) in protecting the baby Elrics from every harm he can think of. He also looks the most similar in age to them, so he lets Father enroll him in the local school and watches over them while in class. The rest of the class and the teacher are absolutely terrified of him, because he mostly just sits behind Ed and glares at everyone who moves too close.

Ed and Al grow up with a really weird understanding of shadows – ie, convinced that they can definitely move independently and are physical things you can touch, because that one time Al tripped, a bunch of shadows definitely grabbed him before he hit the ground, placed him back on his feet, and patted his shoulder reassuringly for good measure.

Sloth does nothing, of course. He’s just happy he doesn’t have to dig that tunnel anymore. He mostly sleeps and Ed and Al try to figure out how much they can stack on him before he wakes up. Or how many times they can poke him. Or how loudly they can shout. Etc.

Somehow it turns out mostly okay though. Ed and Al make it into their teenage years without dying or any serious maiming. (Only Greed and Envy have been maimed, but their injuries heal so it’s fine.) They have at least two homunculi that are fiercely protective of them, one that usually at least has more fun fighting their enemies than them, one who acts like a weird uncle and showers them with gifts and random melons, and two that are pretty indifferent as long as they’re left alone. And Envy, who definitely still wants to make their lives as miserable as possible, but is at least usually outvoted by the other homunculi.

The Elric/Hohenheim family is very weird, but most of them (and Resembool) have accepted that. Trisha definitely would still kill any of them if they hurt her sons though.

Thanks for the prompt!

[queencamellia]

FMA!AU BNHA

Note: This fandom has taken over my life. This is a longfic. Lots of plot. Lots of ship. Todomomo centric, but LOTS OF GODDAMN SHIPS.

Oh, and traitor theories. That too. Mystery. Huzzah.

"look like the innocent flower” Summary

...but be the serpent under't.

In a world of alchemy, revolt plots, and civil unrest, Colonel Shouto Todoroki and Lieutenant Momo Yaoyorozu must find a way to preserve the peaceful regime of All Might.

Unfortunately, the Homunculi are lurking. And they’ve already taken action.

“I wonder...who is the traitor?”

[Fullmetal Alchemist AU]

[TRAITOR THEORIES WOOO]

[Plot] [Almost Gen tbh] [Lots of pairing hints tho]

LINKS

Ao3 LINK HERE

FFN LINK HERE

Alternatively, you may read it under the cut!

In his childhood, when Shouto dreamt of becoming an alchemist, he imagined defeating evildoers and saving civilians like the tales his mother used to tell him. He never dreamt of bringing honor to the family, of proving himself worthy of the Todoroki name, of his name reverently spoken over drinks, and of a brilliant future filled with glorious victory.

Shouto never needed that. He never cared for that. He never wanted that.

He just wanted to help.

He dreamt of children who would thank him for saving their parents life; he dreamt of the poor who could lead better lives in peacetime. He dreamt of a world where love, compassion, and kindness didn’t have to be snuffed out because they were considered “weak” or “useless.”

Shouto did not dream of tears, loss, anger, and despair. He did not dream of the futile battles in which he fought to live, not protect. He did not dream...no, he never quite realized that there would be blood on his hands.

Before him was nothing but an obscure cloud of smoke. Black specks of ash fell upon his navy blue uniform like gentle snow, but he paid no mind to them. Shouto stumbled past a pile of rubble, his soot-covered hands reaching out and searching. The thin layer of frost covering his fingertips suddenly burst into action, travelling down the devastated city block and covering the grimy street with ice.

Revitalized, Shouto continued to make his way down the street with renewed vigor, pushing past rubble and coughing. “Bakugou,” he called, carefully stepping over a piece of demolished concrete. “Bakugou, I know you’re there.”

To his relief, he heard a cough resound from underneath the remains of the ruined building. “Fucking snipers,” his fellow alchemist cursed, looking rather unfazed as he threw a rock off himself towards the side. The blonde grumbled under his breath, attempting to pick out the pieces of plaster in his hair. “I hate fucking snipers. They always have to pick the tall buildings. Shitty bastards just want to make themselves harder to catch.”

“That’s what snipers typically do,” Shouto deadpanned, unimpressed by the Explosions Alchemist’s stellar vocabulary. He glanced around the building, unable to detect any signs of life; even so, Shouto remained vigilant, his right glove off and prepared to freeze anything at the slightest notice. His left glove, as always, remained on but firmly useless.

Bakugou’s cold eyes, which so severely contradicted his fiery personality, were a jarring reminder of their situation. They were State Alchemists at war.

“This fucking sucks,” Bakugou complained, kicking at a rock. His voice lowered. “I didn’t sign up to be an alchemist so that those government bastards would ship me off to do their dirty work.”

“What did you expect?” Shouto couldn’t help but ask.

Bakugou sent him a disbelieving look, shoving his hands into the pockets of his long, dark blue trench coat. If Shouto looked closer, he could make out the faint glint of silver. They had all been issued their special State Alchemist uniforms only a few days prior: it was easier to identify the amount of significant casualties, then. “I don’t know,” Bakugou growled. “But not this. I didn’t sign up to fuck over some weak bastards who can’t even fight. I thought I was gonna actually fight someone halfway decent at fighting.”

Shouto, too accustomed to the crude alchemist's speech, automatically translated the words in his head. It was Bakugou’s way of expressing his distaste for murdering civilians; despite his abrasive nature, Bakugou never wanted to be a villain (a war hero). He just wanted to be a hero.

Shouto let out a noncommittal hum, glancing upwards at the sky in hopes that it was dark enough for them to return to camp. Although he tolerated and (dare he say it?) enjoyed Bakugou’s company (on rare occasions), Shouto felt unease well in his chest. Something about today had been far too easy: they had only encountered one Ishvalan alchemist in the early morning. The alchemist had been weak; Bakugou was more than enough to defeat him while Shouto evacuated the civilians.

“Oh, sure. Bite me with your fucking holier-than-thou attitude, Pacifist Alchemist.”

Shouto’s lips curled downwards. Although “Pacifist Alchemist” was hardly his official epithet, the moniker had stuck after soldiers witnessed him evacuating several civilians: people quickly realized that Shouto actively avoided causing direct harm to civilians and the landscape if possible, which was how the title was born. Although he didn’t particularly mind it, he knew that his father would be less than pleased. Endeavor had always favored the logical, quickest, and most efficient solution. It was a trait to be both admired and feared.

But Shouto...Shouto wanted to use his Ice Alchemy for good, if possible. He didn’t want the alchemy that his mother had so lovingly taught him to be used for murder.

“I’m called the Freezing Alchemist.”

“Yeah, yeah. Pacifist,” Bakugou snorted, the fight in him essentially sapping away as he squinted at the sun. “How much longer? Two hours? Three hours? You think the old geezer would care if we came back early?”

Shouto considered the notion logically, then replied, “Brigadier-General Aizawa won’t care, but the troops will.”

Bakugou looked like he was about to launch into a tirade about how he didn’t give a shit about the morale of the troops, but surprisingly closed his mouth and decided against it. Even the often-irate Explosions Alchemist knew the importance of maintaining the all-powerful image of Amestris’ State Alchemists: they were the elite of the elite. Every country had their set of state alchemists; if their alchemists were weak, then it reflected badly on the country’s strength.

