Lil_MissB

Update...

2009-11-05T19:31:56Z

But not on any stories.

Just wanted to touch base with everyone of my readers if your still out there. I haven't forgotten about my stories or FMA (the new Brotherhood series has me even more in love). I've just been extremely busy. I now have two jobs and am in college. I'll be done with college soon though and I will hopefully be able to get a better job that doesn't require me to work a bajillion hours a week. I have been righting over the past however many years its been since an update. The problem is that I only have time to write a couple paragraphs every few months or so. To say progress has been slow is an understatement.

So, that's that. I'll be done soon and I am looking forward to seeing you all and writing for you all again real soon.

-B

You take the good, you take the bad, you take it all and then you have...

2007-06-09T02:38:36Z

You know the rest!!

Anyway, in the past 2 days I've run through all 26 episodes of Ouran High School Host Club, and now I'm like a junky without a fix. Definatly a show that I could have seen more of. It was seriously one of the funniest Animes I've seen in a long time. Like, I actually laughed out loud.

The bad news is that I've used up all of my bandwidth over at NarutoFan just as I was 2 episodes into The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. :( I could buy more but then I'd probably run through it all quickly again.

This anime thing is seriously becomming an addiction.

Progress!!!!!!!!!!

2007-05-31T00:27:26Z

I wrote today!!!! Yay, I'm so proud of myself! Chapter 8 is a hard one to write because I know what I want to have happen, I just can't decide on how it happens, know what I mean?

So, Chapter 7 just needs to be gone over with a fine tooth comb, and I've got one and a half sections of 8 done. I have the dialoge for the second part, but I haven't written in the blocking. I'd like to write a few more sections of 8 while I still on a roll though, so I think ch 7 is still a ways off.

Just thought you guys would like to know.

2000 Miles - Chapter 6

2007-03-26T20:30:56Z

Okay, here is March’s update and I am sad to say that I am unemployed again so I did something with this chapter that I really didn’t want to do, but I really wanted to keep my resolution so I had no choice. Chapters 6 and 7 were supposed to be one big chapter but I split that chapter up. I haven’t had anytime to write recently. I’ve got a job interview Wednesday and two more to schedule some other time in the week and they are all 3 hours downstate so if I do get one of the three I’ll be moving. It’s all really stressful right now and even if I did have time to write I probably wouldn’t. This way, I’ll have April’s chapter ready and by then hopefully some things have calmed down a bit. Whew. Well, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. Ed’s in a bit of a mood for this one and I think that he comes across as a little OOC here, but you’ll see that he’s just disturbed/annoyed by some of his thoughts in the last chapter.

Title: 2,000 Miles
Summary: Two thousand miles and more ghosts than that to haunt them.
Pairing: EdwardxWinry.
Spoilers:Post series, so yeah. A little bit of an alternate ending. No movie though. Doesn't even exist.
Rating: PG - NC-17 This chapter: PG-13 for language.
FMA does not belong to me and I make no profit from any of these tales. Any further archiving of my fiction is strictly prohibited unless cleared by me.

6. The Hitch

Fresh out of town, the dark car speeds up to compensate for the long journey ahead. Dark clouds roll by ominously, painting the world in grey, the greenery of surrounding forests and fields standing out in stark relief. The air is thick and hot despite the clouds and Ed wishes that it would just rain and get it over with.

It hadn’t taken long for them to get back on the road. Ed had kept the journal Winry gave him in his coat pocket hoping to please her. Occasionally, he catches her looking at it out of the corner of her eye with a frown. Eventually, the afternoon humidity becomes too much and he drapes the brown coat over the seat of the car. Still, her sideways looks continue.

“What?” he finally asks, annoyed.

“What, what?” She asks, startled.

Ed rolls his eyes; he isn’t in the mood to play oblivious with her. She keeps looking at him and frowning and he wants to know why, so he asked.

“You’ve gotten thinner.”

“No I haven’t”

Winry isn’t convinced, “Ed, come on, that shirt is hanging off of you.”

Ed dismisses her. It only looks big because it is a size too big.

“I know what size it is,” Winry snaps, “I bought it for you last year and it fit perfectly then.”

The back of Edward’s head hits the seat. They just left town and there isn’t another for at least a day. He isn’t in the mood to argue about his weight all the way there and he curses the east in general for being so rural.

A spot in the distance begins to take shape and he lifts his head, leaning forward in his seat to get a better look.

“Win, look.” He points to the figure in the distance.

“It’s a hitch hiker.”

Edward tells her to stop. Winry looks at him like he is crazy.

“Come on, there might not be another car for hours and it looks like it might rain. She could be stranded out here all day.”

The car is fast approaching the woman at the side of the road and Winry is not slowing down.

“We don’t know if we’re even going the way she’s headed.”

“Doesn’t matter, just stop.”

“No.”

“Stop.”

The car screeches to a halt just past the hitch hiker, throwing Edward forward into the dash. Dust billows around the woman by the road as she hesitantly looks toward the car. As she begins to approach, Edward rubs his head and hears Winry mutter, “Serves you right for not wearing your seatbelt.”

The car door opens and the woman climbs into the back seat. “Thanks for stopping.”

“Are you kidding, not a problem.” Winry smiles brightly at the girl and ignores the looks Edward throws her way.

“Where are you headed?” He asks.

“Robis.”

“Robis.” Winry laughs, “Isn’t that near Central?” She pointedly asks Edward.

“You guys…aren’t headed that way?” The girl looks from one blond to another.

“Of course we are.” Edward says, tight-lipped to Winry. Turning back to the girl, he plasters on his most charming smile and feels a deep satisfaction at the scowl Winry directs at him. “Don’t mind her. She’s just cranky because she’s been driving too long. By the way, I’m Ed and that’s Winry.”

“Moura.”

<+>

Winry has always been a slightly violent person. She doesn’t know exactly where she gets it from – although she suspects it’s from the influence of Granny – it’s just always been there. Luckily though, she’s never really gone as far as to seriously hurt someone – despite what some short (yes still short. For a guy anyway) alchemist may have to say. She’d always had that level of control. Well, that control is being pulled very thin right now because of one thing.

Moura.

This girl is everything Winry hates about the female species. Well, Winry thinks, she doesn’t hate all of woman-kind; she just hates some of the stereotypes and behaviors most feel like they need to exhibit in order to get what they want.

Take Moura for example.

On the outside she is kind of cute. Short brown hair tucked under a little hat with a bill on it. Long tan limbs protruded from her tank top and shorts and of all things she has a long colorful scarf wrapped around her neck.

The scarf is just enough to mildly annoy Winry, but the girl is in serious danger every time she opens her mouth. She is bubbly and agreeable to the point of being annoying. She doesn’t have any opinions of any kind on anything of any consequence and when she does finally pipe up with her inane opinions, the subject is so empty and vapid she may as well have said nothing at all. And her laugh…Every time she laughs – which is often – Winry’s knuckles turn white and her teeth clench together.

The worst thing though, is that Ed is falling for it. He is even feeding into it.

Maura laughs again, and Winry is reminded of donkeys. She turns to her passenger and sees that he is smiling at Moura, turned sideways with his left arm thrown over the back of the seat. Moura leans forward and touches his arm. Winry doesn’t hear what she says as the world starts to tunnel in on that gesture and to her ears it sounds like a hurricane has blown through the car. Ed laughs and that sound brings her anger down.

What is going on here? Why does Maura get to see this side of Ed? Does the twit even realize the significance of that smile? Of that laugh? Does she know that it’s been so long since she’s heard it that she thought it was gone for good?

Why is Ed suddenly so…dumb?

<+>

Ed is certain that if he had plastered on even a tenth of this act during one of the military balls the Colonel forced him to attend, he’d have made it to General by now. Moura is a terrible flirt, and Ed, who knows nothing of flirting, relies on every bit of experience in manipulation that he has to keep her going. Turns out the two are remarkably similar.

The greatest part is Winry’s reaction to the whole thing. If she thinks he missed the set of her jaw and the tight grip on the wheel, she is mistaken. As fun as it is though, after a couple hours of it, Ed is getting exhausted. It takes a lot of energy to keep up this type of front. He needs a break.

“Winry, can you pull over?” She shoots him one of the nastiest glares he has ever seen and he is compelled to explain, “Bathroom.”

<+>

As Ed’s back disappears into the tree line, Winry and Moura step out of the car to stretch. Winry watches the hitch hiker carefully, not fully trusting her not to follow Ed into the woods and try to molest him. Current behavior in mind, she also wouldn’t put it past Edward to go along with it.

“So, is Ed your boyfriend…or something?” Moura asks.

Or something, Winry wants to answer. Instead she says, “He’s a friend.”

“Oh, that’s good.”

Winry wants to smack that half-happy, mostly dumb look off the girl’s face. She can see just what that girl wants from Ed and she doesn’t like it one bit. Edward is…Edward. He deserves better than some stupid girl with her stupid scarf and stupid wannabe beret. Winry knows her type all too well. She doesn’t want Ed because of his heart or his mind. Ed was easy on the eyes and fit to boot. Also, not many people had cars of their own yet. Moura probably believes them to be wealthy. And if Moura ever found out his last name, she’d play that up too. A girl like that would never be good for him.

She needs to warn him, and if things keep on going like they’ve been, she needs to do it soon.

“You know, I think I’m gonna go too. Can you watch the car?” She asks Moura and takes off before she can even get an answer.

A girl like that would chew Ed up and spit him out, and poor, girl-retarded Edward wouldn’t know what hit him. No, if Winry had to describe the girl for Ed it would probably be someone completely opposite of Moura. Someone smart and caring, who understands all that Ed’s been though, knows where his limits are and understands that he is not as tough as he likes to act. For a moment, Winry muses that she’s just described herself, but decides not to dwell on that thought for long. Right now, she’s got a boy to save.

“Pst…Ed.” She calls, not wanting to catch Ed with his pants down.

“Over here,” He calls back and steps around a tree still buttoning up his fly.

“We need to talk.”

“About what?”

“Moura.”

At that name, a dopey grin spreads over Ed’s face and his gaze sweeps dreamily somewhere over Winry’s shoulder, “Moura? She’s great isn’t she?”

“If by ‘great’ you mean a great big hussy.”

His eyes snap back to Winry’s face and his tone gets defensive, “What? What’s your problem?”

“That’s funny, I was going to ask you the same question.” Winry’s fists clench at her sides and she takes a step toward Edward, who wisely takes half a step back, “Have you gone completely retarded? That girl only wants to jump your bones and you are just going right along with it.”

Recovering, Ed stands his ground and crosses his arms defensively. “So.”

“So? SO?!” Winry takes a step at every word and soon winds up barely nose to nose with Ed.

“Yeah. So.” Ed answers and turns away from her. He waves a dismissive hand as he takes a few steps away saying, “we’re adults now Winry. I see no reason why we can’t indulge in a little meaningless sex.”

“Oh listen to you Mr. Pimp.” Winry throws back at him causing Ed to turn and glare. “Come on, this isn’t like you at all. The Ed I know wouldn’t be able to listen to that girl prattle on for five minutes, let alone long enough to get her in bed.”

“And your point?” His eyebrows draw together in a ‘V’ shape, annoyed.

“My point is that you are completely unrecognizable to me today!” Winry drops her voice an octave, poorly imitating Ed’s “‘I see no reason why we can’t indulge in a little meaningless sex.’” Returning her voice to normal she scoffs, “Please Ed, you’re as virgin as they come.”

Ed scowls at her,“Yeah, well not for long.” At that he storms out of the forest and Winry is left with her fists balled at her sides.

A hurricane all her own, Winry follows his example and rages down the path a few feet behind him, making plans for the biggest cock-block the world has ever seen. She nearly runs over Ed.

“Winry, where’s the car?”

_

Uh oh! Looks like our characters have hit a bit of a hitch in their plans! Get it? Hitch? Like the name of the chapter?! Yeah! I’m so cleaver sometimes I astound myself. /sarcasm.

So, yeah, Ed’s acting a bit of a jerk in this one, but well, he does that sometimes doesn’t he. Don’t worry; he’ll repent in the next chapter. He’s going to go back and forth emotionally for a while until he evens out. Right now, he’s at that stage where…uh, it’s hard to describe how I see it in my head but think of it like a swinging door that’s been held down. Once its let go it swings around a bit before calming down and returning to a restful state. That’s the best I can come up with and that’s how I experienced it. I really like some of Winry’s line’s in this one. I had a lot of fun writing them.

For those of you wondering where this story is going…don’t worry, I have the whole story planned out. We’re working towards Ed’s full recovery and as on any road to recovery he’s bound to stumble once and a while. We’re really close to a turning point in this story though, and there will be more action to come in future chapters. (What? You didn’t think I’d have him wandering the country side all apathetic and emo for the whole story, did you? C’mon this is Ed we’re talking about. He is a trouble magnet.)

Anyway, I realize that I still haven’t responded to reviews on the last chapter, but that in no way means that I didn’t appreciate them. I’ve just been really busy lately. Please don’t let that stop you from leaving them for this chapter. They are always appreciated.

Taking the good with the bad

2007-03-12T21:55:30Z

You know what the biggest tragedy in fanfiction is? Is it authors who don’t update? Is it a writer with an interesting premise but without the writing skills to pull it off? Is it really great stories that were abandoned right before the part you were really looking forward to? No, while these are all terrible in there own right, only one makes me truly, deeply sad. Fortunately, it’s not something that I encounter much. It’s a well written story that’s actually bad.

