I've said it before, and I'll say it again, you really are a lot like Ieyasu. I don't think the hammering has damaged you, so much as honed you like a blade. Ieyasu is -- tch... Well-known for his biting words and harsh demeanor. Among others. [A finger over his lips.] Never ever tell him if he comes, it would be embarrassing for us both, but he is much like a little brother I always wished I had. Not just for the childhood incidents, but even now.
He is a healer, and while that is my magic here, I feel completely inadequate at it next to him. Mitsuhide has been teaching me off and on some of the magic as he learns it, but my teacher committed suicide to try to shame me into my responsibilities. I doubt I'd have that exact effect these days, but I was never a good student, so I don't want to find out. I'm sure it would surprise Tokugawa to be teaching me to tend others wounds rather than just letting him tend mine, but that's how much I trust him.
I don't regret listening to Gozen the first time. Many... No, almost all of my allies were once my enemies. I don't let the more dangerous ones have access to weapons anymore, but forcing nobles to live the peasant life so they can understand it, is my terrible sense of humor.
And more, it serves three purposes. [Ticks off on fingers.] One, it undermines who works for them, as people come to understand, lords are just humans, and spirits aren't protecting them for being born there. Two, it means they'll surrender. You may have heard how Japanese culture never allows for surrender. People like Nobuyuki who would rather die than suffer such a blow to their pride. Give them another option, and some will take it. Not everyone, but enough. And three: it's an opportunity. For me as well as them. Dead is dead. Alive they can still provide something.
As I said, my family was warring with Ieyasu's family for so long they forgot how not to. Ending the endless revenge wars was another part of it.
How is the Avatar reincarnated? Along bloodlines or criminals or pure of heart? Sozin wanted to kill the Air Nomads because he was scared they'd stop him?
That isn't how I felt about the Ikko-Ikki. Did the air nomads do anything with the fire nation?
As I said, of the five major religions vying for influence in Japan, the ones I had the most troubles with were Buddhism and Taoism.
The Buddhist monks were the worst. They wanted a total monopoly on everything. Whether it was theology, politics, everything. They kept allying with lords, sometimes hired themselves out as demons to exorcise and would require sacrifices sometimes in the form of children or lives, how coincidental they didn't give themselves though.
The Ikko-Ikki kept fighting with Ieyasu. They didn't respect his position, they thought they could use his history against him, manipulate him via the politics, and mentally use a pincer attack on him.
We tried constantly to get them to at least stop encouraging open rebellion among people, stop courting other royalty, quit with the banditry bribery, but they kept seeing our attempts to negotiate as weakness.
They also at least pretended in part to believe that our morals could never see eye to eye. I want people to enjoy luxuries. They wanted people to forgo them utterly, and transcend such desires. They wanted to maintain an elite status while I wanted those removed entirely from society. They wanted to ban and execute or imprison missionaries, even other Buddhist missionaries they didn't get along with, and generally I wanted them to do something productive instead of wasting everyone's time with their nonsense.
Mount Hiei was their shrine stronghold. After they sent back bodies of our messengers, to flaunt that they were too holy to talk to the Demon King and his corruptive influence on the world, I'd had more than enough. Likewise, I wanted to send a message that I wouldn't allow for it. Direct consequences. Not imaginary hypothetical spiritual ones that no one can prove would happen.
I don't go about exterminating all monks. Luis Frois is a Jesuit missionary from Portugal, and we've been writing letters for years, when I don't get to ask him as many questions as I can in person.
I don't think I was scared, but to do that kind of thing in cold blood... The only reason more history books don't call me a monster is Hideyoshi scrubbing my reputation I'm sure. I wasn't scared. But I wasn't even livid. They made their stance as clear as Nobuyuki and I couldn't see an alternative. I couldn't let them continue, or things would just fester and our goals would be impossible. That simple.
Being born royalty is a trap, of expectations and demands. Marriage is political, you get sold as a knight or samurai, or bargaining chips, and just to stay alive means having to kill others who want to kill you to take your place. But it's worse for children of criminals even of centuries ago. Or people who have to take jobs no one else wants. The very flaw with reincarnation...
If you want to do good things or whatever, just do them! Why does there have to be royalty, just so you can try to be reborn as one? How does that even make sense? Just do what you want in this life and get rewarded here. [Irritated growl. It's this that gets him worked up.] One life is all anyone needs, but once they get convinced there's more... It's like Nobuyuki. They think they can choose death rather than learn to be useful to someone else. Or that being born a noble is because they earned it in a past life? Utter nonsense.
[Stubborn headshake!] No matter what, I'll always go to war for that.
It's not for peace, it's just quality of life. Someone like Emet-Selch who doesn't only live fifty years can never understand. There are plenty of things worth dying or killing for. Power isn't one of them. But refusing to let someone else control you, or dictate not just your life, but all your descendants? Seems like a good reason to me.
So I guess that's not fear, but it is anger. Pride too. I can't stand the idea of Japan staying weak and petty and continuing to hurt itself like this out of fear. Hm. Maybe even the whole of Earth eventually. Since Bean and Matt, those who have made contact with non-Earth life and so forth, it applies to them to. Even then, I can't stand the idea of letting the castes remain. Of people, transcending normal desires. Not having fun. Not allowed to eat candy, or whatever they want. No fun with clothes or hair, music, dance, art, whatever makes life enjoyable. That's what life should be about, and that is exactly what they, the monks, refused to allow.
