Prince Zuko 🔥 祖寇 (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
rediscovering) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
avalononline2021-05-02 08:48 pm
rediscovering) wrote in avalononline2021-05-02 08:48 pm
Entry tags:
- alice in wonderland: alice liddell,
- avatar: the last airbender: zuko,
- beastars: louis,
- danganronpa: mukuro ikusaba,
- dragon age: inquisitor lavellan,
- dramatical murder: noiz,
- ducktales: fenton crackshell-cabrera,
- hypnosis mic: rosho tsutsujimori,
- ikemen sengoku: oda nobunaga,
- katekyou hitman reborn: tsunayoshi sawad,
- my hero academia: eijiro kirishima,
- my hero academia: izuku midoriya,
- tales of symphonia: colette brunel,
- twisted wonderland: azul ashengrotto
text; un: fireprince
1. what do you know about job interviews?
i didnt know you have to interview to get jobs. even if it's just at a restaurant!! regardless of whether the job itself involves talking to people at all!!? stupid
[ Guess who's been bombing interviews as a part-time busboy all over town. And who's only bothering to ask about proper employment beyond random quests, um, now, after several months of just getting by...? He must be getting tired of stealing hotchips from the cornerstore. ]
2. what do you know about going to school as a full-time student here?
i heard you can make a living like this
insight about going to school in other worlds could be useful too. i was homeschooled....
[ But at least he's thinking in terms of solutions. ]
i didnt know you have to interview to get jobs. even if it's just at a restaurant!! regardless of whether the job itself involves talking to people at all!!? stupid
[ Guess who's been bombing interviews as a part-time busboy all over town. And who's only bothering to ask about proper employment beyond random quests, um, now, after several months of just getting by...? He must be getting tired of stealing hotchips from the cornerstore. ]
2. what do you know about going to school as a full-time student here?
i heard you can make a living like this
insight about going to school in other worlds could be useful too. i was homeschooled....
[ But at least he's thinking in terms of solutions. ]
no subject
It seems I succeeded in breaking a lot of the worst rigid traditions holding Japan back! I'm lucky that so many people here are from 500 years my future. Nobility was very different in my time. It was just about taking what they could from the people with force and trickery. In the future, it became everything we hoped it could!
If it makes you feel any better, I can't hold my tongue to save my life! If Hideyoshi was here he'd be having non-stop heart attacks trying to keep me out of trouble! :)
[AND HE IS DYING OF LAUGHTER ABOUT THE TEA! Now he wants to get it and get Mitsuhide to drink it just to see if they can find the one thing that even Mitsuhide has no tongue for!!!!]
[THEN AGAIN SUGARY SYRUP YOU SAY?!]
[Zuko, this is a full grown adult, your Uncle's age, who all but sends himself into a sugar-coma in the cookie grove trying to eat hundreds of cookies.]
[Yes.]
Thank you for the warning!
Have you tried raisins yet? They are awful!
no subject
i know about japan.
almost all my friends are japanese. but they're all from like half a century after world war ii.
[ what why do you know about this zuko stop ]
i don't know a lot about japan's history though. but i'd be interested to learn. there's a lot in common between japan and the fire nation. i hope the future of my country is so bright after our war is over, too...
whats wrong with raisins??
it's like a prune or a sun-dried purpleberry
at least they're natural..
no subject
I hadn't heard about any world wars. That's troublesome. But I know Japan fares well in the 2000s and 2100s and becomes a hub of technology pioneering. In my time, I struggled to get most Japanese to accept even the usefulness of guns. They consider them inelegant, unlike swords or martial arts. But the normal people can't afford to spend all their time only on studying war, and they shouldn't have to! Mitsuhide actually designed the guns for my army. That way we can have people ready to defend themselves with fractions of the time training, and they don't have to dedicate years to learning how to protect what's important to them. Even with all the other worlds here, I haven't met anyone as talented as Mitsuhide. Idiots can't see talent though. People who just want obedience can't see the potential in front of them! I'm sure if your Fire Nation has enough people who can see what COULD be, then they will prosper like Japan's future too!
I do wish I could see a train! It's hard to imagine, even for me! I made ships with armor plating, and getting people to understand their significance wasn't much easier than guns. Hell, even getting a formal currency took until pretty recently! But everyone can enjoy konpeito in the future and here too if they want to!
Who is the fire nation at war with? In my time Japan was hopelessly fractured. We all agreed it was a fool's errand to try to unite it. So I did it. Because I'm the only one demonic enough to bother trying.
Raisins suck!
Candied kiwi and candy apples are delicious! You can barely tell raisins are even fruit?! Definitely not a substitute for konpeito.
Have you ever had konpeito? It is like rock candy confetti! It's my favorite. It was almost impossible to get in our time, because everyone was desperate to just survive, they couldn't afford luxuries, and so long as the country was fractured, foreigners didn't even think we were worth trading with! And the religions preached that indulging in candy was getting too hung up on the mortal plane, and then you couldn't transcend or be pure. It really ticked me off! So I became the Demon King; their enemy. I don't think I embody the ideals of what royalty is supposed to be like or anything, it just irritates me to no end when people stop others from achieving their true potential.
no subject
i see. that is a long time. all my friends are from the 2000s and the world wars happen in the 1910s and the 1940s. it's not my planet so i won't say more than that. i only know about it because a friend mentioned it then i researched a lot because i took an interest.. i don't know anything about japan before then honestly except that samurai were warriors that made excellent swords because i saw a movie with katana in it. those are like plays made for modern technology if you don't know yet. we didn't have them in my world.
i don't know how i feel about guns. we don't have those in my world either. but i don't think we're far from that technology. the fire nation is very advanced. but i don't think they'd use that technology right..... not at the point i'm coming from. hopefully in my future, it wouldn't even be necessary.
i also do martial arts and am well-versed in swordsmanship though and so far i feel like i agree with your people in that it's inelegant and makes killing too easy, but your words put a new perspective on it for sure. context is everything i guess.
so you ended a civil war in your time.....?
the fire nation is at war with the rest of the world. it's been expanding its borders and laying siege to anywhere its military can reach for the past century. but it's coming to an end once i return home. i was taken from my world the day of a coup to depose the fire lord. after that, things will change... can only change for the better. but it will take a long time and a lot of strong diplomatic efforts to heal the world again and the scars the fire nation has left on the earth kingdom and water tribes. we will have to find a way to unite ourselves as a whole people once more after so much pain and loss and devastation. on everyone's part, including the fire nation. we lost a lot, too; we almost lost ourselves. but i know a new era of peace and kindness is not impossible.
seeing through to the true potential of something or someone is most difficult..... but you're right that that's the lens we should be using in life. i agree with that whole-heartedly. change is constant. and redemption is real.
[ This kid isn't supposed to be busing tables. No wonder he's stressed. He can't pass a job interview as a busboy, but he's got profound things to say philosophically, apparently. He may not say outright he's supposed to be leading his country when he gets home, but it's pretty clear where his headspace is for someone whose headspace has been in a similar mindset, from the sounds of it. A surprisingly deep turn in the conversation. ]
i dont care for candy though
sweets aren't my favorite
i like spicy foods more
[ And that, too. Can't just leave him hanging. He's really excited about these snack foods, huh. Not the only aristocrat Zuko knows who's fascinated by junk food, surprisingly. ]
no subject
[He still has an ueasy feeling about looking up too much of the future, at least until the 2000s. He got the basics. Japan lost to America in WW2, but then allied(? ISH? Was subservient to USA?) against North Korea and China in the 1950s, and in the 1980s, Japan had a technological breakthrough which powered what they called the Economic miracle. And then Nobunaga gets too restless, wanting to experience it all, so he has to run out and DO something, not just read about it! But easier topics:]
Our katana are the best! Not just because of our iron, but our blacksmiths are world masters! We have volcanoes and natural resources that power it, if we could -- no, I mean WHEN we get our heads on straight!
