#The Last Argument of kings

[ode-to-fury]

Joe Abercrombie i love you. i love when you make me like a character and think they deserve a good ending and then two pages from the end of the book you go nope. this guy’s a moron and an asshole actually but somehow that only makes me like them more. i love when you show me an unapologetic dickhead and make me like him so so much and give him a better ending than the guy i thought was the good guy. and i agree. i love when you say we’re all the heroes of our own stories and people don’t want to take the blame for their mistakes and dreams are a lot better in our heads and sometimes life sucks but mostly its just cause people suck. i love that the only smart character you’ve written is a seventeen year old boy who just wants his mom. i love when you take a guy who wants to be good and just. make him kill and maim and bite because he doesnt know any better. Joe Abercrombie i love you.

[portabella201]

I’m a simple girl. I see Practical Frost and I swoon

[lairn]

Wow. Jezal is really a new man. Truly, he has turned over a new leaf. He will never make an uninformed, self-absorbed decision again. I am so sure of this.

“He could not escape a glow of satisfaction. A new uniform, and more braid, and so forth, and more people to tell what to do. Glory and fame were meagre rewards, perhaps, but he had taken the risks already, and now had only to say yes. Had he not suffered? Had he not earned it?“

[sourweather]

being a Jezal Dan Luthar fan is like. He is the most annoying guy I've ever seen. Every time I think about him I ache with a sorrow that touches the deepest parts of me. I love to point and laugh at him. He only ever wanted to be seen as someone worthwhile. It's so satisfying to see him get knocked down a few pegs. All I want is for him to have one truly good day. I roll my eyes every time he talks about Ardee. It says everything that he clung so stubbornly to the first good excuse he found to leave his life behind. He's like a guy who got a wish from a genie and got what he asked for in the worst way possible. He has the best character arc in any piece of fiction I've ever consumed. He was a closeted bisexual with the least subtle crush ever on Logen Ninefingers. et cetera.

[awarhammerguy]

Working on some conquest minis I got cheap. The first two pics are slap chop. The second two are just contrast over wraith bone

[xserpx]

He caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror above the fireplace, and frowned.

Who is that man? That ruined shell? That shambling corpse? Can you even call it a face? So twisted and so lined, so etched with pain. What is this loathsome, pitiable species? Oh, if there is a God, protect me from this thing!

He tried to smile. Savage grooves cut through his corpse-pale skin, the hideous gap in his teeth yawned. The corner of his mouth trembled, his left eye twitched, narrower than the other, rimmed with angry red. The smile seems to promise horrors more surely even than the frown.

Has any man ever looked more of a villain? Has any man ever been more of a monster? Could any vestige of humanity possibly remain behind such a mask? How did beautiful Sand dan Glokta become . . . this? Mirrors. Even worse than stairs.

His lip curled with disgust as he turned away.

— Sand dan Glokta, Last Argument of Kings by Joe Abercrombie

"If Glokta had been given the opportunity to torture any one man, any one at all, he would surely have chosen the inventor of steps."

[mr-culper]

MY GOD IT'S HIM

[emelinstriker]

Wukong ♢ 'Vacation'

Heads up, I haven't seen the sleep bug episode, or any other season than 4 in general, in a while and just remember the general plot moment of the episode. Also the moment of MK trying to get in contact with Monkey King while flexing his new abilities.

All's based in an AU anyway so we shall strife away from the canon timeline- whoo :D

I just know Monkey King doesn't fully return till like the end of season 2, so this shall have major timeskips-

♢ ~ Angst ~ ♢

"Sun Wukong! Where are you?!", your slightly irritated voice rang from behind some trees as you moved past some foliage, looking for your monkey boyfriend. He was supposed to train MK today and you wanted to pay a visit to Flower Fruit Mountain, but then you caught MK training on his own as his mentor was nowhere in sight.

MK told you that Monkey King decided to take a sudden vacation and that he apparently sent you a message just minutes prior. You didn't notice the message however as you were busy trying to get the sleep bug game notification off your phone. It didn't work, so you ended up just turning off your phone so you could deal with it later at home.

But the fact that he outright left not only you but also the kid like that was quite upsetting.

Knowing the stone monkey, he didn't actually immediately leave. He was probably still somewhere on Flower Fruit Mountain to collect everything he would need just in case while being away. And it seems you were right on the money. You found the Monkey King packing up some leftover things that weren't behind the waterfall or near his and MK's designated training area. The items seemed to not be for a relaxing vacation to be honest.

