#same for Riza

[sassydefendorflower]

Forgive me for having thoughts about Roy Mustang and his role in the war.

I am not a fan of saying a character "deserves" something, because that is a boring and reductive way to analyze media. Instead I want to move within the story and its narrative/thematic beats as I discuss a character and their interpretation. And as such, I want to talk about Roy.

He's a character I greatly enjoy - and how could I not?

The story of Fullmetal Alchemist wants me to be fascinated by this man, his guilt and his love and his dreams. We're being shown again and again that he would gladly die for his friends, that he cherishes the people around him, that he is weighed down by what he did during the war. We see his love and grief for Hughes, see it almost destroy him. We see his dedication to Riza and Havoc and the people of Amestris. We walk alongside him as he plans to overthrow the Führer and change the country.

And all the while... he's still a war criminal.

I'm saying that not to condemn enjoying his character, but to give him more depth. Because I won't lie - I am somewhat concerned by the amount of takes that "excuse" his actions as just following orders. Now, again, he's a fictional character, who doesn't have to be excused for anything considering the crimes he committed are not real... but the story of Fullmetal Alchemist wants us to view him as a war criminal - and it wants us to step away from the explanation that he was just following orders.

Very poignant in that regard is the scene between Hawkeye and Edward, when she first tells him of their goal - being tried for what they did in Ishval. And Ed wants to excuse it, he's the audience stand-in after all, he is us, wanting our favorite characters to have a better fate by claiming it was Envy, who shot the child, Bradley, who ordered the extermination. But Riza won't let him. Rightfully so. Because while Edward's (our) reaction is very natural, very predictable, her reasoning is the actual stance the show takes.

It doesn't matter if they were just following orders, they were the people committing a genocide.

Some of the translations of the manga and show even call it just that: a genocide.

And while a soldier killing in a war isn't condemned by the narrative, the things the State Alchemists did very much is.

But what should they have done instead? Refuse their orders, get court-martialed and executed? Join the war on the side of the Ishvalens?

Maybe.

I am not saying that Roy's inability to act against his orders is bad writing or inconsistent characterization, I simply think it doesn't "excuse" his actions in the story. And the story doesn't want us to excuse it for him either.

If anything, one of Roy's (and Riza's) biggest regrets is probably the fact that they didn't die at the beginning of the war - there is a reason they are implied to be actively suicidal after the end of the extermination, just as there is a reason why they are no longer striving to die quite this quickly by the time Ed is told the truth.

Dying in the war - dying at the start of the war at their own hands - would potentially have saved thousands. Dying as Father is trying to take control, their goals not yet reached, would only pile two more bodies onto a pile already too big.

Part of their guilt is the harsh truth that their death could have made a difference.

(refusing to partake in a genocide is always the right choice, even at the cost of your own life)

People call Major Armstrong a coward because his refusal to follow orders was only an option for him because of his family name - I think he's being called a coward by his sister because he wasn't strong enough to join the Ishvalen warriors. Yes, Armstrong wasn't court-martialed for his insubordination because of his connections but when he broke down and refused to kill, there was no way for him to know that. I don't think that he knew he would be spared when he clung to that child and begged for mercy - he hoped, perhaps, but he couldn't have known for sure.

And, yes, he is a coward - but not for refusing to kill. His cowardice stems from his inability to join the fight on the side of those he wanted to protect. That's why his character arc culminates in him standing up for his believes, in him refusing to back down, in him fighting for those who need protection.

The manga in particular makes it a lot harder to argue that the threat of death is a good enough reason to follow orders. It makes sense for the common soldier, who truly is just trying to survive, but for weapons of mass destruction? Is it really "right" for someone to stay alive if they know they can kill thousands with a snap of their fingers, knowing they will be forced to do just that?

During the Ishval arc in the manga, this very question is asked but not about Roy and Armstrong and Riza - no, we see its direct parallels in Marcoh, Knox and the Rockbells. Marcoh, who did unspeakable things far away from the actual battlefield, creating the very Philosopher's Stone used to kill the people he murdered to create it, and Knox, who is forced to help in inhumane experiments right next to the battlefield, maybe even employing Mustang in some of the unsavory things he does - the two of them talk about the Rockbells, who chose to help the Ishvalens against direct orders, who know they will probably die, who do the right thing even though they were told not to. And what do Knox and Marcoh see in them? They are envious of them for accepting their death as a potential consequence of doing the right thing.