For example, I was just reading a Naruto fic. The first couple chapters held promise so I saved the rest of the story for later, offline viewing at work (I don’t have a wireless connection but I can still use my laptop). It was very well written. I could find no real grammar errors and only one or two typos for 20 chapter stories are forgivable. There was a plot and the author really took the time to get introspective with the characters. The only problem being the characters weren’t really in-character. Or they were unrecognizable as the characters from Naruto. Some things were the same, but the fundamental base elements were not there.

(Example: Sakura. She is defined by the fact that she loves Sasuke. Its cannon. It’s what shapes her whole being and her actions. Normally, that kind of motivation doesn’t make for a very good character, but I love her for it. To take that away, or to diminish it, makes her practically a stranger to me - although, you seem to see that very thing being done to her a lot in of stories. I know that a lot of people in the fandom don’t like her. Unfortunately for them, she is an important part of team seven, and most times can’t be ignored in longer fics focusing on Naruto or Sasuke. So in these instances, writers take her character and do a sort of mind/body switch thing and just mold her character into something fitting their needs. Sometimes this is intentional; sometimes the author just doesn’t seem to know what to do with her. I believe that the author of this story falls under the heading of the latter. Sorry, I really went off on a tangent there, didn’t I?)

The plot also was confusing and uninteresting. The best way I can think of to describe it is as a blurry word picture. I mean, you kind of got the idea of what was going on, but sometimes the dialogue made no sense. Or sometimes it was like there was a current running under the words and only the author knew what it was. It was also very boring. The slow pace the story began at never picked up. There was absolutely no urgency at all, even when the characters were in trouble of some sorts, the consequences was always two or three weeks around the bend.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m a long way from being stupid, so I know that I wasn’t losing something in comprehension. On the other hand, a lot of it is personal tastes. I’m sure there are a lot of people who really like this fic. There were things I did like about it too. (Sasuke was badass, so that’s always cool with me.) The whole thing just makes me sad. There was so much effort already put into this fic, and just a little more would have made it amazing. Sharpen the plot, focus on what the characters are instead of who they are wanted to be. (Artistic license is great, character debasement is not.) And before you ask, no I did not review nor will I tell the name of the fic. In this instance, I think I had better keep my opinions vague and unknown to the author.

On the other hand, I did find a really good fic to read today. I don’t have the link on me now, but if you click the little links to your right, you’ll see it under my favorites on my ff.net profile. It’s called Deep River and it is a marvelous look at a character that had little to no time on screen, Uchiha Mikoto, Sasuke’s Mother. I love finding fics like this. Really, they inspire me to write. I just love it when people take the time to really look at characters like her. Ones who are not necessarily important to the plot, but are really important to the characters that are. For this reason, a lot of the fic is speculation, but it is beautiful speculation. Any way, the fic follows Lady Uchiha from childhood to adult hood, to finally parenthood. It is interesting to watch how she relates a lot of her life to the water, particularly to the Nakano River. There are spoilers in it so don’t read if you don’t want to be spoiled.

In other news: I think Japan is conspiring against me. There was no new Naruto this week, and there will be no new Bleach next week! I know I’ve read well past these episodes in the manga but that’s frustrating me now too. Seriously, did anyone else read Naruto 345 and scream their lungs out?

2000 Miles Chapter 5

2007-02-26T01:46:21Z

Title: 2,000 Miles
Summary: Two thousand miles and more ghosts than that to haunt them.
Pairing: EdwardxWinry.
Spoilers:Post series, so yeah. A little bit of an alternate ending. No movie though. Doesn't even exist.
Rating: PG - NC-17 This chapter: PG-13
FMA does not belong to me and I make no profit from any of these tales. Any further archiving of my fiction is strictly prohibited unless cleared by me.

5. The Science of Definition

It will take a long time to get to Dublith from East City, Winry is certain. She’s not sure of the exact route they should take, but they’ve been heading in a general southwest direction since they left East City earlier that day. She thinks they will be fine, so long as they pick up a map in the next town. The only problem is that it is already getting dark out and there hadn’t been any signs of civilization for a few hours.

Beside her, she can see that Ed is trying to sleep; head leaning back against the bench seat in a way that she is sure will hurt in the morning. His mouth is open and he is snoring lightly. Smiling fondly at him, Winry doesn’t see the large pot hole in the road ahead. The car rocks as she drives over it, causing Ed’s head to bounce and jar him from his light sleep.

He blinks and stares dopily at his surroundings, seemingly unperturbed by the bump to his head. “Where are we?”

“Don’t know,” She answers, “But why don’t you climb in the back and try to get more sleep.”

He rubs at his eyes, “What about you?”

“I think I’ll drive for a while longer and see if I can find a town.”

“And if you can’t?”

She shrugs, “I’ll just pull over and sleep in the front seat.”

Ed agrees and turns around to climb in the back seat. They had thrown their belongings in haphazardly when they left East City and Ed has to spend a few minutes organizing the luggage area behind the back seat so he can transfer them there. It takes a bit of work with all of the tools Winry packed, but eventually he is able to clear enough space for their two suitcases.

There is the sound of hands clapping and a bright blue light illuminates the car’s dark interior. Winry’s eyes are drawn to the rearview mirror. She sees Ed, a look of sleepy inspiration on his face, kneeling on the bench seat behind her, his suitcase thrown open on the seat in front of him. She watches him warily as he switches his suitcase for hers and transmutes again.

The suitcases make their way to the boot of the car and a rectangular object is set on the seat beside her. One hand leaves the wheel as she grabs at it, her hand contacting with soft cloth. It’s a blanket, an especially multicolored one, and as she pulls at a corner, she can make out the shapes and colors of her clothes hastily bound together.

“Ed! These are my clothes!” She yells to her passenger, who had already laid down, a blanket of similar design covering his body.

“I can fix it, don’t worry.” He mumbles, “You’ll need it if we sleep in here tonight. It’ll get cold, trust me.”

He has a point, and as annoyed as she is, she can’t argue with his concern.

<+>

Ed finds it hard to get back to sleep again and he lays there until Winry finally gets tired of driving and pulls over along the road. There is the sound of rustling clothes and squeaking leather seats as she settles herself in the front seat.

Outside, crickets and cicadas chirp and a gentle breeze blows through the surrounding foliage. It is a break from the euphony of the sputtering engine and ping of rocks hitting the side of the car as tires tear through dirt roads. It is a new kind of silence and it is deafening.

“Ed? Are you still awake?” Winry whispers.

He clears his throat, “Yeah,” he says quietly. The night is too calm and he doesn’t want to disturb it.

“I don’t suppose there is anything left we can make pillows with, huh?” She seems to think on the same lines, and her voice is quiet in reverence to the night.

“No. I told you to pack light, remember?” He doesn’t intend for it to be a joke but she sniggers anyway.

They both listen to the insect song outside their car. In the distance, an owl is heard.

“This is kind of nice isn’t it?” She says.

“Yeah.” He closes his eyes and just listens.

“Did you used to do this often, when…you know?”

“A few times. Never in a car though.” Ed notices that she doesn’t mention Al by name or the time they spent traveling. His eyes open. “You know…” he begins, unsure of what he is about to say.

“What?”

He thinks a bit, trying to capture the thought that had previously run through his mind and for a moment demanded to come out. “You don’t have to avoid saying his name.”

The sound of creaky leather accompanies the appearance of her face over the back of the seat. “You do.”

Ed wasn’t ready to be confronted with the truth of his own idiosyncrasies. “It’s not intentional.” He concedes. ’Unlike you.’ He doesn’t say it, but they both seem to know its there.

She looks down for a moment, hands tracing along the seat. “I guess I do it because I think it upsets you.”

“It doesn’t. It happened. It’s not like I don’t know it happened if you don’t say his name. It’s not like one syllable is going to make me suddenly realize that he’s gone.” He says this all rather gruffly and by the end, he is berating himself for being so harsh with someone whose only fallibility is that they care about him.

Before he can apologize she is speaking again.

“That’s not what I think.” Her even voice is quietly serious and slightly accusing. “I just don’t want to scrub at a wound I know is still fresh. It’s only been a couple months and you gave me no indication that you were ready to talk about him. You don’t talk about him and the first time you did, back in East City, it tore you apart.”

“That’s not…” He starts out harshly, takes a deep, calming breath before starting again. Softly this time, remembering his earlier guilt, “I was upset because I let myself forget. For a moment, I forgot that he was gone. And when I finally remembered…It was like losing him all over again.”

The back of his eyes start to feel prickly and he throws an arm over them, hoping that will be enough of a shield from her gaze. It makes him want to open up in a way that he doesn’t feel ready enough for. Not yet. A damn is about to burst inside of him, one he wants to hold up for a while longer.

She wants to say something else, he knows - can practically feel it in the air. “Can we… just go to sleep now?”

“…Okay.” He must have sounded desperate, because the next sound he hears is her lying back down on the front seat. “Goodnight Ed.”

<+>

Winry wakes up earlier than she would have if she’d slept in a hotel. She throws the blanket off and regrets the hasty action as goose bumps break out across her skin. She pulls the blanket back over her, grateful that Ed is so thoughtful. Speaking of her passenger, she looks in the back seat and notices that he’s not there.

She uncovers slowly this time, letting herself adjust to the cold. Pushing the door open, she gets out of the car and stretches, feeling her muscles pull and her bones pop. The air has a definite bite to it and she rubs her arms for warmth. The sky is cloudy, and she wonders if it will finally rain.

The bushes to her left rustle and Ed emerges from the forest.

“Where were you?” She asks when he draws closer.

“Bathroom.”

She takes a few more minutes to stretch before climbing in the car. Ed is already seated next to her and an idea suddenly strikes. Turning towards him, she asks, “Hey Ed, what to learn how to drive?”

<+>

Winry explains things in too much detail, making the lesson longer than Ed would have liked. With each step they come to, Winry goes off on a tangent about the inner mechanical workings of her pride and joy. Furthermore, she had decided that the easiest way to teach him how to drive was to show him, which apparently required her to sit closer to him than he was used to. She kept a hand on top of his right hand, their fingers both gripping the shifting knob as she showed him how to maneuver through the gears. Her other hand rested on his knee and she used slight pressure to signal him whenever he had to release the clutch, brake, or push on the gas petal.

Now, Ed has known for a while that Winry is a girl, but every time he pops the clutch and they are jolted hard into each other, he is reminded of how much of a woman she has become. She hasn’t showered since the day before, and he can smell her perspiration - strangely feminine and pleasant. It is seriously damaging his learning capabilities.

She asks why his face is so red. Smoothly, he tells her that he is getting hot and she graciously slides further to the passenger side. That takes care of one problem.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t interfere with her ability to give extended lectures. In fact, it gives her a better position to observe his irritated looks and she winds up yelling at him for not paying attention. Ed’s jaw is starting to become sore from clenching his back teeth together. With a frustrated sigh, he tells himself that at least the new pain is distracting him from his sore back. A result, no doubt, of sleeping curled up in the back seat.

“Winry, can you just let me try on my own, please?” He interrupts her speech – something to do with pistons – and she turns back around with a huff, arms going akimbo. Sighing in relief, Ed gathers up the few basic facts that he did learn, turns the key, and gently shifts through the gears. Next to him, Winry looks surprised and a little put out. Warily, she watches him as he maneuvers the car down the road.

For the next few miles her gaze is like a hawk and Ed finds his nerves wearing thin. It’s not like the road is busy. They’d been traveling on it for almost two days now and seen enough cars to count on one set of hands. They’d even traveled past the forest, so there weren’t any trees close to the road for him to hit. She is just being over protective, and he, in his flustered and already aggravated state, has little tolerance left.

“I think I see a town.” He announces, and sure enough, far in the distance, shapes too regular and straight to be natural come into view.

They arrive in minutes and a sign at the entrance of town proclaims it as Hatton’s Bend. The town is not as large as East City, not even close, but it is about three times the size of Gatewood. Most of the houses are white or tan stucco with red or brown clay roofs. Stores litter several side streets and a main drag lies in the center of town with several outlying roads and neighborhoods.

There is more traffic here and Winry tensely tells him to pull over in an abandoned parking lot since they haven’t covered parking yet.

“What do you want to do now?” He asks, getting out of the car.

“I guess, get a room for a couple of hours.”

The last time Ed had heard anyone suggest that was when Mustang had offered to arrange a way for him to get rid of his virginity problem. One and one make two and Ed finds himself having trouble reconciling the sum with his preconceived image of Winry.

They grab their bags and lock up the car. Ed follows her as she leads them along to the nearest hotel and asks for a day rate. He has trouble meeting the eyes of the clerk, fully aware of what it appears like they are about to do. Winry doesn’t seem to notice, and if she does, she doesn’t show that she cares.

The room is not much different than the millions he has seen in his days; two double beds, a desk, and an attached bathroom.

“You can use the bathroom first.” He offers, “I’ll go get us something to eat.” She agrees and he can’t get out the door fast enough.

Next-door is a restaurant. He orders two breakfasts ‘to go’ and sits at a table to wait. Resting his elbows on the surface of the table, he presses the heels of his hands to his eyes and wonders what is wrong with him.

It had been ages since he’d felt…that, for anybody, he’d honestly forgotten how to cope with it. The fact that he is lusting for Winry makes it all the worse.

He and Al never talked about it much, but his relationship with Winry is…was strikingly different than Al’s. For as long as he could remember, there had always been this…thing between them. It was like a steel rod forged between them, keeping her slightly at a distance and preventing him from defining her in any specific way. Al was his best friend and anything he’d ever learned about siblings prevented him from thinking of her like a sister. He used to, but on the day her parents died, that title began to fade away. If he was really any kind of brother to her, he would have grieved as much as she did.

