Nobunaga Act 2 epilogue
Jan. 7th, 2020 07:48 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
waterscrollIn which history gets completely thrown out so we don't have to suffer. I'll take it.
Part 1:
In the epilogue, MC and Nobunaga are running a gun shop together. They pick up broken discarded guns from the port, refurbish them, and sell them on the black market. It's illegal, and I suppose also morally sketchy, but they're happy and have been living this way for years.
Then one day Mitsuhide comes to visit. He's apparently the new Divine Ruler. (...what?) They talk for a while, and he asks Nobunaga to come visit the castle to restore morale. Nobunaga says he has no intention of ever going back.
Mitsuhide: In truth, this should only have been a temporary way to conceal you...
MC: He did say already that as he is not Lord of the Clan there is no need for him to be in residence at the castle.
Nobunaga: Don't you start.
Lord Nobunaga glares halfheartedly, but I just return it with a smile. I still remember the day he drugged me and had me kidnapped from Azuchi Castle. I had never thought that Lord Nobunaga would leave, either. At the time, I had taken the hand Lord Nobunaga offered me with no hesitation at all.
Mitsuhide: Even if you wish it to be so, you cannot possibly expect that I can allow the Lord of the Oda Clan to live this way.
Nobunaga: And? What is the harm in allowing a dead man to do as he wishes?
Mitsuhide: Everyone is waiting for your return, Milord.
Nobunaga: ...Has that much time passed already since you started your peaceful reign, then?
Mitsuhide: Several years, for the retainers who know of Lord Nobunaga's 'retirement' following Lord Akechi's rebellion and ascent to power. As I'm sure you have surmised, there are already minor rebellions against the Akechi Clan. It is as if we have yet returned to the days of the Oda. I knew that I was not suited for this...It may very well be time to announce your successor. Please, I beg of you, name an heir.
Nobunaga: How many of our retainers have turned against you since you became Lord of the Clan?
Mitsuhide: No one yet, Milord, for they all know that while Akechi stands before them, you stand behind me.
Nobunaga: Has war broken out?
Mitsuhide: Not at this time, Milord, it has only been a few years yet since I took over the Clan.
Nobunaga: You never change, do you...It's your era now, is it not? Do whatever you want with it, I don't care.
I am writing this down because I am trying to be sure I am getting this right. I guess this is a completely AU history in which Mitsuhide stayed in power after Honno-ji, for at least a few years, and things went more or less fine. What will this mean for subsequent history? Who knows!
Nobunaga refuses to name a successor or get involved.
Then Ieyasu appears, who was spying on the whole conversation:
Ieyasu: Mitsuhide, I must ask you, why do you still insist upon being that man's puppet?
Mitsuhide: Simply because being one has brought me to where I am. The peace we have now is thanks to my allowing him to manipulate me at will.
Ieyasu: Is it? Or could it be that you have simply misjudged your own abilities? Perhaps we should have Hanzo kill him and see for ourselves?
Mitsuhide: You will do no such thing!
Then Ieyasu disappears, and we flip back to Nobunaga and MC eating madelines and happy about all the good things that have come from the west because of Nobunaga.
(Are we going to AU the entire Tokugawa shogunate out of existence? Is that the plan? Seriously, the other two AU happy endings I've seen just give the guy a more or less plausible happy ending, this is rather more ambitious. And yeah, I can see how act 3 could follow from this.)
Part 2:
Nobunaga, figuring that Mitsuhide isn't going to drop this, asks MC if she's willing to go on the run again. She agrees, and a few days later they board a ship in the middle of the night, heading to China and maybe also Korea.
MC: What really is waiting out there for us in this vast, wonderful world of ours? Strangely, though, I am not afraid to find out.
They watch sunrise from the ship and it's beautiful.
Nobunaga: This might be goodbye after all. The Land of the Rising Sun is far too small...The whole world is out there waiting to know me. And what of you, is this what you want?
MC: It is. I'm quite used to chasing you around by now.
Nobunaga: That's the last thing I want to see from the woman who ruined my suicide.
MC: And to think, even with years to regret doing it, I still don't.
Nobunaga: ...Nor do I.
They have sex, in a way that looks sort of dubcon-y but she's clear she really likes. Then he tells her that it might be a dangerous journey. So she takes out the flask of konpetio she always carries.
Nobunaga: If that's how it's going to be, maybe you and I can hope for a safe journey after all.
The last line: "Inside the flask, shining brilliantly with the light of the morning dawn, are scores of konpetio, their slightly scorched imperfection leaving its mark upon the glass."
Nobunaga is happy. MC is happy. I'm happy. But all the historical questions are left completely unresolved, and I have no idea how leaving Mitsuhide in charge, with Ieyasu scheming against him, is going to affect the future of Japan, or for that matter the world. Not to mention what crazy shenanigans Nobunaga is going to get up to in the 'world that is waiting to know him'. Does humanity still exist in the 21st century in this timeline? ::is worried:: I guess we'll find out in act 3.
I am still not sure what to play next. I'm thinking of replaying Mitsuhide's Act 1 to give myself a break, but maybe I need to step away from the whole tangled Nobunaga/Mitsuhide business for a bit and come back to it later. The other two I'm most interested in right now are Shingen and Ieyasu but they are both really difficult reads and I do need a break. Well, I have until tomorrow to decide.
