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waterscrollSome kind person put this route on youtube so I get to see both endings without having to replay from the beginning. I'll get to the other one in a few days.
Where we last left Shingen, MC had just convinced him not to die. The Oda are coming and are about to besiege his castle, so as a last-ditch attempt to survive he burns it and flees. In Nobunaga's act 2 one of the most devastating scenes is watching Nobunaga chase after Shingen while he flees desperately with no hope of saving anything but his own life. Nobunaga is all snarky at him about it, but here from his perspective it looks heroic, trying to hold on to every last chance despite everything. Shingen makes it, finally, to a different castle that he has a chance to defend. He sends MC, who is by now very pregnant, to his ally Oyamada, where he believes she'll be safe.
Nobunaga pursues Shingen and besieges his castle. But Ieyasu, the little snit, goes straight to Oyamada, because his spies figured out Shingen's pregnant mistress was there, and threatens to destroy Oyamada's castle and kill everyone in it unless he hands over MC. It's a terrifying scene, because you know he will, and you also know he'll kill MC if he gets his hands on her. Oyamada pretends to go along with it, because there's nothing else he can do, and helps MC escape into the forest. Saizo finds her there, along with one of Ieyasu's ninjas. And then the route split happens.
In the good ending, Saizo takes on Ieyasu's guy while MC flees and runs into, of all people...Kenshin. He remembers her from before and she throws herself on his mercy and asks if he could, by any chance, take her to Shingen. He lifts her up next to him on his horse, puts his arms around her, and tells her that's where he's going.
Cut to Shingen valiantly waiting out the siege. Nobunaga's got him vastly outnumbered and it doesn't look like there's any hope. And then he hears a horn! He runs to look out, and it's the 30,000 strong Uesegi army come to the rescue and Shingen knows it's his 'dearest friend and confidante' Kenshin leading them. Nobunaga's people are outnumbered and run. Kenshin and MC rush into Shingen's castle and MC throws herself into Shingen's arms. Kenshin, who still only knows MC as Yahiko, says, "So, Shingen, you finally chose a man as your partner after all." Shingen laughs.
Then they live in a happy threesome ever after. That part isn't stated but it sounds reasonable enough.
In the epilogue, MC is about to have a baby and Shingen is dealing with his worries about becoming a father. What makes him able to handle it is that he's learned to rely on other people's strength instead of feeling like he has to be strong enough for everyone. He's recovered from tuberculosis and Nobunaga seems content to leave him alone, but he also isn't going to do any more conquering. In the last chapter we get a flash-forward to a few years later, Shingen carrying his son on his shoulders. He loves being a dad.
I'm pretty happy with this story. It was amazing how much Shingen changed from the beginning and he ended up becoming a quite lovely person. It felt like he and MC grew into each other and that they both figured out how to become more balanced people by loving each other - she became more confident and he became more able to be vulnerable, to embrace his weakness and to listen to and rely on other people. It felt like a beautiful romance by the end and I was cheering for them.
Now to watch it all be destroyed, sigh.
Where we last left Shingen, MC had just convinced him not to die. The Oda are coming and are about to besiege his castle, so as a last-ditch attempt to survive he burns it and flees. In Nobunaga's act 2 one of the most devastating scenes is watching Nobunaga chase after Shingen while he flees desperately with no hope of saving anything but his own life. Nobunaga is all snarky at him about it, but here from his perspective it looks heroic, trying to hold on to every last chance despite everything. Shingen makes it, finally, to a different castle that he has a chance to defend. He sends MC, who is by now very pregnant, to his ally Oyamada, where he believes she'll be safe.
Nobunaga pursues Shingen and besieges his castle. But Ieyasu, the little snit, goes straight to Oyamada, because his spies figured out Shingen's pregnant mistress was there, and threatens to destroy Oyamada's castle and kill everyone in it unless he hands over MC. It's a terrifying scene, because you know he will, and you also know he'll kill MC if he gets his hands on her. Oyamada pretends to go along with it, because there's nothing else he can do, and helps MC escape into the forest. Saizo finds her there, along with one of Ieyasu's ninjas. And then the route split happens.