That’s probably when it all started. After her parents died, Winry changed. Sometimes, she would get these longing looks on her face when she saw him, Al, and his mother together. She started spending more time with her Granny. Come to think of it, that’s when she first began studying auto-mail, a prophetic pastime that would come in handy several years later.

Then, she had become his auto-mail mechanic, a title that had fit them well. The only time it ever gave him problems was when she would get personal, worry, and cry on his behalf, which happened more times than Ed could count. It was probably this behavior that convinced so many people for so long that she was his girlfriend. Then he’d just scream at them and say that she was just his mechanic, grateful for such a convenient title.

It’s wasn’t like he’d never thought about it. In the short time after he and Al were restored, when everything was perfect, he’d thought about it more seriously than he ever had.

In the next year he spent most of his time adjusting to having an arm and leg again. There was no rush then, so he took his time. Sometimes, he attempted to sort out his true feelings for Winry, but again felt unhurried. Then one day, Al had collapsed, just as his mother had. The déjà vu sent him reeling and the next several months all he thought about was his brother’s health.

It seems that his path in life is to constantly push Winry aside.

But now…Winry is all he really has. The implications of that make his chest ache.

Al is gone. What would become of him now? Could he now re-make his path to put her first? Was it fair after being so selfish for so long? Would she even want a relationship? Did he?

Would he have sought to define her this way if Al was still here? Would it have worked if Al was still here? How could he enter into a relationship with her if it wouldn’t have worked if his brother hadn’t…passed on?

What if it didn’t work out? What if he ruined it all, like he was apt to do? Would she hate him and leave him too? Would they continue to be just friends? Could they? Most importantly, why was he thinking of this now, after so long?

He has a million questions and only one truth. His body is waking up. In other men, it would be cause for celebration, but Edward Elric is not other men. To him, it is just another problem on a pile of too many others.

<+>

Ed is not back when she steps out of the shower, so she takes a little extra time to get cleaned up. She twists up her hair in a style reminiscent of Riza Hawkeye and banishes her comfy jeans and one-piece work clothes to the bottom of her suitcase, pulling out her much preferred shorts and tank-tops. She’d left most of her beautiful skirts at home. They were a pain to drive in. Briefly, she wonders if she can get Ed to freshen their clothes with alchemy. She thinks it’s possible and it will take less time.

After she is dressed, she finds a pad of paper on the desk and, sitting on the bed, begins to make a list of supplies they may need. Gas was first on the list, followed by soap, a map, toothpaste, and possibly some snacks for the road.

Winry is pondering if anything she needs is available at the local hardware store when Ed gets back. He gives her a funny look and she asks why.

“Your hair looks different.” He states, strolling into the room, examining her out of the corner of his eye the whole time.

Her fingers reach up to play with the clip in her hair, “Do you like it? I felt like a change and I always liked Riza’s hair. Mine’s a bit different though.”

Ed doesn’t say anything, but a second later, food is sat down in front of her. He sits with his back to her at the desk. They eat in silence for a while, and Winry is shocked at how uneasy it feels. Since Al, she has grown accustomed to long silences in Ed’s company.

“I was thinking that we should get some supplies while we’re here.” She ventures an attempt at conversation.

“What kind of supplies?”

“Well, we should defiantly take the car and get gas. I’d like to give it a tune up but that could take a while so I suppose it can wait for now…I’d like to get a map. Come to think of it, it was pretty stupid of us to leave without one.”

“I suppose. Why don’t you go and do that. I’ll shower and get anything else you want.”

Winry watches his back for a moment, as if it will lend any answers to his strange behavior. All day, his behavior has just been…off. It was very subtle, but Winry could tell. He’d been polite to the point of being unnatural. He’d said please and been extremely gentlemanly all day. He’d even almost complemented her on her hair, something Ed never did. And now his suggestion to split their errands in half…

Why did it feel like he was suddenly trying to avoid her? With all the time they’d been spending together recently, was she finally starting to get on his nerves? Did she do or say something wrong?

Last night, his voice had sounded so thick and desperate for her to just leave him alone. Maybe that could have been it.

Of course, it could be that she was imagining it all and he simply wanted to get back on the road faster. And even if he did want a little time to himself, there was nothing wrong with that.

Making up her emotions, Winry pastes on a big smile and says, “Okay. I’ll make you a list.”

<+>

The water is hot and Ed is thankful that Winry has already left. When he walked in, he thought he had the wrong room. It was amazing what a simple hairstyle could do to make a person look older. Not to mention the fact that when he’d walked in she’d been sitting with one leg curled under her, the other stretched out casually to the side in a way that highlighted just how shapely her legs were…

He shakes his head to rid himself of the image. He really should not be thinking about this with the hot water sluicing along his skin.

He quickly finishes up, steps out of the shower, and puts on a fresh set of clothes. He brushes his hair into a ponytail and heads out to the main room.

The first thing on his to-do list is pseudo-laundry as Al likes to call it…liked to call it.

He claps his hands together, manipulates the molecules, and their clothes become fresh and mostly clean. It’s no replacement for the real thing, but it’ll do for now. Next on the list are a few groceries, so he grabs the cash Winry left for him and steps out of the hotel room.

<+>

Hatton’s Bend sure has a lot of nice stores, Winry thinks. Each one painted in dulling shades of green, yellow, and red with big windows out front displaying merchandise. After filling up on gas and grabbing a map, she decided that she deserved a little shopping break, so she went to the hardware store. She browsed so long the store owner got angry and kicked her out. It wasn’t her fault the only money she had was Edward’s and it’d be pointless to buy him a part for auto-mail he no longer has.

A few pastry shops later, she finds herself sticky-fingered and browsing the local bookstore. She doesn’t know a thing about alchemy so she just skips that section altogether. She finds a new auto-mail journal and purchases it, a little disappointed that she didn’t have any ideas on anything for Ed.

Ready to leave, a display at the entrance catches her eye.

Perfect.

<+>

The dampness of his ponytail seeps through his white shirt, sending chills down his back as he stands in front of a General store clutching a paper sack in one arm. His boots echo loudly on the sturdy wooden porch out front and he surveys the town. Buildings were packed so close there was no room for alleyways. Beyond, he can see tree tops and looking down the dirt road leading straight out of town he sees nothing but more fields. With all this land they could have spaced the town out more and he briefly wonders who did their city planning.

Horse drawn carriages loaded with grain pass by as he steps down and begins to canvas the shops, wondering if he can find his driver. A few vendors barter their goods along the road and for a moment he is caught up in the familiar feeling of the market.

Alphonse never really liked the market; too many people to stare at him. Ed loved it though and often times would wander about in it when he needed to think. Alphonse often asked him why he always went to the market and never bought anything. It was easy to pretend, just for a moment, that Al was just waiting back at the hotel for his brother to come home empty handed.

Truth slapped him in the face and Edward put down the apple he had picked up. The reminiscent smile that had for a second graced his face slowly melts. Al was not at the hotel. Al would never be waiting back at the hotel. Al would never again know the joy of everyday life that came from a trip to the market.

“I thought that was you.”

Turning around to Winry, he doesn’t say anything but he can tell she knows something is wrong. The cheer in her voice wavers on her face.

“Hey, what’s wrong?”

Meeting her eyes, he tries to make himself look less desolate without being suspicious and tells her that everything is alright. It is difficult to keep his voice from cracking.

“Oh, good.” The cheerful mood returns. “Hey I bought you something.”

A brown wrapped package that was clearly a book is thrust in his face. He takes it, surprised. “I didn’t think you had any money.”

“Don’t worry about it. Just open it would you.”

Ed eyes her suspiciously, and gets the feeling he just bought himself a present.

The paper tears easily and he turns the book over in his hands searching for a title. It has none. Opening the pages, he finds them blank as well. He snaps the book shut. “I don’t need another research journal.”

Winry doesn’t flinch at his protest, “No silly! Not all journals are for research you know.” She lectures.

“…So what am I supposed to write in it?”

“Whatever you want. That’s the beauty of a journal. You can write down what you’re feeling from day to day.”

Edward stares at her. What had gotten into her to make her think he’d keep a diary? He wasn’t the type of person who liked to talk about his feelings let alone write them down. She should know that. The fact that she didn’t makes his heart sink and instead of calling her on it he just mumbles a thanks and tucks it into his jacket pocket.

Her face falls a bit but Edward can’t dredge up the will to care about the fact that she was hurt by his lack of enthusiasm for her gift.

She sighs, “I could really use some caffeine. Hey, let’s get some coffee before we leave, okay?” She offers.

He follows her to a restaurant with an outdoor café. Winry wants to sit outside, but one look at the overcast sky and Ed suggests that they better go inside. They find a booth and sit across from each other, laying their respective bags on the seat next to them. He sets the journal on the table top, contemplates it for a moment, and picks it back up. Winry pulls out a journal with an auto-mail arm on the cover and immerses herself in it.

Listlessly, he turns page after blank page in the journal. It is a deep burgundy hard-cover with creamy white pages. They feel dry and heavy to his fingers, and he is impressed by the understated quality. These kinds of pages would soak up ink quickly, preventing smearing if the writer were ever on a roll. He can clearly picture the ink seeping into the thirsty page. Really, it would have made a fantastic research journal. If only he had anything left to research...

With a sigh he puts down the journal. Maybe it wasn’t such a useless present after all. He had always found that even after the greatest upheavals, life continued on. Routines were adjusted and the days kept on passing. Perhaps one day he’d find something to fill it with.

Across from him, Winry folds the magazine in half and leans eagerly over the page. A small piece of hair brushes across her face and she mechanically tucks it behind her ear, her intensity not disrupted at the least. He smiles, in some ways he and Winry were too alike.

He wonders if in another life, that similarity would have counted for something more meaningful between the two of them. In that moment, a thought perches on the edge of his brain. Never one to let a stray thought escape, he searches his mind for a thread to grasp that will lead him to it.

He looks at Winry again and sees a path not taken. What would have happened if he and Al had learned their lesson from Sensei? They’d never have been disfigured, never have joined the military, and Al would have still died. At least, the way things played out, Ed had gotten more time with his brother.

The other option had its appeal too. For one, Ed is sure that if he’d never met Maes Hughes, he’d still be alive. Then, would Winry’s definition still be unclear? If he and Al had never decided to bring their mother back, their secrets would have never festered and beget the gap between the two brothers and she. Then what? Granny had certainly offered to let them live with her. The only reason they had refused was so they could study human transmutation in private. But what if they had accepted? Would the label of sister fit Winry then? When Al got his body back it was that of a ten year old. It hadn’t aged a day in the gate, so the disease didn’t have time to incubate. In the unblemished alternate reality of his life, he would have been thirteen when Al died at age twelve. In Resembool, at that age he could have ventured forward on his own.

The possibilities are endless and each one soars through his head with terrible speed.

For a second, he longs for a pen.
_

Okay, this one was a bit difficult to write because I’m really gonna get into the ed/Winry thing from here on out. I’m trying to make is seem natural and healthy, which is the hard part. For those of you who haven’t noticed the rating warning yet, this story will eventually be NC-17. I’m sorry if any of you have a problem with this but I do have my reasons. For one, in this story, Ed and Winry are adults and sex is a natural and perfectly healthy part of life. For Ed it’ll be really healthy. They say that severely depressed people lose their sexual drive. I have experienced this first hand. When it wears off, well, all I can say is that it’s intense. So if Ed starts seeming a little too affected by certain things, well, I’m just drawing from my personal experiences. Plus let’s not forget that he’s an 18 year old male, it’s probably worse then.

Now, I was thinking of not going all the way up to NC-17 for the people that are following this story from the beginning because it had a G rating, but in the end I came to a compromise. The NC-17 part will only be found on my livejournal while the clean one will be up on ff.net. But, the NC-17 part won’t be for a while yet. When it gets here I’ll be sure to give you guys warning in the previous chapter.

As always, reviews and constructive criticism are very welcome.

3/5/07 - Sorry it took so long to announce this to all the lists. I blame it on Naruto totally owning my soul right now. I can't help it. I just want to take all of team seven, put them on a shelf next to the elric brothers and keep them safe for the rest of their lives.

Crossposted to ed_winry, fm_alchemist, fma_het, and fullservicefma

Status report

2007-02-23T01:59:48Z

I'm hoping to have the next chapter (5 I think) of 2000 miles up by this Sunday. I normally don't like to post if I don't have a rough draft of the following chapter done, but in order to stick to my new year resolution I may have to. there is still a few things to clean up in chapter 5, and if I can't get that done, I may have to cheat and post a chapter of one of my other WIPs.

Just thought you all should know. And by writing this, I'm committing myself to post something before the month ends. Damn February for being so short and busy.

Anime Quest 2007 - Part 1

2007-02-09T23:21:03Z

Anime Quest. Has a nice ring to it, huh? You'll remember that recently I posted asking for anime recommendations. I got a lot of good recs, some I followed up on, some I need to still. From those recs, and my own exploration, I'll sum up some of my latest findings.

Naruto - this was something I asked specifically about and after only one person responded, I decided to just bite the bullet and download it. Truthfully, I was surprised. I didn't expect the first episode to leave me feeling so heartbroken. That's really important to get me hooked to a series. I'm only on episode 4 yet (probably 5 and 6 tonight) but I have continued to enjoy the heartbreak, and the humor. Naruto is very funny.

