entrust my back to you: part two [ship manifesto] (roy/riza)
title. entrust my back to you: a ship manifesto
series. Fullmetal Alchemist (manga)
character/pairing. Roy Mustang/Riza Hawkeye
spoilers. Up to Chapter 87 of the manga
disclaimer. Fullmetal Alchemist belongs to Hiromu Arakawa, Shounen GanGan, Square-Enix and BONES Animation (even though I’m not referring to the anime, I figured better safe than sorry). No profit is being made, so please don’t sue!
Part One here =)
‘So you didn’t run off.’ // ‘Just from who, exactly, did I once hear, “Never give up, no matter what happens”?’
After a meeting between himself, Bradley and the Elric brothers (in which Winry is also taken as a hostage), he rushes outside hoping to find Riza still waiting for him and instead finds Major Armstrong, sparkles and all. While worriedly hoping that she’s still safe, Riza reappears, having just left to go to the bathroom, and reassures him that she’s going to stick by him, after which he jokes, ‘Just don’t come crying to me later saying, “I should have run away after all!”, Lieutenant.’
The day of the transfer arrives and Riza enters her former commanding officer’s office to find him alone. Claiming that she has come back to pick up something she ‘forgot’, she passes on a warning from Ed that Scar is still prowling around and tells him to be careful. He agrees, ‘After all, my well-armed guard will be gone.’ Echoing herself from her father’s funeral, she tells him, ‘Please don’t die.’ Unlike the first time, when he asked her not to say such ominous things, he smiles and agrees.
Later that night, he drops by Madame Christmas’ to cheer himself up and put in a ‘special’ order. Madame Christmas suggests ‘just go play with Elizabeth-chan,’ to which he replies sadly, ‘Elizabeth-chan was taken by another man.’ We find out this ‘special’ order is actually a request for assistance from Lieutenant General Grumman, Roy’s former commanding officer from Eastern HQ, hidden in the chess set Grumman gave to Roy at the time of his transfer to Central. In this scene, Grumman also offers Roy his granddaughter saying, ‘She’ll become the future Fuhrer’s wife.’ It’s later revealed that his granddaughter is none other than Riza. Note also that Roy never said ‘no’, only for the General not to get too ahead of himself =D
‘We’re both being observed very carefully. I don’t want to give Bradley any more reason to suspect us.’
Communication becomes hard and contact scarce between the two and is limited to them speaking in code. Roy unknowingly calls Riza after her conversation with Pride to offer her flowers. Although she says nothing, Roy is quickly able to pick up that something is wrong and repeatedly asks whether or not something happened. She continues to reassure him that everything is fine and, after hanging up, happily wonders how he ‘has such good timing’. He does not discover what was wrong until they accidentally have lunch together one day where Riza is able to communicate to him during a seemingly casual conversation that Selim Bradley is a homunculus. Furthermore, she is able to pass on a message to him from Grumman through Havoc, where Roy acknowledges that they are under surveillance.
In recent chapters, it seems things are taking a turn for the better. Riza, Fuery and Breda have deserted the military due to their ‘responsibility to [their] Colonel’ and have, in fact, been reunited with him and he makes them promise not to die.
Analysis
I believe that to show someone your back means that you trust them instinctively not to hurt you and to be loyal to you and this notion is recurrent in the Roy/Riza relationship.
Riza bared her back to Roy to give him the power to become who he wanted to become and, unfortunately, the military forced him to betray her trust in him to use that power for the good of the people. The second time she bares her back to allow him to burn the tattoo allows her to become who she wanted to become and, to me, demonstrates that she still trusts him: she knows that he is the only person she can trust to let her become who she wants to be. To me, it also displays an intimacy in their relationship because, let’s face it, we’ve seen that tattoo and she’d had to have been topless in order for him to gain proper access to it. =)
I think entrusting her with his back in return, and offering her that opportunity to shoot him should she see fit, is Roy’s way of atoning for betraying her trust and hurting her, even if it wasn’t by his own free will or desire.
