Lost in Ingary

oh edward elric bleeding out and nearly dying impaled by a massive steel beam shaving pieces off his soul and years off his life because he chose not to kill the objectively worst guy he's ever met but he's just like. ah. if this is the price i have to pay for mercy i'm glad to pay it. 16 years old, unshakeable belief in the value of a life, shortest fuse in the world, mad as hell at all times, heart of gold for all of humanity. no one is doing it like him

it had to be kimblee too. it's a necessary part of any hardline pacifist's story to come up against the worst guy ever and still choose principle. anyone less evil would have been worth risking his life for. kimblee wasn't worth it at all. still ed doesn't mind. a lesser story would have made this the turning point where ed learns that he should kill but nope, that's not who he is, this doesn't change anything, the value of a person does not change. he's gonna live with his decision. he knows kimblee's never gonna change he knows his mercy is wasted he knows everyone thinks he's stupid but it's the principle of the thing. and it's the outflow of the action. mercy won't save kimblee but it saved his 4 men. it's a beacon for miles. it saved winry. it can save scar. as soon as 1 person isn't worth it, none of us are because one is all and all is one.

Ed's refusal to go back on his beliefs are what saves him and the world multiple times over.