Yamato Nadeshiko Shichi Henge - Narutofan.com describes it like this:

Kyouhei, Ranmaru, Takenaga, and Yukinojou are beautiful, handsome, young men living in a huge mansion. One day, their landlord, whom they call "Auntie", asks them a favor: to make her niece, Sunako, who's going to be living with them, into a respectable young lady. She agrees to make their living expenses free of charge if they succeed but, if they fail, she'll triple their rent. Due to their confidence in knowing how to deal with women, they agree but, once they meet Sunako, they begin to realize that their lovely living arrangements may soon be in jeopardy.

Okay so, admittedly, I don't know how I found this one. And from the description, it doesn't sound like something I'd go for, but...I love it. At first, I thought it was a bit shallow, and it is at some points. But I've seen the first 13 episodes and its broken away from that alot. First and foremost, it is hilarious. The boys are so full of themselves that they think this whole thing is going to be a breeze. You know that's not going to be the case as soon as Sunako makes her first, Grudge-like appearance. She's the best thing ever. I don't want to spoil it so I won't say too much, but it is more than amusing to watch her be forced through the terrifying gauntlet of all things girly.

There are a few downsides thought. For one, I'm not crazy about all of the character design. The boys have the most feminine lips that I've ever seen. Characters spend alot of time in chibi form and when large groups of people are needed in a scene, the background characters are drawn as mostly featureless, white, chibi-dolls. Secondly, Sunako isn't really an ugly girl and I just want to slap her and anyone else who says so. Third and final, the boys' looks and their reaction to it makes you kind of want to roll your eyes sometimes. I mean, they make it sound so tragic to be beautiful.

So, if after all that you still want to check it out, click here (subscription needed): http://www.narutofan.com/plus/anime/yamato%20nadeshiko%20shichi%20henge%20anime%20downloads.html

because for some reason this title isn't listed on the master list of anime downloads.

I titled this part one, so hopefully I'll have more for you on a different anime in the future.

Bye, Bye!
-B

Give me a new obsession...

2007-01-25T03:31:12Z

So, I've been pretty bored lately and I want to find a new anime to watch. I've already been watching Bleach and Death Note on a regular basis. I get one new episode of those a week. I'd like to be able to watch one anime a night. Boy that would be cool, huh? So, if you guys have any ideas, I still have five nights open. They just need to be subtitled and downloadable somewhere. (preferably at narutofan.com because I have a plus account there.)

Preferences...I'm not really big into mecha or magical girl...I've been thinking about D.Grey-man as I've already seen the first episode. I tried Ergo Proxy but I got so bored I couldn't make it through the first half. I watched the first episode of Black Dragoon and thought it was so-so. Other than that, I've just been saving up my bandwidth for Bleach and Death Note.

What about Nauruto? It's something that I've been curious about for a while. I watched the first episode when it premiered dubbed on Cartoon Network and I couldn't stand the voices, but I would probably like it better in Japanese, right? It just seems like such a hugely popular series and it already has 200+ episodes out that it seems like if I really got into in it would be another huge time-suck on my part. So if someone could give it to me staight, I'd really appreciate it. It Naruto all hype, or all good?

On the other hand, let me recommend some shows to you guys:

Bleach - Rukia is stong. complex, and independent. Just what I look for in a Anime girl. Ichigo is also not your average male lead. He's not stupid and he cares about more than just fighting to get stronger.

Death Note: Really intelligent story line and plot twists. Moral ambiguity abound. L is also pretty freakin' cool.

Fullmetal Alchemist: Are you kidding me? If you're not already a fan of this, the best anime of all time, how did you even find this journal?

Heroes: Not an anime, but still the best show on televison right now.

Veronica Mars: Again, not an anime, but she's just so darn cool. Plus, not as many people watch the show and it deserves to have high ratings.

FMA Fic - 2,000 Miles - Chapter 4

2007-01-21T21:51:11Z

My goal for 2007 is to update a fic once a month at the least.

Title: 2,000 Miles
Summary: Two thousand miles and more ghosts than that to haunt them.
Pairing: EdwardxWinry.
SpoilersPost series, so yeah. A little bit of an alternate ending. No movie though. Doesn't even exist.
Rating PG - NC-17 This chapter: PG
FMA does not belong to me and I make no profit from any of these tales. Any further archiving of my fiction is strictly prohibited unless cleared by me.

Previous Chapters: Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three

4. Little Things (A Break in the Sky) Ed feels philosophical and Winry finds a way to reconnect with her oldest friend.

Harsh yellow rays escape through cracks in the curtains. One closed eye twitches, waking Winry fully. The blonde rolls away from the window, and with a groan, notices that Ed has already been up. She puts a hand to her forehead, covering her eyes against the sun as she turns back around. A piece of paper rests on the nightstand and she thinks that at least this time he left a note.

Winry,
I had to run out for a moment. Meet me for lunch at noon. Same place we ate yesterday.
Ed

Winry looks over to the clock on the far wall and quickly scrambles to get dressed.

<+>

Not much had really changed in East City, Edward thinks as he strolls down one of the busier side streets. It is still as dry as ever.

Edward turns right at the next intersection and heads for the center of town. Never looking up once, he lets his feet lead the way from memory. They stop him at the gates of Eastern Headquarters. As usual, the base is very busy. Dozens of nameless faces pass behind the gates. Mustang and his subordinates had been transferred to Central long ago.

The last time Ed had talked to The Bastard was when he turned in his resignation two years ago. Mustang had been at the funeral but Ed had barely said two words to anybody then. Briefly, Ed wonders if he is still trying to become Fuhrer.

He decides that this place holds no sway over him anymore and leaves. Two blocks down and three over is a book shop that he and Al used to frequent. He hesitates before going in, but decides that a bit of aching memory is acceptable in exchange for curing the boredom of a long journey. Besides, if his nose is in a book he can avoid the sympathetic looks of his traveling companion.

The bell rings as he enters and a young girl sitting behind the counter looks up. He doesn’t recognize her. Habit leads him to the Alchemy section and he listlessly browses the titles for something new, something that will re-light the spark inside him that died when his brother did. The titles are familiar. He has read more than half of these books and the rest are less than intriguing. He really doesn’t care about the industrial application of alchemically altered steel.

The self-help section holds no answers, either. No one was writing books on how to cope if your brother suffers a long and painful death after you restore his body and your limbs with a mystical art.

In the biography section he flips through a few memoirs filled with the sentiments of people who led lives with only a minimal amount of melodrama. Sighing, Ed puts down the memoirs of a retired author. The longer he lives, the more he comes to realize that his life is not normal.

Stepping around to the other side of the shelves, he begins browsing the fiction aisle. The titles and authors are so foreign to him they may have been in another language. Fairy tales were a pleasure that he’d stopped indulging in when his mother got sick. After that, Flamel took up the place of the Brother’s Grimm, and alchemic equations and formulas became his fairy princesses and enchanted swords.

He picks up a ruby colored, hard covered volume and flips to the middle of the book. Intrigued, his eyes scan the page, seeing more than words. He sees a chance to escape from the realities of a harsh world and a cruel science that at times masqueraded as magic. He closes the book and notices a clock on the wall to his left. The time to meet Winry is drawing near. He asks the shop-keeper what her favorite fiction story is and purchases it along with the volume he first picked up.

On the way back, his fingers caress the book’s spine and he thinks about the nature of dreams. He had spent six years in pursuit of one insurmountable dream after another and each one only ever ended in ruin. ’A dream was never really a dream if it comes true’; wasn’t that what the old soldier had said to him? Ed didn’t get it then but he did now.

Dreams don’t come true, at least, not how you imagine them. They can’t, because it’s not the nature of the world to be perfect, and what is a dream but a person’s ideal. For a while he had attained at least one of his dreams. He’d restored Al and even himself. But the circle is cruel and Al had been sick even before he’d lost his body.

He thinks of Mustang then, and Ed wants to tell him - warn him - that even if he is crowned King the story doesn’t end with a happily ever after. There’d still be wars, unrest, and poverty. Nations would seek to gain what others had and he’d always need eyes to watch his back. He wonders if Mustang, long experienced adult that he is, knows this already. Maybe it is a right of passage to learn these things. Maybe it is an experience gained only by those who wore themselves down to a cynical nub chasing after arduous ideals.

Either way, he feels a pang of pity and camaraderie for his commanding officer’s possible future - or past - revelation.

<+>

Edward is already waiting at a booth in the back by the time Winry walks in. Two mugs of hot coffee sit on the table in front of him.

“Where’d you go this morning?” She asks as she slides into a seat across from him.

“Out,” he says, not looking up from the menu he is holding.

Taking a drink of her coffee, Winry notices that he is dressed in dull brown slacks and a white button down shirt. Come to think of it, that was all his attire really consisted of lately. Winry studies him thoroughly, something she hasn’t done in two years.

The first time was almost four years after he had received his certification. Back then, as the years passed on without a visit, she had thought that it would take nothing short of the total annihilation of his mechanical limbs to get him to come home. Turns out she was right. She remembers that he hadn’t looked all that different than when he was twelve. He had the same clothes, same hair style, and he looked about the same height. There were little differences though. Granny had noticed that he had indeed grown an inch, his face was a bit thinner, his jaw and shoulders more wide. His voice too, was just a little deeper than she had remembered.

This time though, there were more differences for Winry notice, and one didn’t need to look hard to see them. He was eighteen now, and gone was the black and red coat. She missed it. His new clothes were so drab, unfit for the colorful personality that he once exhibited. Whites and washed out browns combined to create the bulk of his wardrobe. His hair too - often pulled back into ponytails or simply left lying flat - made him look much older. She kind of likes that change.

A waitress comes and takes their order. They both choose the lunch specials and as the woman walks away, Winry watches the play of light upon Ed’s face.

His countenance is perpetually down turned, creating deep lines around his mouth and brow. There are deep bags under his eyes from months of little sleep. His skin is much paler and she can see where he had cut himself shaving. He is still a little unsteady with his hands.

She finds it peculiar that he could learn to walk and move in auto-mail in a year, but it had been two since he got his own arm and leg back and he was still having problems with finer motor skills. Though, in a way, it made sense. The second time his body was altered, he hadn’t had such a compelling reason to expend so much drive.

The food arrives and their waitress, an old woman with deep brown eyes, refills their coffee cups.

“Do you remember drinking coffee at my house?”

Ed gives her a strange look as he chews on a bite of sandwich, “We drank a lot of coffee at your house.” He mumbles through tomato and lettuce.

“No, I mean,” Winry sighs. It is so hard to get her thoughts out when she has so many. Ed was right, they did drink a lot of coffee those times when they pulled all niters working on his auto-mail or researching alchemy to find a cure for Al. “Remember when we were little, your mom would visit Granny and when they went to the sitting room we’d steal cups of coffee.”

Ed bows his head and the corners of his lips turn up at the memory. “Yeah, we all thought we were so grown up, asking each other how many sugars we’d like.”

Winry giggles, “We had to put so much sugar in just to finish a cup.” Both thinking the same thing, they look to their own cups in various stages of emptiness. It was an acquired taste. “You still put in too much sugar.”

“I do not. Al puts in way more than I do.” The jovial mood falls like a bird from the sky and she can see Ed begin to beat himself up behind his golden eyes.

“Ed, it’s not your-”

Before she can finish Ed slams his palm on the table, rattling the dishes, and abruptly stands and storms away.

With a napkin, she begins to mop up the small drops of coffee that had escaped her cup at Ed’s outburst. Well, she had gotten what she wanted, only unintentionally. Ed was pissed now.

Maybe it was best if she didn’t try to reminisce with Edward right now, even about something as small as coffee. She understands where his thoughts are. After all, the image of a newly restored Al sitting in bed, holding a mug of coffee and trying to be strong is forever burned into her mind.

<+>

Moving on automatic, Ed packs up their suitcases and tries to ignore the stinging behind his eyes. Pajamas and underwear are thrown into bags without him caring if he matches the clothes to their owner’s suitcase. Too soon, the bags are packed and he is left standing in the middle of the room, fists clenching, body trembling, needing to move, do anything but just be still and think.

He tenses as a warm hand rests on his back. Winry is standing behind him. The intensity of his blood rushing through his veins had eclipsed the sound of her entrance. Her hands begin to rub circles through his shirt, soothing the muscles from their uptight state. It is a simple touch; the type of which he has found sanctuary in the past few nights, only this one consciously given. The shaking stops and he takes several deep breaths through his nose.

“Are you alright?” She asks softly.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” He pinches the bridge of his nose, willing that statement to truth. After few more deep breaths he is ready to go.

<+>

Ed is squinting at his book again. Winry’s eyes keep leaving the road to confirm this fact and he finally notices. Looking up, he asks her what she is looking at.

“I think you may need reading glasses.” She says. “Your eyes keep squinting.”

“No. I’m just having trouble reading on this bumpy road.” He bends back down, trying to hold the book at a new angle that will minimize the shaking of the pages.

“I don’t know how you can read that now.” He looks up curiously, his face open like it used to be in his childhood, and she explains, “I can’t read in a moving vehicle. It makes me feel nauseous.”

“Really?” He blinks before turning back to his story. “I never knew that about you.”

Winry is surprised at her reaction to this simple statement. They had been friends for so long, connected on so many levels, that she sometimes forgets about all the little facts that they don’t know about each other. An awful weight settles in her chest and that thought suddenly seems extremely important to her. She thinks of Al and Granny and tries to recall the little things she knew about them. She can’t remember what their favorite food or color was, or whether or not they could read in a moving vehicle without getting sick.

“Ed, tell me something I don’t know about you.”

Time had passed and Ed had once again fallen into his story. He looks over to her curiously before closing his book, allowing his finger to bookmark the page. Staring at the red cover, Ed’s gaze is thoughtful.

