In terms of backstory, I hope we might get a bit more of M&J's after the Dad's visit. I'm interested to know a bit more aobout the how and when of him finding out and what went with that all separation they were going through, specifically how long it went on for. To be at the point they were at when this game started, I reckon this would have had to have been going on for months.
In terms of Affinity putting these blocks up, I do think that it's not the best system because it often seems to negate what would seem like plausible opportunities for the player based on the sum total of their actions with certain characters and can sometimes remove an element of choice that you feel you should have in certain situations.
I'm trying to be, only because I hope that this time they'll stick to the unwritten principle of adult VNs that characters you enter a relationship with should be characters you can end the game with.
So far, it's the only shot. It's probably not likely there will be another, but I don't think it's entirely impossible either.