#royai meta

[soufflegirl]

The greatest proof of Roy's love for Riza is the moment he decides not to perform the human transmutation in exchange of her life.

We all know that Roy would have burnt the people who hurt her one by one and that he would have been willing to do pretty much anything to keep her safe. But. As Riza lies bleeding in that transmutation circle and the doctor tells Roy that the only way to save her is to perform the human transmutation, she looks at him with pleading eyes and asks him not to do it. She asks him not to make her responsible for another massacre, not to put more blood on her hands. And Roy is initially tempted to ignore that look and give in to the doctor's blackmail, but then he looks into her eyes once and he just knows he cannot betray her again. Because there was already a time when Roy made her responsible for the deaths of thousands of people, and he's aware that Riza has spent years feeling guilty about the people he has killed with the flame alchemy she entrusted him and he simply cannot do that to her again. He loves her too much for that. He loves her so much that the idea of hurting her again is somehow worse than the idea of living in a world without her in it.

#royai #royai meta #fma #fmab #fullmetal alchemist #roy mustang #riza hawkeye

[royaibrainrot]

Every time someone talks about the military fraternization law with royai and says that “Roy will “just change it” if he gets promoted to fuhrer I lose years off my life.

#number one: fraternization laws are important and often protect people from abuse or coersion in places of a strong power imbalance #so no Roy would not just get rid of them #he and riza would want to keep those people protected even if their dynamic isn’t abusive #number two: if Roy were to become Fuhrer it’s a different system of command than the immediate superior officer of colonel and lieutenant #so forgive me I’m wrong but I’m sure there’s a position they could give Riza where she could still work with and guard him #while not breaking fraternization laws #anyways I don’t hc that they get together officially until way later in life anyway after Roy steps down as Fuhrer/president #that is if they don’t get executed #so ig I’m biased cause I think the whole bypassing frat laws thing is the least of their worries #fma #fmab #royai #riza hawkeye #roy mustang #fullmetal alchemist #fullmetal alchemist brotherhood #grace rambles #royai meta

[fdfdfdfdu]

Riza: by the way, I like yellow flowers and bicycle..

*Mustang at the same second:*

[By the way, my friend gave me this square Riza Hawkeye for my birthday, as well as flowers + a bucket with stars :) ]

#fmab #fma royai #fmab riza #i love royai #royai meta #For some reason #this reminded me of the episode where Mustang wanted to give away flowers he “accidentally” bought.

[fantastic-nonsense]

infuriating that it's been 15+ years and so many people still get Roy killing Lust wrong

"it's ironic that Lust was killed by a womanizer" "Lust was killed by a man who lusted after power" NO! Lust was killed by a man who did it because of love.

It's ironic that she was killed by a man who uses his (false!) public reputation as a womanizer to conceal the fact that he is one of the most steadfastly loyal people in Amestris. It's ironic she was killed by someone whose entire motivation revolved around gaining the power to help others. It's ironic that he killed her for threatening his people.

Lust was killed because Roy refused to let Havoc die, because he refused to let Riza throw away her life. He killed her because he refused to die without making sure the people he loved were safe. Lust was killed because of love. That was the point.

#fma #fmab #fullmetal alchemist #roy mustang #riza hawkeye #jean havoc #royai #fma meta

[sassydefendorflower]

People love to compare Roy and Bradley or Ling and Wrath, but I think there is a special beauty in the narrative parallels between Riza and Winry.

Because these woman manage to break out of the Shounen mold in a way that reaches beyond the Strong Female Character trope and quickly secures itself as... good character writing. Period.

And they do so in a very clever way. Someone else on here once pointed out that Hughes/Mustang/Hawkeye are the trio that runs parallel to Ed/Al/Winry and while they aren't narrative foils to each other - at least not in the way many of the other characters are - they do present a similar function within the story. The three young people who went on an adventure. Only Hughes died and Riza and Roy were permanently altered - and Ed, Al, and Winry got a chance to save the world.

