#anyway and not only malik but like just in general the fucking. AUGH

[oflgtfol]

altair's fall from grace was so epic. he went from the top dog to the lowest of the low. he went from an idol to be admired, to a fool to be mocked. in one fell swoop he loses his dignity, his reputation, his entire LIFE. everything he had is in SMITHEREENS. and it was his own fucking fault!!!! his selfish inflated go was his downfall

and the only reason he SURVIVES it at all is because of mercy - a mercy only afforded to him at all because of the very skills that had led to his arrogance in the first place. what was his downfall is now his one chance of redemption.

and so he's tasked to kill these nine people as his way to redeem himself. he and everybody else thinks it will be an easy task - after all, he was the best of the best. an assassin of his merit should be able to deal with these people easily. altair agrees because he is STILL blinded by his arrogance - even then, at the lowest of the low, he still believes himself too good to truly have to work for redemption, and the only reason he accepts is because he wants his old life back. he goes through the motions because he thinks they will return his dignity and reputation and prestige back, not because he's actually motivated by redemption.

and then he begins his tasks and finds they're harder than he thought. now that everybody knows how badly he fucked up, how low he's fallen, he no longer commands the respect he once had. the fucking SECRETARIES are sneering in his face and calling him names and mocking his downfall and telling him how badly he deserved it. so he has to crawl his way through every assignment, through every basic task that he once delegated to someone beneath him, all while being surrounded by such vitriol from the ones who he had once stepped all over.

and at first he can't STAND it. he meets every rude comment with another rude comment of his own but without fail he's shut down every time and reminded once again of why he's here in the first place. because even as he's on the path of redemption by carrying out these jobs, he doesn't ACTUALLY care about the "redemption." he thinks if he does the jobs then he will get his old rank back, and then he can wash his hands clean of this whole ordeal and not have learned a thing. because he doesn't see what's wrong with what he did, all he cares about is himself and the luxuries of his old life, and he wants it back as soon as possible

but eventually the jobs get to him. with the constant vitriol he faces from his own people, he finally learns to shut his mouth and not fight back, even if it's only to avoid causing more problems for himself. he finally starts standing down and accepting his new place in the world and among his people.

and then the constant grind of the jobs themselves, the vitriol he then faces from people who are not in the order, and of course from the targets themselves... and he slowly discovers that there's something more going on. these aren't just random jobs. there's a plot going on, and somehow his master is involved in it

and so, over time, the motive behind this mission is no longer "get my old rank back so i can go back to being top dog, hot shit extraordinaire," but instead it shifts towards "i need to uncover this plot and reveal whatever treachery is going on behind the scenes." the SELFISH motive slowly morphs into a SELFLESS motive. and the change is so gradual, there is no overnight decision, it is slowly uncovered with each new job and each new piece of the puzzle.

AND THAT! is why at the end when he takes control of the brotherhood and becomes the new grandmaster at the end of the game, it FEELS EARNED!!! in a way, that ending could almost be seen as inevitable. after all, altair was the top assassin, the old grandmaster's right hand man, it only makes sense that if anyone were to take over it would be him, right? but the JOURNEY there is what's important! he actually EARNED the right to become the new leader. it wasn't because of his skill, it wasn't because of his old arrogance and assumption that he had the ability to lead. it was because he genuinely took the time to learn and change and listen to others around him. he would have NEVER uncovered the plot behind al mualim had he not actually gone through those changes.