Maybe some players wouldn't, maybe some players think they've done enough to help and would just like to see how it plays out from here, or maybe some players don't want to stay at Bella's and do yoga with her and Jill and make pancakes just like there are some people who don't want to chat with Maya and Josy in class or study with them in the library. Do you see what we're getting at?
These people complaining about not being able to avoid M&J are only saying it because they don't like them, pure and simple, all the while not realising that there are forced moments with all LIs and that some people might not be interested in those but these people don't whine about it as much as the M&J haters.
I think that people need to understand that this vn like any other game (adult or otherwise) is trying to appeal to a broad spectrum of people with different tastes and interests. It is more focused when you deal with adult content because kinks are very strongly held when it comes to preferences. This is bound to create strong feelings.
The keys to remember are that its a novel, which means there will be far more "Fixed" decisions that are main story focal points that are unavoidable. Some are major plot points, and some are minor story points that are meant to be there for other reasons (D&G is the first thing that came to mind in the latter). Some will like it, some will not. As an old pen and paper RPGer going back decades, I could appreciate the humor and the nod to that genre. Outside of that and a chance to put in some sexy options for people, I don't see much point to them, but they are intended to take away from the drama of the overall storyline.
M&J are integral to the story line in that they bring the whole "Restaurant" thing into focus due to the tuition and introduce just how petty and vindictive Quinn is. I get there are a lot of Quinn fans out there, and hey have fun with that. But she's as likely to get the MC killed as Bella with her stupidity. For every M&J Hater out there that hates the girls being forced on them, I feel violated that I had no choice but to let that skank give me whatever Social Disease she has in the Cumpetition. I wouldn't touch her with Derek's dick personally. But it was a part of the story that was needed. So one rolls with the punches.
While I like Sage, to me she's just as psychotic as our favorite librarian. And barring a major growth moment on her part in future updates, I don't see her as somebody I personally would want to have anything to do with. This despite the fact I love how she is rendered, I love many facets of her personality that have been introduced. But there are elements of her persona that are troubling (the whole obsession with Chad, and yet cheating with the MC if you chose to go that route). Don't get me wrong, I like a cheating girl trope as much as the next guy. But if she cheats with you, she will cheat on you. Of course if you're Full DIK you don't care because you're banging her entire sorority nearly anyways.
To the "too much drama" point of view, I can understand why some might feel this way. Let's face it, either you loved AL or hated it, so everyone that played that one after the Jill intro to this one already had preconceived notions of this story. As I've mentioned in a previous post, I fully expect the DIK mansion to turn into a temporary morgue
That way anything less is a happy ending. Do I really expect that? No. But its the extreme version of expect the worst and hope for the best mindset.
No writer will ever appeal to every one who reads their work. Many mainstream authors that are famous and best selling or considered classics have their detractors as well. Am I saying this work is a classic? Of course not. Its an AVN. There is going to be a suspension of disbelief required for these sorts of stories. Because in the real world, not every girl on the planet has breasts the size of small continents.
That people argue about the whole Jill/Tybalt blackmail thing is amusing to me. Debating the legality or merits of the threat etc. Yet these same people would have no issue with the primary conceit that there is a drug/prostitution ring being run out of the only sorority on campus. The same one where women sunbathe topless in broad daylight on campus grounds on the thoroughfare. That a single teacher can willfully remove a student without any recourse etc. They are plot devices. Nothing more, nothing less.
We can certainly discuss the strength of these plot devices, that much is certainly fair. But in all honesty, I've not been overly bothered by the inconsistencies or plot points that don't make sense in the real world. At the end of the day, they are plot contrivances that require a suspension of disbelief.
That being said, I return to the original point I was trying to make: this game appeals to different people differently. Some are going to love everything and see no issues. Others will find issue in anything that upsets their pov or interferes with the things that they pleasure in. And that's ok.