But especially when it comes to Riza and Winry there is something more to the comparison. Especially when it comes down to the choices they made.

But why are Riza and Winry more interesting?

Because when Roy recruits Ed and Al, Riza tells Winry that she followed Roy into the military because she had someone to protect - and this - in other stories - would clearly be a setup for Winry later following Ed and Al into the military to "protect" them. A direct parallel between the two "girls" in a Shounen trio. We've all seen it before.

And I think we see Winry play with that thought when she sticks around Central with them after her first apprenticeship in Rush Valley - she tries to be the third girl to Ed and Al's action duo… but it doesn't work out.

She - strong, clever, genius, confidant Winry Rockbell - suddenly feels weak. Because she can't punch danger away from Ed. She can't repair Al's scratches and dents. She can't kill Scar to save her friends and avenge her family. She can't learn how to shoot and kill just to protect her friends - no, that's not quite correct, is it? She won't. She won't learn how to kill.

And that sucks. Because Winry isn't used to feeling like that, so lost and insecure, at least not constantly. Yeah, when Ed and Al are away, she worries, and that's part of the reason why she tried to join in, but that is nothing compared to the powerlessness she's facing now. Maybe she would worry less if she could be there when they fight, if she could protect them like Riza does with Mustang… but that's just not who she is.

Her job isn't to protect Ed and Al - her job is to give people arms and legs and good costumer service. I really like that scene/episode (23, me thinks) where she gets a phone call from Rush Valley and all these people ask for her to come back. Because Yes, Ed telling her thanks for helping him is VERY important for her character… and yet I think this phone call is the moment Winry realizes that she's not Riza. That she won't take a gun into her hands and kill for Ed and Al.

She will never be Armstrong or Hawkeye or even Izumi… she will be Winry Rockbell, automail engineer and genius.

And that's the reason why only she could have pulled Scar on their side. Because she chose healing over killing - her telling Scar in Baschool that she'd save his life because her parents would want her to honor their choice? That was Winry following the deeper themes of the show, by adding positive energy to the flow of the universe.

Riza saving Scar? Wouldn't have worked (why would he listen to the woman with a gun in her hands?). Armstrong helping Scar? Wouldn't have happened (what reason would General Armstrong have at this point to spare a murderer?). Mei saving Scar? Would have ended with the Ed/Marcoh/Scar/Al alliance falling apart (it is so much easier to fall apart if no one has been forced to see past the horror yet).

And it's not because these characters were even a touch less well written than Winry - if anything it showcases how unique all of the female characters in FMA were/are.

In this we find Riza again - because Riza chose differently than Winry. She followed Roy into the military, she learned and perfected how to shoot and kill. Their narratives mirror each other - Ed carefully prying a gun out of Winry's hands so she doesn't kill, only to give Riza a bloody gun a few episodes later, knowing she will clean it and use it to kill.

When Riza tells us that she has lost the right to feel squeamish about killing because of often she'd pulled the trigger, she is Winry's foil - Winry who was stopped before she could make a similar choice.

And it's not just that, is it?

Riza let her hair grow because a young Winry Rockbell had long hair and seemed to like it - and Riza needed a change after coming back from Ishval.

Winry got her ears pierced because the strong Lieutenant visiting them had looked cool (and because she needed a place for all of Ed's little gifts) - and Winry needed something steadfast, now that her friends were growing up.

There's just something about the two of them, so similar, so loyal and stubborn and full of love, that fascinates me. Because at every turn they make a different choice, at each turn one walks deeper into hell and the other chooses healing - and yet, while they couldn't be more different, they also couldn't be any closer.

I can't imagine how glad Riza was, when she realized Winry hadn't followed Ed and Al into the military.

I can only guess how happy Winry was, when she saw Riza follow Mustang further if only to make sure the future actually changed.

A mirror doesn't have to be a perfect thing, and if anything I think that is on purpose.

