#man reading the manga has given me sooo much more to chew on ehehe

[fullmetall]

@nidscure said: ♡ + authority

ed has an extreme mistrust towards most authority figures, mostly stemming from a general reluctance to trust people as a whole. after all, he and al have a pretty big secret to hide; not only is attempting human transmutation the "ultimate sin", it's illegal, and if the wrong person found out the truth behind al's armor and ed's alchemic skill, they'd be royally fucked.

he does not inherently respect or trust people based on their authority over him, which can make him a bit of a loose cannon. this also ties into his firm belief in equivalent exchange - give him a real reason to trust and respect you, and he will; in return, he'll do just about anything for you. however, this doesn't mean that he's stupid; as a "dog of the military", he knows when to kneel and play pretend, he knows which orders are rigid and which ones he can bend however he pleases ( which is frequently the case - working under colonel mustang, one of the very few people who knows of his situation, tends to grant him a bit of wiggle room where it can be given ). he's learned how to play the system to tilt things in his favor when needed.

he gets real mouthy with colonel mustang and his crew because he knows he can get away with it ( to a degree - and tbh his relationships with the members of team mustang deserves its own post ), but he tries to reel it in some when interacting with other military personnel for the sake of keeping his job ( this goes down the drain, of course, as he learns more about the promised day and what that means for amestris as a whole ). after all, his role as a state alchemist is a means to an end, granting him access to research and funds that he wouldn't otherwise have; losing that would mean losing everything he's worked so hard for in the past 3-4 years.

speaking of his role as a state alchemist, ed is not blind to his own level of authority, and aside from using it to further his and al's goal of restoring their bodies, he also uses it to deliver robin hood levels of justice where he can ( like in the youswell mines, or in liore ). he acts on a strong moral compass that often clashes with his role as a human weapon and "dog of the military", which often earns him the general favor of civilians despite his brash nature and frequent fighting.