Instead of blowing up, Bakugou narrowed his eyes and searched the perimeter. Shouto took that as a signal that they were going back to work; immediately, the Freezing Alchemist exhaled, shutting his eyes. A flurry of cool air sent the dust flying once more, ice forming in the cracks of the broken buildings; as instructed, it was a way for Amestris to quickly mark its newly acquired territory until the troops could advance and secure the area.

While Shouto had been securing the premises, his fellow alchemist had climbed onto one of the piles of concrete blocks in order to survey more of the area. They quickly fell into their usual after-battle routine: Shouto was to search for survivors, while Bakugou was to check for enemies. Although they had their differences, the two alchemists moved as a single movement flawlessly with an ease acquired only through weeks and weeks of practice.

Silence presided over the clearing for several minutes until Bakugou let out an annoyed grunt. “Fuck,” he cursed, drawing Shouto’s attention immediately. The ice user quickly strode over to the rubble, climbing up the pile with relative ease. His eyes surveyed the area, searching for what Bakugou might have seen, when they landed upon a group of badly-concealed soldiers approaching the west.

“They're heading for the camp,” Shouto concluded, already halfway down the pile of rubble as he rushed through the street. They rounded the corner, intent on stopping the squadron of soldiers when—

“Half-and-half!”

Shouto had barely a second’s warning before Bakugou literally launched over to him and knocked him to the ground, a bullet whizzing over his head. “Fuck, it's an ambush!” Bakugou cursed, scrambling off of him and ducking behind a piece of rubble. “Fuck, fuck, fuck…”

Shouto found his voice. “We're sitting ducks out here; we need to find cover,” he murmured under his breath, examining the fallen bullet. “But where?”

“Less thinking, more fighting. Get on your feet!” Bakugou barked, clapping his hands and slamming them into the ground. Shouto knew what that meant; immediately, he scrambled away, Bakugou at his heels as the ground exploded behind them. The dust kicked up by the explosion was enough cover to give them a few seconds of respite.

Suddenly, the air felt warmer, the frost nipping at Shouto’s fingertips melting away. A ferocious gale of wind blew away the smoke, exposing their location.

“There’s an alchemist,” Shouto realized. “Two alchemists, perhaps.”

And if the previous move had been any indication, it wasn’t a coincidence that the enemy alchemists had the type of alchemy to directly counter theirs. Bakugou and Shouto had grown rather notorious amongst the alchemy world. They were in an open area, surrounded by snipers and enemy alchemists who they couldn’t even spot.

All in all, Bakugou summarized their shitty situation rather pleasantly. “We're fucked.”

An onslaught of bullets flew over their heads; immediately, Shouto formed a protective wall of ice, only for it to melt away again. Bakugou cursed, dragging him behind a stone pillar before he could get shot. The rocks in the explosion-user’s hands morphed into his ever-trustworthy grenades; it wouldn’t be enough.

Shouto’s mind raced at lightning-quick speeds. Was this how he would die? Covered in soot, in the middle of a foreign country beside his loudmouth companion? He couldn’t die: Shouto wouldn’t die until he ensured that everyone (his siblings, his mother) could live peaceful, prosperous lives. What could he do?

It was almost comical how Endeavor’s voice popped up in his mind; despite everything, he had learned many important things from his father. Think logically. Survey the area first, Shouto. Think from the enemy’s point of view. How would they strike you?

Maybe...maybe I should…

He glanced at his left hand.

Suddenly, a loud series of screams resounded. As quickly as they had started, they abruptly stopped. Bakugou and Shouto exchanged wary glances, but when the temperature suddenly died down, the Explosions Alchemist must have realized something. “Well, I’ll be damned,” Bakugou snorted, a smirk curving on his lips. There was an almost fond note to his voice. “The Hawk’s Eye strikes again. Prissy bitch. She always had the best timing.”

Shouto had heard of the epithet before. After all, soldiers talked. “The sniper, correct?” he question, tilting his head. “I heard that she’s quite accurate.”

“Accurate is an understatement,” Bakugou countered grudgingly. “She never fucking misses, no matter the target nor the distance. She’s probably at least a thousand meters from here.”

Shouto sighed, nodding at him. “We should probably head back to camp and report about this to Brigadier-General Aizawa: that’s two more alchemists down. If they’re aiming for us, we probably shouldn’t wander around here for too long.”

“Fucking finally,” Bakugou muttered under his breath, stalking off. “Come on, Half-and-Half. I’m sick of these fucking ruins.”

----

To Bakugou’s growing annoyance, they never made it back to the camp. Instead, they ran straight into the squadron of enemy soldiers they had spotted before; apparently, the fuckers weren’t planted there simply for the ambush. The Ishvalan soldiers were busy engaging with a squadron of Amestrian soldiers: from the looks of it, the Amestrians were heavily injured and losing. Bakugou cursed, glancing to his left to where Half-and-Half stood.

He never understood why the alchemist was so fucking calm. It irritated Bakugou to no ends; no matter the situation, Colonel Shouto Todoroki always maintained his same annoying deadpan face. They were even on the brink of fucking death minutes ago, and all the ice-user could do was stare apathetically at his hands!

“Shitty ice bastard,” Bakugou grumbled. Then, louder, he declared, “HEY, YOU BASTARDS! GIVE ME A CHALLENGE, WILL YOU?” Immediately, heads turned to face him.

Unhesitatingly, Bakugou jumped into the fray, baring his teeth at the Ishvalan soldier in front of him. “Well? Come on,” he invited, his fingertips itching to make things explode. “Let’s do this.”

---

“Thank you so much!”

Shouto blinked, unable to mask his surprise as he pivoted on his heel to face the bowing Amestrian soldier. He silently gestured for her to stop bowing, examining the soldier analytically. She was a petite girl, chestnut brown locks framing her cherubic face quite nicely. Her eyes sparkled with sincerity as a grateful smile graced her lips. “You and Lieutenant-Colonel Bakugou saved our lives, sir,” she added.

“It’s no problem…” Shouto said hesitantly. He wasn’t used to interacting with anybody outside of their small group of State Alchemists. “Your name?”

The girl gasped, mortified. “My apologies, sir! I forgot to state my name and rank. First Lieutenant Ochako Uraraka! It’s an honor to meet you, colonel.”

“Just Shouto is fine,” Shouto allowed. “Are...your squadmates alright, Lieutenant?”

“Then, just Ochako is fine. Or Uraraka, if you prefer that. Most of them are alright, although we should be heading back to camp as quickly as possible,” she replied dutifully. Uraraka gestured to two soldiers to her right, who had been lingering awkwardly. “I think two of my friends would like to join the conversation. Meet Captain Tenya Iida and Second Lieutenant Izuku Midoriya.”

“It’s an honor,” Iida, said, nodding his head. “Thank you for helping us. We were caught unprepared, and I hate to think of what might have happened without your assistance.”

“Nice to meet you,” Shouto offered. Then, he turned to the second lieutenant. “And you as well.”

As if he couldn’t hold back any longer, Midoriya blurted out, “You’re the Freezing Alchemist, right? How exactly does your alchemy work? Does it work in all climates? How do you form the ice in the desert like this? I assume you use the water particles in the air, but it still doesn’t explain how you—”

“Midoriya!” Iida hissed under his breath, jabbing the soldier with his elbow.

