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waterscrollThis is a kind of oddly structured route. Mitsuhide and the MC get married in the first chapter, which they decided to do at the end of Act 1. I did like that there was basically no time between admitting their feelings, getting engaged and getting married, because why would there be? They are both such earnest and sincere people that they wouldn't even start a relationship with someone they weren't sure they wanted to marry.
The next four chapters were mostly them slowly trying to figure out how to be married to each other. They love each other a lot and want to be good to each other but they're not perfect people, he works too hard and doesn't make time for her, she doesn't express what she wants. Meanwhile there's Stuff going on in the Oda clan but he doesn't want to tell her about it, mostly because he wants to protect her, but also because he's not that great at communicating and because he's so internally conflicted he wouldn't know what to say. This makes her sad, because early in their marriage they promised to share everything. It feels like a very realistic portrayal of a couple who love each other very much but aren't used to opening up to people and are having to slowly learn, but it felt like an odd choice to spend four chapters on it. Meanwhile you *know* that everything is about to come to pieces.
And then in chapter six it does. Oda's forces, very much including Mitsuhide, destroy Hogan-ji and burn it to the ground, killing everyone in it, young, old and noncombatants alike. Nobunaga comes out holding Kennyo's bloody severed head and saying:
"What meaning is there in having faith in the sacred? I alone will save the weak. Believe in me, for I am your god."
Mitsuhide goes home to his wife, completely falling apart, and tells her some of what he hasn't been telling her. Meanwhile Oda soldiers are taking Kennyo's written prayers from the villagers, who don't like it, and who don't like what Nobunaga has done. People are rebelling everywhere, and Mitsuhide quietly concludes that 'there's nothing left to do but stop him." After one last night with his wife, he goes off to do just that.
That's where I am now. I suppose in the next chapter History happens. I am a complete curled-up mess of feels and having a very hard time not buying lots of chapter tickets to get to the cathartic end.
Meanwhile in the ES: Scytale asked me how Mitsuhide is terrible (because all the LIs in this game are) and I think this event story gives a pretty decent answer. And I don't think it's what it looks like. This game keeps doing this thing of showing one thing and telling another, and I'm not sure if it's on purpose. Anyway, this ES keeps hammering on Mitsuhide's jealousy and possessiveness, which I think he sees as a major flaw of his. And of course given his Buddhist spirituality he would see possessiveness as a flaw. But I didn't see him actually being that possessive. After Kojiro literally tries to make out with his girlfriend in front of him he says some unfortunate things, but he takes them back right away, continues to work with Kojiro, and doesn't try to prevent MC from seeing Kojiro again even though he hits on her another *twice* after that. So no, I don't think his possessiveness is his major character flaw, because although he feels it and sometimes expresses it he doesn't really do bad things because of it.
I think that, like for most SLBP LIs, Mitsuhide's real flaws are an extension of his virtues. One of the things I love about him is his sense of moral obligation, and one reason I am so attached to him is that he feels conflicting moral obligations strongly. This is a tough way to live because whatever he is doing he is failing in one of his obligations. In this case: Is it more morally correct to fight for the MC or to let her go? As her lover he feels obliged to fight for her and show that he is determined to be with her and to protect her. But he also feels obligated to respect her autonomy and let her choose what's best for her. This means he's always a conflicted mess of loyalties and emotions, and he doesn't always handle it well.
And the tough thing is, the MC *would* in some significant ways be better off with Kojiro. Life with the Oda is a clusterfuck, as the main route shows us over and over again. In Mitsuhide's act 1 he keeps dithering about whether to keep MC with him or send her home for her own good. Here might be something that would be even better for her than sending her home - sending her to another man who can appreciate her and who has many of the same virtues that Mitsuhide does. Of course Mitsuhide is going to feel a little like he should allow that, and hate himself a little for not letting it happen.
And yeah, it's glossed over quickly, but Mitsuhide does do some garden-variety war crimes in this ES, in particular making an offer of protection to an enemy and then immediately rescinding it. So while Mitsuhide might draw the line at burning monks, he still does bad things in war, as we see in his main route as well. So although I appreciate his complicated sense of morality, he's still not completely un-terrible.
The next four chapters were mostly them slowly trying to figure out how to be married to each other. They love each other a lot and want to be good to each other but they're not perfect people, he works too hard and doesn't make time for her, she doesn't express what she wants. Meanwhile there's Stuff going on in the Oda clan but he doesn't want to tell her about it, mostly because he wants to protect her, but also because he's not that great at communicating and because he's so internally conflicted he wouldn't know what to say. This makes her sad, because early in their marriage they promised to share everything. It feels like a very realistic portrayal of a couple who love each other very much but aren't used to opening up to people and are having to slowly learn, but it felt like an odd choice to spend four chapters on it. Meanwhile you *know* that everything is about to come to pieces.
And then in chapter six it does. Oda's forces, very much including Mitsuhide, destroy Hogan-ji and burn it to the ground, killing everyone in it, young, old and noncombatants alike. Nobunaga comes out holding Kennyo's bloody severed head and saying:
"What meaning is there in having faith in the sacred? I alone will save the weak. Believe in me, for I am your god."