"Wukong! Why are you going on vacation out of the blue?!" You asked as you approached him with quick steps.

He froze, his tail stiffening for just a second to let you know you startled him. The monkey quickly turned to look at you rather nervously. "A-Ah h-hey heeey, peaches! Wh- Well, what a surprise to see you all the way out here!"

"Mhm. Same to you", you started, glaring at him, "But don't avoid the question. You should be all the way on the other side of the forest and training your successor right now, y'know?"

He waved his hand dismissively, "He's got the basics down and knows how to train himself. I did train for the most part on my own as well. He'll be fine. Besides, it's not like I'll be gone forever. I'll be checking in from time to time." Then he continued to pack two more items.

You were still quite mad at him despite the explanation. "But why are you going on vacation right now and without me?"

That seemed to catch his attention, but not in the way you expected. The simian's ears seemed to twitch a little at your words, but he refused to look at you as he packed another item.

"Listen (Y/N), I simply need to get away and be alone for a while. I'll be visiting some people I know from the past. I'd love to have you on another vacation, just... not this one." His tail lowered itself until it was tucked between his legs. That didn't stop you from feeling left out of yet another mini-adventure. It was far from the first time he insisted on you staying behind due to you being a regular human with nothing more than verbal strength.

This time was no different as you noticed that whatever he had planned, the seriousness in his voice told you enough that wherever he was heading to was not a simple vacation. But that was even more of a reason to at least tell you where he was going!

You clenched your fists in frustration. "Can't you just tell me what's wrong? It's not like you to be this secretive! I know you're off to doing something alone again because of whatever bits of a hero complex you have left, but-" "I can't tell you, okay?!" He snapped back, finally turning to you with the snarl of a feral monkey, catching you off-guard.

"Ugh, that's why I need a vacation right about now too! Gods, you're so pushy in moments like these, I just need a break!"

Tears pricked in the corners of your eyes at his words, but you turned around quickly enough so he wouldn't see. You took a deep breath to calm your nerves and keep your voice from cracking.

"Fine. I hope you have fun on your vacation, Monkey King", you responded as you started to walk away, your back facing him the entire time while tears began rolling down your cheeks.

The simian was still annoyed as he began hopping onto his cloud and taking off. Only halfway to his destination did his brain finally register that you referred to him by his title. That's when the reality of the argument you two just had a few minutes ago hit. And so did the memory of how he described you, followed by you tearing up.

He did notice.

"...Shit", he muttered to himself dreadfully as he facepalmed. As much as he wanted to go back this instant and embrace you before you left Flower Fruit Mountain, his mission had to take priority as the fate of the world was in danger. He would have to apologize to you later...

"Later" turned into several weeks however as he fought to obtain information on how to beat the Lady Bone Demon. Occasionally he would check in on MK, of course. He did ask about you at least once everytime he got in contact with the boy though, even while being in the middle of battle. The guilt that was eating at him was a lot more bothersome than getting his hands on the Samadhi Fire's map.

MK noticed how often his mentor would ask about your well-being and at first thought that it was sweet of him to ask about you... But then he realized he could just get in contact with you directly too. You had a charm in form of a necklace that let you transport to Flower Fruit mountain, as well as open the waterfall and get in contact with your lover.

That's when he started to catch onto the suspicion that something must have happened between the two of you.

"Monkey King, why don't you just talk to (Y/N) directly? They still have the charm you gave them, right?"

The golden image of the Monkey King crossed his arms before scratching his cheek with a frown. He seemed suddenly very much uncomfortable.

"I... Uh... I don't have the time for a lengthy talk with them right now. I still need to visit another friend in a bit! Right! Yeah! Okay, see you later, bud!" "Monkey King, wait-"

And then the connection cut off. Feeling upset and abandoned by the one who was supposed to mentor him through his journey as hero, he decided to give you a call.

The phone rang until he heard your voice. Your recorded voice.

"Hi! This is (Y/N)! Please leave a message if you need anything and I'll listen to it as soon as possible!"

He hung up and tried to call again, but it also only went back to voicemail.

Raising an eyebrow at your sudden unavailability, he decided to just send you a text instead, believing you were busy at work and put your phone on silent.

'monkey king keeps asking about you btw, but doesn't seem to wanna talk to you directly :('

'tell me if you wanna talk to him and i can try get you two in contact'

'if he hasn't talked to you recently that is'

'he acts kinda weird rn tbh'

You should be able to read those messages once you got time. Probably after work.

