He truly is the Alchemist of the people. This story portrays him perfectly.

YOU. OHmyGOD I love you. THis is soooo good. Ed's perfect, you hear me? FREAKING PERFECT. *dances
It flows so well, and ED..he's just so in charachter and evil-y aawesome! *cue evil manic laughter* this is so asdfvbnmgfsdfghjdsdfh GREAT that I'm sitting here laughing from exciement. I love it so muuuuuuccccchhh. GAH. Holy crap, i think I'm going to read it again. First time I've ever had the urge to do that. It's just...everything I've ever looked for in a fic. THIS IS IT. PERFECTION. Aahhahahahahahahahaha!

YUS.*scrolls up to top of page because HELL YES she is going to read it again
P.S.

I FREAKING LOVE YOU.

One of the best one shots out there. Got me a bit teary at the end (I know. strange right?) I mean there's so much weight on his shoulders, his back, his life.

Nice!

F*ING WIN!

This is a really powerful story! Those last couple lines positively gave me the chills. Absolutely wonderful!

ouch. that was hilarious and awesome untill the gut clenching unfairness of the last bit. Utterly amazingly handled, incrediable characterizations...Hatha was just amazing. Such character development in such a short story! First she's the beaten slave (I think "oh, I know where this is going, making Ed into the shining hero who brings the downtrodden up out of darkness! Then she's the older sister watching after the bratty younger sibling (I think "oh, this is going to be a friendship fic and she'll end up teaching Ed something useful about life"). Next she's the coward turned hero, wanting to hide, wanting Ed to hide, but gritting her teeth and fighting because she cares about Ed (I think "Ah, now I know I've got it. It's Ed giving the downtrodden the courage to stand up for themselves! And then, at the end, she's exactly what you've always portrayed her as, a cowardly beaten slave who found courage and won her freedom by being carried by the wave on another's plan, and as a result, doesn't quite understand what has happened and doesn't have the wisdom or strength of conviction she'd have gotten if she'd made those decisions on her own. She's a good person at heart, probably always was, and knowing Ed has made her a better one, but she's still the person with all those weaknesses you pointed out from the start, and changing one's self is a long, exhausting process that she's only just started. We can't blame her for falling beat into the rut of blame and helplessness the slavers beat into her. It still hurts, that reminder that the real world doesn't have magic wands to fix everything and make it better. The hero never walks away unscathed.

That was the most realistic portrayal of the traditional fantasy "hero saving poor woman" cliche I have ever read. Thanks for writing and sharing!

good, although I don't see the fullmetal alchemist as an undercover guy.

Beautifully done! Bravo! Going to my faves.)

Is it weird that what I'm imagining now is Mustang teasing Ed over how much he sold for? Anyways, this is an amazing and inspiring piece! I could feel the the pain and desperation of crushed hopes and swallowed dreams, and at the end I almost wanted to cry. Ed goes through so much and still, people just undermine his efforts and self-worth due to his age and small stature. Beautiful story.

Oh wow this story was amazing! I love reading fics from a stranger's POV. Very interesting perspective and I love the whole idea of the story. That very end was powerful and that last line! A little sad that they parted on such a pissy note but oh well! p

Jac

That was a good story, a nice interpretation of other people's veiw on Ed. Excellent, loved it -

this was simply FANTASTIC

This is great! I love bystander perspective fic, and your execution was excellent. That line, next to last it's just... story of Ed's life. Half of which passed off-screen in missions like these. It might as well be canon, really

Awesome!