Midoriya blinked, then blushed when he realized the torrent of words that just escaped his mouth. “O-oh, I’m so sorry!” he stammered immediately. “Alchemy just fascinates me a lot, and I’ve heard so many stories about you—”

“Instead of focusing on Half-and-Half’s alchemy, why don’t you spend more time developing your hand-to-hand skills, Deku?”

As always, Bakugou’s arrival was dramatic, his voice marked with annoyance as he literally landed beside Shouto, having jumped off a stray boulder to intervene in the conversation. Shouto liked to think that the explosions-user could have done well in drama, but he couldn’t imagine Bakugou spouting off Shakespeare with a straight face.

“Kacchan!” Midoriya exclaimed, a hesitant smile blooming on his face. “You were really cool out there.”

Bakugou snorted. “I’m more than fucking cool,” he declared arrogantly, crossing his arms over his chest and effectively cutting off whatever conversation they had going on. Shouto let out a long, suffering sigh.

“Bakugou…read the mood…”

“Well isn’t that the pot calling the kettle black?” Bakugou shot back. “You can’t socialize for your fucking life, Half-and-Half. It’s a miracle the guys back in the military academy didn’t tell you to fuck off.”

Shouto blinked, then tilted his head. He chose not to address the socializing jab as it was somewhat true. Instead, he revealed, “I didn’t attend military school.”

“Eh?” came the surprised voices of not only Bakugou, but also the other three soldiers.

“My father sent me to a private academy,” Shouto explained. “The people there were very amiable.”

Bakugou looked unconvinced. “You had friends?”

“I suppose,” Shouto said slowly, “I had one friend.”

Before any of them could respond, however, Shouto’s eyes caught upon a shock of black hair approaching the group of soldiers. Plenty of people had black hair, but he could never forget that ponytail—

“Fucking finally, Hawk’s Eyes!” Bakugou exclaimed, drawing her attention. “Taking your damn sweet time, weren’t you? Where the hell were you during the scuffle?”

“I believe that was hardly a scuffle, Lieutenant-Colonel Bakugou,” came her voice, lined with amusement. “And I see that you all handled yourselves just fine.”

Bakugou scoffed. “Yeah, whatever. Half-and-Half, meet—”

“Yaoyorozu?” Shouto asked, cutting off the explosions-user as his eyes drunk in her appearance. Yes, even though she was wearing the navy blue coat of the Amestris army and had cut her hair shorter, the woman standing before him was undeniably Yaoyorozu. His chest felt tight; it felt as if he could hardly breathe as his eyes remained steadily trained on hers.

Silence had fallen over the group. The female sniper pursed her lips together tightly, stepping forward.

“Todoroki,” she acknowledged, her cool eyes softening the slightest fraction as they met his. Slowly, a smirk curved over her lips as she pushed a stray strand of ebony hair behind her ear. “Or...should I call you colonel, now?”

[darkstrangevirgilanxiboi]

