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JOSHUA + REPUTATION. headcanons regarding how the ruthless malpais legate earned his fearsome reputation found below / under the cut.

WITHIN A FACTION that is infamous for its brutality, slaving, misogyny, training child soldiers, mass killings, totalitarianism, torture / crucifixion, cultural destruction, and more... to be known as a man who does things that could make a man sick just thinking about them, is admittedly no easy feat. as what could make a man sick, if not what is on the surface? what more could there be, below it?

one's imagination could reasonably infer what happens within a legion outpost / and their camps. the fort. whether it's in terms of slave punishment and the like, or examples being made of their enemies. what might happen within their arena. how could it get worse than that? the use of the corpses strung up on crosses, the desolation of nipton. these already seem more than enough to unsettle, or maybe even cause physical discomfort in some.

so again, it begs the question of what exactly gave joshua graham such a reputation in the first place, as such is never truly explained to us outright.

joshua graham's ascension to caesar's right hand was far from gradual. in-fact, it was instantaneous. and while he was a young, naive, nervous, and inexperienced church-boy back then.. caesar knew just how to exploit that willingness to defer, and how to expose him to the reality of what must be done. he was an archetype of the type of man caesar aimed to enslave, as a man willing to give his life to the service of his god. he was a man who was more stable and predictable when given clear authority and structure. he was already deferring to / looking up to edward, with a prior rapport. edward knew joshua had an affinity for him. he was already a leader, even within their small expedition, and a man that joshua looked up to as an elder. so he was exposed, and quickly desensitized to, the kinds of things he would henceforth be participating in. quickly familiarizing himself with the necessities, as per the philosophies he now lived by. and once he knew that, he was intelligent enough to do what was needed.

those in the legion are not to show fear, and disobedience and cowardice are to be severely punished. as the commander of the legions forces, someone who trains those forces, he must set an example. it was his job, to doll out such punishment. but as a legate, an extension of the will of caesar, it was important for him to enforce his will without mercy. (his appearances / personal conduct something he was very aware of at all times). however, as time went on, he did have his own personal signatures that would emerge.

some things i believe / headcanon joshua to have done, whether on a regular basis or otherwise, to lead to such a reputation as he'd amassed :

it was joshua's idea to use child soldiers against the ncr, in particularly gruesome ways. it was his responsibility to train, condition, and command them to that end. the fearlessness to give ones life for the legion instilled at a young age.

when joshua crucified enemies of the legion, he would not simply tie them to the cross. no. he would nail them to it. citing that he thought it was more fitting that those so capable of committing sin should feel the pain that god's son felt, when he gave his life for them to commit such in the first place. let it strengthen their bid for repentance, as their pitiful souls pray for forgiveness to a god they never believed in. :3

"when those within the legion's ranks are disloyal, some are punished, the others made to watch" - well, this punishment - in a sense - was primarily performed by joshua, especially in the early years of the legion.. considering his role training the recruits, and drilling / commanding the legionaries. he turned punishment into a spectacle. whether this was during battle, or during their training. as a field commander, it might not usually be his job to train their armies for battle - however again, in the early years of the legion, he was the only one to train the fledglings. not to mention the only one who was able to relay orders in several different languages, while also simultaneously teaching them english. something which carried on as one of his duties, even if moving forward he shared the responsibility more and more with other legion commanders. regardless, he was often called upon to doll out punishments in front of these audiences due to his brutality and menace - typically when such punishments were meant to kill. it would not have served to simply kill, or maim. no. in order to command his own respect, and to inspire ultimate obedience to caesar without question, it had to strike fear that would linger far past the moment itself. eventually, his mere presence would unnerve the legionary slaves, and the things he would do to torture were things most would not think to inflict upon another. ( note : to make matters worse, these punishments weren't strictly performed upon legionaries, or those deemed fit to serve caesar in a military role. this treatment would also extend to disobedient slaves - men, women and children alike. despite the latter's punishment rarely resulting in death ).

in a similar vein, from early on it was his job to terrorize the tribes who refused them - as they were meant to serve as a warning to those whom would think to make the same mistake. this required them to make similar statements, in order to deter further disobedience from potential slaves. oftentimes he would make this ritualistic, drawn out and as brutal as possible. for he could sometimes get entire tribes, or certain individuals to submit, while their leaders were forced to watch their own die. starting with the weak, until there was no one left.

he applied the same severity to his own as he did his enemies. no hesitation, no question, visible doubt or exceptions.

the clinical nature in how he performs such brutality, and that it was always done for a reason. to serve a purpose. intentional, and never for the sake of chaos.

the truth of his origins conflicting with the types of things he does, of course contribute. however, stories of his deeds have also mutated as they are spread across the wasteland as most legends do.

there is the topic of his surviving despite having survived multiple "confirmed kills" / assassination attempts to consider as well, however i believe his reputation precedes this regardless.

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