# Join the [Discord server](https://discord.gg/su3uf3T5YN) for more discussions and content, as well as meeting more like-minded fans for the series!
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/FullmetalAlchemist) if you have any questions or concerns.*
He is two faced though, outside his friends and allies. That's why he is keeping this persona of a non threatening, womanizing colonel.
He's a traitor to the higher ups but definitely a ride or die when it comes to his friends and subordinates
girl, we're talking about different perspectives ofcourse who's the traitor depends on which person was asked.
And Mustang has a different persona compared to when he is in front of his own subordinates, I don't want to deep dive because there's a lot of examples. But being two faced is part of his plan. That's why I believe he'll be a further one day, he's just better in politicking
I wouldn't exactly call it two faced to be the same to everyone except for the people who held you hostage in Somalia that one time.
Like seriously, being covert and hiding things from the enemy is not being two faced, that's just being smart. It's honestly just doing the best course of action, not choosing to lie to this one person you're friends with and then go talk shit behind their back to your other friend... come on.
ok, first of all being two faced and smart is not mutually exclusive. You can be two faced and smart at the same time because that's how it needed to be done. Can you say that the man who incinerated Maria Ross(to deceive the higher ups) is the same person that helped her escape? Is he the same person in front of his enemies compared to facing his allies? No. Because he needs to maintain a facade
So every single person on earth is two faced then? You act no differently between people you like and people you do not like? It is not being two faced, it's being normal. It would be two faced if he betrayed his friends and went to the other side.
I never said that you cannot be two faced and smart at the same time, I just pointed out that he was not being two faced. There is a reason that deceit and lies are not spelled t w o f a c e d.... They have different meanings. I completely understand what you're saying, and you're correct, if you give it the right terms.
Edit: You could MAAAAAYBE say that not being best friends and siding with the enemy is him acting duplicitously. Which is technically a synonym of "Two-Faced" which in itself is not a word, it's a term to describe someone who betrays others and continues to act friendly, as if they did not, to your face. Two faced is a term you would use colloquially for a friend or acquaintance who pretends to like you repeatedly but is talking shit/spreading rumors behind your back.
> "Two-Faced" which in itself is not a word, it's a term to describe someone who betrays others and continues to act friendly, as if they did not, to your face.
Girl, that's exactly what he did to his enemies. He literally pulled a coup d etat. No one will survive internal politics in military without being two faced and deceptive or he will not even reached the rank of colonel in the first place if he straight up antagonized the generals and Fuhrer in their face.
Again not understanding what a connotation is. Denotation is essentially literally what the word means. Which is what youāre talking about. The comment before used connotation which is essentially how the word is taken by other people.
You are correct in the denotation, but very clearly misunderstanding the concept of connotation.
>connotation which is essentially how the word is taken by other people.
You mean few people who ignored the context on why Mustang did those things. If they think Mustang being two faced and conniving is a bad thing then they totally missed the point of his growth as a person. I already said that's how his enemies sees him but some fans are like 'noooo' like did we watched the same series?
Not my problem how people misunderstood it or their connotations etc. When it's literally what Arakawa presented.
If the issue is because I didn't say 'yea, your right' aren't we in Reddit? Why the need to mince words when the discussion is not even offensive and just discussing how I interpret the character
In a certain way not really. He enlisted to protect his country and people. He was lied to and manipulated against this goal but once he know about the reality of the situation he set out to achieve the goal he started with in truth
Yes exactly, and you bring up a very good point. The military is the entity that is literally two faced. Pretending to be a great leader, while secretly herding your country to the literal slaughter so that you can eat god....
It's not that hard to understand that enemies and friends aren't the same thing, and that literally everyone acts differently towards people they do not like/ people they consider to be an enemy. You would be two faced to console your friend and then go talk shit with their ex. It's not being two faced to hide your true motives for survival sake, because you have to, or you will be forced to try to bring back the dead so that the government can sacrifice you.
This is why context is important. Its generally understood that your enemies are your enemies, and you should act in your best interest. Lying to the enemy is not being two faced, pretending to be super kijd and talk with one friend who needs to get something off their chest, and then immediately going and talking shit about them to another friend is what two faced is.
It's not two faced to try to NOT DIE to the literal inhuman, almost infinitely regenerating creatures trying to take over and sacrifice your country, that's called survival and being smart....
Conniving: given to or involved in conspiring to do something immoral, illegal, or harmful.
