Ficlet - Wall of Briggs

[cornerofmadness]

Title -- Wall of Briggs
Author-- cornerofmadness
series -- manga/anime
Disclaimer -- Arakawa owns all
Rating -- teen
Characters/Pairing -- Olivier
Word Count -- 206
Warning -- none
Summary -- She is only part of the Wall
Author's Note - Thanks to evil_little_dog for the beta. This was written for fma_fic_contest for the prompt 'brick' and took first place. sonjajade made the lovely banner.

XXX


They called her the Wall of Briggs, and even though she admitted had an ego, Olivier knew she was not the Wall, not all by herself. She was a mere brick in it; the keystone perhaps. Olivier knew her ego was what had gotten her exiled to the bitter north. The old toothless generals had feared her meteoric rise and even her family’s name and traditions weren’t quite enough to shield her – not that she’d accept protection.

Like Mustang to the East, she had taken what was considered a punishment and turned it into something so much more. They had expected her to fail, to beg a return to the more civilized regions with her tail between her legs. Instead, Olivier had carved out her wall of ice and snow and staffed it with other rejections, Buccaneer, Miles, cracked bricks that no one thought had a use. Together with all her men, they were transmuted, as her brother would say, into a force that the Drachmans feared and the military respected.

The Wall of Briggs, the last defense of the North, it was something to be proud of and in her own gruff way, she made sure every last one of her soldiers knew she was.

Comments

[gaia-lulia.livejournal.com]

Olivier is a hell of a leader.

[cornerofmadness.livejournal.com]

indeed she is. thanks

[helliongoddess.livejournal.com]

Ooooh nicely done! I particularly like the alchemy metaphor. She really is one of the best characters in the series, in my opinion, and one of the best female characters in anime - certainly one of the most unique and memorable.

[cornerofmadness.livejournal.com]

thank you very much. I was originally completely disappointed by her, especially since Arakawa does great females but once we go back to her in the planning for the Promised Day I really liked her a lot. She's fun to write.