#hughes/hawkeye swap

[clearbun]

what are the military's view on pokemon?

The higher ups pretty much just view them as a useful tool for battle above everything else, and don't care about them past that

State alchemists can have a full team of pokemon that they can swap whenever they feel like it, but one of them always has to be a partner pokemon that they registered upon receiving their certification. Typically, a state alchemist will make their official partner a pokemon that boosts or complements their alchemical ability in some way, but it really depends on the person. (some examples are: Mustang's Rapidash, Armstrong's Machamp, Ed's Victini, Kimblee's Silvally)

Soldiers who are often in combat will have pokemon that are especially suited for the soldier's station/the environment that they are in. (Hawkeye's Inteleon, Buccaneer's Beartic)

Members of the military who aren't actively in combat/have more desk job type situations can have pretty much whatever, but it is frowned upon to have pokemon with you on the clock purely for companionship, even if it is common. (Hughes' Bewear, Sheska's Floette, Fuery's Rotom)

[jeminy3]

im still dead but here’s some more old stuff. doodles for the hughes/hawkeye swap au

i also wrote AU notes for it. someday ill post them on AO3.

[oifaaa]

fma age swap au doodles or an excuse to draw adult Mei and teen Mustang

[eurydykakaput]

Age-swap, role-swap Fullmetal Alchemist au idea. Roy is really young when he starts his apprenticeship with Master Hawkeye. It lasts about a year, which is more than enough time to befriend Riza. When her father disappears, Roy takes Riza to live with Aunt Christ. Happily ever after, yay.

Nope. Aunt Christ dies and kids, mostly Roy but Riza too, decide to bring her back. Roy finds himself, a new alchemy teacher. Edward Elric. Edward is pretty much teaching Izumi Curtis Style like you’ve probably guessed. He takes on mentoring Riza as well, even though her training is much more about combat. (She can activate circles in this au and understands the principles behind the process but it’s just not her cup of tea.) Roy and Riza spend some time with Elric-Rockbell family (the sacrifices are the same as canon so Edward and Winry have children.)

When Roy decides they are ready they attempt to bring Aunt Christ back, it goes as good as you were expecting and Roy loses his eyesight and Riza gets stuck as a suit of armor (she has mixed feelings about it).

They are found by Lieutenant Colonel Alphonse Elric, The Armor Alchemist (only know to them as “that idiot brother of mine, who became a military dog”) and Second Lieutenant May Chang. Alphonse, much like Roy in canon, joined the military with good intentions became the hero of the Ishvalan Civil War, a title he hates, and now dedicated his life to change his country. Mei (she, as well as Ling, was born in Amestris here) followed him loyally. (They got promoted after meeting Roy snd Riza, so they're about the same ranks as Roy and Riza in canon.)

Roy and Riza get a dog.

Now, this was a tough decision but I decided to put Lan Fan in Hughes’s place. She visited Amestris with her grandfather when she was young and met Ling. Then she just kinda stayed there for him, eventually got citizenship and joined the military thinking it was the best way to protect her boyfriend. They eventually marry and have a kid. She isn’t annoying with pictures like canon Hughes but she can appear out of nowhere and just show one good foto in silence. I think she could survive the encounter with Envy with her ability to read qi.

Speaking of qi. Lan Fan and Mei take it upon themselves to teach Roy qi reading the second they learn he can’t do it.

Roy and Riza meet Maes by accident. He’s a Cretan(?) prince looking for the secrets of immortality accompanied by his bodyguard Gracia (who can kick butt now). Need I say more?

Now the best part. Most people think the Elric brothers despise one another after the falling out they had when Al joined the military. Most do not know they are back on friendly terms with each other and ed is playing a major role in Alphonse’s plan.

[thefledglingdm]

my first work in the fmab fandom! please give it a click. info is below the cut.

Summary:

They call her alchemist, they call her prodigy, they call her the Terror of Ishval, the Hero of Ishval. They call this woman with fire in her eyes and soul and hands a witch. They admire her and fear her and love her and hate her.

In the crosshairs, he only sees a woman who has never known warmth.

(A FMAB role reversal AU.)

Chapters: 2/? Fandom: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga, Fullmetal Alchemist - All Media Types Rating: Mature Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Riza Hawkeye/Roy Mustang, Rebecca Catalina/Jean Havoc, Gracia Hughes/Maes Hughes, Rebecca Catalina & Riza Hawkeye, Maes Hughes & Roy Mustang Characters: Riza Hawkeye, Roy Mustang, Maes Hughes, Jean Havoc, Rebecca Catalina Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Role Reversal, Role Swap AU, Alchemist Riza Hawkeye, Sniper Roy Mustang, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Ishbal | Ishval, Ishval Civil War, Canon-Typical Violence, Women in the Military, Angst with a Happy Ending, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Slow Burn, Mutual Pining, Sexual Tension, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, let's really tap into those themes of issues with father figures yeah?, Angst and Humor, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Period-Typical Sexism, Period-Typical Racism

[summerspook]

SPEEDPAINT: https://youtu.be/XGKlcYNS394

After some time,here he is! Envy!Alphonse from my Homunculus swap AU. The first picture is what he’d look like when not disguised, and the second is a headshot of what he’d look like when disguised.

Now,here are some facts about him,and the AU itself:

In this AU, the main cast and the homunculi (and some side characters too) are swapped, so Hohenheim was the one who created the 7 homunculi to carry out his plan, which in this case, is becoming mortal, at the expense of everyone else in Amestris.

Here,Mustang(Wrath) and Riza(Lust) are “married” (Hawkeye is no longer in the military here.) and they’re very well-known. They “adopted” Edward(Pride) and Alphonse(Envy) when they were 11 and 10 respectively,after “they lost their parents”.

Now,here are some facts about Alphonse himself:

-He has Envy’s shapeshifting powers -In the beginning,he’s often grouped together with Riza and Mei(Gluttony). -His monsterous form resembles the original Alphonse’s armor -He carries out Hughes’(In this case,Kimblee’s) murder -Normally, he, like his brother, pretends to be a normal kid -After Riza dies, Al has to pretend to be her,and pretend that she has to leave to one of the foregn countries(haven’t decided which one yet) for a diplomatic mission of somekind, thus, explaining her absence to the public -He regularly goes underground to check on Winry’s(Sloth) progress on digging the tunnel, to Hohenheim’s command -He, like the original Envy, is envious of humans -He’s sometimes envious of his older brother, who didn’t have much work to do in the beginning -He has the most empathy out of all the homunculi -His disguised appearence is very neat compared to his usual appearence, where his hair is very messy, and his clothes are very unformal

His relationship with the other homunculi,and the brothers:

Ed: He’s the closest to him, and he would trust him with his life. Winry: He visits her the most often out of all the homunculi, and he often chats with her, when she’s not about to fall asleep. He sees her as his sister. Mei: He usually sees her as an annoying little sister, and scolds her a lot when she commits any mistakes. Ling(Greed): These two are best friends, even though Ling left the other homunculi, and Alphonse visits him in secret sometimes. He’s actually pretty disappointed when Ling becomes the new Greed,in the body of a certain Xingese prince(Greed). He doesn’t really show it though, out of fear, that the others may resent him for it, since they aren’t on best terms with the original Ling. Greedling: He has a deep-seated hatred for him, and doesn’t talk to him,unless he has to. Mustang: Alphonse respects him a lot, and usually obeys his orders, even though he wasn’t created the same way the other homunculi were. Riza: Al sees her as sort of a mother figure, but he’s not close enough with her, to be too bothered by her death. He’s more annoyed, because he has to pose as her after her death. Hohenheim: Alphonse is the one out of the 7, who understands why Hohenheim wants to become mortal again the most. Because of this, he wants to help him achieve his goals, no matter what he has to do. Pride(Edward): Al sometimes jokes about Pride(I will figure out a name for him and Envy later.) being unusually short for his age, and is sometimes annoyed by his cocky attitude, but other than that, he doesn’t mind him too much. Envy(Alphonse): He resents him a lot more than he does his brother, and he never misses an opportunity to make fun of him because of his armor body, and call him things such as “talking tin can” and “soul in a trash can”. He seems to hate him more than everyone else.

That’s all for now! Here’s a strawpoll,for you to vote on who I should draw next! https://strawpoll.com/x99zukjd3 From now on,I will be using the #fmahomunculiswap tag, to mark my posts relating to the AU. If you have any fanworks to share with me, please use this tag, because I’d love to see it! Stay tuned,folks~

[reconditarmonia]

Dear Rule 63 Author

(It’s finally happening! Thank you so much for signing up!)

I’m reconditarmonia here and on AO3 (and have been since LJ days, but my LJ is locked down and I only have a DW to see locked things). I have anon messaging off, but, er, I can answer any questions you might have about my requests in my mod capacity if you contact the exchange email ;)

Fullmetal Alchemist | History Boys | Pride and Prejudice | Robin Hood | Spinning Silver

General likes:

– Relationships that aren’t built on romance or attraction. They can be romantic or sexual as well, but my favorite ships are all ones where it would still be interesting or compelling if the romantic component never materialized.

– Loyalty kink! Trust, affectionate or loving use of titles, gestures of loyalty, replacing one's situational or ethical judgment with someone else's, risking oneself (physically or otherwise) for someone else, not doing so on their orders. Can be commander-subordinate or comrades-in-arms.