There’s also another couple of recurring motifs in their relationship: Roy constantly asks her, ‘Will you follow me?’, and Riza constantly tells him, ‘Please don’t die.’ As previous discussed, Roy feels the need to remind Riza that, despite her promise to stay by his side, he’s not going to hold her to that promise, that she’s free to leave at any time and he’d understand. Riza’s telling him not to die reflects her need to make sure that he’s careful with himself because we’ve seen in the series that Roy is often more concerned about others than himself, such as when Scar comes and he worries about the Elric brothers, or his concern about Havoc during the fight with Lust. We’ve also seen firsthand the effect the notion of his being dead had on her and we’ve seen him reciprocate this concern for her.
The fact that they are so dependent on each other is reliant on the fact that they are inextricably tied to one another. Their lives are so tightly intertwined, it’s hard to picture how they would be without one another.
I also think there’s so many hints in the manga, it’s canon. Otherwise, why bother having Grumman offer his granddaughter to Roy? I also believe there’s significance in the fact that Madame Christmas, who we discover is actually Roy’s foster mother, knows about Elizabeth and associates her with cheering Roy up. And when Hughes was still alive, he told Roy, ‘Be sure to get at least one more person who would understand and support you. So hurry up and get married.’ I think that pretty much everyone who has read the manga would agree that there is no woman in the world who could even come close to being as supportive and understanding of Roy as Riza. Also, the fact that Arakawa constantly puts in reminders that Roy and Riza can communicate with each other effortlessly, even in code, and sometimes wordlessly, also demonstrates this amazing connection between them that I personally feel they could never achieve with anyone else.
So here’s hoping that, one day, they’ll be able to achieve that dream of protecting the people… and raise lots of alchemist, gun-toting babies along the way (with little Hayates as well, of course; after all, they’re both dog people)!
Links and Recs
Honestly? I think this fandom is awesome. There’s such richness and diversity in the quality and quantity, I’m constantly uncovering new gems. Any recs I’m making here are my absolute favourites even after I’ve read them a gazillion times. If you’re in the mood for more RoyAi, feel free to peruse my memories - there’s a whole bunch of fics worth reading there!
Also note that some of these recs may be more anime-based, but they’re still totally worth a read unless you’re not at all familiar with the anime storyline.
Links
So, firstly, communities here on LJ:
royai - includes everything: fics, icons, art, recs
royai_fiction - self-explanatory, I suppose =)
mustangism - the Roy Mustang community
_rizahawkeye_ - the Riza Hawkeye community
And other sites:
Touchstone and Pyrography, which I believe are managed by hamsterfactor , Pyrography being dedicated to Roy and Touchstone being the sister site dedicated to RoyAi
Roiai deviantart community
Recs
Casualties by Miskcat
This fic haunted me so much, I didn’t have a good night’s sleep for a week. Sometimes, my heart still hurts when I think about it. The writing is awesome and… there are no words for how much I love this story. Just go read it.
‘Dark, brooding eyes locked with eyes full of light, sharing again that yearning, wordless communion more profound than any mere bodily union.’
Harmless by hmmingbird
Amazingly well written drabble. There’s such a tension in the fic and you can feel the angst because they both know it’s wrong, and it’s so not harmless, which is why this fic is so beautiful.
‘He has just kissed a lie right into her mouth, but she doesn't mind because it tastes good.’
Every Missing Irony by words without
A series of RoyAi drabbles (I’m sure they’ll be a few of these in this list) so I’m sure you’d find one you’d like in here (I, myself, found plenty).
‘… and now I’m in your apartment, sitting on your very comfortable couch, arguing with you over whether to have sex now or eat first. By the way, my vote’s for the former option.’
Ten Sides of RoyAi by CEA
Another set of drabbles and it’s incomplete but, really, drabbles largely stand on their own anyway. I would’ve dearly loved to see this finished because it’s so well written and there’s enough of a link between each chapter that they’re not really drabbles anymore (technically they’re a bit too long to be considered drabbles, anyway), but what’s there is awesome.
‘He turned back to her, met those red eyes that haunted him with his midnight-black ones, and suddenly felt very, very nervous.’
Lemon Tea by Shimegami-chan
Considering this one’s won awards, I’m sure I don’t need to tell you that it’s well written. Slightly AU, I suppose, but watching a slightly nervous Roy trying to apologise to Riza for ogling her is just love.