Because Knox and Marcoh are following orders at the cost of their own soul - and they will never forget the guilt of knowing that they could have made a different choice.

Choice.

That's what it all boils down to. All these characters had a choice in Ishval. Not as humans, since they are fictional characters, but as archetypes and metaphors. Arakawa tells us again and again that there is a choice, always. The choice to be merciful, the choice to be kind, the choice to stand back up again.

Defying orders was a choice they could have made. Maybe at the cost of their own life, but then again: they are at war, they must have known their death to be a possibility from day one.

And this is what informs so much of Roy's character: he made a choice back in Ishval, and he's been paying for it ever since. He followed orders, even though he knew it was wrong. He bought into the military's propaganda until it was too late, and he killed thousands upon thousands because it was easier to follow along than to do what was right.

That's the bane of his guilt, the thing that now forces him to keep on living: following orders is never an excuse, especially not if you're a living weapon and you're willing to pull the trigger.

Roy wants to save his country, and then he wants to face the consequences of his crimes - and then, finally, the knowledge of flame alchemy can be gone.

No one should wield that amount of power, is what the story wants to tell us, because what if the person holding that weapon is ready to just follow orders.

It is utterly human how Roy behaved - and as such, it has the potential to be utterly depraved and cruel.

And he knows that.

As a fictional concept he "deserves" nothing as he is not real, but as a character within a narrative Roy carries every ounce of guilt on his shoulders knowing that this is the price he has to pay for being a soldier. A State Alchemist. The Hero of Ishval.

There is no excuse for what he did, which is what makes his character writing so intriguing.

Nothing ever excuses genocide, and Roy knows that - and that's why he's still alive.

[courtmartialme]

my transmasc riza art from 2022 :^)

[madootles]

;)

[lionheart-giddings]

@unironicallyresurrected happy holidays! i was your secret santa and drew you some royai feat trans-masc roy since you said you liked them and queer headcanons.

i incorporated my own personal headcanon that riza is perpetually cold, and steals body heat from roy whenever she gets the chance <3

thank you @fmasecretsanta for hosting this event!

edit: for some reason the upload was hella desaturated, and was missing the textures i had, so here's the fixed version!

[jelzorz]

179.

Ezran won't see her, which is not unexpected. He is kinder than Callum was; more forgiving in ways even Callum couldn't fathom, and Callum had loved her for things she couldn't even forgive herself, but this?

She can't blame Ezran for despising her.

She despises herself.

The dungeons beneath Katolis castle are as cold as she imagined them, but Rayla imagines it's even colder in the rooms above withiut Callum's presence to warm them. Her fingers are frozen stiff, even if she can still feel his blood over them, greasing the hilts of the blades in her hands, blades that had never drawn blood that way until Callum had forced them to, until there wasn't any choice—

Rayla will never stop seeing the way his body dropped when she closes her eyes. She will never stop hearing his final breath in her ears.

He's gone now. She made sure of it. And the only thing that's left is...

The cell door opens. Rayla glances up to see Soren there, grim faced and red-eyed. He and Callum were never as close as they could have been, but Callum's loss is still a loss, and he's lost almost every person he's ever held dear.

"Votes are in," he says, his voice like gravel. "It's not looking good."

"I didn't think it would," mutters Rayla. "What do they want?"

Soren swallows. "A noose."

"Figures."

There's a pause. Soren steps into the cell. "We vouched for you," he says. "We tried, anyway. Me and Ez and Opeli, but even we couldn't—" He swallows again. "You could go," he says quietly. "I could say you overpowered me and got away. You've done it before, no one would even suspect—"

"No."

"They want to kill you, Rayla," he says sharply. "I know you said he told you to do it, but they don't know that. You still killed the Crown Prince of Katolis and I can't—" His voice breaks. "I can't watch anyone else die."

"Then don't," says Rayla quietly. "But I can't be here without him."

