Most of the mischaracterization Riza suffers from wouldn’t be nearly as popular if people actually understood why she follows Roy and it isn’t just love and loyalty.
One of the main reasons she stays by his side is because she sees herself as the guardian of flame alchemy. She’s trying to make sure of two things: 1. no one ever gets their hands on it again. and 2. the only person who can use it never misuses it again. That’s why she follows him. She has to. She’s watching the weapon she helped create.
And she has to keep him alive not only because he’s the one with the political power (meaning he’s her only real way to make sure the trials happen), but because he has to live long enough to atone for what he did with flame alchemy. The power SHE gave him.
From Riza’s point of view, every crime Mustang commits is hers too. Every time flame alchemy is used to kill that blood is on her hands too. Every person he killed is someone she killed by proxy.
She’s not just guarding him. She’s sharing his guilt. It’s like she’s trying to atone for her own sins, but he has to atone too so she can atone through him.
I think this Hannibal quote fits them really well: “You and I have begun to blur. Every crime of yours feels like one I’m guilty of.” Like yeah she obviously loves him. But reducing their relationship to just that completely flattens what’s actually going on.
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.
REDUX: How Riza knows “Roy” is actually Envy [META]
This meta was originally written a few years ago. When I posted it, others were quick to point out the things I’d missed, and I’d been wanting to include ever since. Furthermore, I initially based this meta on the English version of the manga, neglecting to take Brotherhood or the original text into account. I’m taking the deletion as an opportunity to write the expanded, definitive version.
So, once again, let’s talk about exactly why and how Riza knew for a fact that this wasn’t the real Roy, with a play-by-play of this scene.
Fair warning, there is a fair amount of personal interpretation mixed in there. The differences between versions (all four - manga and Brotherhood, Japanese and English) all tell a bit of a different story. There are constants between them, though, and these will receive some more weight in terms of how certain I am the authorial intent was there. I had access to the English versions of the text, and my friend @shihalyfie provided with Japanese assistance and discussion of the originals.
Now, our girl Riza is generally great in a crisis (save for that one time) and this scene proves it perfectly. Both in Brotherhood and the manga, the relevant scene begins when these two run into each other, in a clear attack stance. Riza has reasons to be suspicious; Envy, not so much, and they play the part poorly. In both versions, Envy is the first to appear to let their guard down after absolutely no prompting. In the manga, it’s a bit ambiguous, but implied by virtue of Envy being the first one to speak. Brotherhood makes it clearer that it is indeed Envy lowering their fighting stance first by a split second.
There is no “tell me something only two of us know” (of which there should be plenty!) or any other method to confirm her identity - because Envy is certain it’s her, and if Riza were to ask the same question (which we’ll get to!) they wouldn’t have an answer. So here, just the fact that Envy lets their guard down is telling. There’s no real suspicion. Meanwhile, Riza knows for a fact that the real Roy wouldn’t be sure that this is the real Riza, and wouldn’t be so quick to trust her.
Furthermore, a previous reader pointed out that Envy was far too calm. It’s interesting to notice that this is true for Brotherhood, not necessarily the manga (in which the Japanese text has Roy speak rudely, in a way that would befit Envy more than it does Roy). Still, he wouldn’t just calmly accept Riza’s presence. But Riza doesn’t react yet. Why not come clean on her suspicions right away, then? Why pretend she’s let her guard down?
First of all, Brotherhood makes it clear that this is all a very quick exchange; it’s fair to assume Riza has to catch up to it. Another possible explanation is that Riza knows Envy is good at mind games, and she’s not about to let Envy play mind games with her. She’s going to flip the script on them.
And Envy speaks.
“I told you not to follow me” (Manga)
“You’ve disobeyed orders” (Brotherhood)
Something I overlooked on my first time writing about this is that in Japanese, the manga does not use the verb “to follow” in this line (it was translated to me as something closer to “I told you not to come here”). However, this verb is used later in the scene, much more significantly; I will call back to this when relevant.
It’s interesting how the turn of phrase can yield varying interpretations on this scene. Both of these characters are experts in speaking in code, and every single word holds meaning between them, so this sort of interpretative read is called for. Reading the manga in English, “I told you not to follow me” references the fact that Roy very much asked her to follow him once. In Brotherhood, Roy pointing out almost too calmly that she’s disobeyed him is a callback to the one time Riza disobeyed Roy (and this has some importance later!). In Japanese, the language used is less relevant at this time.
The truly important thing to notice, language or not, is that Envy is giving themselves away. Envy addresses Riza without a shadow of a doubt that it’s indeed her. Riza still has her doubts, presumably because she would expect Roy to play the same game she does, tending seemingly innocuous traps to see if the other trips. So this is what she does.
“Forgive me, sir. I couldn’t simply stand around doing nothing” (Manga)
“I’m sorry, but I couldn’t just sit there and wait.” (Brotherhood)
Different wording but same sentiment across languages and versions, so the interpretation is the same (with an added bonus for Brotherhood)
No way around it - we know for a fact that this is a lie. This doesn’t align with Riza’s personality. Riza can stand around and do nothing for hours if this is what she thinks her commanding officer needs. We’ve seen this happen, when Roy walked into King Bradley’s trap and Riza waited, quite literally, all night, doing nothing. To make this even more significant, this happened after Roy ordered to home and she refused - she stood guard for hours on her own accord.
To be fair, she wouldn’t share the real reason of her disobedience with Roy, either. Just a few instants later, we see her shoot round after round on Envy. She tells them, “I need you to die here”. Her MO wasn’t to find Roy, but to kill Envy before Roy does, which speaks volumes as to her desperation. This is the quickest solution to her problem. And this is also how we know she never lowered her guard - she wanted it to be Envy.
