Disclaimer: I do not own Dynasty Warriors.. That's never changed, and isn't about to, ever.
A/N: This fic is based on DW7 more than anything else - particularly the Jin story. There aren't any specific spoilers, but I thought you might want to be aware of that. ..Anyway.. Moving on!
Intolerance
Sima Yi had never been a patient man. He was many other things – discerning, shrewd, intelligent – downright brilliant even.. Yet from his youth 'tolerant' was not a word he would use to describe himself.
Though why would it be? As he had fast learned, there was a great deal in this world that was.. trying. Unnecessarily irritating, annoying.. Downright infuriating – he could give you a lengthy list of what made him feel that way, but there was one term that tended to sum it all up.
Stupidity. Oh, how he hated the word, and how much more he hated that which embodied it. Most convention and etiquette and decisions and more so the fools that were behind them. Brilliant as he was, it had become ever clearer to Sima Yi that sadly, the vast majority of the people that surrounded him were... quite simply... indecently inane.
Having to deal with such mediocrity from round about day one, you might be able to understand that if he'd ever possessed any inherent patience, it had fast been smothered and snuffed out- If constant foolishness was even worth tolerating in the first place.
However. That did not mean that he couldn't be patient. Naturally, one with ambition such as his had to know how to be this; to don tolerance like a cloak; master waiting as if it was a form of art.
..The years had passed.
He had been 'patient'. Worn his cloak so long it was like a second skin, but now..-
Times had changed – the conflict, now pale and wan as the desolate land itself..
-It was chafing.
Any 'glory' had long since disappeared at the sight of too many heroes littered by the wayside.
Everyone was dead. Empty husks, the hollowness pressing on those that were unfortunate enough to still be breathing. Nostalgia and loss poisoned the earth; sank into everyone's despairing hearts.
The age was passing.. These were but its death-throes. It was an unfortunate state of affairs.
Most unfortunate, but there was one thing that irritated Sima Yi even more.
What was left. Nought but fools – here, there, everywhere – you could not escape it, the stench of stupidity.
..Yes, that word again. Even more obvious than before, since most of more merit had long since withered and died or gone and crawled in a deep hole somewhere. The brainlessness though, it was so glaring now that it could almost drive him insane-
Hah. ..You'd think that some 'tolerance' would have rubbed off on him by now.
But this was just ridiculous. It was everywhere. They were everywhere; morons in the enemy ranks, in Wei's own court, no doubt sniffing around in every village as well. He could not be anywhere – bar perhaps his own house – and not be surrounded by them. Not be constantly reminded...
This, all of this, was the last thing they needed. Their kingdom neededto recover from the conflict; move past it, which would indeed be stalling if it were not for certain individuals. Well-placed, imbecilic individuals with ideas far above their station, stirring and stirring and making sure the battles raged on.
Hah. If he thought it would be at all productive, if it could be that simple, Sima Yi would personally hunt every arrogant little halfwit down and wring their filthy little necks until their dangerous lack of judgement wasn't his problem any more.. But no- that was too good for them, way too tolerant..-
Plus, he didn't have the time to spare.
He was getting old. He could feel it – the sickness seeping from his mind to his soul and finally, into his very body. It had been bound to happen eventually, he knew that.. and it wasn't as if he even felt his advanced age.
No.. Only the resignation that accompanied it.
If he had any patience these days, that was where it stemmed from. Someday, someday soon it would be time to leave.. time to go. He wouldn't have to wait much longer. There would be no regrets, and there might even be.. (dare he say it..) relief.
No more damned fools to swat aside like incessant flies..
Hahaha. Was that how that Zhuge Liang had felt, when he knew the end was coming? It was a rather dull existence, and to be stuck tolerating it, knowing you could have done so much more..
Ugh – hardly. It was different. It had been different. At least that man had been able to die while facing a superior opponent, and destiny had swallowed him up before this tedium. How lucky, but you're dead, long dead, so get out and STAY out of my head-
Sima Yi was the better man, and he was certainly not going to dwell in the past. He was not pining for it (really), and what was there to mourn? He could kid everyone else, but he was not a patient man. He was not going to wait around to die, and tolerance could go and jump off a cliff – it was teetering on the edge enough as it was.
Hahaha.. However...
Unlike these idiots, he was not about to revel in any delusions. He had been the only one capable, and had already taken the reins.. But he could not go much further. Shi was welcome to carry on in his place, but the facts were absolute – his own part in all this would soon be over.
There's the resignation again. But it was also plain common sense. And a.. pity.
Either way, it did little to stamp out his irritation completely. That was probably an exercise in impossibility, as he had had to live with it every day up to this point. With the lack of anything beyond incompetence his disgust had only continued to grow.
Oh how grating it was – this.. infestation, and he would not be able finish his task of suppressing it. Only death was the escape from this waste of his talent. Sima Yi was a brilliant man, and this was to be the end of his life, it seemed. ..His 'destiny'.
(Intolerance and sickness on and on and on-)
It was all nothing short of.. well...
(Cue laughter)
..Nothing short of stupidity.