fic found in a dark, forgotten corner of my hard drive

[emwitchwood]

In the process of trying to declutter I found old, old fic. I think there was once a time where I meant to go somewhere with these. Not sure if I'll pick them back up again or leave them as is.


Fullmetal Alchemist

(Roy/Ed-ish)
 

“Ed.”

 

“Yeah?”

 

“Was there something you forgot to mention?”

 

Ed twirled the pen in slender, nimble fingers, deliberately Not Looking at Roy where the man stood, wearing the expression of no expression that came from being too shocked to know what expression to settle on.

 

“Edward?” Roy prompted, a little desperately.

 

Gold hair slipped over slender shoulders as Edward bent down, carefully inked in the last few lines of the array. “Well, there were... a few minor, unexpected side effects.”

 

“Minor side effects, hm?”

 

Demonstrating that the ‘side effects’ had in no way effected dexterity or resident attitude problem, Edward threw the pen unerringly at Roy’s forehead, shouted, “Who’s so flat-chested you’d never even know they’d been turned into a girl?!?!?!?”

 

Roy examined the far from flat additions to Edward’s chest, and couldn’t think of how to answer that.

Fullmetal Alchemist
(Ed/other!Winry)

Irina was not Winry. Winry never stared at his false arm with such pity. Winry never squealed and leaped away when he touched muddy hands to her face. Winry never looked so soft or smelled like perfume and books. She never wore her hair in elaborate curls and twirled around, laughing, with her skirts flaring out around her, a vision in blue lace and sunlight. Winry had never held him so uncertainly, kissed him so nervously. Winry never cried herself to sleep in his arms because her baby sister was dead and it just wasn’t fair.

It wasn’t Winry who had looked bashful and unsure as she said, “He asked me to marry him, Edward.” and waited for him to reject her. Winry wasn’t the girl he danced with at the wedding. It wasn’t Winry’s son he’d held so carefully, in awe of the tiny bundle in his arms that had his best friend’s eyes and a stranger’s smile. Irina wasn’t Winry at all. He knew that, because Winry was alive but Irina was dead.

Fullmetal Alchemist
Some Things Are Free snapshot

He stretched numbers and crunched them. Juggled and compressed them. Tried to make them do what he needed them to do and got nothing but a vicious headache for it. No matter how he rearranged them, the facts remained the same.

 

“Ed?” Esta called quietly from the doorway. “Ed, it’s late. Come to bed.”

 

He set down his pen, sighed and reached up to pinch the bridge of his nose. She was there almost instantly, her arms sliding around his shoulders and her cheek pressed against his. She squinted down at the papers spread before him.

 

“What are you doing?”

 

“Our finances.”

 

Written word she might not have been able to read well, but she could read every nuance in his voice. “And?” she asked.

 

“I… I can’t see how we’re going to make this work.”

 

They both knew how to stretch out a handful of cash. Even before he had come to this new, strange world, he had known what it was like to have to scrape up money. There had been some hard years when he was a boy and his mother had not wanted to dip too deeply into their savings- knowing, he knew now, that she wouldn’t be around to provide for her boys in the future –and had picked up laundry and done work as a seamstress to make ends meet. His mother had been resourceful and creative, and they had never felt like they were going without. Then when he had arrived in Munich, he and Alfons had always been cutting corners, eating only what they had to and doing a mad scramble to find the money for the rent each month. Esta had never had much money. Her family had been dirt poor, and then they’d been gone and she’d wandered aimless and rootless, stealing and conning until she found herself a family of thieves and cons. They knew how to cut their expenses down to the bone, were used to going without, but it had been easier when it was only themselves they really had to worry about. They had Anya now.

 

“Maybe…” Esta stopped, thought out her words carefully. “Maybe we should leave.”

 

“Munich?”

 

“Germany. Maybe we should head to Madrid. Or London. If we went to Madrid, maybe I could find work, too.”

 

“And London?”

 

“My sister lives there, now. She found work, her and Jal both. I could find work, too, and … and you could ask your father for help. You said he has connections there. He could find you good work.”

 

Just two years ago, Edward would have snarled out that he was not going to ask that bastard for help. Ever.  But he had still been so angry, then. He had been so angry and had still half believed he would get home. He hadn’t had to watch his closest friend die by inches. He hadn’t had a baby to think about, and that made such a difference. What was his pride when compared to his daughter’s wellbeing?

 

“I’ve thought about it.” Ed admitted. “He’d help me. He wouldn’t even rub it in my face that I needed his help after all.” Ed sighed. “I don’t see another way.”

 

“Don’t you want your father to meet his grandbaby?” Esta asked softly, playing with the hair at the nape of his neck.

 

Because she could read it in him anyways, it was easier to say, equally soft, “Yeah. I guess I do.”

Inuyasha
(Kagome/Ayumi)

She had thought that after all she had been through, all she had experienced- getting sucked into the past through a dusty well, meeting a dog eared demon, learning she was the reincarnation of a powerful priestess, and so on and so forth- that there was nothing more that could surprise her.

 

She had been wrong.