#fma #winry rockbell #riza hawkeye #fma meta #edward elric #roy mustang #royai #fullmetal alchemist #fullmetal alchemist brotherhood #fmab #a meta for the girls #because so much of the meta analysis i see about them #boils down to Strong Female Character #and i think we can do better than that #so lets talk about parallels

[havemercyonmercury]

FMA and Restorative Justice

One thing I’ve been obessed with thinking about is how the concept of “equivalent exchange” pertains to Roy and Riza’s character arcs.

Riza mentions how her and Roy are working towards dismanteling the power structure of the Amestrian government and reconfiguring it into a democracy, part of which includes her and Roy facing punishment for the war crimes that comittted in Ishval. This new government, because it is a “just” government, will see them as murders. And what’s not included but implied is that Riza believes she and Roy deserve the death sentence for their crimes. We even see this implication mulitple times in Riza’s arc- when Lust shows up and Riza cries to Alphonse to leave her because she believes in a world without Roy, she deserves death. In “Beyond the Inferno” she echos this sentiment. 

Part of me believes that this is not just simply because of their bond. Yes, Riza doesn’t want to live without Roy. But she also doesn’t see her life as one that is worth living (at least for the most part), and her main objective, the main reason she hasn’t ended things, is because she justice to be sereved to her and Roy.

I’ve seen and heard people argue that Roy and Riza do deserve the death penatly for their crimes. But is that really what Hiromu Arakawa is trying to tell us? The story starts with equivalent exchange, but does it end with equivalent exchange?

No, it doesn’t. Alphonse mentions the new concept that him and Ed are trying to impliment- the “equivalent plus one” type of exchange. And really, what value would Roy and Riza’s deaths add? It would be equivalent exhange, but it wouldn’t be the “equivalent plus one” type of exchange.

The truth is that Roy and Riza have expressed the desire to recostruct Ishval, which is what the series ends with them doing. While they have comitted atrocities, while they have killed, if they die, there is nothing they can put back into the world. There is no more good they can do, and their world is in desperate need of the good that each of them provide. 

Even when Roy is injured after his fight with Lust, even when Riza says she’ll end her life without him, Roy never wants to see that happen to Riza. He chides her and enforces the belief that Riza can’t ever give into that sort of despair. The sort of despair that maintains the philosphy of “dying for someone”. Because what narrative does Arakawa really push? She pushes the narrative that living for someone is more powerful of the two.

And that’s exactly I think she tries to push with Roy and Riza. Dying for their crimes is less powerful than living for the people they killed. Restorative justice enforces this concept. It provides emphasis on accountability- punishment can only go so far when it comes to healing. True healing comes from empathy, community building efforts, supporting the victims, and cultural competence. And I really believe that’s what Roy and Riza ultimately end up doing.

#fma #fmab #royai #riza hawkeye #riza fma #Roy Mustang #roy fma #fma brotherhood #hiromu arakawa #manga #anime #fma analysis #fma meta

[lassusog]

The thing that gets me about writing Roy, and the reason I lean towards writing him is that he is so, so messy. Both he and Riza are married to their job, and Riza is, arguably, more introverted than him but we actually see her have a personal life. People have said this before but it's worth mentioning again when it's still a common belief that Riza is the worst brand of workaholic between them. Obviously she is a workaholic, obviously she sacrifices (chooses consciously to sacrifice) a normal life for their work but we actually see her engage in normal things like going out with a friend and getting groceries. Her apartment, despite being bare, has a plant in it! She is closer to normal compared to Roy. And that's what makes it so fun to mess with him, because he's such a loser (affectionate)!

He never once does anything outside of work that we see. He sleeps in break rooms and only interacts with people in work settings. He's fun to write, because he's such a mess and it's cathartic, to write about someone who so clearly has his life out of control. It's no coincidence that there is an omake with Riza reminding him to do basic self care things.

Also, his persona is a version of him that's mostly him being a dick, and it's interesting to explore the layers of this. How far does he allow himself to take this? What consequences are there in his personal life from this? How does he see himself?