3/3 TW: Ikko-Ikki cult, genocide, sacrifice, anti-Buddhism
He is a healer, and while that is my magic here, I feel completely inadequate at it next to him. Mitsuhide has been teaching me off and on some of the magic as he learns it, but my teacher committed suicide to try to shame me into my responsibilities. I doubt I'd have that exact effect these days, but I was never a good student, so I don't want to find out. I'm sure it would surprise Tokugawa to be teaching me to tend others wounds rather than just letting him tend mine, but that's how much I trust him.
I don't regret listening to Gozen the first time. Many... No, almost all of my allies were once my enemies. I don't let the more dangerous ones have access to weapons anymore, but forcing nobles to live the peasant life so they can understand it, is my terrible sense of humor.
And more, it serves three purposes. [Ticks off on fingers.] One, it undermines who works for them, as people come to understand, lords are just humans, and spirits aren't protecting them for being born there. Two, it means they'll surrender. You may have heard how Japanese culture never allows for surrender. People like Nobuyuki who would rather die than suffer such a blow to their pride. Give them another option, and some will take it. Not everyone, but enough. And three: it's an opportunity. For me as well as them. Dead is dead. Alive they can still provide something.
As I said, my family was warring with Ieyasu's family for so long they forgot how not to. Ending the endless revenge wars was another part of it.
How is the Avatar reincarnated? Along bloodlines or criminals or pure of heart? Sozin wanted to kill the Air Nomads because he was scared they'd stop him?
That isn't how I felt about the Ikko-Ikki. Did the air nomads do anything with the fire nation?
As I said, of the five major religions vying for influence in Japan, the ones I had the most troubles with were Buddhism and Taoism.
The Buddhist monks were the worst. They wanted a total monopoly on everything. Whether it was theology, politics, everything. They kept allying with lords, sometimes hired themselves out as demons to exorcise and would require sacrifices sometimes in the form of children or lives, how coincidental they didn't give themselves though.
The Ikko-Ikki kept fighting with Ieyasu. They didn't respect his position, they thought they could use his history against him, manipulate him via the politics, and mentally use a pincer attack on him.
We tried constantly to get them to at least stop encouraging open rebellion among people, stop courting other royalty, quit with the banditry bribery, but they kept seeing our attempts to negotiate as weakness.
They also at least pretended in part to believe that our morals could never see eye to eye. I want people to enjoy luxuries. They wanted people to forgo them utterly, and transcend such desires. They wanted to maintain an elite status while I wanted those removed entirely from society. They wanted to ban and execute or imprison missionaries, even other Buddhist missionaries they didn't get along with, and generally I wanted them to do something productive instead of wasting everyone's time with their nonsense.
Mount Hiei was their shrine stronghold. After they sent back bodies of our messengers, to flaunt that they were too holy to talk to the Demon King and his corruptive influence on the world, I'd had more than enough. Likewise, I wanted to send a message that I wouldn't allow for it. Direct consequences. Not imaginary hypothetical spiritual ones that no one can prove would happen.
I don't go about exterminating all monks. Luis Frois is a Jesuit missionary from Portugal, and we've been writing letters for years, when I don't get to ask him as many questions as I can in person.
I don't think I was scared, but to do that kind of thing in cold blood... The only reason more history books don't call me a monster is Hideyoshi scrubbing my reputation I'm sure. I wasn't scared. But I wasn't even livid. They made their stance as clear as Nobuyuki and I couldn't see an alternative. I couldn't let them continue, or things would just fester and our goals would be impossible. That simple.
Being born royalty is a trap, of expectations and demands. Marriage is political, you get sold as a knight or samurai, or bargaining chips, and just to stay alive means having to kill others who want to kill you to take your place. But it's worse for children of criminals even of centuries ago. Or people who have to take jobs no one else wants. The very flaw with reincarnation...
If you want to do good things or whatever, just do them! Why does there have to be royalty, just so you can try to be reborn as one? How does that even make sense? Just do what you want in this life and get rewarded here. [Irritated growl. It's this that gets him worked up.] One life is all anyone needs, but once they get convinced there's more... It's like Nobuyuki. They think they can choose death rather than learn to be useful to someone else. Or that being born a noble is because they earned it in a past life? Utter nonsense.
[Stubborn headshake!] No matter what, I'll always go to war for that.
It's not for peace, it's just quality of life. Someone like Emet-Selch who doesn't only live fifty years can never understand. There are plenty of things worth dying or killing for. Power isn't one of them. But refusing to let someone else control you, or dictate not just your life, but all your descendants? Seems like a good reason to me.
So I guess that's not fear, but it is anger. Pride too. I can't stand the idea of Japan staying weak and petty and continuing to hurt itself like this out of fear. Hm. Maybe even the whole of Earth eventually. Since Bean and Matt, those who have made contact with non-Earth life and so forth, it applies to them to. Even then, I can't stand the idea of letting the castes remain. Of people, transcending normal desires. Not having fun. Not allowed to eat candy, or whatever they want. No fun with clothes or hair, music, dance, art, whatever makes life enjoyable. That's what life should be about, and that is exactly what they, the monks, refused to allow.