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convenientalias · 5 years ago

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For the crossover ask meme: Marco Polo and Swordspoint (because they both need more love)

A crossover ship I’d dig: Oh dear, I’d ship Richard St. Vier with so many people.

So, first of all, I think I’d probably ship him with Khutulun bc they’re both fighters and he might even be able to beat Khutulun (though I’m not sure of that). I don’t know if Khutulun would approve of his profession because I think the twisted Swordspoint rules of dueling would probably piss her off (they’re kind of shady) but she’d definitely be impressed by his skills. And I just think they might easily hook up. (And of course keep their relationship or affair secret forever.)

Then I’d also ship him with Mei Lin. Somehow they’d both get pulled into the same plot and they’d both be really frustrated with the political scheming they’d been pulled into. Then... I can picture them getting together in a variety of ways. Some rich patron who Mei Lin is currently working for (?) tells her to service St. Vier as a reward for him (which he’d probably be pretty eh about), and they end up getting together after this with mutual animosity towards her current patron, whom they may or may not end up killing. Or, Mei Lin gets sent to kill St. Vier to get him out of the way, but he ends up beating her or she ends up deciding not to kill him at the last moment, and she tells him who sent her--and again, they end up teaming against the guy she’s working for. I just see this being a ship with politics and murder ya know.

I’d also ship St. Vier with Marco Polo. Marco has finally run away from Kublai’s court! He’s now kind of a stray on the run, and somehow ends up in Riverside, an odd corner of the Khan’s empire. St. Vier ends up taking him in much like he took in Alec, though Marco is somewhat less of a wild card and at the same time somewhat more restless and likely to leave to go on the run again. Anyways they carry on with an affair for a while until Marco hears about some major political event and decides he must return to Kublai. This is probably a bad idea bc you don’t just run away from an emperor and then return with no consequences, but St. Vier isn’t a guy to stop his lover from making their own decisions, and he lets Marco return, though not without some regrets.

I would also ship St. Vier with Jingim. They meet at court (I guess in this AU, Cambulac has the same weird dueling laws as the city in Swordspoint) and Jingim respects his swordsfighting skills but has little interest in him bc they’re just not on the same social stratum. Then one day St. Vier gets hired to fight Jingim. I can’t picture him doing this of his own accord (he knows better than to challenge the Khan’s son and heir) so he’s probably been blackmailed somehow, as in the Alec getting kidnapped situation. A very fierce duel follows, and somehow both survive, but just barely. Later on... they hook up?? Idk I just want this to happen.

The pattern here is that I want all my faves to hook up with St. Vier basically lols.

More below the cut!

A crossover BroTP I’d dig: Oh dear, I used up a lot of combinations in the ship section. Well, any of the above I’d enjoy as BroTPs as well as OTPs. But also, consider: Vincent Applethorpe & Hundred Eyes.

Hundred Eyes does not consider the modern conventions of dueling as honorable-- he does not approve of the customs current in Cambulac. However, he is incredibly good at both martial arts and swordsfighting, and back in the day he was renowned among duelers. Of course, since he works for Kublai (and before that, lived off in a lonely village doing his own thing), no professional duelist has tried to learn from him. But if only they could....

So Vincent Applethorpe has heard of the legend, but he never thought he’d actually meet Hundred Eyes. Then one day, a strange young man comes to Applethorpe’s school--Marco Polo. Applethorpe doesn’t recognize him right away and begins to teach him, finding he does have the money to pay at least. It’s only weeks later that he finds out that Marco Polo is the Khan’s guest, when Hundred Eyes shows up at the school to scold Marco for coming to learn from someone other than him. Marco insists that he wasn’t learning well from Hundred Eyes, wasn’t learning fast enough--and Hundred Eyes is teaching him how to fight in self defense or in battle but not so much how to duel, and Marco is worried that someone might challenge him soon. He’s becoming rapidly involved in court politics, and he’s seen how that ends for some people.

Anyways Hundred Eyes reads Marco the riot act, but he’s actually somewhat impressed by Applethorpe. He and Applethorpe do a little sparring, and he reluctantly says that if Marco wants to learn from Applethorpe as well as Hundred Eyes that’s fine; only Hundred Eyes will sometimes come and sit in on their sessions. Applethorpe is completely over the moon at this bc again, Hundred Eyes is a fuckign LEGEND.

They become bros.