He's also fun because he's volatile. His predominant emotions, as I see it, are anger and guilt and he's very much not able to control the former to the extent that he wants. How does he feel about this? Especially given his role as a leader? With regard to the latter, it's also interesting to write how it makes him interact with people because we never once see him touch someone first and the one time he does, it's the love of his life and he thinks she's dying in his arms because of him, whilst he already feels that he's ruined her life.

He is the most powerful person in every room at all times and he knows this! He has a god complex and he also hates himself! He's entertaining to write, because he reflects the baser emotions we all have and he reacts in ways we want to but often can't. He's mean and annoying and always tired and I think we can all relate to this. He's a red flag to kin but I do, and I'd slap him in real life but I love to write him

#roy mustang #riza hawkeye #royai #thoughts and ranting that probably don't make sense #roy mustang meta

[howsthetunahere]

ive already screamed about this on twitter but i dont care im screaming here too it makes me UNREASONABLY UPSET that this isnt in the show its such an IMPORTANT MOMENT ITS SO PIVOTAL FOR MUSTANG SPECIFICALLY

his guilt is SO IMPORTANT as part of his character and this is a literal smack in the face depiction of that guilt given form he'll never forgive himself and no one can ever give him that either and i mean not just because this one guy said so but this is how Arakawa shOWS us that

both him and Hawkeye REPEATEDLY talk about how they joined the military of their own free will, that they made the choice to serve, that they willingly carried out their orders knowing what it meant they constantly carry that knowledge and guilt with them and acknowledge it openly on multiple occasions

and they KEEP doing that even after Ishval because if they don't then everything they DID do would be for nothing it would mean nothing and it cant they have to move forward and they have to continue to pursue the future they dream of because they H A V E T O

they dont think they deserve forgiveness they dont think they deserve happiness but they still want to build a better future for others so that no one else has to feel what they feel, or do what they have done, and theyll take the corpses they piled on their own backs and carry them forever if it means they can achieve that

and FucKING HAWKEYE likens it to equivalent exchange, using alchemy to explain it, the thing that consumed her father and made her afraid of him and what brought that same man to make her the bearer of his lifes work, his legacy first and his daughter second, and then another man who she followed into war and blood and horror and she watched him use the secrets she gave him to decimate an entire race of people and then he used that same pOWER TO FREE HER OF THAT LEGACY! THAT BURDEN THAT SECRET!

and after it all.....

#roy mustang #fmab #riza hawkeye #meta #royai #fullmetal alchemist #killing myself

[farginen]

if there's anything that cracks me up about the unverified fma lore is that some birthdays are confirmed with a big question mark because of how inaccessible the sources are i.e artbooks released in 2004 only sold in japan

which. fine. that happens with media

but it's just endlessly funny to me is how riza's birthday is usually listed october 2 citing the artbook #3 as the source BUT roy's birthday is also sometimes listed as october 2 (although most sites list it as march 25, i don't remember if they also cite the artbook #3 tho)

why out of all character the ones with conflicting and possibly share birthday is royai??? bonded pair much??

BUT THAT'S NOT ALL

riza also has another birthday date that a lot of people in the fandom use ?? it being september 1st

though i haven't found a single source even remotely official citing this date i've connected the dots though and i noticed tomoch1ngus, who is one of the biggest riza/royai fan artists, is army and their bias is jungkook, whose birthday is on september 1st

i have no proof but neither doubt that this is why people in the fandom went with sept 1 for riza's birthday

#i feel like this probably started off as an inside joke and it just spread #ppl must have looked up oct 2 and seen some ppl claim it as roy's birthday too so they went with the non roy date😂 #in my defense tom0chingus HAS made edits of riza and jungkook to use on their pfp or header i think #im not making things up sdkfjgjnkdg #this is just a funny thing to think about #either royai share birthdays or riza has jungkook energy #TO BE HONEST she does have 'i ace things the first try' energy #wait a minute i do use a (pastel?) gold aesthetic??? GOLDEN LIEUTENANT CONFIRMED #.......... what have i done #do i need to change my dossier?? am i assimilating this headcanon??? #the jokes in this post are too meta im sorry to all my non army friends who won't understand half of these references #source: trust me bro #WHICH COINCIDENTALLY is also an army meme that infiltrated mainstream lmao #okay i'll go to sleep now. im queueing this so i'll be gone asleep when u see this #long post #sorry for being like this #ooc.