– Heists, or other stories where there’s a lot of planning and then we see how the plan goes.

– Femslash, complicated or intense relationships between women, and female-centric gen. Women doing “male” stuff (possibly while crossdressing).

– Stories whose emotional climax or resolution isn’t the sex scene, if there is one.

– Uniforms/costumes/clothing.

– Stories, history, and performance. What gets told and how, what doesn’t get told or written down, behavior in a society where everyone’s consuming media and aware of its tropes, how people create their personas and script their own lines.

General DNW: rape/dubcon, torture, other creative gore; unrequested AUs, including “same setting, different rules” AUs such as soulmates/soulbonds; PWP; food sex; embarrassment; focus on pregnancy; Christmas/Christian themes; focus on unrequested canon or non-canon ships.

A note: I'm generally fine with "/" ships where the fic doesn't contain a kiss, overt declaration of love, etc. I'll trust that you wrote it with shippy intent and don't expect you to force in something that wouldn't fit the story.

About Rule 63 Exchange specifically: I have no strong preference for character names, with a slight preference for sticking with their canon names; it's up to you whether you want to justify any resulting names that would be unusual for women or just gloss over it. As far as characters' personalities and gender expression are concerned, you can tell from my requests that part of what interests me in most of the characters I requested is the question of what they and/or their relationships would be like in a world where they grew up as women, but I tend to want to see them as similar to their canon selves, just female. I'm probably fine with unrequested characters also being swapped to female, but feel free to check if you're not sure; please don't swap any female characters to male.

For this exchange, I've requested only fanfiction and only Always a 63, and with the exception of FMA, have requested non-smut (for FMA both smut and non-smut are good).

—

Fandom: Fullmetal Alchemist

Ship(s): F!Roy Mustang/Riza Hawkeye, F!Roy Mustang/F!Maes Hughes, F!Roy Mustang & Riza Hawkeye & F!Maes Hughes, F!Roy Mustang & F!Maes Hughes

I only recently started watching FMA:Brotherhood and I love it a lot. My fannish interests run towards military contexts, loyalty kink, idealistic/noble characters, and ambitious/pragmatic characters, so I'd love to read more about any of these combinations of people trusting one another to be the best person to do the job, or to know what to do, and risking a lot on that - whether that's on campaign in the war, when trying to get Roy up the chain of command, during the conflict with the homunculi... (I'm not yet up to the bit where Roy tells Riza he trusts her to shoot him in the back if he steps off the path, but it's been mentioned to me and it is my JAM.)

(My requests are fairly unspecific because as I write this I'm only about a quarter of the way through the anime. DO NOT worry about avoiding spoilers in the fic; I'm getting through the canon and can't wait to read whatever you want to write. Although I should specifically say, feel free to either have Hughes continue to be alive or stick to canon in this regard.)

Smut Likes: clothing, sexual tension, breasts, oral sex, grinding, informal d/s elements, intensity

Fandom-Specific DNW: please avoid canon-typical loss of body parts. If writing Roy/Maes in a period when Maes would canonically be married to Gracia, please don’t kill her off or get into either infidelity angst or poly negotiation; an AU where they never married or the assumption of an open relationship are both fine.

—

Fandom: History Boys

Ship(s): F!Stuart Dakin/F!Tom Irwin, F!Entire Class & F!Tom Irwin, F!Entire Class & F!Douglas Hector

I'm dying to know what the cultural touchstones would be if this plot were about lesbians instead of gay men. Auden, for instance, keeps coming up in the play - Hector loves him, Dakin and the other students bring him up to feel out Irwin - Housman, Bette Davis in Now Voyager...so what's acceptable and/or eccentric Culture for lesbians to cling to, or to signal (or flirt, or come-on) with? Who are the writers and the icons? During canon(/pre-, if applicable with Hector) or post-canon Oxbridge-slash-TV-historian life, it's all great. I, like most of the fandom, do like the idea that Dakin and Irwin do make it work at some point, post-canon.

Although I acknowledge that female versions of these characters feeling shut out of the historical and literary Canon is a valid place to go with the concept (I mean, that's Mrs. Lintott's speech), I'm more interested in following through on the way that the canon (little-c) characters relate historical or literary figures and events to their own lives - whether that's using more female figures, or finding things to seize on and relate to in the male figures of the Canon (in a fuck-you women-are-like-this-too way or a gay way rather than a Great-Men-are-universally-relatable way, I suppose).

—

Fandom: Pride and Prejudice

Ship(s): Elizabeth Bennet/F!Fitzwilliam Darcy, Jane Bennet/F!Charles Bingley

I would love to see how the basic narrative of P&P, or scenes from it, could play out, with period setting and some level of period attitudes, if either (or both) of the two main men are women looking for a "companion" or being pursued as a "companion," rather than as a husband. (Yes, I've been watching Gentleman Jack, but I've wanted this sort of thing for longer than that.)

To be clear, period attitudes can be "meh" rather than wall-to-wall homophobia; I'd just prefer to explore the implications of this change rather than supposing that same-sex marriage is accepted and everything about the plot is the same. If Jane, the eldest daughter to marry off, isn't interested in a heterosexual marriage? If Elizabeth turns down Collins without any expectation that a more suitable man could exist? (Having characters be bi rather than lesbian works too, I'm just throwing out some examples.) The significance of dancing, when in a formal dance context you'd encounter another woman in the dance but wouldn't be able to have her as a partner? Jane and Bingley being adorable, or Elizabeth and Darcy coming to revise their initial ill opinions of each other in this new context? Are the men a hot ticket for the women of Hertfordshire in the same way if they're women instead?

—

Fandom: Robin Hood (Traditional)

Ship(s): F!Robin Hood/F!Little John, F!Robin Hood & F!Merry Men, F!Robin Hood & Merry Men, F!Robin Hood & F!Little John, F!Robin Hood & Little John

Tell me about these people! A female outlaw commanding the loyalty of a mixed or male group -- or an all-female group of outlaws, how they live, what might have led them to choose that life. I'm also here for Robin Hood's relationship with her right-hand man/woman specifically, because I love loyalty kink -- people willing to go into danger for one another, the leader knowing how best to use her right hand's skills and strengths, what elements of formality might appear in, well, a very ad-hoc group. (And f!Little John would probably be hot.) If you're writing the Little John pairings, feel free to make the Merry Men either their canon versions or female versions.

I'd totally be into any of the f!characters crossdressing as men vis-à-vis the world at large, although if you go this route I'd rather have them not be in disguise to each other/to their own allies (so no Merry Men thinking they're being led by another man when it's crossdressing Robin, for instance - preferring masculine clothing/appearance even among friends is fine, though).

—

Fandom: Spinning Silver

Ship(s): F!Staryk Lord/Miryem Mandelstam

I love Miryem, and I'm so interested in the ways that making the Staryk Lord a woman would change Miryem's entry into the Staryk world and the romance that eventually develops between them. Maybe same-sex marriage is common among the Staryk, and that's one of the customs that are new and unfamiliar to Miryem in this new world. Would this be a Miryem who had never imagined being attracted to a woman before but comes to fall for the Staryk Lady, or one who simply couldn't have imagined being able to marry one and have that be a normal life? (For values of "normal" that include ice lands and gold magic!) How does the fact of the marriage being same-sex affect Miryem's initial understanding of it as a business arrangement, or for that matter, affect her understanding of the offer of queenship as a marriage at all? What makes them fall for each other?

Canon Miryem wonders what her role as queen is, thinking that she'd know about managing a household and having children and sewing if she were married to a human lord - is it the same if she has a fairy wife instead of a fairy husband, more so because there's not even the hope of a gendered complementarian aspect to fall back on, less so because the Staryk Lady is there as an example of what a female monarch in the Staryk lands does? Does Miryem try to be more like her, or to find her own accounting-powers-and-personal-bonds niche?

It's so important to canon Miryem to have a Jewish wedding with the Staryk Lord - what would that look like here? What happens when she comes back to the human world not only the queen of a magic country, but married to a woman (and in love with her, depending on when you set it)?

[fluffmonger]

The World in Concert (1/4)

Wordcount: 437

Pairing: Hyuroi

Rating: T for now

A/N: I wrote this for @chirbinbirb/ @arklie for the @fmasecretsanta2018!

I deeply apologize for how long its taken, and also the fact that it’s not 100% done yet. I’m finishing it up now, after some unexpected busy-ness and a wrist injury that made it difficult to write properly. You asked for hyuroi hurt comfort, so I am here to provide with a role-swap, feat young!Hughes in Riza’s place, before and during the Ishvallan war. Fun fact, this is the first time I’ve ever tried writing Hughes’ pov, as usually my kink is Roy suffering lmao.

(this will be crossposted to ao3,with the last three parts coming in the next week as soon as I can get them edited)

---

The spring breeze is cool, gentle and yet still somehow sharp, carrying the scent of green life and a hint of magic that was entirely foreign to Roy Mustang. This rural region is nothing like his city, his home of brick and mortar and cobbles and dust. This is nothing like what he'd expected when he'd agreed to take on an apprenticeship with the man rumoured to be one of the most powerful alchemists in all Amestris. Shouldn't such a man live in luxury, live near a city with all kinds of resources?