A crossover Frenemies I think would be inevitable: Ahmad and Alec.

No matter how I form this crossover, I can’t really picture Alec being a native noble in Cambulac; he’s too “Latin”. So in this AU, he’s sort of a traveling scholar. He’s known to be a noble from [insert country name here] and Kublai has invited him to stay in Cambulac. “Invited” him in more or less the same way he “invited” Marco. Alec’s stuck in Cambulac and can’t leave, and he’s kind of grumpy about it, and he’s still a rude, capricious wild card. No one has any idea why Kublai keeps him around and hasn’t yet executed him for his presumption. Especially not Ahmad. (And also Jingim but I’ll get there later.)

Ahmad and Alec have a tendency to make catty comments at each other and they probably shouldn’t be left in the same room. However, they also for some reason enjoy each other’s company. They like playing games together and sharing rumors they’ve heard (though always keeping their own secrets), recognize that they are both kind of treacherous, and generally have a lot of fun. I feel like at some point they may have a threesome with Mei Lin, or just hook up. (....somehow I’ve continued to just keep on shipping things.) Also, Ahmad kind of empathizes with Alec as another of the Khan’s strays--more than he empathizes with Marco in the show, bc while Alec is whiny he’s also just really fun, and also isn’t directly getting in the way of Ahmad’s plans bc he’s not really politically involved, he’s just There.

A crossover badass duo I think would be inevitable: See the shipping section.

Lols but really, can you even picture St. Vier and Mei Lin taking down one of Mei Lin’s patrons (possibly Ahmad? or Jia Sidao?), or. Oh my God. What if. The reason St. Vier challenged Jingim is because Ahmad had kidnapped Alec--Ahmad had ample opportunity for this bc see above, he and Alec are best frenemies. Don’t ask why Ahmad wanted to get Jingim murdered; he had his reasons. Now St. Vier and Jingim must take on Ahmad together, but Ahmad isn’t such a fool as to let Alec go after the duel failed to kill either of them, so the situation is very tricky.

This is an imperfect scenario, however, bc it’s very straightforward for Ahmad. If not Ahmad, maybe the kidnapper was Kaidu? Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

A crossover animosity I think would be inevitable: ALEC AND JINGIM.

Why do Alec and Jingim hate each other? Let me count the ways.

First of all, Jingim dislikes that his father keeps on getting new favorites rather than focusing on him. And what did Alec do to deserve his current status as honored guest in Cambulac? Literally nothing! I mean, maybe he’s a decent scholar, but he’s not THAT amazing. In fact, I bet he was rude to Kublai when they first met in hopes that Kublai would kill him. (Unfortunately, Kublai had already heard about Alec and knew he was suicidal, and so could see through this motivation easily, and has been refusing to kill him partly bc he doesn’t like being manipulated into these things.) Jingim just does not understand why Kublai grants Alec so much leeway and spends so much time with him when Alec is a complete bitch!

And then there’s the fact that Alec is also friends with Ahmad. Jingim has always wanted to be closer to his two brothers, but with Ahmad... it’s like there’s a wall there. Sometimes he feels like they’re close, and sometimes he feels like they’re far apart, despite being raised together. Yet even when Alec and Ahmad fight, they clearly get each other in ways that Jingim does not understand.

Why does Alec hate Jingim? Partly just bc he’s the son of the guy who’s holding prisoner (excuse me, guest) in Cambulac. Partly bc he’s kind of stiff and formal, and has been pissed at Alec’s rudeness since Day One. And partly bc St. Vier is into Jingim and Alec knows it. Idk if they’ve hooked up yet or not (I’m really unsure on the chronology of all these ships) but at the very least, St. Vier always has positive things to say about Jingim and is oddly deferential towards him, more than he tends to be towards a noble. Alec is completely certain that if Jingim took up with St. Vier, St. Vier would drop Alec in a heartbeat. Bc Jingim is better than Alec. He’s a noble who actually does his job, he’s incredibly good looking, and he doesn’t get into all the trouble that Alec does. So Alec’s kind of paranoid about that. Even if it doesn’t seem likely that Jingim WILL start an affair with St. Vier anytime soon (Jingim has his wives, and he’s only somewhat interested in St. Vier, and St. Vier is a little wary of starting an affair with the Khan’s son), it doesn’t matter. As long as Alec knows (or thinks he knows) that St. Vier would prefer to be with Jingim over Alec, he will always hate Jingim.

