sideblog. samurai warriors. dynasty warriors. sengoku jidai based media. biases All translations posted here are done by me and I make no profit from them. I welcome corrections of any kind.
The Day You Shared Your Dream With Me Young Takatora meets little Ishida Sakichi at the shore of the Lake Biwa after the fall of Odani castle.
Twenty Years Later set in the same universe as the above fic (but can be read as standalone). Takes place 20 years after Sekigahara. Takatora and Masamune remember their old friends that are no longer with them.
The Arrow of Fate Yoshitsugu and Nagamasa talk. The battle of Odani castle happens. Years later, Yoshitsugu meets Mitsunari.
I Will Protect That Dream Takatora visits Yoshitsugu at Tsuruga before the battle of Sekigahara.
Our Chosen Path a collection of short fics
I. Mitsunari mourns Yoshitsugu after Samurai Warriors Chronicles 3 Western Army IF route 1st ending
III. A Silver Dragon Kojuurou and Masamune. Masamume gives Kojuurou his breastplate and coat.
IV. Masamune and Kanetsugu in the Orochi ‘verse.
V. The Flying Plum. Kagekatsu and Kanetsugu a year after Sekigahara.
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Blast from the past. I wrote this years ago, found it a few days ago on my external hard drive, and decided to archive it on ao3, because I’m quite fond of it.
Yoshitsugu believes that everything is dictated by the flow of time, and resistance is futile. Yet, he wants to support Lord Nagamasa and his dream. After that dream is broken, will he be able to find someone else who'd stir something in him?
Yoshitsugu and Nagamasa talk. The battle of Odani castle happens. Years later, Yoshitsugu meets Mitsunari. That’s the real summary :D
If it’s Nobunaga-dono, he will brightly illuminate Lady Kichou’s path. I have a feeling like that.
Mitsuhide to Kenshin: When I heard about Nobunaga-dono’s vision to destroy the turbulent times and to attempt to reform the country, I could clearly see the bright light on the path I should walk on.
Kenshin: Hmm… to you, Nobunaga is like a lighting that heralds the spring. Is the shock that flooded you the source of the power that drives you?
why is Mitsuhide like this? also wtf Kenshin?
in any case, I guess Nobunaga symbolizes light to both Mitsuhide and Kichou, and it just adds more fuel to my
Mitsuhide’s third chapter is called 明星 which refers to the morning star aka Venus aka the second brightest object on the night sky (however it also has a second meaning - a person shining in their field; a preeminent person, a star) - which basically in this context refers to Nobunaga (if we also add some Western symbolism, morning star = Lucifer, it has a nice double meaning)
Anyway, more about how Nobunaga is Mitsuhide and Kichou’s light and hope. Spoilers for Kichou and Mitsuhide’s deaths, for the IF route, and general spoilers.
Also it’s all just my interpretation. But also why am I like this?
it’s a chapter that has Mitsuhide and Nobunaga meet again (and in meeting Nobunaga again, Mitsuhide found a path he wanted to walk on) and it ends with this scene where Nobunaga talks about a hope he wants to protect, about a future that could become, illuminating both Mitsuhide and Kichou’s paths (or more like solidifying that Nobunaga is “light and hope” for them)
[this scene also includes Mitsuki who’s literally like “i/you fell in love again” after Nobunaga’s speech specifically calling out Kichou. It’s not necessarily a romantic type of love but because it’s Nobunaga/Kichou it’s safe to assume it’s meant like that, but because of the ambiguity (and the future events and how much this moment meant to Mitsuhide and even Mitsuki) it’s also pretty safe to assume she meant everyone included - herself, Kichou, and Mitsuhide. But primarily in the text it’s Kichou]
So the hope Nobunaga talked about are people important to him (Mitsuhide - like he said people but spent an unusually long time gazing at Mitsuhide lol) and of course, Kichou, too (that’s not me being weird, that’s how he says it. “People important to me (gazing at Mitsuhide), of course (turns around to look at Kichou), Kichou, you too.”) So while there are other people important to him, Mitsuhide and Kichou are especially important, separated from the rest.
This magnolia tree then becomes a symbol of the future, and another symbol of hope for Mitsuhide. A peaceful world where the pure flowers won’t be stained and ruined.
spoilers for Mitsuhide and Kichou’s deaths follow
when Kichou covers Nobunaga and is shot instead, Nobunaga asks her, “why?”