And yet… there is a charm to this backwater. Something in the plants, the blooming flowers and distant cries of animals on far more organised farms, something that tugs his soul and makes him want to sing.

It is with a light heart that he knocks at the door of the humble manor, bouncing on his heels as he waits to announce himself to his new master, eager to begin the study of the esoteric circles that make alchemy. But there is yet another surprise for him, found in eyes as green as the spring breeze, and just as sharp as lingering winter. Another boy, his age, greeting him with a wrapped grin and hand extended.

“Hi! I'm Maes Hughes, and you must be the new boy. Roy right?”

The grin is infectious and Roy's world shifts, singing in concert with the magic of spring and eyes all too green to be quite real.

This new life is everything he's sought for so long, and it's only just begun.

***

Roy Mustang isn't anything like what Maes had expected, but he quickly finds that he is exactly the person he'd hoped for. Roy is bright, and quick, taking up the lessons as easily as the baby ducks in the little pond out back take to the water. He is every inch as bold and boastful as his name would imply, carrying himself with an imposing dignity, or at least… trying to. It is all too easy for him to forget himself and become his age again, full of excitement over a new tiny mastery, dark eyes burning with a brilliant fire that draws Maes close, and yet, frightens him.

Roy Mustang is… intense. Passionate. Larger than life.

And Roy Mustang is his closest friend, dancing in circles with him around Master Hawkeye's assignments, around this life and this place, their worlds in concert as they faced every day together.

Yes, Roy Mustang is young, and impetuous, and silly and yet he is also… Powerful.

And Maes knows already he never wants to leave his side.

[jeminy3]

Hughes/Hawkeye Swap/Apprentice Hughes AU Outline

notes and general outline for my ideas for a FMA AU that swaps Riza and Hughes' roles in the story. includes lesbian Riza and self-indulgent Roy/Hughes shipping, but you can imagine it's platonic if you want.

Original Art Post Here

Read on AO3 Here

Read on Google Docs Here

AU in which Hughes and Hawkeye switch roles. Hughes is Roy's First Lieutenant and bodyguard with the secrets of Flame Alchemy tattooed on his back, Riza is Roy's best friend and informant within Central's investigation team.

- Berthold Hawkeye refuses to teach Riza Alchemy, being old-fashioned and wishing to protect his daughter from that lifestyle. Instead he opens up an apprenticeship to any teen boys willing to learn. He receives one in the form of a young Roy Mustang.

But things become complicated when a 2nd boy by the name of Maes Hughes also arrives to accept the apprenticeship. Neither him or Roy want to back down, so Berthold wearily agrees to teach them both on the condition that only one of them will receive advanced studies if they earn his trust and approval. Roy and Maes agree.

What follows is 2-3 years of Roy and Maes competing as rival apprentices as they live with the Hawkeyes in their estate, slowly growing from bitter rivals to close friends (with tenuous romantic/sexual feelings for each other later on).

Roy is petty and competitive, eager to prove himself against Maes as the better Alchemist and earn his Master's respect, hopefully enough to learn the secrets of his infamous Flame Alchemy research. Maes only wished to learn basic Alchemy at first, but he's driven to try harder as he butts heads with Roy, taking great pleasure in knocking the ambitious boy down a few pegs and seeing him frustrated.

Meanwhile, a young Riza watches them from afar, then eventually befriends the two, admitting from her observations of them that they actually seem to like each other's company. Roy and Maes vehemently disagree with this, too proud to admit otherwise.

This becomes obvious as the adolescents' sexuality comes into bloom (Roy and Riza being gay, and Maes being bisexual), with Riza being the first one who becomes comfortable in who she is and what she likes, and keeps trying to encourage the boys do the same. But their pride and stubbornness keeps getting in the way of admitting their attraction to each other.

+ Eventually a harrowing event or two brings them closer, like the Academy OVA

Things change as Roy's ambition shifts, and he shows interest in joining the military and helping his country with its constant wars. Riza shares similar interests, but this draws Berthold's ire. He pushes them away in favor of Maes, who he deems his most trustworthy apprentice now.

Maes shares similar sentiments with his friends, but he's better about hiding them from his Master. After hearing about Berthold's Flame Alchemy from Roy and Riza, his inquisitive nature made him curious to learn the secrets, so he's been staying on Berthold's good side to earn his trust. He aims to share the secrets with his friends once he gets them.

Once Berthold makes it clear he favors Maes, Roy makes clear his desire to join the Academy and parts ways with his Master. He begrudgingly bids farewell to his friends before he leaves. (He's almost 18, several months older than Maes, and nearly 4 years older than Riza.)

Roy promises to see Riza on the battlefield and fight with her someday. His parting with Maes is more tense, as they've finally settled their differences and become friends, but still haven't resolved their deeper feelings for each other. Maes isn't clear on whether or not he will join Roy at the Academy, despite showing interest earlier. Instead, Roy hesitantly promises to see him again, and Maes promises likewise.

Roy spends several months adjusting to Academy life, then is surprised when the next batch of students has Maes among them. He joined after all, saying he stopped his studies with Master Hawkeye because he no longer wants to become an Alchemist, and has signed up as an average soldier, like Roy. He doesn't go into detail about his decision, but Roy assumes it's because Maes finally stood up for himself and what he really believes in, rebelling against Master Hawkeye.

No longer rivals, and being more mature, Roy and Maes revive their friendship and finally come to terms with their feelings for each other. Maes admits to grappling with heartbreak after Roy left, making him finally realize the true nature of his feelings. Roy admits to missing Maes in a similar way since coming here. Eventually, they confess their love for each other and become an item.

But Roy notices Maes having a strange paranoia over his body that wasn't there before, never undressing in front of anyone and being more private in his bathing rituals. Sleeping together is also off-limits. Roy wonders about this but respects Maes' preferences, trying to be a good boyfriend.

They survive the rest of their Academy training and graduate with flying colors, all the while enjoying an overall happy relationship together. Roy is a strong soldier and natural leader, and Hughes proves to be an accomplished marksman and sniper.

Roy and Maes return to the Hawkeye Estate to visit Riza, like they promised her. She's happy to see them, and even more happy that they finally hooked up. But things are tense under the surface, and Riza admits that her father is on his deathbed. Roy agrees to see him, but Maes suddenly becomes quiet and distant, and refuses to see him. Riza seems to understand, and takes him aside while Roy meets with Berthold.

The dying Berthold gives his parting words to Roy, admitting he would have favored Roy with his secrets had he not agreed to join the military, and it seems he made a mistake in trusting Maes after all, since he followed the same path. But what's done is done. Roy asks about happened to the secrets of his research. Berthold forces a chuckle, remarking that Roy should know about this already.

Roy asks what he means by this. Berthold admits that he gave the secrets to Maes not long before he left for the Academy. But apparently, Maes never told him this.

Regardless, Berthold makes Roy promise to watch over his daughter and keep Maes' secrets safe, only using Flame Alchemy for a good cause. Roy is confused, but agrees to this. He comforts Berthold as he takes his dying breaths.

Afterward, Roy finds Riza and Maes comforting each other in Riza's bedroom, and confronts them over what he's been told. He demands to know what Maes has been hiding from him, feeling hurt. Maes gets upset, and Riza calms them both, telling Roy that it isn't personal, it's been very hard for Maes and she only found out about it after he left for the Academy.

Roy wants to know what "it" is - so, Riza gently encourages Maes to take off his shirt. Hesitantly, with great pains, Maes does this - revealing a series of Alchemy tattoos covering most of his back, containing the secrets to Flame Alchemy.

+ Alternative: Roy walks into the room just as Maes is showing his back to Riza, causing even more shock and confusion.

Roy is shocked and horrified. Maes forces a calm, nonchalant tone as he relays how he earned Berthold's trust, but only enough to earn his secrets in a way he could never actually use them. Instead he was coerced into being their keeper, sedated and operated on by a tattoo artist Berthold hired. The operation and grueling recovery was a terrible, violating experience, and has ruined Maes' passion for Alchemy entirely, to the point that he hates and avoids it now. As soon as he was able, he quietly slipped away from the Hawkeye Estate, returned home, then left to join Roy at the Academy to become a soldier. He finally breaks down as he apologizes profusely to Roy for never telling him about this, even when they became an item.

The two embrace, with Roy understanding of Maes now and saying he should apologize for getting mad and assuming the worst. He promises to be better to Maes, as long as he doesn't hide things from him anymore. He loves him, and if they're going to survive together, they need to be honest and trusting with each other. Maes tearfully agrees. Riza comforts them both.

Afterwards, Roy uses his soldier's pay to arrange a proper burial for Berthold, and the three mourn at his grave. Roy relays his dreams to help his country from the bottom up, even if he's just a disposable soldier. Maes agrees with him and promises to stay by his side, and offers to give Roy the secrets on his back so he can revive his dream of becoming a State Alchemist. Roy accepts this, especially coming from his boyfriend. Riza is warmed by all this, and promises to support them as well, once she's able to. Roy leaves a business card with her so she can look for him after she graduates from the Academy.

