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More of the same from me. >_> Am slowly working through the general themes; sooner or later, I may try the pairings one, just to go the full gamut. [laughs]
Short drabbles again, wheee. Hope people like♥ Some minor spoilers for roughly around episodes 17 and 18--nothing big, but especially for "Creators and Destroyers." Little things, really.
17. Creators and Destroyers 「創る者と壊す者」
[[So, that whole thing about a Lust-lookalike being close to Scar's brother? Not in the manga at all, so this is definitely an anime-only thing. What's her name? What's Scar's real name? Who knows--so watch, as I avoid using them throughout the ENTIRE PIECE, whoo. :p]]
---
When he approached her, his feet made no sound on the soft grass--but she still looked at him, unsurprised at his presence. Her colorful wrap lay in a bunched tangle of wrinkles by her feet, leaving her round shoulders and long arms bare. Sitting halfway between sunlight and shade, she looked like someone else entirely--like one of the succubae, who had come out of the shadows to try and tempt their Lord, Ishbara, to corruption.
"You shouldn't be out here," he said. "My brother will worry."
"Your brother trusts me," she replied, then raised an arch eyebrow. "Besides, you are here. An injury to me is insult to your brother and yourself."
He said nothing. She turned away from him and looked up, then held out her hand. A songbird alighted on her finger, its tiny wings flaring to help it find balance.
"Look. Here is a little bird," she said, smiling at the tiny thing. "It knows nothing of God, or honor, or country--it simply knows the wind against its wings, the sun upon its body, and the food the earth provides it." She lifted her hand, and the bird spread its wings and flew away.
"And there it goes, to somewhere we will never see," she said, quietly, and put her hand back in her lap.
He rubbed the back of his neck uneasily; he was not used to speaking to her so frankly. This was a strange woman that his brother had brought home, from the eastern end of their beautiful home country, and she brought with her unique ideas and attitudes. "You may have seen them, but I have not. I will not."
She only laughed and tossed her dark hair back. For just a moment, his eyes tracked down, to the shadowed area where the neck of her dress dipped low, and the dusky curves of her breasts came together to form coaxing shadows. Then she laughed, and he tore his eyes away, fiercely embarrassed.
"You sound so sure," she said, and tilted her head to one side. "Just like your brother, I suppose." Her gaze slid off, towards the east, from where she had come. "I think that all of us have the potential to leave, someday. Our God Ishbara created the world to be shared equally among his children; if I step over the borders of our country, and into Amestris, I would still be within His arms." She leaned forward then, with her slender arms loosely crossed, and smiled.
Uncomfortable, he shifted. "Here is the homeland, though," he said. "This is where our God lived and suffered for His people, and this is where we must remain, to guard its mysteries."
She chuckled and shook her head again; he distinctly heard the sibilant, silken rustle of her hair as she moved. "That is a very rigid way to see the world," she said. "Maybe you're not so much like your brother after all."
The edge of mockery in her tone made his back stiffen. "My brother is a wise man," he said, stiffly. "We cannot all be as great as he is."
"Ah, did I insult you? I apologize." Her dark gaze slid briefly up to him, then away again. "But you are right--we cannot all be as great as him. He's special, your brother." She straightened again, and inadvertently he looked once more; it seemed to him that the laces of her shirt had loosened, just slightly. It was wrong, to look upon what belonged to his brother so openly.
In a single smooth movement she rose to her feet and lifted one slender hand. Her slender fingers spread open wide, as though to pluck the clouds and sun from the very sky. He shifted his weight uncertainly, sliding a half-step back from her. She held the pose for a long moment, the living woman frozen to a breathing statue, then relaxed slowly and turned to him.
"Shall we go back?" she asked, and hitched the drape of her shawl higher up her slender shoulders. This time, he kept his eyes fixed solely on her face, and nodded.
Together, they walked down the hill and home. In the trees overhead, he could hear birds singing.
--------
25. Deciphering 「解読」
[[I am a BIG fan of the idea of Hughes and Gracia as surrogate parents for the Elrics. BIG fan. Monstrous. It's, like, my not-so-secret lurve, for all that I say very little about it. Eheh. XD;;;; Set in the anime, probably a little BEFORE Ed and Al were sent to Liore--thus, Alicia's three, I believe. XD;]]
---
"Just because I'm in Intelligence doesn't make me a scholar." Hughes tipped his chair back, propping his ankles on the table and folding his arms behind his head. "I don't know the first thing about translating. Mustang must've been angrier about that girlfriend crack than I thought."
Gracia only chuckled, as she set a gently-steaming coffee cup by the paperwork stacks. "Roy is influential, certainly, but I don't think his authority is *that* widespread," she said. "It's probably just a sign that your superiors have faith in the work you do." She straightened, but before she could pull away, Hughes reached out and snagged her wrist, dropping a quick kiss to the back of her hand.
"Don't you be fooled by that charming smile," he said darkly. "He might still be bitter that *I* got you first."
She just smiled fondly at him and shook her head. "Maes, really."
"No, really!" He let go of her hand and straightened in the chair, dropping his feet back to the ground. "It could be part of some conspiracy to win your affections!" He affected another dark look, hunkering over the mass of paperwork, then relaxed it when she laughed again.