So. Jingim and Alec hate each other. And yet the sexual tension there is very strong.

Anyways. I didn’t think I’d have this many feelings on this crossover but I’m into it! Thanks for the ask.

#marco polo #swordspoint #richard st. vier #mei lin #jingim #thanks for the ask!

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sbibbo0 · 5 years ago

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#Olivia Cheng #Cosplay #Mei Lin #Marco Polo #Dark Hair #Long Hair #Asian

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fierce-little-miana · 6 years ago

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Hello^^ Since I am now totally consumed by Marco Polo thanks to you, I wanted to ask you what you think of the female characters in the series and who is your favourite? Only if you don't mind of course :)

I absolutely do not mind at all. It is always a pleasure to talk about Marco Polo and especially to talk about the female character that I love with a great passion. I find them to be generally interesting and well written.

So, since I have a real weekend in really long time, I am going to explain what I think of every significant female character in Marco Polo! Buckle Up!

Empress Chabi:

Chabi is my favorite female character in the show. Actually, she is my favorite character in Marco Polo. Frankly Chabi is one of my general favorite characters even outside of Marco Polo. She is the political consort done right.

Often in TV-shows or period dramas when they say political savvy woman they mean woman who uses her sexuality to manipulate men. It’s true that women did reach powerful position by using their sexuality but not only and writers of period drama don’t seem to have the slightest idea on how to write a political savvy woman if there is no sex involved.

That’s not the case with Chabi. Yes she has a sex life and the she manages Kublai’s harem but her power doesn’t come for her sexuality. Her political strength relies on the complete trust that exists between her and her husband (which seems to be an historical truth by the way). She is his most trusted advisor. She is also the one in charge of managing and assuring his dynasty. She also takes care of the public depiction of the dynasty and she does it very well. She is deeply ambitious for her family, and an excellent judge of character that makes sure that people who have talent are put in positions where they can express them (for the empire), and generally brillant.

However that doesn’t make Chabi a good person. She is ruthless and doesn’t hesitate to hurt and manipulate the people around her for the sake of her family, her dynasty and the empire. In short she is a mongol queen, an actual political player who is here to win. I love her. Also the actress that portrays her, Joan Chen (love her too), was 53 during the first season and there are no reason to believe that Chabi was supposed to be much younger. Having one of the main female character be a woman in her fifties presented as extremely important, clever, and beautiful isn’t that usual (Lena Headey and Indira Varma that are I think the two oldest actresses that are supposed to interpret beautiful/desirable women in GoT are 45 this year, Katheryn Winnick from Vikings is 41) so double Yeah for Chabi!

Khutulun:

Khutulun is the kind of historical character that are too big for any artistical representation of them. I mean a wrestling princess that refused to marry any man that can’t defeat her in a wrestling match and stayed undefeated (even if she did marry in the end). The favorite child of her father and one of his generals… Khutulun is an exception even in Mongol History. She straight up escaped from a a legend.

I also really like her character in Marco Polo. She has bravado but it never makes her disagreeable. She is just proud of herself because well she is a great warrior and she should be proud of herself. She is also generally a great character to be around that cares about her loved ones and is distraught by having to do dishonorable things in order to win.

Her moral conflict is really interesting and her relationship with Byamba allows her to show fragility and doubt without undermining her warrior status. I also really like the low key conflict she has with her brother which is not her fault and that she doesn’t want but that she has to live with. Khutulun in Marco Polo isn’t a political player like Chabi is but she has to navigate this political context and she tries to do it while not disappointing her father, not losing her brother and her lover but more importantly not losing herself.

Kokachin/Nergui:

Kokachin is a very nicely done tragic character. It is someone divided between the lie she said to save her life and what she wants from her life. She knows she can’t get it and she does her best to survive but it doesn’t mean that she doesn’t want it. This fondamental dichotomy is slowly destroying her. Even more when she ends up completely in Chabi’s claws.

Her sanity slowly slips away. But she tries, she tries so hard to do what is expected of her to become someone worthy of who she is pretending to be. She is so brave. She is clever and political too. But she fails. Of course she fails because that is the point of a tragedy but she sure makes an impact on the audience. Everyone wanted Kokachin to succeed, to become the next Chabi. Maybe a better kinder Chabi. Everyone knew she was going to fail. It didn’t mean that we weren’t completely wrecked by her ending.