I'm not sure any kind of killing can be elegant. Nor should it be. It's one of the uglier things humanity and demons can do. The only thing worse is suffering without even death. Maybe that's why I like guns, they're fast. And they offer people a means to defend themselves without having to study for decades under sometimes cruel masters.
Our blacksmiths were like that too! Some of my katana collection lasted until the 2000s! I'm pretty sure no gun could survive that kind of wear and tear! That's the difference in humans and weapons. We can both be strong for our metal, and our masters, but for humans: surviving the worst things makes us stronger, weapons just get broken! For me being the Demon King means I always have to look out for others who want to take my place.
To say Japan is in a civil war supposes there are only two sides. There were over 300. Missionaries and merchants from Europe used to completely ignore us during my father's time. Not because of the fighting, but because no matter what our resources were, we weren't worth the bother. I'm not sure how to explain that. We didn't have anything worth coming for. It wasn't that far out of the way, but they didn't even want to bring sugar, because it was too much effort with nothing in return.
It was humiliating! And most of the people, and ALL the lords weren't even aware enough how small, petty and pathetic, the rocks they fought over were. Imagine if by simply all working together, doing what we enjoy best, here in Camelot, we could save all the worlds, and anyone who wanted to could travel to the other worlds as they pleased. That simply! But instead, each and every off-worlder declared themselves King, had a century or two to back it up, and just fought over onigiri or a single fish instead of just figuring out ways to get more of it. That was how bad Japan was in my father's day. Honestly, a bit worse, because from all I can gather here and from the future, the world is so much kinder, and the demons like me are no more. And I'm glad. I didn't intend to destroy all the demons or anything like that, but I knew Japan could be so much more if it could be at least whole. I keep being asked here if I couldn't have done it a different way. Less violent, they mean. Without having to break the lords, and become a Demon King or the rest. I don't know! Sometimes I'm surprised it even worked!
Did you know plays were popular in Europe too? I'll admit I thought the missionaries romanticized it too much, but now I think they really downplayed it! They mentioned opera, but when I saw my first one I almost cried! It was so beautiful! The idea of having actors and artists who could tell the stories they wanted to, not just of what their lords ordered, or what the priests wanted, was too good for me to resist. It was, I think, what they now call an "eccentricity," but my hometown used to just call me an idiot to my face! LOL! And now there's a whole industry (movies!) and it's one of the things Japan is best at in all the world! Even though we're so tiny, especially compared to everyone else, and had so far to catch up to! I'm so proud of them!!!
I hope you can do it! The idea of uniting the whole world behind peace, is a lot, even for me! So I won't be much help beyond morale support. But as with Japan meeting the rest of the world, I think the more people realize how much bigger everything IS, the more they realize both what they're actually capable of, and what they truly want most in life.
Crabs in a bucket. Did you know that if crabs in a bucket cooperated, they could all escape? But they don't know how. Even if a few start to, other crabs will pull them down so they stay trapped.
That's how Japan was. Monks and some religious types believed that if people left Japan they would bring back evils: plagues, spirits, Godzilla, whatever! Some of them were just so scared they thought anyone rising to the top was going to be a big monster determined to crush them, so they had to stop them before they got that far.
[Oda just wanted to fly, man. To see the whole world and everything in it. So of course seeing beyond his world is more than a dream come true.
Also why he is texting like crazy to Zuko even though his letters to Hideyoshi aren't usually this long! But that's different, his foreign correspondence with Luis Frois definitely got long like this! A sign of how excited he is!]
I felt like another crab in the bucket. I couldn't rise up to escape, so I had to claw my way out, by breaking the bucket that held us, or at least make a hole, and to do just that I had to make the others more scared of me than of each other OR what they thought could be outside. I think it's probably a lot easier for an outsider to just upend the bucket entirely, but if you're born in the bucket, even just because you can see the sky, doesn't mean anyone knows what's outside it. They start to view the bucket as more than home or territory, they're afraid of what's beyond the bucket. Maybe you see the shadows of seagulls and think everything outside it must be like that, big, scary, and awful! So then the crabs fight over just having enough space to breathe. And if a crab from the wild gets stuck in the bucket, the other crabs don't always want to believe that it's true: that the world is so vast and fighting over breathing room is silly.
There's only two ways I know to conquer someone else's fears. Show them the opportunity, and hope they're more greedy and ambitious than scared, or scare them worse than their previous fear.
I will say, I haven't seen anything in the next 600 years that has yet changed my mind about that, but there's also a third kind that I just can't deal with. They play to people's fears and anxieties and hopes, and tell them everything will be just fine as long as everything stays exactly like it is now. Basically they tell the other crabs in the bucket that wanting to leave is bad. Wanting more space is bad. Just accept the bucket. And don't let anyone else leave. Everything must stay the same. The only reason there's anything bad, is because some crabs want more than just a bucket. To me, that's the worst. Even the crabs that would rather kill each other as their only idea of fun (or to have more space in the bucket, or make a ladder of dead crabs!) are easier to deal with.
Like you said, change is constant, so why deny that reality? From how it was in Japan, when I dealt with our warrior monks, it was because they had the most to lose, and least to gain. Part of their religious precepts isn't just rejecting candy and other luxuries (so the ambition or greed of opportunity outside the bucket!) But it was a very rigid hierarchy. It placed them out of the way of the conflicts, but with enough power to still try to team up and help drag any other crabs down or stop people from breaking the bucket itself.
If you want to hear more about that portion, that's a story best done with tea and sake. I don't regret a thing, but I think I understand a lot more about your Fire Empire than I want to say on here. I even specifically used fire to deal with them. It wasn't like the magic of here, but that might have been worse. Nevertheless, it is a great joy and HONOR seeing that the future generations of even other worlds, are able to look at our actions critically, but still want to move forward and heal each other, instead of repeating what mayhem we already wrought, or carrying our grudges on eternally. With that kind of mindset, I don't think it's possible for you to fail, because you've already come further than we thought could be done.
You remind me a lot of Tokugawa Ieyasu. He doesn't like sweets either. He doesn't get along with people, though that's almost certainly my family's fault, he loves spicy foods, and in a couple decades after my death in other timelines he ushered in Japan's Golden Era: of peace, prosperity, and progress. I always hoped to hand off a united Japan to him, and give my army to Hideyoshi.
Totoyomi Hideyoshi was born a commoner. That's one of the bucket linings I've been trying to break. The monks reinforce that hierarchy where commoners aren't allowed to rise to the top, no matter how genius. Much like the busboy tests they're giving you, only instead, he would have had to have been given to the monks as a child, raised as a monk, and then they would only let him be a monk, or born into a samurai family.
Hideyoshi is my right hand man. He's as brilliant as Akechi Mitsuhide, but where Mitsuhide was born into a family of samurai, he just doesn't ever stop teasing people no matter their rank --I wouldn't have him any other way! -- Hideyoshi is even better at charming people than I am. Mostly because he doesn't ever seen insane, asinine, or demonic! But even so, he's brilliant. But the idiots in the other bucket would insist he shouldn't be allowed to do what he's best at, even when he's better than ALL of them at it! Maybe it's because he's better than them? I don't know. Sometimes the line between ignorance and arrogance is non-existent, isn't it? Lol.
Oh, but about Ieyasu! He also prefers spicy. So whenever you and I have tea and sake together, I'll make sure to get you his favorite snacks!
I wonder what would be a good future job for him? Ah, but that's not fair. He's already a healer, so it's cheating. You really can get hired anywhere if you're good enough at that, but even with that as my magic, I'm not the healing type. I think he might even have experience as a busboy too! It's a long story, and not mine to tell though.
no subject
wow ok
im gonna miss many points
thank you for taking the time to write all this to me.......??
