Playing through this game after having finished "The Author"... I'm having a hard time to connect to the MC.
It doesn't help that we only get to know what makes the MC tick through sparse flashbacks and other people telling the MC how they see him. In story-heavy games like this, I try to crawl in the MC's skin and make choices based on what I learned about him. All was fine, until Elspeth's pool heart-to-heart.
She changed the MC from a chill guy who loves self-deprecating humor, to someone haunted by his own demons, and too afraid to face them. While it was clear from the start that the MC struggles with trauma, I thought he was working through it in his own pace. Valentine is good with the ladies. He's not afraid of commitment, or he never would've started training Amrit or co-found The Centre.
In real life, I absolutely hate people who take what they know of you, and use it against you. Elspeth is like this. In this playthrough I've been open with her, but she remains closed off and playing games. At the pool, I wanted to (be able to) tell her to fuck off. She doesn't get to hold Valentine's trauma over him. She has blood on her hands, and she's helping people because she thinks this will absolve her. Before telling Valentine what to do, she should face her own demons. Or, at least, be as open with Valentine as she wants him to be. It doesn't seem to me that Valentine is hurting by what he chose to do during his enlistment. Instead, he's hurting from Davis' actions and betrayal, which likely forced his hand. (Though at the start of chapter 6, we STILL don't know what that is exactly.)
However, Elspeth, as a pacifist is haunted by the blood on her hands. She's projecting this on Valentine (murderer).
I kinda hate her. Ever since that talk, I've been pushing people away and declined all romantic advances, except for Kana. Why Kana? She's a safe choice because she doesn't have any history with Valentine. Everyone else knows more about Valentine than the player does. Vi manipulates/blackmails Valentine into taking her to Sheffield. Why couldn't she take 'no' for an answer, and more importantly, respect him and his choice to not want his birthday to be known?
/rant, I guess.