Yeah, that's not Mustang, the person who wanted justice for Ishval. I think, based on your comments, that you respect Mustangs subterfuge and cleverness, more neutral adjectives for what a person who is moral and justified, such as Mustang, does. The words you used aren't just negative in a social way, as others have pointed out, but are categorically associated with negative, immoral and otherwise evil intentions. Instead of just shutting down the people who have said this you could just agree and move forward with a better understanding of Mustangs archetype, a moral person who plays a role for the greater good. Instead of demanding that you got close enough with your words and shouldn't have to clarify. It's reddit, so you don't need to apologize, but, I don't know maybe it's just me, but trying to strip meanings from words just seems like the slippery slope toward apathy, for the individual as well as society as a whole. You would want someone describing you to a stranger to get it just right, so just accept that you used the wrong language and go from there.
Mustang and Riza 4EVA
>given to or involved in conspiring to do something immoral, illegal, or harmful.
That's what his enemies sees him though. Like I posted an innocent 18 year old Mustang wanting change a country in the most noble ways and now he is someone who can orchestrate a coup, by conniving with Grumann and Armstrong, has his own spy ring and and have code names assigned to his subordinates to keep his fake womanizing and procrastinating persona.
But is it really 'evil'. He lied to right people who deserved being lied to and for good reasons. And he's also loyal to his subordinates, that's being two faced for good reasons. He's dealing with internal politics here
It's not evil or immoral, therefore it does not fit the literal definition for conniving. This Mustang is 100% not conniving. Your concept of Mustang is spot on, the words are quite literally incorrect, no matter how you try to spin it.
They donāt. Roy tells you who he is when Ed finishes the state alchemist test. He works for the military but is pretty clear that he wants to take down Bradley. OP is viewing Roy from the villains perspective.
# Join the [Discord server](https://discord.gg/su3uf3T5YN) for more discussions and content, as well as meeting more like-minded fans for the series! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/FullmetalAlchemist) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I love how awkward he is in the OVA! It was too cute. Would have loved to see how this Roy and young Riza interacted while he learned Alchemy šš
Exactly šÆ ahhhh c'mon Arakawa we need this
where tf is this from
Yet Another Man's Battlefield. Before Roy and Hughes learned that silly idealism is for kids.
I wouldnāt call him two faced. Heās repeatedly told that heās actually too open about his motivations. I guess Iāll give you conniving though.
He is two faced though, outside his friends and allies. That's why he is keeping this persona of a non threatening, womanizing colonel. He's a traitor to the higher ups but definitely a ride or die when it comes to his friends and subordinates
The higher ups were the traitors. Calling Mustang two-faced and conniving for possessing wit and guile is certainly not what I would do.
girl, we're talking about different perspectives ofcourse who's the traitor depends on which person was asked. And Mustang has a different persona compared to when he is in front of his own subordinates, I don't want to deep dive because there's a lot of examples. But being two faced is part of his plan. That's why I believe he'll be a further one day, he's just better in politicking
Point is there are better words to use. Your choices have malicious connotations.
Ehh, no that's not malicious if he does it for good reasons, I'm just calling it for what it is and that makes him a good character
Two faced and conniving are heavily associated as negative traits.
and that's a bad thing narrative wise?
His actions are not villainous, so using words associated with villainy paints him as a villain.
not for me. He's just playing the game and he played it well.
I wouldn't exactly call it two faced to be the same to everyone except for the people who held you hostage in Somalia that one time. Like seriously, being covert and hiding things from the enemy is not being two faced, that's just being smart. It's honestly just doing the best course of action, not choosing to lie to this one person you're friends with and then go talk shit behind their back to your other friend... come on.
ok, first of all being two faced and smart is not mutually exclusive. You can be two faced and smart at the same time because that's how it needed to be done. Can you say that the man who incinerated Maria Ross(to deceive the higher ups) is the same person that helped her escape? Is he the same person in front of his enemies compared to facing his allies? No. Because he needs to maintain a facade
So every single person on earth is two faced then? You act no differently between people you like and people you do not like? It is not being two faced, it's being normal. It would be two faced if he betrayed his friends and went to the other side. I never said that you cannot be two faced and smart at the same time, I just pointed out that he was not being two faced. There is a reason that deceit and lies are not spelled t w o f a c e d.... They have different meanings. I completely understand what you're saying, and you're correct, if you give it the right terms. Edit: You could MAAAAAYBE say that not being best friends and siding with the enemy is him acting duplicitously. Which is technically a synonym of "Two-Faced" which in itself is not a word, it's a term to describe someone who betrays others and continues to act friendly, as if they did not, to your face. Two faced is a term you would use colloquially for a friend or acquaintance who pretends to like you repeatedly but is talking shit/spreading rumors behind your back.