Roy and Maes return to Roy's new apartment in Central, moving in together and working to decode the tattoo. Once they do, Roy develops his method of Flame Alchemy, inventing the ignition gloves. He trains until he feels ready, then applies for his State License, impressing the Fuhrer and others with his flames. He earns the title of The Flame Alchemist. Maes supports him from the sidelines as best he can, still very nervous around Alchemy, especially this kind.

Then, Roy is deployed to Ishval, with Maes following soon afterward. They're separated for a time, but eventually meet again in a tearful reunion. Roy has become a murderer, and their idealistic dreams have shattered.

Eventually they also reunite with Riza, who has become an unofficial squad Captain. She's graduated early, showing a penchant for investigation, strategy, and knife-throwing. The three friends take comfort in each other in this terrible time.

On a good note, Riza reveals she has a girlfriend in Central named Gracia, and she plans to marry her once they go back home. Roy and Maes are happy for her - but also a bit sad, since their careers prevent them from doing the same due to fraternization laws.

Once it's over, Roy changes his dream to ascending the ranks and becoming the next Fuhrer, protecting everyone beneath him with his newfound leadership responsibilities. Maes and Riza pledge to support him to the bitter end.

Before going back home, Maes approaches Roy privately, and asks him to burn his tattoo. He feels equally responsible for the lives Roy's taken with his flames, and has decided the secrets need to be destroyed to prevent the possibility of another Flame Alchemist being created. He has discussed this with Riza beforehand, who agreed. Roy refuses to hurt Maes at first, but after some begging and arguing, he finally relents.

After Ishval, Roy is promoted to Lt. Colonel and transferred to East HQ under General Grumman, Riza's grandfather whom she pulls strings with. Maes is promoted to 2nd Lieutenant and assigned as Roy's personal aide and bodyguard, trusting no one else with the role. Maes will protect his back like Roy did for his, and put a bullet in it if he strays from his path toward Fuhrer. Riza is transferred to Central to join their investigations department, working on the inside to supply Roy with information.

Over the years, Riza marries Gracia, and Roy and Maes attend their wedding as her best men. Months later, a sperm donor is used to help Gracia become pregnant, and they welcome the arrival of their daughter, Elicia.

The rest is mostly the same as canon besides the reversed roles, and Roy and Maes have a somewhat-secret relationship that they struggle to keep balanced and healthy between their professional lives, power imbalances, and promises to each other.

+ Possible: Riza's fast enough to narrowly avoid dying at the hands of Envy, but she does have to go into hiding and/or ends up in a coma. If comatose, she only revives after The Promised Day - the Nationwide Transmutation Circle takes her soul out of her body and Hohenheim's counter-circle returns it, causing a sort of hard-reset on her consciousness and returning her to the waking world. After recovering, she is happily reunited with her friends and family (but is probably worse for wear, due to the bullet wound and whatever resulting injuries or nerve damage it caused).

[strawbebehmod]

An edit for the hughes/hawkeye swap au, where maes and riza trade places

[ao3feed-royai]

The Flame-Witch and Deadshot

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/2WTpfbO

by TheFledglingDM

They call her alchemist, they call her prodigy, they call her the Terror of Ishval, the Hero of Ishval. They call this woman with fire in her eyes and soul and hands a witch. They admire her and fear her and love her and hate her.

In the crosshairs, he only sees a woman who has never known warmth.

_

A FMAB role reversal AU.

Words: 3807, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English

Fandoms: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga, Fullmetal Alchemist - All Media Types

Rating: Mature

Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Categories: F/M, Gen, Multi

Characters: Riza Hawkeye, Roy Mustang, Maes Hughes, Jean Havoc, Rebecca Catalina

Relationships: Riza Hawkeye/Roy Mustang, Rebecca Catalina/Jean Havoc, Gracia Hughes/Maes Hughes, Rebecca Catalina & Riza Hawkeye, Maes Hughes & Roy Mustang

Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Role Reversal, Role Swap AU, Alchemist Riza Hawkeye, Sniper Roy Mustang, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Ishbal | Ishval, Ishval Civil War, Canon-Typical Violence, Women in the Military, Angst with a Happy Ending, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Slow Burn, Mutual Pining, Sexual Tension, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, let's really tap into those themes of issues with father figures yeah?, Angst and Humor, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Period-Typical Sexism, Period-Typical Racism

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/2WTpfbO

[phantomrose96]

could it be post/141401751807/ ?

i have no clue how you found it but yeah seems like

im still real tempted to do a thorough analysis on early-fma-Mustang and how hes presented so abiguously. 

ALSO FUN FACT, when Roy fights Lust in the manga? It was before the reveal that Maria Ross was alive. FMA:B swapped the order so that Ed finds Maria in episode 18 and everyone’s like “Oh damn that sneaky Mustang”, and then Mustang fights Lust in 19.

In the manga though, Havoc getting stabbed, Mustang getting left for dead, Riza crying for him, Mustang cauterizing his injuries and coming back at full rage to burn the life out of Lust? All that happens while (far as the reader knows) Mustang just burned an innocent woman to death for Hughes. 

Given how brutally he went after Maria for Hughes’s sake, and how brutally he went after Lust for Havoc and Hawkeye’s sake, in the manga Mustang probably just looks vengeance hungry. And frankly, its terrifying how quickly he’ll snap (ba-dum-pssh)

Mustang makes a lot of use out of putting on a facade and carrying out his real actions in secret. And its frankly fascinating how Arakawa lets us see his facades before we see his real intentions. 

Boy coulda been the villain

[cait-sithlord]

I need more Hughes and Hawkeye interaction in my life? Just like them swapping stories about Mustang and maybe Riza being one of the only people who actually looks at pictures of Maes’ baby? Sitting down at a bar and having drinks on a night off and having in-jokes THAT MUSTANG IS NOT IN ON and laughing and just being friends? Also Riza getting along well with Gracia and maybe having brunch? IDK I NEED MORE INTERACTION BETWEEN HUGHES AND HAWKEYE (WITHOUT MUSTANG)

[lumiolivier]

Chapter Twenty-Five:  Hello Kitty

Word Count: 6139

Chapter No. 25/?

Notes:  This chapter gets a little (and I do mean, a little) on the racy side.  That’s all I’m going to say.  Nothing too graphic.  But for those of you familiar with Mystic Messenger, it feels like a very Jumin Han thing to do.  Also, something I’d do...:3

Chapter Twenty-Four:  Journals from Central

I really wish the diner on the outskirts of Lenexa wasn’t horrifying.  That way, I could still avoid the café like the plague.  Unfortunately, here we are.  I looked in the window and made sure King Douchebag himself wasn’t in there.  Lucky for me, the café was emptier than last year’s bird nest.  I was a bit grumbly and I could use the caffeine boost that the Red Bull had failed to deliver me, so I made my first steps into the café as a civilian and waited for my boyfriend behind the counter to acknowledge me.

 I was so proud of him, making use of the downtime.  Julian was cleaning out one of the espresso machines while I stood there waiting patiently. I trained him well.  Although, everything seemed to be the same.  Even when I’m not here, this place is always in a rut.  But a small part of me kind of missed it here.  Sure, Griffin was an insufferable asshole, but I liked the people that came in here.  It sucked not seeing some of them anymore.

 Alright.  This was getting ridiculous.  Something tells me Julian wasn’t paying attention to the door and was off in his own little world right now.  I understood, though.  I’d daydream cleaning the espresso machines, too.  However, I had a fic to work on and I didn’t have all day to twiddle my thumbs in here.

 “Notice me, senpai…” I whispered.

 “Oh, senpai has noticed already, baby,” I could hear a smile on his face.  Julian came back to the counter, “What are you doing in here?  I thought this place was dead to you.”

 “It is,” I confirmed, “But there’s this really cute guy that works here.  I can’t seem to quit him.”

 “It’s me, isn’t it?”

 “Who else would it be?” I rolled my eyes.

 “You ok?” Julian glanced me over, “You don’t look so good.”

 “I’m fine,” I brushed him off, “I thought about what you said this morning.”

 “The parallel fic?” he figured.

 “Yeah,” I nodded, “I finished the Mustang chapter and I did the Hawkeye chapter.”

 “That’s my girl!” he praised, “How’d they turn out?”

 “The Mustang chapter was easier to write,” I sighed out, “The Hawkeye chapter made me need to take a walk or I’d start crying.”

 “Shit…” Julian understood, “That bad?”

 “It’s a heavy chapter,” I warned him, “Are you sure you need it in your life that bad?”

 “Positive,” he swore, “I have thick skin.  I can handle it.”

 “Are you sure?” I winced, “Because the Hawkeye chapter takes place right after Hughes’ funeral.”

 “Mimi!” Julian whined, “Why’d you have to go and do that?  It’s like when I read the L reader fic all over again!”

 “You actually read through it?” I cocked my head.

 “Yeah!” he squeaked, “And it crushed me!  When you went out with Veronica and I was sitting in the diner, my waitress asked me if I was ok and if I needed a hug.  I wasn’t and I did!  But I didn’t tell her that.”

 “I’m sorry, baby,” I bit my lip, “I don’t mean to rip your heart out.  It just happens.”

 “Mimi?” Kyle chirped from the back, “There you are!”

 “Hi, Kyle,” I greeted him.

