This chapter was one of the best in while! While hakuryuu isn't one of my top characters, I find that I enjoy his storyline the most! I feel like he’s finally in a stage in his life were he feels stable, even with all the craziness happening now. 

This is mainly on hakuryuu and kougyoku!

Hakuryuu’s misfortune always came from being  selfish, powerless, obstinate, and his inability to forgive. which as Kouen puts it, make him a defective king vessel.

These aspects of hakuryuu’s character had their build up for 10 years when we met him, proceeded by living in pure bliss, and this transition probably had its effect on him. He was crushed by the loss his revered brothers, the betrayal of his affectionate warm mother, his own incompetence, and the people who he had build expectations on let him down (Backstage 278).

So he begin plotting his rebellion, to get back his country, but mostly to revenge those who he sees as wrong, Yes, he eradicated Al-Thamen, but as we’ve seen that didn’t shake them much, to begin with, we never seen Al-Thamen affecting the life of the people of Kou. Kouen and co. amazingly kept them a bay, but did not let them run the country, and according to kougyoku flashback, while he wasn’t the emperor, under kouen’s reign living in Kou was bliss for both peace and economic stableness (in comparison with the Kouga tribe who were being enslaved before they joined Kou). Actually until now we only sew Al-Thamen profound activity outside of Kou ( Parthevia, Balbadd, Musta'sim, and Magnostadt).

Their biggest action in Kou to our knowledge was killing the emperor (I’m not actually sure was it confirmed it was gyokuen and not the rebels?) and the crown princes, who probably opposed them, which lead me to Ren Kouen, and his approach. He knew the crown princes better then hakuryuu and knew their strength. He decided how to handle the country, how to protect it while not butting heads with gyokuen and Al Thamen. he didn’t get rid of everything he found repulsive.

Back to hakuryuu and the rebellion, The rebellion which resulted in sacrifices of countless unwilling  soldiers, The rebellion which turned Kou to a pawn of the SSA. A rebellion which nullified all of his siblings efforts tell now, dirtying their hands, sleepless nights, soldiers gratitude, all if it.

And lets not forget the most important person for hakuryuu, which if it weren't for Aladdin, hakuryuu might have had lost her forever.

Fast forward 3 years, we see hakuryuu much calmer demonstrated by him playing a ploy against gyukuen, maintenance of kouen’s prosthetic legs, and his expression when apologizing for Alibaba. first signs the he’s not the same raging young man he once was. He changed, he had been through so much, he lost gyokuen, judal, alibaba, kouen, and hakuei in this rebellion, All people who have profound effect on him on a way or another, most of them by his own hands. What was it that he was fighting for? His country? His country was better of before. In 3 years the almighty Kou is on its way to destruction, and at that critical time, he left.

circumstances happened and he did the best he could, but he left, and his sister stepped up for a role she was never ready for. She did her best, and grow up as a person, she let go of her own selfishness in order to protect her country, something hakuryuu failed to do. Kougyoku didn’t have to go through a suicidal rebellion to protect her country. What she had to do was something similar to hakuryuu, to forgive. A person she loved once, a person whose for she attempted to confront her beloved brother who she overflow with respect and admiration for, she’s never able to speak in equal foot with even when he initiated, 

a girl who only wanted to be of use to her country at some point, decided she well do something not expected from her, all thanks to her feeling for that man. 

Then those feelings of hers, which she struggled with for a long time, were stepped on. as a result of her naivety, Her brothers are traitors. The beautiful happy Kou is now a mess, and everything fell on her all alone.

She lived with these feelings for 3 years, 3 years of blaming that man, 

Then she forgive him, from the bottom of her heart, because that"s what she had to do to move forward, She’s an emperor now and doesn’t have the privilege to follow her personal grudges, She truly, out of her own violation forgave him, to make her country strong again. Thinking of your people before yourself and personal grudges, that’s being an emperor. And this girl was unqualified, still is, but she’s moving forward, not stuck in place anymore, and with the help of her 2 brother by her side back again she will return this country to what it was and more.

And hakuryuu understands that now. Yes he didn’t want his country destruction, but that what his actions led to. He never meant to put kougyoku on a pedestal, but he left and that’s what happened. And so, he has to face the consequences, just like kouen did. 

None of these two could have done anything alone, thy received help from people around them to reach their current state. there was always some good even on their worst times and they learned to take that and move forward. 

It’s amazing how much these two changed in the span of the 6 years or so we’ve known them, and they’ll probably continue to, because the only thing constant in life is change, but they have people to ground them now, and they matured and learned to balance believing in themselves and other.

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scans from sensescans

@tellmewhatyouc remember when I said there was a drawing based on a scene from your Soft Focus-Fic? Well, I dug it up, and since I´ve actually started posting stuff on Tumblr again, I might as well show you!