#himself. the part that was capable of torturing and killing all those people bc it really was powered by love and desperation to some extent

[sewer-sermon]

I HAVE A LOT OF THEM hi hello....i luv sanford

i imagine him as an ex aahw agent alongside deimos. he was slated to be upgraded to a soldat (deimos was slated to be an engineer), he was never particularly good at being "for" the agencys cause however bc of the way his fellow agents were treated at its expense and thats what eventually lead to him being marked as a dissenter with deimo. was kind of a big brother to fresher clones, would often take punishments and shittalk from their superiors for them just so they wouldn't have to deal with it. (he's very good at that in general for the record, much to his own detriment- he has a tendency to shoulder a lot of shit for other people without complaint just because "well it's better me than them, right?")

he's a very outdoorsy fella, loves nature and is endlessly curious about the world around him. doubly so bc he was so sheltered as an agent, being with SQ is kind of his first official taste of freedom, so he's exploring a lot of stuff about himself at once in the middle of the apocalypse and it's kind of not very ideal but he makes due ODBDKFNFMF. i don't subscribe to the idea that nevada lacks wildlife bc a) there are bats and flies and shit in mpn and b) it's just not very compelling or interesting to me like at all, sorry X( all that to say he likes fish a LOT. he'd love fishing, his most ideal life if he wasn't working with SQ would be having the time and freedom to constantly be on hunting/fishing trips. he wants to go fishing properly at least once before he dies

like a few others have mentioned he has pretty bad volume control & part of it is from hearing damage over time due to his profession (being a demolitionist that doesn't wear proper ear protection, LOL). he's either the most quiet mumbly guy you've ever met or incidentally loud as SIN and there's very little in-between. he's very bad at masking his emotions, he's an extremely blunt and up-front person for the most part bc he doesn't have the energy or capability to lie about them convincingly. very easy to tell when something's bothering him bc of how quiet and withdrawn he gets, even if he's insistent that he's not in the mood to talk about it, he just really can't hide it all that well (and it does piss him off that other people are better at containing that shit than he is, for the record. he doesn't exactly LIKE being vulnerable and open around others, he's VERY dodgy w his trust due to his past w the agency and a very paranoid person overall)

the tattoo on his back is a DNA helix bc it's supposed to be some subversive shit about the fact that he was created as a fodder clone meant to die an untimely death. something about how he's more than what he was made from. i think deimos did it for him, i think they do eachothers tattoos a lot

also he's really into being a torturer. he's a straight sadist, no other way around it, because torture is a wildly impractical means of information retrieval that almost never actually gets you the info that you want out of a person. so like .... he's not doing it because it's useful i don't think 😭 he's fascinated with people and their anatomy, he likes to stay and hang around doc whenever he's working on someone bc he likes learning about how people's insides work so he can mess them up more painfully and effectively. conversely he doubles as a sort of field nurse for his teammates on the battlefield, he just knows a lot about how to patch someone up bc he loves pulling them apart :-)

he keeps his hair long and into locs to protect it and bc he had to shave it buzzed flat at the agency, it's as much as he can do to distance himself from auditor. he got top surgery mostly for practical reasons like No More Backpain and No More Periods (in my hcs the closest thing nevadeans have to a period is regulated by their endocrine system and the tits play a HUGE role in putting out those hormones, so getting them removed effectively kills a Lot of symptoms related to periods bc there's nothing regulating that aspect of the hormones anymore or pumping anymore of them out), and he's so proud of the way his chest looks without The Wretched Organs on now that he REFUSES to wear shirts unless there's LITERALLY no other way around the situation. his waist-shorts-situation-thing is a jacket from deimos he keeps tied around him at all times, "in case he gets cold" (but rly bc he likes deimos LOL).

he's objectum for his hook and considers her family-ish. something like a sibling or a partner in crime. he's objectum for a lotta things, weaponry in general, cars, bombs, most mechanical things.... I THINK CAR FREAK SANFORD IS A BEAUTIFUL HEADCANON TBH. very useful to SQ anyways, he's an expert at getting just about any old hunk a shit to drive, hotwiring god- and he's great at navigating while driving too!!! actually becomes kind of a huge issue when he loses his sight post-mc12 bc he starts feeling extremely useless without being able to drive people places anymore.

that's another thing, he HATES feeling useless. cannot STAND just sitting back and relaxing, always needs to have something to do. leftover AAHW propaganda in his head i imagine, his worth was only in his work output back there- he would rather skin himself than feel like a bum around the base 😭😭 so he's constantly doing little odd-jobs to keep himself busy. being busy w manual labor is how he keeps his head quiet from thoughts that bother him in general

he has HORRIBLE insomnia too. smokes weed for it but even then some nights it gets bad, he usually just goes out and starts working on something if he can't sleep with hopes of exhausting himself with the activity (ie working on a car or chopping wood or something)

he's very acearo in my heart. not very good at distinguishing romantic and platonic feelings so all his relationships are just kinda "meh, whatever"- he rarely ever has interest in putting a label on anything, he'd rather just feel however he feels and embrace those emotions in the moment.

taps mic. does anyone have any made-up lore or headcanons for sanford, i feel like he gets overlooked a lot and i am TIRED of him being "just some guy"!!!!!!!!!!!

[sketching-shark]

Im kinda am getting annoyed how much they r avoiding saying swk actual name. Like whats the point of him having a name if the show is not gonna refer to him with his name besides having moments of characters chastising him using his first name. Ie: just yelling out wukong.

Liek i want to here his various other titles besides monkey king. Its pretty weird how they’re solely just calling him monkey kings when hes just 1 of many monkey kings :/

Sometimes, i wonder if they knew that they could have kept swk w all of complex characteristics without having to downplay any of it so they can uplift mk. (Mk is such a amazing character dont get me wrong i do adore him. But it suck that in a equivalent exchange of a good character we get a frankly a worse vers of sun wukong.

Like not even other versions of swks ever acted(or granted made such repeated mistakes) like how lmk swk do. Like theres no one defending him within the shown(mk doesn’t count bc literally thats his teacher. But even he himself doesn’t realize he’s afraid of becoming like swk.) and as much as lmk writers, producer etc etc. want, they have to actually have to show swk’s side. Bc by the time lmk is over, its going to v hard to give him justice when almost everyone have a right idea of keeping him away bc how much hes a danger to everyone.

I also am a lmk LEMH hater forever. i just think he shouldn’t of have that type of importance to swk when hes just a dude w a pent up superiority/inferiority (he can have both bc yea)complex thats in a parasocial relationship to swk. Like sure he died and all but so did all the other demons in jttw. Hell he didn’t got the vore kill treatment like other demons like azure lion did.

Monkie Kid spoilers below

AWETTHGRFRWETETFGDSD THE VORE KILL TREATMENT THAT'S A PHRASE THAT WILL STICK WITH ME FOREVER ANON.

But YEAH this is a pretty good summary of many things said before anon...in particular it's genuinely disheartening how Qi Xiaotian's experiences have brought him from a state of being excited at the thought he could be like Sun Wukong to now being terrified that he's destined to be like the Monkey King...but then again how could be not be. We're now 4 seasons in and everything just gets worse and worse for the little monkey lego man in large part because of the things his shifu did or failed to do. At this point even with the hints of the torture headband making a significant appearance, trying to defend or even understand SWK's actions in the present kind of seems like a fool's errand, and I genuinely am worried that no backstory Flying Bark gives their version of the Monkey King will provide a satisfactory reason for why he acts the way he does. As it is there's been a pretty consistent flow of popular fan works about the Monkey King getting punched & yelled at & portrayed as completely in the wrong, and well I do not see that ending any time soon given the events of canon material :(

As always I want to note that I'm fully capable of being too negative and pessimistic & forgetting the good sides of SWK's lego show character and that yeah obviously there's a lot of other characters running around with more antagonistic intentions (including perhaps this mysterious person who may be behind Azure Lion being freed as part of some greater scheme). But between this already firmly established characterization of SWK as a liar who's ideas routinely end in nothing but catastrophe for even those he loves and the show itself pretty clearly having little interest in including SWK in the story's adventures outside of an explodey ending or being a problem that needs to be dealt with because of his disastrous decisions (given how much he keeps getting shoved out of the plot), well...you can see why many people think this could easily end with even Qi Xiaotian thinking Sun Wukong is a lost cause.

[mojaves]

could not/did not narrow it down so pick you favorites i guess but 9, 10, 15, 21, 29, 36, 42, 58 and 60 please and thank you (for xavier)

9. Do they cheat to win or play by the rules?

he wouldve played by the rules once but that as a concept has been pretty much beaten out of of him by this point, so he will do whatever it takes to succeed, if anyone has to die because of it then that's just the way it is 🤷 he can't argue with that

10. What do they fantasize about?

his whole life revolves around his work because, unfortunately, he is an arasaka bootlicker [for now] so he doesn't really have any. dreams or desires or whatever. he's too busy to get lost in thoughts like that. and if anything, theyd make him less capable of work, bc it's a distraction and that is the LAST thing both he and his bosses need. he has to be effective and lethal he isnt allowed to think about anything fun ):

15. How would they describe themselves?

honestly he doesnt really know who he is anymore, doesnt really recognise himself in the mirror bc of all the cyberware, and the fact that is brain is mostly soup when it comes to anything that isnt work related. he doesnt even think of himself as a person, he's simply property of arasaka and nothing more, so he wouldnt have anything to say about himself anyway <3

21. What’s one secret of theirs that could potentially ruin a relationship they have?

the fact he has a daughter 👍 not bc of like, ahh!! failed relationship!! kind of thing or whatever. but bc if anyone at arasaka found out [which they did, he just doesnt know that. yet] then she would be in Danger and he would not know what to do about it. he's in hell basically. not really a relationship but like. he doesnt have any friends he's just a machine at that point. what else does he have!!!