"Rayla."

"Please, Soren," she whispers. "I want to go home."

Soren falls silent. The both know she does not mean the Silvergrove and his knuckles turn white as he clenches his fists. "I'm sorry," he manages at last.

"I know," says Rayla. "I am too."

[smoothshine]

mustang.exe has stopped working

[littlewitchbee]

Recovery ✨

I personally like the idea of them actually getting together after PD best. Lots of things to recover from both physically and emotionally. And that makes it a whole decade plus of pining 😈

[feanorian-songbird]

Its funny realizing the parallels run so deep they even got the same color dog XD

[g1ngerbeer]

2

[sassydefendorflower]

I've just realized something about General Olivier Mira Armstrong.

Finally, I've come to understand the reason why she hates Mustang so much - and why she still respects his men.

Olivier Armstrong is a military woman down to her very core. In that she is an interesting character because she is in many ways complicit with the military dictatorship ruling Amestris while also condemning it. She's a political moderate, a mediocre politician, a fierce warrior, and a great leader.

We don't know much about General Armstrong outside of her military career - and her relationship to her brother. We know she's the only female general in the upper brass, we know she's been nicknamed "The Northern Wall Of Briggs" and "the Ice Queen", we know she cares greatly for her soldiers... and she despises cowards.

Now how does she define a coward?

That's were things are starting to get interesting. Because General Armstrong called her brother a coward multiple times because he failed to do what was right in Ishval - but, important to note, it wasn't the heinous acts themselves that she condemned (though it is implied that she does indeed condemn them) but the fact that her brother didn't follow his own principles. He didn't abandoned the Amestrian army to fight for the people he had sworn to protect even though he wanted to. He just went home. And that's what makes him a coward in her eyes.

This aligns with everything else we see about her. She calls Mustang a "sniveling coward" multiple times and notes his lack of a backbone. And yet her dislike of him doesn't seem to run as deep as her disappointment in her brother. Some of that might just be that Alex is family and that means personal relationships do indeed play a role... but some of it is probably the very simple truth that Mustang is trying his best to make up for what he did.

He also failed in her eyes, following orders he knew were wrong, but where her brother fled, Mustang had the strength to stay and look his victims in the eyes as he killed them.

Mustang's team on the other hand did something that General Armstrong very much appreciates: they chose Mustang and his goals the same way the men of Briggs chose her.

Mustang might be a coward and a fool in her eyes, but she can respect the choices his team made.

There is one scene near the end of the show that showcases that beautifully. In episode 58 (or 57) Izumi and General Armstrong get the general to confess the brass' plan to sacrifice the Amestrian people in front of a bunch of soldiers and - after hearing their own death sentence uttered by a commanding officer - the soldiers are unsure how to proceed.

And Armstrong gets angry at them.

Because they are simply following orders. They were killing her people and condemning her country - simply because of some orders that they never learned to question.

And in General Armstrong's eyes that's the actually unforgiving act. Killing and slaughtering for the army is not something she has any problem with (as evident by the Briggs soldiers bloody takeover during the Promised Day) but it needs to be an act of conviction. Looking away and hiding behind orders is what Armstrong sees as cowardly.

It's what Mustang did in Ishval and what his men failed to do when they followed him willingly. It's what Alex couldn't see through, but Olivier made sure her soldiers knew before joining her.

She wants to change Amestris and it's military, not because she's an idealist like Mustang, but because she wants a military in which each soldier is responsible for the people they kill.

It's fascinating because General Armstrong doesn't have the moral high ground - she doesn't see the military as rotten the same way Mustang does, and she doesn't see killing as wrong the way Edward does. She doesn't even contemplate her own kills with shame the way Hawkeye is prone to, or judge the system as harshly as Izumi does.

But she does have a strong moral core as a character, one that would perhaps even agree with Kimblee's famous quote: "Look straight at the people you kill; don’t take your eyes off them. Do not ever forget them because they won’t forget you." - and if you don't agree with an order given? It is your duty as a soldier to defy it.

That's why she can trust her men to plan a coup without her being there to lead them - because she knows every choice they make will be one they can live with. Just as every order they follow is one they can justify.