[ To him, a stranger. Zuko hasn't even introduced himself yet. He's moved by this unnecessary level of attention and investment of care? Reminds him of his other long-lost, intensely enthusiastic friend Titus Alexius, another fascinating war hero who was a lot more bubbly on the surface than the poignant stories he told of his world. Who'd also, in fact, shown Zuko a Godzilla movie. It wasn't his thing. But if it were a movie about a monster attacking the Fire Nation instead of Japan, he'd probably have taken more interest in it. ]
you should meet my uncle iroh
he's here. i'll tell him about you.
he was an esteemed general in the fire nation armies for a long time but he is unusual. some might say eccentric. many others might say something less flattering. but he's lived a full life and understands many things most people don't. i can already tell you guys would have a lot to talk about. he's very wise. i'm certain he would love your crabs in a bucket metaphor. he has a lot of good proverbs like that.
he's the uncle who likes tea, too. :)
[ A :) from Zuko is more of an accomplishment than meets the eye...! This is the most important takeaway he's addressing as his first order of business in this long letter, "you should meet my uncle," which is also a higher honor than it may first appear. But it's the priority before getting into anything else, it feels like. Other things? This kid actually took notes on a pad of paper on the side about what to reply to...! He's more invested than he seems, Nobunaga. ]
i agree killing is ugly and inelegant at its core. but not all combat is. sometimes it's necessary. you seem to know that. some violence often prevents more violence... like you say about sending a message to the other crabs in the bucket. but too many people know how to fight without knowing why to fight, and understanding that part of training comes from having to study with masters. that's why i'm wary of what i know about guns, even given your new perspective on it.
an important part of my swordsmanship training was to learn calligraphy and painting. one must be certain of one's own identity as a fighter, as much as a painter must know his own style, because much like a brush stroke on a parchment, the cut of a sword cannot be erased. one stray ink blot can mar a beautiful scene. you must be mindful leaving your mark on the page.
putting a gun in the hands of an angry peasant in the middle of a war would be like giving a child a knife as a toy..... without the philosophical training, they'll take their rage into their own hands on instinct, and while on the one hand that is fair, things are seldom so direct. too many people in my world deserve the chance for revenge than to give it to just anyone who has cause for it. that'd be almost everyone. it'd create a book full of ink blots. an illegible chapter in history.
but then again my world is not as big as yours. ive seen maps of your planet. it's massive. my world is big too, or so i thought, ive been all over my own planet but ultimately there are still less than half a dozen nations if you get down to it. and the fire nation is the smallest of them all. it looks a lot like japan actually. islands, volcanoes... but even with so many fewer players on the board, it will be hard to unify all the nations. even harder to convince others to forgive the fire nation for its long reign of terror. we will be hated for a long time after the war is over, too.
but i am proud of my nation. my culture. even our history, as much as there is to be ashamed of. pride and shame cannot be picked apart. Uncle taught me we must not try to look past scars as something shameful, but to see them instead as fine details in a fuller picture. being spirited away is strange because where i'm from, firebenders are hated anywhere outside the fire nation. so if you have something positive to say about the fire nation, either you're talking to enemies or nationalists, no in-between. but to people from other planets, i can just share the beautiful things about my home without judgment one way or the other... it's refreshing.
so for example if i wanted to tell someone about a classic Fire Nation play, Love Amongst the Dragons, it could stand alone here as a work of art, not just a piece of cultural heritage. but back home, no one from outside would want to see it, and for us, we all already know the story. it's the same way as you described theatre in japan too, censored, limited: our art always reflects our pride in our nation. you will never find art that's critical of the Fire Lord or our nation's history or our role in the war. we don't even know it's propaganda because there's nothing else to compare it to!! i only learned how thoroughly we've all been lied to once i left and moved to the Earth Kingdom. now seeing how people can make whatever kind of art they want in other worlds and there's a market for anything, as long as the story is told with passion...... i hope we have that kind of freedom for expression someday, too.
the fire nation is like crabs in a bucket too but in a different way.. no one is vying for the Fire Lord's throne, they either respect him or fear him too much for that. but people don't want to know about the world outside because they have been given no reason to think there's anything worthwhile outside the bucket. we are more like ostrich-horses with blinders on i guess, all saddled up for war but our heads are in the sand. we've been told for over a century that we're the most advanced, prosperous civilization in the history, and that the war is our way to "share" our wealth and culture with the rest of the world.... but it's the farthest from the truth. for people who have never left the fire nation, it would come as a huge shock to learn the entire world despises us.
so what you say about how to conquer someone else's fears....?? with either the promise of opportunity or the threat of a greater, unexpected fear...?? that resonates a lot. so thank you for that wisdom. i hope i can remember it somehow when i return.
you've already given me a lot to think about...... even before meeting for tea and sake and whatever spicy japanese foods you wanted to show me. i'd be willing to meet with you. i'm free almost anytime, honestly... even now if you'd like.
[ He's on a roll, after all. Nobunaga has no idea how much of an accomplishment this correspondence is by the rules of Zuko-style Socialization. "I'd be willing to meet with you even right now" is a heavyhitting invitation very few have ever been extended. And of those new friends who have made such a fast bond, he keeps them close, even despite frankly maddening world-hopping shenanigans, and can count these people on one hand. He would still drop anything he's doing in the moment to go have tea with any of them, too. ]
no subject
I look forward to tea with your Uncle! We can swap war stories and complain about the disrespect to tea culture!
[FLAWLESS!]
I definitely wouldn't want everyone to have guns, that would lead to bandits and more accidents. The idea that guns could be as available as food is here, honestly hadn't occurred to me! The amount of metal and work to make the guns, still took enough that even with all my efforts, I couldn't arm every single person in an army with guns, and I wouldn't have tried to. The army is more effective with different people doing different things. I think most people also don't want to go to war. It is definitely unnerving to try to think of circumstances where no one enjoyed things like tea farming or being a merchant, or art and music, or movies.
[He reads the rest, and just SAVES IT! It's amazing! It's a kind of letter he wants to look back on some day! It reminds him a lot of talking with Hideyoshi about what to do with their rule, but with the learning aspect of Luis Frois!]
I'd love to hear about Love Amongst Dragons! And everything about your dances and culture and architecture! Is it also like Japanese?
I'm free now too! I've been job-hunting, but mostly for fun! To see what it's like!
As I said, I was raised to be a war general my whole life. That is probably why I felt so trapped in the bucket. In order just to survive or protect my lands; the way nobility in theory is obligated to, I had to be as scary and violent as possible, but by the time the others were less of a threat to me, I still couldn't leave the bucket without abandoning them, which would make them return to their old ways. I'm not surprised most people aren't nearly as pleased to be here as I am, LOL! But for me, it's an opportunity I just can't waste!
Luckily, I'm not bad at interviews, but unlike you, I don't have experience in nearly anything else! I think I could handle shipping for a whole international organization, or taxes, or high finance, and factory management, and none of that is applicable here! LOL! But it's kind of fun to see what options exist! I think I want to make one that doesn't exist here, so I am gathering information on what would sell! :)
no subject
because as soon as i first saw guns in a movie, my immediate thought was that the fire nation would probably outfit every soldier, sailor, and airman with a gun and spare no expenses in the manufacturing process, if we had this technology
but instead..... we can just conjure actual fire from thin air..... which is free. :)
[ Zuko, your jokes are weird, stop. Don't :) that. He still doesn't know what LOL means and wouldn't use it even if he did by logic of "but I didn't actually laugh out loud," so instead he just makes things creepy with the five different emoticons he knows. ]
i relate to what you say about feeling free from all the expectations and pressures in a weird way in this world, and about abandoning the other crabs in the bucket...... but trust me if you're job-hunting for fun you're about to be disappointed multiple times over. i don't know what any of those jobs you mentioned entail exactly but none of it strikes me as "fun"
[ Zuko, you're also sixteen and hate normal fun anyway, sit down. ]
i know a teashop in the center of town
probably funner than job interviews
:)
[ Again with the :)?! ]
no subject
Well, first you have to start with: "What is fun?"