ETA: I think I'll just do Nobunaga Act 2 again. I hated him all the way until the happy ending so I might appreciate the route better now. Also I'm curious to see the other ending.
Part 1:
In the epilogue, MC and Nobunaga are running a gun shop together. They pick up broken discarded guns from the port, refurbish them, and sell them on the black market. It's illegal, and I suppose also morally sketchy, but they're happy and have been living this way for years.
Then one day Mitsuhide comes to visit. He's apparently the new Divine Ruler. (...what?) They talk for a while, and he asks Nobunaga to come visit the castle to restore morale. Nobunaga says he has no intention of ever going back.
Mitsuhide: In truth, this should only have been a temporary way to conceal you...
MC: He did say already that as he is not Lord of the Clan there is no need for him to be in residence at the castle.
Nobunaga: Don't you start.
Lord Nobunaga glares halfheartedly, but I just return it with a smile. I still remember the day he drugged me and had me kidnapped from Azuchi Castle. I had never thought that Lord Nobunaga would leave, either. At the time, I had taken the hand Lord Nobunaga offered me with no hesitation at all.
Mitsuhide: Even if you wish it to be so, you cannot possibly expect that I can allow the Lord of the Oda Clan to live this way.
Nobunaga: And? What is the harm in allowing a dead man to do as he wishes?
Mitsuhide: Everyone is waiting for your return, Milord.
Nobunaga: ...Has that much time passed already since you started your peaceful reign, then?
Mitsuhide: Several years, for the retainers who know of Lord Nobunaga's 'retirement' following Lord Akechi's rebellion and ascent to power. As I'm sure you have surmised, there are already minor rebellions against the Akechi Clan. It is as if we have yet returned to the days of the Oda. I knew that I was not suited for this...It may very well be time to announce your successor. Please, I beg of you, name an heir.
Nobunaga: How many of our retainers have turned against you since you became Lord of the Clan?
Mitsuhide: No one yet, Milord, for they all know that while Akechi stands before them, you stand behind me.
Nobunaga: Has war broken out?
Mitsuhide: Not at this time, Milord, it has only been a few years yet since I took over the Clan.
Nobunaga: You never change, do you...It's your era now, is it not? Do whatever you want with it, I don't care.
I am writing this down because I am trying to be sure I am getting this right. I guess this is a completely AU history in which Mitsuhide stayed in power after Honno-ji, for at least a few years, and things went more or less fine. What will this mean for subsequent history? Who knows!
Nobunaga refuses to name a successor or get involved.
Then Ieyasu appears, who was spying on the whole conversation:
Ieyasu: Mitsuhide, I must ask you, why do you still insist upon being that man's puppet?
Mitsuhide: Simply because being one has brought me to where I am. The peace we have now is thanks to my allowing him to manipulate me at will.
Ieyasu: Is it? Or could it be that you have simply misjudged your own abilities? Perhaps we should have Hanzo kill him and see for ourselves?
Mitsuhide: You will do no such thing!
Then Ieyasu disappears, and we flip back to Nobunaga and MC eating madelines and happy about all the good things that have come from the west because of Nobunaga.
(Are we going to AU the entire Tokugawa shogunate out of existence? Is that the plan? Seriously, the other two AU happy endings I've seen just give the guy a more or less plausible happy ending, this is rather more ambitious. And yeah, I can see how act 3 could follow from this.)
Part 2:
Nobunaga, figuring that Mitsuhide isn't going to drop this, asks MC if she's willing to go on the run again. She agrees, and a few days later they board a ship in the middle of the night, heading to China and maybe also Korea.
MC: What really is waiting out there for us in this vast, wonderful world of ours? Strangely, though, I am not afraid to find out.
They watch sunrise from the ship and it's beautiful.
Nobunaga: This might be goodbye after all. The Land of the Rising Sun is far too small...The whole world is out there waiting to know me. And what of you, is this what you want?
MC: It is. I'm quite used to chasing you around by now.
Nobunaga: That's the last thing I want to see from the woman who ruined my suicide.
MC: And to think, even with years to regret doing it, I still don't.
Nobunaga: ...Nor do I.
They have sex, in a way that looks sort of dubcon-y but she's clear she really likes. Then he tells her that it might be a dangerous journey. So she takes out the flask of konpetio she always carries.
Nobunaga: If that's how it's going to be, maybe you and I can hope for a safe journey after all.
The last line: "Inside the flask, shining brilliantly with the light of the morning dawn, are scores of konpetio, their slightly scorched imperfection leaving its mark upon the glass."
Nobunaga is happy. MC is happy. I'm happy. But all the historical questions are left completely unresolved, and I have no idea how leaving Mitsuhide in charge, with Ieyasu scheming against him, is going to affect the future of Japan, or for that matter the world. Not to mention what crazy shenanigans Nobunaga is going to get up to in the 'world that is waiting to know him'. Does humanity still exist in the 21st century in this timeline? ::is worried:: I guess we'll find out in act 3.
I am still not sure what to play next. I'm thinking of replaying Mitsuhide's Act 1 to give myself a break, but maybe I need to step away from the whole tangled Nobunaga/Mitsuhide business for a bit and come back to it later. The other two I'm most interested in right now are Shingen and Ieyasu but they are both really difficult reads and I do need a break. Well, I have until tomorrow to decide.
ETA: I think I'll just do Nobunaga Act 2 again. I hated him all the way until the happy ending so I might appreciate the route better now. Also I'm curious to see the other ending.