‘Riza Hawkeye had always enjoyed hot lemon tea in the mornings, with a tablespoon of honey, as she sat alone in the crowded mess hall.’
OneTwoThree by JoJoDancer
I think this fic is more Roy/Riza friendship than romance, although there are nice undertones. Again, brilliant characterisation, and the ending was so Roy, I loved it.
‘Look at me. This is dancing, not target practice. If you’re watching for where to put your feet, you’re going to miss the whole point of the waltz.’
Malady by fireblazie
I love this one because it’s got Hughes and Hughes/Roy friendship is one of the most awesome things in the series. Hughes comes back to haunt Roy and, well, you know Hughes (he’s a RoyAi shipper)!
‘Hughes laughed, loudly. “How do you think she'd look in a mini-skirt?”’
Someone Worth Protecting (Roy/Riza, Ed/Winry, Ling/RanFan) by abarero
This fic covers pretty much all of my pairings in this fandom, and is leaning towards Ed/Winry I suppose, but I love it anyway. It’s a conversation that takes place after Bradley has chosen his ‘hostages’ and the characterisation is just brilliant.
‘“It sounds like all three of us have a lovely lady to protect now,” He remarked, noting how Edward rolled his eyes at the chivalrous comment.’
The Classic Perception of Beauty by galuxkitty
The imagery in this is beautiful, yet simple, and it’s… quiet, for lack of a better word. There’s a little smut, but it’s so soft and the writing is amazing, this fic just washes over you.
‘The array was scarred, blurred. She was the closest he thought he would ever find to the trivial idea of human perfection.’
A Romance Story by greywing
I loved the idea that Riza read romance novels, just because I love the idea that she’s a closet romantic and that, in some way, she’d love to be pampered by Roy someone who loved her. The characterisation in this is gorgeous and the interplay between them is so awesome, I felt it totally reflects the way they interact in the canon.
‘Do you think that in another time and place, we would have met and fallen in love?’
These Rotten Lips by artemisrae
Roy-centric, and angsty!RoyAi (the ending killed me) but so worth the read. I think it sums up the misconception that is Roy Mustang, the manwhore.
‘Of course, for all of his reputation as a ladies’ man, there is still quite a bit about him that people don’t realize about Roy - and he’d prefer to keep it that way.’
The Promise of Skirts by hola_meg_a_cola
This fic made me laugh out loud when I read it. I love perverted!Roy *sigh* I think the title’s pretty self-explanatory…
‘She knew her colonel had an infatuation with skirts, but she never realized how great it was until recently.’
Libera me Domine by _012607
So many wonderful things about this fic, but really, almost anything to do with The Tattoo will win me over because I feel it’s such an integral part of their relationship. Angsty but, oh, so beautiful.
‘He brushes the same fingers that made her cry through her hair and she rests her head on his lap, slowly calming down.’
And All the Years We Have Wasted by butnow
So bittersweet, this is another fic that lingers on and hurts your heart. The writing, the characterisation, the entire piece is gorgeous.
‘He has several substitutes for Hawkeye, and in the end, none of them works.’
RoyAi 100 Themes by ninkasa
100 themes means, chances are, you’d like at least one of them (especially when they’re so well written).
‘“On a scale of one to ten rate our sex life,” Roy read aloud. “It only goes up to TEN. . .why are you laughing?”’
Long Distance Calls by
zauberer_sirin
I feel like this fic is very Roy-esque (well it is Roy-centric) in that it says a lot of stuff without really saying it. And taking Roy’s ability to say something and mean another was brilliance.
‘They kiss but she doesn’t stay over, dangerous again on his lips more than her lips, Hawkeye saying “and it wasn’t before?”’