Other than fire and plays, what are you favorite things? And you might be good at making some plays and movies here!
Let's go! I'll meet you there! :D
[No no, it's flawless, Nobunaga's goal is to master all the slang, emojis, and to eventually stop giggling like an idiot whenever someone abuses the swear "Fuck." -- Spoilers: it will never happen. At least he doesn't run around repeating it like a five year old, when he was told of it's darker meaning.]
action?
i'll explain about bending in person... its too long to text.
same with fun.
not too long to text just dont want to
[ At least he admits to having fun now. Oh, how he's grown so.
He's at the teashop in a matter of minutes, perfectly prompt and punctual, and even goes ahead and orders a table... at which he sits awkwardly waiting for someone it suddenly occurs to him, after perhaps too long, he has no idea who he'll be looking for. A few minutes go by until Nobunaga gets another text. ]
i have no idea what you look like
[ Well, if not embarrassed, at least Zuko's enthusiastic in his own way... But has a clever thought on his own as a solution after skipping another beat. ]
but search for a small red dragon on the table.
[ He'd intended, for once, to go somewhere without his greedy familiar... But the ferrety little dragon wastes no time appearing after it's been called to be used as a living nametag, because it knows this teashop well already, knows Zuko well already, and knows this means it gets extra food and its own cup of tea. Because that's how they roll. Possibly the most pampered familiar in all of Avalon? Hope Nobunaga doesn't mind some goofy, rude, spitty dragon crawling all around the table, ahem. Because that's also how they roll.
The samurai will find the fire prince in casual clothes very much like this, dark grey jeans and clearly well-worn but sturdy black boots, looking deceptively far more modern than he natively might after so long being away from home, even down to the clean, chic, short haircut his best friend Hikaru still maintains for him. Having the dragon as an automatic accessory also boosts the cool factor, frankly, truth be told... ]
Action!!!
[Dragons definitely boost the cool factor!]
[Nobunaga only has one suit virtually, a straight up tuxedo for the opera, so far, so he's still going around in his ornate armor -- look, just because he hasn't had any assassins come after him here yet doesn't mean they aren't just waiting for him to slip up! He does have European boots for climbing trees, and running, and because people don't remove shoes in businesses and that's still weird.]
[AH DRAGON! SO CUTE!]
Yo! [The scar is very fiery too, and he gets what he meant about his uncle's meaning to move past them. If Masamune even shows up, they can talk too!]
[Also pretty much no one knows how surreal it would be for a modern Japanese person to have Oda Nobunaga giving a European wave, saying Yo, and sitting in a European chair in the only way he finds comfortable: sideways, with the back to the table and with enough space to withdraw gun and katana as necessary. WELL, that part might be less surprising. But usually he lounges sidewise on cushions. Sideways so he can again, grab that sword and gun without warning.]
Ah? How come everyone has a cute familiar except me!? [He loves dragons though! Well, he loves ALL the familiars, really. Even his own.] I have an oni, I don't know if you know what that is. They're a type of Japanese demon. I've been told I shouldn't really bring him in -- [Gestures with a smug grin.] Most places.
Hello! [Formal bow... to the dragon.] I'm Oda Nobunaga, Demon King of the 6th Heaven.
[Absolutely normal greeting. Absolutely.]
no subject
[ Zuko mumbles back, and gives a single nod in greeting at the man as he sits, raising his brows at him without a smile. His energy matched his texts, he could already tell... Zuko's? Less so. ]
Zuko. And Zunyan.
[ Who also gives a long, intense stare with sharp golden eyes, its whiskers flicking idly, until it barely inclines its head enough to be considered something like a bow. The implication of a bow. It's a dragon, it's not about to bow to anyone, uh...? But Zuko's trying to make it act more politely. He can't tell that he's making progress or not; if he is, it's inconsistent. The reality is, Zun only obliges Zuko when it feels like it, or can tell it's frustrating the boy too much if it doesn't care as much as he wants it to. But, hey, when you're a dragon, if you don't care, you don't care! Plus, it's true, he's weirdly cute, the scaly furry little thing, and it helps him get away with a lot. ]
It's okay. They know him here.
[ And indeed they do. An old man who often tends the shop happens to pass by when he sees Nobunaga sit, not realizing who's sitting there with him yet. But as he approaches and sees the dragon, he lets out a jovial whoop and waves, calling "Zuuu~u~n!" in a loud sing-song voice. The dragon snaps to attention, whipping its snakelike neck around in a flash, scampering to the edge of the table. Without hesitation, the old man calls to the kitchen on his way back with a bucket of plates in his arms — "Dumplings! The dragon's here!" like this were completely planned. They come here this often, first of all, yes, and Zuko's soft scowl of embarrassment is proof of it as he squirms in his seat. He hates when the old man does that... And second of all, Zuko's clearly made a habit of ordering the dragon its own food like it's a person to the point that it's amused the entire staff enough to become a serious joke they all abide by now. Who are they to tell a dragon no, either, really? He's the only person who comes here who does this for his familiar; it's silly and charming and how shy and bashful the grumpy boy is over it makes the small teashop staff all the more enthusiastic about teasing him by playing along and feeding into his dragon's pampering, despite clear signs reading "no familiars allowed inside," Nobunaga's not wrong. Make no mistake, there really are dumplings on the way out by the time a young waitress comes to take their actual orders (they're not free, just prompt, another waste of Zuko's money the shop is equally happy to indulge); and the way the shameless little lizard scurries impatiently while it watches her approach, hanging expectant on the edge of the table, is proof that this is also normal for them... Zuko mutters "thank you" without meeting the waitress's eye as she sets the plate of dumplings and three saucers down, catching a writhing Zunyan in between his hands before the dragon can help itself to its steamed snack; but he looks Nobunaga straight-on, tone rather stern for offering the man a nicety. ]
You're new, right? What do you like? Your choice. They make good jasmine tea here, too...
[ The primary reason he trusts them. ]
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[Nobunaga has to struggle to not laugh, settling for just smug haughty, his general state of being, but he gets it. How Zuko has trouble with first impressions. Ieyasu style, for sure. To be fair, Nobunaga was definitely a lot worse like that in his youth. Believe it or not, he's mellowed! Although having the rampant freedom and so much sweets and things to be enthusiastic about has definitely brought out more of his Fool of Owari side!]
[At the suggestion, carnelian eyes glow! He'd just been about to ask Zuko's recommendation!] My favorite!
[When not sweetened.]
[So Jasmine is what he orders! And he'll wait for her to leave, seemingly appreciating her work, but mostly just rampant paranoia of 40 years watching for assassins and checking for unseen weapons. As you do.. He still hasn't gotten used to how invisible magic is, even if he's very good at improvising too.]
How long did it take you to first find this place when you first got here?
[Since they know him well!]
[Oda's also now wondering if he should have brought his Go board, since he doesn't want to be too loud and overwhelming, and that's how he has to be chill around Eustace.]
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[ He pauses to load up a small plate for Zunyan first, serving the dragon before either of them, but also loads up a small plate he slides over toward Nobunaga. Polite. ]
We come here at least once a week. And I got here, um—
[ His eyes search upward, chopsticks poised midair in thought, his first bite hovering before he even goes for it. Zun notices that Zuko's not going for it right away, and even though there's still food on its plate, it darts upwards to try and steal a bite... prompting Zuko to draw his hand back without even looking, as if by muscle memory. This must be another norm for them. Truth be told, the dragon isn't that greedy that it steals from Zuko mid-bite, but in fact only pretends to, not to aggravate him
though that is sometimes funny and often easy, but to prompt him to eat right, Zuko who gets so caught up in processing life that he often neglects his basic needs unthinkingly. The dragon pulls this kind of sneaky care over the boy more than Zuko will ever know. More than anyone will ever know, cuz Zunyan doesn't talk, and even if it could, it wouldn't reveal the method to its madness. But it's not so goofy as it looks.But it does like to eat, so as soon as it's certain Zuko's hopping to, it does turn back to its own plate, perched in Zuko's lap with its neck outstretched to eat from the table, a little more polite than standing on it, maybe... ]
Four months ago?