Mitsuhide goes home to his wife, completely falling apart, and tells her some of what he hasn't been telling her. Meanwhile Oda soldiers are taking Kennyo's written prayers from the villagers, who don't like it, and who don't like what Nobunaga has done. People are rebelling everywhere, and Mitsuhide quietly concludes that 'there's nothing left to do but stop him." After one last night with his wife, he goes off to do just that.
That's where I am now. I suppose in the next chapter History happens. I am a complete curled-up mess of feels and having a very hard time not buying lots of chapter tickets to get to the cathartic end.
Meanwhile in the ES: Scytale asked me how Mitsuhide is terrible (because all the LIs in this game are) and I think this event story gives a pretty decent answer. And I don't think it's what it looks like. This game keeps doing this thing of showing one thing and telling another, and I'm not sure if it's on purpose. Anyway, this ES keeps hammering on Mitsuhide's jealousy and possessiveness, which I think he sees as a major flaw of his. And of course given his Buddhist spirituality he would see possessiveness as a flaw. But I didn't see him actually being that possessive. After Kojiro literally tries to make out with his girlfriend in front of him he says some unfortunate things, but he takes them back right away, continues to work with Kojiro, and doesn't try to prevent MC from seeing Kojiro again even though he hits on her another *twice* after that. So no, I don't think his possessiveness is his major character flaw, because although he feels it and sometimes expresses it he doesn't really do bad things because of it.
I think that, like for most SLBP LIs, Mitsuhide's real flaws are an extension of his virtues. One of the things I love about him is his sense of moral obligation, and one reason I am so attached to him is that he feels conflicting moral obligations strongly. This is a tough way to live because whatever he is doing he is failing in one of his obligations. In this case: Is it more morally correct to fight for the MC or to let her go? As her lover he feels obliged to fight for her and show that he is determined to be with her and to protect her. But he also feels obligated to respect her autonomy and let her choose what's best for her. This means he's always a conflicted mess of loyalties and emotions, and he doesn't always handle it well.
And the tough thing is, the MC *would* in some significant ways be better off with Kojiro. Life with the Oda is a clusterfuck, as the main route shows us over and over again. In Mitsuhide's act 1 he keeps dithering about whether to keep MC with him or send her home for her own good. Here might be something that would be even better for her than sending her home - sending her to another man who can appreciate her and who has many of the same virtues that Mitsuhide does. Of course Mitsuhide is going to feel a little like he should allow that, and hate himself a little for not letting it happen.
And yeah, it's glossed over quickly, but Mitsuhide does do some garden-variety war crimes in this ES, in particular making an offer of protection to an enemy and then immediately rescinding it. So while Mitsuhide might draw the line at burning monks, he still does bad things in war, as we see in his main route as well. So although I appreciate his complicated sense of morality, he's still not completely un-terrible.
no subject
Date: 2019-12-15 07:03 pm (UTC)I'm very interested in seeing how Nobunaga's route will handle what's coming up.
Have you played the new ES for Mitsuhide?
no subject
Date: 2019-12-15 08:27 pm (UTC)I did! A lot of it was very silly, but it had some sweet moments and I liked the epilogue.
I do find it quite charming how Mitsuhide struggles so mightily with his tendency towards possessiveness and jealousy when it's really not that bad and in any case he only (at most) acts on it if, when, and to what extent MC wants him to. I had suspected that all that public handholding reflected slight exhibitionist tendencies, and that he's kind of submissive and could enjoy being tied up, but it was good to get canon confirmation.
no subject
Date: 2019-12-15 11:34 pm (UTC)Yeah, the way they're both so (charmingly) exceedingly polite toward each other in their relationship seems to get in their way much more than the possessiveness.
I really enjoyed the epilogue too, though I was disappointed it never got to the steamy bits. Hopefully the fandom starts producing porn tailored to my tastes soon.
From what I've seen so far, the MC seems to really enjoy possessiveness, which I think makes a lot of sense given the class difference and how precarious her relationship is.
no subject
Date: 2019-12-16 11:39 pm (UTC)Yes, exactly that! It seems like so much of what happens in Mitsuhide's ESes is just to pile on the drama until they *finally* are willing to speak more or less directly.
I am also sorry we were sadly deprived of the scene in which they politely and awkwardly try out her tying him to the bed. There is unfortunately very little Mitsuhide fic in the fandom, he's not one of the more popular characters. If I get my writing mojo back I may need to do something about that.
no subject
Date: 2019-12-17 04:10 am (UTC)Heh. I played Mitsuhide's after Ieyasu's, which was a contrast: "let us have lots of sex on screen and pretend it's dubcon, so we don't have to even hint at romantic feelings".
I am also sorry we were sadly deprived of the scene in which they politely and awkwardly try out her tying him to the bed.
So much, yes. It would have been such a good (and probably hilarious and sweet) scene.
no subject
Date: 2019-12-17 12:25 pm (UTC)That's a good way of putting it. Ieyasu seems like not just a terrible boyfriend but a terrible person and does all the forms of abuse in order: from physical abuse to restraint to verbal abuse to seemingly nonconsensual sex. MC relates to him like he's being perfectly normal and kind and this is just his way of expressing his feelings. But she's also not all that smart. It should all be horrifying, but I find it freakishly compelling. And in the end they're very happy together.
no subject
Date: 2019-12-17 03:31 pm (UTC)