"Don't be silly," she said, and bent quickly to kiss his cheek. "You'll be *fine*. I have faith in you." She picked up one of the dictionaries he'd gathered for the translation, brushing her fingers across the leather cover. "Besides which, I'm sure if you asked Edward or Alphonse, they'd be glad to help you."
Hughes stroked his chin. "Ed drives a hard bargain, though," he said. "We'll have to bribe him with food or something to even get him interested."
"Nonsense," Gracia said. "Let me talk to him. I'm sure he'll be happy to do it without you owing him any favors." She put the dictionary back down. "They *are* currently in Central, aren't they?"
"For the moment, yes." Hughes leaned an elbow on the table, watching her fondly. "I heard they're stopping for a few days to get some research documents Ed needs, before they head back to East City to report to Mustang."
"That's plenty of time," Gracia said firmly. "I'll go call them now."
"Ed's just going to complain," Hughes called after her. She didn't answer, and a moment later, he heard her voice on the phone, asking to be put in touch with Mister Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist. Hughes sighed and ruffled his hair, and turned back to his work.
A moment later, Gracia returned and laid her slim hands on his shoulders. He tilted his head back and looked at her expectantly.
"He'll be here within an hour," she said, with a touch of smugness. "He's bringing Alphonse with him, too--and all we have to do is feed them dinner."
Hughes raised his eyebrow and let out a long, low whistle. "You," he said, "are the most amazing woman."
"So I've heard," Gracia said, then squeezed his shoulders and moved away. "I'm going to tell Alicia that her big brothers are coming to visit, and then I'm going to start dinner. Answer the door for me, all right?"
"Right, right." Hughes sat up, twirled his pen around his fingers, staring blankly at the documents before him. Then he paused and glanced over his shoulder. "'Big brothers'?"
"Well, of course," Gracia called down the stairs. "Dear, Ed and Alicia share a birthday--of course she's going to call them that."
Hughes blinked, then began to laugh.
***
"Thank you so much for your help, Edward, Alphonse," Gracia said, as she stood in the doorway and watched Ed tug on his red coat. In the crook of one arm, she balanced a drowsy Alicia; in the other, she held a cloth-wrapped bundle, which she pressed into Ed's fumbling hands.
"It wasn't a problem, Ms. Gracia," he said, not quite looking her in the face. "I mean, it's good you looked us up; we're geniuses and all, so--"
Al put a hand on his brother's shoulder; Hughes, standing behind his wife, got the distinct impression that Al was smiling. "He's trying to say thank you, and you don't have to give us the food. We're glad to help."
"Was not!" Ed protested fiercely, though when Gracia let go of her present, he kept his grip on it firm. "Al, don't put words in my mouth, it's rude. He owes us now!" He stabbed a finger towards Hughes, over Gracia's shoulder.
"We got food out of it, didn't we?" Al asked, his tone mild. "You were the one who agreed, Brother."
Ed grumbled, but there was a certain pleased edge to his shuffle. Gracia continued to smile at him, and shifted Alicia's weight so she could reach out and put a light hand on the boy's left shoulder.
"You helped me out a lot today, boys," she said. "I was able to get my work done without Maes getting underfoot." When her husband squawked, she turned and smiled at him sweetly. "Plus, it made Alicia happy to see you today--didn't it, honey?"
At the sound of her name, the little girl lifted her heavy head from her mother's shoulder. She blinked at the Elrics, then gave them a sleepy, pleased little smile. "Come back and play again soon," she said. She held out one small hand, the tiny pinky extended.
Any lingering irritation wiped itself from Ed's face. He set Gracia's present in the crook of his right arm and reached out with his left hand, letting Alicia hook their pinkies together. "It's a promise, now, okay?"
Alicia nodded, very seriously, before her eyes began drifting shut again. Ed grinned and disentangled his hand, then stepped back. Al waved cheerfully as the two of them walked away, two figures soon swallowed up by twilight. Gracia watched them go, then gently closed the door.
"So," Hughes said, when she turned back to him, "how on earth did you do it?"
Gracia dimpled at him--the smile that never failed to send his stomach into nervous little somersaults. "It's not that hard, dear," she said. "In order to understand someone else's language, the first trick is to listen."
"Eh?" Hughes reached out to take their daughter, and found himself neatly sidestepped.
"I mean," she said, and pecked his cheek when he pouted at her, "that it's not *so* bad, keeping those boys around the house, is it? It's good for Alicia to have other people looking out for her, don't you think?"
He opened his mouth to say something, then cut himself off beforehand, looking thoughtful. "If you ever decide to go back to work, dear," he said at last, "I have first dibs on you."
"How sweet of you," Gracia said, "but you know, Roy's made me some interesting offers--I'll have to consider."
And as her husband sputtered, Gracia went upstairs to put Alicia to bed.
--------
27. Mechanic 「整備工」
[[I'm an OT3 fam, damnit. Set perhaps right after ep17, woo.]]
---
Winry takes great pride in her work. From very early on, her grandmother noted she had a definite aptitude for machines--talent tempered with a genuine love of the process and all things related to it. When she was six, she took apart her father's pocket watch and then reassembled it before his disbelieving eyes.