[ He takes a bite after completing his thought. He's been here longer than his post made it out to be, really... ]
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[This gives him like 5 openings for all the questions though!]
What do you think of the King so far?
[He's taking note of what the dragon likes to eat, because Nobunaga pretty much keeps feeding everyone's familiars the second he can. It's becoming yet another weird bad habit of his.]
I confess, up to now, I was looking at the other styled cafes to see how the other worlds do it, perhaps that was my mistake. Avoid "Starbucks" too. I was told chocolate was best served as a drink, but I have to disagree. Cookies are better. [Holds a hand up!] Ah, but you could probably avoid it altogether, it's usually fairly sweet.
You mentioned living in the Earth Kingdom, how did that come about? [A head tilt, and a small laugh and shakes his head.] No one leaves Japan. [Sighs, and rests an elbow on the table, and his chin on the fist.] Crabs in a bucket. Though, I suppose that's just as well. None of us had designs on total global domination. Well, I came the closest. [And Hideyoshi made some egregious missteps without Nobunaga and Mitsuhide to temper him, perhaps specifically as a rebellion against what Mitsuhide would have advised against. But that's literally an alternate universe from Nobunaga. He wonders how the wormholes will change things, if certain things will revert to absolutes no matter what.]
Are you still staying at the inn? Kitsuno was also here about four months ahead of me, so she is renting her own place, and graciously hosting me.
I must confess, the whole landlord concept still has me at unease. Not because I have a problem with rent, but I don't understand the chain of control and profit.
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Yeah, I live in the inn... With my sister. I don't know anything about landlords and that stuff. My friends and I lived in the starter flats in the last place I was at, too. I'm the wrong person to ask... My sister and I haven't thought about moving out of, because it's free. But— I dunno. Maybe we're supposed to by this point...
[ Someone online brought this to his attention today, in fact, which made him feel a little ill at ease that it'd never once occurred to him until then that they didn't intend to provide free housing forever if they wanted and that maybe there's an expiration date on how long it's appropriate to stay in the inn, that maybe there was limited room they'd run out of for newcomers eventually, that maybe he and Azula were freeloaders, not just thieves... It made him uncomfortable. ]
I don't know much about the King, either. He seems a little— nonchalant...? Royalty doesn't act like that where I'm from. The Fire Lord must seem stern. I'm not afraid of Arthur. But— I don't think citizens should fear their ruler, either. Maybe he's not wrong to be so friendly and relaxed...
[ See how he dodges that Earth Kingdom question by taking another bite? Masterful.
Not really, actually pretty obvious. ]no subject
[Leans back in the chair, before remembering, he's supposed to be leaning sideways, so he nearly falls off. Master genius, this guy!]
[He shakes his head.]
I got the impression he wasn't raised as royalty, I think that makes a huge difference. Hideyoshi is often mindful of his own upbringing, and sometimes I worry it sets him ill at ease, perhaps trying too hard to prove himself.
[A quiet hum of thought.]
[And he shakes his head.] No, I think King Arthur has the right of it. [Holds up a finger.] I know Claude and a few others can't see the reasoning in putting up a vote, but if he's unable to be here in person, he'd need a mood check on the citizens. If more want war than not, then he can't possibly stop them, and they'll always undermine any attempts for peace. But if the loudest minority see how futile it is, they'll be more likely to cede their points. Well, some of them. The others will just out themselves. And it puts pressure on them from the public who don't agree with them. It's a bold strategy. Very bold.
[Sips his tea, and waits to see if Zuko has an reaction to the thoughts.] Not giving newcomers a place to stay would breed rebellion, and there's already an inherent risk in drawing people like me here. [Just. STATEMENT OF FACT there!] I'm still amazed the locals are as welcoming as they are. Even with the Europeans offering so much to Japan, we often called them barbarians and treated them like -- [Gestures a hand looking for a word before landing on it.] Inferior. [Though he's clearly amused by it!]
[Another head shake.] Those like Bean and a few others I understand their thinking is motivated by their worlds, more than this one.
[Taps a finger to his teacup in thought, and shakes his head.] Perhaps that is the flaw in my thinking as well. I always want to think in terms of centuries of prosperity, and yet so much of what is taking place here is a clash of times, and an existential crisis. Still... [Back to leaning on a fist. Landlords, is it? Are they the ones who gain from war? Less people to build buildings? Except also less people to want housing? Or-- No he's getting off into a weird headspace. In Japan they considered the Nanban inferior, the Nanban equally dismissed them as not having worth sailing around the world for. Maybe it's not resources at all, simply the lack of their own pride, and wanting to cut the others down to their size. Crabs in a bucket.]
Don't move out if you don't want to. But I think I will need to set up a barracks and living quarters for an army separate of the knights. [Again, just... He will do it. Stepping on toes or not.]
Is that why you only just started looking for a job harder? To move out?
[He's thinking of Mai though, so many of the future are of the mindset that they need to earn their place in the world -- like Hideyoshi. Which Oda approves of, but then what of those who don't and coast by without doing anything?]
What's your sister like?
[He did notice about the Earth Kingdom, but he doesn't mean to do an interrogation, so much as he just wants to know everything about everything.]
[And even knowing which things can wait for other occasions is learning something! But unfortunately, this will always beget more questions. Always.]
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[ He takes a ruminative pause, stroking Zunyan between the blades of its wings in his lap, who stops eating to raise its head to savor the pet. An unusually affectionate bond with a familiar, it seems. ]
...As for Azula, ah... my sister is a complicated person. We grew up alone, together, I've come to think of it like. She's brilliant. And cutthroat... She's Father's favorite, a child prodigy, the perfect daughter — and carries all the pressures that come with that with such poise, you wouldn't know how much it hurts her. Even I didn't until leaving our world, honestly... Things were much different between us back home.
[ What a serious, heavyhearted young boy. This is not the standard "what's your sister like?" kind of response. Shouldn't he say something more general? Likes, dislikes, ambitions, swooping compliments, anything? Nope; moral conflict and duality of image. Welcome to their family. ]
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Favorite? You seem close!
[Listen, you're both alive and sharing an inn room. Nobunaga has killed half of his siblings, and they tried to assassinate him first, and he forgave them usually until/unless they did it again.]
Together, alone, is it? [A headshake, leaning on his fist in thought.] None of my siblings were raised with me. After my father's death we moved my mother into hermitage, so she could avoid the worst of our war, but still, she was rather torn.
A few women here remind me of Oichi, my youngest sister, almost young enough to be my daughter. Whether that's good or bad for them, remains to be seen.
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[ Poor, sweet, awkward boy. He's not sure how to reply. He's getting so much better than he once was at talking with people he's just met, after so much practice away from home, but it's a slow burn still. He knows he's talking to an adult and it's different talking about losing parents then, but— losing a parent early in life hurts forever, he imagines. He tries to relate even though he knows he can't exactly. He may not ask "Tell me more about your family" directly, strange to ask that of an adult outright anyway even if he were to pry so, but by sharing anything of his own family life at all, that's his way of implying his interest in Nobunaga's. His own social subtext when playing getting-to-know-you is very much a "tit for tat" game, "I share, you share," as if his own opening up is an unspoken word of consent, an indirect invitation replacing more attentive listening questions one apparently doesn't pick up when growing up "alone together" in the scenario he goes on to describe. ]
We lost our mom, sort of... I was eleven. Azula was nine. She just disappeared. But— it's not the same, I know. ...I think my mother's still alive. Maybe. I don't know.
