Exactly. And college loan funds cannot be used for anything else. He is also breaking the law by witholding it for any reason. No matter which way you look at it, from what angle...it's so inconsistent and full of holes. This is my main issue with the die hards. So willing to overlook it's many flaws due to complete blind fanatacism.
At the end of the day, the purpose of Maya's dad's shenanigans is to ensure Maya would pay a high price for defying her father's wishes even though he is in the wrong. I'm willing to overlook some level of inconsistency if either there is a generally plausible explanation that could address most of the problems, or if the inconsistencies are small relative to the story payoff.
In this case I think the situation, at least as we currently know it, is too implausible. Maya's actual description is nonsense, but technical terms of art are often misused in fiction. The important part is the threat to Maya's financial future. That requires both that Maya's dad controls the ability to call in her debts at any time AND the ability to direct the money as he sees fit (lest she simply pay the loan back and take out a new, honest one ASAP). That's not impossible, but it's extremely convoluted and the game has not provided anywhere near enough context to show how it might have happened.
It's particularly egregious given how often the MC's poor background is brought up. It is simply not plausible that he can easily afford tuition at B&R, but that Maya would be ruined for life if she were unable to pay for it. If the MC had won some sort of scholarship, or if Maya's financial troubles extended beyond mere tuition, it might work. But the MC is routinely implied to be a middle-of-the-road academic and his athletic skills are only a hobby. So as is, I agree it feels like lazy writing that needed an excuse for Maya to behave the way she does and didn't care enough to properly consider the details.
That said, we still don't have the full explanation and we haven't seen exactly how this will play out. If it turns out there is more to the story than Maya's hurried explanation suggested, that would help. Alternative, if the plotline is addressed once and for all in Episode 7 and Maya is a free woman thereafter, I think the error could be outweighed by a simple, satisfying story of Maya finally standing up for herself and getting what she wants.
But if the situation is as it seems
and it will continue to dominate Maya's actions for the rest of the game, then I think the story will really suffer for the poor writing.
We shall see.
This could very well be a major choice in the episode. Does the MC lie, so as not to reveal Maya in front of her Father? Or does he tell the truth?
Interesting notion. I have no idea how one could plausibly tie those choices into the DIK/CHICK spectrum (especially for friends), but that is demonstrably not an obstacle for DPC. It would at least be something new rather than Yet Another Fistfight.
Yeah I am with you on max being 12ish. However, consider how much we are already down the pipe on isolating love interests. I am seeing us finishing in 10 if he stretches, and 8 if he is in a hurry to start a new AVN.
Isolating LIs doesn't herald the end of the game unless the MC has been forced to choose between them for good. Until then, playing the LIs off against each other adds to the game; it's part of the plot.
Besides, DPC doesn't advance the plot in huge chunks most of the time. I could see the next 2 episodes addressing the M&J, and Jill crisis (and possibly Jade/Cathy), then having the next 4 address the collapse of Quinn's 'empire,' payoff the whole 'Vinny as dark mirror to the MC' motif, maybe get some closure with Lynette's family, and finally have the MC sort out his LI(s?) once and for all. I could even see that taking an episode or two more.
So I think 12-14 episodes is very plausible. 10 is barely possible but I think it would be extremely rushed, especially if Episode 7 is going to be less story-focused than 6. 8 episodes isn't going to happen, period.