It seems like second nature to her, to understand how things work--and if she doesn't know, the desire to find out nags and whines like a hopeful puppy. Sometimes she's still surprised that neither Ed nor Al shared her passion--but they had their own dreams to follow, chasing those down a road that leads them far from her. As each new winter comes and her grandmother's fingers grow stiffer, more of the work is turned over to Winry, and she takes it gladly.
This is life in a tiny village, where half the people do not lock their doors at night, and nearly all foreign visitors come trickling in just to see the automail mechanics named Rockbell. She is kept busy enough, even on small jobs.
"Just remember, Winry," her grandmother tells her one night, as they sit on the porch and watch evening fall, "you are dealing with *people* as much as the automail. The machines may be what fascinate you, but it is the *person* that is most important."
She is quiet for a moment, thinking. "I know," she says, lacing her fingers together. Her eyes track to the end of the road, which leads to East City, Central City, the world. Her grandmother catches her look and chuckles, quietly.
"They'll come back someday, Winry," she says. "Those boys know the value of home and family. It may take a while, but they won't leave you behind."
Winry looks up sharply at that, but her grandmother has already turned around and is heading inside. She sighs and looks forward again. If she curls her fingers just so, she feels the weight of a wrench in them, solid and dependable. She has saved and bettered many lives with her tools and her trade; even those who do not come for the automail are grateful for the prosthetics.
But every year, when a certain day in winter and another in summer pass, she thinks that she still has not done enough. Four years have changed Ed and Al so very much; she thinks of their brief stop to get Ed's arm repaired and wonders at the changes. Flashes of the boys she knew still exist, but they are strange--familiar faces viewed through an odd filter. She would write to them, but stops each time, because she has nothing to say other than, *Be careful. Come home.*
Next time, she thinks, it's always next time she'll tell them. *I miss you. Hurry up and come back--don't leave me here forever.* The sentiments are embarrassing to admit, but she thinks they would understand, whenever she does get to say them.
People are not machines; their parts do not fit together with mathematical precision, and so she is out of her element. Winry sighs and nudges a screw with one finger, watching it roll across the table in a lopsided circle.
"Winry!" her grandmother calls from downstairs. Den barks a few times, and is hushed. "We have a customer!"
"Coming!" she shouts back, and gets to her feet.
Short drabbles again, wheee. Hope people like♥ Some minor spoilers for roughly around episodes 17 and 18--nothing big, but especially for "Creators and Destroyers." Little things, really.
17. Creators and Destroyers 「創る者と壊す者」
[[So, that whole thing about a Lust-lookalike being close to Scar's brother? Not in the manga at all, so this is definitely an anime-only thing. What's her name? What's Scar's real name? Who knows--so watch, as I avoid using them throughout the ENTIRE PIECE, whoo. :p]]
---
When he approached her, his feet made no sound on the soft grass--but she still looked at him, unsurprised at his presence. Her colorful wrap lay in a bunched tangle of wrinkles by her feet, leaving her round shoulders and long arms bare. Sitting halfway between sunlight and shade, she looked like someone else entirely--like one of the succubae, who had come out of the shadows to try and tempt their Lord, Ishbara, to corruption.
"You shouldn't be out here," he said. "My brother will worry."
"Your brother trusts me," she replied, then raised an arch eyebrow. "Besides, you are here. An injury to me is insult to your brother and yourself."
He said nothing. She turned away from him and looked up, then held out her hand. A songbird alighted on her finger, its tiny wings flaring to help it find balance.
"Look. Here is a little bird," she said, smiling at the tiny thing. "It knows nothing of God, or honor, or country--it simply knows the wind against its wings, the sun upon its body, and the food the earth provides it." She lifted her hand, and the bird spread its wings and flew away.
"And there it goes, to somewhere we will never see," she said, quietly, and put her hand back in her lap.
He rubbed the back of his neck uneasily; he was not used to speaking to her so frankly. This was a strange woman that his brother had brought home, from the eastern end of their beautiful home country, and she brought with her unique ideas and attitudes. "You may have seen them, but I have not. I will not."
She only laughed and tossed her dark hair back. For just a moment, his eyes tracked down, to the shadowed area where the neck of her dress dipped low, and the dusky curves of her breasts came together to form coaxing shadows. Then she laughed, and he tore his eyes away, fiercely embarrassed.
"You sound so sure," she said, and tilted her head to one side. "Just like your brother, I suppose." Her gaze slid off, towards the east, from where she had come. "I think that all of us have the potential to leave, someday. Our God Ishbara created the world to be shared equally among his children; if I step over the borders of our country, and into Amestris, I would still be within His arms." She leaned forward then, with her slender arms loosely crossed, and smiled.
Uncomfortable, he shifted. "Here is the homeland, though," he said. "This is where our God lived and suffered for His people, and this is where we must remain, to guard its mysteries."
She chuckled and shook her head again; he distinctly heard the sibilant, silken rustle of her hair as she moved. "That is a very rigid way to see the world," she said. "Maybe you're not so much like your brother after all."
The edge of mockery in her tone made his back stiffen. "My brother is a wise man," he said, stiffly. "We cannot all be as great as he is."