“The smell of pickles makes me sick.”

“Huh, I didn’t know that.”

Ed looks around, finds a scrap of paper in the glove compartment, and uses it to mark his page. “Why the sudden interest?”

Winry runs her words over in her head, thinking of the sight of Ed trembling in the middle of that hotel room, and tries to put her thoughts into words without bringing up Alphonse. “I was just thinking about all the little things we didn’t know about each other. I was thinking about it because a person could be gone before you even think about asking them what their favorite color is. Then you are stuck thinking about it for the rest of your life, and it wouldn’t seem so important if the person was alive, but they’re not so it is important because you will never get the chance to ask.”

She had forgotten to breathe during all that and now took several deep breaths through her nose. She feels so silly, especially now that Ed is looking at her with concern. She tries to avoid looking at him, staring into the horizon with a frown, but in her peripheral vision she can still see him. He blinks a few times, and she knows that’s what he does when his is beginning to understand, before facing straight ahead as well.

She hazards a look at him and he says, “My favorite color is red.”

A small laugh forces out the air she’d been unknowingly holding. “I kind of assumed that.”

“Yeah, well now you know for sure.” There is a moment then, as they both look at each other with content expressions. It’s like the parting of clouds on an overcast day; brief, but enough to chase away the gloom for a while. Ed opens his mouth and Winry can easily guess the question he is about to ask.

“My favorite color is dark blue.”

His mouth snaps shut and Winry smiles at him.

<+>

That afternoon they cross more barriers than miles; the previous space between them decreasing faster than the distance to their destination. Ed tells her that he can’t swim, that steak is his favorite food, and that his favorite animal has to be the starfish. He learns that she’s always been afraid of the water, that dogs are her favorite animal, and that she could live forever on a diet of yogurt and pasta. Things get more personal and he tells her that he’s never been kissed.

“Why not?” She asks.

Ed fidgets in his seat. “I don’t know. I think I could have been if I tried. Other things just seemed more important. Have you, you know, ever kissed anyone?”

It’s Winry’s turn to look uncomfortable. “Yeah.”

It is not the answer Ed expects to hear. It takes a while before expectation meets comprehension and he finds himself staring at her in disbelief. “Who?”

“Nelly dared me to kiss Dean Burns when we were thirteen, so I did.”

He waits anxiously for her to continue. When she does not, he asks, “And…what was it like? What happened?”

“It was…kind of sweet. It’s not like he became my boyfriend or anything after.”

Ed stares at her, and the expression ‘paradigm shift’ comes to mind. In the years he spent traveling, he can honestly say that he never put much thought into what Winry was doing at any particular moment. If he did, he always imagined her sitting alone in her workshop. Not once had her personal life come into the picture. It was almost as if his subconscious expected her to be just sitting around in Resembool, ready to hop-to at his beck and call. He feels extremely guilty about that.

Of course he didn’t expect her to sit around at wait for him. Neither one had ever given the other a reason to. Still…something about her confession chafed at him.

Since he was old enough to know about boys and girls, Ed had always believed that either he or Al would be Winry’s first kiss. This belief was so strong and he carried it for so long that at some point in his life, it had become less of a romantic notion and more of a fact. A contest between brothers, even. That tiny dream was dead now, and he felt himself mourning the loss for both himself and his dead brother.

“Oh.” It’s all he can think to say.

-

Author’s Notes: Who can guess why I choose the starfish as Ed’s favorite animal. Bonus points for whoever gets it right. Okay, here’s were I start to lay the Ed/Winry on ya. I hope that it will feel natural and not forced.

As always, constructive criticism is extremely appreciated.

Crossposted, ed_winry, fm_alchemist, fma_het, fullservicefma

Ahhh...mIRC!

2007-01-10T19:18:02Z

So I'm hoping that someone out there is mIRC savy and can help me. I've followed so many guides and none of them are helping. I've recently gotten into Bleach and I want to download the manga. I can easily get vol 1-7 from Bleach Portal, but 8 - chapter 192 or something are all on IRC. I'm trying to follow the directions but...I'm not getting any response. For example...

I connect to #manga-rain and it looks like this:

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a79/lil_missb/irc1.jpg

It says to type !rules for rules, so I do and nothing happens. But, I've also read that any command has to start with a / so I try /rules and i get this message:

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a79/lil_missb/irc2.jpg

???? So I move on. Bleachportal.net's instruction for downloading looks like this:

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a79/lil_missb/bleach1.jpg

And before you ask, yes I did click on the help link and got only a missing page. So, I'm a fairly intellegent girl, so I try the first XDCC send. This is what I get:

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a79/lil_missb/irc3.jpg

Yeah, so I try to msg the other user and get the same thing. Anybody got any ideas? Anyone know of anyplace better to get these translated chapters? I'm trying bittornet but I never have much luck with those and in the past two days the file I've been trying to download is only 4% done.

Maybe I'm just being impatient, (i mean, my pupils are as big as dinner plates here. Also, has anyone out there switched from monthly contacts to day and nights? I just did today and it's a much harder lens. I feels like there is a fine layer of crust over my eye.)or maybe I'm just being dumb, but I don't want to be one of those annoying IRC users out there who ask the channel a bunch of annoying questions and winds up getting kicked off.

Nevermind guys.

FMA Fic - 2,000 Miles - Chapter 3

2006-12-27T00:28:21Z

Holy Crap! An update.

Title: 2,000 Miles
Summary: Two thousand miles and more ghosts than that to haunt them.
Pairing: EdwardxWinry.
SpoilersPost series, so yeah. A little bit of an alternate ending. No movie though. Doesn't even exist.
Rating PG - NC-17 This chapter: PG-13
FMA does not belong to me and I make no profit from any of these tales. Any further archiving of my fiction is strictly prohibited unless cleared by me.

It's been a while so feel free to refresh your memory:

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

3. Familiar Territory

”Hey, Al. What’s the first thing you want to do when you get your body back?” Ed turns to the bed next to him, the conversation eerily mirroring one they’d had in the past. Al’s armor clanks as he looks over to his older brother, and Ed reminds himself that by tomorrow night, he’d be able to stare into his brother’s bronze eyes.

“I want to go swimming!”

~

The yellow light from the transmutation illuminates the living room of the Rockbell house. In the middle, Ed can barely make out his brother’s armor form. Behind him, he knows Granny and Winry are waiting anxiously. He dares not look back.

Suddenly, he sees the gate opening, black hands reaching for him and his brother. The light becomes red as the power leaches from the stone. He knows what he wants, and pushes forward. He sees an outline in the distance - would recognize it anywhere - and reaches out for it. The body is in his grasp and all he needs is to attach the soul. More energy is needed, and he considers overcompensation, using all the stone to make sure it is perfect. The equations balance, the body, mind, and soul are complete and the stone is still giving.

Al stands, flesh, in front of him in the place that isn’t really a place at all. A promise filters through his mind, and another equation is formed. Al smiles, seemingly able to read his thoughts in this void, or perhaps that’s always been the case. Together, they turn to the gate, and the hands begin to dissolve the steel that substitute Edward’s limbs.

~

The air is cool and the sky is clear as Ed practices the drills Sensei taught him. His arm is getting stronger and he is finally able to stand for long enough to complete a whole set. It’s the best he’s felt in a long time. He and his brother are both flesh again, and he’s even going though a growth spurt, gaining two inches in the past three months.

With a twinge of exasperation, he wonders what is keeping his brother from joining him. Ed had woken him nearly half an hour ago. He hopes he hasn’t gone back to sleep. Recently, Al had acquired a fondness for sleeping in. With a rueful smile and a shake of his head, Ed headed into the house to rouse his brother once more.

~

Al is sleeping again. Granny says it’s normal for boys his age to sleep a lot. Ed is still worried. Even though his brother sleeps all night and for most of the day, there are still deep circles under his eyes when he wakes.

~

The doctor said that Al needs rest and fresh air, so Granny gives Ed a wheelchair and tells him to take Al out and not to come back for a couple hours. He pushes him down the dirt roads to the riverbank. The gravel makes the ride a bit jerky, but Ed is mostly able to keep it straight. He is in good shape and Al doesn’t weigh too much anymore.

~

Ed has a perfectly timed internal clock now. Every hour he wakes, walks to the other side of the room, and checks for Al’s pulse.

~

Ed doesn’t even sleep anymore. His existence is defined by the same four walls, relying on Winry to bring him food for Al and books for research.

~

Sleep cannot be fought much longer and eventually, Ed passes out at the desk next to Al’s bed, his cheek resting on the open book. When he wakes, Al is cold.

The first thought that runs through his mind is, ‘I didn’t get to say goodbye.’

Winry’s body is warm next to his and he carefully extracts himself from the bed. It is still grey outside the window, the color only deepening the sadness his dreams left him to wake in.

The floor is cool to the touch and goose bumps break out over his skin. Not bothering to shower, Ed strolls out the door wearing the same wrinkled clothes he had on the night before. On the staircase, he pulls the band out of his hair and fixes the locks in a low ponytail. The lobby is empty, and the sounds of a waking city draw him outside.

The sky rapidly becomes brighter as the sun rises fully in the east, casting a pale yellow glow along the morning fog that still clings to the main street; the last vestiges of sleep yet to be shaken off in a town that was only beginning to wake. Edward found himself walking down this street, observing people in their everyday morning routines.

Ed had always found it odd that one could chart the progression of society just by taking a drive from one small village to one of Amestris’ five main cities. Gatewood was a mid-point on that evolutionary chart, viewed in perfect chronological order on the road from Resembool to East City. The town was a perfect blend of old world and new.

Street vendors were situated in the spaces left between shops. The vendors leisurely arranged merchandise under the colorful awnings while the shop keepers swept the front stoop and unlocked glass doors with cheery bells placed atop to announce the arrival of customers. Trucks were started and wagons hitched to make deliveries of milk, bread, and grains to homes and businesses alike.

Outside a mill along the edge of town, Ed sees an old man struggling with sacks of grain. His wagon is parked to the side of the building, a grey Clydesdale hitched and standing patiently in front for its owner to finish making his delivery. The man is rugged; thin grey hair and stubble on his face, wearing blue jeans and a flannel shirt with the sleeves cut off. He wore a glove on his right hand and in the shadow of the building; Ed saw grey steel for his left arm.

As Ed approaches, the man stops what he is doing to rub at his left shoulder. Ed understands why, as do only those who have auto-mail can, (except maybe for those who make it) how hard changes in the weather were on the joints. Summers in the east were not the picnic one would think they’d be, especially when temperatures would rocket up to over one-hundred degrees in the day before plummeting back down for the night.

“Need some help?”

The man looks up, right in the middle of picking up another sack, “Sure.”

Walking to the back of the wagon, Ed grabs a grain sack and pulls it to the edge. Picking it up, he stacks it neatly atop the others along the mill’s side entrance.

“You a tourist, boy?” The old man asks.

“Yeah.” Ed grunts, pulling a sack onto his shoulder. The bags had to weigh about 75 pounds.

“We don’t get too many of those. Not a lot to see in Gatewood, unless ya got a thing for cows.”

“I’m just passing through.”

“Figures, besides, if you were a new arrival, I would’ve already heard about it. My granddaughter works at the general store over yonder. Talk to ‘er every morning. I always get the skinny whenever a handsome young man moves to town.”

“Uh….”The old man laughs at the uncomfortable look on Edward’s face.

Eventually, they find a workable rhythm. The old man would pull the bags to the edge of the wagon; Ed would then throw them over his shoulder and stack them on the ground.

“Did ya’ come here alone?”

“No.” Ed answers, avoiding the man’s eyes.

“You here with your family? On yer honeymoon?”

“No, just with my mec- friend.” He barely stops the term mechanic from escaping his lips before remembering that he had no more need for Winry’s mechanical abilities on his person. The excuse just came naturally.

“Oh. Where are you two going?”

Ed was really beginning to regret helping the nosey old man. “East City.” He replied.

Finally, the old man begins to tire of asking questions and receiving only vague answers. The two work on in silence, and in time, the cart is empty.

The old man climbs atop the wagon and take the reins in his hands. Before heading off, he expresses his thanks to Ed.

“Not a problem. I was looking for a way to kill some time anyway.” Ed replied.

“You’ve gotta funny way of killin’ time, boy. Gots to be something better to do than help an old geezer, like me, with only one arm.”

Ed shrugs, finding nothing wrong with being a Good Samaritan, “How long have you had your auto-mail?”

“Somthin’ round twenty years. Lost it in an accident. My horse threw me one day while ridin’ beside a wagon. It spooked the two at the rein and when I fell, they took straight off. Only problem was, as I landed my arm somehow got caught in the spokes of the wheel. I’ll spare you the gruesome details; you can imagine it well enough on your own.”

Sighing, the man settles himself down in his seat, as if committing himself to reveal the secrets of the world or the epic story of his origins to this young man.

“’tween you an me, I ain’t as old as I look. It’s the work that’s made me rugged, and the ‘mail that’s made me arthritic. Ideally, I should go on and get me something newer and more light weight. Shit, I ain’t had any maintenance in years. But, I can’t afford it. In the end, I just hafta live with it. Still, you never stop yearnin’ for your own flesh and blood, ya know?”

Ed wants to say that yes, he understands, more than the old man would ever know. But he know that the man would look at his two flesh hands and legs and view his words as cursory. Instead, he says nothing, just swallows a lump of unexpected emotion and bids the man farewell.

Watching the wagon cart off, Edward feels his body begin to cool as the morning air hits his perspiring skin.

With a turn, Ed heads back to the hotel to take a shower.