29. If they could change one thing about themselves, physical or otherwise, what would it be?

taller. stronger. faster. literally anything that would make him work better. he'd shut his brain off completely if he had the opportunity. he needs to be Effective and if theres anything that could even potentially negatively impact that, he wants it Gone. again. bootlicker. nothing else in his life so he is entirely dedicated to work.

36. What’s their favorite thing about themselves?

everything about him has been crafted/altered by arasaka in some way, and while he doesnt think about it most of the time, he will have a brief moment when having some downtime where he absolutely hates who he is and what he's become. he doesnt even know what parts of himnare actualy Him anymore. the only thing left untouched on his face is his nose and he is Very fixated on that. it's the only thing keeping him sane. also his unwillingness to back down when theres a problem. and the love he has for his daughter which no one could ever get rid of. when he has those brief moments of clarity, those are the few things that keep him going despite it all. and im very normal about it.

42. What’s the typical first impression after meeting this person?

unless you work at/with arasaka, your first meeting with him will also be your last bc the vast majority of the time, he's only let out in order to assassinate someone, or, at the very least, intimidate + torture in order to get information. which sometimes ends in death. and people Know this so of course theyre going to be terrified to see him. if it's someone at arasaka meeting him for the first time though, they usually think he's very polite, if not a little intimidating. but he's there to keep them all safe [for now] so that alone would ease any stress at least,,, For Now

58. If they could change one thing about their life, what would it be?

despite being the bootlicker that he is [for now] he sometimes gets a little bit lost in thought on quiet days and catches himself wishing he never chose to work for arasaka bc it is the Worst thing that ever happened to him. he immediately has to either get himself blackout drunk or kill someone to deal with that and then he's normal again

60. What are some of their simple pleasures?

all the man wants is a comfy bed, a nice cup of coffee, and a hug. thats all!!! and he's not getting any of that!!! he hasnt had anything like that in Years!!! please someone help him

[neverdoingmuch]

hello! I just wanted to ask, which do you think in the mdzs novel has the most questionable morality? like they have done more bad things but they still had kindness in them somehow (?)

oh!! this is a hard one for me anon! i’m always bad at ranking characters but i’ll do my best!  i’m not sure if you were hoping for like a quick answer or a long one but i’m gonna go with a long one bc that’s always fun and i’ll do a tldr if you don’t want to read through all that? yeah that seems like it’ll work because holy shit i didnt mean for it to get so long (and kind of away from the point of your ask too so sorry about that!)

okay! So, the three main contenders for morally dubious characters are, as far as I’ve seen, Xue Yang, Jin Guangyao, and Wei Wuxian. Not a big surprise, I’m sure. While they’re the more obvious options, they do have a lot of parallels and exhibit a lot of the themes and ideas that MXTX was getting at. I mean, I love looking at Jin Guangyao and Wei Wuxian as foils, and even other combinations of the three, so my answer will probably be heavy on the comparisons. I do think it’s worth touching on Jiang Cheng as well though. Also, I’ll try to stay as unbiased as I can because there’s a few characters on this list that I just don’t like … like at all.

Jiang Cheng tends to get brushed over a lot when it comes to some of the horrible things he’s done. From promising to protect Wei Wuxian from dogs only to immediately use them as a threat whenever he wants to to leading a siege on a group of people he knows are completely innocent of any crimes to torturing and killing people for thirteen years, he’s definitely not a good person. His concerns lie first and foremost with himself and his. That doesn’t seem like a horrible thing at first – he should owe his loyalty to himself, his family, and his sect – but it does mean that when the Xuanwu’s cave situation happened, his response was to get mad that Wei Wuxian helped Jin Zixuan and Lan Wangji. (And that’s why Jiang Fengmian got mad at him!). Later on, when pressure comes from the sects regarding Wei Wuxian, Jiang Cheng chooses not to stand with him, which, while understandable, isn’t exactly a kind move to someone who called Jiang Cheng his family and was trying to repay the debt the two of them owed Wen Qing. There’s no denying that he does care about Wei Wuxian, but when forced to make hard choices, he picks what’s easiest for himself. In general, I’d say that his sense of morality is selfish and somewhat flighty, but not necessarily questionable, so I’ll move on!

For the usual suspects, I’ll start with Xue Yang because I’m just going to immediately eliminate him from the running. I’ve seen people interpret his character sympathetically or try to justify some of his actions or the way he turned out, but I honestly just can’t. While you could feel sympathetic towards him because of his childhood, we have Wei Wuxian as a direct contrast to Xue Yang, as well as, to a certain degree, Jin Guangyao. Both Xue Yang and Wei Wuxian were street kids who had a horrible time in their youth, but Wei Wuxian was able to leave that behind him. That’s a lot easier to do when you’ve been adopted into a major sect and afforded comforts above your station (and also have terrible coping mechanisms), but even Jin Guangyao’s revenge isn’t quite as wide-spread and malicious. I know it may seem a bit obvious, anon, but some people really do try and treat Xue Yang like he’s morally dubious which confuses me a lot because how?? Even if we do say that he has suitable cause, one of the messages of the novel is that your past experiences don’t justify your future actions, so even within the context of the novel – a novel which is concerned with highlighting the grey areas of morality – Xue Yang isn’t afforded any sympathy. So, there’s really no way to construe him in a positive light. His only moments of kindness come with his time spent in Yi City with Xiao Xingchen, where Xue Yang doesn’t change much – he may have cared for Xiao Xingchen, but Xue Yang still tortured him as he did so. I never quite read that arc as Xue Yang learning to care or being allowed to be kind again so I’d just say that he lacks both morals and kindness. On that basis we can boot him from this competition. 

Jin Guangyao may have been one of the antagonists of the novel, but he wasn't a completely bad person or like The Worst. His main crimes involved getting revenge for slights against him or his mother – being from Nie Mingjue, Jin Guangshan, or any number of other cultivators. I think that, to an extent, his actions are justifiable. While you can contrast this to the way Wei Wuxian gets called a servant's son, they do differ in the fact that Wei Wuxian is afforded a higher level of protection due to him being favoured by Jiang Fengmian. Additionally, when Wei Wuxian does have his birth used against him, he's usually the person who acted out first anyway. Jin Guangyao was insulted for doing little more than exist and was never the person to act out first, yet still faced a near constant onslaught of insults. I'm not saying his actions were justified by any means, but the reasoning behind his actions is sound. The one thing I will note is that he doesn't let go of his grudges – even when everything is all done and dusted and he has everything that he could possibly want from life, he still holds onto that hatred. I remember seeing a post where someone mentioned that characters who were able to move on and change for the better were able to get their happy ending in MDZS, which isn't relevant here but definitely applies to Jin Guangyao when thinking about why he got the ending he did. I don't agree with the degree to which he enacted his revenge against certain characters and I loathe the whole Qin Su situation. I don't care how much he cries about it, he could've at least told her, but I mainly just pretend that part didn't exist. So, he has suitable cause for at least some of his actions, and his other victims can just be classified as necessary collateral rather than being intentional innocent targets, if that makes sense, but he's definitely vindictive and spiteful.

On the other hand, he did a lot of good, too. He's a side character for the most part so Jin Guangyao didn't get the most screen-time, but we do hear of some of the good things he's done. The main example would probably be the watchtowers. One of the interesting things about Jin Guangyao and Wei Wuxian is that while both of them are capable of kindness, the breadth and scope of Jin Guangyao's is much broader – the watchtowers are an idea that not only showcase how Jin Guangyao's upbringing allows him to see flaws in the cultivation world that the other privileged cultivators can't, but also show how he does care about the people. I've seen a few people try and play it as a spying technique but I don’t really believe that in the slightest. I mean, the point of the towers is to cover the areas where the sects aren't, so I have no idea what Jin Guangyao's people would even be spying on. Anyway, setting up those watchtowers really didn't benefit him any specific way – unless you consider him endearing himself to Lan Xichen and garnering a good reputation with the common folk something that outweighs the absolute nightmare it would have been to make the sects participate in the project to begin with. In a more specific case, Jin Ling's dog was given to him by Jin Guangyao. It's interesting that, despite Jin Ling spending the novel being trailed by Jiang Cheng, the gift that he obviously cares for deeply is from Jin Guangyao. In the Guanyin Temple scene I definitely got the sense that Jin Ling had loved and trusted Jin Guangyao before the truth came out so I'm firmly convinced that he would've been a wonderful and conscientious uncle to him and just generally good to the people who worked for him and/or the commoners.