 

She blinked at the press of soft lips against hers, raised a hand with the intention of pushing the unwanted advance away but ended up simply closing her fingers around a delicate wrist.

 

“Ayumi…” she said when the girl pulled away.

 

Her friend just smiled at her, sweet and sad. “I just wanted to know what it would feel like. Just once, I wanted to know what it would feel like.”

 

Kagome nodded. She could understand that. “Okay.”

 

Comments

[sarunotoki.livejournal.com]

first comment! *punches air!* yes!

so, I saw the words 'some things are free' on my f-list and I seriously, seriously nearly had a conniption. Seriously. XD

>> "wearing the expression of no expression that came from being too shocked to know what expression to settle on" I loveloveLOVE this line!! It's such an awesome description and really just encompasses the whole moment nicely XD

>> "carefully inked in the last few lines of the array" and this is just - awesomeness :D You've got a wonderful succinct-ness to your writing that I LOVE (and totally envy, heh) and this line in particular was beautifully tactile XD (does that make sense? I'm not sure I'm making sense)

Oh god, the Winry one!! It huuuurts! T.T
>> "Winry never stared at his false arm with such pity" God, this made me want to cry, seriously (again with the precise use of language that has that beautiful stated-ness to it and cuts me from the gut up XD)

The some things are free one I loved as well, of course *grins* I love the idea of Ed doing something so mundane as finances, and this gave such a sense that he was a daddy, even though it was hardly mentioned XD And ohohoh!! When Esta suggested asking his dad for help /I/ wanted to snarl "No! Not ever!" O.o And then I had to let it go, but oh, it hurt T.T aheh.

Anyway! This one feels muted and quiet even with the thrumming tension underneath that maybe they won't be able to fix it, but then Esta's there and they've got a baby and they'll get through it together and it's all quiet but soft-hopeful and I love it XD *hums happily and sinks into a haze of contented bliss*

So to conclude: it was awesome, thanks so much for posting!!! XD *♥ all over!* :P

Ah, long comment O.o Am I still first??

*slinks back off to RL and comment-suxor land*

[emwitchwood.livejournal.com]

*beams and does dorky happy jig* That is, like, my favorite line out of all my genderswitch drabbles (of which there are FAR too many) so I am super glad you liked it. I can totally see Roy, were Ed to ever really be turned into a girl, just standing there while his brain falls into pieces and trying really hard to not look like the fact that Ed has boobs just hit him with the force of a metal fist to the face.

I am actually quite the Ed/Winry fan. (Manga!verse Ed/Winry, anyway.) I just don't usually write it because... well, it just doesn't grab me like Roy/Ed does. But Ed and other versions of people he knew and loved on his side of the Gate are always fun, because they are always, always going to suck on at least some level for Ed.

I have about two dozen itty bitty Ed/Esta scenes that I just haven't used yet. The STAF!verse is one I've had in my head since about five minutes after I watched the last episode of the series.

Daddy!Ed is just heartwarming and wonderful. I mean, Ed just makes the best parent. And when I think of Ed as a parent, I then end up thinking of Ed's relationship with his own father, and so end up with much Ed and Hohenheim bonding in that verse. And- .... Okay. I have STAF on the brain. I am rambling again. (I spent an hour bouncing ideas for this verse off my mother. You'd think it would be out of my system.)

And I still find it funny that we envy each other's writing.

[sarunotoki.livejournal.com]

Roy twin! *glomps!* lol, I do love that about Roy, that the shock comes and he just kinda shuts down :D Or, Roy's other incarnation which goes: *shock*
"... ok." *life continues*. I love it so much it just makes me want to squEEze something *eyes emwitchwood* XD

Oh! and I agree with... bella_eve. If you wrote genderswitch, I'd totally read it. And I hate genderswitch with such vigorous loathing that the very sky trembles. You think lightning causes thunder? Oh, no. That's me, stumbling across genderswitch.

Ah, i haven't read the manga yet (blasphemy, I know), but maybe I wouldn't mind the pairing so much then. I just... they're so wrong for each other in the series, it would never work. And *with much imperiousness* there is no need to explain. I understand the lure of Roy/Ed. *nods sagely*

... seriously, I am not on anything. Seriously.

*gives in to the rambling* That is definitely the thing I love the movie for the most (not so much that it had doubles, but that it had doubles so that we could then use that in fic)... *grin* I love the idea of Ed going through the gate, missing all the people on his side - and then getting home somehow, and missing all the people on this side and being disconnected with home. zomg, too much angst-love for my poor little heart! *swoons*

Definitely, everything you said :D I love how Ed either a) reconciles with his father (because that's so good for Ed and makes me want to heart all over) or b) realise what a true fucktard his father really is, because he LEFT, and Ed simply couldn't fathom doing that to his own kid - oh! and c) (though this always applies) is Ed realising just how yound he was when he did all that stuff XD

*snickers* that is pretty funny :P writers are strange, strange creatures O.o

[emwitchwood.livejournal.com]