<+>

She awakes to find the space next to her vacant and grown cold. In a panic, she checks to see if Ed’s suitcase was still there. It is.

Dressing quickly, she take the steps two at a time and finds Ed seated at a table over-looking the street. His wet hair is pulled back and his clothes are clean and unwrinkled. He looks strikingly better than he did last night.

As she sits down, he looks up. “I ordered you eggs.”

“Scrambled?”

He nods curtly and she proceeds to ask the usual set of questions. How did you sleep? Fine. You? Good.

That conversation ends quickly enough and they are silent until their food arrives. She takes the time to study her surroundings. It’s still early, but the sky is clear and sun streams in brightly though the inn’s many windows. Only a few guests sit quietly at the wooden tables and the only noise is the sound of the kitchen staff at work. Outside, a few of Gatewood’s vendors have begun pedaling their wares to the dozen or so residents on the street.

“It’s a good day for driving, huh?”

Ed hums in agreement but doesn’t look away from the window.

“Did you want to leave after breakfast or is there someplace you want to go?”

“I’m already packed up.” He says and she assumes that he means to leave after they eat.

<+>

Their food comes and at first sight Ed is even less hungry. Nevertheless, he chokes down the runny eggs just so he won’t have to deal with Winry’s inevitable concern.

After breakfast, he packs up her things while she showers. He hopes that she takes it as a favor instead of a sign of his impatience. Luckily, she doesn’t say anything when she returns and they are on the road before the sun has peaked.

He loses track of time as familiar towns pass by. He can’t wait to get past all this familiar territory. They pass the town Marcoh hid in and the town where he met the old soldier who talked of dreams. He doesn’t really want to go to East City, but knows that Winry won’t be able to drive through the night.

<+>

They are driving through a stretch of open road, nearly identical to everything they’ve seen thus far except for different shapes of trees and types of fences, when she speaks again.

“Ed, about before…I don’t think your mother would be disappointed in you if she could see you now.”

“Why would you say that?” His voice is tired and drags through the words like feet through mud.

“Well, you did the best you could with what you had, even though it wasn’t much.”

“The only reason it wasn’t much is because I ruined everything else.”

She hates that self-pitying tone of voice and snippily tells him to stop, just get over it and deal.

It’s gone in an instant and he looks like he may strike her. Sadly, she can’t tell if this new Edward will or won’t. The old Edward wouldn’t. The tension lasts for only a moment and his features melt back to their familiar uninterested expression.

“Winry, what are you doing?” He turns away again, “You know better than anyone that it doesn’t work that way.”

Guiltily, she stares ahead, “I know. I’m sorry. I just thought that if you started feeling again, you’d get better.”

“So you decided to piss me off?”

“Well, it’s the only thing I’m good at.” Ed doesn’t say anything. “Look, I’m sorry. I just thought that it was better you feel angry than empty.”

<+>

The rest of the ride is made in silence, as usual, and they arrive in East City sooner than expected. The sun is just beginning to set when he directs her to a small hotel on the outskirts of the city, far enough away from the slums to make Winry feel secure.

Again they get a single room and again there is only one bed. Winry wants to explore the city and Ed escorts her around the block. He is reluctant to head all the way in town. Danger lies in his memories there. She seems content just to browse the shops around the hotel though.

They eat a small supper at a corner restaurant and she seems happy looking out into the lighted streets. It’s not very late, but they decide to turn in once they get back to the hotel.

Lying together, back to back in the bed, Winry asks him: “Where do you want to go tomorrow? Did you want to continue on to Central?”

“No. I think…maybe Dublith.”

“Okay.” Her voice is soft and the bed shifts as she tries to find a comfortable position. “Tomorrow head out to see Izumi.”

He lies awake for a good twenty minutes until he is sure she is sound asleep. Rolling to his side, he throws an arm around her middle and wraps his body around hers.

He is asleep in seconds.

-

Author's Notes: Wow, I can't believe that it's been over a year since I updated this story. Just goes to show ya that I never give up on a story. This one is particularly tough. I'm trying to make it really emotionally driven by the characters and it's proving to be very hard for me. I've been playing with this one so much lately, trying to make it perfect, but there comes a time when you've just got to say, "I've done all I can with this chapter, and it's time to move on." So that's what I'm doing.

B on the first section: Alot of people sort of assumed that Al died restoring Ed's limbs. Admittedly, I was vague at first as to how he died, mostly because I hadn't decided myself, but I chose to clear it up a bit with this chapter. I hope I didn't do it in a too corny way. I like the idea of Al having a longer, drawn out illness that gradually presented itself, strictly so I could write an older Ed. (Have I mentioned that I love Older Movie Ed?)It's a bit cruel but, it gives me more philosophical dialog to work with later.

B on Ed's conversation with the old man: I re-wrote this scene more times than anything in this chapter. I couldn't decided if I liked the flow of it or not, or even the inclusion of it or not. What I want is for Ed to begin taking little baby-steps towards reconnecting with the world, and his interaction with this stranger was to be his first attempt. I just hope that I pulled it off right.

As always, reviews and constructive criticism welcome. Flames will be used to toast yummy marshmallows.

12/27 - Crossposted to fullservicefma, fma_het, fm_alchemist, and ed_winry

Updated 12/27/06 - Thank you so much to all who have reviewed thus far. I've really, really appreciated all the constructive cristism, since I am a bit rusty. I've gone over this chapter a bit and hopefully, I've cleared up the tense problems. (You can tell I'm rusty since I picked most of them out in the sections written recently.) I also changed the part at the end, where they decided on a destination, since I thought the original wording may mess up the story timeline wise. Again, thank you, everyone.

2006 Icon Contest Entries

2006-12-21T19:57:19Z

2006 is drawing to a close and what a craptacular year it was. I dropped out of internet existence for most of the year, I have more WIPs than I care to count, and yet I still managed to get back into icon making sometime in October. Hopefully there won't be any more set backs and the next year end post I do will be much larger.

PREVIEWS:

Here you all go, skip to the end for the rules, credits, and various other info.

001

002

003

004

005

006

007

008

009

010

011

012

013

014

015

016

017

018

019

020

021

022

023

024

025

026

027

Created with angelamaria's Icon Table Generator @ Bauble

6 - Won Moderator's Choice @ fma_awards week 122
14 - Won 3rd place @ fma_awards week 127
19 - Won 3rd place @ fma_chorus Week 87
20 - Won 2nd place @ fma_chorus Week 88
24 - Won Runner -up @ fma_chorus Week 91

Credit like this:

Credit for brushes, pics, etc., can be found in my user info.

Hey, I guess I'll show off my banners too:

Please comment if you are taking/using any of these. Also, feel free to give me any kind of constructive criticism. I'm trying to get better.

Happy Holidays everyone.

Manga Bases - Volume 2

2006-11-26T21:59:54Z

Can you tell that work has been slow lately? This is what I do when I'm not busy.

I realize that I got a bit lazy with the formating, but there were just too many of them!!!! If it's that much of a problem, I'll go back and fix it later. Also, even if you're not taking any, I'd like to get feed back on my base making skills. Am I totally missing some shots? Should I rethink the way that I crop these? Please let me know because I'd like to get better. Thanks in advance!

229 Manga Bases

Previews:

Chapter 5

1. 2. 3. 4.

5. 6. 7. 8.

9. 10. 11. 12.

13. 14. 15. 16.

17. 18. 19. 20.

21. 22. 23. 24.

25. 26. 27. 28.

29. 30. 31. 32.

33. 34. 35. 36.

37. 38. 39. 40.

41. 42. 43. 44.

45. 46. 47. 48.

49. 50. 51. 52.

53. 54. 55. 56.

57. 58. 59. 60.

61. 62. 63. 64.

65. 66. 67. 68.

69. 70. 71. 72.

73. 74. 75. 76.

77. 78. 79. 80.

Chapter 6

1. 2. 3. 4.

5. 6. 7. 8.

9. 10. 11. 12.

13. 14. 15. 16.

17. 18. 19. 20.

21. 22. 23. 24.

25. 26. 27. 28.

29. 30. 31. 32.

33. 34. 35. 36.

37. 38. 39. 40.

41. 42. 43. 44.

45. 46. 47. 48.

49. 50. 51. 52.

53. 54. 55. 56.

57. 58. 59. 60.

61. 62. 63. 64.

65. 66. 67. 68.

69. 70. 71. 72.

73. 74. 75. 76.

77.

Chapter 7

1. 2. 3. 4.

5. 6. 7. 8.

9. 10. 11. 12.

13. 14. 15. 16.

17. 18. 19. 20.

21. 22. 23. 24.

25. 26. 27. 28.

29. 30. 31. 32.

33. 34. 35. 36.

37. 38. 39. 40.

41. 42. 43. 44.

45. 46.

Chapter 8

1. 2. 3. 4.

5. 6. 7. 8.

9. 10. 11. 12.

13. 14. 15. 16.

17. 18. 19. 20.

21. 22. 23. 24.

25. 26.

I didn't really do much to alter these from the originals besides erase some text in places. I figured that you guys could clean them up yourselves how you like them. Feel free to alter these in any way.

Credit:

Like this:

Scans are all curtosy of Unrivaled.info and ZOMGFTA! thank you guys for all the hard work you do! I appreciate it more than you will ever know.

Remember, every time you hotlink, god kills a kitten; which makes Al sad.

Crossposted:
Here at hagaren_manga
Here at fma_icons
Here at fm_alchemist

ETA: Formatting fixed!!!

I suck

2006-11-22T03:38:37Z

Wow, two posts in one day. Imagine that.

I'm still easing back into writing and actually making progress. Except for today. I spent most of my designated writing time writing about towels. Yeah, you read right, towels. Don't ask me how, don't ask me why, just don't ask.

Anyway, I thought that was funny and now I need to go somewhere and hang my head in shame.

TOWELS!!!!!!

Manga Bases - Volume one

2006-11-22T01:57:29Z

I've got some manga icons for you guys...

PREVIEWS:

Chapter 1

001

002

003

004

005

006

007

008

009

010

011

Created with angelamaria's Icon Table Generator @ Bauble

Chapter 2

001

002

003

004

005

006

007

008

009

010

011

012

013

014

015

016

017

018

019

020

021

022

023

Created with angelamaria's Icon Table Generator @ Bauble

Chapter 3

001

002

003

004

005

006

007

008

009

010

011

012

013

014

015

016

017

018

019

020

021

022

023

024

025

026

Created with angelamaria's Icon Table Generator @ Bauble

Chapter 4

001

002

003

004

005

006

007

008

009

010

011

012

013

014

015

016

017

018

019

020

021

022

023

024

025

026

027

028

029

030

031

032

033

034

035

036

037

038

039

040

041

042

043

044

045

Created with angelamaria's Icon Table Generator @ Bauble

I didn't really do much to alter these from the originals besides erase some text in places. I figured that you guys could clean them up yourselves how you like them. Feel free to alter these in any way.

Credit:

Like this:

Remember, every time you hotlink, god kills a kitten; which makes Al sad.

Crossposted:
Here at fm_alchemist
Here at fma_icons
Here at hagaren_manga

PS: for got to give credit of my own. Gomen. Scans are all curtosy of Unrivaled.info and ZOMGFTA! thank you guys for all the hard work you do! I appreciate it more than you will ever know.

Anime Playlist: Sailor Moon - Dubbed

2006-08-09T19:57:48Z

I was feeling a little nostalgic recently for the first anime I ever watched, and trying to find episodes to download, all I could find was hentai. So, I looked around some more and discovered the fun that is Youtube. I got an account and a week or so later, found the episodes. It was quite a lot of work so I copied down the links so that anyone else who found themselves in the same mind as I did could enjoy watching all the episodes hassle-free. Thus, the first Anime Playlist was born! Hopefully, I can get around to doing this for other anime shows that I like. In the future, I’m gonna try to do both subbed and dubbed versions of Fullmetal Alchemist (of course), Cowboy BeBop, Vision of Escaflowne, Samurai 7, and Samurai Champloo. So with out further ado, I give you the dubbed versions of…

Sailor Moon (100% complete)

1. A Moon Star is Born
2. Talk Radio
3. Slim City
4. So You Want to be a Superstar
5. Computer School Blues (Mercury’s Intro)
6. Time Bomb
7. An Un-charmed Life (Mars’s Intro)
8. Nightmare in Dreamland 1 2
9. Cruise Blues 1 2 3
10. Fight to the Finish
11. Match Point for Sailor Moon
12. An Unnatural Phenomenon
13. Wedding Day Blues
14. Shutter Bugged
15. Dangerous Dollies
16. Who is that Masked Man?
17. An Animated Mess
18. Worth a Princess’s Ransom 1 2 3
19. Molly’s Folly 1 2 3
20. A Friend in Wolf’s Clothing
21. Jupiter Comes Thundering in
22. The Power of Friendship
23. Mercury’s Mental Match
24. An Artful Attack
25. Too Many Girlfriends
26. Grandpa’s Follies
27. Kitty Chaos
28. Tuxedo Melvin
29. Sailor V Makes the Scene 1 2
30. A Crystal Clear Destiny 1 2
31. A Reluctant Princess 1 2
32. Bad Hair Day
33. Little Miss Manners
34. Ski Bunny Blues
35. Ice Princess
36. Last Resort
37. Tuxedo Unmasked
38. Fractious Friends
39. The Past Returns
40. Day of Destiny