And yet he never received any text back.

What he didn't know was that you weren't at work. In fact, you were being held captive by the Lady Bone Demon's servant, the Mayor. Him and his Lady knew about your relationship with Sun Wukong and how fragile you were compared to the rest of your friends.

"I don't have anything to offer you!" You yelled out as the Mayor held your arms effortlessly behind your back, forcing you to simply talk to his Lady's glowing image in front of you.

She giggled ominously, "On the contrary, (Y/N). Your destiny has been sealed the moment you agreed to a relationship with that damned simian and befriended his successor."

"What the hell am I of use for to you?! I don't have any special abilities you could even benefit from!" Your voice cracked towards the end from the amount of anxiety you had.

"Well, unfortunately for your frail body, your destiny involves succumbing to your wounds."

Before you could question her any further, the Mayor moved your wrists swiftly, breaking your arms in the process. You cried out in pain, breathing heavily as tears began to fall.

"For you see, the charm Sun Wukong gave you will aid us in creating the New World. Contact him through it." She smirked down at your quivering form. "And even if you decide to be uncooperative, destiny will catch up sooner or later..."

And as suspected, you were being very much uncooperative. So much so that you ended up with more injuries than you could keep count of. Probably half of which included several broken bones from the Mayor's raw demonic strength.

While the Lady Bone Demon wasn't so fond of your refusal to call your boyfriend, she merely saw it as a minor delay. She knew Sun Wukong and the rest of the crew would get suspicious and try find you eventually.

Even if it took days upon Wukong telling the crew to find the three four rings...

And find you they did.

But not in the shape they had hoped.

You were completely bloody and bruised, your limbs were mangled in a rather disturbing way.

The crew was horrified- Not only at the sight, but also at the realization that you were lifeless, dead...

The Monkey King felt the most broken. The memories of your forever last conversation being one big mess of an argument... He thought he was keeping you and the others safe...

He mourned over your dead body, letting his tears fall as he carefully cradled you in his arms, his fur and armor now having bloody spots. MK was struggling with telling his mentor to focus because he himself couldn't fully focus anymore at the sight of a close friend's body. However, the thought of other people, including his other friends, ending up in the same position as you were in was terrifying.

And that was all the motivation they both needed to keep moving. The Great Sage wiped away his tears, looking at your resting form one last time before glaring into the distance.

He would avenge your death, no matter what.

And if possible, would try find a way to bring you back... Even if it involves fighting the Heavens once more.

> Link to Masterlist <

[random-jot]

‘It’s better to do a thing than live with the fear of it’ but for making phone calls as an adult.

[boooklover]

“You can’t truly hate a man without loving him first, and there’s always a trace of that love left over.”

Joe Abercrombie, Last Argument Of Kings

[frogsprince]

mmmmm that ending has me. idk. im digesting. i hate men in power

makes you wonder if sult was right all along bc these wars could've been entirely avoided if not for a feud between two egomaniacs? everyone got a bad ending and they all suffered for it, except maybe glokta in a way, and jezal if he continues to live in denial? but like imagine giving these people a chance to see something better in themselves only to snatch it away from them entirely and cursing them to a life of misery. is this what logen's friends died for? is this what jezal's people died for? there is nothing left. usually there is always some good ending, some hope in rebuilding and starting over but my god this just left everyone hollow and devoid of anything that resembles any optimism

if bayaz has no haters im dead etc fuck that bald ass motherfucker

[haveyoureadthisfantasybook]

vote yes if you have finished the entire book.

vote no if you have not finished the entire book.

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[sammie-dae]

tontorr conversion wip

[sourweather]

every day I wake up and I cry because the first law Fandom is basically nonexistent and I have no one to talk to about Jezal

[awarhammerguy]

Another model for conquest. It's amazing how much I enjoy painting with slap chop

[xserpx]

Her hands slid slowly over his withered flesh, gentle, but firm, rubbing at the scarred skin, pressing at the ruined muscles. How long ago? Since a woman looked at me with anything but horror? Since a woman touched me with anything but violence? He lay back, his eyes closed and his mouth open, tears running from his eye and trickling down the sides of his head into the pillow. Almost comfortable. Almost . . .

‘I don’t deserve this,’ he breathed.

‘No one gets what they deserve.’

— Last Argument of Kings by Joe Abercrombie