I hate genderswitch for the fact that it always feels insulting. To women, to gay men. (I mean, if Ed was banging Roy/Ling/Russell/Al or whoever before he was female, okay, fine, but why would he only be attracted to them after he was female?) Also, they turn Ed into a girl. Having boobs does not change how you think or feel. It does not make him a whiney, mopey, blushing idiot. Which is why it is insulting to women. I don't know very few women that act like that. And- It just- It's Ed. With extra parts and missing parts and having to learn about things that he probably never wanted to think about before (Winry: This, Ed, is a tampon. Ed: .....), but still Ed. Which barely skims the surface of why I dislike genderswitch, but I just had that scene in my head, and then I had to think, "... what am I thinking? Ember, you are not going to write a genderswitch fic." ... but, well, I had the scene in my head, and that lead to other scenes, and, you know. I just had to. And I shall stop rambling about genderswitch now.

The manga is pretty awesome. But... all the characters are subtly different. Kimbley, for instance. In the anime he's just a crazy fuck who likes to blow people up. In the mange, he has an actual personality. You get to see the reasoning behind the insanity. I absolutely hate him but I love him. Does that make sense?

Anime!verse Ed/Winry I just can't see happening. They have, to me, no chemistry, and Al is in love with Winry. (which, I'm fairly certain, kills any possibilty of Ed making a move.) Also: Roy. Even if it's not Roy/Ed, there's no denying that they care for each other. Having the man you love be loyal to and care deeply about the man who killed your parents, no matter how awesome a person Winry is, that's bound to cause a some difficulties.

One of the things I like about other world versions of the people Ed knows is how much you could make them twist. People Ed knew who were good, decent people could be the worst kind of monsters. On the other hand, Archer could be a kind, peace-loving botanist who gives out free candy to children. (Though that might be pushing it. And I like making him a bastard.) Also, yes, the angst. If Ed spends long enough on our side of the Gate, then really, he'll never be "home".

I love the idea of Ed finally deciding, "Yes, my dad is a 1st class asshat. Yes, what he did was fucked up. No, he wasn't there when I fucked up. But he's my father, and he's here now."

[sarunotoki.livejournal.com]

Oh god! *flails* I thought I was the only one! (though maybe that's because all the people who think the same don't write genderswitch for the same reason I don't? *facepalm* lol. And, well, yes, we all know how spastic I am about keeping fanfic characters IC, so I needn't even begin that rant ^^ Suffice to say I agree on all points - and if I say anything else it will turn into a very looooong rant, and so I won't ^^ (though I will say I understand the urge - I wanna write one now just so it's done the way I want *rolls eyes at self*)

It does ^^ hm, another point to the manga - I love crazy/mentally ill/socially inept characters O.o

Yes! Yes yes yes!! I always felt that when it came to Ed, anime!Winry was... what's the word for female emasculation? And she's always after Ed to /change/ (which is something that just drives me up the wall - *gnashes teeth just thinking about it*), or just settle in Risembool and, ok, I can see that's an understandable expectation from her POV, but it just shows that she'll never /understand/. She would just disregard everything he's been through with bouts of allowing too much and it would just never work! Argh!! And I also think Al fades into the background in his armour (ironic, really O.o lol) and that if they were older and he was restored then Winry would be able to /see/ him... and I'm going to stop ranting about this O.o lol (and ooh, I never thought about the Roy thing - seeing as I have never thought much about Ed/Winry - but that's v. true, and I don't know whether Winry could forgive Ed's knowing and not-choosing-her-ness... if that makes sense)

>> "he'll never be "home" " - god, just that made my heart clench O.o *hugs Ed* And it's always cool to see how people have rearranged the characters (lol, for all the same reasons I love AU in the first place ^^) but the thing I love the most is the I-know-you-I-don't - oh, oh, just so much goodness XD

>> "Archer could be a kind, peace-loving botanist who gives out free candy to children" - and this just cracked me up so hard *cackles*

*squirms* I mean... if it wasn't really Hohenheim's fault, if he did it to protect them, ok, I think Ed could relate to that (being as he left Al to save him) and would grudgingly accept it. But if he just left coz he was rotting (I'm not clear about this any more, because it's been a while since I've watched FMA and now canon and fanfic is all smudged in my head O.o lol) then I don't know (aheh, I haven't seen/talked to my dad in nearly 6 years now and the world will be better off when he kicks the bucket, so as we can see I am not a believer in 'he's my father, that means something' O.o) Ah, *rambles*

... *crawls back to RL now*

[soma-laii.livejournal.com]

*agrees with everything you two have said*

The anime never really gives you a concrete reason for Hoho fucking off. (I have just skimmed the manga, so it could say why.) But... I've always wondered-- did Trisha know why Hohenheim left? She obviously knew he was rotting. Did she possibly know about Dante and company?

[emwitchwood.livejournal.com]

... please don't say things like that. I already have hundreds of ideas bouncing around my head. Why would you give me more?

[soma-laii.livejournal.com]

It's part of my evil plot to make sure you don't get your GED, finish TM, and get unpacked before I do.

[emwitchwood.livejournal.com]

I assure you, I don't need any help in not getting things done.