Sailor Moon R (100% Complete)
41. The Return of Sailor Moon
42. So You Want to be in Pictures
43. A Knight to Remember
44. VR Madness
45. Cherry Blossom Time
46. Kindergarten Chaos
47. Much Ado About Babysitting
48. Rei’s Day in the Spotlight
49. Food Fetish
50. Mirror, Mirror on the Wall
51. Detention Doldrums
52. Secret Garden
53. Treed
54. Serena Times Two
55. The Cosmic Caper
56. Mercury Moving On
57. Gramps in a Pickle
58. Trouble Comes Thundering Down
59. A Charmed Life
60. A Curried Flavor
61. Naughty N’ Nice
62. Prediction of Doom 1 2
63. Enemies No More 1 2
64. Checkmate 1 2
65. Sibling Rivalry 1 2
66. Rubeus Evens the Score 1 2
67. Rubeus Strikes Out 1 2 3
68. The Secret of the Luna Sphere 1 2
69. Emerald Takes Over 1 2 3
70. Promises Fulfilled 1 2
71. No Thanks, Nurse Venus 1 2 3
72. Dog Day for Artemis 1 2 3
73. Smart Payoff 1 2 3
74. Child’s Play 1 2
75. Future Shocked 1 2
76. Legend of the Negamoon 1 2
77. Jealousy’s Just Reward 1 2
78. Birth of the Wicked Lady 1 2
79. Brotherly Love 1 2
80. Diamond in the Rough 1 2
81. Final Battle 1 2 3
82. Follow the Leader 1 2

Sailor Moon R Movie: Promise of the Rose (100% Complete)
-Part 1
-Part 2
-Part 3
-Part 4
-Part 5
-Part 6

Sailor Moon S (3% Complete)
83. Star Struck, Bad Luck
84. Crystal Clear Again
85. Driving Dangerously
86. Bad Harmony
87. Swept Off Her Feet
88. Blinded By Love’s Light
89. Lita Borrows Trouble
90. Damp Spirits
91. Friendly Foes
a. Part A
b. Part B
c. Part C
92. Mixed Emotions
93. Individual Happiness
94. Birthday Blues Part 1
95. Birthday Blues Part 2
96. Hello, Sailor Mini Moon
97. Tainted Tea Party
98. People Who Need People
99. Related by Destiny
100. Art Appreciation
101. Everything’s Coming up Rosy
102. No Turning Back
103. Destiny’s Arrival
104. The Purity Chalice
105. Show Stoppers
106. Rini’s Risky Friendship
107. Mimet’s Mess
108. The Shadow of Silence
109. Thorny Weather
110. Heightened Hazard
111. It’s In the Cards
112. Next in Line
113. Fiendish Friends
114. The Science of Love
115. Wake Up Call
116. Who’s Really Who
117. Darkness, My Old Friend
118. Second Chance
119. Tough Kindness
120. Goodness Eclipsed

Sailor Moon S Movie: Hearts in Ice (100% Complete)
-Part 1
-Part 2
-Part 3
-Part 4
-Part 5
-Part 6

Sailor Moon SuperS

121. Dreams Take Flight
122. No Ordinary Horse Power
123. Sweet Dreams
a. Part 1
b. Part 2
c. Part 3
d. Part 4

FMA crossover fic - Alchemy vs Magic

2006-05-04T17:06:27Z

A bit different from my usual and much shorter. Constructive criticism welcome.

Alchemy Vs Magic : The Potions Master
PG
A potion may hold the key to granting Edward’s deepest desire. HP/FMA Crossover
Word Count: 304

As usual Edward Elric stormed into the dungeons unannounced, heavy boots clomping against the flagstone flooring. The dark-hared man behind the desk looked up from his cauldron, an annoyed scowl on his face. Edward didn’t flinch at the expression that still managed to scare away even the boldest seventh year. Severus Snape didn’t frighten him. Annoy him, yes, but not scare, and if he said one word, Edward swore the man would find his fist slammed into his greasy face.

“I need you to make me a potion.” Edward demanded as he reached the desk and placed the book he was caring on the surface. Without waiting for a reply, he turned to the page that he’d been staring at for days now, the page that held the answer to all his prayers. “This one, here.” He pointed to the page.

Frowning, the potions master turned the book and read the title of the page. A sardonic smirk spread over his face. “A growth potion.”

*

The fifth year Slytherin and Griffendor students arrived at their potions lesson to find their professor sporting a fresh bruise on his cheek, and working over a cauldron on his desk. Sitting tied up in the corner behind him, was a ticked off looking blond. Many recognized him as Dumbledore’s guest, since they had seen the loud man storming through the hallways on occasion.

Taking their seats, the Professor stepped from behind his work area and addressed them. “Today you will all prepare a shrinking potion. At the end of class you will all submit a sample to Mr. Elric, who was so kind to volunteer for this procedure-“

“You son of a b-“

Snape pointed his wand at the enrage man and a gag appeared around his mouth, silencing the expletive. Severus smirked; Alchemy 0 – Magic 1.

Slowly easing out of Hiatus

2006-05-04T16:43:55Z

Wow, I really feel like I've been in a cave for five months. I suppose I have, but I'm trying to re-emerge. I've started writing again, although I think I'm a bit rusty. I'll post a little something in another entry. As for icon making...I'm not sure when I'll get back to those, you see...I don't have my desktop computer with it's hundreds of downloaded pictures, fonts, and brushes. Also, most of my old files from my stories are on it. Oh, I guess I should probably tell you why I don't have my desktop huh, well...

As I said in my last post months and months ago, Mr. B and I are having some trouble. I won't go into all the gruesome details but I ended up moving back in with my parents. I left most of my stuff with him and have been working off my laptop. I should take my desktop back but my parents don't have alot of room for it.

If my crumbling relationship wasn't enough to stress me out, I have also left two jobs in the past five months. Right now I'm still looking for another but the prospects are getting better. I have an interview or phone call nearly everyday and hopefully, I'm getting closer to a job because my financial situation is terrifying.

So, right after this I'll be posting a little something I just did to try and get back into author mode. I'm sorry but those of you still waiting for updates on my WIPs will have to wait a little longer.

Hope you all have been well,
-B

The word of today is "hiatus"

2006-01-05T12:04:07Z

Hiatus. What a cool sounding word. Unfortunately I rarely get a chance to use it other than when talking about my favorite TV shows.

Sadly, my dear friends, today I get to remedy that by announcing my own. Hiatus, that is. Lately I've been having some real life problems and I really feel the need to give it my all when it comes to solving them. I don't want to have to worry about working on the next chapter or the next contest entry. Well, I may do the occasional contest entry, but I'm definitely taking a break from writing.

To those of you with a burning curiosity, all I will say is that my problems tend to focus around my relationship with Mr. B right now.

I'm sorry to all those that are waiting for the next part of TAGR and TSAEW or are just waiting for another PWP, but real life comes first. Most importantly, my relationship comes first.

Love, peace, truth and all that jazz,
-B

hiatus, hiatus, hiatus. There, that brings the usage count up.

Icons - contest entries 1

2006-01-02T16:10:04Z

First post of the new year! I hope all of my friends had a safe and happy new year. Anyway, I've been involved in several icon making contests and here is the first batch of a few of my entries. Some are winners some are not. Some are good and some are bad, but here they are nonetheless, 12 icons total.

TEASERS:

Entries for fma_awards

1. Won Moderator's choice

2. Won 3rd place.

3.

4.

5.

6.

Entries for fma_hush

7.

8. Won third place.

9. Won third place.

10. Won third place.

Entries for fma_chorus

11.

12. Won second place, Wk 42.

Rules:
-Please comment
-Please credit like this:

See you all later.

FMA Fic - One Shot - Untitled (Proving Grounds)

2005-12-11T18:09:13Z

As promised. I'll talk about my reasons for not liking it at the end.

Title: Untitled (Proving Grounds)
Summary: A little fib gets Ed in a lot of trouble with Winry. ‘She had no intention of seducing Edward Elric until that moment.’
Pairing: EdxWinry
Spoilers: Not really
Rating: NC-17

FMA does not belong to me and I make no profit from any of these tales. Any further archiving of my fiction is strictly prohibited unless cleared by me.

Author’s Notes: In all my stories, both partners are at least 18 years old. It’s the only way I don’t feel dirty writing this. Needless to say, most of my fics take place after episode 51 and therefore are AU.

Untitled (Proving Grounds)

After two hours, Ed was still fuming. Winry watched as he roughly flipped through the pages of the book he was pretending to read and wondered how big the explosion would be if he accidentally ripped the pages of the borrowed alchemy text. As soon as she thought it, it happened. The sound of paper ripping filled the room and Winry held completely still in the chair opposite him.

Ed’s body froze, hand holding the ripped pages and eyebrow twitching. Suddenly the book was flung across the apartment, “Bastard,” Ed muttered, sitting back in the sofa, arms crossed, “This is all his fault.”

Winry knew which ‘he’ Ed was talking about and tried to follow his reason, “Russell Tringham made you tear the page and throw the book?”

Ed looked at her like she was the one with the insane logic and got up to retrieve the book. He knew how much Al hated it when he mistreated the books. “That guy just pisses me off. And now, he’s everywhere I go.” He plopped the book down on an end table, intending to fix it later.

“Well, you both are state alchemists now. It’s only natural that you two would bump into each other from time to time.”

“No,” Ed shook his head and began to pace, “not from time to time, all the time. He’s there, and just now, at the library, that was my spot, Winry! MY SPOT!” He screamed and flopped back down on the couch. “He only joined to be like me.” He mumbled.

Winry rolled her eyes. This was just what she needed; another rival for Ed to bitch to her about. Ed didn’t notice her exasperated expression and kept on ranting.

“I mean, the nerve of that guy, sitting there, in my spot bragging about how many girls he’s fucked.” Ed scoffed, “I bet he’s never even touched a boob.” Ed crossed his arms again, a proud smirk on his face and every fiber of his being glowing in self-satisfaction, like he just won the state spelling bee or something.

Winry closed the fashion magazine she had been boredly flipping through – apparently rib bones were ‘in’ this year – and stared mischievously at Ed. His little spat had suddenly gotten much more interesting.

Ed never talked about sex. In fact, if she didn’t know better, she’d think that he didn’t even know what it was. But there was a difference between knowing and doing and he always seemed oblivious to the female eyes on him.

She was not. Women wanted Ed because he was off limits. Their mothers and fathers all disapproved. After all, good husbands state alchemists did not make. Fortunately for their parents, Ed, unlike most eighteen year old boys, spent more time chasing leads and criminals than skirts.

“And you have?” Winry challenged.

Ed’s arms uncrossed, one flopping casually over the sofa. With a casual shrug of one shoulder he answered her, “Of course.”

“Yeah, and I suppose that you’ve had sex too.” Winry leaned forward, eyes sparkling with mischief.

“Lotsa times.” A leg crossed over the other added to the visual of his casual lie.

She raised her eyebrow, “With another person?”

His eyes narrowed, “Yes,” he hissed.

Winry tried not to snicker at Ed’s posturing, “Hmmm…I don’t believe you.”

Ed leaned forward, finger pointing in the general direction of the library, “But you believe that…that…phony?”

It was Winry’s turn to sit back and look smug, “Sure.”

“But…he’s…he’s…”

“Handsome? Intelligent? Charming?” Winry offered. With each word Ed’s eyes narrowed in indignation. “Not to mention tall. I mean, you’ve grown, but…” Winry grunted, seemingly turned on by her next thought, “did you see how good he looked in that uniform?”

Ed’s eyebrow was twitching angrily, and if he kept up the pace, his teeth would be worn down to nubs. “Stop. I don’t want to hear anymore.” He re-crossed his arms, and looked away, “That guy’s never had sex or even touched a woman before.”

“But you have?” Winry mock clarified.

He looked sharply to her, “I told you-“

“Lotsa times, yeah right.” Winry waved the rest of his sentence away and leaned forward. “You know what I think? I think that you two are right in the middle of some macho pissing contest and by admitting that you haven’t had sex yet while he has would mean that you lost some ground. So instead of sucking it up and taking it like a man, you lie about it.”

Ed was silent for a moment and Winry smiled, pleased with herself. She had hit the mark dead on and Edward had no reply.

“I’m not lying.” Ed stubbornly looked away again.

She leaned back in her seat, “Oh really, who?”

She saw him flinch before regaining his composure, “Well,” he sat back and held his head like a dignitary, “A gentleman never talks about his conquests.”

Winry didn’t miss a beat, “You’re not a gentleman.”

Ed balked, “Well…I’m not one to brag.”

“Yes you are! You are the one to brag. Now tell me their names.”

Ed sighed, stalling. “Well, there was Tina, Rachel, Joanne, and- why are you laughing?!”

Chuckling, she clapped a hand over her mouth, “Because you’re just so full of crap!”

Ed growled.

Winry pulled it together, “Okay, okay. Lets call one up and ask her.” She got up and walked past Ed. Sitting on the other end of the couch, she reached for the phone.

“What? No!” Ed launched across the couch and shot out a hand to grab hers.

Receiver in hand, she pulled away. “Why not?”

“Because she could lie!” Ed reached for her hands again but this time Winry stopped him with a hand on his forehead.

“But what girl would lie about having the pleasure of the Full Metal Alchemist?” She asked sweetly. She removed her palm from his face and began to dial the number for directory assistance. “Don’t worry, I’m just going to ask her to describe your penis.”

Ed’s mouth dropped to the floor and he desperately reached for his childhood friend. He’d always thought she was a little evil but this just proved it. “Oh, come on.” He pleaded, catching both her wrists in his hands. She was pretty strong and attempted to wriggle out of her grasp. “I can already tell you that she’s going to say that it was big, hard, and felt good.” With a victory cry, he was able to pull the phone out of her grasp and hang it back up. “Besides, it’ll only make them mad that I told you.”