Reasons I Love Edward Elric

FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST WILL ALWAYS BE SPECIAL TO ME, I AM NAMING ANY POSSIBLE FUTURE CHILDREN AFTER THE CHARACTERS I LOVE MOST Spoilers ahead , stop here if you're not caught up !~~~~~~~~~ This is an appreciation post for my all-time favorite character in the series ( tied neatly with Ling Yao and Alphonse of course ) Edward Elric ! - Says FIGHT ME a lot but the second he's actually in a fight he's all ' oh shit they accepted I'm gonna die ' - Full stop street brawler , this kid will put you in the hospital - So kind hearted that he literally swindled his way through saving a town and pretended not to care the entire time - BIG BROTHER TO END ALL BIG BROTHERS???? I MEAN HE LITERALLY GAVE AN ARM FOR HIS BROTHER'S SOUL AND WOULD HAVE GIVEN HIS OWN HEART IF IT MEANT HIS BROTHER LIVED, IDEAL OLDEST SIBLING TROPE THERE NO BUT THE WAY HE LOVES AL IS MY FAVORITE THING AND I WILL FIGHT YOU IF YOU EVER SUGGEST THE ELRIC BOYS COULD HATE EACH OTHER No but like seriously I cannot get enough of Ed and Al and their pure bond , I cry a lot about these brothers - SIDE NOTE HE WAS SO YOUNG WHEN HE AND AL PERFORMED HUMAN TRANSMUTATION TO TRY AND BRING BACK THEIR MOM, HE WAS ONLY LIKE 11 OR 12????!!!! SO YOUNG. One of the reasons this series resonated so strongly with me is because I lost my mom at around the same age Ed did , I also have a poor relationship with my father , and I would do anything for my siblings . Like ???? I fully understand how hard the pain of losing a parent is , and how it's worsened by the surviving parent being distant ( even though it wasn't Hohenheim's fault ) Bruh I lost my mom when I was 9 and if alchemy existed in our reality ??? I high-key would have tried to bring her back . Going through grief like that in childhood really changes you , but then adding in the extra trauma the boys go through???? LOSING TWO LIMBS, THE PHYSICAL BODY OF YOUR BROTHER, AND FAILING HORRIFICALLY TO RESURRECT YOUR MOTHER ALL AT ONCE????? Ed my poor baby He's so strong despite all of the trauma and I love him so much ???? He's a HUGE influence on me actually - Smol ( not at the end of the series but for most of it !) bean - Literally wears his signature snazzy red coat because he thinks red is a badass color ( it is !) - Worries 24/7 about other people more than himself - NO BUT LIKE WHEN HE AND LING GOT LITERALLY EATEN ALIVE ED WAS 100% MORE WORRIED ABOUT AL THAN HIMSELF - When he finds out Scar killed Winry's parents, he's shocked and furious but doesn't kill him, and later on stops Winry from killing him herself because he knows that it's not the right path and that revenge isn't necessarily good - LING. LINGGGGG. HE NEVER STOPS BEING FRIENDS WITH LING EVEN WHEN LING GETS RECKLESS AND BECOMES A HOMUNCULUS, ED STILL STAYS BEST BROS WITH LING AND I JUST??? I JUST LOVE THIS FRIENDSHIP - Adopts half the people who've tried to murder him and becomes their friend ( Edward Elric was Steven Universe-ing before Steven Universe ) Most notably he adopted two chimera guys ( human animal hybrids) that had tried to kill him and then later saved his life ( it was a complicated situation , they helped Ed get un-impaled ) and they become fairly crucial in the last boss battle later on - His relationship with Roy Mustang , adoptive father figure extraordinaire Like Roy is THE reason none of the top brass military guys found out Ed and Al performed illegal alchemy and he comes up with all the cover stories and excuses in the book ( you have a future as a con artist Roy , but you have to be the leader of Amestris so save that for retirement ) . Like Ed bickers endlessly with Roy but they both respect each other so much and worry about each other a lot and they are family ???? - WINRY ROCKBELL. WINRY. ROCKBELL. W I N R Y. R O C K B E L L. HIS ENTIRE RELATIONSHIP WITH HER IS JUST SO ORGANIC AND RAW AND REALISTIC AND YES, THIS IS HOW YOU WRITE A LOVE STORY. Ed has so much obvious respect for her from the very beginning - literally making special trips to visit her whenever his automail is damaged because he KNOWS that nobody can fix it like she can ? Even though there's probably lots of other automail mechanics , it's always Winry for Ed. He trusts her and only her! And the way he looks at her , the way he worries about her and tries his damnedest to keep her out of harm's way , the gentle way he speaks to her when she's most vulnerable .... I love how much he loves her. It's beautiful and sweet and so so pure. - He tries really hard not to kill anyone even if they're trying to kill him??? He's got such high value for life and I love him for it - His sheer determination???? LIKE THE STRENGTH IT MUST HAVE TAKEN AFTER ALL HE SUFFERED TO KEEP GOING IS JUST.IT'S STAGGERING. - He's a genius but he's also very down to earth ??? Like he's actually very very VERY smart but plays it off like it's NOTHING! But he could read high level alchemy texts as a child well enough to actually try and succeed in performing alchemy !( and so did Al!) Pretty sure your average six year old couldn't do that. And he comes up with battle strategies on the fly , alters his alchemy within seconds of learning new information , uses experimental techniques often , and is THE YOUNGEST STATE ALCHEMIST EVER IN AMESTRIS. He's skilled enough that when he's stuck on a train hijacked by terrorists and Roy hears about it , Roy laughs . ' Fullmetal's on that train . We can go home early , boys. They don't stand a chance. ' And Roy was RIGHT! Ed and Al take down a group of armed terrorists with barely a scratch . And other military officials see Ed the same way! Like no one's ever worried that Ed might lose a fight, they're just worried he'll get hurt winning . ( okay Winry is worried he might lose but don't tell him that ) He's a prodigy and so many people respect him ??? - SUCCESSFULLY BOUND HIS BROTHER'S SOUL TO ARMOR This is a very rare technique and incrediblely hard to do. It takes most alchemists years of study and training to even attempt alchemizing souls. And Ed did it on his first try while in a HUGE amount of pain and suffering severe blood loss. - He always tries to learn from other people Ed always tries to keep growing and changing his view of the world and never belittles other cultures or beliefs ( except in the case of Leto , but that religion was a fraud and Ed knew it ) - Tries hard to better lives with his alchemy and devotes his life to helping people who've suffered due to alchemy - Makes the best faces - OKAY BUT HEAR ME OUT THE ONLY TIMES HE CRIED IN CANON WERE RIGHT AFTER THE TRANSMUTATION THING HAPPENS AND HE'S SO AFRAID THAT AL MIGHT HATE HIM BECAUSE AL LOST HIS BODY AND ED BLAMED HIMSELF, AND WAS SO UPSET OVER IT THAT HE CRIED HIMSELF TO SLEEP FOR DAYS OVER IT. AND THE SECOND TIME HE CRIES IN CANON IS IN THE LAST BOSS BATTLE SCENE, AFTER THE ENEMY IS DEFEATED AND AL HAS BEEN BOLD AND RECKLESS AND SACRIFICED HIMSELF TO GET ED'S ARM BACK FROM THE TRUTH GUY, AND ED IS DESPERATE TO GET AL BACK AND HOHENHEIM OFFERS HIMSELF AS THE TOLL TO OPEN THE GATE. HERE HE IS, DISTRAUGHT AND WOUNDED AND E WEARY AND AFRAID HE MIGHT NEVER SEE HIS BROTHER AGAIN, AND THE FATHER THAT'S BEEN ABSENT SO LONG IS SUDDENLY SAYING TO HIM' YOU AND YOUR BROTHER ARE THE MOST PRECIOUS THINGS IN MY LIFE, LET ME GIVE MY LIFE TO BRING HIM BACK. ' Because Hohenheim left to protect them , to try and save everyone he loved , because he was afraid of what would happen if 'Father' found his weakness . ( don't touch me , I cry often over poor Hohenheim ) And Ed cries because he's barely just getting to know his father and his father is proving that he does care. - That thing he does where he closes his eyes and grins really wide ( not sure if he got it from Ling or not , but I live for this cute habit of his ) - That Mood he gets in whenever somebody is stupid enough to threaten Al Enemy : Hey uh I'm gonna kidnap your brother Ed : HOW ABOUT YOU CATCH THESE FISTS INSTEAD Literally exactly how I get when someone upsets or hurts my siblings - Super thoughtful of Al and how he feels , especially after Al gets his body back??? Ed mothers Al so much after that and it warms my bitter heart 'Al are you sure you can walk this far ??? You're still on crutches ' ' BROTHER I'm FINE.' ' Did you eat enough ??? Did you eat too much ? Are you sleeping okay ? You look tired , sit down !' ' BROTHER ' - Puts other people first a lot - Even when he's injured really bad he's always more worried about someone else I mean ???? ( Hufflepuff Ed FTW ) - Super awkward around Winry whenever she's fixing up his automail and it's the cutest thing Like at one point he flips out because he suddenly becomes intensely aware of Winry holding his automail hand and the fact that he has his shirt off and it's just a nice reminder that yes , he is indeed 15. - Probably hasn't punched everything that's ever upset Al or Winry but by God he's TRYING - Wise ??? He says a lot of really wise things in the manga and I love it Like when Winry was trying to kill Scar , Ed takes the gun from her hands very gently and slowly and says to her ' Your hands aren't meant for hurting people. They're for helping people live. ' And that was exactly what she needed to hear at the moment and Ed meant it with all his heart. - BEST BIG BROTHER TO EVER BIG BROTHER I'M JUST SAYING

[bleedingcoffee42]

Notorious AU- Part 2

Part 1   Guess who needs another WIP?  ME. 

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Riza sat on the southbound train listening to the chatter of passengers, enjoying that none of the topics they were discussing had anything to do with her father.   Even before the trial, the actions of her father had weighed on her and his paranoia had rubbed off on her as well.   Little did she know that her observations of increased traffic on their road, more frequent deliveries and the occasional electrical oddities were legitimate.   Now it all made sense and she hated to admit to herself that maybe Berthold Hawkeye was right about something: They were being watched.  She felt eyes on her now, but not because someone was whispering about her.   Roy Mustang was coming back with a drink and some sandwiches.  “I thought you went to report in. If you told me you were going for food I would have given you an order.”

“I did.”  Roy returned to his seat and gave Riza a ham sandwich and a cup of coffee.   “However, we'll be at the border soon and it will take a while for them to go through passports, cargo and documents.   I thought you might like a little something to tide you over until the next stop.”

She took the sandwich and toyed with the paper it was wrapped in.   “Did you get a promotion for recruiting me?  Perhaps hazard pay for getting in the car with a drunk driver?”

Roy tried not to smile.   She was clever about how she indirectly asked for information and he appreciated it a little too much.  “Actually...I got some news from home.  Your father died.  I'm sorry.”

Riza wasn't expecting that.   All she could say was, “How?”

“According to the coroner he was a sick man.”  Roy said and watched her face.  “He was supposed to be on medication for that.”

“Medication that was provided for by his state health insurance.”  She said softly.  “He renounced all connections to the military, felt that the incentives he enjoyed were part of the reason he allowed himself to create what he did.  At least that's what he told me.  I just thought he was broke.  I shouldn't be surprised.”

Roy watched her look away, look out the window at the changing scenery as the train traveled around a bend toward another country.   “I will see to it that he has a funeral. If you need to...”