Okay, now Wei Wuxian!! As far as I've seen, people are relatively good at staying true to his questionable sense of morality. Like with Jin Guangyao, we know that he can be vindictive and pretty excessive when it comes to getting his revenge, but I'm not going to deny that I was definitely rooting for him when he went after Wen Chao and his little gang. The main issue with Wei Wuxian is probably the demonic cultivation – the stigma against it tends to get reduced to it being bad for the user and their temperament etc. etc., but there's more to it than that. I'm no expert on Daoism by any means, but from my understanding desecration of corpses and disturbing the dead is a significant cultural taboo. This isn't just Wei Wuxian doing something no one else can do (though it certainly is true), it's also him doing something no one else should do. I've seen the massacre at Nightless City being added as another tally to his list of crimes, but I honestly think that that isn’t a crime worth adding – he needed to defend himself so he did, simple as that. 

As I mentioned above, Wei Wuxian's kindness is a bit more specific – where Jin Guangyao cares for the people, Wei Wuxian cares for individuals. We see his kindness more clearly, be it because he's the main character or be it because actions are clearer and stronger when it's for a single person or a small group. It's a bit easier, in my opinion, to care about people when you don't have to live with them and face them every day, but Wei Wuxian does. Even though Wei Wuxian led a lot more comfortable life than Jin Guangyao, we never really see Jin Guangyao get his hands dirty in the same way Wei Wuxian does. When a sacrifice needs to be made, Wei Wuxian’s the one who makes it. He doesn't relegate, he does it himself. We know that he would do absolutely anything for those he cares about and that's why he's able to commit a lot of the atrocities he does.

When it comes to deciding between Jin Guangyao and Wei Wuxian for most questionable morality, I think we need to look at the reasons behind their actions. Wei Wuxian’s sense of morality is definitely nowhere near that of the Lans but he has always been driven by his sense of justice and his love for those around him. In that sense, I've always read him as having a flexible sense of morality rather than a questionable one. I'm not sure how much of it ties in with his sense of duty, but it's definitely a lot. Wei Wuxian is, and always will, fill the role that is required of him – be it the childish and sweet younger brother, the talented but flippant older brother, the monster that wins the war, or the fierce protector that gives his all, Wei Wuxian will twist himself into whatever position he's needed in at that moment. Obviously, he went after Wen Chao for his own benefit, and the corrupting influence of the resentful energy does need to be factored into this, but at his core, Wei Wuxian will always value his duty (to his sect, family, friends, and innocents) and doing what is right over anything else. He may have stumbled along the way, but he did manage to form his own path to uphold all the values that he wanted to. Jin Guangyao, on the other hand, is similar to Jiang Cheng in how he's driven by his own motivations for betterment and revenge, albeit with more grace and intelligence. Jin Guangyao may masquerade as being motivated by any number of causes but he will never do anything at his own risk, and he will always be his top priority. So, while it's a close call between Wei Wuxian and Jin Guangyao, I'm going to have to go with Jin Guangyao on this one!

tldr; the fandom favourites for questionable morality are xy, jgy, and wwx so i mainly looked at them. I included jc as well but neither xy or jc demonstrate the dichotomy needed so they got eliminated from the running. Jgy and wwx both commit and are willing to commit horrible crimes as well as being capable of caring for others and being kind. but, where wwx is driven by his sense of justice and love for others, jgy is driven by his own motivations for betterment and revenge, making for a more questionable morality (as compared to wwx's more flexible morality).

[unpeumacabre]

my kingdom for a horse: epilogue

the year is 1601, a messenger has been sent to dongnae, and he has not returned. lord cho-hak-ju advises the joseon king to send crown prince lee chang to dongnae to investigate, but the plot he unravels there threatens the safety of the entire kingdom, and the stability of the dynasty.

a rewriting of kingdom, and lee chang finds love.

Rating: Mature

Relationships: Lee Chang/Yeong-shin

Read on AO3 (bc tumblr might mess up the formatting + more extensive author’s notes on the story)

Count: 4k

<-- previous

(included my author’s notes at the end this time since this is the epilogue, and i had a lot of feels lol)

“He was a brave man,” Lee Chang says softly. The girl stares quietly down at the square of blue fabric, slightly stained with blood – even though he had scrubbed and scrubbed, the guard’s blood had not faded – and she says nothing.

The guard’s wife has her hands around the girl’s shoulders, and she herself shakes with the force of her crying.

“He was a brave man,” he says again, more gently, and the two of them look up at him. There are tears trailing down the face of the girl, now, and she grips the talisman tightly in her chubby hands. “We found his body again from where we had buried it, and we would like to arrange the funeral for him. He will be given every honour that befits him, for he died to save my life, and I will be eternally grateful to him for his sacrifice.”

“Your Highness,” the woman says, but she cannot continue. Tears choke her throat and render her next words unintelligible. Lee Chang waits patiently for her to compose herself.

“Your Highness, thank you,” she finally whispers, throat hoarse with her tears. “Thank you for bringing Mun-pyo back to us. Thank you for your generosity.”

“Don’t thank me,” Lee Chang says uncomfortably. “It is the least I could do. You have lost the breadwinner of your household, and so it is only right that I give you enough to support yourself and your family. Please – no - ” He catches onto her forearms as she attempts to lower herself in a bow.

“Take it as the fulfilment of my debt to your dear husband,” he says to her, as she lifts her tear-stained face to his in bewilderment, “for I owe him my life.”

***

When he returns to his chambers, he is exhausted, both physically and mentally. The day had been spent meeting and speaking to the families of the three guards who had died to save his life, all those weeks ago when they had been journeying to Dongnae. The men had left behind two wives, two daughters and one son between them, and an aged mother who had broken down completely when told of her son’s death. Lee Chang had arranged for gifts of gold and silk to be given to the families, in compensation for the loss of their men, and for the old lady, he had given her care over to the girl who had given him information in Naesonjae. She was an orphan, all alone, and the two women had taken to each other immediately. The girl herself he had given employ in the palace, under the eye of a lady-in-waiting he knew to be kind and just.

Lee Seung-hui had been found in the dungeons of Hanyang, in one of the dark, damp cells buried deep within the surface, with the basest of criminals as his cellmates. Eventually, under strict and torturous questioning by Commander Min, he had cracked, and finally admitted his motivations for spreading the disease. It turned out that, three years ago, the event that had ended the war had been the formation of a large corps of monsters from the sick people of Sumang village – a plot devised by Cho Hak-ju, and carried out by Lee Seung-hui. It had been fear of exposure of the part the physician had had to play in such a dastardly plot, that Cho Hak-ju had used to coerce Lee Seung-hui into beginning yet another epidemic that had eventually devastated the south.

“One of the men was desperate, and ate the flesh of one of the monsters I was conducting my studies on,” Physician Lee had told the commander. “Then we found that it was eating their flesh that transmitted the plague far more effectively than infecting them manually. Lord Cho wanted to use that to his advantage, to create a distraction in the south that would draw His Majesty’s attention away from his plans in Hanyang. And he had hoped…” Here, the physician’s eyes had wandered towards Lee Chang, who had been standing unobtrusively in the background and watching the interrogations. “He had hoped that one of the monsters would keep the Crown Prince occupied in the south, far away from Hanyang, and that eventually, he would be killed.”

Lee Chang had exhaled then. Finally, the pieces were falling into place. Finally, he understood all.

He had granted Lee Seung-hui the mercy of death, a quick, private death at the hands of Commander Min’s sword. It seemed the thing to do, for the physician no longer wanted to live, and indeed, seemed to have gone half-mad with anguish and self-flagellation at having been the cause of so many deaths. He did not tell Seo-bi of anything he had learned in their interrogations, choosing to spare her the cruelty of the truth, and told her instead that he had died in prison from exhaustion.

He rather thinks she knows something of the truth, but chooses not to pry further. She is perfectly happy in her ignorance.

Lord Ahn Hyeon had also been implicated in the events of the war by the physician’s testimony, and at first, Lee Chang had not known what to think of his former master. The news had brought him anger and betrayal, at first, terrible anger, and a feeling that he had not truly known the man to whom he had looked up his entire life. That this man had been capable of such brutality and mercilessness towards his fellow countrymen had been something Lee Chang had been unable to reconcile with the gentle but stern guardian figure of his youth.

Then, after his initial grief, he had calmed himself, and thought more rationally. It was likely that Cho Hak-ju had been the mastermind of such a scheme, as he alone had the sly, ruthless mind that would have thought of such a plan. Furthermore, reading between the lines of the physician’s testimony, it had apparently taken days for Lord Ahn Hyeon to give in to Cho Hak-ju’s wheedling, and for him to agree to sacrificing the villagers of Sumang village. It had clearly been something he had been unwilling to do.

Lee Chang had forgiven him somewhat, then. He knows that he himself knows nothing of war, real war, despite his experiences in the south – the desperation of fighting against an enemy they had had no chance of triumphing over, the terrible choice they had had to make – sick villagers in Sumang, or the lives of the rest of the Joseon people.