 “Where have you been?” he drawled while Julian made my green tea for me, “I missed you!  The other day, I thought I was actually on time.”

 “I quit,” I told him, “Haven’t worked here since Tuesday.”

 “I thought today was Tuesday…” Yep.  Nothing’s changed.

 “No,” I corrected, “You’re off a couple days, Kyle.  Today’s Thursday.”

 “Damn,” Kyle sighed, heading back into the kitchen, “But it’s good to have you back!”

 “I’m not coming back,” I shot him down, “Only for tea and maybe a turnover.”

 “Here,” Julian gave me a green tea and a cherry turnover, “Don’t worry about it.”

 “Thank you,” I awed, “I need to get back to work.”

 “Me, too,” he did a quick glance around the café, sneaking a kiss from behind the counter, “I’ll see you when I get home.”

 “Sure will,” I assured, grabbing my bag and my cup, “I love you.”

 “I love you, too, Lieutenant.”

 And I went on my merry little way with my heart all full.  It felt so weird being on the other side of that.  Like tying someone’s tie for them.  I started walking around the park to clear my head.  Why not?  It’s the quickest and best way of straightening things out upstairs.  I could shit on Lenexa all I wanted to.  It did have its redeeming qualities. Especially this park.

 The city board was hard at work lighting this place up for Halloween.  The Mystic Forest was cool as hell.  The whole place looked dark and ominous and scary.  But in a fucked up twisted sense, it was so beautiful.  It’s how I pictured a rave in the woods outside of Phantomhive Manor to look if the young lord was into that sort of thing.

 As beautiful as it may be, it wasn’t much to look at during the day.  I started heading back toward Julian’s and got to work on the Free! fic. Which was just me staring at a blank computer screen for half an hour.  I had nothing.  Absolutely nothing.  Haru wants to do a body swap with the mermaid, so he can have fins for legs.  I got that.  But how were they going to do it?  Rin was way too protective of her.  Maybe I should scrap it.  With the trouble it’s giving me, I was highly tempted.

 Maybe it’s just one of those projects that go in the ‘not today’ file.  I didn’t want to fully scrap it.  I loved the adorable concept!  And I wanted to get Rin’s sister involved and her telling him not to be creepy and her freaking out because…well…there is a mermaid in his bathtub. And maybe some of the other swim club members.  Even though the internet tries to get me to ship Haru and Makoto, I couldn’t.  Don’t get me wrong.  Makoto’s a cutie and I could just eat him up.  But Rin and Haru?  They’re too much of OTP material.  They’re rivals.  They make each other better swimmers.  They’re the cutest thing and I wanted them to be together forever.

 All of a sudden, I had a lightbulb moment.  Just because I was having a little case of writer’s block didn’t mean I had to give up a creative outlet altogether.  Julian still had some boxes packed.  Maybe I could be the sweet girlfriend I am and finish for him.  He was nice enough to let me crash here last night while I was in the state I was in yesterday.  It was the least I could do.  I wasn’t going through his stuff.  I’m unpacking.  There’s a difference.  And now, I’m starting to sound like Veronica.

 Granted, I had no clue where he wanted anything, but if he didn’t like where I put it, he can change it himself.  For whatever reason, I started in the basement.  I’ve never been down here.  God only knows what happened in his basement.  This could’ve been a sex torture dungeon and I’d be none the wiser. Julian didn’t strike me as the type to be into that sort of thing.  His kink threshold was probably cosplaying.  Aside from that, he’s probably not into pain or anything like that.

 I turned the light on and started down the stairs.  Sweet mother of God…I wasn’t expecting this down here.  Not quite a sex torture dungeon, but just as much of a turn on. Julian’s basement looked like a fully functioning workshop.  And it was all ridiculously organized.  His workspace put mine to shame.  Then again, I was restricted to making all of mine in my bedroom.  I’ve been wondering where he did all his work.  So many works in progress…I guess he really was getting a jump on con season.  This was chill inducing!

 Julian had so much down here.  All of the armor was metal instead of Worbla and probably fully functional.  All the leather was so well worn and aged.  By the looks of it, some of these were still drying.  I wanted to cry.  This was like looking into the Grand Canyon or over Niagara Falls.  And I wanted to live here.  Julian’s basement looked like my wet dream

 I’d be lying if I said this didn’t inspire me a little.  The bolts and bolts of fabric so meticulously organized made me want to play. Unfortunately, Julian’s sewing machine was occupied by some bright red silk that I wanted to wrap myself in.  I had visions of it hanging over Noiz after a night with Koujaku.  He really was working on a new one, wasn’t he?  I’m sure he knew what he was doing, but God, I hope he’s careful with this silk. I saw the price tag on one of his bolts. Silk didn’t come cheap.

 I could finish it while he’s gone…but then he can’t say he did it.  And robbing him of that would be a dick move.  I didn’t know how he was going to do this.  All I knew was how much I couldn’t wait to be the one to put Koujaku’s tattoos on his body.  I could not wait.  All those big, beautiful blossoms on his nicely defined back…I’m already swooning.

 I wasn’t going to screw with anything down here.  Julian had a system and I’m sure he’d bitch at me.  And I’m not his maid.  He can clean down here himself.  Wait a second…What did you just say in your internal monologue, Mimi?  That I’m not Julian’s maid.  I am feeling rather inspired, but I doubt Julian had a maid costume somewhere around here.  I might as well get a little practice if he and I are moving to southern California after local con season.

 I went back home for a minute and dug through the cosplay side.  I needed a black uniform dress, a little white apron, some fishnets, and my knee high black boots.  Did I want to go black?  Black is the tradition, but I had a light purple uniform dress, too.  I’d be adorable.  And with the purple dress, I’d have to have some sort of pastel hair, too. And my cat ears, too!  How could I be a neko maid without the neko part?

 Gloves…Did I want gloves? I kind of wanted gloves, but they’d get in the way.  I had two hours before Julian came home and I wanted to do something nice for him. Hey!  My light pink wig had pigtails to go with it!  Pigtails, cat ears, and a light purple French maid uniform. Tail, too?  Should I do a tail?  No.  The ears are enough.

 I threw everything in a bag and went back to Julian’s.  Time to have a borderline magical girl transformation.  Only instead of becoming a badass with superpowers that’ll save the world one day and be late to class the next, I’ll just be an adorable cat maid. Because why not?  After everything Julian’s done for me, it’s the least I can do. It’s too bad I don’t have a cosplay for one of Lucy Heartfilia’s celestial spirits.  I’d make a killer Virgo.  

 Alright, Mimi.  Let’s do this.  I dropped my pink dress around my ankles and did a corset first.  I’ve been eating my feelings lately.  The corset was necessary.  Besides, it made my dress fit a little better.  When I pulled the laces on my corset, I tried not moaning, having my Black Butler flashbacks to the infamous corset scene. Julian’s neighbors didn’t need to think I’m weird.  There’s a good chance I knew his neighbors anyway.

 Regardless, I finished getting dressed and forgot how much of a pain in the ass my fishnets were. Or my boots!  I mean, I did wear these Sunday for Misa, but still!  That didn’t make them any less difficult to contend with!  The things I did for you, Julian.  I cosplay my least favorite character I have a cosplay for.  I become a neko maid for your amusement, even though you don’t know about it yet.  The things we do for love, I guess.

 Now that I was completely dressed, I needed to get everything from the neck up cute, too.  I hadn’t put makeup on in a few days.  My skin won’t know how to act.  Watch.  I’ll end up all broke out because of this.  I shouldn’t.  This was the same stuff I used every other day.  Just because it hasn’t seen my skin in a while doesn’t mean it’s going to act up. I can only hope.  

 I could tell I was out of practice with putting fake lashes on.  That’s for sure.  I could put them on other people, but I had a hard time putting them on myself.  I drew a thickening black line on the top of my eyelid to cover the black band on my lashes, winging it out just enough to make me look like a cat, and took my white pencil, tracing the inner corners of my eyes.

 I debated for a moment or two on what lip color to use.  I was torn. A part of me wanted to go with a purple to match my dress, but I could’ve gone with a soft pink to go with my hair.  That would match my natural lip tone a little more.  Or I could’ve done neither and went with a super dark purple.  I’m a bit hesitant about using dark lip colors.  I had mixed emotions about it on other people, let alone me.  Nate and I hadn’t experimented with that yet.  Soft pink.  I’ll do a soft pink.  But a matte soft pink.  I ran the brush over my lips and looked myself over one last time.

 I looked like the most precious, pastel neko maid I’ve ever seen in my life.  Something about the way I looked screamed a need for glitter.  I brought a white, glittery, tulle skirt with me for such an occasion.  I shimmied it up my legs, puffing out the bottom of my dress a little, and did a spin in front of the mirror.  Mother of God, I’m adorable!  Kawaii! I didn’t need any more glitter. The rest came from the sparkle in my eyes.  I couldn’t get over myself!  I needed pictures.  Just a couple.

 I’m not exactly the master of mirror pictures and personally, I thought they were dumb, but I managed to get some of me not holding my phone.  It’s not like I had someone else here to take them, though. I’m sure once Julian comes home, he’d be more than happy to do some shots for me.  He had a spot in the basement for it.  I threw my wig on, clipped in my pigtails, and waited for him to come home to his newfound stray kitty.