“He should be cremated.”  She said matter-of-factly.  “Buried in the ground of the country he betrayed, that doesn't seem right.   His grave site will be desecrated and that would not be right to put my dead mother through that.  No funeral.  Everyone who knew him has already said goodbye.”

“I was asking what you needed, not him.”  Roy said.  

“I'm relieved I guess. I was so scared of him and his ideas.   I never understood him.   I couldn't understand his decision to betray his country, his family and his life's work the way he did.   All he said was it was too dangerous and nobody should have it.”  She looked back at Mustang who seemed genuine.  She didn't know if that was an act, part of his job, but she just wanted someone to believe her.  “He betrayed me because he dedicated himself to that work after my mother died and left me to raise myself.   He chose that work over me, because it was so damned important, and then in the end...”

Roy watched her bite her lip, clearly realizing she had said too much.   Then she looked out the window on the other side of the aisle as the train slowed and saw the beauty of the mountain range that was the southern border of Amestris.  She leaned over the armrest to get a better view and he studied the curve of her jaw and the sheer beauty of her face and the glint in her eye as she saw the breathtaking view.   He was going to have to keep reminding himself to choose work over her, because there was something about Riza Hawkeye that just took his breath away.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

“When are we going to find out what my country expects me to do for them?”  Riza asked as she and Roy sat outside a busy bistro in a city called Ponte Vecchio in Aerugo.   They had been here a week and she was getting anxious.   Roy was the only person she knew here and she didn't know him at all.  He was being very careful to stay professional, not divulge anything personal and keep an established distance.  

“Unfortunately it's a waiting game.” Roy said as he looked at the morning news.   “We won't know what our mission is until we see if you are contacted by the ex-state alchemists who sought refugee here.”

She watched him as he read the Aerugo newspaper, she was impressed at how fluent he was in the language when they arrived.   One more thing she relied on him for.  She leaned back in her chair and looked at him and shook her head.  “What if you're the reason they aren't contacting me?  You look like you're some kind of cop.”

Roy lifted his eyes to her, she wore that playful smile meant to break him down into a personable human.   It bothered her she was at the disadvantage here, he couldn't blame her for trying to get something out of him.   He wouldn't think much of her if she just accepted the situation and let some stranger put her life at risk without asking questions.  “Really?  The waitress seems to think we're a couple.”

“The waitress was feeling out the situation so she could hit on you.”  Riza countered.  

He went back to reading the paper.   “I'm sure the manager at the hotel was doing the same when I asked for adjoining rooms and he tried to put you on a different floor.”

“Oh, so you aren't blind to it after all.”  Riza said and leaned on the table.  “What's the matter? You don't want to make that our cover story?   You could be my secret lover who smuggled me out of the country.”

“That wouldn't work.”  He said. They had considered it, well his partner had considered it. Maes always went for the fake married option.  

“Why? Afraid you might fall in love with me?”

“That wouldn't be hard.”  Roy didn't lift his eyes from the words in the paper.   He  wondered if she saw a weakness in him somewhere or if this was just another attempt to get the higher ground.  He figured the statement wouldn't give an edge to either of them and would end the conversation.  “If you're here with someone then you are less likely to be approached by this group.   The whole angle of this mission is to show you as vulnerable, without a home or country.   You become less likely to be turned if you have loyalties to someone, anyone, else.   This group has welcomed fleeing alchemists with open arms, wooing them with security and promise of research funding.  They need to see you as a victim of the government they turned against, then you'll be more inclined to see their cause as worthy enough to join.”

“So what are you then, if not my boyfriend?”  Riza watched him closely.

“Your bodyguard.”  He said firmly and looked up to see the amusement in her eyes.  

“So...” Riza said as she played with her napkin.   The truth finally came out.  It always came back to her father in some way.   “I have the money to hire you to protect me then?  From the sale of that research?”

“That's the implication.”  He said and she looked down at the table, something finally finding it's way past her armor.  

“I didn't have the money to even pay for my father's cremation.”  She said and looked up at him.   She wondered if he asked about her wishes for her father's remains so the government could find out of there was a stash of money somewhere.   They had to be plenty of people wondering where all that money went. Surely that research was worth a fortune, surely his life and loyalty had to be worth some vast amount.   Surely.

“I took care of it.”  Roy assured her.

Riza stared into his eyes, she had never had a problem holding a stare.   “I believe you.   I wish...you could believe me.  I could use someone believing in me right now.”

“Do you think I would be here, in a foreign country that is aggressive towards our own, if I didn't completely believe in your abilities?”

“Believing in what someone is capable of doing, that's not believing in them.”  She said and broke eye contact.  “That leads to disbelief when they show you they are capable of things you never imagined they could be.”

Roy stood up and said, “Lets go back to the hotel.”

“Why?”  She asked.  “So you can call your contact and report you failed to extract my bank account number?”

“I think you need more details about this than I was allowed to give you.”  He replied and took money out to pay the bill.   He was going to catch hell for this, but he didn't care.  He'd file it under 'managing the asset' or some other bullshit term.  She needed a restoration of faith, he couldn't send her into this mission without the belief someone was watching her back.  “So let's go back to your room where we have some privacy.”

She looked up at him and said, “Why?”

“I don't think this will work if I treat you like an asset.”  Roy said and straightened his jacket as she stood and got her purse.   “I think, we need to be partners.”

“Why?”  She whispered.

“You ask too many questions.”  He said and she narrowed her eyes at him, wondering if that was the reason or an admonishment.  

[fmabigbang]

Summaries for mobile, as the link doesn’t work:

Looking for ships?

Roy/Ed: #1, #2, #3, #6, #7, #14, #17, #19, #22, #23

Roy/Riza: #8, #9, #16, #20, #21

Al/Mei: #8, #12, #17, #21

Ed/Winry: #8, #12, #18

Al/Wrath: #18

Greed/Ling: #23

Havoc/Fuery: #23

Ling/Lan Fan: #8

Maes/Gracia: #4

Olivier/Roy: #5

Riza/Rebecca Catalina: #10

Russell Tringham/Belsio: #2

(Please note that only main/major ships are included in this list)

Fic #1: Dead Ringer

Summary:  Love, as fleeting as it is sweet. After a single date, Roy Mustang is left with only funeral flowers and the memory of a guy who could have been The One.  A few months later, he finds himself introduced to a friend of a friend who looks eerily familiar. Second chances come from unexpected places, he knows, but—Ed’s cousin?

Author: Xyriath Continuity: Modern Amestris AU Length: Roughly 20k Pairings: Roy/Ed, Ling/Lan Fan (background) Rating: T or E (depends on age of artist) Tags: Alternate Universe - Modern Amestris, Alchemy, Hijinks, Humor, Lan Fan you had one job, A Comedy of Intrusive Thoughts Major warnings: No

Fic #2

Summary: Centuries after faery-kind disappeared from the planet—in part due to humanity’s fear and hatred of them—their part-human descendants continue to face discrimination, particularly in Amestris, where Lord Selim the Prideful has recently inherited his father’s power. Lord Selim wishes for a nation that adequately reflects his own greatness, and thus seeks to purge it of anything nonindicative of that, “halflings” included, starting with a widespread movement to identify and relocate them to designated areas throughout the country. John Belsio, a halfling farmer and hunter, wouldn’t be bothered, but Lord Selim chooses his extensive plot of land as one such relocation area for part-humans throughout Eastern Amestris. His precious privacy infringed upon, Belsio travels to Central City to confront Selim, who makes a deal with him: if Belsio completes a quest for him, Selim will gladly move the halflings elsewhere and leave Belsio in peace. With former politician and fugitive Roy Mustang at his side, whether he likes it or not, Belsio sets out to complete Selim’s task, which, between discovering a decades-long conspiracy and the burgeoning revolution, turns out to be more than he bargained for—and maybe exactly what he needed.

