queenwinry:

the fma fandom likes to paint roy as this goofy dork who’s ‘useless’ and lazy and whatever but…..do we ever stop think about how RIDICULOUS this man is?? 

like…roy got promoted to colonel before he turned 30. that’s INSANE. take any modern day military and every colonel you find is going to be some old fart in his 50s/60s with DECADES of experience. but roy gets the rank while he’s still in his twenties and i don’t think we ever stop to think about how unreal that is. 

and do you think it’s because he can shoot flames with a snap of his fingers? yeah, that might be part of it but it can’t be everything. there are plenty of other examples of combat alchemists who remain at the rank of major (which they’re given automatically) or take forever to get promoted. ed obviously is never promoted even though he’s a prodigy. armstrong is a major throughout the series even though his alchemy is impressive. even basque grande, who despite being a brigadier-general, looks like he’s got quite a few years on him. roy becomes a brigadier-general within two years of the promised day…so we can assume when he’s around 31 or 32. 

that’s insanity. it’s not his alchemy or even his connections that got him that prestige so early on. it’s because he’s damn good at what he does. everything the military needs in a high-ranked officer, roy is. he’s got power, he’s got motivation, he’s got RIDICULOUS intelligence (solely because he’s a prodigy alchemist like ed), and he’s got charisma. 

you don’t promote flameboy because he looks pretty and has a way with words. you promote him because he’s strong, mentally and physically, and can do the job the military wants him to. and everytime the fandom makes him into some dork loser….it’s good for a laugh, sure, but it doesn’t encapsulate his character and his ability at all