[ He pauses for a breath, glancing aside uncomfortably as if he might find his next words lying about somewhere, unsure what he meant to follow this with, clearly not so prone to opening up about himself as this guy seems to be. But there's something intriguing that keeps a promise about him, Zuko can't quite put his finger on... So, unprompted nervous rambling trying to match his energy to some minor degree, it is! ]
...Our family is small. But not close. We never knew our mother's parents, never met her family. Our paternal grandfather died the same day as our mother disappeared. And our only cousin around the same time, too. Our grandmother and our only aunt had been dead for some time, by then. So now it's just me and Azula, and Father and Uncle — he's our father's only sibling, his older brother... That's it. A couple years after Mom left, I left home and Uncle raised me on his own, but Azula stayed home and Father raised her alone. We had very different upbringings even though we were raised in the same house most our lives... I mean, we get along better now, since being spirited away together, but— that was never the case before... We fought a lot back home.
[ He says all of this in such a muted way, as if it's normal, defused, severely understating the gravity of the real dynamics at play in this "small-but-not-close" family. He's still not revealed he's royalty explicitly, even if it's not hard for Nobunaga as a nobleman himself to probably see through the thin veneer and connect the dots, like having never met his mother's family at all inexplicably, typical of brides married into royalty. But under the guise of a normal commoner family assumption, as he's somewhat spinning it by not filling in these key details, while it's sad that most of their family has died, that's normal, too, for a wartorn world. It's also normal that siblings "fight," the understatement of a century. Zuko's leaving it at that. They don't do that anymore, anyway. ]
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[Nobunaga just waves a hand to the first part.] It was better for her that way. She was already in mourning, and better not to see the politics and chaos that came after if she could avoid it.
[He listens attentively, curiously, and mentally does his best to piece it out in his head with the other pieces he's gathered so far.]
That does sound lonely. [To the last part though--] But you didn't kill each other.
[A beat. Most siblings don't. Uh. BUT Rather than figure that out--] Or did you try to?
[A head tilt. HOW TO EXPLAIN.]
[Nobunaga has never learned to guard his emotions or his face, on account of being brought up by royalty, mocked and teased through his childhood, and then just using his reputation for his temper and exposed emotions to his advantage. So in Camelot, he really is an open book more than most!]
[He rests his hand above his eyes.] Perhaps you saw the recent post requesting assassination of other heirs to a demon's fortunes? Such things cease in the future, but in my time they're taken for granted.
[Another head tilt.] I don't know that our father had favorites. Which I suppose means it must be me, right? Nubuhiro was older than me, but born to a woman before our father was married, so he wasn't legally entitled to the Oda domain. [Nobunaga just sort of-- flatlines. Weird to explain ancient history, but important, especially since it explains the more important part: why he wanted to break the castes system so desperately!]
He was given a castle and some political and war control --
[A beat.] Ah, perhaps I should explain my father's role first. [A smile, and he's actually proud! He's a totally Daddy's boy. IRONICALLY.] As I mentioned, Japan was split into 300 factions in my father's time. That many lords, and controlling royalty with different villages and terrain. Oda Nubuhide, my father, was a general. He was actually quite soft-hearted and believed in giving everyone second chances, that's what got him killed.
[Think think think.] When I was very young, even as the heir to Oda domain, it was... [A small squint.] Not a fortunate position. Through several war campaigns, Nobuhide helped alliances, and tried to keep his territory from burning, but Owari, our province, was surrounded on all sides by bigger, wealthier, and stronger factions.
[Back to resting his chin in his hand.] Whenever he wasn't at war, I spent all my time with my father, he was training me to be a general like him, but this also meant I was taken into battles even when I was young.
I mentioned Ieyasu a couple of times, yes? Our families were warring for generations. No reason other than that they didn't know how to stop anymore, I think. When Ieyasu was six, his father sent him to one of our enemies, one of his allies to prove his sincerity in their war efforts. My father had him kidnapped and threatened to kill him if his father didn't withdraw his alliance, to try to pressure him not to fight us. Nevertheless, as I said, my father was notoriously soft-hearted, so Ieyasu's father called his bluff. My father took Ieyasu in instead, and I spent more time with Ieyasu than Nobuhiro. Ieyasu's father died from an illness soon after, so maybe it was for the best? Our world's time is like that.
When Nobuhiro's castle was besieged I must have only been a child still but... [Squints in thought, and shakes his head.] Nobuhide traded Ieyasu for Nobuhiro's release when Nobuhiro was kidnapped. The next time I saw Ieyasu, I was already a general myself, just barely holding control of the Oda forces together, but I was able to free him and he's been on my side ever since.
When my father died, my younger brother Nobuyuki tried to have me killed. [A headshake.] I could have ignored that, but he kept fomenting rebellion, using my reputation as reckless and an idiot who disrespected traditions, and hung out with commoners and embraced foreign ideas and new things for the sake of it being new, which made it harder for everyone else. The first few times, our mother begged me to forgive him, so I did. But he pulled our Uncle into it -- and then I had no choice politically. [A sigh.] That's the kind of world I wanted to force Japan to move beyond. And they did. [Leans his chin into fist again.] But not for centuries, I suppose.
Nobukane is a samurai. He would often train with swords with me in our youth, but he was given to the Nagano clan, again, to try to achieve a temporary peace. When I freed him too, he's religious now, and doesn't bother trying to convert me, but he certainly tries to temper some of my demonic ways. He shaves his head though, and sometimes messes it up still. [SMIRK!] Ah, that's a thing the monks do. They believe keeping hair is a worldly attachment that must be ~transcended.~ [Sips his tea and snorts.]
Nagamasu is also religious. I should explain there are 5 major religions fighting for control in Japan. [Ticks them off his fingers.] Buddhism is from India, and is the most bothersome of them. They believe in strict caste regiments, they don't allow for candy or worldly desires, like hair, fun clothes, actually fun in general, and that is where I am considered the Demon King from. Confucianism is Chinese, and not too annoying, but it also believes strongly in a hierarchy of bloodlines and fate. That if you are born royalty, it's divine. But usually believes that a land is only as prosperous as its poorest citizen -- so most of the lords didn't allow it wherever they had control. [Another derisive snort.] Taoism believes that [Holds up both hands.] Yin & Yang. Two halves of the same whole. Black and white always keep each other in balance, ebb and flow. Any attempts to disrupt the balance could cause catastrophe. It's also Chinese, but doesn't conflict with Buddhism, because they believe in upholding the status quo.
Shintoism is the belief in -- [He furrows his brow. It really IS weird to explain it to an offworlder. With Luis Frois when he was explaining the religions, and indeed, why Nobunaga despised them, the European missionary still had a lot of first-hand experience with seeing it, and would usually just have specific questions about specific traditions or quirks.] Spirits. [He closes both eyes in thought. Trying to put the words from his faithful brothers to use.] Animism. It's generally a little superstitious. Things like, snowstorms are caused by mountain gods, or snow witches. Or typhoons are god's way of protecting us from other countries, or punishing the wicked on our own islands. Admittedly... This one I have the most trouble proving impossible. Dragons in rivers, could be true. Oni are Buddhist and I know aren't, but most of the familiars from anyone from Japan have been part of this, Shintoism. Youkai, demons, or just things like that. Our founding goddess was called Amaterasu, a great white wolf. It's believed she mothered the Emperor, and that the descending line is still holding some of that divinity. That's whom my father was the General for, but the only bloodline left of the Emperor had no political or military power. My father was protecting him just out of loyalty, but then I did it out of ambition.
[A headshake.] I wouldn't even try to disprove the heritage thing. It holds too much emotion, and cultural pride among the people.