Besides, it turned out to be a moot point in the end. Lee Chang had received a missive a few days after his coronation that had informed him that Lord Ahn Hyeon had passed peacefully in his sleep, the day prior. He had collapsed from stress and overwork, and it was found that he had been suffering from a chronic disease of which the cure was unknown. It had been a quiet, pain-free death, by all accounts, and a fitting end to the dignified and noble man whose only stain on his perfect reputation was something that two people in the entire world knew.

Speaking of ghosts from the past, Beom-pal had turned up in the capital the day before the coronation. Lee Chang remembers the encounter with a kind of resigned amusement. The man had had an unlucky encounter with a troupe of monsters, which had forced him to live in a cave behind a waterfall for weeks until he had been rescued inadvertently by soldiers sent from the capital to clear out the remaining monsters in the south. Beom-pal had emerged a hardened man, lean and fit, with little of the spoiled naïve Haewon Cho scion he had been before still in him.

Lee Chang had promoted him to Minister for Taxation, and summarily fired the previous one on the spot.

“I need support from those who once supported Cho Hak-ju,” he had explained later, drinking tea with the Minister for War, now a good friend and staunch ally of his, “and who better to bring them on my side than the last remaining member of the Haewon Cho clan? Besides, Minister Han was not to my taste. It was as good a reason as any to dismiss him.”

The man is indeed a far better minister than his predecessor, for he learns quickly and now knows how to carry out his duties in a manner that pleases Lee Chang. He still chases after Seo-bi, however, something that never fails to amuse Lee Chang whenever Seo-bi visits him and, with extreme confusion and worry, describes a new malady that Beom-pal has acquired in the past few days and needed her assistance with.

“First it was an infection of a cut on his hand, next a burn on his thigh, and now gonorrhoea,” she reports with obvious distress. “I worry for his health. He must take better care of himself!”

Lee Chang wonders how someone can be so intelligent, and yet so dense at the same time.

For she is indeed bright, and using her intelligence to great ends. Using their experiences in the south and the select few live monsters the soldiers had been commanded to bring back for her, she has been studying the disease that creates the monsters.

Lee Chang misses her dry wit and sharp tongue, honestly – for the past few days she has been gone, visiting the Yalu River to investigate a potential breeding ground for the resurrection plants, but he reminds himself that she is due back any day soon, and that reassures him.

Mu-yeong and his wife are now living in the palace, happily caring for their child, and spending all their days in oblivious marital bliss. It is almost impossible to be around Mu-yeong these days, for all his attention is – rightfully so – completely and wholeheartedly devoted to his wife and child. And so Lee Chang has been forced to take on another, lesser personage as his guard, a younger man who had been Mu-yeong’s protégé and good friend.

He is finding the lack of petty thievery of his daily desserts strangely vexing. Perhaps he will pay a visit to Mu-yeong’s rooms one of these days, and brave the infuriating cloud of marital bliss that hangs around his chambers, just to see his old friend. They had had beef cakes for dessert the other day, after all. Lee Chang remembers that it is Mu-yeong’s dear wife’s favourite. Perhaps he will pay them a visit, one day soon.

And as for Yeong-shin…

A lump rises in Lee Chang’s throat as he thinks of Yeong-shin, and he takes another drink from his cup. The soju burns its way down his throat and brings a pleasant buzz to the edge of his senses, but it is not enough to wipe his memory.

Not that he would want to.

The past two months without Yeong-shin have been… difficult, to say the least. At first he had felt nothing, thought nothing, and busied himself entirely with the running of the country. It had been easy at that time, after all, for there were always power-hungry officials trying to latch on to the throne, and petty land disputes, and aid to be delivered to the south, to occupy his attention. His days had been packed with his duties, and so he had had little space in which to think on his lost companion. Even in the nights he had had little effort to drag up his old hurts, for exhaustion overtook him the moment he fell into bed.

But as his position became more secure, and things began clearing up in the south – and elsewhere, where he was working on resolving the famine that had been plaguing the other parts of Joseon – there came more time to think, and more time to brood.

He regretted nothing, of course. Yeong-shin would have left anyway, with or without the kiss, and Lee Chang had not wanted him to go without at least taking some piece of Lee Chang with him. But it still hurts, to know that he is not wanted.

All his life, he has felt nothing like this, and he likely never will. Their bond is one forged through the flames of death and destruction, and any other romance seems insipid and lifeless in comparison. The officials parade their daughters in front of him often, attempting to find just one who will take his fancy and force him to break his vow, but it is to no avail. The more they flutter their fans and turn their skirts and peek out demurely at him from under beautiful eyelashes, the colder he feels.

A younger him would have appreciated the attention, he supposes. A younger him would have leaped at the opportunity, would have begun a harem like his father, and his father before him, perhaps. But now he is older, and he is tired.

This will likely be his life until he dies, he thinks, and it is not an unhappy thought. He has his friends around him, and a son to coddle and teach when he grows older – and, he has sworn to himself, he will be present for this boy in a way his own father had never been for him. He will give the boy all that he wants, and if that includes his time and his love, so be it. There can be nothing too good for his son, the boy who will be the heir to his legacy.

Yet despite all that, he realises suddenly, he is painfully and terribly lonely.

The thought brings him peace, as if giving voice to his feelings is an absolution in itself, and he looks down at his cup as he fills it once more.

“To loneliness,” he says, with a bitter smile, and his voice echoes around the empty room.

“To not being lonely,” comes a voice from behind him, and a hand reaches out and takes the cup from him.

Lee Chang jerks around, his hand flying to the hilt of his sword, a thousand thoughts running through his mind. It is impossible that someone could have broken through the guards in the palace, not to mention the guard at his door – why, he’s going to kill Mu-yeong when – if – he manages to get out of this, for leaving him to be guarded by a mere youngling of a man who could not even stop one bloody intruder from breaking in –

Then he stops, and blinks. He cannot believe his eyes.

Yeong-shin throws back the drink, and wipes his mouth. He nods approvingly at the cup, and sets it back down on the table. It makes a soft thud as it makes contact with the wood.

Lee Chang’s tongue lies leaden and heavy in his mouth, and at first he cannot speak.

“You - ” he finally manages, and stops there.

Yeong-shin sits down across him, and Lee Chang’s eyes follow him, unbidden, against his will, watching as if to make sure he does not disappear on the next blink. But he remains very real, and very much not a dream.

“You need better security,” Yeong-shin says seriously, picking up the jug of soju, and pouring himself another full cup. This he downs again with a flourish, and Lee Chang watches his throat bob with the swallow. He feels a thin layer of sweat begins to form on his skin.

“You grew a beard,” Lee Chang manages, a particularly asinine contribution to the conversation.

“So did you.”

Lee Chang fingers his beard self-consciously, and does not reply.

“It suits you,” Yeong-shin says abruptly, and makes an abortive moment as if to reach for the jug of alcohol again, but he draws his hand back at the last moment, and sets the cup aside instead. There is a beat of silence.

“Where did you go?” Lee Chang asks lowly, and the rasp of his voice is grating in the silence.

Yeong-shin turns his head, so his face is cast in shadow, and all that Lee Chang can see is the line of his profile, silhouetted against the dim light from the lamp.

“Back to Sangju. To my village. To find my brother.” His knuckles are white where his fingers grip onto the wood of the table. “He is not alive,” he says bitterly. “First I searched Gongju, but the magistrate said they’d never caught a boy stealing a jade hairpin from his wife. At first I thought him to be lying, but the guards’ stories aligned with his. And so I went back to Sumang.”

Sumang, Lee Chang realises, and he feels something horrible coil up in his gut.

“What did you find?” he asks, his voice quiet.

“Nothing. I found nothing.” Yeong-shin’s voice is toneless; there is no expression on his face, and somehow that makes it worse. “All I was chasing were ghosts. Beom-il lied – ah, I was a fool to ever believe him.”

Lee Chang feels his fingers twitch, and before he is able to stop himself, he has reached over the table, and his hand closes over Yeong-shin’s own. There is a roughness to his skin that Lee Chang finds foreign, calluses that mark him as a rifle-wielder, cuts and scars of a history Lee Chang does not know. But his hand is warm, and it feels familiar in his grasp.

Yeong-shin looks down at their hands, clasped against the grain of the wood – one dark and scarred, one paler but no less hardened. Something in his body softens, then, almost unnoticeable, were it not for the fact that Lee Chang knows his every, subtle movement by heart. Under the weight of Lee Chang’s palm, Yeong-shin’s hand relaxes, and the tension bleeds out of him – although he still carries himself ramrod-straight and alert.

“I am sorry for your loss,” Lee Chang murmurs, and the words have never felt more hollow. Yeong-shin side-eyes him.

“Do you remember what you said to me two months ago?” he says suddenly, standing up. He crosses to the window and stares out into the darkness. He remains motionless, calm, steady as a rock in the face of a snowstorm – and abruptly Lee Chang feels a wave of irritation wash over him at his composure. It is simply unfair, Lee Chang thinks furiously, that he is the only one so affected by Yeong-shin’s presence, when Yeong-shin is so clearly unperturbed by his!

So caught up is Lee Chang in his inner train of thoughts that he does not answer, and he only realises that Yeong-shin is waiting for a reply to his question, when the man turns and looks questioningly at him. Lee Chang blinks, and comes back to himself.