"Ah, did I insult you? I apologize." Her dark gaze slid briefly up to him, then away again. "But you are right--we cannot all be as great as him. He's special, your brother." She straightened again, and inadvertently he looked once more; it seemed to him that the laces of her shirt had loosened, just slightly. It was wrong, to look upon what belonged to his brother so openly.
In a single smooth movement she rose to her feet and lifted one slender hand. Her slender fingers spread open wide, as though to pluck the clouds and sun from the very sky. He shifted his weight uncertainly, sliding a half-step back from her. She held the pose for a long moment, the living woman frozen to a breathing statue, then relaxed slowly and turned to him.
"Shall we go back?" she asked, and hitched the drape of her shawl higher up her slender shoulders. This time, he kept his eyes fixed solely on her face, and nodded.
Together, they walked down the hill and home. In the trees overhead, he could hear birds singing.
--------
25. Deciphering 「解読」
[[I am a BIG fan of the idea of Hughes and Gracia as surrogate parents for the Elrics. BIG fan. Monstrous. It's, like, my not-so-secret lurve, for all that I say very little about it. Eheh. XD;;;; Set in the anime, probably a little BEFORE Ed and Al were sent to Liore--thus, Alicia's three, I believe. XD;]]
---
"Just because I'm in Intelligence doesn't make me a scholar." Hughes tipped his chair back, propping his ankles on the table and folding his arms behind his head. "I don't know the first thing about translating. Mustang must've been angrier about that girlfriend crack than I thought."
Gracia only chuckled, as she set a gently-steaming coffee cup by the paperwork stacks. "Roy is influential, certainly, but I don't think his authority is *that* widespread," she said. "It's probably just a sign that your superiors have faith in the work you do." She straightened, but before she could pull away, Hughes reached out and snagged her wrist, dropping a quick kiss to the back of her hand.
"Don't you be fooled by that charming smile," he said darkly. "He might still be bitter that *I* got you first."
She just smiled fondly at him and shook her head. "Maes, really."
"No, really!" He let go of her hand and straightened in the chair, dropping his feet back to the ground. "It could be part of some conspiracy to win your affections!" He affected another dark look, hunkering over the mass of paperwork, then relaxed it when she laughed again.
"Don't be silly," she said, and bent quickly to kiss his cheek. "You'll be *fine*. I have faith in you." She picked up one of the dictionaries he'd gathered for the translation, brushing her fingers across the leather cover. "Besides which, I'm sure if you asked Edward or Alphonse, they'd be glad to help you."
Hughes stroked his chin. "Ed drives a hard bargain, though," he said. "We'll have to bribe him with food or something to even get him interested."
"Nonsense," Gracia said. "Let me talk to him. I'm sure he'll be happy to do it without you owing him any favors." She put the dictionary back down. "They *are* currently in Central, aren't they?"
"For the moment, yes." Hughes leaned an elbow on the table, watching her fondly. "I heard they're stopping for a few days to get some research documents Ed needs, before they head back to East City to report to Mustang."
"That's plenty of time," Gracia said firmly. "I'll go call them now."
"Ed's just going to complain," Hughes called after her. She didn't answer, and a moment later, he heard her voice on the phone, asking to be put in touch with Mister Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist. Hughes sighed and ruffled his hair, and turned back to his work.
A moment later, Gracia returned and laid her slim hands on his shoulders. He tilted his head back and looked at her expectantly.
"He'll be here within an hour," she said, with a touch of smugness. "He's bringing Alphonse with him, too--and all we have to do is feed them dinner."
Hughes raised his eyebrow and let out a long, low whistle. "You," he said, "are the most amazing woman."
"So I've heard," Gracia said, then squeezed his shoulders and moved away. "I'm going to tell Alicia that her big brothers are coming to visit, and then I'm going to start dinner. Answer the door for me, all right?"
"Right, right." Hughes sat up, twirled his pen around his fingers, staring blankly at the documents before him. Then he paused and glanced over his shoulder. "'Big brothers'?"
"Well, of course," Gracia called down the stairs. "Dear, Ed and Alicia share a birthday--of course she's going to call them that."
Hughes blinked, then began to laugh.
***
"Thank you so much for your help, Edward, Alphonse," Gracia said, as she stood in the doorway and watched Ed tug on his red coat. In the crook of one arm, she balanced a drowsy Alicia; in the other, she held a cloth-wrapped bundle, which she pressed into Ed's fumbling hands.
"It wasn't a problem, Ms. Gracia," he said, not quite looking her in the face. "I mean, it's good you looked us up; we're geniuses and all, so--"
Al put a hand on his brother's shoulder; Hughes, standing behind his wife, got the distinct impression that Al was smiling. "He's trying to say thank you, and you don't have to give us the food. We're glad to help."
"Was not!" Ed protested fiercely, though when Gracia let go of her present, he kept his grip on it firm. "Al, don't put words in my mouth, it's rude. He owes us now!" He stabbed a finger towards Hughes, over Gracia's shoulder.
"We got food out of it, didn't we?" Al asked, his tone mild. "You were the one who agreed, Brother."
Ed grumbled, but there was a certain pleased edge to his shuffle. Gracia continued to smile at him, and shifted Alicia's weight so she could reach out and put a light hand on the boy's left shoulder.