she replies, “because you, too, are my hope” connecting her actions to the previous scene. It is a love confession, but it’s also you showed me hope and light, you changed me, and I want you to live (because I don’t want your brightness to die) and bring forward the peaceful world (or at least that’s my personal interpretation, I mean all of this is)
after Kichou’s death, stuff happens and in a lot of ways, Mitsuhide’s thinking and his path forward is influenced by the fact that Nobunaga is his “light illuminating his path and hope” - and a part of it takes a form of Nobunaga’s “land restoration” (I’m not going to get into Mitsuhide in chapter 4 right now because there’s a LOT to untangle) - it’s wrapped into “righteousness” but it’s really hard to separate it from Mitsuhide’s “attraction” to Nobunaga as a person (it was always the case in previous titles, it’s still present here as well; what makes a difference this time is Nobunaga relying on Mitsuhide, trusting Mitsuhide the most, and that, I guess, makes Mitsuhide blind towards certain things, and why his doubt towards Nobunaga’s ways come so late in the game)
okay, skipping forward, Mitsuhide’s decision to defeat Nobunaga is made under the same tree where they talked about hope and future. Where Nobunaga said that to protect the hope in your hands, you need to destroy the current world (it’s years later but Mitsuhide still remembers Nobunaga’s words lol), and it’s Mitsuki, another person who “fell” for Nobunaga under the same tree in the past, who opens his eyes
and finally, Mitsuhide’s death
in his final moments before his death, he hears the echoes of Nobunaga and Kichou’s laughter, he sees the magnolia tree, blooming, tall and proud. He sees Nobunaga, Kichou, and Mitsuki having fun in a brightly lit up world, the little flowers from the tree falling down
Mitsuhide reaching out his hand, trying to catch one, reaching toward the illusion: “Aaah, my hope...” unable to touch, dying with a smile on his face. The end.
but also WTF it just occurred to me that when Kichou was dying she also reached out, trying to touch Nobunaga’s face, but she was unable to do it and died. The same way as Mitsuhide was unable to reach out and touch his own hope, Kichou was unable to touch hers.
T_T
AND then you have the IF story that... is very easy to be seen as Mitsuhide’s dream before he dies (i.e. his hope, what he always wanted). It starts with Kichou not dying and shows us what could have been when it comes to Mitsuhide and Nobunaga’s relationship, but ALSO the very last scene is connected to all of this
it of course ends under the magnolia tree. Nobunaga defeated his enemies and his “land restoration” can start, and they will still walk together and make it happen
and then Kichou and Mitsuki join them, and Mitsuki, Kichou, and Nobunaga’s arrangement is the same as in Mitsuhide’s vision before he died after Yamazaki, he sees the same scene.
The IF ending is very sappy but it’s also healing after the depressing main story lol
But like, all Mitsuhide wanted was to have his found family alive and to spend the rest of his life at Nobunaga’s side. But the moment Kichou was killed, it was impossible to achieve...
This is actually a part of a long rambling which I’m not sure I’m gonna post but in the meantime
Mitsuhide’s third chapter is called 明星 (myoujou) which refers to the morning star aka Venus aka the second brightest object on the night sky, which basically in the context of this chapter refers to Nobunaga (as a symbol of a shining light as I mentioned before)
But if we also add some Western symbolism, morning star = Lucifer, and...
considering that in previous installments both Nobunaga and Mitsuhide had angel imagery - black and white feathers - and the feathers are still a part of their design is 5, especially visible for Nobunaga...
I’m probably just reading too much into it though...
even though Nobunaga is Mitsuhide’s light that led him on a path to hell... on a path where other characters could “see” demons hiding behind Mitsuhide’s back
no but see, Mitsuhide being like “did I become stronger, Nobunaga-dono?” is actually such a Mitsuhide thing
because what did Mitsuhide want in sw4 the most? To be recognized by Nobunaga. That was literally it. To show his loyalty, to be recognized, he rebelled. (and then he was like I changed my mind LOL)
And this need to be... needed? by Nobunaga carried to sw5 too
For reasons he chooses Nobunaga, for reasons he chooses to give him his undivided loyalty, and for reasons he devotes his life to Nobunaga
and then Nobunaga rejects him because Mitsuhide “isn’t enough”
and what Mitsuhide does? He thinks about what Nobunaga would want him to do. He finds an answer that would satisfy Nobunaga, an answer Nobunaga would want... and he rebels
I don’t want to turn this blog into a shipping blog but Mitsuhide/Toshimitsu is also a good lord/vassal ship BUT it’s very difficult to figure out how it’d work in the context of sw5
because at the end of the day it just ends up being Nobunaga →←Mitsuhide ← Toshimitsu
If it’s Nobunaga-dono, he will brightly illuminate Lady Kichou’s path. I have a feeling like that.
Mitsuhide to Kenshin: When I heard about Nobunaga-dono’s vision to destroy the turbulent times and to attempt to reform the country, I could clearly see the bright light on the path I should walk on.