Mei Lin:

Okay before starting on Mei Lin I wanted to say that her back story makes no logical sens. There are no scenario that explains how a child so poor she ends up in prostitution (and not the ‘classy’ kind of prostitution), learns to fight like an art martial master and read like it is expected of imperial concubines in China, and then becomes one of the high ranking concubines of the Emperor. Don’t get me wrong I see scenarios where three of this points could work together (Ching Shih) but never the four at the same time. Especially in a society as codified and rigid as Song China.

That being said Mei Lin is still a good character. Even if there are plot holes in her backstory it actually still does the job of explaining her character, and her brother’s character, pretty well. She doesn’t care about the big picture, after all the big picture never cared about her, and she is out there for herself. And for her daughter. I can see how someone who has been used and abused would be particularly protective of their child and also could love them unconditionally, since the child isn’t trying to use them. Mei Lin keeps her goal in mind for both seasons of the show and works toward it with the little margin she is granted.

She is angry, maybe a bit too impulsive, unimpressed by power structure and symbolic representation of power (because she knows what they are for) and that makes an extremely compelling character.

The Dowager Empress of the Song Empire:

It’s probably going to sound weird but I really like her. I think the Dowager Empress of the Song Empire was a really interesting character to have on the show. Once again we follow a woman in her fifties wielding power. She is chancellor Sidao main political opponent. While he wants to go for broke and try to shake the mongol yoke once and for all she is trying for conciliation.

She does everything in her power to push her political agenda and her main weapon his honor and decency. In a way she is a model of Dowager Empress, a person without moral fault doing her best for the survival of the dynasty and her people. And she tries to do that by upholding moral virtue. No one can look at this woman telling chancellor Sidao «It is a powerful man who injures little children» and not stanning her forever. I wish her end was closer to her historical end but I guess I can’t have everything.

Also she was Chabi’s greatest rival for killer head-dresses/headpieces. I love overly complicated headpieces.

Jing Fei:

Jing Fei is a less important character than the ones above but I also have a soft spot for her. Here we have Mei Lin best friend. I mean how many show would have given a best friend to the bad ass girl who uses her sexuality to advance her goal? It’s even better because Jing Fei and Mei Lin were in the same harem but no cat fight occurred. They sticked together.

Jing Fei is a clever and ingenious woman who always privileges her relationship with other women. She puts herself in danger for Mei Lin and the Dowager Empress. A woman always choosing to stay by another woman’s side? Starz and Emma Frost are chocked!

Shabkana:

Probably my favorite character introduce in season 2, Shabkana is Kaidu’s mother and Khutulun’s grandmother. She is our link to the violence that took place during the Toluid revolution. She makes the ideological conflict between Kaidu and Kublai personal and intimate. Her monologue on how she tried to save her sister by swearing fealty to the Tolui line, laying her honor and loyalty down, just for her sister to die in horrible pain while believing Shabkana had betrayed her is incredible.

She wants the Ogedei line to be back in power. She is angry and out for blood. But she is also a shrouded politician and a ruthless manipulator. She is our only glimpse at the type of power widows could wield in the Mongol Empire and she is such a great antagonist. Really I love her.

Bonus point Lotus:

Lotus is the only female character that didn’t left an impact on me in Marco Polo so I guess she is my least favorite character. I don’t have a lot to say about her I don’t remember her very well (which is always a bad sign). But I remember being delighted to see Michelle Yeoh plays an unstoppable fighter that no-one wanted to face in duel.

Super Bonus point: You will notice that 4 out the 8 main female characters of Marco Polo are older than 50. Hurray!

#marco polo #Netflix marco polo #empress chabi #khutulun #kokachin #mei lin #jing fei #lotus #Shabkana #empress dowager #female character #sorry for the delay #I have no idea how other people answer so quickly to this type of asks #but thank you very much for asking

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idodgedabulletcuzimadancer · 6 years ago

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Marco Polo season 01 episode 08

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kungfuwushuworld · 3 years ago

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Olivia Cheng as Mei Lin in Marco Polo Netflix Wiki

#Marco Polo #netflix #warrior #olivia cheng #kung fu #wushu #wuxia #wuxia lady #wuxia girl #women warriors #martial arts girls #kung fu cinema #kung fu world

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mydreambatfam · 3 years ago

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Batfam fancast part 8: the Cain family.