"You helped me out a lot today, boys," she said. "I was able to get my work done without Maes getting underfoot." When her husband squawked, she turned and smiled at him sweetly. "Plus, it made Alicia happy to see you today--didn't it, honey?"
At the sound of her name, the little girl lifted her heavy head from her mother's shoulder. She blinked at the Elrics, then gave them a sleepy, pleased little smile. "Come back and play again soon," she said. She held out one small hand, the tiny pinky extended.
Any lingering irritation wiped itself from Ed's face. He set Gracia's present in the crook of his right arm and reached out with his left hand, letting Alicia hook their pinkies together. "It's a promise, now, okay?"
Alicia nodded, very seriously, before her eyes began drifting shut again. Ed grinned and disentangled his hand, then stepped back. Al waved cheerfully as the two of them walked away, two figures soon swallowed up by twilight. Gracia watched them go, then gently closed the door.
"So," Hughes said, when she turned back to him, "how on earth did you do it?"
Gracia dimpled at him--the smile that never failed to send his stomach into nervous little somersaults. "It's not that hard, dear," she said. "In order to understand someone else's language, the first trick is to listen."
"Eh?" Hughes reached out to take their daughter, and found himself neatly sidestepped.
"I mean," she said, and pecked his cheek when he pouted at her, "that it's not *so* bad, keeping those boys around the house, is it? It's good for Alicia to have other people looking out for her, don't you think?"
He opened his mouth to say something, then cut himself off beforehand, looking thoughtful. "If you ever decide to go back to work, dear," he said at last, "I have first dibs on you."
"How sweet of you," Gracia said, "but you know, Roy's made me some interesting offers--I'll have to consider."
And as her husband sputtered, Gracia went upstairs to put Alicia to bed.
--------
27. Mechanic 「整備工」
[[I'm an OT3 fam, damnit. Set perhaps right after ep17, woo.]]
---
Winry takes great pride in her work. From very early on, her grandmother noted she had a definite aptitude for machines--talent tempered with a genuine love of the process and all things related to it. When she was six, she took apart her father's pocket watch and then reassembled it before his disbelieving eyes.
It seems like second nature to her, to understand how things work--and if she doesn't know, the desire to find out nags and whines like a hopeful puppy. Sometimes she's still surprised that neither Ed nor Al shared her passion--but they had their own dreams to follow, chasing those down a road that leads them far from her. As each new winter comes and her grandmother's fingers grow stiffer, more of the work is turned over to Winry, and she takes it gladly.
This is life in a tiny village, where half the people do not lock their doors at night, and nearly all foreign visitors come trickling in just to see the automail mechanics named Rockbell. She is kept busy enough, even on small jobs.
"Just remember, Winry," her grandmother tells her one night, as they sit on the porch and watch evening fall, "you are dealing with *people* as much as the automail. The machines may be what fascinate you, but it is the *person* that is most important."
She is quiet for a moment, thinking. "I know," she says, lacing her fingers together. Her eyes track to the end of the road, which leads to East City, Central City, the world. Her grandmother catches her look and chuckles, quietly.
"They'll come back someday, Winry," she says. "Those boys know the value of home and family. It may take a while, but they won't leave you behind."
Winry looks up sharply at that, but her grandmother has already turned around and is heading inside. She sighs and looks forward again. If she curls her fingers just so, she feels the weight of a wrench in them, solid and dependable. She has saved and bettered many lives with her tools and her trade; even those who do not come for the automail are grateful for the prosthetics.
But every year, when a certain day in winter and another in summer pass, she thinks that she still has not done enough. Four years have changed Ed and Al so very much; she thinks of their brief stop to get Ed's arm repaired and wonders at the changes. Flashes of the boys she knew still exist, but they are strange--familiar faces viewed through an odd filter. She would write to them, but stops each time, because she has nothing to say other than, *Be careful. Come home.*
Next time, she thinks, it's always next time she'll tell them. *I miss you. Hurry up and come back--don't leave me here forever.* The sentiments are embarrassing to admit, but she thinks they would understand, whenever she does get to say them.
People are not machines; their parts do not fit together with mathematical precision, and so she is out of her element. Winry sighs and nudges a screw with one finger, watching it roll across the table in a lopsided circle.
"Winry!" her grandmother calls from downstairs. Den barks a few times, and is hushed. "We have a customer!"
"Coming!" she shouts back, and gets to her feet.
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From:
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Creators and Destroyers - Fantastic. I don't much like Scar, I admit; I try to, but I don't. I love the way you've written this, though, I love the side you show of him here, the stiff family member who - is indebted to his brother, in a way, just by being his brother. I love the way you show his reaction to an outsider - an enticing, attractive outsider who really represents the outside, I think - freedom, yes, but the outside, which makes Scar uncomfortable and where he doesn't feel he belongs, but where he ends up GOING. There's so much more in here, too - hints of an entire society and it's values, patriarchy, an honour system, an entire religion. I don't know how you do it, but boy, do I love it.