I don’t usually go looking for RoyAi art since I’m much more of a fic person, but here’s a couple of cute pictures I’ve found:
Go Go Mustang by canal
RoyAi - green shade by chihaya
SD Roy, Riza and Buraha by
nall_necolle
Please feel free to comment with any suggestions, additions, recommendations or discussion. Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed it!
series. Fullmetal Alchemist (manga)
character/pairing. Roy Mustang/Riza Hawkeye
spoilers. Up to Chapter 87 of the manga
disclaimer. Fullmetal Alchemist belongs to Hiromu Arakawa, Shounen GanGan, Square-Enix and BONES Animation (even though I’m not referring to the anime, I figured better safe than sorry). No profit is being made, so please don’t sue!
Part One here =)
‘So you didn’t run off.’ // ‘Just from who, exactly, did I once hear, “Never give up, no matter what happens”?’
After a meeting between himself, Bradley and the Elric brothers (in which Winry is also taken as a hostage), he rushes outside hoping to find Riza still waiting for him and instead finds Major Armstrong, sparkles and all. While worriedly hoping that she’s still safe, Riza reappears, having just left to go to the bathroom, and reassures him that she’s going to stick by him, after which he jokes, ‘Just don’t come crying to me later saying, “I should have run away after all!”, Lieutenant.’
The day of the transfer arrives and Riza enters her former commanding officer’s office to find him alone. Claiming that she has come back to pick up something she ‘forgot’, she passes on a warning from Ed that Scar is still prowling around and tells him to be careful. He agrees, ‘After all, my well-armed guard will be gone.’ Echoing herself from her father’s funeral, she tells him, ‘Please don’t die.’ Unlike the first time, when he asked her not to say such ominous things, he smiles and agrees.
Later that night, he drops by Madame Christmas’ to cheer himself up and put in a ‘special’ order. Madame Christmas suggests ‘just go play with Elizabeth-chan,’ to which he replies sadly, ‘Elizabeth-chan was taken by another man.’ We find out this ‘special’ order is actually a request for assistance from Lieutenant General Grumman, Roy’s former commanding officer from Eastern HQ, hidden in the chess set Grumman gave to Roy at the time of his transfer to Central. In this scene, Grumman also offers Roy his granddaughter saying, ‘She’ll become the future Fuhrer’s wife.’ It’s later revealed that his granddaughter is none other than Riza. Note also that Roy never said ‘no’, only for the General not to get too ahead of himself =D
‘We’re both being observed very carefully. I don’t want to give Bradley any more reason to suspect us.’
Communication becomes hard and contact scarce between the two and is limited to them speaking in code. Roy unknowingly calls Riza after her conversation with Pride to offer her flowers. Although she says nothing, Roy is quickly able to pick up that something is wrong and repeatedly asks whether or not something happened. She continues to reassure him that everything is fine and, after hanging up, happily wonders how he ‘has such good timing’. He does not discover what was wrong until they accidentally have lunch together one day where Riza is able to communicate to him during a seemingly casual conversation that Selim Bradley is a homunculus. Furthermore, she is able to pass on a message to him from Grumman through Havoc, where Roy acknowledges that they are under surveillance.
In recent chapters, it seems things are taking a turn for the better. Riza, Fuery and Breda have deserted the military due to their ‘responsibility to [their] Colonel’ and have, in fact, been reunited with him and he makes them promise not to die.
![‘responsibility to [their] Colonel’](http://x12.xanga.com/9fac7a3a53031211771821/m165240166.png){kind=link}
Analysis
I believe that to show someone your back means that you trust them instinctively not to hurt you and to be loyal to you and this notion is recurrent in the Roy/Riza relationship.
Riza bared her back to Roy to give him the power to become who he wanted to become and, unfortunately, the military forced him to betray her trust in him to use that power for the good of the people. The second time she bares her back to allow him to burn the tattoo allows her to become who she wanted to become and, to me, demonstrates that she still trusts him: she knows that he is the only person she can trust to let her become who she wants to be. To me, it also displays an intimacy in their relationship because, let’s face it, we’ve seen that tattoo and she’d had to have been topless in order for him to gain proper access to it. =)
I think entrusting her with his back in return, and offering her that opportunity to shoot him should she see fit, is Roy’s way of atoning for betraying her trust and hurting her, even if it wasn’t by his own free will or desire.