[soufflegirl]

What makes me insane about royai is that Roy and Riza worked well even before their backstory was revealed.

Two soldiers who fought together in a war, who protect each other, and who are devoted to each other and to a common cause. That works, right? That was enough.

But then. Then.

Then it turns out that they actually knew each other long before Ishval. They knew each other when Hawkeye was just Riza and Roy just her father's apprentice. It turns out that they are not only bound by their job or their cause or the mutual esteem and respect, nor even just by the shared trauma of war. It turns out that Riza is literally the person who put the flame alchemy in Roy's hands. That the alchemical circles on his gloves are tattooed on her skin. That it was Riza who gave him that power and for that she feels just as responsible for every person he has killed with his flames as she does for those she has shot with her rifle. And the reason she did it is because she trusted him and she trusted his naive dreams. And when the war is over he is well aware that he has broken her trust and that is the reason why he agrees to burn her back and trusting her his own back in return, thus explicitly giving her the power to stab him in the back.

And yet she decides to stand by him, despite the fact that he has already disappointed her once, because she has not stopped believing in those dreams he confided in her when they were still two naive kids untouched by the sins of war.

And while it is true that she stays by his side because she, too, wants to seek some sort of atonement and seek justice for the horrors they both committed, it is also true that, by her own admission, the reason she still wears a uniform and is ready to pull the trigger is that she wants to protect him.

#royai #roy x riza #fma #meta #fullmetal alchemist #roy mustang #riza hawkeye

[royaibrainrot]

Since I’m still on my AOT/Eruri kick rn I’ve been thinking how interesting it is that Roy and Erwin are essentially two sides of the same coin.

Roy’s greatest strength and greatest weakness is how much he loves and cares for the individuals in his life, even at the expense of his goals, whereas Erwin’s greatest strength and weakness is how he continually puts his personal feelings aside for the sake of his goals.

The same goes for the relationship with their other halves, Riza and Levi. Levi desperately wants Erwin’s love, but Erwin refuses to compromise his goals and choose Levi over them. Riza continually urges Roy to put his goals first and ignore her, but he cannot, he continues to love her and therefore allows her to remain a weakness for him.

Ughhh both pairings are just so sad and codependent and hopelessly in love no wonder they occupy like 90% of my brain at all times.

#royai #eruri #erwin smith #roy mustang #riza hawkeye #levi ackerman #fma #fmab #fullmetal alchemist #fullmetal alchemist brotherhood #aot #attack on titan #shingeki no kyojin #grace rambles #eruri meta #royai meta

[jedidragonwarriorqueen]

AH Idunno how to communicate with people here on tumblr but I wanted to say I love your reading over the Royai-Kalmoash scale DFGSDFGH It was in my brain for a long long time as I thought about the warcamps scene and the tunnels scene and Im just glad to see more people also share this very specific piece of shared interest :'D

Friend whenever I come across one of the few people who share one of my very niche fandom overlaps I start foaming at the mouth so I get it!!!!!!!!!!

And for real, thank YOU for sharing your thoughts!! Because I while Kalmoash is truly an intriguing ship with fascinating dynamics and I definitely understand the appeal, it always left a bad taste in my mouth, and I could never put my finger on why, despite sympathizing with and appreciating both characters (though I will admit it took me a loooong time to warm back up to Moash lmao).

(And nothing at all against Kalmoash as a ship, or against the shippers--it's just not my cup of tea :) )

But I am absolutely feral over Royai, and the way you compared the two ships--because I'd honestly never had them in the same ballpark, but now that I see it they really are so similar--really highlighted the difference: trust and communication versus the lack of it.

