Dylan's self-defence expertise after a couple of lessons was grossly exaggerated in order for him to drop a drunken hobo twice his size & 3 or 4 times his weight, while 3 of that man's friends stood by. That was totally unrealistic (& so doesn't feature in my playthrough). Nobody gets that good, that quick, even a physically fit football (soccer) player. It doesn't matter how proficient a marshal artist Dylan may eventually become, because he's never going to be able to take on a gang with connections & large amounts of muscle. It's not credible.
Some time ago the Dev intimated that the martial arts lessons were not about the Aiden situation.
I disagree about the blackmail set up, while acknowledging it could have been handled better in it's portrayal & it's causes. Schools do very little about bullying, despite what their mission statements commit to. Police do not want to be involved. Seeking to protect her son while "initially" (from Sophia's POV), agreeing to a deal was an immediate solution to imminent danger. Other than sending Dylan to boarding school, or home tutoring, the only solution with any sense of reality would be Carl & his fortune.
What ticks me off is that a satisfactorily nasty end is available for blackmail/Aiden haters but the complaints don't stop. I understand the hate. I loathe the shota with a passion but the Dev is not about to provide a suitable terminal event for it. Anti-blackmail lobbyists are lucky. None of us will ever get ANY game that suits us exactly, unless we can afford to commission one. Aiden is meant to be hated. That's how he's written & people do hate him. That's a sign of a successful character.
Now that we have an off ramp for the Aiden Blackmail (courtesy of Don Morello), there is no reason I can see for the Aiden hate.
If L&P had not given us the boarding school route or the Don solution, then this would be a very different story and Sophia would have just been reduced to a victim who was destined to be passed around as Aiden's party favor.
I think that would have destroyed the premise of AWAM.
I'd like to see less blackmail and more Sophia driven choices now.
We are far enough into AWAM where Sophia needs to start taking a more active role in what she wants.
The scene with Sam was hot, but there was no sexual reciprocation - not even anything half-hearted, like Sophia giving Sam a quick grope through the pants.
Sophia's introspection, that inner dialogue, helps tell us what she finds exciting, but it is still incredibly light on having Sophia strongly considering acting on something because she Likes it.
She could be masturbating while fantasizing about different scenarios, for example:
Sophia finds herself thinking about:
a lesbian encounter with a younger girl (as she gets close to orgasm - she chooses the younger girl ... is it Julia or is it Ellie?)
a hot encounter with a younger guy (as she gets close to orgasm - she chooses the younger guy ... is it Sam or is it Dylan?)
a lesbian encounter with a woman (Claire or Patricia)
a hot encounter with a powerful older man (Don Morello or Liam's boss)
Once L&P starts weaving these fantasies into the story, especially when Sophia starts to take a more active role in her fantasies, then hot, Sophia initiated, encounters with Natalie, Ellie, Sam, Dylan and others become much more accessible as gradual story progression.