 As soon as I saw his headlights come up the driveway, I sat on his kitchen counter, dangling my feet over the edge.  I knew he was about to shit a brick over me.  How could he not?  Hang on…I heard two car doors shut.  Why did I hear two car doors shut?  Julian went to work.  Julian comes home.  Why the fuck did I hear two car doors?  Maybe I’m overreacting.  Wouldn’t be the first time.  Maybe he’s getting something out of the back seat.  Everything was fine.  I sprinted into the bedroom and noticed a text from Julian.

 Hey, baby.  Paul’s coming home with me.  We’re talking Team Mustang shoot.

 Shit!  Not overreacting!  Paul?  Why did it have to be Paul?  It could’ve been worse.  At least it’s someone relatively in the community.  Besides, I could actually have a professional doing my shots now. I thought about having Paul doing them earlier today.  If I had his number, I would’ve called him.  Blessing in disguise, I guess.  I jumped back up on the kitchen counter and waited for them to come in.

 “Mimi!” Julian yelled from the door, “I’m home!  Tell me you didn’t trash the place.”

 “Welcome home, Master,” I put on a little smirk.

 “Oh, hello,” his face lit up.  Got him, “Paul, cover your eyes.”

 “Why?” Paul walked in, getting an eyeful of me, “Oh, that’s why.  Hot damn!”

 “Have I mentioned today how much I love you?” Julian picked me up off the counter, holding me in his arms.

 “I think so,” I nuzzled my face in his neck.

 “Why don’t you make me a drink?” he requested, “And while you’re at it, make one for you, too.”

 “My pleasure, Master,” I kissed his cheek.

 “That’s my good, little kitty,” Julian smiled, petting my head, “Dammit, Paul!  I said look away!”

 “I can’t help myself,” he continued to look me up and down, “You’re cute, Mimi.”

 “Thank you!” I chirped, “I wanted to be cute for when my master came home!”

 “Keep talking like that,” Julian grabbed me around my waist, “And you and I are going to have some problems.”

 “What’s wrong, Master?” I put on the sparkly eyes, “Did I do something you didn’t want me to?”

 “Oh, no, no, no, neko-chan,” he put his hand to my cheek, “You did something very right.  That’s the problem.”

 “I don’t understand…” I spoke softly.

 Julian pulled me against his chest a little more aggressively than usual.  Looks like I might have flipped a switch in him.  He whispered in my ear, sending chills down my spine, “I’m doing everything in my power to not take you into my bedroom right now.  If it were just you and me home, I wouldn’t be holding back.  Unfortunately, we have company.  Why else would I be wanting a drink?”

 “Jack and Coke?” I assumed.

 “That’s right.”

 I hopped down from the counter and reached into the liquor cabinet.  It’s not my fault that I’m small.  That’s just bad genetics.  Why did Julian have to have such high cabinets?  Even though my boots gave me an extra couple inches, I’d still have to get a chair.  I managed to get the bottle of Jack Daniels down from the shelf and threw some ice in a glass, “Paul?  While I’m pouring?”

 “Can’t,” he shot me down, “I have to drive back tonight and I’m sure I can’t crash here with you like that.”

 “What do you mean?” Like I didn’t know.

 “I’m assuming you and Julian are going to want some private time,” Paul figured, giving Julian an overexaggerated wink.

 “I have to go home tonight, too,” I broke the news, “I’m sure my parents want me back.”

 “Does that mean we don’t get to cuddle tonight?” Julian pouted.

 “I’m sorry, Master,” I sat in his lap, giving him his drink.

 “That’s alright, baby,” he went back to petting me, “There’s always tomorrow.  Besides, you’ll be back at the ass crack of dawn, right?”

 “If you want me to be,” I promised, “I’d be more than happy to.”

 “That’s my girl,” Julian kissed my forehead, “I have a proposition for you.”

 “What?” Paul wondered.

 “Not you,” he clarified, poking my nose, “For you.”

 “Oh?” I laid my head on Julian’s thigh, “And what does my master have for me?”

 “Would you ever want to be featured on my site solo?” he offered.

 “Solo?” I thought it over, “I don’t know…”

 “They obviously love you, Mimi,” he pointed out, “We can always do a test shot.”

 “Of what?”

 “Well,” Julian smirked a bit, “You do look awfully adorable in my lap right now.”

 “You can say whatever you want about me,” I allowed, “It’s not you I’m worried about.  It’s the trolls on the internet.”

 “Paul,” he ignored my remark, “This is about to sound really stupid, but do you have one of your cameras with you?”

 “I don’t,” Paul cringed, “I know.  I feel naked. But all my cameras are at home, dude. You don’t have one?”

 “Yeah,” Julian groaned, “But I don’t really like using it.  It’s kind of a piece of shit now.”

 “What kind of camera?” Paul asked.

 “Digital?”

 “No shit, Sherlock,” Paul rolled his eyes, “What brand?”

 “It’s a Nikon, I think,” Julian slipped his finger under my wig cap and pulled on my real hair, scratching my head.  As weird as it’s going to sound, I could get used to this.  Being his neko-chan.  He really was treating me like his pet.  And in a twisted way, I was loving it.

 “And you dare call it a piece of shit?” Paul scolded, “How dare you, sir?”

 “It’s in the office,” he directed him, “I think it’s in the desk drawer.”

 “Got it!” Paul jumped up from the couch and I buried my face in Julian’s belly.

 “You know, Mimi,” Julian looked down at me, “I wasn’t expecting to find you like this when I came home.  I thought you were working on fic all day.”

 “I did for the most part,” I admitted, “Then writer’s block happened and I took a walk around town. I thought I’d come back here and finish unpacking, but…”

 “But what?” he sounded nervous, “What did you do?”

“I went into the basement,” I told, “I saw the inner sanctum.”

 “You saw the workshop,” he chuckled to himself, “What’d you think of my setup?”

 “I have the biggest nerdy lady boner,” I blushed, “Your setup is incredible.  Much better than what I got.”

 “I’m sure if you had your own house,” Julian promised, “You’d have a much better setup than mine.”

 “I’d have it all like a murphy bed,” I explained, “Everything would fold into the walls, so when people came over, they wouldn’t think I’m that weird otaku girl that spends her day reading manga and watching anime nonstop and has no job or social life.”

 “No, you wouldn’t,” he stopped me, “Your figurines would be on the fireplace.  Your guest bedroom would be a cosplay closet.  You’d have your wall scrolls in the living room. Don’t give me that.”

 “Depends on where I’m living, I guess,” I let out a heavy, depressed sigh, “I don’t know, Julian.”

 “Excuse me?” he chided lightly, “What happened to calling me Master, my sweet, little kitty.”

 “Forgive me,” I gave him what he wanted.  A smile back on my face.

 “Found it!” Paul came back into the living room with Julian’s camera in is hand, “Mimi?  You ready?”

 “Can I, Master?” I asked for permission.

 “Of course, you can,” Julian kissed my cheek, “In fact, I have an idea for one.”

 “Oh?” I wondered, “What is it?”

 “It’d involve me putting on a three-piece suit, though,” he cringed, “Gross.  I got into cosplay to keep myself out of shit like that.  And it’d only be for background purposes. I’d have Paul do it, but the rest of it I’d rather be doing myself.”

 “Would it be Master coming home from work?” I assumed, “Running his Fortune 500 empire?”

 “Someone catches on quick,” Julian praised, “I’d say she’s earned a treat.”

 “Is it yarn?” I beamed, “I really hope it’s yarn!”

 “I’m sorry to disappoint you,” he ran his fingers down my spine, “It’s not yarn.”

 “Aww…” I pouted.  All of a sudden, my phone started going off, completely breaking me out of the sweet, innocent character, “Oh, goddammit! Who the fuck is calling me?  I’m fucking busy!”

 “Hang on,” Julian laughed his ass off for a minute, tossing me my phone, “It’s your mom.”

 “Oh,” I slid my finger across my phone screen, “Hi, Mom.  What’s up?”

 “I thought you said you were coming straight home after work,” Mom whined, “Where are you?”

 “I’m in Kansas City with Veronica,” I lied, “She needed some last-minute things for her homecoming outfit.”

 “Ok,” she chirped, doing a complete one-eighty, “When will you be home?”

 “I don’t know,” I looked at the clock.  Six-thirty, “Nine?”

 “It’ll take you that long?” I loved my mother.  I really did. But she knew how to drone on when we’re on the phone, “Don’t you have anything she can borrow?”

 “Probably not,” I cut her off, “I’ll be home in a few hours.”

 “Fine,” she let me go, “See you soon, honey!  I love you!”

 “Love you, too,” I hung up and threw my phone on the table, getting back into character, “Now, where were we, Master?”

 “I’m going to go get changed,” Julian got up, “Then we can do this shoot.  That way, I’m still on my site and you’re not alone.”

 “Ok!” I smiled, “I love it! You’re so smart, Master.”

 “I try,” he disappeared into his bedroom, “Paul, I swear to God, if you touch her, I’m going to start severing fingers.”

 “He would, too,” I confirmed, “The katanas aren’t for show.  They’re real.  They’re sharp.  They’ll kill a man.”