Then he notices how tightly Yeong-shin’s jaw is clenched. Sees how the tip of his forefinger is beating an agitated rhythm, ever so slightly - but still detectably - against the wood of the windowsill.

“I remember,” he says carefully, weighing every word, for every syllable he utters drops heavily into the silence of the room, “that I confessed my love for you. But I also remember that I asked for nothing in return – that I expected nothing in return.”

“And I told you that I needed time to think,” Yeong-shin says.

“Yes.”

“It has been two months.” There is something in his voice that Lee Chang cannot quite place, and Lee Chang feels a vice begin to clench around his heart.

“Yes. Are we going to keep exchanging statements of fact, or did you come here with something else to say?” Somehow, he keeps his tone light.

It startles a sudden startled harsh bark of laughter out of Yeong-shin, and the sound is surprisingly bright. The snow drifts quietly past the window, piling up on the windowsill, and lending a soft glow to the light that suffuses Yeong-shin’s skin. He looks almost regal then, despite his tattered clothes and rough features, as if he belongs there in Lee Chang’s quarters, and the vice tightens.

“You are a prince – no, the king of Joseon,” Yeong-shin says softly, running his fingers absently on the windowsill, but his eyes are intent on Lee Chang. “And I am a chakho. Nothing more than a commoner.”

Ah. He thinks, finally, he sees where Yeong-shin is going with this.

Something begins to unfurl in his chest, filling his body with a warmth he has not felt in months. Lee Chang stands, slowly, and makes his way over to the window – quietly, gently, as if approaching a wild animal with hand extended, an animal which could either bite or flee at any moment. But he does not think Yeong-shin will do either of those things.

“And so, in our time apart, you have thought of all the reasons why we should not be together,” Lee Chang says lightly, “and you have convinced yourself that these reasons are unsurmountable.”

The stubborn silence from Yeong-shin is enough. He does not make any move to reach out to Lee Chang, but his eyes follow Lee Chang’s movements as he crosses the room, and there is an almost hungry light in his gaze that urges Lee Chang on.

Lee Chang reaches his side, and lays a hand on his arm. The man startles in reaction, just a minute tremor, but because they are connected, Lee Chang can feel his every movement. They are so close that he can feel Yeong-shin’s body heat radiating against his skin, and hear every quick shallow breath he takes.

“I have not, however,” Lee Chang says, “heard anything of what you feel for me.”

“You have not married in the last two months,” Yeong-shin says, looking away and out of the window again. The snowfall is deeper today than it had been all those weeks ago, when Lee Chang had stood by the same window and refused to look at the door till his room was empty. The footprints the palace maids and guards leave – they stay in the snow, now, and remain even as fresh snow falls.

“Yes,” Lee Chang replies, suddenly losing patience. “It is unlike you to be so unsure, Yeong-shin. What is it you wish to say to me?”

“When I lost my brother,” Yeong-shin says jerkily, his gaze blank and unseeing, “The pain was… like nothing I’d ever felt before. I’d sworn to protect him, but in the end, my promises meant nothing, and still he was taken from me. Yeong-ryu… he relied on me, and I could do nothing for him still. Even with all my strength and weapons, there was no one I could save.

“And you…” Yeong-shin’s eyes drift shut, as if he can no longer bear to look out the window. “I can protect you, for now, but there is no guarantee that I can do so indefinitely. The officials will not let you live without a wife, and they will plot and scheme until they can take control of the throne, and if you died… if you died, I do not think I would be able to go on living.”

Lee Chang feels as if he has just been struck by lightning.

Finally he sees Yeong-shin laid bare before him – unsure of their future together, unwilling to be the reason for Lee Chang’s demise, and yet, warring with that fear because of his desire to protect. At the core of this bright, shining, powerful man is someone who is afraid of loss, for it has been his constant companion all these lonely years.

But Lee Chang is different. Yeong-shin will protect him, and he will protect Yeong-shin in turn.

Gently, Lee Chang lifts his other hand to Yeong-shin’s face, and cradles his cheeks in the palm of his hand. Yeong-shin’s eyes open, slowly as if hypnotised and against his will, and he fixes his gaze on Lee Chang’s face.

“I am the king,” Lee Chang whispers, and every word is infused with conviction, for his words come from the heart. “What I want, I receive, and if I want you, there will only be one thing that can stop me – you. You know I will not let the ministers or the people have any say in my private affairs. If I am to be allowed some, occasional, arrogance – why, I have been a good king, so far, and I have done nothing deserving of complaint. I have named my heir, and he is under great protection here under my roof. There is no one who I will allow to have any say in our relationship.” He grips Yeong-shin tighter to him, as if it will stop the subtle tremors that have begun in the other man’s body. “Be mine to treasure,” he murmurs, his head lowered, their foreheads brushing feather-light against each other. “And I will be yours to protect.”

There is a long silence for a while.

“I did miss you,” Yeong-shin says quietly. “Every day. I missed you fiercely. At first I thought I missed the loss of a fellow warrior, someone I respected and loved as a shield brother. Then my longing became more terrible, and I thought it was because I missed you as my charge, as someone to protect. But the truth is not so simple.” He turns his hand, palm-up, so that his fingers intertwine with Lee Chang’s.

“I love you,” he says simply, and Lee Chang must forgive him for not meeting his eyes as he makes his confession.

“And I, you,” Lee Chang sighs, as he leans in for a kiss.

There are many problems as yet unresolved. Lee Chang knows that this will not be the last time their insecurities and inner demons – both his and Yeong-shin’s – damage their relationship, or set them back. There is as yet so much unknown about the resurrection plant, and out there, somewhere, monsters may still be made. The officials wilfully persevere with their scheming and plotting behind his back, and he must continue to strengthen his precarious hold on the throne, all while keeping safe the people who matter to him.

But those are problems for a future him, and a future them. Right here, right now, with Yeong-shin in his arms and the snowflakes falling on the footprints in the snow, Lee Chang feels invincible, and he feels like a king.

A/N: ahhhh it's finished!!! thank you to everyone for sticking with me all the way (readers both old and new) - this has been my first experience with the kingdom fandom and i have to say i've enjoyed every single moment of it. y'all are seriously such gems and it's been amazing hearing your thoughts, speaking to y'all etc ahhhh <3 this was my first (and probably last) kingdom fanfic unless inspiration suddenly seizes again, lol, but this pretty much covered all my kingdom feels.

(shameless self-promotion) and i'm currently writing another monster fic for mdzs/cql so if you're in that fandom i hope to see you again!! please talk to me here on tumblr and seriously, i love all of you so much, thank you!!

read on for long rambly thoughts on this monster:

writing this was sort of a cathartic purge for me, after binging kingdom... i loved lee chang's character so much, honestly, and i wanted to give him a proper love story. i have to be honest, it wasn't till i went onto ao3 that i even considered changshin as a pairing, but after i read a few fics i was like, i'm in too deep ;;; and i wound up wanting to write a story that was a slow evolution of their relationship, from reluctant acquaintances, to brothers-in-arms with unconditional trust, and then slowly, to love. which is why it took yeong-shin so goddamn long to realise he loves lee chang, sksksksksk

but yeah i thought it was far more realistic to write this kind of love story rather than one in which they fell in love at first sight, especially in the (somewhat) au i built, where it probably never even occurred to either of them that (1) they were possibly attracted to men, and (2) that they should even be thinking about love in this period of time wtf ;_; but yeah i thought what would draw them to each other was sort of a more intellectual, spiritual attraction, rather than one based purely on lust (even though they're both very good-looking, i fully admit)...

at first i was dissatisfied with the ending, because it seemed a bit lukewarm, but then on reading it again i thought it had the kind of hopeful, tender feeling which i wanted to conjure... although y'all might feel differently?? I KNOW, I WOULD HAVE WANTED A MORE FLESHED OUT KISS SCENE TOO AHHHHH in my head i was like wtf is this, is it a barbara cartland novel??? what's with that shitty regency-esque kiss description??? but in the end it didn't feel natural with the style of writing and the flow of the chapter to write more into the kiss, i'm sorry, i think i'm just a coward T.T but yes!! please let me know your thoughts!! (and thank you for reading all the way, i know i always ramble lmao)

[firebirdsdaughter]

What’s hilarious [read: ridiculous] to me…

… Is that Horobi and Yua actually follow a fairly parallel path in their responses to their situations (I had a whole realisation about how Horobi-Fuwa-Naki-Yua are a four way parallel today; Horobi-Fuwa are parallels and Naki-Yua are parallels, but then their actions crisscross parallel). But there’s a massive double standard in how the two characters are reacted to… Despite the fact that Yua is a fully mentally matured and developed human adult and Horobi is an AI that has been hacked and brainwashed for the past decade in a way that forcibly stunted his development.