Deciphering - AWW. Seriously, AWW. It was on thursday that I really REALIZED that Ed and Alicia share a birthday, and what that means, symbolically and to the KIDS. You write Hughes so NATURALLY,t oo - in love with his family, an easy-going joker who still has a job to do. And Gracia! Oh, for all I love Hughes, for all I love them as One Big Happy Family, I think Gracia really makes this piece. She's loving, understanding, intelligent, keen-witted, and able to tease and make fun of her husband in a loving way, and it's just so perfect, it's just so human. And then, at the end, that tiny bit of brother-interaction that works SO well, Ed aggressive and so ED, while still ...loving it, really, and Al being the calm, sensible one who interprets Ed. And it IS about deciphering, but not about paper. It's about deciphering the boys. And boy, do I love it.
Mechanic - You interpreted the theme here so well again, you know? I'm reminded of that scene where Ed mutters about Winry needing to focus more on the HUMAN. It's true, she does - and you write her here KNOWING that. She's so REAL right here, living her own life and doing her own thing, but loving them, worrying about them, and so out of her element among humans that she doesn't even know how to express it properly. I also love, seriously, seriously love that you make this a quiet moment between busy work, in a way balancing between Winry The Human and Winry the Machine/Mechanic. SO good.
Wow.
LOVE it.
From:
no subject
Re: Creators and Destroyers --you know, I never ever really expected to write Scar at ALL, let alone anything about him "before." He's just not the sort of character type that appeals to me, but since that recent marathon of 1-18, and the two guyfriends I've addicted to the show have MASSIVE FANBOY GRINS about the stuff Scar can do, it just sort of happens. [grins]
Re: Deciphering --it's never said exactly when Ed and Al's birthdays are in the manga, but in the anime, it was roughly lunchtime, I think, of Ed's birthday when Gracia went into labor, so, long birthtimes aside, it seems pretty implied that it IS the same day. In the light of stuff slated to come up soon, I am ALL FOR TEH HUGHES FAMILY LURVE right now. Er, among other things. XD
Re: Mechanic --this was the easiest to write, actually. o_o Fanonically, I'm wavering between Hughes Family Lurve and OT3 stuff, and after ep23, what struck me the most is that she actually DOES really understand both her boys, though it's difficult for her to outright SAY it.
I'm so glad you liked these! ♥♥♥♥ You always make me blush with the stuff you say. :D
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C&D: Massive fanboy grins about Scar... blowing shit up? :D He's pretty darn good at that!
D: [nods!] I think it IS the same day, and that's really so sweet. XD And, yes. GIVE THE HUGHES HIS LOVE!
M: Haven't seen 23 yet. *sniff* but I LOVE what you've done.
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The first one was pretty good. I have to admit when I saw that scene in the anime, my first thought was "Lust!" But it doesn't surprise me it's not in the manga. I'm beginning to think the animators have a limited amount of ways they can draw generic female characters because everyone of them is beginning to look like the Elric's mother to me.
The second one is so cute! The idea of Ed and Al getting half-adopted by Gracia and Hughes is perfect. And I absolutely love the last lines "But Roy has made me some interesting offers- I'll have to consider." It's an example that Gracia has a mind behind that smile and I bet that's what Hughes loves about her. Perfect.
My favorite though is the third. I think it's a very good look at the inside of Winry's mind when she thinks about the Elric brothers. Sad and poignant and very sweet. Just absolutely perfect.
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I actually was unobservant enough that I DIDN'T see any resemblances between Lust and that woman; I immediately pinged off the whole Fuhrer's secretary <--> Elric-mama thing, but otherwise? XD;; So far, I haven't had much difficulty in telling the chicks apart, though Hawkeye with her hair down looks astonishingly like an older Winry.
Hughes is SUCH a family man, and given his comment to Ross, in what, ep18? I think on some level he DOES sort of think of Ed and Al as his kids. ("Training wheels," in a sense, for Alicia as a teenager? More people whose arms he can twist when Alicia's old enough to date and her daddy can't keep up with her hordes of admirers? Who knows? XD)
I'm glad you liked them all--for all that I know NOTHING about mechanics, Winry's somehow quite easy for me to write. ^^ Thanks so much for commenting, and for catching my mistakes! ♥
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17. I'm really fond of Scar and really there's a such a lack of Scar fiction. I'm doubly in love with Lust and the way you write her... *_________*!!
25. Waaah! I love the whole Hughes family to pieces. I love how Elysia and Ed share the same birthday. I love Ed's little indigant protest at the end. And just ALDSJkfldsf. Lovelovelove.
27. People are not machines; their parts do not fit together with mathematical precision, and so she is out of her element. I'm in shock here really. I'm just amazed at how eloquent you are. You damn near summed up Winly in one sentence. *O*
RAABU! I've always been a WhiteCat fan, all the way from the GW Death Arc through your Digimon works, your HP works. If I knew you had an LJ sooner...
SQUEEE! *WORSHIP*
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17. --I'm vaguely SURPRISED there isn't more Scarfic out there, given the sorts of twists one can do with a character like his, but, at the same time, he's hard to write. o_o I think it would help if we could at least find out his REAL NAME, and not have to wade through fifty-dozen speculations thereof. [grins]
25. --HUGHES FAMILY BANZAI! XO He's such a wonderful character, and his family means *so much* to him; it's refreshing to see a loving and doting family in anime, for once. :X And naturally Ed has to argue; he's got a reputation to keep up, after all. ^_~
27. --Winry's just, well, *Winry*. She's got her insane fanatical love of machines (she FLIPS when she finds out Ed and Al are going to pass through Rush Valley, the "mecca of automail," and BEGS Ed and Al to take her--but at the same time, she's their childhood friend, who cries because they won't, and is determined to be their support from afar♥ That's how I see her, at least, and I'm glad it came through. :D
... dude, you read my HP stuff? I dunno if I should be afraid or flattered. XD;; Still, I'm very glad you liked these three, and thank you very much for commenting! ♥ I appreciate the input! ♥♥♥
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(I'm glad you liked them, too♥ But you get better soon!)
