liquidstar:

its 8:30am and i havent slept and i havent even thought about fma meta in a WHILE but hear me out… the way edward bonds alphonse’s soul to the suit of armor foreshadows how he gets al’s body back at the end. since ed had just seen the truth that means he had just gained his clap-transmutation ability, only for that to be effectively taken away through giving up one of his arms (of course he got automail which made up for it). and at the end al sacrifices his soul to give ed his arm back but specifically to give ed back the ability to use clap-alchemy. and after that ed gives up his ability to use alchemy ALL TOGETHER to get al’s original body back. full circle. the answer was always right there. if you want your brother you gotta give up your alchemy.