Yua was in a horrid and toxic work environment w/ an abusive boss. Now, admittedly, Gai kept a large amount of his worse deeds from her and to a point one could justify it as her thinking she’s acting for the greater good… Until we get to the part where it becomes abundantly clear she knows very well that what they’re doing is at the least morally questionable… But doesn’t try to defect at all, even to the point of insisting it’s of her own free will. Yes, she had a chip in her head, too, but given her reactions to him torturing Fuwa, she doesn’t seem to have known he could do that, and she didn’t know about Naki, nor did she have an AI drone in her mind. Now this is not to blame Yua—in fact, the point is that she was a victim in a bad situation. Her struggle to get out of there was fairly realistic given her situation. But she had the experience to know that what they were doing was wrong. That makes it tragic in it’s own way, yes, that she was under extreme stress and very conflicted, but she was aware of that. She was a fully developed adult. She deliberately pursued Izu w/ the intention of destroying her, and would have had Gai not said the wrong thing and set Fuwa off. And Izu was frightened and trying to run away. She resists Fuwa’s repeated attempts to snap her out of it.

Rightly so, people noted Yua’s situation, were upset for her and felt bad for her. When there were jackasses saying she should die, people called it out as bad. People were cheering for her to get away from Gai. People were happy when she did. And this includes me. I blocked people I saw shitting on Yua and saying she should die bc what the fuck, guys, she was in a seriously messed up situation.

Once free of Gai, Yua is uncertain what to do and decides to try and ‘make up’ for something she feels responsible for in a rather questionable way. She ends up helping the Ark rise and wreak havoc. Still people recognise that she couldn’t have known that would happen. Poor Yua’s been through a lot.

Meanwhile, Horobi is hacked and brainwashed by the Ark twelve years ago. She uses him to cause Daybreak. He is an AI being controlled by a larger AI designed to control HumaGear like him. Unlike and adult human being pressured and manipulated, he is literally incapable of thinking outside the Ark’s will. The Ark has complete control. Even if he did have any experience to compare w/ before, the Ark erases it. He has no frame of reference besides the Ark, no development of any kind to evaluate his situation w/. Even when Jin becomes important to him, everything is through the lens of the Ark, the Ark is more than a god to him. The brainwashing is so deep that even when disconnected for a bit, he can’t be anything besides blindly devoted. Talks about how the Ark is absolute. When confronted w/ something that causes uncertainty, he goes into a full on mental breakdown—literally, should have been a first clue that emotions were never going to come easy for him.

Eventually, he does end up w/ enough experience to just start to begin to break free. Manages to act completely on his own for the first time in his life—not an instinct that the Ark swooped in to take advantage of, he gets to go through w/ it on his own. And he’s floored. He literally cannot fathom why his body moved on its own, as far as he can tell. Can’t understand the fact that he wanted to do something. This is recognised as a big deal (one of the only times anyone tries to actually talk him out of things, in fact, unlike Yua, where there was a lot of effort). Horobi begins to wonder about things outside the Ark’s will, about himself, which he’s never considered before… Only to have it turn out his son was plotting to have the Ark possess him and then kill him to kill her. This completely upends any development he had. He’s re-hacked and rendered as largely a drone when not being possessed.

Finally, someone decides to put effort into him (kinda…) again. And, in a situation that heavily parallels Yua, he ends up finding it in him to break free of the Ark. Only… Again, a lot like Yua, it’s not a clean break. He’s still stuck w/ the past, the conditioning, and the effects of what happened. Additionally, as later becomes clear, his struggling w/ feeling emotions, which he has been carefully conditioned to reject and have no experience w/, for the first time. He’s mentally unstable and volatile. Now, in the show, what happens is the result of Azu/the Ark’s manipulations and people making poor decisions (and I do think you can make an argument for the fact that the Ark was intentionally keeping Horobi from feeling/having any experience w/ emotions to make him even more of a wreck later on), and poking a very volatile bear (well, a highly traumatised child soldier AI who has no fucking clue what emotions are to the point it feels like an outside being controlling him somehow), he lashes out, and Izu calmly stands there and deliberately takes a hit she very clearly sees coming. General chaos ensues. From Horobi’s perspective, the thing he’s been trained to think will get rid of the uncertainty and emotions etc. not only doesn’t work, but it makes him feel worse, and bc he has no other way he knows how to respond, he becomes more aggressive in rejecting those feelings. And then Jin dies, and he completely breaks down.

The reaction he gets? People calling him evil and horrible and saying he should die. That e’s choosing to do these things. People who talk about how Yua can’t really be held accountable, how she was coerced, look at a literal brainwash victim and say he choose to do those things.

Now, obviously, there are differences, which resulted in the different out comes—obviously the whole, one is a fully developed human adult and the other one is an AI. One was externally conditioned, the other, again, literally brainwashed. One had someone fighting to convince them to break free of their situation on a regular basis, repeatedly, constantly, the other didn’t. Yua was always going to have an easier break than Horobi, bc she had more mental and emotional maturity, but bc of that, esp in regards to actions done whilst under the ‘control’ of others, she has more responsibility for her actions bc she was capable of identifying them as wrong.

Now, of course, both situations are bad for the people involved. Both of them are victims.

But the issue is that people seem to be all over how Yua was a victim, Yua was mistreated… While attacking Horobi (and being upset about Izu dying is one thing, although, again, the person really responsible for that was Azu/th ark(well, Gai for creating her), Horobi was pretty much used as a weapon there, but this is for stuff he did while mind controlled).

And I used Yua just bc she and Horobi had the most parallel responses to their situations. The same goes for being able to see Fuwa as a victim, or Naki (so if Naki is the one who gave Horobi the ZetsumeRise Keys, does that make them responsible for Operation MaGear, or bc they gave Horobi the ForceRiser and said to use it on Jin, are they responsible for that? Bc that’s the logic of blaming Horobi for Daybreak), or Raiden, or even Aruto for that time he got hijacked via MCH. Any of the hacked HumaGear who were turned into MaGear.

Just… The concept of seeing how all of those people are victims in the situation… But blaming Horobi? Like… Not being interested in Horobi is one thing. Obviously, no on is going to be as madly in love w/ him as I am. It’s the act of not recognising him as being a victim while recognising everyone in similar situations as victims. It’s saying he was responsible for Daybreak, treating him like the Ark’s will was his (I’m literally having flashbacks to comments calling Horobi’s whole death ‘Horobi’s plan,’ even though by that point we literally knew the Ark was an entity that existed). Like… They literally confirmed it in show as not being that. Horobi is a mind control victim. What someone’s personal opinion of the character outside of that is another matter. But the fact is that he was mind controlled by the Ark and that the things he did under her control cannot be objectively called things he chose to do. Whether someone thinks he would have chosen them if he weren’t mind controlled… Esp given how all his actions of own choice were about protecting Jin, I personally disagree. But the show has been very explicit that he was mind controlled, and that he had no clue how to handle emotions (to the point he didn’t even seem to know what they are), so being able to understand that all those other people, esp the ones who went through similar things, are victims… But Horobi’s to blame for what he did? That’s just ridiculous.

And don’t even get me started on how anyone could ever see Gai as being a bigger victim than Horobi.

[mrdisha0]