Author: geichang Continuity: total AU featuring characters from both versions Length: 40k ish. EXTREME emphasis on the ‘ish’ Pairings: Belsio/Russell Tringham, Roy/Edward (side) Rating: T (teen) Tags: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Part-Human Characters, Fantastic Racism, Minor Character Focus, Autistic Protagonist, Friends to Lovers Major warnings:  No

Fic #3

Summary: Roy Mustang was born, saved a kingdom and its prince, and died of old age, the love of his life by his side. And then he wakes, Edward nowhere in sight. By some twist of fate, Roy lives again. And again. And again. His existence, he finds, is part of a prophecy; a plan set out by the gods to combat that great evil he thought he had conquered all those years ago. Roy has decided he hates the gods. Not only can he have no rest, but neither can those he loves - Roy is haunted constantly by familiar faces, who no longer even know his name. So, Roy deigns to live a life of solitude - if he is to be forced to give his attachments up after every lifetime, then it would be better for him to never have attached himself in the first place. The gods, it seems, won’t even let him have that. With each life, that Great Evil twists and grows, finding new ways to wreak havoc across Hyrule, and it should be easy for Roy to lose himself in his duty - the thing the gods chose him to do. His life, however, is tied to Hyrule - particularly, its leader. When all attempts to push away one princely figure in particular fail spectacularly, Roy is dragged kicking and screaming into loving again, and with every life, with every goodbye followed be Edward’s unrecognizing eyes at their next meeting, Roy wonders how much of this he can take. (Legend of Zelda AU, with no prior knowledge of the source material needed whatsoever.)

Author: fishingclocks Continuity: Both Length: 30,000 Pairings: Roy/Ed Rating: T (teen) Tags: Legend of Zelda AU,  Reincarnation, Romance, monster-killing at any and all ages, so i suppose child endangerment, incorporates nearly any zelda game you can think of, Angst, yet surprising amounts of fluff, and humor because my Roy is a snarky little loser, will you ever see anything nerdier?, the world will never know Major warnings: Graphic Depictions of Violence

Fic #4

Summary: When Maes Hughes’ body arrives into Central City Morgue, Dr. Knox and his assistant are shocked to find him barely alive inside the body bag. Working quickly, they manage to save him, only for Maes to awaken and nearly re-injure himself in his desperation to get vital information to Roy Mustang. Using a network of underground informants and smugglers, Maes manages to escape Amestris- but at what cost? And can he still manage to alert Roy to the plans of the people who tried to assassinate him? Follow along as Maes becomes one of the living dead and travels out of the country, to save himself- and all of Amestris- from whatever is making that giant transmutation circle.

Author: SonjaJade Continuity: Brotherhood/Manga Length: 34000 Pairings: Maes/Gracia, Maes/Roy (past), Roy/Riza (background), Ed/Winry (background) Rating: T (teen) Tags: Blood, surgical situations, disguises, hideouts, on the run, coded messages, Maes lives AU Major warnings: No

Fic #5

Summary: After an incident with a rogue alchemist, Roy and Olivier find themselves in a strange place and in need of a way back. Their misadventure will open the door to some of the greatest changes Amestris has seen in a long time.

Author: MaiKusakabe Continuity: Brotherhood/Manga Length: 40-50k Pairings: Roy/Olivier, Ed/Winry (background), pre-Al/Mei (background) Rating: E (explicit) Tags: (possible) explicit sexual content, crossover with Harry Potter, language Major warnings: No

Fic #6: The Devil in the Desert Sun

Summary: Roy Mustang is stuck in a rut. And by “a rut,” he explicitly means Cameron, the Eastern ghost town wherein he is investigating his latest story. After he is so rudely ousted from his job as Editor-In-Chief of the Central times on the Führer’s executive order, all he can do is hope to redeem himself to the public by solving a case that has eluded federal and local investigators for years. And so Roy hunts for the Alchemist, a serial killer with a habit of leaving things called “transmutation circles” on the bodies of their victims. When he makes the acquaintance of an activist with a missing best friend and a strange knack for the Alchemist’s own state-restricted secrets, Roy’s suspicions that the Amestrian Military has something to do with the murders are only furthered. Conspiratorial leanings aside, Roy has to get to the bottom of the truth before the case can upend the lives of the very people he’s trying so hard to protect. If only he were as good at keeping everyone safe as he was at starting wildfires.

Author: asonohara Continuity: Brotherhood/Manga Length: 40-50K Pairings: Roy/Ed Rating: E (explicit) Tags: violence, graphic descriptions of death/murder, mentions of past suicidal attempts/ideation, character death, prescription drug abuse, smut, bottom!roy, journalist!roy, activist!ed, modern au, alternate universe-canon divergence, modern brotherhood au Major warnings: Major Character Death, Graphic Depictions of Violence

Fic #7: A Lesson in Distraction

Summary: His goals hadn’t, and would never be without trials. Mistakes had, and would be made; he was only human after all, but he had no intention of ever letting it stop him. Roy hadn’t done the things he had, come this far, to back out now or ever. No Alpha would cow him, no amount of gossip or derisive opinion would sway him. If a megalomaniacal pseudo God and his menagerie of unnatural ‘offspring’ hadn’t been enough to deter him, then nothing would. Roy Mustang would bow out only when he himself was ready to; when he’d deemed his goals accomplished sufficiently. Only then would he step back and let everything else fall where it may. And, so close to the top seat, the last thing he needed was a distraction. It was decidedly unfortunate that he neglected to take into account nature’s tendency to overrule the paltry decisions of man, and throw troublesome Elric’s at him. Alternatively: Roy gets blindsided by his biology, and Ed really isn’t helping.

Author: Fullmetalflame Continuity: Post Brotherhood Canon Length: Estimated at 25-30k (May exceed) Pairings: Roy/Ed, Riza/Sheska (background), Alphonse/Fuery (background) Rating: E (explicit) Tags: (Ooh boy) My entry for the 2k17 FMA big bang, Alpha/Beta/Omega, and everything that entails including, knotting, mpreg, it’s not overly graphic, but it is sort of a big thing though, post Brotherhood canon, coarse language, on account of Ed’s potty-mouth, Roy pov, Omega Roy Mustang, Alpha Edward Elric, NSFW, protective!Team Mustang, no angst, light hearted fic, I promise, Alphonse is a little shit, minor background relationships, slash, smut, lots of smut, pwp, porn with plot, Roy’s a strong proud Omega who don’t need no Alpha, but he’ll take Ed anyway, because he’s a dork, the author regrets nothing, what are tags, bonding, marking, smug Omega, seriously, strut your stuff Roy, Madame Christmas knows, seriously, she knows, what else, uh, that’s it I guess? Major warnings: No

Fic #8: Under the same roof

Summary: “This is bound to be a disaster!” Ed muttered under his breath, hoping that no one would hear him but just wanting to get it out of his system. He was setting the table for his guests: ‘and what guests!’ he thought ironically. Ten years have passed since the Promised Day, and many things have changed. Finally, the friends have time to reunite in Resembool and old stories are dug up, secrets are disclosed and hilarity ensues.