 “I wasn’t going to!” Paul defended, “I know to keep my hands to myself!”

 “Not helping your cause!” Julian yelled.

 “Not that kind of keeping my hands to myself!”

 “Don’t worry about it, Paul,” I settled him, “I’m sure he knows better, too.  Besides, if you try anything, neko-chan has claws, too.”

 “Julian!” Paul called out.

 “Yes, dear?” Julian answered.

 “Marry her!” he demanded, “Hold onto this girl!”

 “I’m pretty sure we’ve had this conversation,” Julian came out in full Sebastian.  How appropriate given Sebastian has a cat problem.  The demon may loathe dogs more than anything, but cats?  Cats are the very image of perfection, “I plan on holding onto this girl for a while. Marriage isn’t exactly in the cards for either one of us right now, but I’ll keep her.”

 “Who else would do adorable cosplays with you?” I teased.

 “Kitty’s got a mouth on her,” Julian pulled me into his lap, “Maybe we’ll have to do something about that.”

 “I thought you liked my mouth, Master,” I kept my sharp tongue up.

 “This could turn into some not safe for work real quick, Mimi,” he pulled on the bottom of the tulle, “Would Master have to get his kitty a shock collar?  Or perhaps he’d rather go over my knee instead?

 “No, Master,” I dropped my gaze, “I’ll be your good, little kitty.  I promise.”

 “Good girl,” he praised, “I do owe you a reward, don’t I?”

 “Yes, Master!” I perked back up, “What is it?”

 “Here,” Julian undid his blue silk tie and dangled it over my face, “it may not be yarn, but it’s the next best thing.  And Paul, if you’re not getting any of this, I’m kicking the shit out of you personally.”

 “I am,” he assured, snapping away while I absentmindedly swatted at Julian’s tie.  Being a cat for a while wasn’t half bad.  I was cuddled, petted, loved.  I always thought the whole neko fetish was creepy and almost in the realm of bestiality.  Technically, I was a humanized cat, so I guess that takes care of the bestiality loophole.

 Julian and Paul had me all over the house.  Scratching at the curtains.  Playing in the empty boxes Julian had from moving.  Sitting on the counter.  Serving drinks.  Just some standard neko poses.  But my favorite?  That came at the end of the shoot.  I was already tuckered out, so I laid my head back in Julian’s lap, ready to fall asleep. All while he kept petting me and holding me, making sure I felt loved.  But what else was new?  That’s just the way we were.  

 “Mimi?” he nudged me, “Are you really sleeping on me, baby?”

 “I’m tired,” I let out a big yawn and Paul caught it on camera, “Leave me alone.”

 “Ok,” he sat me up, “Tell you what.  I’m sure you don’t want to go stumbling into your house and have your parents see you like this.  Go get changed and I’ll take you home.”

 “Ok,” I sighed out, ready to fall asleep right then and there with my head on his chest.  Wishing I could, “But I thought we were talking shop for Sunday.”

 “Don’t worry about it,” Julian helped me onto my feet, “Some other time.  In all honesty, our talking shop is Paul and me playing Final Fantasy.”

 “Fine,” I let it go, “You two can be nerds.  Think about me while you’re storming the castle and I’m tucked in bed.”

 “It’d be my pleasure,” he grinned, “Hurry up.  We want to get started.”

 “Ok,” I went into Julian’s room and put my regular clothes on again, putting the neko maid away for the day.  Then, a sudden realization hit me, “Julian?”

 “Yeah, baby?’

 “You can’t take me back,” I remembered, “Mom thinks I’m with Veronica.”

 “Why did you tell her you were with Veronica?” he wondered.

 “Who’s Veronica?” Paul asked.

 “My best friend,” I explained, wiping my makeup off in the bathroom, “Remember?  Not telling anyone until May?  If I spend all my time with you, she’ll know something’s up.”

 “I feel like your mistress,” Julian joked.

 “You’re not my mistress,” I giggled, “You’re my boyfriend.  My main.  No mistress.”

 “Does this mean I can’t tuck you in?” he pouted.

 “I’m sorry,” I stood on my toes, stealing a kiss, “I’ll be over tomorrow morning.  Promise.”

 “Good,” Julian held me tight against his chest, “I’ll miss you.”

 “I’ll miss you, too,” I assured, “But I’ll have Sebastian to keep me warm.”

 “And I’ll have Miku,” he gave me one last kiss, “I love you.”

 “I love you, too,” I curled into him.

 “And I’d love to get around to some Final Fantasy tonight,” Paul sped things along.

 “See you in the morning,” Julian grabbed the door for me.

 Just like that, I left his house and headed home.  I didn’t want to go.  I wanted to pass out on Julian’s couch while he and Paul played Final Fantasy four million and twelve.  But alas, I walked into my house, fully prepared to go upstairs and clock out.  However, I knew better.  There was no way in hell that was happening.

 “Mimi!” Mom squeezed me tight as soon as I walked in the door.

 “Hi, Mom,” I winced, “Ow…”

 “Sorry,” she let me go, “I got a little excited.  We haven’t seen you in days!”

 “I’m not the one that took the random trip to St. Louis,” I grumbled to myself.

 “It had been a while since we went to the boats,” Mom defended, “We thought, why not?  It gave you the house to yourself, didn’t it?”

 “That it did,” I bit the inside of my cheek, trying to hold back a smile.  Binge watching Dramatical Murder with Julian all weekend? Yeah.  I’m not complaining.

 “So,” Mom joined Dad on the couch, “You know what we did.  What did you do?”

 “The usual?” Dad assumed, “Boys?  Parties? Alcohol?”

 “No,” I thought carefully about how to word this where I’m not technically lying, but avoiding certain truths to keep their blood pressure down, “I worked Saturday, hung out in Kansas City on Sunday, had to take care of Veronica on Monday, and Tuesday, I worked. Nothing too exciting.”

 “What brought you to Kansas City then?” Mom asked, “Why couldn’t you have gotten whatever Veronica needed on Sunday?”

 “I wasn’t with Veronica then,” I cleared up, “I was hanging out with Julian.”

 “What’s going on with you two?” Dad jumped down my throat, “It’s like you’re constantly up his ass or he’s up yours.”

 “There’s nothing going on,” I rolled my eyes, “And we’re not always around each other.  I was just with Veronica.”

 “But where were you last night?” Mom pointed out.

 “Julian’s,” I knew what she was trying to get at, “Where I slept on his couch because we’re friends. Not together.  We’re not going to be together.  We were working on a script for a children’s play one of his friends is doing.”

 “That’s so sweet,” she awed, “What’s it called?”

 “Currently untitled,” I thought on my feet, “But we’ve been working hard on it.”

 “What’s it about?” Dad wondered.  Weird. He’s never taken an interest in my writing.

 “It’s about a little boy learning magic,” I felt a warmth in my heart, “And how his teacher is a jerk, but his teacher’s daughter is his best friend.  It’s a very heartwarming story.”

 “Let us know when it’s done,” Mom insisted, “I’m sure that’d be adorable to see.”

 “Sure,” I nodded, “If it’s alright with you, I’m going to bed.  I’m really tired.”

 “Long day at the café?” Dad asked.

 “Yeah,” I cringed internally, “It’s been a long day and Veronica can be really exhausting when she’s indecisive. Good night.”

 “Night, sweetie.”

 I ran upstairs to my bedroom and shut my door.  Shit.  This had become more elaborate than I anticipated. Now, my parents want to see the fake children’s play that Julian and I are writing together.  All I did was describe early Royai!  My love life was none of their business.  I didn’t have to share anything with anyone.  Everything was fine.  Just need to keep the bases covered.

 “Hey,” Julian chimed on the other end of the phone, “Miss me already?  Need me to play Peter Gabriel at your window?”

 “No,” I shook my head at him, “We might be in a bit of a quandary.”

 “What kind of a quandary?” the game music stopped, “Is everything ok?”

 “Hi, Mimi!” Paul chirped in the background.

 “What’s up?” Julian ignored him.

 “In order to get my mom off my back about staying with you,” I confessed, peeling my dress off, “I told her we were working on a project together.  Right now, she and my dad were grilling me about said project.  If she asks you, it’s a children’s play that one of your friends in Kansas City is doing and they asked us to do the script.”

 “Ok,” he rolled with it, “I’m failing to see where we’re in the proverbial pickle here, Mimi.  They know you’re with me.  They know you’re doing a thing.  They know you’ll be in Kansas City a lot.  What’s the problem?”

 “They want to see it,” I worried, “How do you figure we get out of that one, Mr. Answer for Everything?”

 “That is a quandary,” Julian agreed, “We’ll find some little kids.  Paul, you have pull at the theatre in Kansas City, don’t you?”

 “Yes, I do,” Paul confirmed.

 “Awesome,” I let out a sweet sigh of relief.

 “What’s it about?” Julian asked.

 “What I wrote this morning,” I filled him in, “The story of fetal Royai.”

 “Aww…” he drawled, “Seeing that play out with little kids sounds adorable!  But so we don’t have to go through the hassle of putting it on, we could say it got dropped.”

 “I love you, Julian,” I threw myself on my bed, “You’re a godsend some days.”

 “I’m a godsend every day,” he corrected me, “Now, go to sleep, Mimi.  Don’t make me come over there.”