The thing is, she is indeed lying, and Roy would know she’s lying. Envy doesn’t. Based on the precedent we have (Riza disobeying Roy to stand guard all night), Envy’s reactions don’t track to how Roy would react. In Brotherhood, is made far more obvious because of the previous line on disobeying orders.
It’s enough for Riza.
“Where’s Envy?” (Manga/Brotherhood)
This, right here, is the real trap. For a question that appears to be obvious in this context, it sure is loaded.
Riza doesn’t know yet if this is Envy being a terrible actor, or Roy pretending to be trusting to lower a potential Envy’s guard. Riza notices, and thinks fast, and this question is far more clever than it appears. It gives the pretense that she’s certain that this is the real Roy, and one of two things should happen:
If that’s Roy, this question would definitely be the thing to raise some suspicion, finally. This is where Roy would tend her another trap.
If that’s Envy, that question would lull them into a false sense of security, to believe Riza does not suspect them. And, as we know, Envy falls for it, pretending that Roy just lost his target and asking her...
“Stay close to me, Lieutenant. Come on.” (Manga)
“Do not leave my side, Lieutenant. Now that you're here you’re going to help me” (Brotherhood)
Also, more importantly, this is where the Japanese version of the manga uses the verb “to follow” - “Follow me” instead of “Come on”. Which is a tiny nuance that got lost in context while translating, because Roy and Riza would both know that Roy never has to tell Riza to follow.
Wording nuances aside, Envy telling Riza to join him seals the deal. The real Roy does not want Riza there at all costs. He’s about to do something he doesn’t want her to see, which is the reason he told her to stay behind in the first place. The real Roy probably knows at this point, at least deep down, that Riza wouldn’t approve of his actions. Furthermore, the real Roy would suspect this of being Envy and this command shows a clear lack of suspicion.
Brotherhood makes this even more blatant with the added line. This is personal for Roy. This is his vendetta; he would never ask Riza to help.
(As a side note, an opinion my friend shared with me is that in Japanese, the manga makes it generally clearer that Envy is impersonating Roy in Envy’s behavior as somewhat rude and out-of-rank. She believes the changes in phrasing may have been made to avoid making it too obvious when animated and voiced. This is speculation, but it’s a perspective that most of us would lack, so I found it worth spreading).
Riza’s smile (Manga)
Riza’s frown (Brotherhood)
Just, look at that smile. She’s certain now.
This moment, first and foremost, confuses the first-time reader. Let’s not forget that a first-timer doesn’t know who’s who in this scene - Envy could be either of them, or not be there at all, and since they lack the perspective, it takes a rewatch to grasp the nuance of the exchange. Riza’s smile, so much like Envy’s, freaks us out for a second and throws us off. Once the suspense is gone, it shows a lot of character. Riza normally keeps a stoic front around people, but no one is looking at her now. She can allow herself to express emotion now that she’s figured things out.
Furthermore, when she speaks the next line (”The Colonel calls me Riza when we’re alone”) it can be assumed that she’s actually toying with Envy, just based on that smile. Brotherhood did away with it altogether, which is a shame. She frowns instead, which is consistent with the different characterization she’s given in both versions and that’s a meta for a different time. In Brotherhood, her frowns also signals that she knows, but instead of confusing us, this actually gives us more clarity.
Either way, by that point, it isn’t a gamble. Riza already knows. This is her way of doing the whole “answer something only the Colonel would know” thing, just for one last bit of reassurance, but without giving Envy the chance to mess with her head in return. She really did flip the script on them, to the point that in the end, she was the one who messed with their head.
And there you have it. Riza knows it’s Envy because Envy isn’t acting like Roy and showing extreme nonchalance and trust at Riza’s attitude, which are exactly the pitfalls you’d expect Envy to fall into. Riza tends them the perfect traps to be sure, without letting them know of her intentions, in order to keep the upper hand. She’s just brilliant. I find Riza is never given enough credit for being the sharp quick-thinker that she is, and this scene just displays that to perfection.
okay i never really caught this before, but in ep 19 when roy hears riza shooting gluttony, he flashbacks to hughes’ death and just.... the look of utter terror in his eyes..........
what must have been going through his head? he had to have been wondering-- is this how hughes died? cornered, alone, his closest ally a phone call away and unable to help?
because the scenarios are exactly the same. roy’s dearest loved ones + homonculus out for death + phone call. roy must have been thinking back to what he did when hughes called-- absolutely nothing. he’s flashing back, and he’s terrified, because the last time someone called him and he stayed where he was, that person died. hughes died.
you can’t tell me that roy mustang wouldn’t have gone over that moment a thousand times in his head, dreamed about a hundred times over. thinking, wondering, what he could have done... if he could have saved hughes, if he’d just done something.
then the situation happens again, only this time it’s riza. she’s in trouble, and this time, it’s not just a bad feeling he gets. he can hear the gunshots. the change in her breathing, that silent fear.
that’s why he goes after her. because he lost hughes. and he can’t lose her too.
Maybe this is an unpopular opinion, but I don’t think Roy and Riza are nearly as devastated about not being able to be publicly together as the fandom likes to make it. I love angst as much as the next person, but in my opinion, their relationship and just their presence in each other’s lives is one of, if not THE, biggest sources of happiness they have.
I don’t think they spend their time staring at each other sadly, thinking about how they’ll never get married and have kids. I think they look at each other and see the reason they keep going. The reason they don’t give up on the future they’re trying to build.
Maybe I see them this way because I’ve been thinking a lot about queerplatonic Royai lately, but honestly this works just as well for romantic Royai too. Sure, it’s probably annoying that they have to sneak around, but I really doubt it cracks their top 50 problems.
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.