Kenshin: Hmm... to you, Nobunaga is like a lighting that heralds the spring. Is the shock that flooded you the source of the power that drives you?
why is Mitsuhide like this? also wtf Kenshin?
in any case, I guess Nobunaga symbolizes light to both Mitsuhide and Kichou, and it just adds more fuel to my
addition: Mitsuhide (still talking about deaths) more spoilers
(also this is just my own interpretation of stuff)
I didn’t add it before because it doesn’t fit the theme I was going for but there’s also a death that has an impact on Mitsuhide (that isn’t just his family being killed and his castle being burned down)
and that’s Shikanosuke (but also Nagamasa, and I believe Asakura Yoshikage, but that one was used to severe Mitsuhide from his past self), but Shikanosuke
this game is very depressing ok and if one has a stronger connection to Mitsuhide they end up dead. he’s bad luck
while Kichou, Hanbei, and Sena died in front of Nobunaga, Hideyoshi, and Ieyasu respectively, Shikanosuke died alone
Shikanosuke’s story is actually really sad because him and Mitsuhide make a promise to become stronger so both of them could achieve their ‘dreams’ - Shikanosuke the restoration of the Amago, and Mitsuhide the “tenka isshin” with Nobunaga. Shikanosuke was the only friend Mitsuhide had - Nobunaga isn’t a friend, he is and always will be his lord despite their weird relationship that tries to be somewhat equal but isn’t*. Toshimitsu also isn’t a friend because he’s Mitsuhide’s subordinate. With Asakura and Nagamasa the relationships also weren’t equal - but they both walked different paths and both of them looked toward a different future.
And Mitsuhide, while following Nobunaga’s orders, ultimately abandons Shikanosuke, and as a result Shikanosuke dies. He manages to kill Motonari (which was a win for him), but he never accomplishes the restoration, and he dies thinking he wasn’t good enough, he thought that Mitsuhide was out of his reach, way before him on their path to become stronger. He saw a Mitsuhide who could talk with Nobunaga like an equal, who understood Nobunaga on a deeper level, and he felt left behind. He saw a Mitsuhide walking the path he had chosen, without hesitation. And he dies, his own dream and the promise with Mitsuhide out of his reach, unaccomplished.
So Shikanosuke dies, and there can be parallels with Nonunaga and Kichou (not romantic ones unless that’s your thing, but I don’t see Mitsuhide and Shikanosuke’s relationship in a romantic light)
but first, Shikanosuke’s death made Mitsuhide feel regret and doubt - Nobunaga abandoning the Amago and Kouzuki castle, their own allies, was the first thing that made Mitsuhide really doubt Nobunaga’s path, but also doubt himself. He had convinced himself that he abandoned his emotions, that remorse and regret and even compassion aren’t emotions he feels anymore, but then Shikanosuke dies, and Mitsuhide hears about it from Mitsuki
and that’s when Nobunaga finds him, and “cuts” him from his side because he sees Mitsuhide is having doubts (even though Mitsuhide protests) - doubts about what they’re doing, about their path to the country’s restoration [everyone will probably have their own interpretation, but in some way, imho, this was Nobunaga’s way to redirect Mitsuhide on the path Nobunaga wanted - the path that will end at Honnoji with Mitsuhide killing him]
And so, while the vengeance for Kichou’s death was Nobunaga’s last expression of emotions, Shikanosuke’s death was Mitsuhide’s very last regret, and the combination of feeling the regret and Nobunaga’s judgement and “I don’t need you” made him rethink stuff** (but he still needed other people to tell him that Nobunaga’s path is wrong - Momochi, Mitsuki - Mitsuhide is honestly pretty blind to Nobunaga’s faults)
And so he committed and decided to defeat the source of the turbulent times - Nobunaga.
And yet, he didn’t do it for vengeance, he didn’t do it to take over Nobunaga, he did what Nobunaga wanted him to do, and he sacrificed himself for the oath he and Nobunaga had made, he followed his “righteousness”. He knew that once he kills Nobunaga, someone will come and kill him, and that person will take over and create the new world.
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so uhm yeah, Shikanosuke’s story is just really sad and tragic (in a way, it’s more satisfying if you focus on his relationship with Motonari)
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* and that’s why it’s so fascinating in this installment lol (even though I get where people might see problems with it, but Mitsuhide was always Nobunaga-sama *-* and there weren’t really any real reasons for his devotion/attraction/whatever it is in previous installments either)
** and in a lot of ways, or maybe because of my bias idk, he was still more motivated by Nobunaga’s words. Shikanosuke’s death only served to create a temporal gap between Nobunaga and Mitsuhide, but it ultimately didn’t change anything. Because Mitsuhide never betrayed Nobunaga.
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also I realized that Nobunaga slashing Samonji over Mitsuhide’s head to ‘cut him off’ was probably musou’s version of “Nobunaga kicked/hit Mitsuhide”
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anyway who knows if this makes sense, I just needed to sort Shikanosuke&Mitsuhide feels in my head LOL (I might also completely change my opinion in a few weeks who knows LOL)
................... my game seems broken because it doesn’t want to give me S rank in the very last stage for the number of kills (even though I saw videos where people only got a little over 2000, I had 3k even) and like I wouldn’t care, but the S rank is needed for older Mitsuhide’s rare weapon
I finished the hardest stage on chaos/hell mode or whatever it’s called in English, and I was supposed to get all S, but nope
ugh
why? T_T
on the other hand, I’m able to finish the hardest stage on chaos without dying LMAO I mean it was with fully leveled up Nobunaga with his rare weapon but still LOL and fully leveled up Mitsuhide