The life story of Alexander the Great Part III

The life story of Alexander the Great Part III

After the death of Dara, and the elimination of all competitors to the throne of Persia, Alexander took the title of «Shahanshah», meaning «King of Kings», and quoted many of the customs and traditions of the Persian, whether relating to clothing, food or protocol, and ordered to apply in his court, perhaps the most prominent was Kissing the hands of the highest standing and prostrating to him, a custom the Persians followed with the Shah in particular, and since he became the holder of this title, he ordered his men to follow this habit with him. The Greeks considered that this salutation was only permissible for the gods, and that Alexander exalted himself to the point of worship when he demanded its application, and many rejected it, renouncing their leader and boycotting him, forcing him to abandon it eventually. Alexander discovered a plot to assassinate him, one of his commanders, Philot Ben Parmenion, who did not hesitate to execute him, due to the arrival of several reports about him in the past talking about his intention to kill Alexander, was the discovery of the latter plan was the straw that broke the camel's back. Philot was tried by a committee of senior officers, tortured to reveal the names of his assistants, then stoned to death, and some sources state that he was stabbed with a spear. Philot's execution led to the necessity of the execution of his father Parmenion, who was commissioned by Alexander the Order of Hamedan, in order not to revolt and revenge, and sent him to kill him quickly. One of the most notable events during this period, which shed the eye of Alexander, was the murder of the man who saved his life during the Battle of the Granicus River in Asia Minor, the Black Clitus, during a quarrel between them in Samarkand, when both of them were drunk. Alexander from his drunkenness, halo his hands and felt great remorse. Later, as he traveled and conquered new cities in Central Asia, Alexander discovered a new plot to assassinate him, this time put him by his servants, and his own historian, Calisthenis of Oleanthosi, was found to have been involved in the plot, but modern historians have not been unanimous. It comes after. It is noteworthy that this Callistence had lost his favor with Alexander, when he became the head of the opposition aimed at preventing the practice of kissing the hands and prostration of the king. Alexander had entrusted Antipater, one of his experienced commanders and seasoned politicians, to Macedonia, before leaving for Asia. All the cities of Greece remained calm throughout Alexander's absence, and there was no revolt, for fear of being devastated. Only Sparta was an exception. In 331 BC, its king Agis III called on his men and his people to rise up against Macedonia and liberate it from its colonization.The consequence of his revolution was that he defeated Antipater and killed him during a battle in Megaloupoli the following year. The latter sent Alexander to Asia to tell him about the Spartan revolution and whether he wanted to punish them. There was also some sensitivity between Antipater and Olimpias, Alexander's mother. All in all, it was argued that the Greeks, including Greece and Macedonia, enjoyed a period of peace and prosperity during the absence of Alexander, especially since he was sent large sums of money collected in his conquests, which stimulated its economy to grow, and increased the proportion of commercial activity throughout the empire . Nevertheless, the country was running out of men, because of Alexander's constant need for soldiers, and he ordered him to send more of them, whether to enlist them in the army or to settle in the cities he founded and aim to make them typical Hellenistic cities of mixed races. The increasing emigration of men weakened the military capability of Macedonia in the years following Alexander's death, causing a grab in the hands of the Romans. After the death of Spantamensh, Alexander married a Bakhtiyar princess named Rukhsana to strengthen relations with his new provincial rulers, then turned his sights to the Indian subcontinent to open them. He sent tribal leaders in the province of Kandahar (Kandahar), presently in northern Pakistan, ordering him to confess before him. On their country. The owner of Tksila, Umfis, whose kingdom stretched from the Indus to the Jhelum, responded to Alexander's order, but the elders of some hill tribes, from the Kampuja clan in particular, categorically refused. What was from Alexander, but to carry on those tribes in the winter of 327/326 BC, and went to fight each of them in the backyard of her home: the valley of Canar, the valley of Bengkra, and the valley of Swat and Bonaire. The battles of Alexander with these tribes were very fiercely.When the Aspasias fell, he was defeated only after he had a dart in his shoulder.When he went to confront the Asakinis, he found that they had barricaded themselves in a few locations, in Massaba, Ora and Ornos, and he was forced to break the siege. After a few days of fierce fighting, during which Alexander was severely wounded in his ankle, the Macedonians were able to break into Masaba's fortress and destroy it. The Roman historian Quentes Cortius Rufus says: "Alexander not only slaughtered the entire mass of Massaba, but destroyed all her buildings and made them scattered dust." Warriors holed up in Aura were subjected to a massacre similar to that of their brothers in Masaba, and when the news reached the remaining Asakina, many fled to the fortress of Ornos, but it did not help them. Its importance in protecting transport routes, and after four bloody days, this site fell into his hand. After the victory in Ornos, Alexander marched his army and crossed the Indus to face Raja Pur, the master of the kingdom of Gorapha, now in the Punjab province, in an epic battle - called the Battle of the Haidasps - during which the land was bloodied in 326 BC. This battle was the most cruel battles of Alexander at all, he lost a lot of soldiers, and resisted the Indian Raja with his strength, and defended his country defense of the heroes against the progress of the Macedonian conqueror, but Alexander's military experience had the final say in determining the victor, and his commanders and soldiers The veterans could not easily be defeated, and they were able to defeat the Indian army. Alexander was impressed by the courage and bravery of Raja Poor, and his valor in defending his land, took him an ally, and kept him as ruler over the territory that formed his kingdom, and added to it other sections that were not belonging to him, and thus within his control of this region far more distant from Greece, if he had established it As a foreign ruler, he could not have easily returned it to his possession if it had revolutionized it. Alexander established two opposite cities on the banks of the Jhelum River, one named Boussevla after his horse, who died nearly this time, and the other, Nicea, or Victory, which is now near the town of Mong in Pakistan. The Mandaean Empire of Nanda was located east of the Raja Poor, near the Geng River, and the Bengali Empire fell east of the latter. Long war and nomads, they proclaimed disobedience near the Bias River in northern India, and refused to advance eastward. This river became the most eastern extension in the language conquered by Alexander. In his writings, Plutarch says: “As for the Macedonians, the confrontation with Poor weakened them, reduced their courage, their resolve and their desire to advance eastward into India. After giving their breath and preciousness in response to an enemy crowd of twenty thousand infantry and two thousand horsemen, they opposed Alexander and stubbornly stood up to him when he decided to cross the River Peng, which was allegedly up to 32 furlongs, deep to a hundred tall, and having learned what awaited them on the West Bank The interview was from hordes of heavily armed men, with horses and elephants, who were told that Indian kings had assembled eighty thousand cavalry, two hundred thousand infantry, eight thousand chariots, and six thousand elephants, in preparation for their slaughter. » Alexander tried to persuade his soldiers to advance eastward for a short time yet, but he did not succeed.One of his commanders, Quinus, intervened and begged him to change his mind and go back.``The men yearned to see their fathers and mothers, their wives and children, their land and their homelands, '' he said. Alexander was convinced by his words, and told his soldiers to prepare to return to their country. The army marched along the Indus River, and on their way conquered the lands of the Mull tribe, now in the city of Multan, and other lands of some other Indian tribes. Alexander sent the bulk of his army to the Kerman region of southern Persia, led by his friend Kraters, and commissioned Nierjhos to lead a fleet to explore and survey the shores of the Persian Gulf.He continued his march with the rest of the soldiers to Babylon, choosing the shortest, though most difficult, route, the Medea desert stretching across Baluchistan and Mekran, southern Pakistan and Iran today. Alexander arrived in the city of Sousse in 324 BC, and had lost many of the men by the desert heat. After arriving in Sousse, Alexander discovered that many of the provincial governors he appointed had misbehaved in his absence, and he executed most of them to serve as a lesson to others. He also paid the salaries owed to his soldiers, as a gesture of thanks and gratitude for their sacrifices, and announced that he would send veterans and physically disabled people to Macedonia, led by Kraters. The soldiers, however, misunderstood their leader's intent, declaring disobedience in the town of Avis, and refusing to return to their homeland in the belief that Alexander intended to replace them with Persian troops, or merge Persian units with Macedonian units. After three days during which Alexander was unable to persuade his men to reverse their decision, he appointed several Persian officers in his army, and granted Macedonian military titles to a number of Persian units, and the Macedonians died at his feet hoping that he would reverse his decision and ask him to allow. Alexander forgave all his soldiers who rebelled against him, and hosted a sumptuous banquet in which thousands attended. In an attempt to heal the rift between the Macedonians and the Persians, and unite their ranks and hearts, his senior officers ordered that they marry Persian princesses and held a mass wedding in Sousse, but it appears that few of these marriages lasted more than a year. Alexander left Sousse after he had arranged for him and went to Hamadan, and as soon as he found out that the guards assigned to protect the tomb of Shah Cyrus the Great had desecrated him, and quickly executed them. After Alexander's arrival in Hamadan, Hephaestion, his closest friend and possibly his lover, was also seriously ill, not long until he died, and one of them is said to have poisoned him. The death of Hephaestion had a devastating effect on Alexander.He was deeply saddened, ordered the preparation of a large crematorium in Babylon until his body was burned, and issued a decree of public mourning. After arriving in Babylon, Alexander embarked on a series of new campaigns at the outset of the conquest of Arabia, but he did not write any of them. He died shortly afterwards. Alexander died in the palace of Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon, on the tenth or eleventh of June in 323 BC, and is thirty-two years old. Historians differed slightly in determining the causes of death.Glutarch said that about 14 days before Alexander's death, he had received Nirajos and spent the night staring together and drinking wine with Medius Larissi, until dawn. After that he developed a strong fever, which continued to worsen until he became unable to speak, and feared and worried about his soldiers, they were given the ear to queue in front of him to greet him, has peace be upon them by reference. Diodorus says that Alexander suffered severe pain after drinking a pure wine bowl in honor of Hercules, and then died after being severely tormented by the pain. Other historians have cited this incident as a possible alternative explanation for Alexander's death, and Plutarch has completely denied it. But Plutarch rejected it and said it was an unfounded fabrication, while Diodorus and Arian said they only mentioned it for the sequel of interest. The available evidence suggests that if poisoning was the cause of Alexander's death, the main suspect was Antipater, whom Alexander entrusted to Macedonia during his absence, and then returned, removed and summoned him to Babylon. He instructed his son, Eulas, who had worked as a waterer for Alexander, to poison him in wine or water. Some