There’s also another couple of recurring motifs in their relationship: Roy constantly asks her, ‘Will you follow me?’, and Riza constantly tells him, ‘Please don’t die.’ As previous discussed, Roy feels the need to remind Riza that, despite her promise to stay by his side, he’s not going to hold her to that promise, that she’s free to leave at any time and he’d understand. Riza’s telling him not to die reflects her need to make sure that he’s careful with himself because we’ve seen in the series that Roy is often more concerned about others than himself, such as when Scar comes and he worries about the Elric brothers, or his concern about Havoc during the fight with Lust. We’ve also seen firsthand the effect the notion of his being dead had on her and we’ve seen him reciprocate this concern for her.
The fact that they are so dependent on each other is reliant on the fact that they are inextricably tied to one another. Their lives are so tightly intertwined, it’s hard to picture how they would be without one another.
I also think there’s so many hints in the manga, it’s canon. Otherwise, why bother having Grumman offer his granddaughter to Roy? I also believe there’s significance in the fact that Madame Christmas, who we discover is actually Roy’s foster mother, knows about Elizabeth and associates her with cheering Roy up. And when Hughes was still alive, he told Roy, ‘Be sure to get at least one more person who would understand and support you. So hurry up and get married.’ I think that pretty much everyone who has read the manga would agree that there is no woman in the world who could even come close to being as supportive and understanding of Roy as Riza. Also, the fact that Arakawa constantly puts in reminders that Roy and Riza can communicate with each other effortlessly, even in code, and sometimes wordlessly, also demonstrates this amazing connection between them that I personally feel they could never achieve with anyone else.
So here’s hoping that, one day, they’ll be able to achieve that dream of protecting the people… and raise lots of alchemist, gun-toting babies along the way (with little Hayates as well, of course; after all, they’re both dog people)!
Links and Recs
Honestly? I think this fandom is awesome. There’s such richness and diversity in the quality and quantity, I’m constantly uncovering new gems. Any recs I’m making here are my absolute favourites even after I’ve read them a gazillion times. If you’re in the mood for more RoyAi, feel free to peruse my memories - there’s a whole bunch of fics worth reading there!
Also note that some of these recs may be more anime-based, but they’re still totally worth a read unless you’re not at all familiar with the anime storyline.
Links
So, firstly, communities here on LJ:
royai - includes everything: fics, icons, art, recs
royai_fiction - self-explanatory, I suppose =)
mustangism - the Roy Mustang community
_rizahawkeye_ - the Riza Hawkeye community
And other sites:
Touchstone and Pyrography, which I believe are managed by hamsterfactor , Pyrography being dedicated to Roy and Touchstone being the sister site dedicated to RoyAi
Roiai deviantart community
Recs
Casualties by Miskcat
This fic haunted me so much, I didn’t have a good night’s sleep for a week. Sometimes, my heart still hurts when I think about it. The writing is awesome and… there are no words for how much I love this story. Just go read it.
‘Dark, brooding eyes locked with eyes full of light, sharing again that yearning, wordless communion more profound than any mere bodily union.’
Harmless by hmmingbird
Amazingly well written drabble. There’s such a tension in the fic and you can feel the angst because they both know it’s wrong, and it’s so not harmless, which is why this fic is so beautiful.
‘He has just kissed a lie right into her mouth, but she doesn't mind because it tastes good.’
Every Missing Irony by words without
A series of RoyAi drabbles (I’m sure they’ll be a few of these in this list) so I’m sure you’d find one you’d like in here (I, myself, found plenty).
‘… and now I’m in your apartment, sitting on your very comfortable couch, arguing with you over whether to have sex now or eat first. By the way, my vote’s for the former option.’
Ten Sides of RoyAi by CEA
Another set of drabbles and it’s incomplete but, really, drabbles largely stand on their own anyway. I would’ve dearly loved to see this finished because it’s so well written and there’s enough of a link between each chapter that they’re not really drabbles anymore (technically they’re a bit too long to be considered drabbles, anyway), but what’s there is awesome.
‘He turned back to her, met those red eyes that haunted him with his midnight-black ones, and suddenly felt very, very nervous.’
