I wonder if you got inspired by the Christ's conception and birth for this.

This is such a good piece of writing I cannot believe it only has 38 reviews. I loooved the plot of this story and especially the addition of Ed's two new smaller siblings, as well as the inclusion of "Uncle Roy" (I swear I cried when I found he had married Riza and had two boys, I thought for a bit he hadn't but Royai is inevitable!). Both endings were great, even if I did prefer the more developed one. It is bittersweet though, the fact that Al spent all those years without a real body, and the lost future that should have happened between Ed and Winry... ;-;
Bloody fantastic read, thank you so much for sharing this with us :)

Wow great story. Really enjoyed reading. I thought both endings were really good, but I personally liked the second one more.

It was a bit more angsty and Ed-like in a way. him sacrificing and hiding his burdens for the sake of everyone's happiness. even if it wouldn't work for long it's such and Ed-like thing to do.

but I did enjoy how you approached the 'both lives were me and I need to sort through who I am now' It was masterfully done and I'm glad I read this story. thanks for sharing this with all of us.

ahhhughh this made my heart ache... I can't even right now T-T it makes sense that Winry would marry, but it's painful too. Like I can feel the small twinge of saddness at the lost future they could've had together. *failing at trying not to cry*

wow! this is a really cool start! I love this so far!

Okay, well, that wasn't as painful as I expected. Actually, the end result a few years down the road might be about the same. It's just going to be extra awkward for the boys until then! His idea of confiding in Mustang has a lot of potential, though.

I saw that the title "Alternate Ending" and immediately came back to review on this chapter now while I'm happy, because, knowing your writing, I won't be after the next one. I read the precursor years ago, highly enjoyed it, and was delighted to see that a sequel had been written during my two-year hiatus from the Internet.

I really loved the wistful tone that permeates the whole story. The boys start out with a happy family life like they'd wanted before (even if they couldn't quite predict how it would happen), but it's tinged with sadness. Ed's because he feels incomplete, and Al's and the Curtis' because they worry it might not last. The attitude they have about the possibility of Ed regaining his memory is wonderful, and avoids SO many cliches.

Bald making a comeback was unexpected; however, he suits the story's purposes well. He's threatening enough, with a significant grudge, but not connected to major plot points that would cause political upset.

The relationships are rich and layered, and it is wonderful to see an unguarded Edward interact with the people he loves. The Curtis siblings are wonderful additions who root the family more firmly, but don't overwhelm the plot.

The ending compromise felt fulfilling and hopeful, with a rare happy fate for all concerned. All in all, wonderful work. Excellent AU/devation.

And I suppose it'll all be torn apart in the alternate ending.

'"Your name was—"

"Brother!"'

PERFECT. I love the way this is worded.

I... Thank you. Thank you for giving this wonderful story to us. I think that many of us needed Ed to have a happy childhood for once. Even before their mother died (when they were around 10 I might add), their father had left them for almost no reason. They were toddlers. They were about 4 or 5ish when their father abandoned them. Only for their mother to die 5 years later. Then Al technically died and had to live with the trauma of living in a suit of armour. Ed lost two limbs. They were subjected to lessons from Teacher. Then Ed became a dog of the military. Their life was basically hell. This... this gave them a second chance. So thank you.

This was honestly one of the best stories I ever read. It's around three in the morning and I only just finished plowing through these seven chapters and the one-shot that preceded them (sorry for not reviewing on those, by the way. I'll probably go back and do that later though, since I'm definitely rereading this at some point!). Seriously, every character was so realistically adapted to this version of events, and the narration and dialogue and points-of-view all made so much sense, and I really loved both endings! I can tell you put a lot of effort in this (and you did it so fast, too!), and not a bit of it was wasted. Thank you for taking the time to write this, and I look forward to reading your other brilliant works!

I thought I'd read all of your FMA stories... but then I found this one (and had to read it all in one shot)! It was amazing, as usual, every character is perfect and the writing is top notch. Al's situation really depressed me, however... but I can totally see him making those decisions... but I just want him to get his body back, dangit! *cries* This is one of the best AUs I've ever read. Thanks for posting it!

I absolutely loved this story. I've read another one where Ed has to be reborn and go through the pain of remembering everything, and to be honest I just... love seeing how he copes with it and how his relationships towards his relatives change. You did a really good job at portraying the characters and the way they behaved around Ed! I'm still a sucker for parental!RoyEd so seeing Ed being all happy and respectful towards Mustang made me laugh and grin, and then he got awkward when he got his memories back... aahhh I love these two ;w;

I liked the younger siblings too! Shaya and Ronan, despite the fact we didn't see them a lot, were a nice addition and it gave Ed the opportunity to be a big brother in his second life. I think that having younger siblings helped him keeping his Elric side, since Al was the big brother. All that brotherly love was painful but beautiful, and thinking about Al being in the armor for twenty years is frightening... But if he managed to find peace, even in this condition, I guess we should be happy for him too.

Winry, Izumi, Sig, Mason, they were all careful yet natural with Ed. Izumi as a mother is amazing and she must have felt a bit tense at the beginning of raising Ed, but she's always got a maternal instinct so she made it.

The fears that Ed had were a good thing, because there was no way he couldn't subsconciously get rid of them: Barry, automail surgery and the birth of his mother's homonculus were probably the most scarring events in his life. The way you described his feelings and his emotions and his sickness were just so on point it felt real.

Well I added your story to my favs! Good job, really. That alternate ending is so sad though ;; I suppose this is still Ed being guilty, selfless and self-hating... Anyway. Thank you for this fic!
Plume Sombre

Oh my gosh.
I think I like the first ending better, but i understand the second one as well.
XD
Wow, it was very sad, and I still think it ended better than FMA did. Conquerer of Shambala really hardly helped the ending . . . .
Great fanfiction! Very interesting idea, and it made me go back and rewatch FMA (which brought about a lot of tears and remembered annoyances) so thanks!

Oh this was a wonderful story..

That story was heart wrenching. I loved it. Both endings were good, but I prefer the second myself.