Kitsune are from there as well. [Tilts his head the other way, thinking even harder.] Foxes with more than one tail, tricksters who enjoy pranks, but can be benevolent should they so choose. We used to joke on a regular basis that Mitsuhide is a kitsune, and now he actually has one here. And Kitsuno... at minimum in her realm, was a kitsune princess. [And Nobunaga was always the Demon King. Weird.]
[A shrug.] It's uniquely Japanese, and with no real intention to spread it, unlike all the other religious philosophies. All the other religions believe they should be everywhere. Spread through the whole world. Most of Shintoism is just superstitions though. Traditions for the sake of traditions, or things that people forget the original reasons behind. A few truly religious things, stories, holidays, shrines, but I get the impression by the 2000s, even that is mostly considered just for fun, nothing serious. And they stopped the sacrifices, that was a big thing I hated.
The fifth religion is Christianity. It's completely new to Japan. It's from Europe. A lot of warlords had banned it when they could, but a few saw the opportunities it presented, and I specifically -- Their god is against the castes. A king born in a farm shed. [Snorts and shakes his head, and laughs.] I don't believe it much either, but politically... [Shrugs.]
[And chin hands.] Nagamasu does though. He's very taken with it. All my brothers and I like trying new and foreign things, especially from Europe. The one advantage we had as Owari Province was shipping. Because we were in the center and surrounded by everyone, we were where everyone wanted to be for trading.
[A distant thought.] Not unlike Celliwig, as a matter of fact. Even with the trials; that was much like my father & my policy of not letting anyone simply pass through on the way to other things. We weren't a stopover, we were a destination. No major resources of our own, and being surrounded made it more difficult, so the least we could do was play it to our advantage and make the most of it.
Nobutoki was Nobuhiro's full younger brother, same mother, but he died fighting in the war on my Uncle's side. [Did he mention that much. SIGH.] The larger time my brothers tried to have me killed, they said it was to get my Uncle as Lord. Nobuhiro backed down, I think he didn't really want to be in power, just felt cornered. But Nobuyuki had been trying to have me assassinated since he was 8. Some of the others tried off and on. The other clans or provinces would try to bribe them or promise stupid things, the monks kept trying, but usually until I was an adult they would just call me an idiot and stay out of the family war, but even after I made it clear to Nobuyuki I wouldn't be killed, he kept trying. So that was when I sent our mother away. [And yanno, killed a bunch of his brothers.]
Oichi is the last one worth mentioning, because I'd move mountains for her. [Soft sad smile.] She's brilliant, stubborn as anything, and only barely less reckless than I am. She's the youngest, she was only four or five when our father died, and if it wasn't for her, I don't think I'd have any humanity in me at all. I certainly wouldn't have lived this long. She saved my life, despite being something of a princess, she would have been a good warrior, heart of steel, fangs like a tiger. I had arranged for her to marry Azai Nagamasa to cement an alliance with his clan, but he opted to betray me... Politics. [Just hand over his eyes again.] She warned me though. Sent me a coded message. When she was little I used to use the same kind of metaphors and analogies to explain the fighting to her as best as I could, and again, if it wasn't for that, I don't think I'd have ever figured out how to explain anything to Hideyoshi and the others either. And that's how she warned me. She remembered all the metaphors and used that.
Ah, she's one of the ones I refuse to look up other timelines of. I don't need to know. Although now I wonder if Kitsuno's realm has another version of her. Kitsuno's Demon King is -- [Wait. Should he explain about the Kitsuno of his own world?] Very literal. As opposed to mine being a grandiose despicable title from religions I don't even follow. If I believed in reincarnation and the rest... I might wonder a lot more. Kitsuno was the name of -- [No, but seriously... that's so weird and embarrassing...]
[He glances away, actually blushing!] my lover. Um. She doesn't have much in common with the Kitsuno here, beyond names, but... [Shrugs.] It's weird, right? [Nod!]
It kind of makes me want to kill the other Demon Kings though. I'm not good at sharing. [Nobunaga FFS.]
[But yes, Nobunaga is like inverted Flame Emperor. Ish. Except with the burning monks staying same.]
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That must be hard... Fighting with your family like that. I, um— I know how that goes. Azula and I did more than fight, but— not anymore. And I've come to realize, you know, she's so talented and the perfect warrior and a brilliant strategist— if she'd really wanted to kill me, she would have. She was just... playing.
[ This sounds so much sicker than it should. And it is! They're not normal! Nor healthy! But they've conjured some peace and that's something, even if Zuko's done some impressive mental and moral gymnastics to justify such a truce. ]
What happened to Nobuyuki? You forgave him, even after all the trouble he gave you all those years? What did your mother say? Our mother wanted me and Azula to get along; but now Uncle doesn't seem to think we should. Even when we were little, Azula had it out for me, but— I dunno... it's hard to describe when you don't know her... It's like— that's her way of bonding. Like any reaction from me is better than no reaction. I don't know if I'd call us allies now, but we're not enemies anymore, and— it makes me question if we ever truly were... But she's from years in my future here. She's technically my older sister now, which is weird— I'm supposed to be two years older than her, but now she's two years older than me, but I— ...I don't want to know, either. I don't want to know what happens in her timeline. If our future allows for us to build a truce, I don't want to learn anything early and fuck it up, just in case we do remember these places when we go home. And— even if we don't— ...what's relevant now is that we're here for each other after everything that's happened, even if I don't know what's happened. I don't know if that just makes me willfully blind, or stupid to trust her, but— ...getting along feels more valuable than knowing my future, even if it's her past.
[ He finds particular interest in the contents of his teacup as he speaks, eyes boring a hole as he shares more than he'd intended to, which snaps his realization to, as well, suddenly. ]
S-Sorry— I don't know why I'm telling you all this...
[ He raises his gaze up again nervously, blushing faintly as he becomes self-aware of how much more emotional he's leading the conversation than it had been. ]
I, uh— I'd like to meet that Ieyasu guy. If he ever shows up here. If my friend Aang ever shows up here, you should meet him, too. He's very important in our world, a wise kid. And he's a monk, too — he also shaves his hair. Air Nomads did that, too. But I don't think our worlds have any religions in common... Everything in my world is centered around the elements. And besides, Aang's unique anyway, he has powers unlike any other — he's someone called the Avatar, the only person who can control all the elements, reincarnated over and over, and he's uh, sort of like a peacekeeper, a-and the bridge between our world and the Spirt World— we have Spirits, too. I don't think it's like the ones you describe, although we do have such a concept as yin and yang as well, but our spirits are present, tangible, not really speculation. Although, I mean, I guess, neither are yours, especially in a place like this, which is kinda like a Spirit Realm, if you think about it... And there are kitsune and stuff here, too... I met one. My friend Hikaru's familiar Yoshiha. We don't have foxes in my world– not like those— but maybe we do and they're just spirits and I never knew about them, I dunno. I don't know a lot about religion in your world, from what my friends have told me, and what I've learned, but— religion in my world... it's less complicated... The Avatar is kind of the central figure no matter what way you slice it, no matter where you're from. And his role is pretty direct and active... provided he's around for it, I mean. Definitely real, though.
[ Oh, boy. He's better off rambling. When in doubt, rant about the Avatar. An uncomfortable hand searches for the back of his neck to rub at while he speaks, losing his train of focus. He's also not touching the remarks about his lover Kitsuno, or the variations of her. Zuko doesn't want to imagine that there can be any more variations of his loved ones than a linear backwards-or-forwards in time scenario like has been the case with his sister. If an alternate version of Mai shows up, Zuko'll just about lose his mind. ]
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Nobuyuki would rather be dead than live with me as clan leader or more. He made that abundantly clear, and insisted if I didn't kill him, he'd never stop. So I did. By my own hand. [He's not... happy about it, but his eyes are just icy all the same. As Mai (who rescued him from Honno-Ji) has yet to tell him; it's not that he doesn't feel pain, but he's buried it so deeply he doesn't even know it exists.]