Lemon Tea by Shimegami-chan
Considering this one’s won awards, I’m sure I don’t need to tell you that it’s well written. Slightly AU, I suppose, but watching a slightly nervous Roy trying to apologise to Riza for ogling her is just love.
‘Riza Hawkeye had always enjoyed hot lemon tea in the mornings, with a tablespoon of honey, as she sat alone in the crowded mess hall.’
OneTwoThree by JoJoDancer
I think this fic is more Roy/Riza friendship than romance, although there are nice undertones. Again, brilliant characterisation, and the ending was so Roy, I loved it.
‘Look at me. This is dancing, not target practice. If you’re watching for where to put your feet, you’re going to miss the whole point of the waltz.’
Malady by fireblazie
I love this one because it’s got Hughes and Hughes/Roy friendship is one of the most awesome things in the series. Hughes comes back to haunt Roy and, well, you know Hughes (he’s a RoyAi shipper)!
‘Hughes laughed, loudly. “How do you think she'd look in a mini-skirt?”’
Someone Worth Protecting (Roy/Riza, Ed/Winry, Ling/RanFan) by abarero
This fic covers pretty much all of my pairings in this fandom, and is leaning towards Ed/Winry I suppose, but I love it anyway. It’s a conversation that takes place after Bradley has chosen his ‘hostages’ and the characterisation is just brilliant.
‘“It sounds like all three of us have a lovely lady to protect now,” He remarked, noting how Edward rolled his eyes at the chivalrous comment.’
The Classic Perception of Beauty by galuxkitty
The imagery in this is beautiful, yet simple, and it’s… quiet, for lack of a better word. There’s a little smut, but it’s so soft and the writing is amazing, this fic just washes over you.
‘The array was scarred, blurred. She was the closest he thought he would ever find to the trivial idea of human perfection.’
A Romance Story by greywing
I loved the idea that Riza read romance novels, just because I love the idea that she’s a closet romantic and that, in some way, she’d love to be pampered by Roy someone who loved her. The characterisation in this is gorgeous and the interplay between them is so awesome, I felt it totally reflects the way they interact in the canon.
‘Do you think that in another time and place, we would have met and fallen in love?’
These Rotten Lips by artemisrae
Roy-centric, and angsty!RoyAi (the ending killed me) but so worth the read. I think it sums up the misconception that is Roy Mustang, the manwhore.
‘Of course, for all of his reputation as a ladies’ man, there is still quite a bit about him that people don’t realize about Roy - and he’d prefer to keep it that way.’
The Promise of Skirts by hola_meg_a_cola
This fic made me laugh out loud when I read it. I love perverted!Roy *sigh* I think the title’s pretty self-explanatory…
‘She knew her colonel had an infatuation with skirts, but she never realized how great it was until recently.’
Libera me Domine by _012607
So many wonderful things about this fic, but really, almost anything to do with The Tattoo will win me over because I feel it’s such an integral part of their relationship. Angsty but, oh, so beautiful.
‘He brushes the same fingers that made her cry through her hair and she rests her head on his lap, slowly calming down.’
And All the Years We Have Wasted by butnow
So bittersweet, this is another fic that lingers on and hurts your heart. The writing, the characterisation, the entire piece is gorgeous.
‘He has several substitutes for Hawkeye, and in the end, none of them works.’
RoyAi 100 Themes by ninkasa
100 themes means, chances are, you’d like at least one of them (especially when they’re so well written).
‘“On a scale of one to ten rate our sex life,” Roy read aloud. “It only goes up to TEN. . .why are you laughing?”’
Long Distance Calls by
zauberer_sirin
I feel like this fic is very Roy-esque (well it is Roy-centric) in that it says a lot of stuff without really saying it. And taking Roy’s ability to say something and mean another was brilliance.
‘They kiss but she doesn’t stay over, dangerous again on his lips more than her lips, Hawkeye saying “and it wasn’t before?”’
I don’t usually go looking for RoyAi art since I’m much more of a fic person, but here’s a couple of cute pictures I’ve found:
Go Go Mustang by canal
RoyAi - green shade by chihaya
SD Roy, Riza and Buraha by
nall_necolle
Please feel free to comment with any suggestions, additions, recommendations or discussion. Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed it!