The lethal Cain family. David Cain, Lady Shiva (Sandra Woosan) and the Black Bat, Cassandra Cain. A world class assassin, the worlds greatest martial artist, and the best fighter in the batfamily.

These three extraordinary individuals have one of the most disheartening family dynamics. One of physical and mental abuse, absolute selfishness, and unbelievable cruelty. Within it fibers are stories that have shown the influence this family has brought to the Batman mythos. Yet while David and Shiva's story remain mostly the same Cassandra's will be expanded upon. While she was very well develop pre new-52 there are certain things that can be added.

David Cain

The father of Cassandra, former teacher of Bruce Wayne and all around mudering psychopath David Cain. This assassin is actually the first guy I casted eventually led to this blog.

Daniel Southworth is a actor,martial artist and stuntman. Not only did he make a power rangers character complex and full of depth he is also known for Vergil from Devil May Cry. His skills in stunts are second to none and kept up with the likes of the Jackie Chan Stunt Team.You put him in any role and you are in for Smokin Sexy Style of a preformance.

Lady Shiva

The deadliest woman alive Sandra Woosan is the martial arts master. Training Tim drake with the bo staff, and retraining both Bruce and Cass when they both were hurt. She makes most heros look like chumps.

Michelle Yeoh and Ming Na Wen were my first choice, but I wanted someone different but still worthy. We have to remember she is around Bruce's age and had to have Cass in her late teens when David Cain met her.Especially since Cass is a year or two older than Tim and Steph.Her origin also says she is from Detroit. So a young Chinese-American actress with martial skills but still pull off a mature bloodthirsty fighter.

Here comes Canadian actress Olivia Cheng.Family is from Hong Kong, and is 41 years old. Her best roles are as Mei Lin in Netflix's Marco Polo and Ah Toy in Warrior. In both shows she plays as women who are or were concubines, who are also deadly fighters. Not only is she a wonderful actress , but in her time in both shows she has shown her skills in action.Facing off against the likes of Michelle Yeoh. Add to that the very contrasting action styles in both shows she is perfect for Lady Shiva. Pulling off the action likes its no problem and being about her more social side.

Cassandra Cain

The everlasting Cassandra Cain. The 2nd Batgirl, Black Bat and now Orphan. She is the best martial artist in the batfamily, having the respect of many of the legendary fighters in the DC Universe.

For her canon I am sticking with all the pre n52 and adding some of the Rebirth elements. A mute due to her childhood, who later learned to speak from Barbara Gordon. She is close with Stephanie Brown, a friendship that'll last forever. A certain change though is that instead of being adopted by Bruce Wayne she is instead adopted by Commisioner Gordon, lets be honest he knows the bats secret identities. Years of working with them he is more than willing to help outside the masks, at least if it involves Barbara Gordon. This plays on the mentor/teacher big sister/little sister dynamic of Babs and Cass.

Gordon as her surrogate father he would encourage her to socialize and see Gotham outside its darker life.This also gives an oppurtnity for Cass to pursue things outside crimefighting, like dancing. To be specific Cass would love ballet and activaly practice in her off time.

Along the way she would tag along with Tim and Steph as Tim explores his Asian roots and in turn her roots as they explore many of Gotham's Asian enclaves. This would be her lightbulb moment of going to Hong Kong someday.

When its comes to the conflict involving her and Robin when she became leader of the league of assassins I would completly change it. She is instead persuded by both Lady Shiva and David Cain to lead theor own version of the league and in return they are willing to become a family. The desire for her parents love is a strong one and she is easily persuaded but later regrets her decision. Seeing the change of heart David Cain commands Slade Wilson to inject the serum that will bend her to his will. This should keep in line that canon and give a Zuko redemption arc for her. The story eventually leads to her abandoning Batgirl , moving to Hong Kong and becoming Black Bat with Tim's help.

For casting choices we have a slim crowd. A actress of chinese descent who can keep up with many of the martial arts veterans I casted. Many are in their 40s and many female young martial artists tend stay within the stunts field. That was until I found Natasha Liu Bordizzo. She starred in the second Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon movie and has a large amount of supporting roles under her belt. She kept up with the likes of Michelle Yeoh and Donnie Yen. The Chinese Austrailian actress just might have the spunk to pull off this caped crusader.

