#also me: spits out 800+ words of fma analysis

[wyrdify]

@pertrahe replied to this post: /Ya know; that makes me wonder what he thinks when Olivier says 'You want it you can have it, it would be better in your hands then my brother's.' When annoucing him her 'heir'. Because, despite it coming out as a jest, she's dead serious at that time ( or else she wouldn't have even said it to alex ). Thus -- indirectly.... complamenting him... |8

LISTEN.

THERE IS SO MUCH GOING ON WITH THIS SCENE.

And because I rambled, I’m putting my fully reply under a cut.

Before I analyze it, I’m going to jump back to Chapter 67: Burgeoning Borders in the manga. This is where the Elric brothers loop Olivier in on what’s going on. We learn a few things from her response to all this. For reference:

For one, we learn that the Eastern troops trained with the North. We didn’t know that before. Second, we learn that Olivier respects Hawkeye and Havoc. Her decision to help partly comes from that fact alone. Third, we see her opinion of Mustang, and that she aims to become Fuhrer as well. She describes him as a rival, which, coming from Olivier, is a sign of respect.

She could’ve left it at “His downfall would please me” and said nothing else. She could’ve done what most people do with Mustang: write him off as a young punk who isn’t worth his rank. But, Olivier has not only trained with him when he was stationed in the East, but she knows he served with her brother, Alex, in Ishval. One of them left the battlefield in disgrace, and the other was heralded as a hero for providing a quick end to the war. One stayed and fought while the other left.

That reason alone is why she favors Mustang over her brother. Despite his misgivings about the war, he stayed. Not only that, but he decided he was going to do something about the military corruption. I think Olivier might be one of the only people who doesn’t see Mustang as just some young punk who was promoted too quickly. Though, she probably can’t stand how quickly he ascended through the ranks. She sees what he’s trying to do because she’s working towards the same goal.

Let’s skip ahead to Chapter 84: Shadow of the Pursuer where we see the two of them interact. They exchange their version of pleasantries before Roy says the following: “The Armstrong family is great indeed. The size of this mansion is incredible. A company of troops... no, even a battalion might fit in there.”

These two have different approaches on how to become Fuhrer, but they’re both expert strategists. Roy saying that to Olivier is his way of telling her that he knows what she’s planning. He knows she plans to use the mansion as a base of operations for the Briggs troops. We can assume he knows this due to General Grumman (and how he got that information to Roy in the first place). I also like to think that, if he were in her shoes, he’d use a similar strategy.

Olivier doesn’t miss a beat. She replies to Mustang right away and tells him that she wants him to have the mansion. This exchange is telling on both their parts.

Olivier: Since you like it so much, if something happens to me, I want you to have it. After all, this mansion won’t fit inside a coffin. Roy: Aren’t you going to give it to your brother? Olivier: Given the choice between Alex and you, I slightly prefer handing it over to you. Roy: Then, ma’am, I’m honored by your trust, no matter how slight.

First things first, this speaks to the point I made earlier about how I believe she views Roy’s involvement in Ishval. He stayed compared to her brother, and thus earned her respect. Second, Roy doesn’t object any further. Olivier is a Major General from an esteemed family, and he’s not going to question her.

I truly believe he’s honored that she trusts him of all people. That she can see through his ruse that has just about everyone else fooled. It’s not that she doesn’t trust her brother. When the two of them fight together, we see that she does trust and believe in him. It’s because Mustang is a like-minded individual with a similar goal to her.

He also knows a compliment when he hears one, and he knows Olivier isn’t the type to bluff. He is fully aware that she’s serious. To me, I think he’s incredibly honored and probably a little taken aback. He doesn’t say it aloud, but he trusts Olivier a great deal. It’s not just because she comes from a well-respected family and clearly earned her rank. It’s not just because she’s also an expert strategist and an excellent leader.

She made sure the Elric brothers were safe under her watch--and she listened to them. At the end of the day, that is what matters to Roy: keeping those boys safe and making sure they can achieve their goal.

Can you tell I have a lot of feelings about the Olivier and Roy dynamic and the parallels we see with them? Because I have so many.