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Haha, except for that ONE Roy/Ed piece I did, I think I'm trying to keep the 30 themes gen, with the exception of Gracia and Hughes, because if anyone tries to say they're not canon, I will laugh and ignore them. XD;;;
Thank you for commenting! I'm glad you liked! ^____^
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...
Eee! :D All of them lovely, again despite my not having any previous knowledge of the series(esses?).
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"Creators and Destroyers"
You do a fine job of delineating the characters, without ever mentioning their names. Scar's characterization feels both true to canon, and elaborated. The woman's (Lust's ?) characterization provides a sense of mystery, but still gives the reader a sense of her personality. The two work well together, being almost foils of each other - two people who have very different views on the world, but more in common than they think. What I liked best, though, is how you established a strong feel of the culture, even in such a short piece. The religion; the people's mindsets; the small bits of etiquette - each of these provides a real sense of the time and place, without ever being obvious about it.
"Deciphering"
I absolutely love your Gracia! She is sweet, but she is also obviously very intelligent - which, I have to say, is one of my main draws to female characters. And the relationship between her and Hughes is priceless. They're in love, but they're also friends, which, to me, is the most important and telling part of the relationship. I love their banter! And I had no idea that Ed and Alicia shared a birthday. Need to rewatch episode 6. (It's episode 6, right?)
"Mechanic"
Oh, but your Winry needs a hug! She is such a sweetie. The vignette reminded me strongly of episode 17, without being derivative. I think my favorite part is where she contemplates writing a letter, but knows that there's only one thing for her to say, and she's afraid to say it. That strikes me as very true to both Winry's character, and to reality. Your contrast between humanity, machines, and Winry's perception of both is really, really well done.
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1. I find, sometimes, when I'm doing scenes with just two characters (especially when one's male and one's female), I can get carried away with mentioning NO NAMES at all, so that was the easiest part of the drabble. XD; I personally maintain there IS a direct connection between Lust and that woman, but it could be just a shape and form chosen to mess with Scar's head, depending on who the Overall Bad Guy is. I'm glad no one seems to think I've overdone it with Scar or the culture, especially when most of what we have to work on are half-hints and vague suggestions.
2. Hee! I've really, REALLY wanted to write something with Gracia for a while, and the 30 themes gave me the chance--it makes me bubbly that she's been well-recieved♥ I maintain that Gracia/Hughes is the only relationship that SHOULD be explicitly canon in the series, and it's *so much fun*, I can't help but love♥ So, whee, I'm happy I pulled it off! :D
And yeah, Ed and Alicia DO share a birthday, and I think it is ep6--if they had lunch/dinner at the Hughes' home, Gracia went into labor around, I dunno, a little after their meal, so it's not inconcievable that Alicia was born before midnight. Which I said GLEE to, because it's so damn cute. XD
3. As much love as I have for the other chicks in the series, Winry probably is my favorite, because all the wank about pairings aside, she IS the most important person to BOTH of the Elrics after each other. I like the idea that she puts so much effort into her work with Ed because she wants him to be safe, and the more freely he can move, the sooner he will find a way to return himself and Al to normal, and the sooner they'll come back.
Thank you again, so much, for commenting! ♥♥ I appreciate it~♥
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17.) Very nice musings on the part of Lust especially, and I love how even as a human she gently twisted Scar around her finger. They clashed brilliantly, but she dominated this scene.
25.) I will always just die over anything involving the Elrics - Ed especially. I loved how Gracia is conniving and every bit as dominant as every other Hagaren female in this story - I loved Hughes being all jealous, and their cracks about Roy. It certainly would make for interesting backstory if Hughes and Roy were jockeying for Gracia together. Ed and Alicia - well, I'm dead from teh cute, really, because you know, it was like reading Nina all over again. ;__; I wonder if Ed ever thinks of it that way.