researchers have suggested Aristotle's own involvement in the case. Some researchers have responded to this poisoning theory that the twelve-day period passed between Alexander's illness and death, a period that is too long for any poison of the species that was then known to take its full effect, slow-acting toxins were probably not yet known. According to a recent theory that came into existence in 2010, the symptoms of Alexander's disease mentioned in the old documents correspond to the symptoms of black water poisoning of the Styx River, which contains the high-risk compound kalekmecin, which is caused by one of the deadly bacteria. Refer to one of the chronic natural diseases that Alexander is likely to develop during his travels, and one that has been nominated to be behind Alexander's premature death: malaria and typhoid fever. According to an article in the New England Journal of Medicine from 1998, Alexander's death was the result of typhoid fever, which caused several complications, culminating in gastrointestinal perforation and then ascending paralysis. Another recent research suggests that meningitis is the killer. Other diseases whose symptoms match those of Alexander are: acute pancreatitis and West Nile virus. Theories of natural causes of death tend to emphasize that Alexander's health was probably in a gradual decline, since he left Macedonia and embarked on his expeditions to the far reaches of the known world. Through severe wounds, and finally his heavy drinking has had a great impact on weakening his body over the years. Also, the anguish and grief Alexander felt after Hephaestion's death may have played a major role in the decline of his health. One of the main reasons is also that Alexander overdoses of drugs made from hellebore, a killer if consumed large quantities. Alexander's body was placed in a golden sarcophagus made in human form, which in turn was placed in a gold naos. According to some texts, a fortune-teller named Aristander foretold that the country where Alexander would be buried "would know happiness throughout its days and no one would be able to conquer it." It is possible that each successor of Alexander's successors considered the acquisition of the body of their late king an act that would legitimize his own succession, especially since the burial of the current king of the former king was a definite proof of his right to the throne. During the funeral procession of Alexander from Babylon to Macedonia, Ptolemy was subjected to them and cut off the road, and turned the march to Memphis, the capital of Egypt, where the body was mummified and buried, and then his successor Ptolemy II moved the coffin to Alexandria, where he remained until before the beginning of the Middle Ages. Ptolemy IX, one of the late successors of Ptolemy I, moved the mummy of Alexander from the golden sarcophagus to another coffin made of glass, so that he could dissolve the first and mint the coins of his liquid. Roman leaders Pompey, Julius Caesar and Augustus Caesar visited the tomb of Alexander, and the latter is said to have accidentally uprooted the nose. This age. It was also said that the Roman Emperor Calipula pulled out the pectoral plate from the mummy and kept it for himself. Emperor Septimius Severus closed the tomb of Alexander to the public in 200 AD, and his son Caracla, a great fan of Alexander, visited his tomb during his reign. After the reign of this era, the signs and texts that speak of the shrine are gradually diminishing until it is over until scarcity, so that its location and destiny are among the historical things that are currently shrouded in fog. In 1887, the Ottoman scholar and scholar Osman Hamdi Bey discovered a coffin near the city of Sidon in Lebanon showing the inscriptions of Alexander fighting the Persians in some of them and hunting animals in others. It contained the remains of the Macedonian leader. The sarcophagus was originally believed to have contained the remains of Abdounimus, king of Sidon, who was appointed by Alexander after the battle of Issus. Alexander's death was so surprising that when the news arrived in Greece with the news, many people did not believe it and claimed it was an unfounded rumor. At the time of his death Alexander had not yet succeeded an heir to the throne of the empire, but his son from Rakhsana, Alexander IV, was born months after his death. Diodorus says that the companions of Alexander asked him on his deathbed to which men left his vast empire, and he answered them briefly "to the strongest." Arian and Glutarch consider this story to be fabricated, as Alexander had lost all the ability to speak at this stage. Other historians have presented a more credible story, albeit ostensibly, saying that Alexander gave his ring to Perdicas, one of his bodyguards and his cavalry commander, in the presence of a witness, thus nominating him to succeed him. Perdicas proposed that Alexander's son, when naturally male, take office, and that he, Caraters, Leonatus, and Antipater play the role of guardians until then. However, infantry soldiers, led by an officer, Miliapros, rejected the arrangement on the grounds that they had not been consulted in the first place, and nominated Felipe Arredaeus, Alexander's half brother, to the throne of the empire. Eventually the two sides reached a satisfactory compromise after the birth of Alexander IV, and they made him and Philip reigns, albeit only nominally, soon after the Macedonian rift broke out, and there was a rift and rivalry among the senior officers, whose greed leaked and wished. All of them are judged. Virdikas divided the territory of the empire and distributed blood to them, and each of these territories became a base used by each leader to expand and proceed towards the territory of his opponent. After the assassination of Perdicas in 321 BC, Macedonian unity collapsed completely, and the brothers of yesterday fought among them for 40 years, and the war did not end until the division of the Hellenistic world founded by Alexander into four sections: the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt and its neighbors, the Seleucid Empire in the East, and the Kingdom of Pergamon in Asia Minor and the Kingdom of Macedonia. Alexander IV and Philip Arredaeus were assassinated. Deodorus says that Alexander had given Kraters detailed written instructions and recommended certain things before his death. Kraters proceeded with the full will of Alexander, but the successors of the latter stopped him alone and chose not to do more than he had done until then, arguing that what remained of the demands was impractical, reckless and extravagant. However, Kraters read Alexander's will to the soldiers, To discover that it invites them to expand in the territory of the south and west of the Mediterranean basin, and to build great monuments, and mingling with the peoples of the East, as detailed in detail:     Construction of a memorial shrine for his father and former king Philip II, “comparable to the greatness of the pyramids of Egypt”. Construction of large structures in Delos Island, Madain Delphi, Dodona, Dion, Amphipolis, and a temple dedicated to the goddess Athena in Troy. From Asia to Europe and vice versa, in order to unite the two continents, and the composition of the hearts of peoples through intermarriage and the establishment of family ties ». Historians agree that Alexander deserved the title of "elder" or "great" well-deserved, because of his unparalleled military success, he has never lost a battle, although most of the armies that fought outnumbered his army and many, due to the good exploitation of the land of expectations, For his training of infantry and cavalry corps to use brilliant tactics, for his bold strategies ahead, and for the blind loyalty of his soldiers. Alexander armed his legions with long spears up to 6 meters (20 feet), and these legions had been trained to fight rigorously from the days of Philip II, until it reached the highest degree of military perfection of its era, was fast movement and maneuverability on the battlefield is large, has been exploited Alexander these things to surpass the larger and more varied Persian forces of his homogeneous battalions. Alexander also realized the possibility of a rift in his army because of his ethnic and linguistic diversity and his different weapons, and he humiliated this problem by personally engaging in battles, as a Macedonian king. When Alexander fought his first battles in Asia, the Battle of the Granikos, he used a small section of his army, consisting of 13,000 infantry and probably 5,000 horsemen, with 40,000 Persian troops. Alexander made the legion of spears stationed in the middle, placing archers and cavalry on the wings, so that the length of his army line was equal to that of the Persians, about 3 kilometers (1.86 miles) long. The Persians had their infantry stationed behind the horses, which ensured that Alexander could not circumvent him. Of stabbing them with their swords and short spears. The Macedonian casualties in this battle were insignificant compared to the Persians' losses, all thanks to Alexander's military genius. Alexander resorted to the same method of deployment of soldiers when he fought the first battle with Dara III in 333 BC, the battle of Asus, and put the Legion of spears in the middle, and were able to breach the ranks of the Persians again. Alexander himself took command of the attack in the middle and directed the enemy army in his favor. In the decisive position with the Persians at Gopmela, Dara equipped his chariots with machetes on her wheels so that he could break through the spears and provided his pedestrians with long spears similar to the Macedonians' spears. When the vehicles are heading towards them, then they line up again at the end of the attack and continue their progress. This tactic was very successful, breaking the center of the Persian army, and forcing the Shah and his soldiers to withdraw. Bakhtia and Sogdia, he used his throwers from crossbows and a light spear campaign to prevent enemies from wrapping around them, while rallying his imagination at the center. When he confronted the elephant corps in India during his battle with Raja Poor, he made his soldiers open gaps in their ranks until the elephants entered, and then closed them and stabbed the villagers with their long spears and dropped them from the back of their animals.  The Greek historian Plutarch (c. 45–120 AD) described the external body of Alexander as follows: «1 The best person who took out Alexander 's body was Lesbos in his statues, and this was the only sculptor that Alexander entrusted to make statues of his incarnation, due to the accuracy of his work. 2 As for the detailed specifications that many of his successors and companions after him tried to imitate, namely: the shape of his neck, which was slightly inclined to the left, and the brightness of his eyes, this artist has perfected the most elaborate. 3 As for Avilis, whom he painted with a Zeus lightning bolt, he erred in the color of his skin, making it very dark, while they say he was white, and that his whiteness gradually turned red on his chest and face. 4 In addition, the smell of his body and mouth smelled so bright that his clothing was filled with, and this is what we read in the memories of Aristotelian. »  The historian Arian (Lucius Flavius ​​Arianus «Zenfon», between 86 and 160 AD) described Alexander: «That strong leader, handsome and strong, with bright eyes, one black as the night and the other blue as the day sky. » Alexander's Romantic Myths suggest that the latter suffered from iris variation, a situation in which one was born with a different color for each eye, and in the case of Alexander, one of his eyes was dark black and the other blue. The British historian Peter Green described Alexander the Great's external body based on the sculptures that he represented and what was said in ancient manuscripts. “Alexander was not an attractive man in terms of appearance. He was extremely short, even for the Macedonian standard, and stocky. He had a beard with a beard, and made himself distinct from his commanders through her entire shaving. His neck was so twisted that he seemed to look up a little. His eyes (one blue, the other brown) revealed female dewy traits. He was also characterized by his sharp temper and loud voice. » According to ancient historians and writers, Alexander was so impressed with the sculptures and drawings he had made for him that he prevented the other sculptors and painters from depicting him. The latter often used the position of incompatibility when portraying Alexander and other characters, such as the skimmer, Hermes, and Eros. One of the reasons why this man's sculptures are described as the most accurate is that they do not appear to be rigid and lifeless.

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