Samurai love Ballad Party: Lovers Seductive and Scandalous: Hideyoshi
Masterlist and guide
Hideyoshi reminds me of the kind of 'non-threatening' guy who makes his voice high and cute while being just a little too flirty and touchy feely. And he's genuinely charming and everyone else loves him and his much younger girlfriend seems happy, yet somehow talking to him always makes you feel a little oily.
So...points to SLBP for writing a different kind of charming asshole than the usual, I guess? And this was an interesting read. But for all that MC and Hideyoshi seem mutually in love and happy I don't really ship it.
Waterscroll's post about the Hideyoshi route is useful context and meant I knew what I was getting into.
He's friendly and affectionate and into hugs and cute nuzzling but then things got sexual in a way that made me feel weird and it all feels subtly calculated. MC is entirely carried along by his much stronger personality, I believe that they both feel a genuine passionate love for each other, but she has very little agency and doesn't even realise it.
I mean it's also kind of...hot/engaging in that "this sexy asshole is focussing his entire intense personality on ME" way, but right on that line between sexy and squicky.
Anyway!
We meet bickering retainers Masonari and Kiyomasa as MC serves them breakfast? Guess she's still a cook. Also the quietly nerdy Lord Kanbei who looks like the green haired dude from Hakaru no Go.
Hideyoshi praises MC's cooking and Masonari and Kiyomasa ask if he can even taste it? Apparently as a kid he'd eat gross food and not seem to notice. Hideyoshi whines and MC feels a little sad, not to the implicit insult to her cooking, but because he's more at ease being himself around these guys than her.
After MC leaves, Hideyoshi sighs about what an adorable, talented, attentive girl she is.
Kiyomasa: Who thought we'd ever see Hideyoshi so taken by just one girl?
Hideyoshi: Well, I am. And that's why I want to bring her closer to the rest of us.
Masonari: It's too sudden.
Kiyomasa: There's always gonna be a divide between the maids and the retainers.
Hideyoshi: She's already different from the other maids by being my lover. But the fact she's a woman amongst men keeps you from truly being yourselves around her. Stop holding back around her, and include her whenever you can. I just want everyone to get along.
So they agree, but are dubious. Hmm, I wonder if he'll get jealous!
MC overhears and decides she'll do her best to get along with them too, to avoid troubling Hideyoshi.
MC: HELLO! I AM GOING TO COOK YOU DELICIOUS FOOD!
Masonari: Heh. You do that.
Hideyoshi: :)
Masonari then comes to help MC cook lunch and gives her tips on Hideyoshi and the others' tastes in food. She is endeared by the mutual love his friends have with Hideyoshi.
MC: Ooh, clams! Masanori said he was in the mood for those when he helped me in the kitchen.
Hideyoshi: Did he :)
While Hideyoshi's on an errand MC bumps into Kiyomasa.
Kiyomasa: You've been getting closer to Masonari, why not get closer to me too? In several senses of the word, what do you say ;)
MC: I say I think Lord Hideyoshi meant it in a sense that you do not.
Kiyomasa: Aw, you knew? So I can't get one over on you... Then tell me, do you really think you can keep going on like this?
MC: As much as I can. You both mean so much to Lord Hideyoshi that I want to think of you as dearly as he does.
Kiyomasa: That's gotta count for something *pats her on the shoulder*
Hideyoshi: ...so you came into town too :)
Kiyomasa: Yes, looks like me and MC are gonna be nice and close from now on :)
Hideyoshi: Great :)
MC: (Yay everyone is smiling!)
/o\
A clam-digging trip is planned to lake Biwa, which has a shrine for lovers that MC wants to see. MC ends up doing all the digging while Kanbei calculates the maths of waterfowl and the other three splash in the water. Masanori starts building a sandcastle of Hideyoshi's castle as a surprise, so she helps.
Meanwhile Hideyoshi watches MC and Masanori with a blank expression.
Kiyomasa: Still want us all to be good friends?
Hideyoshi: :/
MC sees his unhappy expression and approaches. But he just gets grumpier when MC prevaricates about what he's been doing with Masanori. Kiyomasa tries to drag MC to help with the castle but Hideyoshi grabs her, glaring at him. The other two show up telling them to stop fighting.
And then MC gets splashed with water and everyone stops to make sure she's ok. Hideyoshi pulls her against him and shouts that noone else is to look at her, since her clothes have gone transparent.
He takes her to a little fisherman's hut and dries her off.
Hideyoshi: I really haven't grown up, have I? I told them to get closer to you, but then kept wishing it was me.
She explains that she knew he was just trying to make her comfortable, so tried going along with it.
MC: But then I started thinking of them as the people loved by the one I love...and I wanted to love them too.
Hideyoshi: The one you love...you've made me so happy, and here I am being petty and jealous over nothing.
MC: I wasn't expecting you to be the jealous type.
Hideyoshi: I'm pretty stubborn about the things I really want.
MC: I'm glad I'm one of them :)
He slowly pulls her into a kiss. And then he takes her to the shrine, where MC prays they will be together forever.
Suddenly there is a huge wave, but Hideyoshi moves to shelter her. He says his wet kimono feels gross so takes it off haha god. MC is into the gratuitous fanservice.
Hideyoshi, tracing her cheek: I am glad you're closer to everyone. But make sure the MC who knows lovers knows only me.
MC: I will.
He apologises to everyone for telling them to get closer to MC then holding them back. They show him the castle and everyone is cute and friendly.
But goddd even in his epilogue preview he's all "Oh, it's so hot, I might take this off..." JUST SAY YOU WANT TO GET NAKED, HIDEYOSHI.
So yeah.
I know @waterscroll thinks he's sleeping with all his friends, I can't speak to how this is treated in the main route but I'm not sure if I read it this way here. The narrative calls them 'friends', and MC makes a distinction between her relationship with Hideyoshi and theirs. At the same time there's definitely something...seductive and intense about the way he is around them, and MC uses the word 'love' a lot (probably 'like' in Japanese, but still). And Kiyomasa's behaviour would certainly make sense as a lover feeling annoyed at Hideyoshi's hypocrisy.
This entry was originally posted at https://alias-sqbr.dreamwidth.org/792539.html. There are
comments.
Hideyoshi reminds me of the kind of 'non-threatening' guy who makes his voice high and cute while being just a little too flirty and touchy feely. And he's genuinely charming and everyone else loves him and his much younger girlfriend seems happy, yet somehow talking to him always makes you feel a little oily.
So...points to SLBP for writing a different kind of charming asshole than the usual, I guess? And this was an interesting read. But for all that MC and Hideyoshi seem mutually in love and happy I don't really ship it.
Waterscroll's post about the Hideyoshi route is useful context and meant I knew what I was getting into.
He's friendly and affectionate and into hugs and cute nuzzling but then things got sexual in a way that made me feel weird and it all feels subtly calculated. MC is entirely carried along by his much stronger personality, I believe that they both feel a genuine passionate love for each other, but she has very little agency and doesn't even realise it.
I mean it's also kind of...hot/engaging in that "this sexy asshole is focussing his entire intense personality on ME" way, but right on that line between sexy and squicky.
Anyway!
We meet bickering retainers Masonari and Kiyomasa as MC serves them breakfast? Guess she's still a cook. Also the quietly nerdy Lord Kanbei who looks like the green haired dude from Hakaru no Go.
Hideyoshi praises MC's cooking and Masonari and Kiyomasa ask if he can even taste it? Apparently as a kid he'd eat gross food and not seem to notice. Hideyoshi whines and MC feels a little sad, not to the implicit insult to her cooking, but because he's more at ease being himself around these guys than her.
After MC leaves, Hideyoshi sighs about what an adorable, talented, attentive girl she is.
Kiyomasa: Who thought we'd ever see Hideyoshi so taken by just one girl?
Hideyoshi: Well, I am. And that's why I want to bring her closer to the rest of us.
Masonari: It's too sudden.
Kiyomasa: There's always gonna be a divide between the maids and the retainers.
Hideyoshi: She's already different from the other maids by being my lover. But the fact she's a woman amongst men keeps you from truly being yourselves around her. Stop holding back around her, and include her whenever you can. I just want everyone to get along.
So they agree, but are dubious. Hmm, I wonder if he'll get jealous!
MC overhears and decides she'll do her best to get along with them too, to avoid troubling Hideyoshi.
MC: HELLO! I AM GOING TO COOK YOU DELICIOUS FOOD!
Masonari: Heh. You do that.
Hideyoshi: :)
Masonari then comes to help MC cook lunch and gives her tips on Hideyoshi and the others' tastes in food. She is endeared by the mutual love his friends have with Hideyoshi.
MC: Ooh, clams! Masanori said he was in the mood for those when he helped me in the kitchen.
Hideyoshi: Did he :)
While Hideyoshi's on an errand MC bumps into Kiyomasa.
Kiyomasa: You've been getting closer to Masonari, why not get closer to me too? In several senses of the word, what do you say ;)
MC: I say I think Lord Hideyoshi meant it in a sense that you do not.
Kiyomasa: Aw, you knew? So I can't get one over on you... Then tell me, do you really think you can keep going on like this?
MC: As much as I can. You both mean so much to Lord Hideyoshi that I want to think of you as dearly as he does.
Kiyomasa: That's gotta count for something *pats her on the shoulder*
Hideyoshi: ...so you came into town too :)
Kiyomasa: Yes, looks like me and MC are gonna be nice and close from now on :)
Hideyoshi: Great :)
MC: (Yay everyone is smiling!)
/o\
A clam-digging trip is planned to lake Biwa, which has a shrine for lovers that MC wants to see. MC ends up doing all the digging while Kanbei calculates the maths of waterfowl and the other three splash in the water. Masanori starts building a sandcastle of Hideyoshi's castle as a surprise, so she helps.
Meanwhile Hideyoshi watches MC and Masanori with a blank expression.
Kiyomasa: Still want us all to be good friends?
Hideyoshi: :/
MC sees his unhappy expression and approaches. But he just gets grumpier when MC prevaricates about what he's been doing with Masanori. Kiyomasa tries to drag MC to help with the castle but Hideyoshi grabs her, glaring at him. The other two show up telling them to stop fighting.
And then MC gets splashed with water and everyone stops to make sure she's ok. Hideyoshi pulls her against him and shouts that noone else is to look at her, since her clothes have gone transparent.
He takes her to a little fisherman's hut and dries her off.
Hideyoshi: I really haven't grown up, have I? I told them to get closer to you, but then kept wishing it was me.
She explains that she knew he was just trying to make her comfortable, so tried going along with it.
MC: But then I started thinking of them as the people loved by the one I love...and I wanted to love them too.
Hideyoshi: The one you love...you've made me so happy, and here I am being petty and jealous over nothing.
MC: I wasn't expecting you to be the jealous type.
Hideyoshi: I'm pretty stubborn about the things I really want.
MC: I'm glad I'm one of them :)
He slowly pulls her into a kiss. And then he takes her to the shrine, where MC prays they will be together forever.
Suddenly there is a huge wave, but Hideyoshi moves to shelter her. He says his wet kimono feels gross so takes it off haha god. MC is into the gratuitous fanservice.
Hideyoshi, tracing her cheek: I am glad you're closer to everyone. But make sure the MC who knows lovers knows only me.
MC: I will.
He apologises to everyone for telling them to get closer to MC then holding them back. They show him the castle and everyone is cute and friendly.
But goddd even in his epilogue preview he's all "Oh, it's so hot, I might take this off..." JUST SAY YOU WANT TO GET NAKED, HIDEYOSHI.
So yeah.
I know @waterscroll thinks he's sleeping with all his friends, I can't speak to how this is treated in the main route but I'm not sure if I read it this way here. The narrative calls them 'friends', and MC makes a distinction between her relationship with Hideyoshi and theirs. At the same time there's definitely something...seductive and intense about the way he is around them, and MC uses the word 'love' a lot (probably 'like' in Japanese, but still). And Kiyomasa's behaviour would certainly make sense as a lover feeling annoyed at Hideyoshi's hypocrisy.
This entry was originally posted at https://alias-sqbr.dreamwidth.org/792539.html. There are
comments.