27.) Winly deserves the attention she gets; I like that she's strong and yet really misses her two favorite boys in the world. Even the mangaka doesn't really concentrate on the kind of changes that four years will make on a person, and so it was nice to see that touched on here. Their lives may be separate and far from each other, but we know where her mind is. :)
~~Vikki
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17. --thanks! Lust is probably my favorite of the Sins, so while I tried to write it ambiguously, she was a lot of fun to play around with. And Scar's such a *stiff* personality, so I'm glad the two balanced out. ♥
25. --man, if Hughes loves her, Gracia's GOT to be quite kickass in her own right. I've been wanting to write fic for her for quite some time, now; I'm glad that she came out fine in this. (And you know, I don't think Roy ever really would've outright competed with Hughes for Gracia--more like dropping hints and insinuations here and there to get Hughes to HURRY UP and just ASK HER to go out with him/marry him/whatever, and not waffle over it. XD And here's to hoping that Ed has a much happier relationship with Alicia than he did with Nina. T_T
27. --see, I can see some subtle differences between flashback!Elrics and current!Elrics, but they're all slight things; like in the anime, we see the beginning of Ed's cockiness and self-assured nature in the flashbacks, but it develops into a flull-fledged sort of arrogance when he's fifteen. People change, but they're still *Ed* and *Al*, and she's still *Winry*, so it has to be the three of them. I am quite stubbornly insistent on this. XD
Appreciate the comments, even with a plotbunny gnawing at you♥ I'm glad you liked these! :D
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The second one was cute~ Hughes and Gracia as Elric brothers' surrogate parents is a neat idea, much love to it~
Hughes reached out to take their daughter, and found himself neatly sidestepped. <-- that was adorable~
XD; Um, what's OT3? *clueless* the third one is a really nice Winry-centric story. But Ed and Al are as passionate about alchemy as Winry is about mechanicals, right? Even before their mother died.
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Hughes is such a dork, I love him for it. XD I get the feeling that, if he had his way, he'd keep Alicia with him twenty-four seven, and thus, Gracia has to have adapted to keep him properly at bay. XD
And, OT3 = One True Threesome, or One True Trio, either/or. Because while I AM a Winry/Al fan more, I don't mind Winry/Ed, and I'm happiest when it's just the three of them, together, as friends and siblings. And, yeah, alchemy was always the love of the Elric brothers--Winry's just musing it's strange, that she can love machines SO MUCH and not have transferred some of that to her closest friends. ^^
Thanks for commenting~~~ I'm glad you liked them! ♥
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ahaha, I just keep remembering your rant about feedback, so, here I am. ^^; And I DID really enjoy the fics, and had something to say, yanno?
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(Oh-- and out of curiosity, are you the Whitecat from GW fandom? Like, from waaaaaaaaaay back in the day?)
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(And, uh, yes? XD;;;; That would be me--ahhh, my deep dark secret past comes to light! [/melodrama])
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We were all GW fans once... *wipes tear* Ah, back in the day before it became a well known fact that Heero was the product of a twisted gundam/doctor experiment and Duo was actually a girl who incidentally had a million siblings strewn across the internet and Trowa was really a kind, caring, happy flautist nymph who toodled away at his instrument without a care, serenading his long lost elf-lover Quatre. ...And Wufei. Er. Ever the onna-lover. [/nostlagia]
Right then. Don't mind me. I've been going back and reading some GW fics and I think it shows. o.O
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Your stories always have the perfect balance of dialogue, descriptive action and thought, which I think is one of the hardest things to do in writing ^_^ HUGHES! Hughes always needs some fic lovin', he's such a great character. (I don't really understand the first one too much since I haven't seen ep17 yet, but I'm about to, today probably ^^;;). And this has already been said but again, having Winry touch on the differences between machines and humanity was a nice touch.
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Creators and Destroyers: Fantastic, fantastic characterization of Scar. Especially the touching on his attitude of Brother First, World And Women Second. With a character like Scar, who believes he needs kills for revenge or religion, you always have that need to understand why, the things that make him tick, and this was just wonderfully insightful into that.
Deciphering: Going to go about incoherent and say asjfhsdg here because your H~~~~~~UGHES. Domestic!Hughes. Guh. It was like rediscovering the joy of Hughes all over again. It's hard to comment so late on because you read the prior feedback and everyone has pretty much summed up what you want to say but just getting to see Al and Ed interact with a family unit is both rather sad and heart fuzzy-ing at the same time. And <3<3<3<3 for portraying Gracia as another of the show's awesome power women while still being that almost all-seeing motherly figure as well.
Mechanic: Flashes of the boys she knew still exist, but they are strange--familiar faces viewed through an odd filter. She would write to them, but stops each time, because she has nothing to say other than, *Be careful. Come home.* I think, what I love most about your writing more than anyone else's, is that you actually take the time to really think about the relationships and emotions between the characters instead of just writing a stream of events. So your fics always end up so damn INSIGHTFUL. It's like getting to look at characters or scenes or episodes you thought you knew in an entirely different light and you sort of stumble away going "YES." Great work, dear! ~~~<3
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C&D - Hee, I've been very happy that people have liked this one; Scar's *difficult* for me to write, because he's the sort of character-type that doesn't appeal to me much at all, but. [laughs] He's *interesting* even when being something of a clice, which tends to make me forgive a lot in a character.
Deciphering - FEEL THE HUGHES FAMILY LURVE YO♥♥♥♥ If anything, I feel there's a serious dearth of properly appreciative Hughes-stuff out there, so I try to do my part. [powerpose!] And like with Scar, I'm glad people have liked my version of Gracia; I really want to go back to them someday, so it's nice to know I haven't botched her entirely. XD
Mechanic - Waaaaah, thank you~~~~~~ I'm pleased my observations have pinged off well with people, especially with a series where I love the characters so much (OT3, damnit! [coughs]). ^_______^ Thank you so much for the comments, I appreciate them so very much♥
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♥ Thank you for commenting! ♥
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♥!
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Meep meep, I'm glad you like them despite being behind on canon~~♥♥♥