I really liked this, Dai. The little things are what made it for me. Like, how Riza was mad that she couldn't participate in the end of the battles, or how you remembered to say Hayate is now a Second Lieutenant, or Olivier popping by and still arguing about the shotgun even though she obviously knows what happened...I loved all of that.

I have to say that I'm surprised that Riza would try experimental automail. I don't know if I would see her as trying the experimental stuff first and then seeing if it worked or wanting to go the safer route and just having a whole arm...either way, it really could hamper her shooting, so it's difficult no matter what...but still. I thought I might take her as wanting to try what she knew would work (full automail) than what she thougth might work but also might not work (partial automail).

I read this twice, I'm so sorry Id idn't review the first time...I'm really busy at school...but I liked this! not quite what i would expect from the end.

Oh oh! One comment.

I loved how "everyone had their own explanation, and no-one had seen the whole battle from start to finish". So true. I loved tha tline. Love love.

Okay I'm done. Great job! I'm so glad you didn't give up on this.

Okay, I think I totally missed the alert for this! Unless I read it on my cell phone while I was out of town... my phone and this site do NOT get along...

Anyway, thanks for the heads up! Now to read...

Poor old Havoc... such an image of the rebound from the gun sending him rolling backwards! Brakes, man. Brakes!

Chilling visual of newly-restored Al. And yet so heartwarming! Yay! Al's got his body back! YAY!

Props for mentioning the new Second Lieutenant! That made me grin. I really liked your account of the final battle: it's so vivid! I can only imagine how hard it is for Riza, in retrospect, to know that she missed the end of the fight. The thought that if she had been concious she might have prevented teh others' injuries is just so in-character.

"Obviously life wasn't as important if they couldn't have it forever". Ooh, that's creepy! And profound and sadly, dead-on accurate. Gah. Wow. That's mythic, my friend: the quest for immortality robbing life of meaning. Mythic.

I have to tell you, I'm crushed that Riza needs automail. Poor thing: it's sure to throw off her deadly-accurate aim, even for a little while (and what about rifles? Will they sit properly on an automail shoulder? I mean, hopefully she won't ever need to tote a rifle again, but still! She's a crack sniper as well as a sharpshooter...). Her arms are such an important tool for her, and even partial automail is a diminishment. The fact that I'm so disturbed by this is actually a testament to the brilliance of your craft, 'cause this feels so REAL!

Ah, Alphonse. I love Al, I really do. Riza imagining him with chubby cheeks made me smile! Atta boy, Al! Heal! Grow strong!

And Roy... surrounded by women! And women whose presence won't hurt Hawkeye's feelings, at that! I do love the teasing and the elaborate relationships that shine through your dialogue here. Well done!

The photos... such a lovely way to illustrate Roy's childhood! As always, you accomplish so much with such artful brevity: I'm in awe!

What a gorgeous story. Triumphant, bittersweet, heartwarming... human Al... what more can we ask of a fic? And of course, Royai, Royai, Royai!

Brava! Bravissima!

Giddy and lightheaded from bloodloss...and Roy stroking her hair XP

Yes, partial auto-mail! Even used pigs blood to test it, that gives it a very realistic touch!

I love that you've given background on what happened, and descried the Pride!Gluttony combo so well, given it life.

XD, another good detail about Al not being stuffed, of course his body wouldn't be able to handle a lot of food at first, most people go straight to him eating as much as Ed used to.

XD The Imperial Gardens...we need to make another tour.

Oh my, that paragraph about the bar is simply delightful!

You know, Roy and my brother have a few things in common
-Many sisters (my brother has 4, one older, three younger)
-In the service
-In love with someone else in the service(though, my brother was able to get married right away)

Aw, I may have to borrow a few of your ideas here, give them future reference, with credit, of course.

Wonderful piece...I'm still wondering why I didn't get an alert from about it being posted!

I'm defintely adding this to my favorites

Aw! This was a really sweet story! I loved it ;) It's always cool to see different people's ideas of how the series is going to end, and I rather like yours, I think.

The part talking about the automail was so in-depth! That's a really cool idea, partial automail. I'm glad Hawkeye doesn't need a complete automail arm; I'm not sure, but it might affect her shooting. This way, it seems she'll do all right.

As ever, your writing is very funny indeed. I loved the mention of Second-Lieutenant Hayate ^_^ The paragraph from "Madame Christmas' shop had been" to "gone to pieces, quite literally" was AWESOME XD I loled so much.

And then your take on what Mustang's childhood, etc. must have been like was really interesting too. Madame Christmas has to be one of the most unlikely mothers, to be sure, but I'll agree with Hawkeye: Her taking Roy in was probably one of the biggest blessings in his life. With such a wacky, whimsical family, it's no wonder he is who he is today.

Great job, as always! I loved every minute of it ^_^

I'm so glad you were able to finish this, it was so worth it. I forgot about life around me while I was reading it. I adore your Olivia/Riza and Al/Riza interactions. Madame Christmas rules! I especially enjoyed the imagining of photo of little Roy wearing a dress. Ed would have loved to see that.

The only error I caught was this: "The photographs were taken by a helper as the shop."

As always good luck with the writing. May the plot bunnies be breeding!