In the good ending, Saizo takes on Ieyasu's guy while MC flees and runs into, of all people...Kenshin. He remembers her from before and she throws herself on his mercy and asks if he could, by any chance, take her to Shingen. He lifts her up next to him on his horse, puts his arms around her, and tells her that's where he's going.
Cut to Shingen valiantly waiting out the siege. Nobunaga's got him vastly outnumbered and it doesn't look like there's any hope. And then he hears a horn! He runs to look out, and it's the 30,000 strong Uesegi army come to the rescue and Shingen knows it's his 'dearest friend and confidante' Kenshin leading them. Nobunaga's people are outnumbered and run. Kenshin and MC rush into Shingen's castle and MC throws herself into Shingen's arms. Kenshin, who still only knows MC as Yahiko, says, "So, Shingen, you finally chose a man as your partner after all." Shingen laughs.
Then they live in a happy threesome ever after. That part isn't stated but it sounds reasonable enough.
In the epilogue, MC is about to have a baby and Shingen is dealing with his worries about becoming a father. What makes him able to handle it is that he's learned to rely on other people's strength instead of feeling like he has to be strong enough for everyone. He's recovered from tuberculosis and Nobunaga seems content to leave him alone, but he also isn't going to do any more conquering. In the last chapter we get a flash-forward to a few years later, Shingen carrying his son on his shoulders. He loves being a dad.
I'm pretty happy with this story. It was amazing how much Shingen changed from the beginning and he ended up becoming a quite lovely person. It felt like he and MC grew into each other and that they both figured out how to become more balanced people by loving each other - she became more confident and he became more able to be vulnerable, to embrace his weakness and to listen to and rely on other people. It felt like a beautiful romance by the end and I was cheering for them.
Now to watch it all be destroyed, sigh.
no subject
Date: 2020-02-17 04:47 am (UTC)Shingen knows it's his 'dearest friend and confidante' Kenshin leading them. Nobunaga's people are outnumbered and run. Kenshin and MC rush into Shingen's castle and MC throws herself into Shingen's arms. Kenshin, who still only knows MC as Yahiko, says, "So, Shingen, you finally chose a man as your partner after all." Shingen laughs.
Then they live in a happy threesome ever after. That part isn't stated but it sounds reasonable enough.
OMG. I am here for this and I don't even care that it's a total deus ex machina (and honestly, it's probably better than some of the others, like "Hideyoshi was having a good day I guess??").
This sounds like such a lovely ending!
no subject
Date: 2020-02-17 08:40 pm (UTC)Kenshin is the best (literal) deus ex machina, and it was fun to see Nobunaga's war machine ahistorically driven off.
As far as the threesome, Kenshin's 'so you finally got a serious boyfriend?' line made me think that Kenshin and Shingen had something in the past but Shingen backed off due to internalized homophobia. Now that Kenshin was his literal knight in shining armor riding to the rescue, maybe they'll have another chance.
no subject
Date: 2020-02-17 08:53 pm (UTC)Oh! D: Purple Hanzo is devoted to Saizo almost as much as he is devoted to Iga. So, that's sad! :( (But I'd also be lying if I said I wasn't rolling in the angst. ;) )
Kenshin is the best (literal) deus ex machina
...omg, you're right.
As far as the threesome, Kenshin's 'so you finally got a serious boyfriend?' line made me think that Kenshin and Shingen had something in the past but Shingen backed off due to internalized homophobia.
Yeah, I definitely see them having something in the past. Or something to do with political situations. Which should also be resolved by Nobunaga backing off.
There's a Shingen/Kenshin fanfic that posits that they weren't together because they both wanted Divine Rule. I don't know if that matches Kenshin or Shingen's route, but it could work with the Nobunaga and Shingen event story where they both like "naaaah, the world isn't big enough for two badasses like us to get along".