#batfamily #batman #batfam #cassandra cain #lady shiva #david cain #batgirl #black bat #orphan #tim drake #stephanie brown #natasha liu bordizzo #olivia cheng #sandra woosan

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marvelthalia · 4 years ago

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Fan Theory that Kublai Khan was in love with Marco Polo (Netflix)

Okay so I will admit I’m not well read enough to understand what coquetry means without looking it up. For those who like me, don’t know it means flirtatious behaviour. The reason I bring this up is because I was going through the Khan’s speech when he goes off on Marco about saving his father whilst Jingim’s kids are being born and every line of it just makes it seem more and more like he loved Marco or though Marco was in love with him. I know people always put Marco in as the Khan’s ‘son’ or ship him Jingim (which I also do) but just look at this speech and tell me he’s not head over heels in love with this Europe. N.B. This is only about the Netflix TV show, obviously not about real life.

The world gets bigger, so you open your arms wider. Is that not the Ghengis way?You let in the outsiders, with their sad eyes and wounded hearts, the orphaned son, the abandoned boy, you let them in your home, learn from them? Yes, but raise them and love them? Offer them all the magic the whole world has to offer? They fuck you. Oaths? Meaningless. Love in their eyes, worthless. Heart they promise you, will never be. Oh, they’ll stare, plead. Love mixed with awe mixed with coquetry mixed with an insatiable festering need. Need of a home, need of a father, need of a fucking place in the world. Give them all of this and more and what do they do, they scurry back to their dubious relations despite their meager characters that lack entirely of heart.

Like are you kidding me? The “orphaned son” must be his adopted son Ahmad but the “abandoned boy”? That’s defo Marco. “Raise them” is Ahmad (even though Polo is like 19 when he reaches Cambulac) but the “love them” is referring to both of them because he loves them both one as a son and one as something more perhaps?

“Offer them all the magic the whole world has to offer” What do you, a king, do for your lover if not show them all the wonders of the world. When he showed him Xanadu in S2 tell me that wasn’t some showing off to a crush like look at my magic city, look at me climb this mountain and watch me stare down a wolf, come on a nice romantic secluded hike with me.

“Love in their eyes” “Heart they promise you, will never be” I don’t even have to explain this one, like come on guys. Kublai clearly thought Marco loved him, like LOVED him, and he’s heartbroken and pissed off now that he thinks that not true.

And that brings us to where we started “Love mixed with awe mixed with coquetry mixed with an insatiable fucking need” Kublai probably liked the power imbalance, this young boy completely out of his depth with no friends, completely at his mercy and the mercy of his every whim. A pretty boy with flowery words who spends half his time playing chess with the Khan in his private quarters and whispering sweet nothings about his empire.

But here’s the clincher of my little reading-too-much-into-subtext theory. Marco actually DID love him. I was convinced after I finished the show that Marco had Stockholm Syndrome and there was an explanation/theory on AO3 which outlined all of the good reasons for this, the fact that he can never bring himself to leave the Khan even when he does horrible things, even when he kills little boys who just want a hug and when he sentences Marco to death or beats a man to death in front of him he still remains loyal to the Khan even when multiple people ask him to run away with them or tell him to leave and give him a means of escape he won’t do it and I thought that was textbook Stockholm and it definitely still is but there’s more to it. Marco is in love with Kublai Khan and that’s why he’s so invested in the Mongol Empire, why he constantly risks his own life to save him and why he will never leave.

Also note that this isn’t a healthy relationship I’m proposing between the two, Kublai has waaaaaaay to much power over him, he’s way older (his sons are the same age if not older than him) and Marco really is just too much in need of a home and a place in the world. I don’t even think the Khan is purposely taking advantage of him in a weird way, he’s just the most powerful guy in the area, of course he’s going to be used to having utter control over other people lives but with Marco he’s almost like a fun Latin novelty who he gets to induct into this new way of thinking where the Khan is his be all and end all and Marco is utterly devoted to him by the end. For a guy on a power trip I can only assume that would be fun and we saw with Mei Lin how easy it was for a royal concubine to worm their way into his good books and arguably into his heart (if not his bed). The only other person who I think gets that same level of devotion is Kokachin the fake blue princess who we have explicitly seen he loves and even she gets left on read when the Khan’s needs (and his father’s) take precedent.

Kublai loves Marco and that’s why Jingim hates him so much in S1 (amongst other reason like the fact that he never keeps his mouth shut), heck he might have even also been in love with Marco and jealous that his father would likley get first dibs.