This seemed to be to be completely different than Hegirascope. In the latter, some of the pages may have seemed briefly connected (think Amanda) whereas others were entirely different. They were scattered and impatient. Making sense of it all was near impossible and the possibilities were near endless. Also endless: Hegirascope.
My Boyfriend Came Back from the War, on the other hand, was not at all like this. From the first screen, we are presented a situation, and the obvious assumption is that everything that happens thereafter is based around a boyfriend coming home–from a war. Thematically speaking, it makes most of the ideas that come up fall into place, even when they are overall fragmented or broken thoughts. Those ideas such as infidelity, mortality, and lasting love are all skimmed over in an unsettling way, but the reader is able to perceive the meaning, as opposed to Hegirascope’s often random, forced redirection.
Hegirascope also became frustrating in that it made you choose an option of multiples presented. MBCBFTW, however, allowed the viewer to explore all possible options at his or her own pace. It was not necessarily linear, and could be just as fragmented, but it was never hurried or involuntary.
MBCBFTW seemed to me exactly what it was presented as with the first link. I was able to imagine a couple, torn apart by way, reunited and going through the process of coping with the things that can happen in that kind of time. The highs, like getting married, and the lows, like “you don’t trust me, I see” and the resulting “But… it was only once…” string of thought. I was able to see two people going through all of this, and in that way, this became more of an active “choose your own conversation” piece. Eventually, the whole conversation is covered, but the path you take to the final box is almost certainly not the same as anybody else’s.