Melissa was from a broken home with an abusive father and as such she didn't really trust easily, especially men. But the MC treated her with so much kindness and affection that he broke the wall she had built up around herself and made her feel loved. It's certainly very different from what I imagine Bella's going through, but they both have those walls built around themselves where they keep others at arms length and only have one really close friend.
That close friend is also someone who wants the best for them, even if it comes at the cost of their own happiness. Megan knew there was a chance the 2 of them might grow closer and leave her out, but she took the risk because of what this meant for Melissa. Jill is also someone who's very selfless and knows what Bella's been through, so I could see her making the same decision. But, this is where the possible intimacy comes into play.
Whatever happened does seem to be affecting Bella more than Jill so perhaps Jill enjoyed it/doesn't feel all that bad about it. So perhaps both the MC and Jill can help her out; the MC will help her through the issues that ar holding her back and Jill will help to accept what happened between them and maybe even be OK with doing it again.
Yes, it would create another possible threesome, but maybe that's the point. AL had one and destroyed it, so maybe this game could have have 2 possible threesome paths to make up for that and it will eventually make players choose which one they want to be with.
That, to me, would be a really tough decision, almost as tough as the AL fire just without the death and tragedy.
It's not just that it's another threesome, it's that they seem to be covering the same ground. We already have the MC helping a reluctant girl out of her shell via the magic of sex (with Maya). We definitely have the worry about losing the MC to the other girl (from the picnic scene, and definitely from Josy's talk on in her room on the friendship path).
Other than Bella's enormous assets, what would make this trio stand out from the other one? In theory Bella and Jill could be a more public one (compared to Maya and Josy being secret), but that seems highly unlikely given Bella is a teacher.
The only group dynamic I can see that MIGHT work would be for Bella to be an optional add on to the Jill relationship. So whereas Maya & Josy & the MC are in a set of three equal relationships, Bella is in more of a FWB role to Jill and the MC. I still think that would be a stretch, but I could see it happening if Bella eventually comes around on casual sex with the MC and Jill is comfortable fooling around with Bella.
[EDIT: To be clear, I think there would also be a dedicated Bella option as well for those who turn down Jill. Just that if the MC pursues both Jill and Bella, Bella would always be the third wheel in the eventual arrangement.]
But I can't see permanent sharing. Jill just doesn't seem the type to accept that sort of instability, and unlike Maya/Josy she clearly does not feel that way about Bella already. (Needing to hide things on account of Bella's job just makes it that much harder to swallow.)
It's just one of those things in any relationship where you want to feel like you have a person's complete love and affection and when you don't think you have that then it creates doubts and makes you worry about losing them, which can in turn damage the relationship. M&J would seem to have complete love and affection for each other and they're certainly attracted to the MC, but it doesn't yet feel like he's an equal part of the relationship, that they feel as strongly for him as they feel for each other and that's what needs to develop and is what we need to see.
We know where M&J stand with each other so we don't necessarily need to see them alone, without the MC, sharing an intimate moment. We need to see them do that with MC, both on an individual basis and with the 3 of them together to show how those relationships are developing.
I understand your concerns, and I don't think we need to see any of the lurid details anytime soon (or at all, really).
But I disagree that we don't need to see some G-rated affection between the two. We know Maya and Josy nearly broke up over the MC before the big reveal, and I think we all agree that the resolution to that particular drama lefty a lot of string dangling. Just because the two say they love each other, it's not a given that all is well between them.
This is especially important if, as we all suspect, it will eventually be possible to pursue a relationship with Maya or Josy individually. That would require the two break up for good, whether or not the MC has anything more to do with it. If there is going to be a viable relationship between the trio, the player needs to see the contrast between how Maya and Josy treat each other in a healthy triad vs how they act in as a doomed couple.
Otherwise, the specter of what happens in one path will wind up haunting what happens in the other. No matter what the game says, it will come across less as an equal partnership between the tree and more as micro harem. (And if the path to dating just one of the girls is via turning down something more. If the long term prospects for the triad hinge on player actions, showing the difference becomes absolutely imperative!)
So while I agree that the player should not feel jealous of the two, it is important to illustrate that Maya and Josy really do love each other. It doesn't have to happen all at once, and it doesn't have to be a massive display of affection. But it is an important part of the puzzle that needs to be addressed as things develop.
This is all, of course, assuming there
*is* going to be a happy M/J/MC ending. If this is all a tease then not showing a healthy relationship between Maya and Josy is not only not required, it may be part of the point. In that case... well, screw you too, DPC!