Roy was very upfront with Riza about his plans, asked her if she'd support him, and when she agreed, straight up gave her permission to shoot him in the back if he went down the wrong path. So when she brings him concerns, he listens, because that's her job, as much as protecting him is. He trusts her to follow and support him, to follow his lead, but also to keep him in check. And so when they get to the tunnels on the Promised Day and Envy is whimpering at Roy's feet, Riza is still able to pull him back from the brink of madness.

Whereas Kaladin and Moash don't (didn't) have that. Kaladin promises they're going to get back at the lighteyes and make things better for the people, but he doesn't yet have any clear ideas on how to do that. (Granted, he was figuring out the Knight Radiant thing on the fly--or should I say, "the Lashing.") But when Kal doesn't seem to be making much progress getting back at the lighteyes like he said they would, Moash goes behind his back instead of going to Kal about it. When he finally brings Kaladin in on the assassination plans, Kaladin initially responds negatively and forbids Moash from conspiring with Graves' crew . . . which Moash continues to do anyway. Then the 6-shardbearer duel happens, Kal ends up in prison, and after that whole ordeal decides to try things Moash's way. But he's still majorly conflicted about it, which he never confides in Moash about, and it continues to knaw at him until the very last moment, when the assassins including Moash himself are coming for Elhokar--and, well. We all know how that went. (And how it ultimately goes, in Kholinar.)

TL;DR: while both Kalmoash and Royai are veryyyy similar, Roy and Riza have a strong base of trust and communication, while Kaladin and Moash don't. So when one of the partners is blinded by revenge, Royai is able to come out the other side, while Kalmoash doesn't.

And I never understood it until you put them side by side like that with your scale!!!!!!!

#royai #kalmoash #fullmetal alchemist #the stormlight archive #kaladin stormblessed #moash #roy mustang #riza hawkeye #fullmetal alchemist brotherhood #fma #fmab #stormlight archive meta #fma meta #mine

[fantastic-nonsense]

I need people to stop sending me Kanej related asks because every time I think about them I go temporarily insane to the point where I can't think about anything else and pump out three 1k+ metas in the span of 24 hours as a result

#for all of you who didn't know me in 2016 when I first watched FMA: I was exactly like this with Royai too except without the meta #personal

[onthearrow]

If you're wondering where The Harder the Rain, the Sweeter the Sun is going, I regret to inform you that I've pulled out Fullmetal Alchemist volume 15 for continuity purposes in some of the later scenes.

If you only ever watched the FMAB anime, I highly recommend reading this volume--there's a lot that the anime cut out or glossed over, probably in part because of the difficulty of the material. But Arakawa really poured her soul into this one. If you're interested in some of the differences, I'll reblog a fantastic meta about this volume in particular after posting this that you can read!! I'll also link it here.

Anyway Rain/Sun has a happy ending and honestly it really doesn't go that deep into Ishval, but I do think FMA 15 is a volume every royai fan should have--I referenced it a lot for Ego/Soul too!

#fma #royai #Ishval

[edwinrys]

Hello! I've been re reading you character analysis for Ed, Edwin and Royai and I love it so much, the way you describe things is so spot on so I was wondering if you have anything on Winry, Riza and Roy on their own and I missed it or if you hava any plans on doing something for them? Just curious and maybe a little bit hopeful

Lots of kudos! 🩷🩷🩷

it's been years since i wrote those pieces of meta, so i'm really touched & flattered they still manage to affect people!!

i'm actually rewatching fmab -- you can blame @shu-of-the-wind for that -- and your wish will certainly be answered in the near future. THE BIGGEST kisses 2 u

#Anonymous

[rebeccacatalinas]

Was cleaning out my wips and my drafts and I found several unfinished royai fics and some manga vs brotherhood meta/rants so I definitely wanna dive back into fma sometime soon. Get back to my roots

#carro rambles