She is an interesting character because she questions the system while endorsing it - and that puts her at odds with both the military complex and Mustang and his team. It achieves complexity in what could very easily have been a simply narrative.

Olivier Mira Armstrong hates cowards - but she respects those who stand up for their believes, even if those believes defy her.

[courtmartialme]

riza in ur outfit!! do you think she'd be impressed by your style

love this prompt because just last week i was doodling riza in outfits i have (doodles on background) !!!!! though she probably wouldn't be very impressed by my usual style .........

[kissmizmf]

Me and my lesbian wife

[quiet-nocturne]

The very beginning of my tumblr dash today:

It knows me too well. 🤷🏻‍♀️ I slurp up hurt/comfort for my ships like a drug.

Also, Mustang/Hawkeye and Mulder/Scully have sooo many parallels. I mean... *gestures to above image*

[watermelonsloth]

Why the Hell Do I Ship Royai???

(TW: brief mention of suicide and allusions to unhealthy relationships)

I know nobody asked but I find the fact that I ship Roy Mustang and Riza Hawkeye so interesting because, on paper, I shouldn’t ship them.

First of all, I don’t like straight ships with dynamics like the right hand man or ships that have the male character as the woman’s superior. It’s not the dynamic itself that bothers me, it’s the predictability of it. When it’s hetero, I immediately think “of course those two are gonna get together.” It feels like low hanging shipping fruit.

I also don’t like stoic badass x absolute clown (competent or otherwise) ships. I almost always end up wondering why either side likes/puts up with each other. Especially since the badass tends to be an asshole and/or emotionally unavailable while the clown (forcibly) takes on their baggage.

Lastly, I don’t like relationships where one or both sides are codependent on the other. “I’ll die without you”, “You can’t leave me”, “I refuse to go on without you”, “You’re mine/I’m yours”, “You’re my other half (seriously)”, etc. ships have never been appealing to me. I understand why people like them, but I just can’t get over how gross it makes me feel. Like, I promise the planet will continue spinning after they’re gone, get some self confidence, I’m begging you. Maybe it’s because I’m not a romantic, maybe I’m overthinking it, maybe I’ve heard too many stories of codependent relationships going south, who knows?

By all means, I should look at Royai and think that it’s an incredibly unbalanced and unlikeable relationship (at least in a romantic sense). But I don’t. And I think I know why: Royai took what should’ve been an incredibly one-sided/unbalanced relationship and balanced it.

First, it avoids coming across as predictable (because it technically isn’t canon) because the series goes out of its way to expand upon their relationship's. It doesn’t absolve the predictability, but it counters it. It avoids being forced by being taken seriously and being given serious time to develop.

Secondly, both characters are developed in ways that avoid their relationship coming across as overly cliche. Namely, they’re given reason to like each other and both are charismatic/likeable enough that they aren’t annoying (I know this isn’t much, but the bar is in hell for shounen romance. Especially background character romance). Hawkeye has her lighter and nicer moments and Mustang knows when to be serious. The problem of the stoic character having exponentially more baggage or the clown forcing that baggage onto themselves is also avoided by both of them having a lot of baggage and (something FMA nailed as a series) boundaries.

My last problem is avoided by both of them staying their own characters. They can both function without the other, the other doesn’t fill their every waking thought, they’re capable of and willing to call the other out on their screwups, and whatever pedestal they put the other on doesn’t impede their judgement (for the most part) or make them ignore others to a concerning/upsetting extent. Even after Hawkeye says she’ll take her own life if Mustang dies, it somehow avoids being ship-ruining/frustrating/ disturbing. It’s tragic, but it doesn’t make me want them to not get together (it makes me want them to work through that shit and then get together). I’m gonna add that this is probably helped by the fact that Mustang never takes advantage of her vulnerability and he doesn’t come across as the type who ever would. It would’ve been so easy to make Mustang the stoic badass in charge with enough baggage to fill an airport with Hawkeye as his softer/more lighthearted right hand woman with a concerning level of dependency on him, but the author didn’t go that route and I will be forever grateful.

[lyxurious]

hear me out-

[waterfall-ambience]

neuvillette is so luna coded if you know what i mean