Author: ionica01 Continuity: Brotherhood/Manga Length: 75k Pairings: Ed/Winry, Roy/Riza, Ling/Lan Fan, Al/Mei Rating: T (teen) Tags: Fluff, Romance, Funny, Couples, Usual Ed-Roy Bickering, Embarrassing Stories, Politics, World-Building, Character Development, Visit (and Ed isn’t happy), Bonding Time, Families Major warnings: No

Fic #9

Summary: The Illumination is a phenomenon that makes the wounds people bear visible to all in a ray of light. It is completely harmless to human health aside from making one acknowledge it. It started on the third of October 1910 and everyone remembers it very well. Follow the story as Roy, Edward, Alphonse, and the rest of the team experience the illumination to see just how far some might go to douse the lights of another’s pain. Inspired by the Illumination by Kevin Brockmeier.

Author: Literatureworks Continuity: Brotherhood/Manga Length: 50,000 Pairings: Roy/Riza Rating: T (teen) Tags: illuminationAU, Everyday life, pain, Hurt/comfort, Parental, Just an all-around good feeling sappy story of everyday emotions and circumstances, stressbaking Major warnings: No

Fic #10

Summary: Riza Hawkeye knew that her father would die, but she never thought she’d miss him. She also didn’t anticipate his apprentice, a young man named Roy Mustang. And she never thought she’d take up the alchemy tattooed onto her back, but apparently life was full of surprises. Asking Mustang to mentor her, she begins her journey down the alchemic path. She becomes close, and eventually trusts him enough to see the tattoos on her back. Apparently that was all Roy wanted, and soon after seeing her at her most vulnerable, disappears. She finds him a week later in a motel, poring over her most guarded secret and forgetting that Riza even existed. Heartbroken, she decides to continue on her path, except now not content with just being Roy’s equal. She’ll surpass him now, she swears it. Apparently, others want the same for her, and help her along the way—but at what cost?

Author: Veilrony Continuity: Brotherhood/Manga Length: 55 000 words Pairings: Riza/Rebecca (main), Roy/Riza (main for 10 chapters, not “endgame”) Rating: T (teen) Tags: Unhealthy Royai, Alchemist!Riza, Fic Spans 10 Years Major warnings: Graphic Depictions of Violence

Fic #11: Consigned to Oblivion

Summary: Memory is powerful, but easy to fabricate. When Edward Elric has to choose between his brother’s life and his own, he decides to make a sacrifice far greater than he anticipated. The Gate waits for him, and with only a week to live the life he longed for, time is the greatest enemy of all.

Author: wrongnote Continuity: Brotherhood/Manga Length: 25k to 35k, most likely. (maybe longer) Pairings: Ed/Winry (background), Roy/Riza (background) Rating: T (teen) Tags: Parental Roy & Ed Major warnings: No

Fic #12

Summary: Edward enters the Far West, searching for new forms of alchemy. In the red dustbowl of the western lands, he meets with a man that many claims can perform miracles, but Edward’s past experiences with both Dr. Marcoh and Father Cornello told him he was going to find a Philosopher’s Stone behind these so-called “miracles”. During his meeting with Don Paco, Edward learns about magick: an ancient mystic art of Don Paco’s people. Edward takes a gamble when Don Paco offered him the possibility of restoring his Gate of Truth and thus restoring his ability to use alchemy. Little did he know that this “Miracle Man” had a hidden agenda, so on the morning after Don Paco performs the Ritual of Transcendence, the former State Alchemist finds himself trapped in the body of a cat. When all seemed lost, Edward finds an ally in Matilde, Don Paco’s wife. Thanks to Matilde, Edward learns that Don Paco had stolen his body and is heading to Resembool to find Winry. What he wants with the automail mechanic remains a mystery. Armed with the knowledge that the Ritual Transcendence can be reversed, Edward heads East to stop Don Paco and keep Winry from harm.

Author: hirstories Continuity: Brotherhood/Manga Length: 30,000+ Pairings: Ed/Winry, Al/Mei Rating: T (teen) Tags: Canon compliant AU, Canon relationships, Implied relationships, Multiple OCs, Humor, Supernatural, Adventure, Mild violence, Cursing Major warnings: No

Fic #13: sicut in caelo et in terra

Summary: A series of shorter stories set in a world where canon alchemists are not scientists, but deities: making up a Pantheon of gods and goddesses, with Truth and Hohenheim at their helm. The series details scenes along the boys’ journey to harnessing their inherited powers and locating their father, trying to restore balance to the world of deities and discovering what he left the Pantheon to do.

Author: miraculous-stardust Continuity: Brotherhood/Manga Length: >15k Pairings: Roy/Riza (background), Maes/Gracia (background) - pairings exist but the fic is gen Rating: T (teen) Tags: fmabb 17, deity au, basically alchemists +homunculi and gracia are deities, a series of smaller fics bc this got out of hand, inspired by the fma prototype chapter and greek mythology Major warnings: No

Fic #14

Summary: If there is one universal truth, it is that Edward Elric will do anything for his little brother…right? Yet Al is sick and Ed refuses to consider magic as a possible cause or cure. With the best intentions, Al goes behind Ed’s back to pursue the possibility, requesting assistance from Detective Roy Mustang—the only State recognized civilian Mage.  Roy reluctantly agrees, positive that doing so is about as smart as hugging a live grenade but curious because of, both the large disparity in mindsets of the brothers, and his rocky history with Ed. It predictably explodes in his face. Meanwhile, Roy has his hands full trying to protect those few magic users he’s able to track down within the confines of his profession from a world no one believes in (all the while assisting Al where he can and sidestepping explosive interactions with Ed).  He finds himself missing patterns, falling a step behind when he should be a step ahead and his past catches him unaware. Despite Ed’s protests that magic is just a flashy form of alchemy, it exists and it’s coming for him in a very real way. And when handed a decision, Ed makes the worst possible one. Tldr: Everyone: Ed, no!        Ed: Ed, FUCKIN’ yes!

Author: Catie-brie Continuity: AU that pulls from both Length: 40-50k-ish ?? Pairings: Roy/Ed (main) Ling/Lan Fan (background), Havoc/Breda/Rebecca (background), Ed/Ling (past), Roy/Kimblee (past) Can’t think of any others but ships kind of just happen when I write Rating: M (mature) Tags: Urban Fantasy AU, Modern!Amestris, with magic!, Dark, watch out for the fae, fae and faeries, '03 flavored ending, Ed will do stupid things to protect his brother, angst, enemies to lovers to friends to better lovers, UST, RST, unhealthy depictions of sex (magic), other depictions of sex, canon typical violence Major warnings: Graphic Depictions of Violence

Fic #15: Careful what you wish for

Summary: The homunculi each had a desire.  Friends, family, love, and they got what they wanted. Just not in the way they would have wanted it. Envy has abusive relatives, lust falls in love with almost every man, greed has all the possessions he could want,  but not in the prime of conditions. Edward and three others have to go into this world, similar to 03 but is brotherhood,  and collect all the homunculi and take them back to truth, as to have their current lives, they took a piece of him each that has to be recovered. Warning, this story will be very trigger sensitive. It deals with abusive relatives, mental and physical disorders. It can be fairly gory and depressive at parts. If you are sensitive to any of those things. Please do not read.