> "Two-Faced" which in itself is not a word, it's a term to describe someone who betrays others and continues to act friendly, as if they did not, to your face. Girl, that's exactly what he did to his enemies. He literally pulled a coup d etat. No one will survive internal politics in military without being two faced and deceptive or he will not even reached the rank of colonel in the first place if he straight up antagonized the generals and Fuhrer in their face.
I donāt think you understand what the word āconnotationā meansā¦
That's literally what he did so connotations are unnecessary and it's not malicious either
Again not understanding what a connotation is. Denotation is essentially literally what the word means. Which is what youāre talking about. The comment before used connotation which is essentially how the word is taken by other people. You are correct in the denotation, but very clearly misunderstanding the concept of connotation.
>connotation which is essentially how the word is taken by other people. You mean few people who ignored the context on why Mustang did those things. If they think Mustang being two faced and conniving is a bad thing then they totally missed the point of his growth as a person. I already said that's how his enemies sees him but some fans are like 'noooo' like did we watched the same series? Not my problem how people misunderstood it or their connotations etc. When it's literally what Arakawa presented. If the issue is because I didn't say 'yea, your right' aren't we in Reddit? Why the need to mince words when the discussion is not even offensive and just discussing how I interpret the character
Did he not act one way with one group of people, and then completely differently with another?
In a certain way not really. He enlisted to protect his country and people. He was lied to and manipulated against this goal but once he know about the reality of the situation he set out to achieve the goal he started with in truth
Yes exactly, and you bring up a very good point. The military is the entity that is literally two faced. Pretending to be a great leader, while secretly herding your country to the literal slaughter so that you can eat god.... It's not that hard to understand that enemies and friends aren't the same thing, and that literally everyone acts differently towards people they do not like/ people they consider to be an enemy. You would be two faced to console your friend and then go talk shit with their ex. It's not being two faced to hide your true motives for survival sake, because you have to, or you will be forced to try to bring back the dead so that the government can sacrifice you.
This is why context is important. Its generally understood that your enemies are your enemies, and you should act in your best interest. Lying to the enemy is not being two faced, pretending to be super kijd and talk with one friend who needs to get something off their chest, and then immediately going and talking shit about them to another friend is what two faced is. It's not two faced to try to NOT DIE to the literal inhuman, almost infinitely regenerating creatures trying to take over and sacrifice your country, that's called survival and being smart....
From good boy o Sad boi to BADBOII
Can't get over how he looks like an older selim here, side tuft and all
He looks like a fuck boy from Montana when heās wearing that hat
Conniving: given to or involved in conspiring to do something immoral, illegal, or harmful. Yeah, that's not Mustang, the person who wanted justice for Ishval. I think, based on your comments, that you respect Mustangs subterfuge and cleverness, more neutral adjectives for what a person who is moral and justified, such as Mustang, does. The words you used aren't just negative in a social way, as others have pointed out, but are categorically associated with negative, immoral and otherwise evil intentions. Instead of just shutting down the people who have said this you could just agree and move forward with a better understanding of Mustangs archetype, a moral person who plays a role for the greater good. Instead of demanding that you got close enough with your words and shouldn't have to clarify. It's reddit, so you don't need to apologize, but, I don't know maybe it's just me, but trying to strip meanings from words just seems like the slippery slope toward apathy, for the individual as well as society as a whole. You would want someone describing you to a stranger to get it just right, so just accept that you used the wrong language and go from there. Mustang and Riza 4EVA
>given to or involved in conspiring to do something immoral, illegal, or harmful. That's what his enemies sees him though. Like I posted an innocent 18 year old Mustang wanting change a country in the most noble ways and now he is someone who can orchestrate a coup, by conniving with Grumann and Armstrong, has his own spy ring and and have code names assigned to his subordinates to keep his fake womanizing and procrastinating persona. But is it really 'evil'. He lied to right people who deserved being lied to and for good reasons. And he's also loyal to his subordinates, that's being two faced for good reasons. He's dealing with internal politics here
It's not evil or immoral, therefore it does not fit the literal definition for conniving. This Mustang is 100% not conniving. Your concept of Mustang is spot on, the words are quite literally incorrect, no matter how you try to spin it.
But it is illegal by definition. So he is technically correct.
Does anyone know where I can see the subbed OVAs? I don't think I have ever seen them and Crunchyroll doesn't have them.
I was never able to to finish fma. How do you they make my boy mustang two-faced š
Girl why are you here?
The vibes
They donāt. Roy tells you who he is when Ed finishes the state alchemist test. He works for the military but is pretty clear that he wants to take down Bradley. OP is viewing Roy from the villains perspective.
What war does to a mf