[And indeed, Nobunaga considers forcing people to live in his prisons actually torture for them given the sort of messed up state of Japan and romanticized ideals of honor and suicide.] Gozen, our mother, hasn't forgiven me. I don't expect her to. [He hasn't forgiven himself, but he doesn't see any thing he could have done differently either. Nobuyuki wasn't just trying to kill Nobunaga, after all.]
I get it. [He still expects a sort of "oh shit I'm having tea with a demon king" reaction from Zuko for the Nobuyuki thing, but all the same, he likes Zuko!]
[He tenses at the idea of meeting a monk. A devout monk. But... Zuko continues on, and he relaxes.] I spoke with Hikaru, I think. He was familiar with my -- In his timeline, I reportedly died in a fire at Honno-Ji, believed to have been set by Akechi Mitsuhide. Mitsuhide is my left hand, and here with me, and also has a kitsune familiar. Though in my time, I was rescued from the fire, it was rather recently. [Headshake.]
Ah admittedly... I have a bit of a terse relationship with religion. Not specifically religious beliefs, but to go back to Nobuyuki...
To become the Demon King, you have to kill all the other demons, and become the most extreme of them. The worst of them.
Nobuyuki wanted to be clan leader for the same reason plenty of other demons abused their power. Wealth, status. Things like that. No. More than that... Tradition. [Sort of distant for a bit, and then shakes his head, snapping mostly out of it.] The--
[Shifts his jaw.] It might be better if you ask Hikaru, though I don't know how much is written. It seems like Hideyoshi scrubbed certain parts of my reputation, and the monks were all killed, so they didn't exactly have too many survivors, never mind victors, to write about our wars.
There were a few extreme sects that acted much the same as Nobuyuki. Worse. They wanted traditions upheld. Politics. They reinforce the barrier I mentioned holding everyone back.
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I don't think you're foolish for trusting Azula, just stay on your toes. I think, had Gozen --
[GLANCES COMPLETELY THE OTHER WAY.] As a child, I was known around town and everywhere as the Fool of Owari. Baka-dono. Idiot-Lord. I befriended commoners, spent all my time with falcons, fishing, hunting, playing with guns, and trying to convince my father to embrace new techniques both at war and getting rid of the hierarchies. My mother had no patience for it. More than that, she wanted Nubuyuki for a bit of a political puppet, to parley as giving away protecting Owari into letting other politicians take the lead, and that was something I could never allow.
Hideyoshi was born a commoner. Samurai had to be born into it. Making Hideyoshi my right hand was unheard of. A lot of my father's allies and soldiers resented it, and mothers in Japan are expected to have great shame for their sons sticking out. [Sardonic smirk!] There's a saying they're very fond of. The nail that sticks out gets hammered down. I was always that nail. But instead, whenever anyone tried to hammer me into place, I sucker-punched them right back twice as hard.
Samurai, lords, kings... [EYEROLL.] So much foolishness. As I said, the European merchants didn't even view us as worthy because it was too out of their way with too many politics to field and too little to gain.
The monks were the biggest source of those telling others not to do anything new. Worse, many of them knew their power politically among the people, and constantly tried to choose who was allowed to live and die. Samurai had to be born into it, but monks allowed the poor to send their children to the monasteries to learn from them martial arts. It didn't do anything for the children who weren't sent there, but it meant the samurai couldn't kill monks for no reason without repercussion.
They would tell the people to give up worldly desires for food or material goods, the only source of power outside of them, beyond their control, and let people live in misery all while praising it as something good. Don't try to get rid of the nobility, just pity them for not having a better after life or reincarnation. Never mind what was happening right here and now.
[Another eyeroll.] I set all of Mount Hiei on fire. [Drinks his tea, and gauges Zuko's reaction.] The monk sect there -- I did try to negotiate. [His eyes narrow. Because it's relevant with the faerie and Celliwig relationship! He doesn't kill willy-nilly, but yeah, he's not above genocide.] They wouldn't have it.
As I said, it was part of the world I wanted Japan to move beyond.
Emet-Selch often says the world can't be made better from war, but I don't think that's what I'm doing. Not at all. No war can be won from just trying to survive. The monks often said they were in the right and were trying to make a better world, while not doing anything to it. Better world? No. Just a prosperous Japan was enough for me. [Small smile.] Someone called me the First Unifier of Japan the other day. It's got a nice ring to it. [Head tilt.]
Mitsuhide is my left hand, and here with me. He's known me since I was a child, Gozen hates him too. [Gozen hates all his vassals, it's almost a litmus test.] And Hikaru and others knew him as the one to betray me and end my reign. I do trust him with more than my life.
But the thing about being the King of Demons... For all the ones you get to join you instead of destroying, it will always increase your power, but you should never trust a demon, Zuko.
I always have to fight for my army's ambitions first, or my own don't stand a chance, they'll betray me, and they'd have every right to. Whether that's Mitsuhide, Ieyasu, Hideyoshi, Kitsuno, or anyone else.
It's good that you have the chance to get along with Azula here and now. Don't waste it. But don't lose sight of her ambitions, especially if you aren't sure what those are; and even more so if she doesn't know either.
no subject
...I'll talk to Hikaru about what he knows about you. And Mitsuhide. And I'll ask my other Italian-Japanese friend Gokudera, too. He knows about a lot of stuff. Maybe he knows something different about how history remembers you.
[ That's what it comes down to. History's remembrance. These moves are hard ones to hear casually off the cuff, but he comes from royalty and a military state in the midst of a century-long war culture, so he's much more desensitized to things like "I killed my brother" and "I burned down a village" than maybe most. In fact, he doesn't bat an eyelash at the comment about burning down Mt. Hiei. Zuko's burned down villages himself, and he's not even seventeen yet. Whoops. The cockiness that Nobunaga nonchalantly shrugs off, though, that fade from dark tones to haughty arrogance, "I won, whatever," chills Zuko a bit, and leaves him with a complex, simple question. ]
...Why were the monks killed?
[ He glances aside, uncertain whether he should share as much about his world, too fascinated by Nobunaga's, but bits must be, he figures, and meets his eye with a strange steeliness. ]
...The Air Nomads were all killed in my world, decades ago, almost a century. There was a genocide. The Fire Lord at the time, Sozin, was responsible — it started off a century-long world war my nation has spearheaded ever since.
[ He frowns, eyes finding the tabletop again uncomfortably. ]
Sozin betrayed his best friend on his quest for power. His best friend was the Avatar, as well — but his last incarnation, Roku. Roku spared Sozin's life in the name of their friendship. But if he hadn't— the Air Nomads would still exist today, and the world wouldn't be so burned and scarred. The war would have never happened and the Fire Nation wouldn't be what it is today. He showed mercy instead of foresight. I think about them a lot lately... ...They were like brothers. They grew up together. Even shared a birthday.
[ He looks up once more, emotive, complex, earnest, meeting Nobunaga's eye at the brothers comment. He's not mentioning that these men both happened to be his own great-grandfathers. Not just yet. ]
I think any leaders are all forced to be crabs in a bucket, in a way. But even in war, still part of them keeps them soft-hearted humans by nature, too — still just regular people. That makes it scary to me, honestly. It's easier to be one or the other. I worry about being able to tell which way the scales are tipping... I've always been the nail that sticks out, too. After so much hammering— sometimes it's hard to see straight, I guess...
[ This got way more intimate than he expected it to, and he looks away again, rubbing the back of his head nervously with a soft scowl. ]
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3/3 TW: Ikko-Ikki cult, genocide, sacrifice, anti-Buddhism
oof i didn't realize i'd never responded to this, sorry for the wild delay! i'd love to continue tho