Author: Homunculus101 Continuity: Brotherhood/Manga Length: 20k or above. Pairings: N/A Rating: T (teen) Tags: Mental disorder, physical disorders, gore, real life issues Major warnings: Graphic Depictions of Violence

Fic #16:

Summary: While people fear the monsters they’ve read in children’s stories or even see in movies, the real monsters within humans can be even more horrifying. How does Edward contend with what’s killing people all over the world? How does Roy contend with the monster that is slowly growing from the military?  Everyone has a demon, a personal monster, how does humanity deal with a threat like that?

Author: YYLoverGirl1 Continuity: An AU inspired by Blassreiter while still keeping elements from Brotherhood Length: 15k+ Pairings: Roy/Riza Rating: T (teen)   Tags: (none) Major warnings: Major Character Death, Graphic Depictions of Violence

Fic #17: Bringing the Fight to You

Summary: Story so far:

Edward and Alphonse were born a few years earlier, so Edward is 21 at the beginning of this story. Edward never became a State Alchemist, instead, he and Alphonse train with Izumi Curtis and travel the world, learning as much as they can. Alphonse is now a doctor, and Edward has multiple PhDs in the fields of Alchemy and Languages, and is a professor at Central University. He also helps out at the hospital whenever he has spare time, using Alchehestry to increase people’s chances of survival until the doctors (and Alphonse) can get to them. They saved Maes Hughes, who set up Edward as Roy Mustang’s escort to a military ball.

Edward and Alphonse learn of the conspiracy involving the Promised Day.

This fic:

In order to prevent the scheme of the military high command to use all of Amestris to become immortal, Edward and Alphonse join forces with Mustang. They gather allies and prepare as best they can for the fight to come. Along the way, Roy and Ed have to hide their relationship, in order to tempt the senior staff into thinking they can gain Ed as an ally for their schemes. This doesn’t stop their romance from blooming, but many obstacles are put in their path. This is the story of how the Promised Day, and the year leading up to it, would have gone, had Edward stayed out of the military, and Hughes survived to tell the tale of a nationwide transmutation circle.

Author: caraakame Continuity: Brotherhood/Manga Length: 20k - 30k Pairings: Roy/Ed, Al/May, Greed/Ling (background) Rating: M (mature) Tags: AU, Angst, So much angst, some fluff, possible smut, Hughes survives, Doctor!Al, Professor!Ed, Alternate Timeline Major warnings: Major Character Death

Fic #18: Dante’s Divine Comedy

Summary: Edward Elric has never met the host of tonight’s dinner party. In fact the only thing he truly knows about them is that they are offering key information regarding the disappearance of his father. He would have never have come here with his fiancé otherwise. Upon arrival, Edward is surprised to see that there a quite a few familiar faces among the guests. Even more so when he realizes just how similar their motivations are for attending. Though the night quickly turns for the worst as more guests begin to disappear causing Edward to realize that some things are better left buried and forgotten.

Author: totallynotmyfanfiction Continuity: FMA 2003 Length: 20,000 (in the end) Pairings: Al/Wrath, Ed/Winry, Winry/Paninya (past), Dante/Hohenheim (background), Greed/Envy (background), Dante/Greed (background), Lust/Scar (background) Rating: T (teen) Tags: Murder Mystery, Human AU, Slightly Older Characters, Some Humor, Tragedy, Major warnings: Major Character Death, Graphic Depictions of Violence

Fic #19

Summary: In a world where the Gate works on different principles, the price Ed pays for Al’s soul isn’t an arm, but his humanity. Turned into a strange and unnatural beast, he and Al run away, and end up settling in an old castle ruin. Hiding from sight, they spend years searching for a way to get their true bodies back. But then the military shows up, and Roy ends up as Ed’s “hostage”. Though it’s hard to tell who’s the more unwilling party. Well, at first, anyway.

Author: Spuri Continuity: AU (possible vague mention of some Brotherhood details) Length: 46000 Pairings: Roy/Ed Rating: M (mature) Tags: AU - Beauty and the Beast, fluff, crack, slight angst, mention of non-trans related dysphoria, (aka Ed is Beast and understandably has issues), Major warnings: No

Fic #20

Summary: He hates being reduced to the role of civilian – a convalescing civilian, even more. He hates the red tape that surrounds his recovery; hates that Riza still hasn’t come out of her coma like the doctors said she would.

The aftermath of the Promised Day isn’t pleasant for anybody involved.

Author: Tsaritsa Continuity: Brotherhood/Manga Length: 15k Pairings: Roy/Riza, Ed/Winry (background) Rating: T (teen) Tags: (none) Major warnings: No

Fic #21: The Wilderness

Summary: Amestris becomes a harrowingly silent place on the afternoon of the Promised Day and only the survivors at the center are left to tread over it. Within a few hours, they won’t be the only ones wandering.

Author: haganenobeato Continuity: Brotherhood/Manga Length: 25,000+ Pairings: Roy/Riza (main), Al/Mei, Ed/Winry (background) Rating: M (mature) Tags: Horror, Dark, Psychological distress, Zombies, Kinda gorey, Lots of things happen REAL QUICK, some light moments to help Major warnings: Major Character Death, Graphic Depictions of Violence

Fic #22: Heathens

Summary: Central City has never been a quiet city. Sex and drugs—the currency of choice in the criminal underground—overflow in the streets leaving fear and unrest in its wake. Obsidian Inferno, the most exclusive club in Central, caters to an exclusive clientele with the most notorious playboy,Roy Mustang, on its throne.  However when a recent string of murders and drug overdoses takes the city by storm, the evidence starts to point to the Inferno. Detective Edward Elric must go undercover to solve the case, but discovers that not everything is what it seems. As the pressure mounts, his discovery threatens to tear apart everything he loves.

Author: Stargazerlilith Continuity: AU with a mix of both worlds Length: 25,000 - 30,000 ish Pairings: Roy/Ed, Ed/Russell (past) Rating: E (explicit) Tags: Drug abuse, gang violence, alcohol abuse, possible kink, sexual content, graphic murders, Schizophrenic characters. Major warnings: Major Character Death, Graphic Depictions of Violence

Fic #23: Antebellum Innocence

Summary: The year is 1922, and New York City has never been more rife with drama, drugs, conflict, and crime. It’s a dangerous place for a couple of immigrants, but Ed and Al have always been good at toughing it out. However, dangers can lurk even in the most well-lit corners, and the shadows can hold some of the best friends they’ll ever meet.

Author: the-redheaded-potato Continuity: Brotherhood/Manga Length: 40k Pairings: Roy/Ed, Greed/Ling, Fuery/Havoc Rating: M (mature) Tags: aged-up character, mafia!au, mob boss Roy, trans Havoc, nb Breda, nb Envy, disability, officer Hughes, the homunculi are a rival gang, period-typical racism, tho I downsized it significantly, mentions of ableism Major warnings: Major Character Death, Graphic Depictions of Violence