By this time they were both breathing hard from their wrestling and the giggling that had accompanied it. Somehow during, Winry had squirmed her way beneath him. “Okay then.” Winry’s eyes were full of mischief and laughter, “prove it.”

Ed’s brow wrinkled at her unusual demand, “Prove it? How?”

“Oh me.” She breathed heavily.

The mood changed as quickly as if someone had flipped a switch. Gone was the teasing and the room fell tense. They both froze as the possibilities sunk in. Winry hadn’t meant to blurt it out like that. In fact, she had no intention of seducing Edward Elric until that moment.

Ed suddenly felt extremely claustrophobic even from his position on top of her. Her cheeks were suddenly too rosy and her breath too heavy against his face. He became aware of the heat between her legs and her breast pressing against his chest. Nervously, he licked his lips, “W-what did you say?”

“I said to prove it with me.” She answered, her voice stronger than his and tinted with a seductive tone that he’d never head before. Not from her.

Ed swallowed hard, “And by that you mean…” Some part of him knew, but he needed to hear her say it, just to be sure they were on the same page.

Hands trailed down his sides and she practically purred, “Come on Ed. Don’t be dense.”

When her hands reached his waist and moved in on his belt, Ed jumped. Backpedaling quickly, he scrambled to the other end of the couch, stopping when his back hit the armrest. “You mean you want me to…But, you’re like my sister!” He sputtered, “I’m not even attracted to you!”

“That’s bullshit.” Ed had to look away at how unabashedly she sat up, not caring if he could see straight up her skirt. “Remember when I caught you watching me get undressed?” She changed position and began crawling toward him. The look in her eyes the same as a cat stalking a mouse. “You wanted me then, I could tell.”

She was entirely too close to his groin for him to protest much more. “That was…I though you were someone else.”

“Oh?” she arched her eyebrow but didn’t stop slinking up his body, each word bringing her in closer. “You were in my house, in my room, and you thought I was someone else?” She just giggled. “Come on Ed. Stop playing around and tell me you want me too.”

“I don’t!” He lied. Of course he wanted her. He was an eighteen-year-old virgin and she was a beautiful, busty blond with a penchant for short skirts and tube tops. On the other hand, she was his oldest friend and it would feel wrong if he didn’t try to protest and be the voice of reason.

“Really?” She cocked her head to the side, “Then what’s this?” She was in between his legs now and cupped his growing erection in the palm of her hand, rubbing him through the cloth. A moan escaped his lips and his head fell back against the arm rest. “Yeah, that’s what I thought.”

He gave her a dirty look and pulled her head to his. The kiss was surprisingly natural, as if they had done it their whole lives. His tongue ran along her bottom lip and she allowed him access to her mouth. He claimed every inch, searing every nook and cranny and moaning as her hands began to unbuckle his belt.

Breaking the kiss, she sat up and pulled her tank top over her head and urged Ed to do the same. Their lips met again and he tangled his hands in her hair. Briefly, he worried that the golden strands would get caught in the joints of his auto-mail. Fortunately, they were extremely soft and ran through his fingers easily, not a tangle anywhere to get hung up on.

Holding her this way, he guided her kisses. There was little resistance as he led her down his neck and across his chest. Licking and gently biting his nipples, she finished undoing his pants. He pulled his hands away, content to watch her as she ravaged the sensitive buds. He quivered as she continued down his stomach and he pushed down his pants enough to free his erection, hoping that that was where she was headed.

Her hands danced around the base, making his stomach twitch and jump. Finally, her tongue darted out to lick the tip. Ed grunted and pushed her hair out of the way so that he could have a better view. Eyes lidded, he watched as her tongue darted out again, lapping all around the head. Sucking in a breath, he exhaled her name as her tongue ran from base to tip and all over again, tracing every vein she could find. Licking a drop of pre-come from the tip, she caught his gaze and smiled a Cheshire cat grin before taking the head into her mouth.

Pride blossomed in Winry’s chest as she watched Ed struggle with himself. She could tell it was taking every ounce of his willpower not to grab her by the ears and force himself deeper. Sucking on the head, she ran her tongue along the slit, drawing out moans from Ed.

He had given up trying to hold her gaze; it was just too hard to fight her. Fingers tightened in her hair as she dipped her head lower, taking more in and quickly going back up to the head. Two sucks and she did it again, dipping down and back up. Suck, suck, and dip. Suck, suck, and dip. Each time she took him in further, smooth lips wrapped around him as her tongue wrote gibberish along the underside of his cock. A moan waited on his lips for her to dip down. He had broken her code and anticipated it…but it didn’t come. His head fell back and he felt her smile.

When she finally did dip back down, his eyes shot open. Again his cloudy mind tried to figure out the pattern. With a scientific mind like his, is should have been easy, but every time he thought he had it, she changed it again. Back to back dips were broken apart by five sucks, then one, then seven. An agonizing fifteen sucks and he was tearing at the sofa.

“Please, Winry…” he gasped, “I need…HOLY SH-“ He ground his teeth together as she took him all the way in and stayed. His body clenched as he struggled not to move, too afraid that he would choke her.

The edges of the world began to fade as he felt tongue and throat muscles contract around his dick, then suddenly everything burst too bright as he emptied himself in her mouth. She held his hips down as she swallowed every drop and his whole body shook with the effort used to keep restrained. With one final drag, she pulled herself up his body. Everything felt overly sensitive. Each strand of hair against his chest, her nails along his thighs, all made him quiver.

She reached his ear and whispered in it, “You’re not done yet, I hope.”

Ed’s eyes lit with the challenge and she quickly felt the world spin as he rolled them both off the couch. It was a small drop and it excited her more than it hurt. He kissed her, his tongue exploring the recessed of her mouth and tasting himself there. She allowed him to settle between her legs and his hand quickly found its way to her inner thigh.

He didn’t waste anytime, much to Winry’s delight, and her panties were quickly pulled off. Giving him that blow job had been a major turn on, especially with all the noises he had made. Warm fingers traced her fold, circling but never entering. She gasped as he ran a digit along her clit.

Ed smiled around her lips when he felt her moan. As usual, he had dug himself into a hole with one casual lie that let to another. He hadn’t the acumen to realize that his need to save face would lean to this, but who would. And if he had been suddenly struck with that kind of clairvoyance, he could honestly say that he would have chosen the exact same path. All he knew was that he wanted to make her feel as good as he did. Fortunately, his determination could turn the world on its head.

With thumb and forefinger, he rolled the numb of flesh, delighted to hear the squeak spring from Winry’s mouth. Not content to just sit there, his auto-mail pushed up her top, exposing her breasts. A metal palm cupped the flesh, circling the nipple with cool fingers. He couldn’t feel it, but she could and that’s all that mattered. Breaking the kiss, he mouth found its way to the other breast. He carefully took in the nipple, experimenting with tongue and teeth to find out what she liked.

Winry thrust her chest up farther into Ed’s face. She was beginning to lose faith in her assumption that he was a virgin. This teasing certainly seemed deliberate. What he was doing was wonderful, but she was aching inside, needing more, to be filled.

“More,” she moaned, eyes closed as her head lolled along the carpet. A finger entered her, thumb remaining on her clit. She sighed at the small relief. Ed’s finger curled up as he began to stroke her insides. Her muscles clamped down, every inch of her insides longing for contact.

Ed felt himself begin to harden again at the sound of her broken pleas. Briefly, he wondered how far he could take this. If he returned the favor, would she still want more? A voice in the back of his head told him that he had her right where he wanted her. It would be so easy to slip inside and take what he wanted in a rush of sweat and possibly tears. This primordial voice rattled something deep inside, scaring him to the bone and almost ceasing his actions. The urge was pushed back as he slunk down her body, putting distance between their aching parts.

Winry didn’t have time to moan a protest at the loss of his fingers inside her before his tongue was hesitantly exploring her. His breath tickled as he exhaled through his nose and she grabbed his head. Flattening his tongue, he tasted her inside. It was killing her, sweetly, not having him inside, but she didn’t want him to stop.

Ed held himself close to her, not that he could move with her holding his head. She was trembling and moaning incoherently directions like “more,” “please,” and “yes.” His hand came up so that he could probe her deeply. A finger found the spot that had made her moan, and his lips found the numb that had made her gasp. Her hold on him grew fiercer as he sucked and rolled her clit in between his teeth, giving it the same treatment he had given her nipples. She bucked into his mouth and he felt the muscles clamp around his finger.

He watched her face as she rolled her head around in ecstasy, eyes closed. She was panting hard and once her eyes opened he crawled up her body, hand remaining between her legs. Supporting his weight on his elbow, he brushed back the hair from her face with metal fingers. His real ones continued stroking her, enjoying the warmth and wetness there.

She felt overly sensitive and sighed, pleased, at the way his hand continued to tease her, head lolling to the side. Their eyes met when she felt him move into position, the tip of his cock at her entrance. When she didn’t object, Ed guided himself inside, fingers spreading her to accommodate his girth.

Winry held her breath at his slow approach. She was surprised at the small pinch of pain, but figured it was just because Ed was so much thicker than any of her toys. And softer, and warmer, and, oh hell, he was just better all around.

Edward felt like his body was humming. Too much sensation for his mind to process when all his body wanted to do was move. It screamed for him to take, take, take until it fell over satisfied. He felt far away. His body was his own, but not, and as such moved of its own accord, pulling out of the wet heat and slamming back in, doing all that he wanted to her pussy that he had wanted to do to her mouth.

He was startled back to himself, concerned at the sharp sound Winry made with this action. Quickly, he determined that the sound was of pleasure and tried to be more conscious of his actions. He was going to both give and take until they were both satisfied.

Winry was a little disappointed when Ed became coherent again. Truth was, his incautious behavior had excited her beyond belief. She liked that she could make him lose control. That disappointment was quickly forgotten as he brought one of her legs up and folded it to her chest, driving himself even deeper.

His bangs veiled his face and swayed as he pumped into her. Her hands came up to push them back, needing to see his face. His eyes were squeezed shut, forehead creased in intense concentration.

That wouldn’t do. She wanted that reckless abandon back.

“Ed,” she moaned, “Ed, please.” She licked her lips, deciding how best to word her demand between gasps. “Don’t hold back. Be as rough as you want.”

Ed’s eyes flew open and he quickly flipped her over. Her skirt was pushed up and her head was down close to the floor. Her knees rubbed on the carpet when Ed slammed back in. Her hair fanned around her face, blocking her vision until all she could do was feel: his hands on her hips as he controlled both of their movements, the zipper of his fly rubbing against her cheek. Everything in her was being pulled to where they joined, pooling there before it all became too much and burst.

She was coming. He was inside her and he could feel her coming. His cries joined hers as he let go, fingers digging into her as he tried to make the feeling last as long as possible. His legs gave out and he fell back on his knees. The joints protesting until he fell back, sitting propped against the couch. Winry crawled over, leaning her head on his chest and curling into his side. They were both very quiet, the only noise being the ticking of the clock and their relaxed breaths.

“Ed,” Winry tilted her chin up to look him in the eyes, which were closed, “tell me the truth, was that your first time?”

Edward looked down at the unsure tone in her voice. The idea of continuing the lie crossed his mind but didn’t stay there. After all, it probably wasn’t a good idea to lie to the person you just had sex with, especially not if you wanted to do it ever again.

A small serene smile touched his lips and he nodded, “Yeah.”

Winry’s head tilted back down as she closed her eyes. She didn’t make a big deal out of his confession, didn’t yell ‘I knew it!’ or scold him for lying to her. She just stroked his chest through his shirt until he felt like he could purr.

She sighed and hugged him tight. His arm wrapped around her shoulder and his other hand brushed her hair behind her ear.

“I’m glad.”

Author's Notes

Okay, so I don't completly hate this fic, I just don't think it's the best thing I've ever written. I like the verbal sparing between Ed and Winry, that's always fun to write. I just feel that the story kind of switched moods too quickly and it lacks a sense of realism. That's all I can really describe coherently. I just...feel that I could have done better, ya know?

I guess it works if you just look at it as complete porn.

Just a little update...

2005-12-10T22:49:27Z

...since I haven't updated in a while.

Finished first drafts of first two chapters of TAGR Pt 2. I had to completely re-work my outline since I thought the first one was too boring. I also changed the theme around a bit, not too much though. Still, for a three-part romance series, part two is surprisingly gen so far.

So to combat that, I'll be posting one of my throw away PWP stories tomorrow. It's something that I worked hard on for a while but kind of lost my focus half-way though. I'll talk more tomorrow about the problems I have with it (whether you want to hear it or not (: ) but for now, I'm going to try to clean it up a bit.

Later gaters!

-B

Site Poll

2005-11-22T21:28:24Z

So, I've been thinking latly about getting my own web space. I know a person who has her own domain and would be willing to host me, I'm just a little iffy about it. I could keep all my fiction and icons there, which would be cool.

So naturally, I made a poll.

Answer honestly and/or comment below.

View Poll: Site Question

Icons - random techniques

2005-11-18T22:52:03Z

No real distinctive set here. I was just browsing a lot of tutorials and picked up a few new tricks. Just for fun, I also took the first two icons I ever made and re-did them just to compare how far I've come.

Teasers:

1. 2. 3. 4.
5. 6. 7. 8.
9.

Original: Remade:

Original: Remade:

Credit:
#9 - Picture from FMA Doujinshi "Nermia"
Brush and texture credit is in user info.

Rules:
-please comment
-please credit like this: