#oshu crew

[yonezawacastle]

Been thinking about Shigezane's recent event story again and one of the things I wish we got just a little more of in the Date cousins' routes is some relationship between the guys and the MC's mother. One cousin is entirely motherless, the other effectively so.

There's a huge class and geographical gap, sure. But I love how warm the MC's mother is. I've always been inordinately fond of her considering how small her role in the game is. It would be nice for them to have even a marginal maternal presence in their lives.

[yonezawacastle]

Kojuro displayed so much courage and decency in his last event story. I think that's the central appeal of the entire Oshu crew for me, really -- they're not without their own flaws and foibles and certainly not without their own desires, but they do all care immensely for the people around them.

[yonezawacastle]

Fathers of Oshu: Masamune

This man works so, so hard to be involved with his children every. single. day. despite the burdens of leadership

He very diligently makes his children handmade toys and works hard to improve his cooking skills. He really enjoys feeding his little ones himself, though he'll readily concede his wife's food is better. This man loves family dinner time like nothing else.

He likes molding rice balls into cute shapes and making his children smile.

He insists on taking care of sick offspring personally, no matter how much work he has to contend with on top of everything else. If that means sitting up all night with a feverish child while he goes through a stack of paperwork, so be it.

(Makes himself sick on more than one occasion doing this.)

If a child of his has had a rough day, he'll invite them to sit with their mother and father and look at the moon.

He passes on his curiosity and open-mindedness in part by letting his kids interact with Francisco and Luis on a regular basis and ask lots of questions of them.

He dreams of taking the whole family on an overseas trip someday.

He is low-key the most fearful of the bunch regarding pregnancy and childbirth -- he's overjoyed at the prospect of being a father but worry sits on his chest like a stone for nine months. He actually runs to MC's side at each birth, in spite of every custom or taboo, because he's afraid she will need him.

(Kita, aiding with the delivery, berates him, then sighs, then presses him into service. He might be the Lord of Oshu everywhere else but in this room he will be taking orders from her.)

This is a problem for Masamune as a parent, actually -- a loveless childhood has left him needing to be needed, and as such he has a hard time treating his children like adults as they grow older. MC, herself bolder and more confident with age, has to encourage him to let things go.

His other chief flaw as a parent is his stubbornness -- this is half innate nature and half the result of being accustomed to command. He sometimes needs a little gentle advice from MC and Kojuro. Or a good head smack from Shigezane. Whichever comes first.

Despite this -- he really is a profoundly gentle and affectionate parent. He and MC eventually offer to take in a child from a lower-ranked samurai house when he notices the subtle signs of mistreatment, and for the same reasons he experienced such. Don't want your kid? Your loss. He and MC have money, room, and love for one more.

He's a quiet man, but he makes up for it with physical affection.

If their adopted child has known nothing but hard hands and rejection he'll be the first to teach them -- slowly, softly, and on the child's own terms -- that hands are for holding and for stroking hair, that arms are for rocking little ones to sleep and holding them when they're scared.

That voices, though quiet and seldom used, are for telling them they are loved and valued.

[yonezawacastle]

Fathers of Oshu: Shigezane

Shigezane definitely wants -- and has -- a big brood of children

He is so, so, so thankful to MC for making this wild dream of his come true

He gives each of their newborns a smile so broad MC thinks he might burst

Her heart melts when she hears Shigezane softly singing a lullaby to their infant

He's the non-toxic sports dad -- he'll play every game with his children and encourage them to get out and get active, as long as they play fair

Honestly, Shigezane loves playing with his kids no matter what they're up to and doesn't have to be coerced-- MC has caught him making bracelets and holding faux tea ceremonies with them on more than one occasion

Everything they make is a masterpiece as far as he's concerned

He's also big on piggyback rides, the tickle monster, and carrying kids around in general. Has lost many a fake swordfight.

He likes taking his family on outings to see fireworks or join Tsunamoto on trips

He loves spoiling his kids and MC has to reign him in a bit

He is, therefore, the Cool Dad (TM) to his children's friends

Having said that: talking back to him? Bad. Talking back to MC? Absolutely unacceptable. Go muck out the stalls until you've learned some respect.

Under all that goofiness he is very, very, very astute about his kids' emotional state -- he's memorized his children's every gesture and expression over the years. There is no fooling this man. If a kid of his is sad, or scared, or angry, he knows it.

He won't force his kids' troubles out of them, but he wants them to come to him and he wants them to know that he wants that

Absolute master of the pep talk

He's a fairly relaxed parent compared to Kojuro or Masamune without being neglectful or overly permissive -- he thinks it's healthy for his kids to learn from minor scrapes

However, he will give his kids a heart-to-heart if he thinks they're about to do something unethical or injudicious or that will otherwise make them unhappy long term

He makes it clear that no matter how old they get they can always, always, always come home to Omori

He is very eager to teach his kids how to ride and starts teaching them a little younger than MC would have approved of, resulting in a minor argument that is resolved by her agreeing to join in if he does things on her terms

Shigezane actually cools it on the number and duration of visits to Yonezawa until his kids are up some age. He doesn't want to leave MC at home with a young child or one on the way, and he doesn't want to exhaust or endanger any of his kids on the road.

(And if Masamune and Kojuro happen to drop in on him unexpectedly every once in a while, well -- fair's fair. Even if they do seem way too smug about it, the bastards.)

[yonezawacastle]

Fathers of Oshu: Kojuro

Kojuro gives each of his children an intense, equal-opportunity education -- boy or girl, the Katakura clan doesn't raise dummies

He's the best of the lot at identifying budding talent in his children

He praises their strengths, but is aware of their limitations and encourages them not to obsess over them

He saves every. single. drawing. and later has them bound in a book to sniff and blubber over as the years pass

He bawls at each and every wedding

His children are all early readers bc he props them up in his lap and reads to them from the time they can first sit up

Hell, he even lulls his newborns to sleep by reading his work to them.

He never quite masters cooking, but he tries is best so MC isn't left with the sole burden of that aspect of childcare

Likewise, he finally gets some of his slovenliness under control so he won't set a bad example

Kojuro encourages responsibility and empathy in their children early on by having them care for Bontenmaru, and then later for horses

The man knows one (1) fear and that is the wrath of Aunt Kita

(Even so, he listens to her parenting advice. She's learned a great deal as a wet nurse.)

Truthfully, he knows two fears -- the thought of his son's first battle disturbs his sleep for years.

Years of refereeing Masamune and Shigezane's childhood squabbles has made him an excellent mediator

He's the strictest parent of the Oshu men, but also the one quickest to hear out his child's side of the story and weigh its merits

He has so very many dreams for his children before their birth and shares them all with MC over dinner and in bed

He's very well-informed about the physical process of pregnancy and birth according to the standards of the day and is genuinely in awe of his wife's courage and fortitude

(He thinks she might be an even tougher warrior than he is.)

He loves, loves, loves to supervise while his kids play in the garden. He can, and will, watch them for hours.

He comes to fully appreciate Shigezane's maturity and gifts by watching him as an uncle.

Lets his perfect facade crack for his children -- he's made his share of mistakes and he's willing to share them if it keeps his kids from doing the same

Cries over many of their achievements -- and considers them his greatest achievement

[yonezawacastle]

I've gushed a lot about Masamune's relationship with the MC, but on reflection I think it was Kojuro's relationship with Shigezane that really sold SLBP for me and made it feel a bit more like an expansive world than I was expecting from a mobile game. For a game with few childhood flashbacks the writers have done a remarkable job of conjuring up a past for the Oshu boys.

[yonezawacastle]

The Oshu Crew As Modern Dog Owners

Kojuro: Owns a scary, scary smart dog like a GSD or border collie that's most exquisitely well-trained creature you've ever seen. The dog seems almost human and has saved at least one person's life.

Shigezane: An extroverted breed like a golden retriever. Has won trophies for agility or dock diving. Still jumps on guests though.

Masamune: An aloof 'one-person' breed like a Shiba Inu, or a moody small dog of indeterminate background. Takes a while to warm up to you but is loyal for life when it finally does.

[yonezawacastle]

Giving myself warm fuzzies by imagining how kind the entire Oshu Crew would be to any children they run across who have been shunned for physical differences.