 “You’d be way too willing for me to make you,” I teased.

 “Very true,” he gave it to me, “I love you.”

 “I love you, too,” I curled into Sebastian.

 “See you in the morning.”

 Click.

 I emptied out my bag and put my neko maid back on the hanger.  With a quick spray of Febreze, I hung it back in my closet with everyone else. I didn’t wear it very long, so I didn’t expect it to be too terribly bad.  Not enough to warrant washing it.  Still, not a bad practice to get into.  However, I did have something in my bag I didn’t want to spray.  Because it still felt comforting and smelled like man. In the bottom of my bag was a crumpled up gray t-shirt that I drowned in.  I knew I’d sleep like shit since I’m out of whiskey and I’m sleeping alone, but this would make it a little easier.

 I might not have Julian, but I had the next best thing.  I just hope he doesn’t get pissed at me for stealing his t-shirt.  Doubtful.  I’m sure he’d let me have it and anything I needed to help me sleep that wasn’t booze.  This way, I’d wake up well-rested.  Regardless, I’d still want to go back to sleep as soon as I hit his bed again.  Only eight hours away.  That was all I had to wait.

 Until then, I buried my face in my Sebastian pillow.  He brought me back to Julian.  Thank you, Sebastian.  Maybe you’re not quite a demon, but an angel in disguise.  Kind of like Julian.  Even though the Black Butler angels are dicks.  However, you brought me back to my beloved.  My real beloved.  I hoped to God that Miles won’t be back in town for the weekend.  Not that it’d matter.  I’m going to be in Kansas City with awesome nerds like me.  Not like I needed Miles anymore anyway.

[relentlessckie]

Dear Het Swap Author

Welcome, and thank you for writing my Het Swap gift. :) Here you’ll find my likes, do-not-wants and prompts. General likes: Canon divergence, fix-it fic, sci-fi AUs, fantasy AUs, romance, fluff, slice of life, action/adventure, casefic, humor, F/m, mommy kink. I’m fine with incest and underage whenever applicable to my requested pairings. I’m also fine with dark overtones, fucked-up dynamics, and dubcon scenarios for the following pairings: Acxa/Keith, Haggar/Zarkon, Ayanami Rei/Ikari Gendo, Ikari Gendo/Ikari Yui, Ikari Shinji/Souryuu Asuka Langley, Kaji Ryouji/Souryuu Asuka Langley, Kuwabara Shizuru/Kuwabara Kazuma, Urameshi Atsuko/Urameshi Yuusuke, WilyKit/WilyKat. For all my other pairings, I strongly prefer romance or fluff or porn without any dark elements. Sure, they can face problems, their lives don't have to be perfect, and there may be some angst, but nothing too harsh, please. General DNWs: Unrequested pairings, M/f, it-was-just-a-dream endings and similar cop-outs, rape/noncon, m-preg, waterspots, scat, vomit, vore, gore, daddy kink, miscarriage, de-aging, omegaverse, anal sex, rimming, second-person POV, issuefic, character death, pairing bashing, character bashing, mundane AUs. VLD DNWs: Space mom/space dad tropes, human Shay, non-female pronouns for Pidge. Ace Attorney DNWs: A story written with the purpose of mocking or humiliating Wendy Oldbag. Pairing-specific prompts by fandom: These prompts are optional. They're here to hopefully give you some inspiration, and to help you see how I feel about each pairing. For some, it's all about romance or fluff. For others, things are a lot rougher. And then there are a few pairings that could go either way. Please keep in mind that the amount and length of the prompts I list for a pairing has nothing to do with how much I care for it. I'm enthusiastic about all the pairings I requested. Although many of my prompts are canon-based, you're welcome to write me a sci-fi or fantasy AU instead if that's where you want to take your story. Voltron: Legendary Defender Acxa/Keith >> Mother/son incest; sister/brother incest; being unable to fight the attraction despite suspecting they may be related. Acxa/Lotor >> Quiet intimacy; unacknowledged romantic feelings. Allura/Keith >> Friends to lovers; dancing slowly; hugging and snuggling. Allura/Shiro >> He tries to suppress his feelings but eventually surrenders; he plays with her hair; gentle love-making. Ezor/Lotor >> Chatting that's aimless at the surface but reveals something between the lines; casual sex. Haggar/Zarkon >> He finds out she remembered who she is; unexpected displays of affection in private. Hunk/Shay >> Sharing impressions and fun facts about each other's culture; exploring the differences between their respective skin textures; marriage under the Balmeran traditions. Lotor/Narti >> He finds himself surprisingly talkative when alone with her; she uses her tail in creative ways; fix-it fic of the she-never-died variety. Lotor/Zethrid >> Her displays of brute force bemuse and sometimes alarm Lotor; she gives him a good spanking; awkward yet fun sex. Matt Holt/Pidge | Katie Holt >> Feelings of guilt and shame that are overriden by just how good it feels to kiss and make love. Neon Genesis Evangelion Ayanami Rei/Ikari Gendo >> He's aware of just how fucked-up this is, and still this brings him a strange kind of inner peace; she feels that she's disposable and essential at once. Hyuuga Makoto/Katsuragi Misato >> It begins as something casual on her part, but she eventually falls in love too; supporting and soothing each other after a stressful day at work. Ibuki Maya/Aoba Shigeru >> Trying to find in each other something they've been looking for; it should have been an one-night stand only. Ikari Gendo/Ikari Yui >> She reappears after the reversion of the Third Impact; the Third Impact is never reverted, and still they somehow reunite. Ikari Shinji/Souryuu Asuka Langley >> Drowning together in angst and fucked-upness; helping each other heal from trauma. Kaji Ryouji/Souryuu Asuka Langley >> Her fantasies come true, and the experience may or may not be what she expected; he gives in to temptation and is disgusted at himself. YuYu Hakusho Kuwabara Shizuru/Kuwabara Kazuma >> He loses a bet to her and is surprised at the price he has to pay; he struggles to convince himself that what happens between them is just practice for future relationships. Urameshi Atsuko/Urameshi Yuusuke >> They're not as drunk as they want to believe; he's still his usual upbeat self, but now with some bitterness added. Botan/Kurama | Minamino Shuuichi >> Going out on dates in the Reikai, the Ningenkai and the Makai. Botan/Kuwabara Kazuma >> First date; she introduces him to typical dating traditions from the Reikai. Hiei/Mukuro >> Exploring interesting secluded locations at the Makai; a typical day together in her castle. Urameshi Yuusuke/Yukimura Keiko >> Engagement party; she rescues him from danger. Cowboy Bebop Jet Black/Faye Valentine >> He tries very hard not to repeat the mistakes he made with Alisa; it should have been an one-night stand only. Julia/Spike Spiegel >> Fix-it fic of the they-never-died variety. Thundercats (1985) Cheetara/Panthro >> An old underlying attraction that is acknowledged and acted upon at long last. Cheetara/Tygra >> How they handle their relationship with him living in Third Earth and her in New Thundera; she bonds him with his own whip. Pumyra/Bengali >> She gets hurt or sick and now it's up to him to act as the healer and take care of her; lovers to friends and then back to lovers. WilyKit/WilyKat >> Playing and experimenting together; this isn't wrong in Thunderian culture; this is very wrong in Thunderian culture but they don't have other suitable mates available. Gyakuten Saiban | Ace Attorney Mitsurugi Reiji | Miles Edgeworth/Ooba Kaoru | Wendy Oldbag >> Arranged or forced marriage; something involving the Steel Samurai brings them together. Naruhodou Ryuuichi | Phoenix Wright/Ooba Kaoru | Wendy Oldbag >> She's unfairly accused of a crime and he becomes her attorney. Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga Alphonse Elric/Winry Rockbell >> She never married Ed, choosing Al instead; she divorces Ed and starts going out with Al. Edward Elric/Riza Hawkeye >> An awkward but still exciting beggining; she knows excactly how to take advantage of her greater experience in relationships. Gracia Hughes/Maes Hughes >> Fix-it fic of the he-never-died variety. Olivier Mira Armstrong/Miles >> A long-time secret relationship; what happens when he comes back from Ishval to visit her.

[rahliterature]

RahLit Recs: Returning Echoes

Title: Returning Echoes

Author: silkendreammaid

Rating: Teen

Fandom: Fullmetal Alchemist

Characters: Edward Elric, Roy Mustang, Alphonse Elric, Riza Hawkeye, Winry Rockbell, Jean Havoc, Heymans Breda, Kain Fuery, Vato Falman, Gracia Hughes, Elicia Hughes, Original Character.

Relationship: Edward Elric/Roy Mustang, Alphonse Elric/Winry Rockbell, Riza Hawkeye/Jean Havoc, (Past) Gracia Hughes/Maes Hughes

Warnings: None

Other tags: Gender swap, epic fic, canon divergence, slow build, slow build, friends to lovers, gender conflict, gender issues, abrupt ending,

Length: +400K, incomplete

Summary: Four years and Edward returns home... with changes. But she still takes on the world by storm… Yes, she.

Personal notes on fic: This is the best genderswap fics I have ever read. It deals with gender identity and how we perceive men and women while still having a complex and well-developed plot. I wish it would continue.

Link: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/3532730/1/Returning-Echoes